At 45, after numerous leg surgeries, and a knowledge that I am getting older, I came to the conclusion that in order to stay on the planet longer and watch my son grow up, I need to be physically active.
Ten years ago, I rediscovered the thrill of the cool sheet of ice and the thrill of team play - and joined my first ice hockey team since I was 16. It has been invigorating and a reawakening of my youth and winters.
And I forgot how often I had hit the ice in the past, but not as a player, but as a referee. So I got my BC certification, donned the striped jersey and have fallen in love with hitting the ice three to four nights a week and getting an amazing skate in and being responsible for the safety of youth who play the game. It is the best form of paid exercise I know...
Almost at the same time, a very good friend offered to sell his mountain bike to me. I lived downtown Vancouver, but was young and naive and thought I could easily ride to and from work. While I managed, after breaking the chain on the old mountain bike, I realized I had a desire to better myself by taking a serious leap forward and purchased a hybrid commuter bike. It had thinner wheels and was compared to the old hunk of steel above all else - fast. Much faster.
Suddenly I found myself loving riding for longer distances than I thought myself possible and voila - I rode in my first Ride to Conquer Cancer in 2011...a 250km two day trip from Vancouver to Seattle. I was hooked as I rode within masses of other cyclists, thirty to forty road cyclists, all moving together as a team - a mass of machine and muscle flashing past me.
And now, a few years later, one torn right MCL in my right knee, a major knee surgery to repair damage done in the accident (a year ago this week), I am back to riding 90 odd kms on a weekend on my very first road bicycle, loving that fact that I am able to be training for my second Ride to Conquer Cancer.
And teaching PE!
Brilliant.
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