A Distant Ramble

Oh dear god I feel a ramble coming on. I might write about activities I performed yesterday, the day before, or the week before. Then again, I might spew some thoughts regarding "life" in an extremely generalized sort of way. All such things deserve a little print, er, air time, er, cyberspace, er, yeah; but let's go ahead and start with last evening, shall we? I road my mountain bike. At any given moment during this event, you would have found, not far in front or behind me, another humanoid pedaling its very own knobby tired, multi-geared bicycle. Normally, such phenomena are not especially noteworthy, as the trails outside Boise, on good days like yesterday, are literally crawling with life forms doing fun, active things on the dirt. Verily, the pair of riders, of which I was onehalf, and the ride which they were riding, is noteworthy. You see, I was riding with this girl I know, and it was her first ever mountain bike ride on Boise trails. It was also a noteworthy phenomenon because she was on her very own mountain bike--the first of its kind, and only a few days old. (I think she named it "Gary") Ok, another reason the ride was noteworthy: She was having fun. As was I. Another reason: She was riding well, with complete control and just a little flo'.
I can hear the faint whisper of a professor in my ear saying, "Josh, but what of the ride's greater significance?" Hmm... So the bike ride was noteworthy, that much has been established; BUT, the question is, is there any great significance underlying the event? Well, for me, the whole thing wasn't unlike watching a baby take its first confident steps. ...hmmm... greater significance? I'll give you greater significance. As humanoids, we've got two arms and two legs. These appendages help us out with a lot of stuff. Like; walking, crawling, hiking, running, lifting, jumping jacks, somersaults, swinging from trapeze, what have you. But our arms and legs as they are arranged along our torso don't REALLY allow us to do anything THAT cool or THAT amazing all by themselves. We are still puny humans who try desperately just to maintain speeds greater than 6 miles an hour consistently. We are lucky if our bags o' flesh n' bones are capable of transporting us more than 15 miles a day. And this over fairly level terrain. So here we are, pitiful little creatures, flailing around, moving unnattractively all the time with very little effect. (and usually with very little fun) If only there was something, some tool, that could serve as an extension of our body, which would grant us great new powers. Imagine. Instead of struggling to maintain 6 miles an hour for an hour or two on our two stumps, what if it were possible to travel 2-3 times that speed for well over 2 hours? What if there was something we could place between our thighs and attach to our hands and feet which would turn the crude motion of our limbs into the embodiment of Pi--The Circle. If anything is divine in this universe, it is the circle. Its geometric equation has no end. Its form is the reacurring form of space. Stars, planets, galaxies--they all take the shape of the circle. Imagine if each of us could harness its cosmic power. Imagine!
You know where this is going... Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to the crowning achievement of man: The Bicycle. No longer must we crawl around like ordinary, less superior life forms. Now we can fly along on the wings of the circle!! The news is out folks! You can purchase your own Bicycle today and rise out of the dredges of mediocracy. With just 4 circles (two wheels and two gears) beneath you, you will move more efficiently, burning less energy, than any other man made creation. You may travel across town to work with nary an effort, if you so choose. Also, if you'd like, you may begin pumping your legs with force, reving your internal engine, burning the fuel you may have stored in various bulges, and slowly morphing into a Superyou. And this is possible with no catastrophic impact to the places where your limbs join.
Ladies and Gentlemen, ride the circle. Let the circle take you there. Let it be your guide to new and wondrous places. Ride the circle.
Ok, ok, ok. now there's throw-up all over my desk and chair. (are you happy now internal professor? you wanted significance, and I gave it to you. now look at what's happened. everyone reading has thrown up a little in their mouths, if not all over their computer) I should stop with the circle bit and clean up.
Back to the ride last night. It was cool to see my girlfriend riding with me and enjoying it. It was cool to see the progress that she made in the short time that we rode. --end.