Purple Irises and Zigzag Bridge in the Japanese Garden

We went bicycling today. No big surprise there. We rode to the gardens, enjoyed walking through it, but had to race home, trying to beat the coming rain. We only managed to beat the worst of it. Anne plans on biking every day in June and so far is on track to do just that. I’ve been a bit more lackadaisical, but I’m about to get a lot more serious. Tomorrow, the company’s annual fitness campaign kicks off. Entitled, On the Move, every employee is asked to sign up for it. We join in teams, so we can monitor, compete with and cajole each other. Everyone is issued a pedometer, so we can count our steps. Steps count, but they are really just a euphemism for calories.

The campaign’s website allows one to daily record your steps, but there are a wide range of other physical activities that can be recorded and converted into extra steps. Naturally, there is bicycling, but there are so many other activities too. One can record extra steps for just mowing the lawn. There is even a category for operating a rider mower. There is a category for recording almost any sort of physical activity save one. That one being sex. This makes perfect sense if you think about it. The company’s workforce is aging and frankly many of my colleagues are not very fit. Poor fitness translates to increased healthcare costs, helping to reduce which is the fundamental goal of this campaign. Exercise can help to mitigate these increased costs, by promoting healthier living. While, increased sexual activity can lead to increased healthcare costs from pregnancy. Besides who would be honest about reporting it anyway?

Spiked Speedwell