Columnist Stice: Bikes Antidote for Funk!

Writing in the paper today, healthy lifestyles columnist Jeanine Stice talks about her emptier nest and the solution she found:

I've been in a funk since mid-August when my oldest son went to college...

My husband asked if I wanted to head to the bike store to check out bikes....[But] bike shops seemed intimidating: lots of options and lots of gear. The thing I liked about running was the lack of gear needed to get the job done. It seemed like bikers required a ton...

She got her bike and her spirits lifted!

I get to bike. I can bike. I don't have to run....the more I visualized where we could go together on bikes, through country roads in the Mid Valley, vineyards, and even small-town festivals, the more excited I got, and the funk I had been encased in for the past six months began lifting.

Lots of interesting things here. Bikes offer exercise and adventure, two important and anodyne components in keeping life fresh and interesting.

But the contrast with running is also interesting. Marketing to those who value the simple virtues of plain-clothes cycling is underdeveloped in Salem and a real opportunity to grow the market! The culture of bicycling makes it sometimes more difficult than it needs to be.

Anyway, hooray, Jeanine, for discovering the joys of biking! We'll see you on the road!