Sunday, February 25, 2007

Ice Bike!

After a winter with almost no snow, we seem to have gotten it all in one weekend and now Ice Bike is happy!Finally something to really sink those Nokian's into though they didn't help much for the parts where the snow was over the handlebars... OK and it would have been nice to have had Stella along for the ride. Nothin' quite like chasing along with a sweet young thing like her smoothing out the trail with her shocks and I swear she has more gears than I can even count. Funny though, how you can be without someone at some point, and still know you're more together than you can remember. Yup, Ice just thinks Stella's the cat's meow, just the thing you know.

Oh, and thinking about just the thing, there's no point shoveling out more of your driveway than you need so I stopped when there was just enough room to get my vehicle out!
No point spending energy shoveling that could go into riding...

Friday, February 16, 2007

Draining the city

It's Friday and the hoards are fleeing the city. They are all there; The young lady sobbing quietly in her seat, The homey subdued without his crew but with blood on his hands (what's up with that?!) The young executive wanna be still pouring over the last Blackberry messages The grubby cyclist trying to get some warmth between ride segments The cute young couple being glared at by the $800 suit The middle aged worker, tired beyond words from the long week (maybe a long weekend ahead...) Packed like sardines in the colorful tube rumbling steel on steel until Freedom at last as they depart silent but with purpose Spreading like the waves left behind a stone Skipping across smooth water Each to their own, riding their own waves Disbursing into their lives, thinning as they go Alone together as I watch them/us all depart I am melancholy today, wrought with cold Wishing I could hear the Grinding of my chain on the gears Forward, carrying me forward on Thin rubber tubes, a small cushion in a big world A big cushion in a small life, no smaller than anyone else’s But toiling away in the gears of the corporate machine Leaves me feeling small and wanting My gears where I can choose When to shift and make progress When to brake and breathe in life's splendor When to make no progress at all and Be propelled forward for the choice It’s Friday and I have fled the city I am all here; My quiet sobbing for life’s trials My hard confidence, caged and pacing with data on my hands My inner, dying executive used-to-wanna-be no longer giving a shit about the last messages of the day My restless pistons trapped by the cold dreaming of ride segments to come The dream of my sweetie in my arms caring not who sees, judges, indignates I am a middle aged worker Tired from life’s challenges Exhilarated by life’s potential Draining the city from my psyche Draining The City

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Cold weather wimp - Inspired!

I just started a job in downtown Minneapolis last week and am riding the train, a very cool first for me. All well and good but I am really missing my bicycle commute. I don't handle the cold very well, too many frostbitten toes as a kid I guess, and I just can't keep them warm. I am, however, very heartened to see so many folks who are riding even though it's been below zero nearly every day for the past few weeks. I decided to count how many cyclists I saw but ran out of fingers every day, sometimes before I even got to downtown where the count goes up dramatically. With only one exception, cyclists have gotten on the train everyday (just in my car, I don't know about the other car!) for part of their commute. My new job will take 5 or 6 miles off my commute leaving me with only 12 or 13 miles and I am champing at the bit to get back into the routine. I can't defeat my biology but as soon as it gets up to the double digits, I gotta get back on two wheels. This time, I can add the train as part of my commute leaving me with only six miles to ride before my first option to jump on the train. My inspiration comes at the cold expense of those who never stopped riding and my thanks goes out to them!

Saturday, February 10, 2007

Things

I got things
Lots of things
Things to do this
Things to do that
Things from when I couldn’t do this
Things for when I had to do that
Things that prepared me for then
Things that reminded me of when
Things beget more things
If I just had that thing
If I could only find this thing
One more thing and I will be...
But wait,
Be what?
Why did I want to do this?
Why did I need to do that?
What did I need when I couldn’t do this?
Where was my heart when I had to do that?
How did my preparations leave me then?
Who did I think I would be when reminded of when?
When did begetting things beget me?
What if I just didn’t have that thing?
When should I stop looking for this thing?
How did I not see?
If I had one more thing,
I would just have
One more thing
And still not be