Adventures in Bicycling
I've been riding my bike roughly 6-8 miles a day for the last few days. Thanks to this, and the fact that lately I've been eating better, I've lost roughly 6 0r 7 pounds. I'm not fat by any means, but I carry some weight in my stomach. If I lose ten more pounds, I'll be back down to my high school weight.
Bicycling is great fun- the tortures of going uphill gives way to the exhilaration of speeding down. The steeper the hill, the greater the reward. A lot of analogies for life in bicycling, I suppose.
Also, dogs hate bikes for some reason. I've had countless dogs chase me in the past few days.
One of them lives roughly half a mile from my house. Her name is Bell. She's a hairy off-white dog that is very territorial. Looks like a militant ghost as she patrols the perimeter of her yard.
The first day she chased me I was able to get away. I never actually thought she would bite me, but I wasn't willing to test the theory.
On the second day, she grabbed my calf and crunched down. Luckily, I was wearing my blue jeans (couldn't find a clean pair of shorts) so she only barely broke the skin. I wasn't scared due to the event, but there's a certain level of archetypal rattling that occurs when an animal pierces your flesh with its teeth. It's hard to explain, but it's there.
Needless to say, I was a bit wary when I passed by Bell's house the third time. So I decided to get out and walk the bike. It was dimming twilight at this time, and everything had a Blair Witch Project glow to it- that short period of time where the contrast between bright and dark is magnificently cast before fading away into the eventual doom. Just the right kind of light for Bell to glow like a demon before biting off my leg.
Then it gets worse.
Right when I'm halfway past her house, I hear a kid yell in a Children of the Corn type manner, "Buuuuuddddyyy, Beeeelllllllll, Buuuuuuudddddyyy, Beeeeeelllllllllll." He was calling home his beasts. He paused every few moments, but the voice never stopped, never changed. Eerie.
My first thought: "This is what it's like to die."
Second thought: "I think it's time to go."
Bell finally came out, but I was too far gone for her to give chase. However, I'd rather her bite me again that hear that boy singing like that again.
Bicycling is great fun- the tortures of going uphill gives way to the exhilaration of speeding down. The steeper the hill, the greater the reward. A lot of analogies for life in bicycling, I suppose.
Also, dogs hate bikes for some reason. I've had countless dogs chase me in the past few days.
One of them lives roughly half a mile from my house. Her name is Bell. She's a hairy off-white dog that is very territorial. Looks like a militant ghost as she patrols the perimeter of her yard.
The first day she chased me I was able to get away. I never actually thought she would bite me, but I wasn't willing to test the theory.
On the second day, she grabbed my calf and crunched down. Luckily, I was wearing my blue jeans (couldn't find a clean pair of shorts) so she only barely broke the skin. I wasn't scared due to the event, but there's a certain level of archetypal rattling that occurs when an animal pierces your flesh with its teeth. It's hard to explain, but it's there.
Needless to say, I was a bit wary when I passed by Bell's house the third time. So I decided to get out and walk the bike. It was dimming twilight at this time, and everything had a Blair Witch Project glow to it- that short period of time where the contrast between bright and dark is magnificently cast before fading away into the eventual doom. Just the right kind of light for Bell to glow like a demon before biting off my leg.
Then it gets worse.
Right when I'm halfway past her house, I hear a kid yell in a Children of the Corn type manner, "Buuuuuddddyyy, Beeeelllllllll, Buuuuuuudddddyyy, Beeeeeelllllllllll." He was calling home his beasts. He paused every few moments, but the voice never stopped, never changed. Eerie.
My first thought: "This is what it's like to die."
Second thought: "I think it's time to go."
Bell finally came out, but I was too far gone for her to give chase. However, I'd rather her bite me again that hear that boy singing like that again.
posted by Yorick at 7:23 AM
2 Comments:
yorick,
this is why you need (1)a helmet in case you fall getting away from the beast and (2)insurance in you get hurt because you are not wearing a helmet and why are you riding at twilight when it is hard for anyone to see you in the road?
you are worrying me my son--please call me. maybe you need to get a tetnus shot to be safe.
helmet, helmet, helmet, helmet, helmet, insurance, insurance, insurance, helmet, helmet, helmet,
helmet, insurance, insurance, insurance, insurance...............
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