OT/ Morning Ride

[CaptSopwith 26]

In honor of a post I read some years ago on the old Flight Sim Forum called Morning Ride, I felt the need to share something that happened to me the other day...

There are a million things that make working on a college campus the greatest job in the world. You are surrounded by professors who represent the greatest minds of your generation. Libraries are filled with millions of books and they're within walking distance. If they don't have what you're looking for, they find it for you: free of charge. Knowledge is truly at your fingertips. You're also surrounded by young people - with their dreams and aspirations and their un-trampled idealism. To be honest, I never truly noticed the people until I went for a bike ride last Friday.

 

And I wasn't even on campus. I was cycling in a nearby park filled with people, young and old; kids, grandparents, husbands, wives, brothers and sisters, boyfriends and girlfriends; all mingling in the first warm day any of us had seen in months. The day was beautiful; the weather so achingly perfect that it felt like years since I had truly felt alive. It's amazing what a little Vitamin D can do for you.

 

Typically, when I ride, I put on my iPod, crank up my electronic music or some Soundgarden, and cycle as hard and fast as I can. It's a fantastic work out - especially for those of us with flat feet who value our knees and consider running an activity best left for survival purposes only. Cycling, for me, is also usually filled with numbers: average speed, distance covered, and of course, time. Only this time, I loaded the wrong playlist, and rather than driving beats, much more mellow stuff filled my senses.

 

It was my first ride since last summer, when I cracked up on a dirt bike trail and broke my wrist. I didn't realize how much I missed cycling until I was out there once more, in the sunlight, enjoying the process of riding again. It was then that I began to notice the people around me; their faces, their expressions, the sounds of their conversations fluttering in and out of hearing distance as I rode by. Instead of seeing them as moving obstacles, I felt an odd sense of weaving into their lives for a few fleeting seconds, rather than weaving around them.

 

For the first time in my life - perhaps a sign that I am all of my twenty-nine years of age - I began to wonder about them rather than me. Were they happy? Were they taking in the beauty of the day after so many long, dreary months of winter? When I would pass an older couple, I'd wonder: how long were they married? Was it their first marriage? Had they been teenage sweethearts at one time? Or, was it a second, third, or fifth attempt before it was too late and time ran out? When I weaved between two college kids: likely a boyfriend and girlfriend out for a cheap date at the park (those are usually the best kind), I knew from their expressions: both of them would remember this day - the sunlit afternoon in the park - ten years from now. How they'd feel about it then would remain to be seen. I steered past a little girl on a three wheel bike - a pink version of the black big wheels I rode up and down the streets of my neighborhood twenty-five years ago. Mom and Dad were behind her, filming her adventures with their smart phone. I bet one day she'll watch them when she's home from college on Christmas break. And there, in the background on a black mountain bike - I'll be zipping by and giving her a wave.

 

It was an odd feeling. Rather than my usual misgivings and general irritation with human beings - their perpetual let downs, problems, shortcomings, and deceits - I couldn't help but hope the best for them. Maybe it is a sign of getting older - even if it's only the very first, and faintest visible signs of it.

 

Or as every elder has ever told me: Youth is wasted on the young.

 

Here's hoping I appreciate mine before it's too late.

[Javito1986 14]

Thank you for sharing this lovely anecdote!

 

I think you're very fortunate to live and work in such a cozy environment. Almost like your own Hobbiton if you follow me. You make me want to go do some bicycling of my own... need to get a bicycle first though ;-). If I may ask, what part of the country do you live in that the weather is so nice? It's still a bit cold up here near the Great Lakes.

[Slartibartfast 153]

Must admit 2 weeks ago I went out for a motorcycle ride and ended up riding 700km around Austria Vienna Graz Linz Vienna... big loop... and boy how I had missed it not having a motorbike for 18 months... now its any ecuse as the weather here is wonderful... I understand the freedom and tranquility and to cap it all my speed allowed me to view some great sites in the mountains... hey ho tomorrows Saturday off we go again...