Choose the bike path instead of aBig Mac on the couchThere’s been significant grumbling in the past year about the wisdom of spending nearly $1 million on Rock County’s bike path during a time of state and local budget crisis.I would argue it’s money well-spent for a number of reasons, but anyone in the North Blue Mound Avenue area Tuesday night could see that the path is at least seeing plenty of use.It was a gorgeous, sunny evening with a hint of fall in the crisp, cool air.It made me smile to see a steady stream of traffic on the Blue Mound Trail, as it’s called. There were bicycles, tricycles, training wheels, inline skates, strollers and plenty of sneakers.The point of the bike path is purely recreational, and state and local governments have long seen community parks and recreation as an obligation worth funding.Outside of its recreational value, though, the path could be saving money for the state through the indirect benefit of promoting healthier lifestyles.It’s no secret that Americans are unhealthier than ever, with smoking and obesity sharing most of the blame for diseases and conditions that are killing us and driving up health care costs.I’ve often wished for laws against both smoking and fast food, since both are costing the entire nation a lot of money.Unfortunately, like most social problems, we can’t legislate them away, but we can approach them on an individual basis and work to "improve our own little corners of the universe."In Rock County’s case, if Tuesday was any indication, the bike path appears to be nurturing healthy behaviors among our own residents.We can’t impose restrictions on Big Macs and too much time on the couch, but we can all take steps to improve our own health – and maybe even inspire one or two others around us.Do we really need a million-dollar bike path to be healthy?No.We can all run laps around our back yards, if we’re really bent on healthy living.But there’s something very inviting about a long, smooth path winding away from the city to a quieter place in the country.If that kind of solitude doesn’t clear our arteries, it will at least calm our nerves. … And less stress, as we all know, leads to better health.On the other hand, there’s also something socially inviting about a wide, paved trail that accommodates a few walkers and strollers at a time.It’s a fun place to see people who I’d rarely cross paths with otherwise, and there’s nothing like a lively conversation to make exercise seem fun and the miles fly by quickly.Keep up the good work, all you on wheels, skates and sneakers. If we can’t affect the national health averages, at least individually, we’ll reap the benefits.