"Afoot and light hearted I take to the open
road, healthy, free, the road before me."
Walt Whitman
Not afoot, but back on the bike after a long, searing, desert of days where it was not possible. Excited anticipation fills ever crack, cranny, and crevice of my being as I swing my leg once more over a bicycle. I might not go fast, yet, and I might not go far, yet, but somehow I know I will, and in the not so distant future.
Despite it being mid-July, the world seems fresh. I have longed for the feel of the wind on my face and the freedom that only comes with being on a bicycle. One day, this, like everything, will be taken from me, but not yet. Dear God, thank you: not yet.
The sun beats down, merciless to my lack of conditioning, overbearing, proud, but unable to break this prayer of a ride, a prayer of thankfulness, a ride of gratitude. I am thankful to be alive. I am thankful for the warmth of his caresses, his kiss that despite the best sun screens will leave my skin warm and rosy. I am thankful for the greenness that still remains, as if held for my personal viewing enjoyment. And I am thankful for bicycles and open roads and the health to once again begin to ride them.
Oh, yeah, I am back home in the saddle again.
The sun beats down, merciless to my lack of conditioning, overbearing, proud, but unable to break this prayer of a ride, a prayer of thankfulness, a ride of gratitude. I am thankful to be alive. I am thankful for the warmth of his caresses, his kiss that despite the best sun screens will leave my skin warm and rosy. I am thankful for the greenness that still remains, as if held for my personal viewing enjoyment. And I am thankful for bicycles and open roads and the health to once again begin to ride them.
Oh, yeah, I am back home in the saddle again.
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