Let me tell you about my friend Tony. He’s a good man. He’s an athlete. He’s a veteran. Tony played basketball in Europe when he was
in the service. He’s 82 years old. He is a cancer survivor….he battled that
cancer with grace and determination. Cancer
that deposited a tumor in his brain that had to be removed last year and
treated with many, many rounds of chemo therapy. This year, Tony is back on his bike and he
asked me to go for a ride.
Tony loaded up our bikes and we drove to a local bike
path. We rode side by side for an hour
at a super steady pace and had easy conversation. Tony taught me several things about the area,
I learned a little more about his family and his own history. He taught me about his love of biking and
exercise. And best of all, Tony taught
me about quality.
Riding with Tony I was able to focus on maintaining good
form on the bike. I concentrated on
maintaining a high cadence throughout the entire ride. I didn’t worry about how fast I was going, or
what my heart rate was, or how many miles we were logging. I focused instead on the position of my feet
as the pedals turned and the position my head and neck were in while I was
riding. I tried to shift my gears well
to maintain the same cadence during the entire ride. I focused on how great it was to be cycling
and to be cycling well. I focused on the
quality of my ride and on quality of life for an entire hour.
Tony reminded me by example that, even though you may not be
able to ride really fast or ride for a really long distance, the joy is in the
ride. He is a true role model for all of
us.
Thank you, Tony.
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