Today was finally the day,
The route was researched,
The chain oiled,
Tyres pumped,
Let’s go!
My wheels spell out freedom with every turn,
Overcome with liberation I shout,
Good Morning!
To my fellow freedom riders,
The wind ruffles my hair
As my greetings are ignored,

No matter.
I smile,
My pedals spinning.
And then,
It happened.
Like an angel of death, he swept
Out from the side,
Oblivious, superior,
Uncaring.
I braked hard,
Collision avoiding skill at its finest.
I shouted,
I waved,
My indignation was ignored.

No matter.
I thought,
As I pedalled on.
Such a new perspective on this road well travelled,
What was hidden was now visible.
A garden,
A funny little door,
All so-
WATCH WHERE YOU’RE GOING!
Screams a pedestrian,
Standing on the road without permission from the Green Man.
But,
But,
My shaky finger points at the Red Man.
I am hit with a glare
And the pedestrian is gone.

No matter.
I pedal on,
Such speed,
Such freedom,
I am granted by my bike.
No more delayed trains,
No more squeezing against the window,
Trying to find a pocket of air while
Just
one
More
Person
Squeezes
On.
I breathe deep,
Revelling in the space and
Jam on the brakes.
Head over heels
Almost
As a car jerks to a stop
And PARKS
On the bike track in front of me.
You can’t do that!
Shouts my indignation.
F U C K Y O U
Is thrown at me lazily.
I go around the car,
I cut off a cyclist from the other direction.

No matter.
I think.
I need to get somewhere
Important
As I pedal on,
Fast now, I move,
Head down
Eyes narrowed
I feel my legs pumping.
Tarmac flashes before my watering eyes,
Glancing up
A red light blinks at me,
The pedestrians vacant and waiting to cross.
They haven’t seen the Green Man,
They don’t know they can cross yet.
I drop my head and
Push my legs,
I’m not losing momentum,
I’m not stopping for you
Spaced out people.
Bursting through the red light,
I soar,
Muffled shouts buffet my back

No matter,
I am Queen of the road,
I am beyond everyone and everything,
I
Am
The Cyclist.