Biking 10 miles (round trip) to the pool has been calming and restorative as I slowly get used to life without Ellen.
At my pace, a leisurely 10-12 MPH, I see things I’ve missed entirely while whizzing by in a car.
Drivers are barely paying attention. Over 50% of drivers are looking down at their cell phones while driving forward – even at speeds of up to 60 MPH. When stopped at red lights over 75% of drivers are texting, dialing or reading something on their phones. I assume that no drivers see me and ride quite defensively. Unfortunately, my assumption is fairly accurate. I can’t believe there aren’t more crashes. Drivers are not looking where they are going.
I found a neighborhood I didn’t even know existed. Just a few blocks from home, I discovered a shortcut that is actually a quaint, sleepy little development. Instead of riding alongside noisy, fume belching traffic, I meander down a narrow street watching turkey vultures circle overhead, admiring people’s front gardens and checking out the street’s latest home renovation projects.
The mall and many restaurants are ghost towns. At night, the mall parking lot is jammed with cars. Restaurants have 2 hour wait times. But in the afternoon, both seem abandoned. In some cases they are abandoned. The Sears store is closed. Toys’R’Us is boarded up and I cannot figure out if TGI Friday’s is in business or not.
People are far more courteous than when I am in a car. I do a lot of smiling, waving and saying hello to people walking by, working in their yards or waiting for a bus. When a driver sees me trying to cross a big intersection, he stops to allow me to pass. If he’s blocked my way on the sidewalk, he’ll back up. If he’s passing me on a side street, he’ll usually pull into the other lane to give me a wide berth. I always wave and mouth a big thank you. It makes for a pleasant trip.
If you had told me this before I started my bike commute I would have said, “Not a chance. This is South Florida. The land of unlicensed, uninsured, aggressive drivers and rude people.” That may be true. But I’m experiencing a different attitude at cruiser speed.
My bike bell is a mood elevator. I got a bell because I occasionally need to pass a pedestrian and am trying to not scare the shit out of them. I used to call out, “I’m coming up on your right,” but that still makes me people jump. Somehow, the little ding ding of the bell works better and always makes people smile, including me. (Maybe I’m regressing to my childhood. I hope I don’t start sucking my thumb next.)
I am immersed in nature. I hear the birds singing. I smell the freshly cut grass. I flinch when a coconut drops with a loud thud. I see the ducks gliding through the canals. One day, I saw a big fish leap out of the water. As I wondered why, I saw a huge snapping turtle under the surface close behind the fish.
My temperature is self regulating. It’s winter, so our weather is just about perfect. Even so, we’ve had some chilly days and some hot ones. Neither seems to have much of an effect on me. In fact, I’m finding myself using AC less at home and in the car too. (This will likely change in the summer).
I see monsters. There are lakes and canals all along my route. Most of these are out of site from the car. But since I’m at ground level, I am right beside the reptilian monsters that bask in the sun. They look like something straight out of the swamp dioramas at the dinosaur museum.
I’ve been riding bikes since I was 4 years old. Sometimes for pleasure. Sometimes for exercise. Sometimes for commuting.
As an adult, I focused so much on fitness and getting where I was going, that I forgot to slow down and savor the ride.
I’m glad I get to do that now.
If you have the chance, I encourage you to ride slowly sometimes to look for monsters.