A Bike Ride in the Night

I paced down the hallway with a strong presence of boredom. Nothing to do in the house; my eyes had grown weary pasted to the television screen, board games are no fun with only one person to play. I peered out the window to find a clear night sky, and the thought crept into my head, and I played around with it for a bit…ehh why not? My tennis shoes were lying promptly where I left them the night before and I slipped them over my anticipating feet. And there, as I opened the garage door, stood my weary old bike. It had been sometime since I gave its chains any exercise, but this seemed like a perfect time to pedal off the dust.

I took off down the street, leaving behind a stagnant atmosphere of heavy air that weighed me down. I embraced a rush of cooler air, refreshing itself with every mailbox I passed. The chains of the bike rattled around for a bit, which I could understand, for like me, they had to shake off the rust of riding again after such a long period of idleness. But just as I reached the corner and hung a quick left, they straightened themselves out and I rode smoothly, only the thrilling imperfections of the road rattling my body as I sped along. I looked down at the cement, and it appeared as a blur of gravel, each and every pebble plastered together to form a path which only I could take. How lovely it was, the gray stones mixed with the black ones, with subtle glints of silver sparkling between the cracks through which the moonlight seeped. I smiled. I don’t know where it came from, but my lips opened slightly and I’m positive one could have seen my teeth appear from the cave of my mouth. I went faster, I wanted to go faster, I could go faster. My endurance seemed perfect, at a level I’d never known. Nothing rid me of the breath I needed to do or go where I wanted. My smile widened.

I leaned my body slightly to the left, softly peeling away from the safety of the curb. No car shone its lights in my face, and no car cast its lights on my back. I was free, alone, undisturbed. I pumped my legs faster, running them around the circular path that propelled my bike further. I stayed the course of the yellow line that kept this car from hitting that one. I let it guide me. Although to say I was being guided is itself questionable, for I had no intention, nor expectation. It was an aimless excursion to nowhere and quite frankly, I desired nothing more. And as I continued, speeding through the dim road, with the wind shaping my hair into some crazy fashion, I felt so very peaceful. Nothing could touch me, nothing would touch me; I was nowhere.

I reached another corner, and turned left again, entering a darker stretch or road, yet nonetheless intriguing or serene. My pace slowed, yet my legs never stopped pedaling, just an incessant engine on which I continued my journey to nowhere in particular. I saw the wheel of my bike turn a brighter black as a streetlight poured its yellow light onto me. At this point I began thinking, about people, about life, about whatever entered my boundless mind. And I began longing for that which I did not have. In that moment, I missed it more than ever, and wanted nothing more than to have it back. But that moment passed as I left the light and rounded the bend in the street. Once again I noticed the beauty of the night, how each star was so visible, so vivid, and the air around me so fresh and cool and wonderfully nurturing. It wouldn’t leave me, and I appreciated that fact. I kept riding.

Before I knew it my aimless ride took me to my neighborhood park, which like my bike, I had not visited for some time. Without even a notion of hesitation I twisted my handlebars and rode up a small hill of grass that I knew was green despite its gray appearance. Pedaling became more difficult so I switched gears and let my legs move faster. The wheels turned though the grass with ease as I inched along in the field, slowing my pace to a crawl. I passed though a patch in which the air was significantly cooler than it had been before. It was both disturbing and amazing. I’d never felt such a subtle, yet appropriate surprise in a sudden change. But just as I felt its chilly comfort, I left it behind to dwell in the field. I reached a bench that rested on the edge of the open square of grass, and I stopped. I let my bike rest on its kickstand, and I sat down on the metal bench, which to my slightly unpleasant surprise was wet with dew. Oh well, it didn’t feel that bad. Rather it felt right, necessary even, for the purpose of my visit, which I do not know. I merely sat, and turned my head, observing all that was around me. To my back was the field, in front of me the street and above me the stars, those brilliant bright stars that shined through a thin layer of pesky clouds. I tilted my head back and gazed up at the navy blue sky, finding pleasure in sitting and nothing else. I was content. I felt in place, like I was where I was meant to be, where I somehow intended to be without planning on it.

A soft hum entered my ears, and I slowly rotated my head back down to see what it was. The neighborhood security guard was making his nightly rounds, looking for anything suspicious. I fantasized he was searching for me, but he could not find me because I was hidden in a place in which he would never find me. I was hidden right in front of his eyes in nature, a lone being camouflaged by the field of grass, by the trees at my sides, by the stars above. He passed the park unaware of my presence there, and I smirked, and chuckled aloud, as if saying, “Ha, I beat you Mr. Security man. Your headlights will never pick me out of the night.” Not a minute after the hum of his car left my ears the jingle of a dog’s collar filled its place. A woman was walking her dog past where I sat, not even twenty feet away. She too did not see me, and I was pleased. How simply stunning it was to observe this silhouetted shadow enter and exit my eyes’ domain without so much as its conscious recognition of my existence. Perhaps she’ll realize later on, maybe in a dream, that there was in fact a person there, a shadowy figure harmlessly eying her as she passed by. I’d like to think so.

She too left, and again I was alone, in the company of only my thoughts. I looked at my bike, leaning there on its kickstand. The thing looked full of sorrow. The sheen of the moonlight reflected gently off the metal frame, as if it were trying to be noticed yet not wanting to be a nuisance. It kept on leaning, but never falling, although it looked as if it would topple over any minute. Perhaps it longed for me to ride it again, and I decided to indulge that request. I stood it upright and flipped its metal prop so that it hugged the side and I walked it to the top of the hill. I rested myself on the seat, lifted my feet off the ground, and let gravity carry me down the hill and into the street once more.

My journey had entered its final stretch, but I was still content. My legs began their cyclical process with delight and carried me further down the street. I passed a few people out on a late night run, or walking their dog like the woman at the park. These people, I recognized were all girls. From what I saw from the brief light of the moon not one was physically unattractive, and I knew they were aware of my presence, for had they not been they shouldn’t have been out at night due to their immense amount of stupidity. But neither of them meant a thing to me, they held no significance in my mind, and thus I paid them no attention. I was only cognizant of myself on that bike ride through the night, and that is how it should have been. I was happier than ever during that time, delighted by the subliminal atmosphere through which I traveled.

As I rode through the last straightaway before my street, I let my hands leave their bars, and held them out to my sides, like a man liberated from an excruciatingly long imprisonment of unjust cruelty. I threw my head back and looked up at the sky, as my bike carried me forward. The stars moved the opposite direction from the one in which I moved. It was like a parade of beautiful lights scattered about a breathtaking canvas of dark blue, and I was its only spectator. I was engulfed in a universe made much smaller, one in which I felt right again after months of confusion. Never have I felt so content with myself, and never will I question the purpose of an aimless journey of no intent.