Because/For No Good Reason

Last weekend, I rode over 40 miles with a group of very vibrant and fit middle aged women. As we pedaled into the tail end of Hurricane Earl's winds, one of my biking friends, Ann, commented that her daughter, who is a teacher, did not have school one day in early September because the air conditioning was broken. That sent us off on a "When I was a kid..." reverie of hot classrooms that led to silliness about walking to school in the snow for miles and doing our homework by candlelight. Ann said, "And now that we are middle aged women, we ride 50 miles for no good reason." Her words lingered in my memory of our hours together and inspired this poem. Thanks, Ann!



Dixie, Ann and Linda ride the wind with Hurricane Earl...for no good reason.












Because/For No Good Reason

Pioneer children walked 10 miles in the snow
to learn reading, writing and ‘rithmetic
because there were no carpools or school buses.

In the early days of the last century farmers walked
behind horse-drawn plows
because they had no tractors.

When we were young, we sat in hot classrooms
in the waxing and waning days of summer
because school buildings had no air conditioning.

As middle aged women we ride 50 miles on bikes
for no good reason.
Like the chicken who crossed the road
and footloose dogs that chase bike riders
we do it because we can.

A day may come – tomorrow or 30 years from now –
when a long bike ride will be a memory
that aches more than over-used muscles,
because memories of lost youth are the worst part of growing old.

So I ride for no good reason – because I can.