It's no secret that ad agencies have always appealed to us by depicting the people we want to be, not the people we are. Even Depends adult diaper commercials show the elderly lawn bowling or going on brisk walks on the beach in track suits. It's got me wondering: What is the person I aspire to be?
Obesity puts a limit on the possibilities in life and after awhile you start to downsize your dreams, having given up on your body. Now, I'm finding, I'm starting to open up my thoughts on what I can be, knowing now that anything is possible. I doubt I'll ever climb Everest, but there's so much more possible with me now than there was a few months ago. And as I continue making progress, even more things will be possible.
Did I ever aspire to be the family with a kayak on their roof running off for a day of fun activity in nature? I think I did. It's been for so long that my aspirations have been crushed by the weight of...my weight. Cycling again is something I never thought possible and lamented not being able to do. Well I'm back and it's fantastic! A couch is nowhere to spend your life. Happiness IS being active. It IS getting out there and doing things the sedentary body cannot.
Many years ago I hit a bit of a bump in my life and decided to take off on a solo vacation to Hawaii. (My airline ticket was only $399 return!) I was going through my fitness phase at the time and bought a little tourist book on Hawaii. The book suggested a place to rent bicycles and the author highly recommended renting a kayak at a certain park. I had never been on a kayak before but he wrote that this kayak outing was suitable for beginners. After an hour long bus ride there, I found that kayaking was not permitted due to lack of water in the small stream. I was DEVASTED. I thought my whole vacation was ruined. To this day, I have never kayaked.
But I did have a bike for the whole time I was there. It was a tremendous way to explore a tourist destination. You pick up so much more on a bike, all your senses can take everything in. (I imagine scooters and motorcycles are good too but maybe not as good.) I cycled along the coast to a beach destination and when I returned, I was so high on the experience I cycled and cycled through Honolulu. And when I got back to the hotel, I promptly got the flu.
Nevertheless, I swore I would do this sort of active, outdoorsy thing every chance I could and that I would embrace the outdoor experience for everything it had to offer. Instead, I spent a great deal of time on chairs and couches watching my life pass me by and putting my health at great risk.
I've been eyeing up kakaks at the store the last few months. Such preposterous thoughts wouldn't be permitted with the old James but there's so much out there for the new me to discover.
I'll start with going tobogganing with my kids for the first time and take it from there. Maybe some mountain biking on nature trails (they're building one all across Canada, you know), some hiking and possibly even some kayaking could be in my future.
A few months ago I didn't think I had a future of any kind, let alone the one I'm now starting to imagine.
We rented bikes on a vacation to Manhattan, and it was hands down the highlight of the trip. We saw a lot of the city, and cycled across the Brooklyn Bridge. Amazing and exhilarating.
ReplyDeleteB.
Do you remember how much you paid and for how long? In the olden days you could take your bike as luggage and it wouldn't cost that much.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'd also have wonder about the incessant cab honking. Was that annoying?
ReplyDeleteYes, there were cabs honking 'inland', but not on the bike trip as we were mostly on the cycle path that circles most of the island.
ReplyDeleteIt was pricey. We tried to get a tandem bike but they were out. That would have been slightly cheaper. I think it was about 70 bucks for two bikes for 4 hours.
http://www.bikenewyorkcity.com/index.php
A friend has one of these folding bikes and travels with it. Comes with a suitcase. Of course now that airlines are charging for luggage, this option is not the deal it once was.
http://www.brompton.co.uk/
Cheapest option would be to find a Wal-Mart wherever you're visiting, buy a cheap bike, use it for the trip then give it to a homeless person when you're done.
B.
That's brilliant. I hadn't thought of that. You can get a bike for 100 bucks and it's bound to last you a week or two on vacation. It doesn't work as well for a whole family unless you could sell them and get some money back.
ReplyDelete