Girl On a Bicycle
by Troy Garrison (1939)
The blue-enameled body of the slender beast
Is alive, with the pulse of movement,
Between her thighs;
Sunlight splashes from the wheels
As she sends it through a brilliant puddle;
In 1939 Troy Garrison captured a delightful glimpse of a girl, a bike, and a puddle. This past week, I had my own, less-delightful bicycling-puddle experience.
I memorialized that moment in my own poem further down. But first – just look at how far we’ve come in 83 years! The bicycles and the outfits have changed… but the SMILES remain!
https://cabinetcardgallery.com/2021/05/20/five-happy-women-and-two-happy-men-riding-bicycles-1939/trackbac
Some people pray. Some people do yoga. Some people meditate. I bike. And when I ride, I’m smiling!
America’s Most Beautiful Bike Ride (AMBBR) is an annual ride around Lake Tahoe. 72 miles, some 4000+ feet of climbing, that starts at 6300′. My husband has been riding this ride for over 20 years. I promised him, 13 years ago, that before I turned 50, I would ride the ride with him. He warned me not to wait to begin my training.
When I crossed the finish line for my first ride in 2009, I cried. It was both exhilarating and one of the hardest things I’d ever done.
“Don’t wait
till you’re
49
to start training,”
he said.
Biking
morning breaks wet and gray, cycling day
72 miles of hills
and hope; lean on lungs and legs
and layers; group photo
pray for safe ride and
dry toes; clip in
two-wheel spin
freedom
ride
©draft, Patricia J. Franz
Since then, biking has become part of who I am. And it’s a joy to share it with friends, kids, siblings, inlaws, nieces, and nephews.
This year, we had hoped to out-ride the rain, but Mother Nature won.
Instead of Troy Garrison’s “sunlight splashes from the wheels…through a brilliant puddle,” we were sopping wet, with frozen feet, chewing grit from asphalt sprays. Ride aborted at the 40 mile mark!
Grateful for Buffy at Buffy Silverman who is hosting the round up this week.
Patricia Franz is a kidlit writer and published poet. She believes children, dogs, and sourdough have a lot to teach us about life, joy, and wonder. She has raised two boys, four dogs, and holds a master’s degree in Theology with a focus on children’s spirituality. Patricia, her husband, her Bernese Mountain dog, Bonny, and her sourdough starter split their time between the Arizona desert and the Sierra Nevada mountains. 
Oh, how wonderful! I love that you are joyful while biking. Your first poem is sensual! I love that blue frame alive!
Such an accomplishment, Patricia! Congratulations on all you have achieved with biking and writing. Lovely onset!
Thank you, Rose!
Oh I love all those alliterative l sounds. Lovely.
Thank you, Marcie!
pray for…dry toes made me smile. My spouse is a bike enthusiast–we used to ride a tandem a lot, but now I’m more of a walker. But yours and Troy Garrison’s biking poems made me smile!
Thanks, Buffy! Tandem was like hanging wallpaper for us: not a great husband/wife activity!
Wow, your excitement & pride shows in every part of this post, Patricia. I’m sorry about the rain! Weather has been tricky this year everywhere.
It keeps me smiling, for sure! Thanks Linda!
Wow! You must be so fit to do a ride like that. I’m envious. Last fall we hiked in national parks out west. My husband said the same to me…don’t wait until the week before we go to get in shape for this. I didn’t. At 58, I did my first rock scramble! I can relate to the exhilaration and the sense of relief you experienced on your first completion. Sorry that you got rained out this year.
Thanks, Carol@ Here’s to girls doing hard things! 🙂
Congratulations on your accomplishment of 72 mills of hills. I am sure the falling rain and the grizzly asphalt did not make for a fun ride but the freedom of riding the open road must be wonderful. Thanks for both poems.
Well. My bike story is quite different than yours. 72 miles? Not going to happen for me! Joy in riding and meeting goals? I’m right there with you!
Thanks, Mary Lee! Yes! Joy in riding, no matter how far!
What an ambitious ride! Even your shortened ride sounds daunting with the elevation changes you describe …
Your poem is wonderful – the rhyme and rhythm in these lines:
“clip in
two-wheel spin”
pull us forward in the poem, just as the wheels and pedals propel you forward on your ride.
Congratulations!
Thank you, Elisabeth! It’s mostly a joy!
Wooty-woot, Patricia! I’m ‘two tired’ just reading about your accomplishment. You go girl! 🙂
Lol! Perfect pun, Bridget! Thank you!