biking+in+the+rain

biking:

warm summer school emma at daycare air heavy feelings--first annoyed, then elated thinking of quitting, already wet, why not? is she weird? ames empty puddles

I love Ames in the summer. Most of the college kids have gone home for the summer, and the town is pretty empty. Streets are bare, and there are a handfull of kids still around taking summer courses, trying to fit in some credits during the extra couple of months. Like me.

It was never lonely. My friends were mostly there, because they were older, like me. They had apartments, didn't live in the dorms, and many of them lived in the three houses surrounding mine. It was a nice little pocket of neighborhood in an almost empty town.

But I loved the campus also. It's beautiful. The grass is warm and inviting. The wide open spaces are calling you to grab a blanket and have a picnic. The greenery is dotted with students tossing a frisbee or a hacky sack. And because they are so scarce, every person you meet is a pleasant surprise.

But today is no day for a picnic. Today the sky is not calling me to lay down on the grass and hunt for designs in the clouds. Today, the air is heavy with heat and moisture. Today, there are thunderstorms in the forecast.

As I hop on my bike to campus, no rain has started, but everything seems to buzz with electricity. The anticipation of a swelling storm is growing in me as I pedal the familiar route to campus. There is a certain freedom in biking, standing up on your bike and moving in great bursts of speed up a hill, then letting go of the handlebars and rushing on your own momentum and balance down a steep decline.