Indescribable joy.

There are three deer on the side of a trail. A twisting black river that flows through a thick stand of trees, opens up into a windblown field grown high with grass. There are three deer, dappled hides spotted with late-afternoon sun and the wind is warm and fierce, as if it has something to prove. Three deer moving, heads bobbing, ears up and twitching, black noses pumping and testing, muscled flanks moving, stopping, looking around.

I am moving, flowing down the black river, head down arms out eyes focused. My breath is a song whoi-whfoo and my body provides the lyrics.

Deer and bike, we see each other, hesitate. Ears flicker. Legs slow.

Then, it happens. A loud yell and I smile and here it is I'm going and "Lets race!" and my legs are going so fast so fast the deer bounds through bushes and my heart leaps in my chest and my pedals slow and my face feels like it will crack open and my heart feels like it will explode with joy I am living and there is nothing around me but a flash of white in the distance and I slow my legs, listen to tires on warmed pavement and feel the cold embrace of the wind once again and the hot burn of the lactic acid in my thighs and I shake my head at the silliness of it all.

But then I think that maybe next time I will take that deer and maybe next time it will be that deer that is looking at the glimmer of spokes in the distance and shaking it's head at those silly, strange and surreal moments in life.

Wow, that's great, imagery is amazing. Now if that doesn't motivate me to get outside on my bike!!

Kimmyt, thanks for sharing!;)

Nice images, Kimmy....keep the joy coming! :)

Excellent!!! I particularly like the onomatopoetic description of your breath!

Reminds me of the time a flock of ducks raced me across the bay--raced me for about 2 seconds, after which I was left in their figurative dust. What motivation!

Wonderful and quite inspiring. Thank you for sharing. :)

Fantastic, Kimmy
I was right there with you!

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

Things like that make you just so glad to be alive
Even *reading* them works too!

Thank you, Kimmy, for this post. More than you will ever know - it came at a time I really needed to hear something like this even tho' I dint put it into words like that.

Be strong, be well, be joyful and be grateful

What a wonderful description of a ride! As everyone else has said, thanks for sharing.

--- Denise

Wow, what a fab ride story

Thats what cycling is so much about for me - the "communing" with nature and being part of the environment.

Unfortunately, I don't have access to the variety of wildlife such as there is on the American continent... its mainly birds and bunnies I see when on a ride.

This was such a pleasure to read - thank you