Yup, the racing bike, I figured, was an expensive one (and for the life of me, I can't remember the make and model) ... So, what I did after getting it was that I hauled it up three floors to my mother's apartment and chained it to the stairwell's, erm ... gosh, what do you call it? Anyway, I had it chained to the metal bars 'coz I didn't want to get it stolen ... And it stayed there for longest time until one day, my sister-in-law just showed up and took back the bike, giving some excuse that my nephew needed it for something something, whereas in my heart, I knew for sure that it was my mother's plan to get rid of the bike ... Yes, my dearest mother ... But, it's a good thing they took back the bike 'coz I was just too damn lazy to haul it up and down three floors every time I needed to go and exercise ...
More than two years ago, I had a gym membership ... I had been a member since November 2011 until April 2014 ... But, I cancelled it because I was at the point of quitting my job ... Then I had a second relapse and didn't work for a while ... I started gaining weight like crazy ... Every time I went to the psychiatric clinic at the government hospital where I get my treatment, they checked my blood pressure and weight ... Blood pressure okay, but my weight just went up and up ... I blamed it on the medication I was on at the time, which was olanzapine and the fact that I wasn't exercising ... So, I asked the doctor to switch me to risperidone ... At first I was taking 1mg pills, but the side effects bothered me ... As usual, stiffness in the extremities so much so that my legs were shaking every time I stood for a while, especially if I was doing some kind of work while standing up, and also I couldn't brush my teeth properly ... So, I asked the doctor whether I could decrease the dosage ... So, now, I'm on half a milligramme of risperidone, thus the side effects are somewhat lessened ... But my weight stalled at its heaviest ever ...
I think I wrote somewhere on this blog that my weight has yo-yoed in the last 25 to 27 years ... I have become concerned because now that I'm in my early forties, I really need to take care of my body ... And that's when I decided I should just wear my Adidas sport shoes and start running on the road like I did several years ago, before I subscribed for a gym membership ... Okay, here's where the challenge lies ... I have gotten so used to running on a treadmill that I don't like running on the road anymore ... It simply is not as satisfying as running on the treadmill where I could see how many kilometres I've run and how long I have been running ... I could simply get one of those gadgets that track my running progress, but I'm now kind of sick and tired of buying electronic stuff ...
I just know that I have to get healthy, because I see my mother and how she struggles to go up three floors, and complains about the aches and pains that her body is suffering from ... My mother hardly exercises, and she had a sedentary work life prior to her retirement ... No, I don't want to end up like my mother ... I may have taken on some of her characteristics, like stubbornness and impatience, but I swear in Allah's name that I would try to take care of my body to the best of my ability ... I'm not aiming so much at losing weight as I am towards just getting my body to work some of its muscles and get my heart rate up ...
So, I bought this folding bicycle ... I got a brand new bike at a really dirt cheap price ... Let's just say it's because I bought it using points that I have accumulated as a staff of this e-commerce start-up I currently work at ... So, how was my first experience riding it?
Firstly, I had to get air into the wheels, so I wheeled the bike all the way to the nearest bike shop ... Then I rode it back to my place ... Let's just say that I felt the bike was a bit unstable, and I absolutely hate the disc brakes ... Every time I went down a rather steep decline, I braked as much as I could, but the disc brakes kept making this utterly annoying noise every time I braked ... I would have much preferred rim brakes ... But, I can't be choosy 'coz I did buy the bike at a really dirt cheap price ...
Then I rode my bike on one early Sunday morning ... The sun was not out yet, and the air was cool ... Perfect time for an exercise ... I just rode around my immediate neighbourhood, trying to get my leg muscles to work ... The area of my neighbourhood is rather hilly, hence sloping roads ... I believe there is one sloping road which is at least a 15-degree incline ... Boy, I struggled with that incline by stopping in the middle of it at least a couple of times ... I am really out of shape, I thought ...
But, this is just the start of what I would like to call my Getting Healthy Adventure ... I'll keep riding at least once week in my immediate neighbourhood and get used to that 15-degree incline to a point where it will be a breeze when I cycle up it ... Then I will start venturing out of my immediate neighbourhood and ride longer into other areas near my neighbourhood ... I miss riding a scooter, so I'm trying to ease my rather fixed mind (READ: Stubborn) to slowly accept the fact that my body needs to work, at the same time I want it to be fun, so I will explore more and more areas in the darkness of near daylight ... With the cool wind lapping at my face, I'm hoping it will be as good as that scooter adventure I had in Langkawi a few years ago ...
I will post more updates on my cycling adventure in the near future, and I'll add some other supposedly healthy lifestyle-related stories ...
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