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November 8, 2011

Bike Flight


Vigilant lookouts straddle their bikes at the bottom of the hill
They give me the signal and I leap forward onto my bike
Feet pedaling furiously, bike chain whirring, spokes just a blur
I lean forward, gripping tightly, coiled, ready to hit the ramp
I yank the handlebars up, the roar-roar-roar of tires suddenly stops

Up into the air we soar, jettisoned out, rising skyward
The earth falls away from my spinning black tires
Wind obscures my hearing, sifting through my hair
We fly, balanced yet weightless, for an instant eternity
I see high white clouds above… so close, so close

Too soon, gravity’s pull starts to reclaim me
I brace for the jarring impact on the dirt and gravel
My knees absorb the shock and I stay upright
Then lean, turn sharply and back-pedal hard to brake
The skid sprays dust and rocks in a glorious arc behind me
The perfect finale to a perfect flight

9 comments:

  1. I remember on my swingset, swinging up high and then jumping off and feeling that second of free flight and I believed if I kept doing it, I'd actually learn to fly eventually. I lived for that one second and yet it took me a few minutes to pump up high enough to jump. Says a lot about life. It's about the one second not the labor.

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  2. I could picture the whole scene perfectly. I felt like i was flying right along with boy.

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  3. Fabulous,visual picture you created. Ah, I so well remember youth. So far, my brain is still not addled ( though my three adult sons may not agree with me ).

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  4. Too soon, gravity’s pull starts to reclaim me
    I brace for the jarring impact on the dirt and gravel
    My knees absorb the shock and I stay upright..

    many stunning lines, well done.

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  5. Boys and their sense of adventure...great landing

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  6. Definitely an adventurous tale!!! Glad to see that the landing was a safe one :-D

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