My Instead: I took an evening bike ride (10 miles) and
talked to my friend on the phone the entire time.
After a delightful day spent with my grandchildren, Abbey
and Andy, it was time for just me! I had originally planned to load my bike into the car and drive to a new bicycle trail I had been eyeing; however, my evening had dwindled doing household duties. Still I was determined that a long bike ride was in my nocturnal future. The clock was my number one enemy and 7:30 was aiming
right at me. I knew that darkness was only an hour away.
As often is the case with me, there was a change of plans. How
about a rural road trip! And as luck would have it, my subdivision was just minutes away
from cornfields and country. The anomaly of pleasant Midwest weather in July continued and I was going to take full advantage.
I had my Bluetooth headset and my phone as part of my cargo,
so I called my friend Annette to “join” me on my journey. (I guess it wasn’t
going to be “just me” after all.) Easy riding and effortless conversation rode
hand in hand until I approached the one and only hill on my trek. Heavy
breathing is better enjoyed in other ways, but for now I just had to get up
that hill. I made it! As I continued to pedal along the course, Annette and I
shared our day, our pasts, and our thoughts…those had come to be our typical topics
during our evening phone talks. Our comfort level with
each other had grown, along with our friendship.
Dusk was settling in as “we” reached my intended destination…the
“T” at Park Road and Schmidt Lane. I stopped and stood at my corner of the
world. Then I asked Annette to be still for just a moment while I listened to
the silence. Alone, but not.
Unfortunately, I could not linger as long as I would have
liked. The stars would soon be my only source of light during my 5-mile trip
back home…had to get moving! Annette and I continued our phone chat as I hastened
my pace. When I finally rolled onto my driveway, I thanked her for joining me
for this 10-mile audio bike ride. We said our good-nights and I went inside to
carry on with life as I know it.
Later on I couldn’t help but wonder how transformed the trip
was with a voice in my head...and it was not my own.
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