Get rid of Thanksgiving guilt with a bike ride

VIENNA, Va. - Feeling a twinge of guilt about that second helping of stuffing? Wishing you could dive in to the mashed potatoes and gravy without worrying about your waistline?

Put this on your calendar for next Thanksgiving: the Annual Guilt Reduction Ride with organizer, John Brunow.

"This is a pre-emptive strike to keep you from feeling guilty," Brunow says.

The morning starts outside Brunow's bikes@vienna shop, where riders gather for some hot cider, a laugh, and fellowship before taking off on a 20-mile bike ride.

"It's a good way to start being grateful. Grateful that I can even ride a bicycle...that we have friends to ride with, and grateful that we're going to be eating a huge meal later, so we want to burn off as many calories as we can," said Gloria Eaker, who pulled up with her recumbent bike.

Does the Guilt Reduction plan work?

Rider A.J. Oskuie is emphatic.

"Definitely! Definitely! This is gonna be a good ride today and I'll knock it out, and then it's turkey day, so, I'm gonna have fun!"

David Helfgott says getting out of bed on a damp, foggy morning was a challenge.

"I'd already told everybody I was doing it...I didn't have a good enough excuse to bail out, the guilt was already working."

But the payoff?

"I think I'm gonna feel a little less guilty when I walk up to the table for the third or fourth time and get more green bean casserole," Helfgott says.

Oskuie's got a slightly different agenda.

"Let's see, my mom makes pretty wicked mashed potatoes -- that's my favorite. And creamed corn."

And there's another reason to feel good. Each rider brings canned goods or non-perishable foods for CHO, " Community Helping Others," a local charity.

After checking their bikes, donning helmets, and going over the bike route --most of it on the Washington and Old Dominion Trail -- the group takes off with a wave and a wish for a "Happy Thanksgiving!"

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