A note to middle-aged amateur cyclists out there: Arzie "Cagle" Nabors thinks you're weak.

He is no hard-core cyclist who likes to ride in style -- a $3,000 road bike, a bright-colored jersey, spandex shorts and Velcro shoes. He has none of that. Nor is he a retired sprinter.

But on his modest three-wheeler, he does cover six miles a day, 42 miles a week and 2,000 miles a year -- consistently over the last three years. That may not seem much for road bike hobbyists who can cover long distance.

But consider this: Nabors is 89 years old and he is still at it.

Laid back, friendly and young at heart, Nabors gets on the bike that his son bought him three years ago every morning after breakfast, makes his usual six-mile loop to enjoy his daily dose of exercise and, moreover, loves talking about it. Have you seen a man who leisurely cycles along north 11th Avenue toward Flint Avenue and around Douty Street and Fargo Avenue on his blue bike marked with a little American flag? That's him.

"I've always been very active," Nabors said. "I had an old-fashioned lot here in town. It was a big backyard, and I worked on my garden all the time. I grew up on a farm as a boy, and we always had too much going on so we didn't have to worry about physical activities ... Today I cycle. I'm a young 89. I think I am. I really do."

The man is not without health problems, but Nabors' forward approach to coping with them -- in his case, through cycling -- is testimony that it's never too late to exercise in order to maintain your quality of life.

Nabors was born and raised in Oklahoma. In 1935, when he was 15, his family migrated to the Central Valley to escape the Dust Bowl. As he grew up, he did what most "Okies" did: he farmed. The young Nabors ran a small dairy and grew raw crops in the Cathuthers area, but he gave up his farming operations after only four years because his wife, Hazel, developed asthma, he said.

The couple then moved to Vallejo, Nabors taking a job with the Federal Transit Administration. Eventually, he was transferred to the Lemoore Naval Air Station in 1961, and they moved back to the area. Nabors retired in 1975 after 29 years of working at a federal government job.

After his wife passed away in 1997, he tried living by himself for a few years, then decided to join the Remington community four years ago.

That's around the time Nabors, who insists he had no health problems all his life, began feeling signs of deteriorating health, such as feet swelling.

Nabors was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, which he said was a "wake-up call" to begin changing his lifestyle.

"One day my doctor said I was Type 2 diabetic. I didn't know that I was, but I knew something was bothering me," Nabors said.

Although he never suffered a major health problem, Nabors admits he was overweight. Five foot-ten inches tall, Nabors said he weighed 260 pounds before he began his exercises.

Already blind in one eye (Nabor says he lost his right eyesight during his childhood after a mule kicked him in the eye), Nabors wasn't about to let the disease take away his eyesight, let alone risk having to get his limbs amputated.

So he began cycling as a way to shed a few pounds and stay active, while he maintained a good diet and took medications to take control of his diabetes.

Today, he weighs 208 pounds and has no diabetes -- thanks to his daily exercise regimen.

"I feel like my bicycle has contributed an enormous amount to my being as healthy as I am at 89 years of age," Nabors said.

Coreen Campos, activity director at The Remington, nods her head in satisfaction, her eyes shining with excitement.

"Can I add something?" Campos asked, jumping into the conversation. "I've been working here for a year, and I was going through some old pictures. I cannot believe how much weight he has lost since he's been riding. It's amazing how different he looks (between) before and after. It's unbelievable."

Nabors is one of three people at The Remington, including two managers, who cycle regularly to stay in shape.

Bijan Azar, a manager, rides on a cruiser bike 15-20 miles a day "just for the fun of it" and for his heart health.

Azar, 61, says Nabors has been a good influence on him.

"I really admire him for his perseverance at his age," Azar said.. "He's lost so much weight, and he's doing it on a consistent basis."

In a lot of ways, Nabors fit the profile of many in this community, which has the highest diabetes death rate in the entire state.

That's why Kings County released this year's health status report with a strong message to encourage the residents to start making lifestyle changes to reap the benefits of an improved quality of life. Nabors has done just that.

Dr. Michael Mac Lean, Kings County's health officer, called Nabors' experience a "perfect example of what that kind of (lifestyle) change does to people."

With diabetes being a serious problem in Kings County, Mac Lean explained that metabolic syndrome characterized by the body's resistance to insulin promoted by abdominal obesity, often causes diabetes and heart disease. But the risk factors, such as high blood sugar and high blood pressure, can be offset by eating right and exercising, he said.

"What we know is exactly what happened with this 89-year-old person: If you really change your lifestyle, all of these abnormalities go away," Mac Lean said. "The take-home lesson is that it's never too late to start it."

But it's a lesson for people of all ages, not just older adults.

"This notion of eat right and exercise sounds like something your grandma might have told you -- general good advice," he said. "I don't think people realize the power of that recommendation ... You can change what your destiny is. And the younger you are, the more benefit you get out of it."

Nabors seems to have figured that out.

"If they just lounge around not doing anything, they're going to pay for it later on," Nabors said. "I think being active helps stabilize your thinking and your health and everything else that's involved. It comes from taking good care of yourself mentally and physically."

The reporter can be reached at 583-2429.

(June 28, 2009)