Why do it?

Running this business is both a joy and a challenge.

I'm growing this business organically. (Which, in case you may not be aware of this business lingo, means all the money I make goes right back into the business, gradually pushing things bigger and bigger.) This is the challenge part.

The JOY part is what I thrive on, and fortunately, there's tons of it pouring in to me on a regular basis. During the last 12 hours, here's what happened.

My husband and I went to our favorite store, Costco, and after stocking up on bananas, avacados, and space heaters (this IS Costco!) we decided to grab a lite dinner. While there, we ran into a former colleague of mine with her husband, and we ate all our hotdogs together. At their prodding, I was telling them about Super Sized Cycles (okay, it didn't really take any prodding), and a man at the next table interrupted and said he recognized me from when I was on TV a while ago (here's the video.) We ended up talking for another half hour.

This morning there were two emails from people who wrote to tell me why they were excited about Super Sized Cycles.


One student from NY writes, "I suffer from congenital degenerative arthrosis or, also called osteoarthritis. I am almost 28 and am enrolled full time at school. I am heavy and it makes my problems worse. I have much upper body pain because the degeneration has targeted my shoulders now and I am dependent on my arms to keep me from falling out of my seat on the city buses. It will be sooooo nice to just ride to school in relative comfort and leave the buses out of my life forever." Makes me smile to know that I can help this person move beyond the limits that had been imposed.

I also received this note awesome this morning.

"Hi!
i just came across a comment you made on someones blog once upon a time,
and then went onto your website to check it out!
And I felt inspired to say I think what you are doing is fabulous!
I am a very big fan of cycling!
Weight wise I am slim but I really hate the attitudes that are sometimes
directed at overweight people.
I think it's great that you are helping people feel more comfortable
getting on a bike.
Some see cycling as something that only uber fit Lycra wearing folks do,
and everything that breaks that down, and makes cycling more accessible,
is to be applauded.
'Cos the bicycle is everyone's friend!!!"

These two notes, and my encounters last night, sum up the joy piece. How can I not love contributing to the world in such a way the people actually can see and feel instant results from what I help them get?

I am grateful. Thanks to all of you.

great ezine article

Check out this wonderful article about the fitness benefits of biking. I don't even know this writer, but I want to! She thinks just like I do--biking is the way to go. Riding your bike is the most wonderful fitness tool, and I'm glad to hear somebody else talk about it!

Speaking of talking about it, life has been VERY busy lately, and thus my written thoughts have been, ahem.... limited. Hope you're not waiting for me with baited breath.

The last of our 4 children have left home (with a bit of nudging on our part), and my husband and I decided it was time to downsize. We just spent two weeks and much money getting our house ready to go on the market, and we accomplished an amazing transformation in a minimum time. (Just don't count my new grey hairs and the fact that I haven't ridden my bike in 2 weeks.)

I'm sharing this because if anyone is looking for a beautiful 4 bedroom home in the new suburb of Burlington, VT, have we got the house for you! You can check it out here. We have NO idea where we're going. It has to be in the US and relatively near an airport hub, but those are the only requirements. PLEASE, send ideas! We tend to like a little less winter (than Vermont's 5-6 months of it), smaller cities, and a beautiful environment. Oh, and since I'm asking, it would help if there were lots of awesome bike trails around.

Today I'm getting out for a ride--it's gorgeous outside. Keep pedaling!