The world is quiet as I leave the house in the morning on my bike. It’s still dark, and the city is only starting to come to life. The unmistakable hiss of the brakes from a city bus is often the only sound I notice for blocks. As I move along daylight breaks and with it comes more city noises: delivery trucks, cars, horns honking…
Until I hit one of my favorite parts of my commute.
My route includes a 5-mile section of the North Branch Trail that runs through the forest preserve. This paved path is flanked on both sides by some fairly dense wooded areas that house deer and other small creatures. I found that riding this stretch of path – which is less than a quarter of my total commute – calming in many ways. There are not many people out there, in the morning or in the evening.
This morning as I entered from Milwaukee Avenue, the sounds of the street quickly faded away, and I was engrossed in a completely different symphony.
I rode over a few dead leaves, and they crackled. There were birds chirping and a woodpecker doing his thing among a faint rustling of leaves in the trees. I heard the soft crunch of the forest floor as deer slowly and methodically walk looking for what I can only assume is some small morsel of food. There was the clinking of a dog’s tags as he was allowed to experience what must be a sniffer’s paradise among the decaying leaves and other magical stuff that aligns the path. There was the soft tinkling of a bike bell as someone approached me from behind and the distinct pounding of feet and deep breaths of a runner as I rode past.
And always, the sound of my tires as I rolled along.
I exited the path and once again hit the streets to continue on towards work. Here, I tuned in to different sounds yet again. There are some that help to keep me safe: listening for cars approaching from behind me; hearing the sound of a car door closing or an engine turning over…both signals that someone will soon be pulling into the road. On a couple occasions there was the sound of my own breath as I went up and over expressway overpasses hauling the day’s necessities.
And another sound that I love: the snap as I clipped back into my pedal after a brief stop at an intersection.
I savored these sounds this morning – the sounds of riding my bike – for I knew that all too soon the noise of a typical work day would begin.