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Here’s my brand-new bike. It’s a Raleigh, but I named her Stella. And today, I made my inaugural ride across the lake, about 17 miles each way. I’ve done the ride before, but not in almost two years. And definitely not with this bike, which is a definite improvement over my previous wheels. We both made it across and back. And I can still type. (Maybe not coherently, but…)
Tags: biking
Tags: biking
It’s bike-to-work month and so I’m back on my bike some of the time, but a lot of the time, mostly because I am very slow and it is a long ride (17.5 miles one way).
This is supposed to save energy and make me healthier and maybe even make me thinner (it won’t, though) and it’s supposed to be fun. And it is fun, except for that hill, oh, and that other hill. Now I am a little short of breath.
The downside is that I have less time for reading (I can read on the bus, but not on the bike) and less time for writing (I’m spending it all on the bike, and then I’m kind of spent).
I distinctly remember riding along yesterday and having one of those delicious aha! moments. I thought, “I know what my next poem is going to be.” Wonderful. But that’s all I remember. What was my next poem going to be?
I could stop and jot down a note, but then it would take me even longer to get to where I’m going. It may be all about the journey, but not so much when it’s the commute.
All this moaning! And you should hear me when I get off my bike at the end of the day! But seriously, if you haven’t cycled in a while, use this month as an excuse. (Joannie says…) Haul the bike out of the shed or the basement. Pump up the tires. Get on and go. It’ll make you feel like a happy puppy with its head out the window. It’ll make you feel like a kid again.
And tonight, after my long pedal home, I’m going to go to my first letterpress class!
Tags: biking, not writing
Christine, in the black and yellow, moving up
Crazy kind of croweded
Jamie, in the black and red, chasing. Tags: biking
On my long rides into work, I’ve been trying hard to get the trip down to an hour and a half—one way. On Tuesday, I made it to work in 1:30 and home in 1:36 (close enough).
But this morning I realized that all this pushing has taken some of the fun out of cycling. It has become more like a job, or a goal to be reached.
I’m all for goals, but this morning, I decided to switch my goal back to having fun. A good ride means I enjoy myself—even if it takes an extra 10 minutes.
The morning ride was hard anyway, but in the afternoon, my new perspective worked. I had fun.
On the ride home, I thought about poetry and the plethora of rejections (including the one I got today). Although they come with the territory, they can get demoralizing. I write poetry because I love to write and something in me needs to write. I enjoy it.
Then there is the publishing part. Could I let go of the goal of getting published and just submit for the fun of it?
It seems so counter to our culture. And necessary. And worth trying, at least.
