JUST RIDING ALONG

Yes, I remember my first bike. A red Schwinn Bantam with training wheels and a red and white saddle. It was my first brand new bike, and the last new bike until the mountain bike I bought myself as an adult.

I can now appreciate that my parents must have worked many overtime hours for that bike. “Playing bikes” was a way to get outside, explore and be with friends. Despite strict restrictions on where I could ride, and a “streetlights on” curfew, it was freedom.

In medical school, biking became a way to ride beside my (now) wife Nell as she ran along the Charles River in Boston. In the early days of our relationship, that was how I got in shape, rode off the stress of medical school and added precious time together. Moving to California for residency made me into a cyclist. We lived a mile from the hospital—commuting by bike just made sense. But the route to work was downhill and getting home after a tough call night made me question the decision. On weekends and post-call afternoons, I’d be in Tilden Park or on Mt. Tam exploring with friends. We talked through a lot of tough cases and residency challenges while navigating the rocky trails.

Residency is also when I first tried road biking. It’s a bit of foreshadowing that my first century ride was the Waves to Wine fundraiser for MS. On a borrowed bike two sizes too small, I rode 100 miles on Saturday, 50 miles on Sunday and joined the confederacy of cyclists who ride for donations. Anyone who has received an email from me in the last 10 years knows that I will pedal if you will support the cause. I’ve ridden the coast of California for Best Buddies, across Massachusetts in the Pan-Mass Challenge, up Mount Tam for World Bicycle Relief, around Napa for ALS, through Sonoma for at-risk youth and others that I no longer remember, at least not until I come across that old t-shirt or jersey in the drawer.

After residency, I moved to Shiprock, NM to work on the Navajo Nation. Mountain biking and other outdoor pursuits were a way to explore the area and connect with others who had moved there to work on the reservation. Many miles on the trails throughout the Four Corners in Moab, Telluride, Sedona, Durango, Shiprock and Farmington helped nurture relationships that are still strong over 20 years later. Along with a good friend from the local 4H, we held bike repair days at the local Boys and Girls Club and started a Trips for Kids

Nelson Branco, MD, FAAP

group. We lubed, adjusted and fixed flats, then sent kids home with a new helmet and a way to get out and have fun in a healthy way. The kids who joined Trips for Kids rode donated mountain bikes around Shiprock and the Four Corners area with adults from the local community.

Cycling has, if anything, become even more part of my life in the 20+ years since returning to California. I’ve introduced my kids to biking, traveled to Oregon, Utah and Colorado to ride with them in beautiful places and am pleased that they use bikes to get around in college. I have a group who I ride with regularly, several of whom are fellow physicians and colleagues, and all of them good friends who challenge and support me when I need someone to help me burn off stress, think through a problem, stay in shape or improve my riding. I logged many #COVIDmiles during the pandemic—initially solo, then in small groups wearing face protection, and eventually back to our normal rotating cast of characters. The COVID quarantine was challenging for all, but I found silver linings—the weeks when all of my kids were home and we got to spend time together as a family, the connection to my colleagues and practice staff as we learned about this virus and navigated repeated new challenges, and extra miles on the bike.

Cycling has always been about more than fitness, speed and gear—though I care about all of those things as well. It’s a hobby that has connected me to others, including some of my closest friends. It provides a way to relieve stress and think through problems and it’s given me a reason to travel and spend time outside in beautiful places. As we focus on wellness and work-life harmony, it’s clear to me that my family, my connections to colleagues through boards, committees and the AAP and SFMMS, and cycling are all methods that I use to manage my own wellness. I’m grateful for all of it. Let me know if you want to get out for a ride and talk about it sometime.

Nelson Branco, MD, FAAP is a primary care pediatrician at Tamalpais Pediatrics and on staff at MarinHealth Medical Center. In addition to clinical practice, he is a managing partner at Tamalpais Pediatrics, the president of the American Academy of Pediatrics California Chapter 1, the Pediatric Medical Director for Meritage Medical Network, and the incoming board chair at the Marin Community Clinics.