Story #10 (in my 52 stories series) is really more of a poem than a story…but there’s a story inside it. See if you can find it.
This one was written after winning the short course in the 2015 Babes in Bikeland alleycat bike race.
Chain Links
Powered by candied ginger and ten thousand smiles, I ride.
Fly. Soar.
On the back of an aqua-colored steed.
Summer air tickling my legs; sweat dripping down my chest.
My body rides solo, my heart gallops alongside my community:
Arms that hug and lift up,
Lips that smile and speak affirmations,
Legs that piston-fire us down alleyways and neighborhood streets,
Over, under bridges,
Along the Mighty Miss.
As I ride, I see old and new and not-yet friends
Streaming down streets in packs and pairs.
I find allies stationed at stops,
Encouraging, cheering, urging us to
Go, fly, win.
Conquer the streets with our
Piss and vinegar,
Salty tears and candy smiles.
Claim the streets and make them
OURS.
I pound pedals to the finish line,
Let my body collapse at the feet of cheering friends.
No strangers here.
They pick up my sweat-drenched body
And I feel myself glowing from the inside out.
Friends stream in:
One, two, fifteen, four hundred.
We circle together as links on a bicycle chain,
And let the night pass.
Something runs between us now:
Can words explain it?
Kate Bitters is a freelance writer, marketer, and author of Elmer Left and Ten Thousand Lines. She is writing a story a week in 2015-2016 on the Bitter Blog. Subscribe to follow her journey.
Author: KateBitters
Kate Bitters is a Minneapolis-based author and freelance writer. She is the author of Elmer Left, Ten Thousand Lines, and He Found Me. One of her proudest/nerdiest moments was when Neil Gaiman read one of her short stories on stage at the Fitzgerald Theater.