Sympathy from Motorists

It seems that even after several seasons of braving the cold on my two-wheeled apparatus, I NEVER get tired of the peculiar looks I get when I roll out on a day when the wind chill is in the single digits.

If any of you have ridden in this weather, you know the look…at first people stare in confusion as if you were a space alien riding the Easter Bunny...but the look quickly turns to assumption as if to come to the realization that I must have been busted for drunk driving one too many times and was mandated to lowering myself to this primitive method of transportation. People often seem to be very perplexed at the thought that someone would voluntarily ride in this weather…I still sometimes perplex myself at the thought. There was even one instance a few years back, when an older lady rolled the window down in her car and asked if I wanted a ride home.

All in all I have to admit, the looks do provide as motivation.

Proud to be an American!

(C'mon)
Oh won't you take me home tonight?
Oh down beside your red firelight,
Oh and you give it all you got
Fat bottomed girls you make the rockin' world go round
Fat bottomed girls you make the rockin' world go round

-Queen

This past Friday I had my top two wisdom teeth extracted. Prior to the procedure, my doctor muttered the dreaded words, “Tim, you cannot ride your bike for at least three days if you do not want to get dry sockets”. Knowing that dry sockets could potentially halt my training for several weeks, I decided to heed her advice and commit to a sedentary lifestyle for three days. At first, I thought a little R and R would be fun and relaxing. However, by the second day I was already itching and twitching like a heroine addict quitting cold turkey. I was seriously bumming, and for no apparent reason. My body was simply in withdrawal from its daily shot of cycling-induced serotonin. All of this couch dwelling got me thinking, so I decided to research some statistics on the lifestyles of Americans.



Some statistics I already was aware of:

1. The U.S.A. is the FATTEST country in the world.
2. Detroit is the FATTEST city in the U.S.A.
3. Obesity is quickly on its way to overtaking smoking as the leading cause of preventable deaths in the U.S.A.




Some new statistics I discovered:
1. According to the American Heart association, surveys from 2002 show that 24 percent of Americans age 18 or older live a sedentary lifestyle.
2. Also, about 400,000 deaths per year in the United States are due to poor diet and physical inactivity.
3. According to a study by CNN Health, seven out of 10 American adults don't exercise regularly despite the proven health benefits.
4. In the United States, two thirds of the population is overweight and one third obese.
5. In 2004, among people ages 18 and older, an estimated 14.8 percent (31.6 million adults) had experienced at least one major depressive episode in their lifetime, and an estimated 8 percent (17.1 million adults) reported having experienced a major depressive episode in the past year.



So let me get this straight. America is the most financially well off country in the world, but we are the fattest and the most depressed. Is there a link between our couch dwelling and our depressive states of well-being?




I guess the immortal words of the Notorious B.I.G. (who was also coincidentally obese) holds true today, “Mo Money, Mo Problems”.





“Be the change you want to see in the world.”
-Mahatma Ghandi