I’ve always preferred to walk at night. The dampening of the sights and sounds of daytime is comforting to me. I’ve generally walked with my dog. My dog buddies have been good companions.
During the last ten years, the act of walking in and of itself was limited regardless of the time of day. Four years ago due to an intermittent medical issue, my walking sputtered to a slow shuffle until walking at night could no longer happen. I had to be content with night standing or mobility scootering.
Recently, my fortunes improved. With an intermittent medical condition, I never know. I’ve been walking better and able to walk the dog again. My legs have been feeling stronger and more reliable. At last, I thought I might try my three wheel recumbent bike.
I love my bike. I haven’t been able to ride it for nearly ten years but I didn’t get rid of it just in case I could ride again. A few weeks ago, I uncovered it in the garage. The tires were profoundly flat. I was concerned they might not hold air. I pumped them. The pressure held. My dog, Sheba, was waiting tethered to my waist as I pushed the bike out of the garage. I straddled the bike and sat thinking, “Wow, this bike is comfortable.” Sheba had never seen this strange bike before but she loves to run so she was game. I started slowly peddling and we were off! Sheba can run 15 miles per hour without much effort. I could keep up especially going down hill. The bike felt great. The tires held. The gears still worked effortlessly. The breaks were spot on. What a great bike!
After several day time runs, I was once again ready to bike at night. The front and back lights still worked. Their batteries hadn’t run down in intervening years. Sheba’s pushing ten now and actually gets tired. One night for my second ride of the day, I went alone in an effort to help me sleep. After getting off our dead end road, there are two neighborhoods to choose from. The older neighborhood has lots of trees and few streetlights. Riding there, I feel I’m actually in the dark. It’s my preference.
The other newer neighborhood has great blacktop for a smooth ride but way too many high street lights causing a hideous half light at night. Still, there’s multiple ponds with thousands of glorious treefrogs singing. It’s beautiful and clear tonight. The stars are clear but the light pollution blocked my view of most of them.
It’s a cool 37 degrees. If I forget to exhale down, fog hits my glasses temporarily blinding me. I love the night sky when it’s clear and cold. The stars are pin pricks of light. Because I can’t see all the stars, it’s obvious to me I’ve chosen the wrong path tonight. I stop and listen to the frogs. After restarting the ride, my legs signal they are getting tired. This is much sooner than I would like.
It’s late. I’ve run into two cars. A pizza delivery person with the lighted magnetic sign on the roof and another car going a bit too fast through an intersection. Though they have the right of way, they slow down when they see me as if to say, “Crap, too fast if pedestrians are around.” I pray cars don’t do anything stupid. It’s not like I could avoid them by somehow jumping from the bike out of the way at the last minute like some agile A-Team member. I’d be flattened like the squirrel I sadly passed on my way into this neighborhood.
I thought I might have blown my opportunity to drink in the night on my way back home until I started back down my road. At the bend in the road across the lake, the view was breath taking. A no longer quite full burnt orange moon hung in the sky just above the horizon. Though it has nothing remotely to do with me, I feel amply rewarded for simply getting out in the night with all my senses alert for magic.
As I peddle home, I think, “Good night, Moon,” from a children’s classic. I know there’s a song there somewhere. The frogs know it even if I don’t. I am lucky and I know it. Yet, another children’s song. No, that’s “happy and you know it.” That works. My inner child is delighted to ride at night. My job is to keep her safe and enchanted with all the natural world has to offer.
To Life.
Joceile
4.5.21
[Picture of Sheba and I on the recumbent bike.]
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