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Post-Pandemic539For example, because bicycling primarily uses leg muscles, I wondered if it would help in reducing fat around the waist. According to some articles I read, it seemed like it would, that any exercise would burn fat anywhere in the body %u2014 to a certain extent.Lynn and I had purchased his-and-hers Schwinn ten-speed bikes in the early 70s, but had quit riding them and sold both in the early aughts. Which meant neither one of us had ridden in over 20 years. But you never forget how to ride a bike. I decided a used one would be fine, and began looking online. I discovered a place in town called the Bloomington Community Bike Project. They had non-profit status, and accepted monetary donations, as well as donated bikes, bike parts, and shop tools. Once repaired and tuned up, the donated bikes were offered for sale to pay expenses like rent and utilities. One of their popular programs was Earn-A-Bike, whereby a volunteer would donate a certain amount of time to repairing bikes for sale, then they receive one of the donated bikes to rejuvenate for themselves. Being former Industrial Arts teachers, Lynn and I both liked what they were doing. After all, teaching someone how to properly wield a wrench is always a good thing.The Bike Project was housed in a small shop near downtown, and was open for a few hours, three evenings a week, as well as Saturday afternoons. So, one Saturday, after we returned from a book sale at the Terre Haute library, we stopped by. A young man got up from working on a bicycle, and offered to help us. After a brief discussion about my needs, he pulled a bike off a wall rack, and suggested I take it for a quick spin. It had flat handlebars, which I liked, while most of the ones on the rack had drop handlebars. There was one immediate problem. Because I was out-of-shape, and somewhat stiff in the joints, I had trouble lifting my leg over the seat. But, with some difficulty, I got on, and rode a few hundred feet down Bloomington%u2019s pedestrian/bicycle trail. The bike rolled and pedaled smoothly, the gears shifted easily, and the brakes worked fine %u2014 all because some volunteer had tuned it up. It was priced at $110. When I got back, Lynn suggested trying something else while we were there, so another model came off the rack. The upper cross-