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'The Thought of Exercise Made Me Cringe'

by Pete Rangel

I am part of a growing number of Latinos who struggle with weight problems. Because of my weight, I have had problems with my health.

My story begins in Los Angeles. Like others in my community, I had poor dietary habits and led a relatively inactive life.

I was a habitual driver and never walked anywhere, opting instead to drive – even to the market two blocks away. As a student I worked odd hours and ate anything, anytime of the day.

All of this behavior contributed to my being overweight. A routine physical then revealed that I had severe high blood pressure. The doctor was alarmed because of my age and the severity of my condition; and they prescribed medication, dieting and exercise.

Pete Rangel

I was willing to watch what I ate and take the medication, but the thought of exercise made me cringe. I felt like my only choice was to join a gym. But because of the expense and my insecurities, I did nothing.

Things started to change a year later when I moved to Chicago. I arrived without a car and I started to walk everywhere. I never thought of walking as exercise; but I began to recognize that it made me feel a little better.

Still, there was no major change in my condition.

But I did notice during my walks that a lot of people in Chicago were riding bicycles, including some of my co-workers. I began to consider the possibility of getting a bicycle; but for some reason I hesitated.

My bicycling co-workers were aware of my health problems and they started encouraging me to get a bike. At last, one of them gave me a bike.

It took a bit of time before I felt comfortable riding in the city. But once I did, I was hooked. I saved up and bought a used bike that worked better. I started riding everywhere.

I started to feel better. I had more energy and I started to lose weight.
I went for a check-up five months after I began bicycling and my blood pressure had returned to normal. Both the doctor and I credit my recovery to the combination of better diet and being physically active.

I still have to work at keeping healthy, at making sure that my diet is balanced. This is hard for me, and I still fluctuate in weight. But for me, bicycling was the tool I needed to get active: It was low-impact. It could be a solitary as well as a group activity. And it was fun.

Bicycling didn't feel like as much work as other forms of exercise.

Now I am a daily commuter, using my bike for everything. I started to work for Chicagoland Bicycle Federation as a community organizer about a year ago; and now I’m using my experience to encourage others in my community to get active and get on bikes.

Pete Rangel is a community liaison for the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation