I’m not a big fan of the exercise bike.

I’ve had one for years.  I’ve spent hours on it, and I’ve let it sit in the corner collecting dust for months at a time.  I used to like riding a bike around my hometown, or in my old town where I had a relatively safe bike path.  Riding indoors, and staying in one place, just feels like a sad metaphor for suburban life.

Bikes, without dust

I could probably ride around here, but to say it’s a little risky would be like calling a giant pool of gas a little flammable.  I’m not quite ready to lie down in the cold cold ground yet, so my options are limited.  As we lurch toward winter, they get even more limited, and so the bike becomes a necessity.

It smirks smugly at me from the corner of my workspace right now, just over my left shoulder.

The good thing about my exercise bike is that I can set limits.  I can set the machine to run for half an hour, and after half an hour it will stop doing its thing.

The bike has been in dust collection mode for a while.  This is probably not the best time for me to dust it off.  I’m heading off to a conference later this week, which is going to wreak havoc on my schedule (and my resolutions.)

The thing is, something always comes up during the week.  I’ve usually got three to four different projects going on at the same time.  At least one of them is usually dangerously close to deadline. There is always something more important, something that needs more attention.

Let’s ignore the scare tactics around cardiovascular effects for a minute.  There are other factors that play into cardiovascular disease, like your genes, and plenty of very active people wind up with heart attacks and strokes.

I have ADD.  According to every piece of research I’ve managed to find, exercise is crucial to managing attention deficit disorder.  It helps to even out the hormones and neurochemicals that keep us from focusing.

Because of the endorphins released by exercise, a workout can also help to alleviate depression and anxiety.  These are both issues that I deal with.  These are both issues that affect my work.

And finally, exercise at the right time of day can help people with chronic insomnia alleviate their symptoms.  Insomnia is an issue I’ve lived with for most of my adult life.  Disrupted or absent sleep has been present every time my weight has shot up.

Sure there’s always some pressing issue that’s screaming for my attention.  Sure, it feels almost selfish or self-absorbed to block out half an hour to do something that focuses entirely on me, and not on work or family or something profitable.

Can I really afford to skip that bike ride?