One of the real reasons Why I Ride

The ten-year anniversary of the death of my last living grandparent is approaching. Clifford LeRoy McBride died in May of 2000 at the age of 76. Cardiovascular system failures resulting from years of unhealthy lifestyle choices were finally too great for his body to overcome. This is installment 1 of 4 on Why I Ride, sort of "unplugged" style.

I remember good times with Grandpa McBride. He would visit regularly from Grants Pass, Oregon, where he lived with his mother--my great-grandmother. Every few years, we would make the trip to visit his home and spend time with him and great-grandma. Unfortunately, she outlived her son, and I missed out on getting to know him. As a young child, and through my weird teenage years, I wasn't too interested in "old people." Looking back, I wish I would have spent more time with him, getting to know him. Most of my friends and even Lisa have living grandparents, and Lisa's parents are the grandparents to some three score humans. As I see others' grandparental relationships, I feel that I lack the benefits of such relationships, and want to be a part of my children's and grandchildren's lives.

The air we breathe can literally kill us. Earlier this year, my wife and I had some blood work done for some life insurance. My results showed high levels of nicotine, apparently only possible from smoking or from second-hand smoke. The company next to my work employs a high concentration of smokers, through a pack of whom I rode on my way home from work--immediately before my blood sample was taken. What seemed like a brief, inconsequential brush with cigarette smoke had a measurable negative effect on my body.

Looking toward the future, I am making a conscious effort to minimize the negative effects that lifestyle can have on my health while also maximizing the positive effects that I have control over. I don't see how this can be a bad thing. The other benefits I extract from using my bicycle as transportation are secondary, or tertiary, to the benefit of a healthy heart and lungs.

In some small way, I like to think that riding my bike for commuting and small errands saves a significant amount of toxic air from entering the atmosphere. My actions may or may not go unnoticed, but at least I know that my mode of transportation is a zero emission solution. Perhaps my quality of life can be improved, and my quantity of life increased.