a long way from here

sunday arrives. the morning begins quietly, as i lay in bed pondering the idea of making tea and climbing onto my roof to watch the sunrise. which i now wish i had done. ah well, the flannel sheets won as they often do. i hear the birds singing this morning, trilling in the trees outside my window, and i wrap my arms around the dawn of spring. oh glorious spring. if there was one season, that truly owned my heart, spring it would be. perhaps the timing of shaving my head was perfect; the growth of new things. i miss my hair, but the change is good. it is the collection of these changes in our lives, some big and some small, that often give us the zest and fizzle that we need.

i for one, have just undergone the change of riding a new bicycle. yesterday, was undeniably one of the greatest bike rides of my life. after 8 years, the Klein is put to rest. last thursday, Mike and i drove down to Palo Alto to retreive our new bikes. {at Palo Alto Bicycles which is without question the best bike shop in the world with the best bike shop employees...more about that later} anyway, i am speechless. the difference in comfort is immeasurable. i will find the words, but for now they are trapped. trapped in the fact that it is predicted to be nearly seventy degrees here today, and my bike is currently sitting a mere ten feet from me. oh yes.

one word of caution though: touring bikes {no matter how kick-ass they are} do not handle the same as road bikes when descending steep and sharp turns. not even close. after skidding out, narrowly avoiding crashing into the rock wall, and then the oncoming car, i found myself laughing. perhaps they make them this way not only to support the weight of panniers.....perhaps they make them this way to remind us to slow down and enjoy the world as it passes by. perhaps they make them this way to remind us that life is not a race, and Maine is a long way from here.

Posted by jeff pitcher at March 7, 2004 07:40 AM

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