More Than a Feeling - Boston and a Bike Ride

 "It's been such a long time, I think I should be goin'."

I took my bicycle out for a ride for the first time this year tonight. Music blazing through earphones and a freshly tuned up bike make for a good night. Boston was my music of choice for the evening. I was so eager to explore the neighborhood. I haven't gone for a night time bike ride in four years. This used to be a nightly ritual back in Denver. It's one of the best ways to clear one's mind and put things into perspective. Perhaps more than anything, just a way to fight loneliness or melancholy at the time. 

"I get so lonely when I am without you. But in my mind deep in my mind I can't forget about you."

The world feels like a familiar yet different place at night and on a bicycle. The road ticks and vibrates away beneath the tires so differently than it would in a car. I cleared the hill up to 56th and crossed over the busy street on the catwalk. I stopped twenty five feet above the headlights passing beneath. The whole city stretches out before me. The best part of a catwalk is getting to ride down really fast on the downhill side. I came sailing out and headed up the hill towards Backus Highway.

"Sail on, on a distant highway. Gotta keep on chasing that dream."

This year the air is thicker with moisture than it is most years. It had just rained and the grass smelled sweet, shiny streets, darkened houses. I sailed down past the Salt Lake Tribune building letting go of the handle bars and just letting the bike go as fast as it could. The whirring of gears, the rushing of air, the release of freedom and being alone with my thoughts.

"Good times and faces that remind me. I try to forget your name and leave it all behind me...."

Eventually I know it's time to head home. Even when I start to get tired I don't want to go back. The night should last forever; the streets seem to go on endlessly. As I glide quietly through these suburban streets at night there are so many thoughts to ponder, so many ideas to paint in the night sky, so many memories to recall...


"When I'm tired and thinking cold, I hide in my music, forget the day, and dream of a girl I used to know. I closed my eyes and she slipped away..."