Something New

There are not many things in this screwed up world that really make me feel alive. For instance, there's the first big wave that crashes over my body and knocks me right on my ass and makes me take notice that no matter how big my head may get or how powerful I may have felt, the ocean is a shit load bigger and more powerful than any man. It's better than a cold shower first thing in the morning to get the senses going. Then there's the quiet wonder of being alone in the forest with nothing but the birds and the leaves as my soundtrack. I may be a completely modern man, surrounded by LCD TVs, game systems and computers, but when I am in the woods with no fellow humans meddling in my bliss I feel that primitive connection to the world that all the electrons and circuit boards steal away. Today I stumbled upon a new one. I replaced the brakes on my bike today. This required a test drive to make sure everything was assembled correctly and that no air snuck into the lines. It was threatening rain and the forecast was calling for thunderstorms, but I decided to chance it and sneak in a quick test ride before the heavens opened up. After a few starts and stops around the neighborhood I decided to hit a more open road and get up a bit of speed to really set the pads. So I headed on the road a few miles, turned around and headed for home proud of myself having correctly changed the brakes on my bike for the first time. I was maybe a mile and a half from home when my luck with the weather ran out. I was cruising at roughly 60-miles-an-hour in wholly inappropriate riding attire. Namely tennis shoes, shorts, a t-shirt and my trust Icon helmet. It was, after all, a quick test ride and I didn't want the hassle of donning the fell leathers. And like a brick wall I hit a sheet of rain, hail and win that would make Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton pay attention. I was soaked head to toe in seconds and pepper with precipitation that felt like innumerable needles being shot into my skin. After a minute of "oh shits" I had a strange thought pop into my helmeted head, "I can't remember the last time I played in the rain!" And suddenly "oh shit" became "woo hoo." I could feel everything drop string my skin, I could feel the spray off the rear tire up my back, I could feel the growing puddles in my shorts legs (from the rain, gutter mind)- I could feel every nerve of my continuously aging body alive with electrical energy. It was, in a word, awesome.