It must be fifty years since I last rode a bicycle
but this morning I did ride a ten-speed Apollo
around the flat straight streets of my city.
I felt wobbly to begin with and overbalanced
with a minor fall, but soon regained confidence.
I looked up at a speed indicator sign early on
to see my speed was 'Slow'; some streets later
I pedalled in high gear; my speed registered '40 kph',
which was respectable enough for a novice.
I rode on safe streets with cycle lanes:
I rode on streets without cycle lanes.
I rode like a competitor in the Tour de France:
I rode slowly up a steep hill and I thought
of the arduous climbs in the Pyrenees and Hautacam.
I thought of Lance Armstrong winning in the mountains.
I thought of Greg Lemond's explosive speed on the flat.
Back home, I thought of buying my neighbour's ten-speed.
-27 October,2018.
Buy a bicycle, from your writing it sounds like you will love cycling!
A good comment. I am seriously thinking of buying that bike, and I'm sure I would like cycling.
Fifty years ago you have rode the last bicycle. Now-a- days lots of change have happened. Riding cycles in safe streets in the past has given unforgettable memories. Slow speed had given safety. An interesting poem is well penned is an excellent poem...10
Yes I had my last bike at 17 at high school. Since then it has been cars all the way. You are right; much has changed these days and cycle lanes make it safer. I think I would like going back to cycling on that 10-speed.
I agree about Armstrong, they may of stripped him of is titles but he still won them, they know that a lot of the other riders do the same, they just didn't do anything about it. Great write.
A very perceptive comment-thanks. No one else has been promoted to take Lance's 7 titles so that says something. I can't help feeling sympathetic to Lance Armstrong.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
Two phases of life half a century apart joined together by a bicycle. The way you enjoyed your latest adventure, makes it worth a try. Thanks also for sharing a word on the feats and the misfortune of Lance Armstrong.
It's good that you noticed and appreciated this poem, drawn directly from personal experience. Lance Armstrong is a complex, fascinating character: a sudden rise to fame and celebrity, then a total fall. I have 4 books either by Lance, or about him; and the DVD 'The Armstrong Lie'-very good and long. The title of my poem is hint of his book: 'It's Not About the Bike', which he wrote with sally Jenkins.