ExperiencePlus! traveler Guy Lothian impressed us with his talent for words and we love this ode that was inspired by “an afternoon encounter with some serious local cyclists” during the May 2014 ExperiencePlus! ride along the Costa Brava in Catalonia, Spain.
Cyclists of Spain
The riders in Spain, projected
like positively charged
atoms bisect the lanes.
As if fired by distant cannons
They appear
silent and intransigent
with the random geometry of asteroids
clumped for drafting.
We are in their cross fire
We are down range
They ride, space age,
all carbon fiber and titanium.
Silent and deadly serious they pulse
through the placas
past the venerable stone
walls and towers
of old Spain.
Once the eyes have faced the sun
all shadows hold menace.
From the sun to the shade
They approach, invisible,
courting collision.
They depart a mirage
of fluorescent orange
and hi viz. green
with the reticent clicking
of chains caressing
derailleurs.
They are “out there”,
miles from their beds,
entangled in a vast afternoon
of climbs and sprints.
Miles from the end.
It is Spain, old and new,
and they, computer game surreal
skirmish with the mountains and sky.
Like free electrons they course through the dusty lanes,
their tires, silent and skinny wraiths.
It’s as if you could hear
Their hearts pounding
Over the wind. These electrons
follow the sun washed conduits
of ancient roads.
Out of nowhere
They appear
I look though them
Unseeing.
Ballistic tendons ligaments and muscle
Apogee across the landscape
Wind and blood roar in their ears
They approach, threatening
with insolent and constant
torque. Then
they slip silently away until nothing is left but
a faint day glo glimmer across the fields.
Check out Guy’s trip photos at the ExperiencePlus! smugmug gallery.
Guy and his wife Arleen are lifelong residents of the Chicago area. He studied creative writing at Southern Illinois University before earning an MBA at DePaul University and embarking on a thirty year long career in the financial services industry. Having retired from the corporate world he now divides his time between golf, biking, skiing, fly fishing and working on his first novel about an anti poaching force operating in the Congo. He and Arleen are always looking forward to their next inspiring ExperiencePlus! trip.