Hanging with great mates

I just arrived home from a five day bicycle tour (our 16^th) with my buddies in and around the Grand Isles of Vermont (even if you’re not a cyclist, it’s a delightful place to tour), and have a renewed appreciation for many things, especially my long time amigos.

We sometimes wonder how such a large group of people (there were 20 of us this year) can be so compatible. Honestly, I think it’s a bit of a harmonic convergence that so many people can get along so well with so little if any drama.

The only drama this year was the tree limb which crashed onto our campsite picnic table as we were getting ready to head out on Friday’s ride. Surely, it would have injured or killed one of us had we been sitting there. Yes, we felt fortunate.

No doubt what makes the chemistry of the group favorable is that we share many values, interests and a certain level of conditioning. Take any one of those factors out of the equation and our powerful bond would be diminished, I think.

Naturally, we think our daily rides are helping to stave off the effects of aging – which they are. But more importantly perhaps may be the social piece, for it is the bonds of friendship which may have a greater impact on long term health than time spent on a two wheeler.

Check out the following link if you want to read more about what the evidence says about this issue: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/12/well/live/having-friends-is-good-for-you.html?_r=0 Thanks to my friend Rich Boucher for passing it along to me.

In effect, what many studies seem to be showing is that our social interactions, assuming they’re positive of course, can have a very beneficial effect on our health, both physical and mental. Hey, we all knew that, but it’s nice to have it backed up by science.

What’s the takeaway today?

Keep on moving your body, anyway and anywhere you can. You will feel better and prolong your life in measurable ways.

And if you’re looking to magnify the wonderful effects of being physically active, find a like-minded friend (or many of them) to join you in play as often as you can.

Have fun today out there today, team!

Barry

Head Coach