By James Durand
I’m sure that any of you that have tried to quit something addictive know very well how hard it is to break a habit.
But other habits are harder to start than to quit.
Now, most of you are thinking of bad habits as you read this, but there are some good habits too.
I bumped into an old friend last week who I haven’t seen in almost 10 years. I met Rob 25 years ago and back then he rode his bike to work everyday, without fail.
I never commuted by bike everyday of the week, but I definitely rode three or four days consistently when I lived in the city.
When we moved to the Island and opened up Swicked Cycles, there was a bit of a lag at the beginning since we were so busy with start up, but within the first year, my habits renewed themselves and I managed three or four days of riding to the shop quite easily.
When I saw my buddy Rob, my first question was about his commuting, and sure enough, he still rides to and from work five days a week. He’s 64-years-old now and you would never believe he was older than 50. Coincidence?
Over the last four or five years, I have somehow lost focus on my priorities and my truck gets used far more than my bike when it comes to trips to Swicked.
Sure, I can come up with hundreds of excuses and justifications, but I used to make excuses so I COULD ride my bike to work, and now it’s the opposite.
In all fairness, I do have two very active kids who need transportation, I run errands at work a lot, and it seems doing as many reno’s as we have been lately, those lumberyard pick-ups on my way home, are less than ideal on a bike.
Now I ride less overall, I’m less fit, and less positive, so maybe it’s time to get some old habits back in action.
The easiest way for many of is to increase our ride time, is to commute. It usually only takes a few minutes longer than driving, saves us a ton of gas costs, and within a day or two, we’ll start feeling healthier.
I think it’s time to start up some habits again.
I’m James Durand and I’m Goin’ Ridin’…