I spotted this bicycle outside the West Falmouth market while coming home from the beach just after sunset a few weeks ago. At first, I went past it but almost immediately I recognized that it was a picture full of stories and so I turned around and went back to take the shot. I had to hurry because the day was over and the light was almost gone.
Riding on the bike path through the Sippewissett marshes on summer evenings is fantastic. When the sun is near the edge of the sky and casting its fading glow over the marsh the crowds retreat to the restaurants and bars in town leaving a quiet that is only broken by birdsong. The air is cooler and riding a bicycle causes it to flow around my face like a soft caress and it whispers "everything is just the way it should be." There is a delusion of a wonderful world. A perfect world.
How many riders, I wondered, were caught up in the same lovely delusion while riding this old bike? It seemed a shame to throw it out - to give away those memories for free.
I took the picture but left the bike. Maybe it will take somebody else through the marsh and let them feel the summer breeze on their face and hear it whisper, “everything is just the way it should be.”
Monte