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Workout Fairy Godfather

Fairy Godmother from Cinderella

Sounds weird but it's true. Let me tell you the story...

I have been trying to bike one hour every day and I have two routes that I chose. One route is to a park one mile from my house, bike around the park twice and then ride down various streets until I reach one full hour. The second route is to a park 4 miles from my house and back, which is about an hour long ride also. 

At the park closet to my house (the first route) I always see the park crew mowing the grass and keeping the landscape nice looking. But there is one park ranger (attendant? groundskeeper?) that I ALWAYS see while I'm out riding NO MATTER WHERE I AM HEADED TO. Even when I go to the park furtherest from my house - the park he does not work at - I see this man either on my ride there or back. Every time I have ever seen him he always waves and now that we see each other more often he has his own way of encouraging me with my workout.

For example, one day I didn't feel like riding so I walked around the park twice. Of course the man whom I always see while I workout was there, mowing the grass as usual, and waved and gave a big smile (he appears to be one of the friendliest persons on the planet). The second time I passed him he took his hands off the mower and gave me two thumbs up and said "Yeah!", commending me for the two mile accomplishment (as small as it was).

Then today I did the first route (and more) on my ride and saw the man and of course got a big smile and wave. After I had gone around the park twice and was exiting, he waved goodbye and said "You did it! Good job!". 

Unfortunately this man is always mowing whenever I see him so I have yet to have an actual conversation with him. But I like to think he is there as my workout motivator and encourager and every time I see him my smile and wave to him get a little bigger.

It's something I laugh about with my husband and that seems a little silly but having just one person rooting for you, even just a stranger, can make all the difference. And oddly enough I’ve looked forward to seeing him on my rides. It’s nice to see a familiar face and the waves and smiles lift my mood and help me forgot about the burn in my thighs as I pedal, the bugs that stick to my shirt as I ride, and sweat that drip off my face from the summer heat.