Is Getting There Really Half the Fun?

Good morning! I hope your day is off to a great start.

It’s been said that the destination may be awesome, but half the fun is getting there. I don’t know exactly who said that first, and that’s probably a good thing because I’m afraid I’d have to give them a punch in the throat. Yes, the journey is part of the experience. But when it involves 13 hours of dust storms, 50 mph gusts, and suicidal tumbleweeds, it pretty well sucks.

That describes our drive across the southwest, from San Antonio to Tucson. Oh, the scenery was beautiful. When I could actually see it, or I wasn’t preoccupied with my white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel. By the time we stopped the first night, my Fitbit registered over 8000 steps. I only got out of the RV twice. You do the math.

I remember times when I used to try to trick my Fitbit. Like standing in the grocery store swinging my arm lightly to mimic walking. Or the time I watched a movie from a float in the YMCA pool and put it on my ankle so it could measure all the relaxing movements there. It used to love my motorcycle. I could get 12,000 steps and 82 flights of stairs in a six-mile ride.

Okay, so now I guess I need to actually get out and walk. It’s one thing to rack up a score on an electronic device, but that won’t do a thing to take the weight off. Kinda like Wii sports. “I played tennis for three solid hours!” No you didn’t. You swung a three-ounce controller in the comfort of your living room with a beer in the other hand. You’re not fooling anybody.

On the other hand, I did build my biceps a little. At least I hope so. Otherwise, this pain in my left arm may be something a little less benign, and I refuse to even consider that. Besides, I’ve had a heart attack and it didn’t feel anything like this. Try slumping against a concrete pole in the Atlanta airport, drenched in sweat as 300 people brushed past without even noticing.

Regardless, if driving an RV with power steering for 850 miles can make my arms sore, I may be just a little out of shape. I’ve got some cousins who are reading this right now nodding their head. These are people my age and older who think a fun time is riding a bicycle UP a mountain, and then climbing rocks for the rest of the day. Yes, there really are people like that.

But the difference is they could probably have made the drive without breaking a sweat, and STILL would have spent the rest of the day climbing rocks. I’m beginning to think maybe they’re onto something. Not that I have any desire to climb rocks, but I’d at least like to have the option to say no instead of letting my body do it for me.

I’ve been looking at bicycles, with the idea that I could strap one to the back of the RV and get a little exercise while we’re out. Okay, I started out looking at electric bikes. But if the battery runs out, you have to actually pedal those things and I can imagine they’re a few pounds heavier than a real bike. I’d be lucky to pedal my own weight, thank you. I don’t need any extra.

Fitness is like your annual tax return. It’s never at the front of your mind unless you’re actually doing something about it, and it never takes on any real sense of urgency until the night before Tax Day. You know, at midnight. That’s when you realize you can’t find receipts for all those charitable contributions and your printer is out of ink.

Of course, you can always request an extension and file later, but you’ll have to pay a penalty. Your body is no more forgiving. Nothing says you have to take that walk or lift those weights today. But if you keep putting it off, there will be a penalty. And the longer you wait, the greater that penalty will be. Next thing you know you’re too wimpy to drive in a stiff breeze.

Getting there really is half the fun. Sure, that first workout after ten years of neglecting your body will be tough, but it gets easier as you go. After a while, you even look forward to it. Exercise, that is. Dust storms and income tax will never be on my list of favorites. But it’s all part of the journey, and hopefully the destination makes it that much more worthwhile.

That’s all for now. Have an awesome day!

© 2021 Dave Glardon – All rights reserved
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