Longing for the Bike
I was sitting on the bus this morning watching the traffic signal at the intersection ahead of us change from red to green and back again six times before we moved an inch. I was thinking about how I wished I was riding a bicycle down the lakefront path freezing my ass off and feeling alive.
Cycling in the winter sounds harsh to many people, but the big challenge sometimes can be trying not to overheat. It is hard to convey the feeling of winter riding to those who haven’t done it because many folks have a hard time getting past the cold aspect of it. Beating the cold can be part of the attraction. I miss it.
Every day I am on the El train crawling along or on the bus sitting in the traffic, I long to be riding down the path and breathing the free air. Riding a bike to work sometimes feels like I am getting away with something, it is almost subversive. It is like I can have more fun in the morning before work than some people will have all day, and I can do it everyday.
So next next Wednesday I am going to look for a bike. I keep thinking about it all the time.