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Gone with the Schwinn

Until this past Sunday, I had not been on a bike since middle school. That's right, a good twenty years since a ride.

Once I climbed back onto my Schwinn mountain bike from 1991, all sorts of good feelings came back. With new tires and a helmet on my head, three miles flew by. And I've taken a ride every single day since.

Helping matters is that the weather has been the exact opposite of what it's been in the past two weeks. Sunny skies and 70 degrees -- very similar to what Donna and Noel have enjoyed as well. Also helping is that Diana can take rides with me on her bike.

Getting my old bike back has been welcome because frankly, the exercise routine I've had for the past two years was wearing thin. As much as I love taking Victory out to either the dog park or up and down three miles of hills, there are limits. I wanted to have a little more consistency with pace. I figured it would nicer to not have things like cars, other dogs, and poop breaks to interrupt.

Since Victory whines (quite loudly, mind you) if she's not taken for a run/walk first and foremost, I've devised a new routine. I take her first to the dog park and run ten laps with her. We come home and I grab my bike. Off I go for three miles. In total, ninety minutes pass by quickly and the experience is great.

I'm trying not to border on parody here, like Patrick Bateman talking about his exercise routine and Evian water consumption in American Psycho, but I've chosen to try harder when it comes to exercise. There are few pounds I'd like to lose, sure. I merely want to have some more variety with how I choose my time off from the computer, TV, and books. Couple this with some golfing, it sure feels nice to get out of the house for a change.

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