A life of grime

As much as the roads are falling apart bits of them are stuck in every nook of my bike. Cleaning down today and getting into all the mucky stuff before  lubing up, not in a kinky way, just keeping all the parts moving smoothly!

The  sense of grime comes from the whole sensory spectrum, from the smell lingering in my gloves and helmet a mixture of damp and sweat. The flecks of oil and dirt on my waterproofs and the need for frequently cleaning my visor.

I'm also harbouring a little fear that I might be becoming a new breed of eccentric ' gentlemen of the road' which is the polite name for a tramp. Every town must have one of these bag wo/man, sometimes with a range of shopping carts or trolleys, sometimes on a bike fashioned with carriers for collecting rubbish, cans and empty fag packets. They got wild staring eyes and a great big bushy beard, even the female variety! Like I say it's only a little worry that I might be the first of a new motorised breed. Something to notice about the movement; Collecting and gathering experiences in neat arrangements rather than an extensive collection of tools and implements that aren't necessary.

All the rain and mud, the water-logged verges and flooded roads contribute to the unclean feeling creeping over my skin. That's not the only thing I turned forty over the weekend and aware of wearing the years. In truth, there's some revulsion toward a few of the characters I've met lately. No-one can measure their own beauty and it beats me, these people who seem afraid of growing old or unwilling to admit decay, the meaning of the word.

I can't deny it myself, given the life I've led but I don't let it get under my skin or bury itself in an unknown corner of my world. Like the view we can hold toward others, people like ourselves. If we aspire to the most honourable and noble vision of them, we do ourselves no harm.

Like the old saying goes - you got to crack a few eggs to make omelettes. This body's been lived in there's a few scars where the strength of mind and body is pushed to endurance and growth when things rush to become too much. learning can only come from experience, where ideas are tested. Better paying such a price than the never ending cost of vanity and pride. Adoring a body from the outside like a pet or stray creature a person grew fond of, some faults comforted with generosity.

I don't get this feeling of decline, the empire down. This most creative time is like a dateline but no-one can be certain what it brings. Humanity isn't loosing it, getting out of control or chaotic. A lot of people feel lost, out of the picture or the loop, doesn't make the experience true, it just makes it real.

RDS