The late afternoon air is cool and biting as I step into the pedals to begin my first real ride of 2014. I’ve taken the precaution of wearing a long sleeve shirt under my jersey to provide some needed warmth. Within minutes, as I enthusiastically push the pedals with a sense of joy and urgency, I forget about the cool air and begin to bask in the absolute splendor of a perfect spring day in May.
As usual, I follow no preplanned route. My ostensible goal, as such, is to complete a 20-mile ride in an hour’s time. Trying to maintain a 20-mph pace for an hour requires a significant expenditure of energy and insures the benefits I accrue from the ride will be more than mental in nature. Today, I’ve chosen to ride through the suburbs and farmlands lying westward of Akron.
Five miles out and the air is resplendent with odors fair and foul: here, the alluring perfume of spring blossoms; someone’s burning a pile of yard debris; now, fresh-cut grass; the primordial combination of charcoal and lighter fluid; a clothes dryer is getting a workout; a passing truck discharges its diesel breath in my direction; the co-mingling of Italian cuisine and fried chicken emanations issuing from a local eatery; whew, raw sewage. The richness of my olfactory experience is exceeded only by the transcendent perfection of the verdant landscape upon which my eyes feast.
Songbirds are warbling their tunes as I pass the 16-mile mark. I spy, with a quick glance, a couple of squirrels spiraling up a tree and I smile. An insouciant crow is strutting across the roadway to inspect the remains of a fast food meal as I approach a traffic signal indicating I must stop. However, the driver of the pickup truck flying past me has apparently decided stopping for this particular red light is too much of an impediment to his plans and sails on through the intersection.
I can hear and count the chimes as the bell tower at the Catholic church located a mile from home rings out the six o’clock hour. My odometer indicates I’ve travelled 19.25 miles and, without having to glance at my watch, I now know I will hit the 20-mile mark about 1 hour and six minutes after I set out. I go into full sprint mode for the last three quarters of a mile and I arrive home feeling exhilarated, exhausted and content. An ecstatic dog greets my arrival.
Life is good.
Comments
One response to “Thoughts on Two Wheels: May 23, 2014”
Good to see you’re back! Thanks for sharing your first ride of Spring. As usual, your sensual impressions are expressed with such clarity I felt I was riding along beside you.
ajb