29 May 2015

I've Done It Before, But It Was Perfect Today



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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