azfiddle
09-11-2015, 10:14 AM
This just seemed like a good place to share something that has is bright spot in my life these days.
My 25 year old son has had a lot of ups and downs. He has some attention issues and suffers from mild depression. He wasn't able to succeed at college at age 18, and tried and withdrew two semesters in a row. Long story short, getting a dog really helped turn him around, and redirected him into getting a job at Petsmart. He is intelligent and hard-working and has gotten a lot of success and confidence over the last few years, and was able to move out last year.
He had a commuter bike, which was stolen. He hadn't really been riding it much, but wanted to get a new commuter. We helped him upgrade to a Fuji Absolute flat bar road bike and suddenly he is riding to work a couple of times a week (about 3 1/2 miles) and doing recreational rides. He calls me up to ask about routes, and tells me what happened on the rides, and asks me all kinds of things. Of course, my husband and I are doing everything to support his interest, especially knowing how exercise can help reduce depression.
He has mentioned a goal of doing an unsupported bike tour (4-5 days) in the spring, and has increased his mileage to about 20 miles.
I was looking on craigslist for used bike rack for his car, and was intrigued by an ad for an older Novara Randonee at a really good price - my husband had the day off and went to look at it. He just texted me a picture of the bike on our bike rack. We're going to get it fixed up with panniers for his big holiday gift this year. I just feel very happy about it!
My 25 year old son has had a lot of ups and downs. He has some attention issues and suffers from mild depression. He wasn't able to succeed at college at age 18, and tried and withdrew two semesters in a row. Long story short, getting a dog really helped turn him around, and redirected him into getting a job at Petsmart. He is intelligent and hard-working and has gotten a lot of success and confidence over the last few years, and was able to move out last year.
He had a commuter bike, which was stolen. He hadn't really been riding it much, but wanted to get a new commuter. We helped him upgrade to a Fuji Absolute flat bar road bike and suddenly he is riding to work a couple of times a week (about 3 1/2 miles) and doing recreational rides. He calls me up to ask about routes, and tells me what happened on the rides, and asks me all kinds of things. Of course, my husband and I are doing everything to support his interest, especially knowing how exercise can help reduce depression.
He has mentioned a goal of doing an unsupported bike tour (4-5 days) in the spring, and has increased his mileage to about 20 miles.
I was looking on craigslist for used bike rack for his car, and was intrigued by an ad for an older Novara Randonee at a really good price - my husband had the day off and went to look at it. He just texted me a picture of the bike on our bike rack. We're going to get it fixed up with panniers for his big holiday gift this year. I just feel very happy about it!