Ciclavia 10-10-10

1. To Church

A meditation on pleasure tinged with nervousness. A new experience , riding Carmella to church. Olympic, Crenshaw, Venice, then Hoover with it's blessed bike lane.

A meditation on ascent, on descent, and the illusion of "flat". Subtlety.
A meditation on fortune, on the gift it is to even be able to pedal, to sense grade , to shift gears. The thrill of firm thighs.

A meditation on the Americans with disabilities act wherefrom every curb is friendly, inviting for riders, too.

A meditation on how fast cars go,
On what kind of people swoosh past like you are an obstacle,
Drivers who open their doors full on, oblivious to you, to all. Wondering who am I when I'm driving.

A meditation on fossil fuels and war,
Sniper fire erasing humans and dwellings. Fittings for an artificial leg.

A meditation on obesity in America,
Rolls and innertubes and love-handles and spare tires, On Michelin children, their little eyes sewn shut with adipose. Expressionless.

A meditation on my riding partner,
His sweet glimpses back to see how I'm doing ,
That wild left he made from the center lane, like a car! Like a frigging car!

A meditation not on boredom but on those moments when there is nothing to do but continue.

A plane descends in the blue over Vermont Boulevard, heading to LAX. homecoming. Arrival at the bike rack, then a moment to absorb what has transpired.

2. Ciclavia
Ten minutes up Figueroa,sw then a right turn onto 7th street:
The day apartheid ended,
That weekend when the wall came down.

A meditation on pure joy,
On child-like exuberation as you bike goes through an intersection,
Safe safe safe.

A meditation on seeing what's in a block--
This shop, this stand, these little places to eat that are invisible at 35 miles per hour.

A meditation on City Hall, it's soft undulating green lawns that belong to me, the people all around, whose bikes are tilted softly against the trees while they eat their sandwiches, sip their water.

A meditation on we the people who have the right to decide on every day being ciclavia, or at least a day safe for bicyclists.

A meditation on how that would feel, how would that day feel.