Hmm.. I think I have this part down. Always goes with biking.
This might become 30 days of treats.
I sat down with my blue bicycle today and explained that what was experienced today would be repeated for the next 29 days. I was met with extreme skepticism.
Oh well…
This is me riding you. See?
I am off on the grand adventure. Please send encouragement.
I was reading tonight in Robert Hurst’s book “The Cyclist’s Manifesto” in the section , Reasons to Ride and the first essay The Flying Machine caught my attention. It told about the Wright Brothers love of cycling and how their love led them to open a bicycle shop.
The paragraph that grabbed my attention was one compared riding a bicycle to flying.
”At the risk of sounding absurd, riding a bike is a bit like flying. Diving into a turn on a bicycle provides a delightful floating sensation. The body is hurtling through the air, suspended above the ground on a minimal framework of steel and wheels. Floating on air, or at least, air -filled tires The machine itself, if it is a lightweight bicycle, accounts for a small portion of the total weight of the bicycle rider system. The vehicle is made up mostly of rider, who leans into a turn as would a bird.”
- The Cyclist’s Manifesto
It made me reflect on my ride today and the amazing feeling of lightness and floating I had, and also of many pictures I have recently taken that have captured movement. These pictures sum up something I love very much when cycling. That feeling of movement, of zooming along and suddenly you notice the blur. I love images like that. Ones that happen often when I find myself taking a photo as I am moving. Well, anyway…
Here are a few.
A few days a go I was listening to one of my favorite Pat Metheny songs,
The Truth Will Always Be,
and I realized how much it resonated with being on my bicycle. So, I sat down and pulled together video images I have collected on my bicycles.
The first is of my grandfather placing me on a tricycle. It was the first time my feet touched pedals and there were his hands placing my feet on. Wow, that hit me on deep emotional level. A time to young for memory.
Next, pedaling around and around in front of my chldhood home, the first moments without training wheels. Again, pretty faded memories, but incredible sweet footage.
But, to pedal… and pedal… and pedal…
That, is forever imprinted on my brain.
Winter Ride?
Black and White/Yin and Yang
Where is our snow? Over the weekend I enjoyed a couple of very enjoyable, sunny rides. Surrounded by the colors of brown and gray with an overhead, brilliant blue sky. I longingly wished for some white. A snowy world that hides the dullness. I am not complaining here. I sure love riding this much in February without slipping and crashing and without losing a few extremities due to extreme cold.
I miss my white world so much that I thought I would take you on a bit of a trip of my weekend in black and white. Best way to feed my desire I guess.
Lake of the Isles skaters.
It is winter here. Proof exists in the presence of ice all over the place on lakes and shaded sidewalks and roads. You never know when a patch will pop up. Icy puddles that melt with the sunlight of the day and refreeze at night are easy to find as well. Winter like activities still go on. Skaters of all ages were out on Lake of the Isles Saturday.
Snow or Gravel?
I like this picture. Looks like it could be some snowy ground but it is gravel under my wheel. This excites me for two reasons. First, I fake us all out with my fake snow picture and second this makes me remember that I just saw my entry for the Almanzo 100 gravel race this spring was accepted. Woohoo!
February river...What, no ice??
Looks like it could be a balmy summer day, right? Nope, February. Only ice was tight against the shore.
Riverbank ice.
However, just behind my bike under the Hennepin Ave. bridge there was lots of nice ice.
Ghost Bike
Do you have these where you live? So sad, always. I pass this one on River Road all the time.
Bike meets Art
I do try to get my Blue bike to have a wide range of experiences. One of our favorite places is the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. This horse looks cold, don’t you think?
Yes, the cherry is red.
The iconic piece in the Garden is the Spoon with Cherry bridge. Of course it is red.
Freewheel Bike on the Greenway
We made a quick stop here in front of Freewheel Bike because we noticed the letter B for Blue right in the window. Look closely, right above the blue bicycle. A perfect shadow.
B
See what we mean?
Oh boy…just looked outside, it’s snowing.
You asked for it.
Pedaling to school, to go teach, is one of my favorite things. Leaving the house at 7:45am on an early February morning on my blue Specialized Allez is quite the treat. Checking the temp… 20s, putting on layers, drinking the last sips of coffee and then out to the garage to get my blue bicycle. I wonder how many times I pedal on a trip? How many for 10 miles? How many in 100? 1,000? 10,000???
I don’t wonder too long, just pedal. And pedal, pedal, pedal…
… I notice…
The sun rising, soft voices of birds, puddles of water turned to ice…
… I smell…
Ahhh, bacon coming from Al’s Breakfast in Dinkytown. What a treat to ride through that sensual cloud of bacon fragrance.
… I wonder…
How does that bike defy gravity like that?
And I pedal…pedal…pedal…
Along roads. Along pathways.
Along the Mississippi River with ice only along it’s banks. Today chunks were breaking loose and floating along downstream.
Finally I reach school. Stop pedaling. Pile my layers.
The day was sweet. My students went home. I layered again, less this time.
Then began to pedal…pedal…pedal…
The sun was going down.
The moon was rising.
And on and on I went.
Pedal… pedal… pedal…
And very close to home I pedaled the 10,000 mile on that blue bicycle.
I wonder how many pedal turns that was?
