True Love

true love is riding my salsa casserole down quiet side streets late at night in a light rain. i ride these roads so often that my body naturally banks the turns and sways to avoid the potholes i am so familiar with that they are almost friends. these streets are still in a city filled with noise and chaos. it’s a fine line and a delicate balance to the alternative, the next block in either direction into an entirely different world.

my salsa cradles my body and is my worrier, my protector. her steal takes the impact of the roads imperfections and i feel the smoothness. her tires on the asphalt are a comfort to my ears. i have never known a bike like this. i fly. i sway. i am in rhythm. i am in love.

spring rain dabs my face and wind runs his fingers through my hair. little beads of sweat form on the small of my back under my rain coat and i endearingly welcome them; anticipating how amazing i will feel sweat drenched moving and stretching in the fallowing days yoga class.

scents of springtime flowers and wood burning fill my nostrils and i yearn with every part of my being to be near a camp fire on the oregon cost. sleeping in a tent under the starry sky.

quickly i am back to the awareness of the present and enjoying my ride too much. it is freedom with clarity. this kind of independence and self sufficiency comes with great self respect and love.

the quiet side streets unavoidably spit me out into congestion. couples out for the evening, gangs of drunk men looking to chase tail, taxies, noise, girls made up and in heels, frat looking boys, evening runners, other cyclists… my senses are overloaded in part to the cardamom and cinnamon spiced coffee i sipped on while having deep conversation with a true friend. he is caring, gentle, honest, and blunt. he is a true friend.  

i fly and the people on the street with their own agendas cannot touch me so i do not judge them. before i blink my eyes again i am around the corner of my home and my final destination for the evening. there is slight disappointment there. the evening ride is over.

soon i am entering my space high over the city with a view and sit and day dream on. this place has been transforming into a sanctuary and a comfort. there, a man i adore waits for me and smiles at me, bear foot as i enter. true love is adoration without forcefulness. my heart is happy as i lean my salsa gently agents the wall.