Pleasure for Every Day

I am very keen on days when weather and time allow me to bike to work. The distance to be covered between my place of work and home is about 16 kilometres. Freshness of the morning, odour of the dewy grass, the rising sun and the twittering of birds fill you with energies you can hardly get from elsewhere. The road is slightly undulating, so I, being an amateur biker, need some effort to progress. After some sweating, it is an elevating feeling to have a shower when reaching the goal. It is great that early in the morning I have already acted for the benefit of my health, as I was moving, I was breathing in fresh air, and I had time to ponder over matters of life and the world. Besides, I have done something for the world as well because my environment also benefits from my inner energies as I will be less morose with my colleagues, I am getting on better with the work, and our planet was saved from roughly 6 kilogramms of contaminants. During the day, I often remember the morning and the end of the day when I can get again on my bike after bending at the desk for hours. At such times, everything shows a contrast with the morning, the sun shines in a different way, the noises of the road and vehicles also sound differently, the landscape glitters in other colours, everything looks more tired, strengthless and signals that the day is passing. And anew, I fight with the hills. What is a sacrifice in the morning, now it is a fun. Sometimes I break my previous speed records, thus yesterday is competing with today. The road is meandering, varied, the path is sometimes uneven, sometimes it is a wavy highway, here it is a cycle lane cut up with horrible cross-drives, there it is a road threatening you to fall upon the gravel, and after that  there emerges a highway smooth as glass. I am aware of each bump. For me, the landscape is, as Radnóti, the Hungarian poet wrote, "not merely a map". Of course, this distance of 2 x 16 kilometres is not free from risk. Though I try to avoid the busy places, sometimes I go along with the traffic, which has the motto "more brawn than brain". Apparently, whom fits this twisted proverb, recognizes himself if he wants to. On the other hand, several car drivers wait out that the traffic coming from the opposite direction should pass by, and only afterwards they give me way, leaving quite a large side space. On such occasions, I silently pray God's blessing to the driver, and I wish him a nice day. I do hope he is aware of my thanks and joy even without words and waving. These people have already either ridden a bike or they are considerate towards fellow-men. Well, taking part in traffic is not without any excitement, however, it makes me vigilant, I have to pay attention to the environment  and myself too. After about an hour's pedalling, I can catch sight of two hollies standing green guard in front of my home in winter and summer alike, a girl on the left and a boy on the right side. I got home. These weekdays are all engulfed by pleasure and freedom.