I Want To Ride It Where I Like

"For instance, the bicycle is the most efficient machine ever created: Converting calories into gas, a bicycle gets the equivalent of three thousand miles per gallon." ~Bill Strickland, The Quotable Cyclist

I caught sight of it last Thursday. There it stood, leaning with a rakish tilt on its slender kick-stand. It's lines were smooth and graceful. Bright red frame, thick white-wall tires. It stood in line among snowblowers and lawnmowers, patio furniture and tarps.

But if I wanted it, I'd have to fight for it.

The bidding began. My fingers tightened around my paper number, and my heart pounded. I pushed through the crowd to stand sentinel at the front, keeping my red beauty in sight.

"$25?"

A nod from a lady with a red jacket.

"$30?"

Man wearing denim coveralls lifts his hand.

"$35?"

Red jacket nods

"$40?"

Coveralls stays with it.

"45?"

Red jacket pauses, then shakes her head no.

I haven't yet raised my hand, and a vision of some set of clumsy paws wheeling my bike away flashes before me. I set my jaw.

"$45?"

I raise my number with determination.

"$50?"

Coveralls balks. The fight is over. With very little fuss, I have emerged the victor. I wheel my new bike to the parking lot where I gleefully ride around the cars in circles.

My bike is nothing special to anyone other than me. But to me, it feels like pure joy as I set my face to the wind and head out. It's the same rush of freedom I felt when the training wheels finally came off and it was just me and the sandy road to the candy store.

"Melancholy is incompatible with bicycling." ~James E. Starrs