On two wheels, a rigid frame, the pulsing whispers repeat in cadence and I glide quickly, quietly, on avenues, alleys, over bridges spanning endless dew-kissed chasms. I don't hold back. Focus is the tender white line now gray, orange under the street lamps, gray again in shadow, unbroken and safe. A line I dare to cross that brings me home.
There's always a reason not to go. Standing still the world is tremendous. Distance is misperceived and asphyxiating. When I move on two wheels, air fills my lungs and a transformation begins. Consciousness becomes awareness. Decisions are made without thought. Steadily, I accelerate and watch as streets unfold and hillsides yield to my will. No single instant defines the moment the machine and I become one moving component absorbing the world through six senses.
Through the salty bay air, textures unfold, the air thickens with moments of food, pot, sea foam, and sewage. My lungs fill with deep breaths. Sweet blues guitar passes on the left. Two lovers walk and whisper under the sound of my pattering wheels. Firm gravel, rail tracks, cobblestones, pot holes, and plates keep my wheels out of boredom. They never fail me, firm and steady, and grip like teeth when I ask too much.
On the Golden Gate Bridge, a fence pulls back to reveal my next route. It's all mine. The whole Bridge... The city... All of it. This late, the millions that molest it are gone, and I have it all to myself. A buzzer groans and the dew glaze shimmers on an untouched path, inviting me to indulge in my favorite sacrament.
Minutes pass and dinosaur shadows lurk beneath me on all sides. I approach the far side of my journey and return, embracing the myriad glistening lights across the Bay. Naked and in full view. The city glows radiant. I'm reeling in everything I haven't seen hidden behind the surface of that glistening, distant facade. I find it so seductive. This city an organism so large and I, the parasitic observer, am in love with its empty canals, it's hidden lessons and untold stories.
Through the eucalyptus and deep darkness of night, the pulsing whispers send a surge of acceleration through me and my sinews tighten. My lungs ache for more air. Nothing stops me as I careen into the sweet salty infinite fog and a night ride like none I have ever experienced unfolds.
