CULT OF JAMES

Aiden wanted to ride. That’s all the reason you need when you’re seven and the sun’s still up at seven PM in a Pensacola June. A mile and change through the neighborhood. Him leading because he always leads. Me keeping pace because that’s the deal. He talked the whole time — about Minecraft, about the cat, about whether sharks sleep….

Aiden wanted to ride bikes. That’s it. That’s the reason. A mile and change through the neighborhood, him leading because he always leads, me keeping pace because that’s the job. Not training. Not exercise. Just a kid who wanted company on two wheels and an adult who said yes. Lasted nine minutes. Felt like summer. Some rides don’t need a…

First ride of the season. June 2019. Almost a full year since the last one. The bike had been sitting — I don’t know where, a closet, a porch, wherever bikes go when you forget about them for eleven months. Life happens. You stop riding. Then one evening you don’t stop. 0.95 miles. Nine minutes. 10:30 pace, which on a…