Friday, 7/15

You know, there are probably times when you DON'T have to ring the bell on your bike.

If you're riding your bike on a bike path and you're coming up on a group of walkers or a bunch of people wandering all over the place, it's probably a good thing to ring the bell on your bike or to say “on your left”, just to warn those on the bike path that you're approaching them.

However...if, say, the bike path is mostly empty as far as the eye can see and, say, the one & only person in sight is sticking to the extreme right hand side of the path and, say, that person is lost in thought, do you REALLY need to ring your bike and jolt that person out of his zen-like reverie?

Especially if that person is me?

I took a few hours yesterday to walk in the sun on the South Beach bike path. I was the only person in sight; there were no other walkers, no runners, and, surprisingly, no people on bikes. So I was walking down the edge of path, out of anyone's way, just enjoying my meditative state (the reason I love walking on the beach or a quiet bike path), when all of a sudden I'm blasted out of it by a series of bell rings from someone coming up on me. There was no one else in sight; the rider had a clear path around me. Yet they rang their bell, disrupting the clear, calm peace of mind I had achieved.

Man.

Now, I'm not saying ringing your bell or shouting “on your left” is a bad thing. I myself do it all the time, especially when I'm coming up on a group of people wandering all over the place. But when I come up on an individual, staying on their own side? Not so much. I leave them be to their thoughts and the fact that they're responsibly sharing the path with others by sticking to their own lane.

I realize I'm just being cranky about this because I was in such a mental zone and was jolted out of it by one person, someone who was probably just looking out for my welfare (and actually doing what it says to do on all the signs posted along the path). But I was in a REALLY good zone. I was in that spot that experts say is great for your mental health, and the spot that people who meditate strive for. The person who rang the bell did nothing wrong.

Even if it's something I kinda wish they hadn't done, and even if it's something I myself would not have done.

*****

To show you that not I'm actually NOT a Cranky Old Man in training, once I was jolted out of my reverie I noticed just how amazingly beautiful that section of the South Beach bike path actually is right now, and whipped out my phone.

See?

So despite all my whining, something good actually did come out of the whole incident.

Have a great weekend!

(jim@wmqt.com)