My Rushmore

Herman Blume: What's the secret, Max?

Max Fisher: The secret?

Herman Blume: Yeah, well, you seem to have it pretty figured out.

Max Fisher: The secret?  I don't know. I think you just gotta find something you love to do, and then do it for the rest of your life. For me, it's going to Rushmore.

 

Sage advice, indeed and great counsel for someone looking to improve their physical fitness.  If you don’t like your exercise routine chances are that you won’t stick with it. I was lucky to have found something a long time ago and have done it my whole life. My Rushmore is cycling. If some scientific study were to be released saying that riding a bike is terrible for you and shortens your life I would keep doing it anyway. Cycling for me goes way beyond personal fitness. Riding a bike is my main form of transportation as well as one of my fondest entertainments.

My first great bike was a Schwinn Super Sport ten speed that I bought when I was 15 with money I made working as a busboy.  It was stolen some time later and I bought a Raleigh Competition which was a truly fine bike. I rode the bejesus out of that thing. My next bike was a Bianchi Campeone d’Italia.  This bike was so gorgeous that I used to sit on my bed and look at it in my dorm room. I bought another Bianchi many, many years later when I moved to Seattle. I bought it used at a shop in Freemont (which later moved to Ballard although the name escapes me).  I have three bikes in my current stable: a Trek mountain bike with street slicks on it which serves as my sport bike; a funky city bike with a basket; and the fantastic Valenbisi system which I use on a daily basis.