Life is Like Riding a Riding a Bicycle

To Keep Your Balance
You Must Keep Moving

Good day, folks. This quote, by Albert Einstein, is the topic of this post, which I think of as: 

Speaking of bikes, I have two now, a full-size, stationary folding bike with resistance bands and a small under desk exercise bike that I keep beneath my desk at work. Allow me to share with you why I find this smaller bike one of the best buys I've made this year, and how it's literally changed my life.

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But first ("Hello Houseguests," ... "Hey, Julie" ... I couldn't help myself), let me sprinkle in a bit of history so you understand why I have the bikes in the first place.

I lovvvvvvve to bike ride. That has been a passion of mine since my first tricycle and, as you can see, I have always had a thing for baskets. Every bicycle I've ever had has had a basket. In fact, my last bike had two baskets, collapsible no less, one on each side of the rear tire ... I'm just saying ...

Several years ago that was my mode of transportation to work: an hour-long bike ride through the cities of Oakland and Berkeley, California and I loved every minute of those rides. I arrived sweaty sometimes, but getting there was exhilarating. The topper was that the private company I worked for had a bathroom with a shower so I could take care of all that sweatiness if I so chose. I didn't actually choose that route, so I made sure that I didn't pump too hard to cause the sweat. See, Momma, I was thinking—and what I thought most was I didn't want to take a shower at work—who does that?

Which brings us to the last few years, where I'd taken on so much stress that my body started to let it be known that that wasn't cool. I already had various aches and pains, the kind most folks get as they age, but then stuff started to happen that put scary into perspective. I woke up one morning in agony, my left side, from my arthritic hip to my swollen foot, was aching, and I mean the kind of pain that wakes you up at night and robs you of much needed rest, not to mention the kind of pain that makes you wanna scream and cry at the same time. While both hips are arthritic and both feet and ankles ache and swell every day, on THIS day it had tripled on the left side, and it was excruciating. Needless to say, I was in bad shape and a visit to the hospital was in my foreseeable future.

That period of time brought on a lot of changes: rethink my diet, readjust my sleep habits, use my Fitbit more, add new medications and, most recently, use a cane!!! Ultimately, I went through phases of ignoring my body telling me I was not treating it well, and I got slapped in the face with some new issues, the knees started to buckle and I was almost toast. Almost, because once you get to a point where you need a cane to walk, you'd better start paying attention and get it together, but quick.

Small Works Wonders

So, we're back in the present, and the smaller bike holds center court as it sports yet another of my favorite things, a twofur:

you can use it to peddle with your feet and
to row with your hands!!!

 

We just love that, right? Well, I certainly do, and who doesn't wanna squeeze the most out of whatever they buy. If I could just get Siri, Alexa or Echo to fry an egg, we'd be in business, sister.

I have to say, just the 10 minutes I began with each weekday (which I've now increased to 15 minutes a pop), has done me a world of good, and a co-worker told me just last week "you look like you've lost weight." I kid you not. Really, she did say that, and although I can't see it, it did make me feel good.

The 15-minute pedaling does make a great start to my workday, along with the 130 single stretches I do each morning (and afternoon). I can see that I'm gaining some momentum and the cane is currently residing in my closet. I see it every day but haven't thought about using it. I do carry a rolling cart which I lean on for support, but the bottom line is I'm getting the stretching I need, the bike pedaling is working to strengthen my legs, and I think I've dodged those calorie monsters, you know, the ones that tiptoe in your room at night and sew your clothing tighter, to the tune of actually, quite possibly, you're kidding me, losing weight.

And it even comes with a nice, dark product illustration with breakaway imagery, it's a bit blurry but easy to understand and it's in English which helps 'cause that's my language:

A Full Stationary Bike is Just as Good

The full stationary bike I have at home is also foldable (yay!) and also features a twofur: two arm resistance bands so I can work my arms at the same time. Problem is, I can't walk and chew bubblegum at the same time, much less pedal with my feet and hold my balance enough to pump my arms with some resistance bands. I want to stay on the bike, my friends, not find myself on the floor. But that's a goal I can work toward and before you know it, I'll be knitting or crocheting while pedaling ... and baking bread AT THE SAME TIME.  Who knew? For a peek at my stats in 2019 on this beauty, click here:

Ya gotta love it, right? After the egg frying (over medium, please), they (my kids and grands) can walk on my back to get the kinks out ... gotta love a twofur, no?

So tune in next time, my friends, and I'll have another, mobile bike/basket combo and be:

♪ ♫ ♪  On the road again
Goin' places that I've never been
Seein' things that I may never see again
And I can't wait to get on the road again  ♪ ♫ ♪

Much obliged, Willie, much obliged.

Just in case you were interested, here's how the initial conversation with my doctor went:

Dr. Luu:  You need to get a bike.
Sandi:    Won't I fall off?
Dr. Luu:  A stationary bike.
Sandi:    Duh, I knew that.
 

Let's Recap

Here's where I mention that this page contains affiliate links and I earn a small commission if you click the enclosed links and make a purchase. But guess what, if you'd like to do the same and earn your own commission, please check out AWBM's affiliate program, by, of course, clicking here, and (you know, I know, you know that all of the enclosed red underlined items, as well as the images, are all links). So:

If you'd like s poster such as the one in this post, there are several Life Is Like Riding A Bicycle posters, click here.

If you'd like an under desk exercise bike, click here.

And here's the bigun, a stationary folding bike with resistance bands, (see, they also know the value of a twofur), click here.

Remember me? I'm Miss Repetition ...
don't say I didn't warn ya ...

If you'd like to browse, here's a selection of similar bikes you may want to check out. Click the images to learn more, or enter a specific type of bike (or whatever your heart desires) in the nifty little search box, and happy pedaling!!!

PS. Just in case you were wondering, I burned, on average, 145 calories when pedaling for 10 minutes straight; since I increased to 15 minutes, my calorie burn skyrocketed to 220, in that 15-minute interval. It might be small, but it's a measurable accomplishment, and one that I didn't have a few months ago. As I tell my children:

I might be old, but I'm spry
(and I plan to keep it that way).
 

AWBM Blog Post #13 | 31 July 2019 | Life Is Like Riding A Bicycle
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