On the shoulder of the road . . .

It was a beautiful, still morning as I rode to work. An Alfalfa field has just been mowed, you could smell it - and the Pecan groves are beautiful with their brand new leaves reaching out to the crystal blue sky. My thoughts today seemed to focus on "the shoulder". Obviously I spend a lot of time on the shoulder as a cyclist. A lot is revealed on the shoulder of the road. The stress of everyday use is evident as I roll across the shoulder's beat up and abused surface.

Once in awhile, as a touring cyclist, you'll come across what I call Highway Nirvana :) It's that stretch of road that has been newly resurfaced and the shoulder is wide, clean and smooth. There may be some rumble strips, but they too are new and easy to navigate as you ride down the highway fully loaded. The stresses of everyday use hasn't set in yet and the shoulder has a wonderful welcoming quality about it.

But as a commuting cyclist, the shoulders that I tend to travel are weary and worn. It's faithfully there to help me get to my destination, but it has a sad quality to it. You see the stress of life tossed upon it's surface, cast offs from passers by, items that are no longer desired, and sometimes the tragic evidence of life colliding with the traveler's on the highway.

I wonder, does a motorist really consider the shoulder? It's there when you need it, to pull over when your cell phone is ringing (right :), or to study a map (GPS? maybe not) or to experience the results of motion sickness (most definitely :). But beyond that, is the shoulder really a concern when you have the "main highway" to get you to your destination? And the highway allows the motorist to travel at a speed that makes the shoulder become a blur - so is there really anything to actually see? That is unless something flew out of the back of the vehicle and ended up on the shoulder, why would it even be a consideration?

So I guess the shoulder of the road is there to "shoulder the burden" of the traveler. I'm grateful for the weary shoulder I travel on. It's been neglected and abused, but it's there to offer me a little slice of the big highway so that I can get to and from my job. Maybe one day it will offer me a treasure that the busy travelers on the "main highway" can't see because they are traveling through life at a much faster pace than me and my Trek :)

Be safe out there . . . we're all in this together

Kath