Encouragement

From my blog:

http://historian2wheels.blogspot.com...7-tour-de.html

"Only a true friend could abuse me in such a manner, and Dennis is
such a friend. We first met at the gym more than a year ago. I had
been exercising for a month or so, and was 360 pounds. I was
determined to succeed at losing weight, since I knew this might be my
last chance to reclaim my life. Despite my determination, I was often
discouraged. Exercise is as tough as learning to ride a bike if you've
never exercised before. And no fat person enjoys being looked at as if
they were a freak, and this sometimes happened at the gym.

"Although I didn't see him often, when I did Dennis was very
encouraging to me, in a casual you-can-do-this-but-you're-gonna-hafta-
because-I'm-not-pushing-you manner. Dennis himself had dropped nearly
80 pounds through hard work, and he knew as well as anyone that the
only person who could make me lose the weight was me. As I became more
confident and my weight loss increased I would often use the
elliptical trainer next to his and we'd talk for a half hour or so.
Because he was enthusiastic about his own progress, it was easy to be
enthusiastic about mine. He'd show me photos in the fitness magazines
he was reading. "Look, there's you! And here you are again. This
magazine is filled with photos of you!" Sometimes he'd pass by a
machine I was using and say "Go Neil go!"

"Well, Neil is going now, 137 pounds lighter, and I was going
yesterday on the Perkiomen Trail. As we rode on I asked Dennis if he
ever thought he'd see me on a bike. I don't recall the answer, or if
he gave an answer. The important matter is that I AM on a bike. With
some help from friends like Dennis."