Life is a Bike©          
Bikexchange.com Column #7

Joy Ride
By Gianna Bellofatto

Gianna Bellofatto is a freelance writer and avid cyclist who whose column, Life Is a Bike, appears regularly in The Bicycle Exchange.

When I am on my bike there are no Monday mornings, my apartment is spotless, and everything is right with the world.  I am Don Quixote and Huckleberry Finn all in one.  I can dream the impossible dream, right every wrong, and search for adventure.  I am the master of my own destiny and no destination requires waiting in line, taking a number or making a reservation.  On the bike, I get the exhilaration of speed, the sun overhead and the horizon beyond.  I am carefree with absolute freedom and freewheeling.  I have the world by the feet and pedaling simply empowers me to a higher peace. While riding, I am young again and younger than springtime. I feel as right as rain and as fresh as morning dew.

When I ride my bike the tune for the day is the whirring of the wheels.   There are no bills, no meetings to attend, and all the laundry is done.  On my bike, I enjoy the splash of wind in my face and the sudden jolt of a bump.  There are no dinners to cook, the office work is distant, and life is in order.  When I’m on my bike all my Christmas shopping is done.   I have everything I want and want nothing more.  On the bicycle I feel the joy of life and the ride is a joy.

Up and down hills, past parks, winding in and out of back roads, leaning into curves, are all that is required to get a kick.  When I am on my bike, I can recall every right answer, all my mistakes are pardoned, nor does a disparaging word exist for anyone. Spinning spokes and spinning daydreams, my creativity peaks, revelations are unveiled and stories are born.  I have boundless energy to do more and go further.

When I’m on the bike it feels as if I hit the lottery, life sparkles with color, love makes sense, and each of my senses is dazzled.  There’s pizzazz in the air that lifts the bike forward and onward.  The friction of the wheels against the blacktop generates heat of cobalt blue, fueling the bicycle in motion.

Speeding downhill where surroundings become blurred adds to the excitement of the moment—and every moment is accounted and embraced.  When I’m on my bike the sky is a merry yellow.  Whether dawn or dusk, mid-day, mid-week or mid-life, it’s a new bright beginning.  Twirling spokes breeze me to Wonderland and Oz transforming the ordinary to magic.  When on my bike I don’t have to grow up.  I don’t have to answer the phone, count my change, or make excuses.  There are no ASAPs, no regrets, or RSVPs. 

But when the ride ends, I am Gianna Q. Citizen again who must pay bills, return phone calls, and does the dishes.  Yet while Life is Bike, there are no Monday mornings, my apartment is spotless…nothing will matter but the ride.  Just ride.

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