When I stopped riding my regular non-electric bike after 6 year,s 8 months, and 19 days in a row, I didn’t know when I would be able to start again. Well, that day is today. Although I will be easing back into it with the home trainer, I started counting indoor bike rides long ago. (If you don’t like it, you can go to that new Japanese fusion restaurant that lawyers love, Sosuemi.) The point is, I’ll be back in the saddle again by this time tomorrow.

After my last post, which I didn’t finish (sorry), I thought I would have for to say on the subject, due to a lot of feels about stopping my daily streak of 2,454 consecutive days of pedalling. But I didn’t have them to the extent that I expected. Thus, fewer words. As the kids today tell us oldsters, say less. Sure I’ve been blocking rarely as of late but blogs of no words are kind of boring so over a month later here are a few more thoughts.

²I touched on the World Cup, and  fortunately I was able to watch every single game except for those played at the same time. For those, I watched the 20-minute recaps. I mean, if Lionel Messi gets a month off from playing soccer, doesn’t this dude deserve a rest? Yes, he does. There’s no comparison to me and the GOAT of football, of course. And I would back the very strong argument that Pele is still the greatest of all time based on him winning three World Cups alone. But if there is ever a conversation about fat old amateur bike dudes who rode around the equator more than twice in 10 years, maybe I’d bein it. Although probably I’d be the  MOAT — Meh Of All Time.

Another thought I anticipated having more of was relief at not having to ride. I suppose I was relieved, but that faded rather quickly. It turned into or was replaced by a feeling like I was forgetting to do something. Like I had failed to do my homework, pay a bill, or brush my teeth. Then I would remember, and relax, but also feel a tinge of guilt. When you’ve done something for two-thirds of a decade, and it is suddenly gone, it’s inevitable to have a sense of loss about it. But we humans can be resilient, and having no choice innthe matter, I accepted it, even though I didn’t love it. I missed biking, sometimes a little, sometimes a lot. But I had World Cup football games to watch and other things to do.

So,I had a mix of feelings, but as the days ticked by, I adapted to my new normal. Biking daily was a habit that I built through grit, determination, and a steadfast stubborness to refuse to NOT ride. People break New Year’s resolutions all the time. In fact Strava invented a word for it:  Quitter’s Day. They analyzed millions of activities and realized that that many new memberships that had started on January 1st stopped being used by the second Friday in January. The difference was I’d been doing it much longer, but rhe principle is the same. You just stop doing something, which is easy. It is much harder to start something and keep it going.

But now I’m going to start biking again. The first question you might have as I did, was am I going to start another streak? The answer is a resounding hell no. Been there, done that, didn’t get a medal or a million bucks. However, with my transportation situation as it is, it’s quite likely I’ll end up being a car-free dude again sooner than later. I’m not going to go out at 11:59 at night on a cold winter’s night just to put in 10 miles so I can have bragging rights that I had another 100-mile week. People might have said they were impressed, but I am pretty sure very few if anyone actually cared.

If there is a lesson in all this it’s that one should make a goal and go for it, whatever it may be. But there’s a time when we all must stop. There’s that final stop on the train of life called death, but before that could be illness, an accident, a change and priorities, going to prison, moving to a place where bicycling is wildly unsafe or illegal even, like in the Autobahn in Germany, Venice, Italy, or Afghanistan if you’re a woman.

The Buddha warns us that everything changes. Clinging to things or having aversion to them merely increases our suffering. So in the big scope, the larger scheme, file under first world problems, I stopped riding my bike for a month because I had to. Life goes on.

But now I’m back, baby! We shall see how it goes, but I expect it will go slowly. And that is fine by me. I might even skip some days on purpose to make sure I don’t get obsessed about another streak. A regular habit three or four times a week is waaaaaaay more sustainable than every single day, anyway.

I used to write everyday for 30 minutes, and this blog three times a week without fail for a long time. I was doing music for 15 minutes a day. I tried resistance bands foe a spell, and once tried  meditation everyday for a year. Things change. That is the essence of life. There’s no sense in fighting against it. Will power is limited. Going with the flow and end of life, like the wind or a river is the natural way to be.

I’m still walking and doing yoga 30 minutes each every day. Although I missed a handful of walks and like 8 years, I’ve never failed to miss doing yoga in 13 years. Even if it’s been pranayama (breathing exercises), chair yoga, or a few times even bed yoga nidra (deep relaxation leading to sleep), itnall counts in my book.

Whatever you are doing for your health, for creativity like art or music, or something else that’s a positive habit, best wishes. Make it regular and sustainable, not a streak, is my advice. Except for my yoga, the only streaking you’ll find me doing is running nekkid as a jaybird across a sports ball field. And I’m joking about that.

But of course some things are important to do every day like showering and eating and drinking and brushing your teeth. Things that are not as strenuous as averaging 5,200 miles on a bike (or more, as many folks do) every year. Let’s strive to be cool, hydrated, sunscreened, flexible, and kind to ourselves and others. Maybe if you’re in Austin or on Strava you’ll see me out there on my bike eventually some day soon. Or maybe he won’t. And that’s okay.