Fascination of a Convert

It all started with:
ROAD: songs in my head
MTB: no songs in my head, not a note, not even the hanging silence of a concert piece after it ends

Then I realized:
ROAD: quads
MTB: hamstrings

ROAD: hips and legs
MTB: hips and shoulders and legs and back and a light touch

And as I thought about it more:
ROAD: civilized social conversation
MTB: I AM SO GOOD!! What happened to YOU, man?! You suck!

Descents:
ROAD: WHHEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
MTB: waah-ha-haaa-hhhaaaa-HOOO!

The bicycle:
ROAD: Windex, Windex, Windex
MTB: dirt clumps, grass, a couple sticks, leaves under the brake pads, weeds wrapped around the cassette preventing that one gear I need...for the second ride in a row.

The look:
ROAD: if ya can’t be good, gotta look good
MTB: look?

ROAD: well-stitched, put-together lycra
MTB: holes? where? oh.

ROAD: socks match the jersey
MTB: black one: hole...red one: ripped -- it’s a pair!

The flow:
ROAD: awareness
MTB: focus

ROAD: balance
MTB: maneuver

ROAD: read the line and know
MTB: wha --

ROAD: guidance
MTB: gremlins

The intangibles:
ROAD: trust
MTB: zone

ROAD: grace
MTB: finesse

And after a colossal ride:
ROAD: beer with a turkey deli sandwich and apple pie alamode
MTB: beer and a burger with a cigar chaser

In the end:
ROAD: I live for it
MTB: can’t live without it

- not so Old Bag