Today I felt truly privileged. I had the day off, the day was
all-but-perfect for riding and I had a choice of great bikes to ride. I picked what I believe is the best of them and
it felt absolutely perfect.
After the heat, haze, humidity and intermittent
rain of the past couple of days, this one brought a nearly cloudless sky and
just enough wind to give me a bit of a challenge on the way out and to make me
feel as if I’d been flying on my way home.
The funny thing was that I made almost exactly the
same time in both directions. To be
fair, I took a slightly longer route home to avoid the traffic that was
building when I was about an hour’s ride from my place. And I stopped to pick up a platter from the
King of Falafel and Shawarma. Their food
is always great but even better at the end of a ride.
Really, I couldn’t have planned this any
better. I rode Arielle, my custom
Mercian Audax, with a wheel Hal Ruzal of Bicycle Habitat just built for
me. The ride was one I’ve done hundreds
of times before—to Point Lookout and back.
Still, it felt cathartic, transformative and all sorts of other
superlatives. I feel like I’m no longer
in the throes of my winter layoff. In
fact, this ride felt better, physically and emotionally, than any I’ve taken in
a few years, at least.
I cried, laughed, let out shrieks, sang and had
moments—perhaps long ones—of Zen-like calm.
I don’t know why this ride went as it did, but I am happy with it. If I do say so myself, I know Arielle’s
looking great. And somehow I feel that I
just felt more “right” on a bike than I have in a while.
Have you ever taken a ride you’ve taken many times
before but felt it, and you, transformed?
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