Before
the Ride
Lowell Longfellow
May, 2001
soft summer Sunday
morn
parking lot filling.
cars with bicycles in and
bicycles on them
drivers change to cyclists
shoes change to
clickety-clackety creatures
cycles
separate from cars
hand pumped air
whooshes and hisses
into once sleepy tires
now firm and alert
ready to ride
smiling voices greet
riding companions.
bullhorn voice grates
riders' ears
and punctures the soft air
like a nail slits an inner tube
bullhorn alerted cyclists
move more quickly now.
maps passed out
helmets strapped on
shoes clicked in.
fast
medium
slow
riders assemble and leave
creating a symphony of
rubber, metal, plastic and
people noises that blend into trees and road
an undulating line of colors
snakes forward into the distance
on a soft summer Sunday morn.
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