| 2010.04.26 |
I bought a copy of Avatar today. I’d seen the movie in the theater. It’s such a visually stunning movie I had to add it to my BD collection… which now stands at four.
In the movie, the character Jake Sully is a former Marine who lost the use of his legs. He’s asked to take the position of his late brother, a special projects scientist who was killed in an accident.
In one of the first few scenes of the movie, Jake is introduced to his avatar, and rediscovers — probably too quickly — the simple joy of running again.
When I saw that in the theater, it was a simple, gratifying milestone moment in the movie plot.
Today it became more.
I stopped the movie and fished my old road cleats out of the dirty rubber bin on the balcony. I put them on — and rolled the Bianchi out the door.
Stepping onto the road bike for the first time in so very long felt magical. I mean magical. I could stretch my legs with each stroke. It felt awkward — the saddle seemed so high, it took a few minutes to get comfortable — but it still felt wonderful.
Not everything went as smoothly as Jake Sully’s first trip on his legs. For reasons I don’t understand, the computer failed to take input for the first short trip across the property and back. The sensor and the magnet were perfectly aligned — so I simply moved the sensor closer and hoped for the best. On the second trip, for whatever reason, it started reading about a hundred yards in. It felt so weird to sit so high up in the saddle. I had to, eh, adjust to the saddle height. At first I strongly considered dropping the saddle a bit. After I rode for a little longer, I’m not so sure.
I didn’t go far — and I didn’t go fast. Far and fast aren’t the point yet. The point is simply to remember the pedals as an extension of myself; to make graceful, smooth circles, and become one again with the simple machine.
And to remember how much I love it. That part was… well, just like riding a bicycle.
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