Bolt and Bicycle

Hello fellow blogrimager's!... and other people :)

Today's reading from "Old Friend from Far Away" was pretty short, just two simple writing challenges called "Bolt" and "Bicycle".
Here are the descriptions for the writings; Bolt: "Tell me about a time something dawned on you, a realization, worlds came together or simply you saw a lightening bolt on a mountain. Where are you? Go for ten minutes."
And for Bicycle: "Tell me about a memory associated with a bicycle. The spokes, the wheels, the narrow seat. Go for ten."

And without further ado... I give you "Bolt" and "Bicycle". Enjoy! See you all tomorrow (maybe, I have to drive 12 hours tomorrow so we will see what happens, until next time then!)

"Bolt"

Nothing really comes to mind at the present; there was one moment though.
I was about 16-18 years old, I was laying my my bed waiting for the sleep to take me for the night, when I heard the sound of thunder in the distance.
I knew inside of me that this was going to be a big storm, and I love watching thunderstorms unfold amongst the stage of creation, so I sat up in my bed, turned to my window and gave a shove as the old sill creaked against the effort.
I took a deep breath and felt the cool wind brush against my cheeks, the smell of rain filled my nostrils as thought the air itself was pregnant with the rain that we were about to receive, the smell of it seemed to drift through me. And there, in the far distance, across an acre of our lawn, past the highway, over the corn fields that lay in the front of the house and past the silo that kept steady watch over us; the sky blackened with intensity of an ever approaching storm.
Lighting flashed across the sky making what was night, day, and showing a dance amongst the billowing clouds the energy that it felt...

In that moment when all was still and there I was leaning out my window watching the scene of legends past, unfold, a still and small voice spoke to me.

Not a voice that you hear with your ears, but a voice that calls from within you and travels through you and makes itself known to your thoughts, and it said, "I made this for you."

Times Up!

"Bicycle"

The memory that I have of bicycle(s), is the annual trip that my grandparents hosted up in northern Iowa, maybe Minnesota... Anyways, they had a couple of campers and they would take the whole family up to this camp ground that had this huge barn that was converted to a restaurant.

We would run around like young cousins do; climbing in places we weren't supposed too, playing cards in the cramped and humid quarters of a campers kitchen table (to escape the mosquitoes), swimming in the local pool, floating down a near by river; but the big reason we were all there, was for the bike trail...
It ran several miles, starting in one small, non-descript town; lazily crossing several rivers, an innumerable small creeks, through several other small towns that all boasted of fantastic local food (which it was!) and little stores that possessed all sorts of interesting items awaiting the curious to discover.

Every morning, grandpa would check all our bikes to make sure that they worked right and then we all (the cousins) would head out on the trail, simply going a mile or two as we were instructed by our adults, and usually one following us :(
But once every trip we would do the big bike ride!

All the aunts, uncles, grandma and grandpa and cousins young and younger would get up early on the chosen morning, mount up on our individual bikes that were available, and we would ride our butts off all day long.
Sometimes we would take quite a few stops here and there, taking in sights and time and eating our full at the local places and always searching for a way to quench our thirst in the hot noon day sun, drinking our fill of water whenever we had the chance.

Times Up!

Hoped you guys are enjoying the writings, let me know what you'll think.
Looking forward to what memories are revived as this blogrimage continues!
Take care.

-Eric Alan