I crawled from bed, filled my water bottle, pulled on my bike shorts and T-shirt, and went downstairs. I left one love behind and slinked to another. The garage door rumbled open. It was 6 AM. Birds sang from the treetops. The rising sun turned the wispy clouds pink. My latest bike leaned against the wall of our garage. I slipped on my new biking shoes, rolled the bike outside, checked the tire pressure, and shut the garage door. I held the handlebars, swung my right leg over, settled onto the seat, and clipped my new bike shoes into the pedals. I pushed off, and felt the power of my first bike shoes. I could pull and push. I had power!
I rolled to the first stoplight. It turned red. I stopped, attempted to put my foot down, struggled, realized I was clipped in, and fell to the street on my shoulder. Unfortunately, it was in front of a busy McDonalds’ restaurant. I watched the patrons laugh, as I climbed back on and pedaled away.
A crossroad faced me. I turned left, not knowing where I was going. In the distance I saw the skyscrapers of Columbus, Ohio. It didn’t look too far away. “I need to check it out.” I said to no one, rubbing my sore shoulder. ”It doesn’t look too far away.”
The towering buildings dwarfed me. The main street of Columbus was deserted at that time of morning. I stared up at the buildings and wondered, “How the heck did a little boy from Nova Scotia end up here?”
A ship’s horn blared and brought me back to reality. In the distance, Manhattan, Jersey City, and the cities that hugged the Hudson River stretched into the distance. “Hey!” A biker shouted. “You’re blocking the way.” “Sorry!” I apologized. “Pay attention!” They called back as they pedaled away.
I followed them across the George Washington Bridge. We crossed into New Jersey, turned left, rolled down a steep hill and entered the Palisades Park. In a few minutes we were under the bridge. I looked back and saw the skyline of Manhattan. Ahead of me were the cliffs of the Palisades. I don’t know how I ended up here, but I knew I would climb those cliffs and go wherever my two wheels would take me.
I was free.
I was flying.
There were new beginnings ahead.
