Passage I

Along the Bike Path

[1] On the first warm day of spring, it's still light out when I got on my bike to ride from my job in the city to my apartment in a small town ten miles away. [2] I turned onto the bike path and left the busy street behind. [3] From the path, I could see through the trees to parking lots crowded with cars lining up to enter rush hour traffic. [4] As the path curved toward the river, rowers came into view. [5] With impossibly long oars, they pulled their slender boats against the gentle current. [6] The slow dip, dip, dip seemed like an invitation to move for a relaxed pace. [7] Meanwhile, people on benches chatted with each other, or looked out over the river, or tossed crumbs to the ducks. [8] I caught snatch's of conversation and kept moving. (7)

At the edge of the city, I stopped on a bridge to rest. Below, a small pond glittered in the evening light. Turtles, dozens of them, lined up bumper to bumper on a few fallen logs. One or two of the creatures plunged into the water as I watched, but the others seemed content to stay put.

[1] I pedaled on and found myself passing backyards, playgrounds, and ball fields. [2] Coasting along,I got used to other bikers passing me, their headlamps shining narrow beams in the dusk. [3] The air grew cool as I glided under a canopy of trees, as if entering a tunnel through the twilight. [4] When I emerged on the other side,I pulled over to fill my water bottle at a drinking fountain looking up at the sky. [5] It was a rich aquamarine, dotted with early evening stars. [6] Two approaching runners and their scruffily but friendly dogs came to a stop at the fountain to quench their thirst. [7] I was less than five minutes from my door. (14)

It struck me then that in my rushed manner of speeding to get to work that morning,I had seen no scenery, only a blur. As I got back on my bike to pedal the short distance home, the moon appeared through the trees, and the runners and their dogs disappeared in the distance.