Morning with the Shandonistas

After 10 days of not riding, I finally went on a serious ride this morning. I left at 6:30 and did my normal ride that takes me from Shandon, through Rosewood, down to Owens Field, back through Rosewood and into Shandon again. Being out early in the morning was great. I am a morning person. The funny thing is, so is half of Shandon. The legions of the fit were out jogging, walking, walking dogs, and yes, even biking. The funny thing was that they often traveled in packs. There wouldn’t be just one soccer mom, there would be three. Instead of one grandma walking along the roadside, I encountered five—yeah five. And they were walking side by side…and they had no intention of yielding the road to me. I had to swerve into the middle of the road to avoid them. In fact, everybody was in the road. No one was using the fine sidewalks of Shandon. You know how sidewalks get bumpy as roots push the slabs of concrete up, making the surface uneven? Well, here in Shandon they have ground down those bumps and made the sidewalks smooth again. Yep, they ground down the bumps in the sidewalks. And still the morning walkers and joggers clog the streets, refusing to yield to passing bikes. The mean morning streets of Shandon are no place for the faint of heart. When you go out there, strap on the helmet and smoke ‘em if you got ‘em because it’s a war and you might not make it back.

The funny thing is, when you cross Rosewood Drive into the Rosewood neighborhood the walkers and joggers disappear. Now it is no secret that there are some cost differences between living in Shandon and Rosewood. To live in the nicer parts of Rosewood, it costs an arm and part of a leg. To live anywhere in Shandon it costs an arm, a leg, and a kidney. Rosewood is inhabited by a range that runs from families to professionals to working class people and students. Those who live in Shandon are professionals, the inherently rich, and privileged students. So, why is it that the neighborhood with the higher mean income has more people out exercising? Is it that people of lower socioeconomic statuses are lazy and stupid? And conversely, those of us on the other side of Rosewood are motivated, smart members of the ownership society? As flattering as that is to me, I have a hard time believing it.

I did notice a lot more people out getting ready for work and school in the Rosewood area. That makes me wonder if the kind of job you have and the amount of disposable income you have somehow affects your ability to spend hours each day exercising. Could it be that if your job requires you to work early in the morning or late at night, or if both adults in the household have to work and find childcare, or if you are a single working parent then exercising is a luxury that is difficult to afford? Could it be that in our society, health is actually a luxury? Capitalism is an economic system that provides opportunity for all, so this couldn’t be the natural consequence of an inherently unequal economic system, right? I’m confused, but then again I am just a fat archaeologist.

My ride was great considering I haven’t ridden in over a week. It took longer than usual to get my legs warmed up, but by 15 miles I was in that zone where it feels good to pedal and you don’t want to stop. I quit at 23.62 miles after riding for an hour and three quarters. I burned over 1000 calories before breakfast…that means I can positively stuff my face all day today!

Here is a bit of a check in on my goals. Before the Tour de France I wanted to lose about 30 lbs and so far I’ve lost about 22 (183.8 today). I may lose the other 8 lbs before the end of the tour, but it will be a challenge. I’ve been at 184 for quite a while. I will keep trying. I also wanted to be able to go on long bike rides. My longest so far has been around 25 miles. I want to make 30 before the end of the month and I am pretty sure I can do that. I’d also like to ride 40 miles before the end of le Tour. With some work, I think I can do that also. After that, I’ll learn to speak Italian and take up ballroom dancing…or not.