Day 302

Although the sun was out this afternoon, the chilly wind chased me indoors for my bike ride today. I was admittedly a little bummed about being inside, as the lack of scenery can at times make the minutes seem to drag by.

But then I met Bob.

Who is Bob, you ask? Bob is the 80-year old cutie patootie that was already working up a sweat when I entered the bike room at the YMCA. 

"Hi there!" He proclaimed as I sauntered over to a bike and began adjusting the seat. "Got a big ride planned today?"

I was immediately charmed. Much to my husband's dismay, I have a soft spot for little old men. 

"Just 45 minutes today," I replied. "And you?"

"I'm finishing up my 30 minutes. It's my short day. Do you ride outdoors as well?"

And so ensued a conversation which had me smiling from ear to ear. We talked about how fortunate we were to live in an area that supports biking with miles and miles of bike paths that are both scenic and much safer than the road-" riding off into a ditch isn't as easy for me these days"he said.

I told him I just started biking a couple of years ago, as I began my triathlon journey. His face lit up, and he told me about his years of triathlon racing in the 80's. Before that he had always been a runner. He held several age group medals in triathlon, and had traveled to many different states to race. Once he got "too old" to do the whole race, he and his buddies continued on for awhile doing relay.

I had quickly done the math in my head- he was at least in his 50's when he started doing triathlons.

He went on to tell me about his love for biking, and how he had done probably a dozen cross-country bike trips. As in across the country. His face was dreamy as he described now beautiful the world is from a bicycle seat- beating car trips hands down. He had a t-shirt on that said ""Bike Across America 1995".

1995. Some more quick math- he was 61 years old for that trip.

Before I knew it, he was off his bike, wiping down his equipment, and standing by the fan with his eyes closed. He cursed his thyroid, which he was sure was the cause for his recent decreased energy...

We chatted for a few more minutes, then he excused himself to go walk for 15 minutes on the treadmill. He thanked me for making the end of his workout so enjoyable and told me he looked forward to seeing me again. As he walked out into the weight room, I heard a young man's voice say, "Well hey there Bob! Wanna work in a set with me?"

Looks like I wasn't the only person Bob had charmed at The Y.

Looking down at my bike, I only had 20 minutes left to ride, and hadn't even needed to turn my music on. And I was grinning, something that rarely happens on the bike.

Today's picture celebrates Bob, and everyone out there like him who has continued to do amazing things throughout their older years. I can only hope that I can still actually sit on a bike when I am 80 years old. And as I walked out of the gym, there he was, now having moved on to the free weight section. I smiled and waved, and realized that I was actually looking forward to coming back to the gym to see him.