I biked 22 miles on Friday. Not amazing to everyone, because you'd think I had been doing such things for a while, as no one just lopes around on her bike and then one day bikes 22 miles, out of the blue. But I did!

 There's something in the air in Florida. Ok, the roads are flat. While my feat may be small, the truth is that five years ago, becoming a semi-serious road cyclist, a diligent one, would not have occurred to me. So what possessed me to do so now, as opposed to then?

 I needed a change. It's that simple. I also needed to exercise more. But there was something more pressing. I just couldn't do the same thing anymore. I couldn't take it. I think everyone can relate to this, the overwhelming urge to shake your life up. I'm not a person who does ridiculous, or dangerous, or reckless, or completely bizarre things to jolt myself from routine. I really am a square, a dork. I've never done a drug, never smoked a cigarette, never had my stomach pumped, never woke up next to a coyote ugly and did a walk of shame.I don't take my clothes off in public, I don't flash random strangers, I never prank called anyone, never toilet papered a house. Am I boring? That's one way to put it. My rebellion, so to speak, is never what other people do. In this case, it was constructive. I never really exercised. Now I do. My changes tend to be constructive. And the few times they have been destructive, I am proud to say I never took anyone down with me.

A lot of change is going on right now. But isn't it always? Friends are backpacking, sisters and cousins are moving, family members are getting sick, people are getting pets, I am bicycling long distances.  

I don't know if people truly change, or if they stay the same. A convincing argument can be made either way. I never knew I could bike 22 miles. If I and me-five-years-ago met in the street, we probably wouldn't recognize each other. What would we talk about? All I know is that I still feel like me. Only now, I bike.