30 Days of Biking, Day 17: Magic

Today’s word was supposed to be rain. Or fenders. Or flaps (I have a spiffy new extra-long reflective WA Bikes mud flap extension on my fenders).

Instead it’s magic. Here’s why:

The day started with a driving rain, in both senses of the word: The Seattle skies opened up, and I needed to drive to Auburn for a meeting with Jeff Scully, president of Ortlieb USA. This was definitely the kind of weather that makes their waterproof bags an essential piece of gear and apart from the traffic — and the navigation — and the lack of visibility more than a few yards in front of my front hood — I didn’t mind driving instead of biking.

The day flew by, complete with parking ticket because I can’t remember to keep track of a car’s needs. Sheesh, it’s like having a Neopet. (Remember those?)

Drove home at day’s end. Still raining. But that’s not the word of the day. Because if you don’t like the weather, just wait.

A few minutes after finishing dinner I spotted blue skies down low near the horizon. The sky took on that golden end-of-day glow when the nearly horizontal rays of the setting sun catch all the glistening raindrops on the tips of pine needles. The rain had stopped.

It was time to ride.

Here’s where the magic starts: I didn’t have anywhere in particular to go. So much of my bicycling is destination-oriented. I’m riding to the bus stop. I’m riding to the restaurant for breakfast or dinner. I’m riding to the meeting, and then the other meeting. I’m riding to the grocery store.

I decided to noodle around a few blocks of the neighborhood, taking care to go in a different direction from any of my goal-oriented routes. Wending my way through a few quiet neighborhood streets, I checked out the architectural styles and the flowers in various yards.

Turning onto 130th St. NE I spotted the next sign of magic: A house with the interior lit up by colored lights. Glowing jewel tones of magenta and lilac filled the rooms of the little house. I don’t know why and I imagine it makes for a terrible reading light, but it looked pretty cool radiating out of the windows. A wizard’s house, no doubt.

A couple of blocks ahead, yet more magic: A gazebo in someone’s yard with a cap of little tiny lights. Their house blocked the gazebo from sight at first, then it popped into view like a giant glowing mushroom in the rapidly deepening dusk.

Satisfied that I’d gone on a ‘splore (for you Winnie the Pooh fans) and had an experience created solely by participating in 30 Days of Biking, I pedaled home.

Final bit of magic: Those new fenders and the extra-long flap kept my feet from getting soaked when I splooshed through an especially deep puddle in the last block before reaching home.

Day 17 in the 30 Days of Biking, 30 Words, 30 Pictures series. Why a series? Why not?

Related Reading

• 30 Days of Biking, 30 Words, 30 Pictures: Day One–Fun
• Day Two: Flexibility
• Day Three: Color
• Day Four: Racing
• Day Five: Weather
• Day Six: Dates
• Day Seven: Left
• Day Eight: Leadership
• Day Nine: Outdoors
• Day 10: Snohomish
• Day 11: Home
• Day 12: Friends
• Day 13: Sounds
• Day 14: Driving
• Day 15: Taxes
• Day 16: Blogs

Your Turn

• What moments of magic have come your way thanks to the bicycle?