it was actually riding to work yesterday & I was thinking about it & I was like this is something I do daily & there is something really.. like there’s a point in my bike ride.. Because I used to ride through Marrickville & that was beautiful & casual & lovely & I got to.. You know? Whistle through the trees & enjoy a leisurely ride & now I ride through Green Square & Alexandria & it’s horrible! But there’s these beautiful epiphanic moments where the lights just change perfectly for me.. & I get to zoom past about fifteen to twenty different cars & they don’t always happen but most days I’ll get one or two & they just have no standing on whether I have a good day or not but.. Jesus do they make the morning a little bit nicer! It’s like a feeling of not having to brake & not having to pander to the cars but also it’s just a really nice feeling of not having to stop & it is something that happens regularly enough that it has kinda become a bit of a pattern to the point of where I can tell if I am going to get a good run from the start. I’ve started caring about it I guess at this latest job because I used to be doing the film stuff & TV stuff & that was not ride your bike to work that was get in a van at five in the morning & struggle with that for the next fourteen hours. So I guess it was starting with Bower maybe two years ago? Two & a half years ago? I always had a bike but I hadn’t really cared about it in the same way. Like it was important.. It wasn’t a daily thing. Actually using your body it feels beautiful to do something on your own strength & it is interesting.. It is something that I occasionally whine internally about. I think about it like maybe I should just walk today but whenever I get on that.. All is forgotten. I shouldn’t do it but I always listen to music & that just amplifies the experience which is always really good. It is a moment I can have to myself in a way. It also means if I am getting on my bike I am getting here earlier rather then when I get a lift with my partner or anything. I am always going to be earlier if I get my bike & that is always my favourite thing. Being first in. It gives me the illusion that I am winning the day regardless of how actually productive I become for the whole day. It is definitely a positive start & it is definitely something that I really love doing in the evenings. Regardless of whether I have a fantastic day or not it is always a really nice way to start & end. Freedom feels a little colourful in terms of how to describe it.. But there is definitely.. There is a robustness that comes with just getting up & fucking doing the thing & doing the thing that occassionally really hurts. I guess that’s why I brought it back to the original moment.. Being able to zoom past a bunch of cars. Because actually most of it is not particularly pleasant. It’s nice but battling trucks & particularly the amount of trucks around at the moment.. It is a constant fight on the road & you are aware that you are this little organic bag of bones.. Kind of riding around on a little metal contraption that I built.. Sort of.. & I am so utterly mortal! Haha. There isn’t an invincibility or anything but there is a real sense of little triumph.. It is certainly better than.. Not only is it a scenic thing I try & go different ways for that same reason you can make your way through it is kinda like a grid. It is always fun to try a new & exciting way to do it. You know jumping up on footpaths & doing all kinds of interesting things that always makes it better. It is a constant tune up to fix the thing you ride on to. It is nice to have trust in something that you know. & I guess not everyone would have that now with their cars.. People don’t really work on them anymore.. But people definitely work on their bikes. When you see someone go past on a bike you quietly.. I don’t know if judge is the right word.. But you are always aware of like just how much they actually care about that thing. If they are a casual rider or if it is something they do every day. If it is something that they adore or if it’s like.. Well I better start this because it is the start of a new year. It’s the beautiful thing about it. It is all visible. It is all really beautiful mechanics. This thing applies to this thing which means this thing does that.
Griffin is an avid bike rider, handy repair person & great musician. He currently works at The Bower Banga Community Shed in Green Square.