The Best Workout Ever

Angie G. - this one's for you...

Many of you know I got my first unicycle when I was ten, and taught myself to ride in the long hallways of our house and my grandparents' house. I go through phases where I still like to ride it a lot, then I'll put it away for a year or so only to come back to a rotted tire that needs to be fixed.

When I got married, the unicycle got buried in the garage and I neglected it for (gulp) over four years! Around Christmas though, I developed a strong urge to resurrect my long lost friend, give it a little TLC, and see if we were still... compatible.

We were. I could still ride, but had forgotten what a workout it could be on your legs, rear, and thighs! Man, I'm out of shape! It's going to take me awhile before I can ride around the whole neighborhood like I used to, so in order to practice and get used to it again, I had an ingenious idea...

Yes, that's me and Gideon, riding around the block with "Momma's bike," as he calls it. I thought the stroller would make it easier to ride, but I was sorely (pun intended) mistaken. Now, it's not just my lower body that gets the workout; it's my upper body too, from trying to steer the stroller and keep a wiggly toddler from venturing off into La La Land. Just riding to the park and back is quite a chore!

I thought I was getting away with riding without being noticed, but again I was wrong. My sister told me that she met a new couple at church, and in the course of conversation, Meghan learned that the couple lives on our street. "You might know my sister," Meghan said. "She lives in the corner house."

"I might!" the girl said. "Does she ride a unicycle while she pushes her baby in a stroller?"

My sister, who had not heard of my "exercise routine" and obviously did not think it "ingenious" like I did, just rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Yep. That sounds like something my sister would do..."