I've long felt that one of the nicest ways to end a long bike ride is with a boat ride. That's one of the reasons I pedal across the George Washington Bridge, and down the Jersey Palisades, Jersey City and Bayonne to Staten Island, where I hop on the ferry.
When I first started to ride, I was cursing myself for not getting on my bike until well into the afternoon. But the weather had turned from briskly to pleasantly cool, and rays of sunshine were peeking through clouds that blanketed the sky but didn't really threaten rain. The last few miles of my bike ride, and the one on the ferry, turned into a light show:
If you're younger than I am, you may not have heard of him. But he may be, at least indirectly, one of the reasons you're on your bike now.
Dr. Paul Dudley White became President Dwight D. Eisenhower's personal physician after the Commander-In-Chief suffered a heart attack late in his first term. At that time, few American adults rode bicycles, and the economy and landscape of the Unites States were increasingly shaped by the automobile.
Today medical authorities cite Dr. White as the founder of preventative cardiology. As a young doctor, he co-authored, along with Dr. Roger I. Lee, his first scientific paper. It was about the coagulation of blood. Drs. White and Lee would develop a method, still in use today, for calculating the speed of blood coagulation. Their studies in this area were very important in helping to understand the causes of heart disease.
He identified, or helped to identify, various heart and heartbeat irregularities for which doctors routinely test today. Another result of his work was his establishing links between lifestyle and heart health. At a time when part of the "American Dream" meant becoming more sedentary, he encouraged people to exercise; as convenience and "junk" foods were becoming more widely available, he promoted diets based mainly on lean meat, fruits and vegetables and whole grains.
Dr. White was also instrumental in having some of the first bike lanes built in American cities since the turn of the 20th Century. Here he is, riding with Chicago's then-Mayor Richard Daley at the opening of that city's first lane:
To all of you who are mothers--and those of you who love yours, or someone who was one to you--Happy Mother's Day.
My mom is great. But she hates being photographed, and I've been able to take the few photos I have of her only by swearing I would never share them. Since I do believe in honoring my mother and father (which is not always the same as obeying them), you will not see her photo on my blogs. However, I'll give you the next best thing--to me, anyway. Here's a photo of a mom riding with her kid in tow:
It must have had to do with the fact that today was an absolutely perfect mid-spring day. Somehow I was feeling proud, if not invincible, the way I did when I rode in my youth. Of course, I can't ride as far or long or fast as I did in those days, but I was feeling pretty good and rather proud of myself. Perhaps it had something to do with seeing this
He just knew he looked good against that bridge and sky. Of course, it wasn't enough for him to make me notice that.
That bird simply knew the bridges spanned a river, but his wings spanned so much more. Well, that's what he seemed to believe, anyway.
Who am I to argue?
On my bicycle, I've raced, toured, commuted and delivered pizzas, books, payroll checks, blueprints, contracts, machine parts and a few packages with "don't ask don't tell" policies, if you know what I mean.
I've thumped along potholed city streets, rumbled down rocky hills, rolled along county roads and routes departmantles past fields, castles, cathedrals and through forests and villages. I've woven my way through pacelines and drafted riders I would pass and others who would ride in races, and in places, I have never seen. I've cycled over ice and through fire. (I'm not making that up!) I've ridden alone, with friends, with lovers and after breakups. And I've pedalled away from a person or two.
On the other hand, I've never done BMX, bicycle polo or paintball on bicycles. And I've never ridden a high-wheeler, although I sometimes think I'd like to. After all, my cycling ancestors did so. They include Auguste Rodin, H.G. Wells and Mark Twain, who wrote an incomparable account of the experience.
He tamed his bike the way he tamed just about everything else: with his wit and irony. Really, I don't see how a cyclist can not develop at least a little bit of either quality.
