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For several weeks now, I have
broken my morning routine and not taken my 10k bike ride. Snow, cold, ice,
wind, donation pickups were all excuses.
Meanwhile the bikes, like ponies
in a corral, have sat idle waiting for a ride.
So this morning I swore to myself
this morning was time to take my ride.
The weather had been warm, but I
was still awaiting Jesus, who came yesterday afternoon.
Today there were no excuses. Even
waking up late did not prevent me from saddling up and walking up the gravel to
the grey sky. As I adjusted myself to the temperature and clearing my throat,
the rain clouds that would be with me for several days began to appear on the
horizon.
Marion glided down the hill and
over the remands of sand and salt, then a turn to starboard. Catching my
breath, I began to get into a rhythm long forgotten. After a turn back,
noticing a Cowboys banner on front of a house and thinking, “You can take that
down. That ain’t gonna happen this year.”
Up the hill I see Christmas lights
still up and wonder if the residents know this is the 21st of January and it is
a no-no in this old town to leave the past season decorations after the 20th?
It was like the guy I saw in the white suit last weekend. Are there no rules?
Turning to opposite side of the
medium to avoid a large moving truck, I first thought another family was
leaving, but was pleasant surprised when on the side of the truck was written
“Showroom Furniture”.
The pace was slower for the first
third of the venture, but I appreciated being on two wheels going around a
truck loading a portable storage unit, passing the mobile machines parked and
waiting.
I noticed a lot of police cars on
my travels. This trip passed five of Richmond’s finest parked throughout. Was
there a crime wave-taking place in my neighborhood or had house prices dropped
so public servants with free rides could buy in?
At the top of the hill, I paused
and listened for traffic. The street was lined with huge vans and trucks for
every house seemed to under some sort of construction (I can relate) or the
usual SUVs the size of small elephants. I looked left, since that is the first
lane to cross and noticed no movement. A quick look to the right and I was off.
Then a black mobile machine
appeared from behind a block of mobile metal. My mind quickly woke and
decisions were made. I pressed the pedal with determination and struggled to
quicken the pace over the hill. Luckily the driver also saw me and slowed to
let me pass.
Drifting down the other side of
the hill I thought wouldn’t it be ironic to be run over on my first outing in
over a month. I was out of practice.
Paying more attention to traffic
patterns I reached the end of my first third unscathed.
Waiting for the light to change
and the drivers to clear I noticed a hint of sunshine, but it was fleeting. My
fingers were still numb from the cold as I pushed on.
Up another hill, avoiding metal
monsters and construction workers, I passed a jogger who waved and said “Hey!
Morning!!” with a smile. I wondered why a young girl (40’s?) was doing out this
time of day.
Perhaps she was taking a break
from working at home or a single mom getting some exercise was my only answers.
It didn’t matter in a blink of an eye she was gone.
On the back of a mud covered jeeps
spare wheel cover was a black and white skull and crossed swords. “Argggh!” Oh,
to be a pirate again.
Stopping at Malvern to drink the
very cold water and survey the territory. A gray mobile carrier pulled up
behind me waiting as if I was taking up too much space to turn, so I continued.
Traffic was light from there on so
my pace quickened to my usual speed. I took deep breaths as I approached the
Wythe hill, but first I had to slide to a stop to wait for a driver to make a
decision on which direction to take.
The hill wasn’t as bad as I
thought, but I considered the pain I would feel tomorrow with a grin. An
up-shift down the hill, I was looking forward to the roller-coaster.
At the church, I watered again
then could feel my right leg press hard against the resistance, but made the
pass of the street of monuments and into my last third passage.
The hills were familiar and the
breathing on track. Marion was glad to be out and frisky on the cleared
roadways.
Before I knew it, I was done.
The sky had grown grey with the
impending weather and the air grew colder, but I was warm and energized.
Placing the Gray Ghost back on the
porch with Bianchi and Big Blue, I paused for a cup of coffee and watch the
fish swim in clear water.
Warm weather is not far off, I
thought, so I can get back into a regular pattern. Four more book cases and
boxes of scraps of old shirts, silky items, and memories to go through until I
attack the jewelry and silver.
There will always be
reconstruction, but it felt good to get some needed internal travel and mental
exercise beyond weird dreams.
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