148 - Biking in Berlin

You ride through the whole city like a bird, but pushing, so a fish maybe. The odd scare is easily handled. The bike stays under you like a friend you're so comfortable with that you never bump, you never disagree beyond some playful or sincere interaction, you just glide together. Round corners you swoop. There's always room to manoeuvre. The occasional incursion onto the cycle-path by a pedestrian who's looking the other way, or a man loading his lorry from a trailer, these you can factor in. You can move round, you can flow with the flow.

You ride across the city, burning your mouth and burning your back and burning your legs. You are burned when you arrive, but this is a satisfying burn. Warmth is yours.

The many streets and the many footpaths all happen all the time. They never cease. A million foot-passengers embark on a million journeys. They go in every direction. You see this and take part in this. You are on the wind, even as it picks up leaves to take past you, or lifts your shirt in time with the rising and falling of the pavements and bridges.

You are everywhere. Always in motion. Many more like you ride all over. You began at your desk, in front of the computer. You end again, having flown across the city and back, back at your desk, in front of your computer.