My 6,000 Mile Journey to Better Health
Yesterday, I shattered a personal goal to ride 5,000 miles in a year. Pedaling on North Florida country roads through tobacco fields and green pastures under magnificent Live Oak canopies with Spanish Moss flowing overhead I rode my $800 Specialized hybrid bicycle 6,179 miles, burying the myth a 69 year-old man is over-the-hill. To put that personal feat in perspective, I would have pedaled 300 miles past Istanbul, Turkey by now if that had been my destination and there wasn’t an ocean in the way. It was a long, hard journey.
In my twenties, thirties and forties I worked to stay in shape. Running was my release, early mornings or whenever I could squeeze it in. In 2008 a torn meniscus ended my running days and I began cycling for therapy. Living in Manhattan and then Chicago I ate too well and worked out too little; a combination that resulted in a gradually increasing waistline and unhealthy lifestyle. During a five-year stint teaching at the University of Florida I kept adding pounds, topping the scales at 198; a lot for my 5’11” frame.
In the summer of 2023 when I was in Utah visiting family my son Adam challenged me to do a better job managing the aging process. “You have good health and the opportunity to age more intentionally. Imagine if you had all the time in the world and the ability to work every day to stay fit,” he said, taunting me. He had just achieved his goal of being in the best shape of his life when he turned 40. My younger son Nick, a veteran and avid outdoorsman is as buff as his brother. Their older sister Marissa, has also worked hard to stay trim and fit. They’re good examples and a motivator for me to do all I can to stay young.
I returned home with a weightlifting schedule Adam worked out and rode 1,115 miles during August, the hottest month of the year in north Florida. It’s a record I’m not likely to repeat. I lost 20 pounds that month, ruptured a bicep and tore a rotator cuff.
Surgery and rehab put me out of commission for three months. In February last year I logged 500 miles on a stationary bike. The next month I was back on the road with a goal to break 5,000 miles. Yesterday I ended the year at 6,129. Mission accomplished.
Determined not to further injure myself I started a strict weightlifting routine focusing on my shoulders and upper body. I do that in addition to cycling, averaging 2–3 hour daily workouts. It is hard but less so now that it’s become routine. The results are the payoff. I initially lost 45 pounds. With a high protein diet and weightlifting I’ve leveled out at about 165. Muscle is beginning to replace the flab. I feel years younger and more energetic.
I was bragging to my kids that 6,000 miles is a quarter of the way around the world. “Now we know what your four-year goal is,” said Adam. It got me thinking…
Pedal Strong the Road is Long
I set my sights, my goal was clear,
To ride five thousand miles this year.
Through fields of green and country roads,
Beneath the moss where the live oak grows.
But pushing further, past my aim,
I rode six thousand just the same.
If roads allowed, no seas in sight,
I’d pass Istanbul in flight.
In younger days, I ran with ease,
The morning air, the cool, crisp breeze.
But fate had plans, a knee gave way,
And cycling soon would take its place.
I moved, I worked, I ate too well,
The weight crept on, the numbers swelled.
At Florida’s halls where I would teach,
One ninety-eight, my highest peak.
Then Adam spoke, my son, my guide,
He saw the spark still there inside.
“You’re strong, you’re fit, but time will test,
So why not strive to be your best?”
Back home, the heat was harsh and fierce,
Yet through the sweat, I persevered.
One thousand miles in August’s fire,
Through pain and strain, yet climbing higher.
The price was steep — a muscle torn,
A shoulder ruptured, battle-worn.
The surgeon’s hands would lay me low,
Three months to heal, three months to grow.
But February found me strong,
Five hundred miles indoors felt long.
Then back outside, I pushed once more,
Until I crushed my goal in score.
Now weights are part of what I do,
My arms, my chest — my shoulders too.
The flab has gone, the muscle stays,
I feel alive in brand-new ways.
At sixty-nine, I won’t give in,
Each mile I ride, the years grow thin.
Six thousand down — what comes ahead?
“Four years to circle Earth,” he said.
So let me ride, just watch me go,
This journey’s just begun, you know.
