I love riding our tandem bicycle, and my favorite reason for stopping for a break is to look around for a picture of nature at its most honest and imaginative.
My husband is very accommodating. “I’ll shout (because it’s hard for him to hear with the helmet on, the breeze rushing past, the hum of the bike tires on the road, and the fact that he sits in front of me leaning forward), “That would make a great picture!”
He’ll stop the bike and hold it upright while I get off, reaching for my phone in my jersey’s back pocket.
Trees and water always draw my attention. I look at them with eyes seeking something other than what another person would call just a tree, a flower, a stone, the curve of a stream.
I look for an inimitable perspective, that sudden shift when, with just the slightest prod, fanciful creatures emerge from the mundane.
Look at this tree. There’s an Ent viewed from the side (Please don’t admit you don’t know what one is. Look it up. Hint: Tolkien) standing there with his mouth open, his eyes, rather far back, bulging in surprise. What does he see across the road that startles him so?
How about this snake in the water? I know they grow big around here, but that’s a serpent of mighty proportions. Yes, yes, I know it could be the edge of a stone ledge under water, but do you see that snake slithering down the stream?!
I ride our bike for the joy of spending time with my husband, for the guarantee of returning home with my legs finding it a challenge even to swing over the saddle and step from the bike, and for the jolt it gives my imagination.
My husband plays this game with me: “You rode well today.”
“How far.”
“Not too, far.”
“How far?”
“Less than yesterday (which had me complaining yesterday).”
“And how much less than yesterday.”
“A couple miles.”
My legs starting to remember how to walk, I say, “Oh, well, that explains why I was able to get off the bike without my glutes giving way to a spasm.”
We’ve been unable to ride together for about a month due to the need to replace important components on our tandem. I should say, I’ve been off the bike. He’s been training for track racing on his track bike. I’m the one needing to get my muscles back in shape.
It’s amazing how just four weeks make a world of difference. I have been doing exercises to stay strong, but you really need to be on a bike to keep the muscle memory. So 32 miles the first day out was rather taxing. And 29.6 a day later was pushing my back-pedaled limit.
I don’t really mind. The loggy feel of my legs is a pleasure. Almost. It is the views and the companionship and the opportunity to just daydream that makes that feeling welcome. It reminds me all day of the images I saw. They stew in my mind, generating stories. What will I see tomorrow? Can my legs take that extra two miles?
What’s the activity that feeds your muse or satisfies your mind’s eye?
