Respect is due
Quite often I find myself in conversations which go along the lines:
Person: “Oh, so you run/cycle do you?”
Simon : “Yes, I enjoy cycling and running”
Person: “I’d love to do more but I don’t have the time/energy/am too old/ache a bit” (delete as appropriate).
I don’t really want to engage in these chats as nobody needs to justify their lifestyle choices to me, however mildly cathartic it is for them. Somehow, being an active person seems to encourage on the spot therapy and reluctant off the cuff exercise schedules.
This is particularly the case when you see video such as the one below. It’s been popping around Youtube for a little bit, but if you haven’t seen it already, prepare yourself to be impressed by Dexter Benjamin, a one legged (yes, one legged) messenger on the mean streets of New York. In the words of just about everyone younger than me – ‘Respect’. The next time I have a conversation like the one above, I’ll forward the link to this clip and offer “an inspirational video that is guaranteed to motivate”. Thanks to Matt Townsend for both the link and for reminding me that I should ride at every single bloody opportunity and take absolutely nothing for granted (well he sent me the link, and the other bits sort of followed 
).
See also the Inclusive Cycling Forum, who represent some amputees: http://inclusivecyclingforum.org.uk/