A Ride to Nowhere

"I'm a wandering gypsy." -Lady Gaga

Sometimes it's nice to get on your bike and ride for no reason. 

My ride last night started off that way. I just wanted to get out and avoid the monotony of life indoors, so I pulled a bike off the rack and went for it.

photo: The Geriatric Aesthetic

First by a Prius who was ecstatic that I gave him enough room to make a right turn. Only he rolled into the crosswalk and blocked the path of a visibly (and rightly) pissed pedestrian. Then by the In-N-Out that smelled of grilled onions only after I passed it. 

Next was a car that had no time to wait for me, a lowly and solitary cyclist, at the four-way stop. It seems modulating the brake or gas is too much effort; friction shifters and moustache bars, I'm led to believe, are easy.

The last bit is where I keep a steady cadence up a hill with a few drops of rain hitting my jacket. But in the end I've earned a view of the city.

photo: The Geriatric Aesthetic

The orange glow of sodium-vapor street lights dance across the ground as if the night sky has been inverted and suddenly my aimless ride has a purpose. If only to find solitude. In the city. In yourself.