I’m constantly fighting a battle with my midsection, and for almost 30 years I’ve jogged two or three times a week to try to slim down. My runs aren’t long, between two and three miles along streets in my suburban subdivision. They are long enough, however, for me to feel exhilarated when they’re over. I’ll run anywhere between 25-35 minutes, and that gets my heart pumping, my blood flowing, and my endorphins dancing.

But two weeks ago, I came home from a three-mile run with a pain in my right knee. Not a severe stabbing pain, but a dull soreness that was still there the next day. And the day after that, and after that again. I’m now in the middle of my longest jogging layoff of the last few years, and I’m not sure when–or if–I’ll be taking to the roads again.

Luckily, I have my wife for inspiration. She’s been training for a 50-mile charity bike ride, and has been doing weekend rides of 20, 25, and 28 miles. It’s done wonders for her. Her weight is down, she fits into those clothes that have been sitting in the closet for years, because “someday when I lose weight” she would need them, and her endurance is way up. Maybe it’s time for me to get back on my bike. Jogging has been the exercise that seems to work best for me, but if it’s going to wear out my joints, I’ll have to rethink how I stay fit.

Have you ever tried long distance biking for exercise?