Out For A Spin

...I've gone crazy on this road with all of this travelin' alone but the asphalt is burnin' tonight... - Nanci Griffith (Spin On A Red Brick Floor)

File this one under Random Observations, but, recently we've spent a fair amount of time riding bikes. Built before we all were enslaved to our cars, the Near South Neighborhood sports schools, libraries, parks, grocery stores, churches, a neighborhood bar and a post office drop box within walking distance. Quicker by bike.

This time of year McKibbin, Naomi and I spend a fair amount of our travel time on two-wheels. Naomi gets an itch to go somewhere, I suggest we bike, and McKibbin slips outside to get the gear.

I scramble around to house to assemble a few essentials. You know: house keys, water, snacks, sunscreen...when I'm really Type A I grab the First Aid Kit. Naomi flits around me like a butterfly with a zillion ideas for our outing. We kind of stumble our way outside. I'm still stuffing essentials into my backpack, and she's about to burst with the anticipation of forward motion.

This past Saturday followed our usual script, but, as Naomi and I spilled outside from the patio door I actually noticed my husband. Know somebody long enough, or fall into enough routines, and I stop really noticing them so much as anticipating them.

McKibbin was standing next to the garage, putting on his customary bike-ride-red-bandanna. Next to him were the three bikes propped up along the sidewall of the garage. Helmets hanging from the handle-bars. Without asking I knew he'd dusted off the seats and checked the tire pressure.

I've always been a good assembler of the essential backpack. Once I lay eyes on the bike, though, my instinct is to skip straight to the pedaling. I probably spent twenty years, in my pre-McKibbin existence, riding around various college towns with cobwebs and dust on my seat. When I was flush with cash (which wasn't often) I'd take my bike to the shop once a year and have it tuned up. But I can not recall a single instance where I actually checked the tire pressure.

Naomi rushed from my side to grab hold of her Dazzle-Jazz bike handlebars. McKibbin turned to help her with the bike helmet. He caught me staring at him...at our lives on a random Saturday...the sun high...the sky blue...and he fidgeted a little.

You ready? He asked.
Yep, I winked and gave him a buss on the cheek. I'm ready.