It’s just a bike.
Right?
Today I took my first Spyder - named by my beloved daughter, Shannon, from a favorite children’s book series about a young girl named Emily and her big red dog, Clifford – to Santa Clara Cycle where it is on consignment. I didn’t think much about it when I picked it up at the dealer in Livermore where it had been serviced. I threw a leg over and had the most amazing thing happen… all these memories started flooding into my brain and I got all schmoopie (a term Shannon used the other day… seemed to fit).
I remember the day I went to test ride it… wondering if I would be able to ride it. I remember the day I picked it up to take home with me. I remember Shannon coming out to the garage to check it out and, when I said it needed a name, she just looked at me and said, “Clifford.” And I thought, PERFECT!
I remember the first short ride I took on it in the hills behind my home. I had flashbacks of so many amazing trips – multiple states, Baja (where I got to pet a whale!!), Canada – 30K (s)miles with some of the best people on the face of the earth. And I remembered how much a part of my healing – mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical – that Clifford had truly been. It was part of my physical rehab as the Spyder is a much more physical ride than 2-wheels so my legs and arms got stronger the more I rode it. It allowed me to get back out into the world and explore and feel and see and soar.
And while I continue to do all of that on the new bike, and I know that Clifford needs a new pilot to take it on new adventures, I still couldn’t help feel a little sadness at letting that part of my life go. I mean, it’s just a bike, right? Just a thing… but it allowed so much more to happen in my life so there is an emotional attachment and I will always be grateful to the big red dog… and I truly hope the next owner will find as much enlightenment and fun as I did.
Right?
Today I took my first Spyder - named by my beloved daughter, Shannon, from a favorite children’s book series about a young girl named Emily and her big red dog, Clifford – to Santa Clara Cycle where it is on consignment. I didn’t think much about it when I picked it up at the dealer in Livermore where it had been serviced. I threw a leg over and had the most amazing thing happen… all these memories started flooding into my brain and I got all schmoopie (a term Shannon used the other day… seemed to fit).
I remember the day I went to test ride it… wondering if I would be able to ride it. I remember the day I picked it up to take home with me. I remember Shannon coming out to the garage to check it out and, when I said it needed a name, she just looked at me and said, “Clifford.” And I thought, PERFECT!
I remember the first short ride I took on it in the hills behind my home. I had flashbacks of so many amazing trips – multiple states, Baja (where I got to pet a whale!!), Canada – 30K (s)miles with some of the best people on the face of the earth. And I remembered how much a part of my healing – mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical – that Clifford had truly been. It was part of my physical rehab as the Spyder is a much more physical ride than 2-wheels so my legs and arms got stronger the more I rode it. It allowed me to get back out into the world and explore and feel and see and soar.
And while I continue to do all of that on the new bike, and I know that Clifford needs a new pilot to take it on new adventures, I still couldn’t help feel a little sadness at letting that part of my life go. I mean, it’s just a bike, right? Just a thing… but it allowed so much more to happen in my life so there is an emotional attachment and I will always be grateful to the big red dog… and I truly hope the next owner will find as much enlightenment and fun as I did.
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