A Wonder of Nature

When my son and I walked on the beach Thursday, we watched surfers and marveled. It was almost as though I could empathetically feel the surge of the wave beneath my tensed muscles of my legs. I tried to imagine an analagous sensation in my real life. The closest I could come - in honesty - was creating an AutoCAD plan or a newsletter using a mouse. My mind is able to direct my fingers to move a mouse for a really precise outcome. I will not put down this accomplishment (and the remarkable inventions at my fingertips), but it isn't surfing. I am awed (and if you know me you know I hate the unwarranted overuse of the word awesome) by the remarkable control a human can have with the physical body's interplay with objects and the world around him or her. The following is all kinds of miraculous dexterity, strength, precision, control and imagination. It is totally foreign to me and completely captivating.



Thanks to Blog of Note I found this while checking out Bike Snob NYC The blurb on the video says the following:

Filmed over the period of a few months in and around Edinburgh by Dave Sowerby, this video of Inspired Bicycles team rider Danny MacAskill features probably the best collection of street/street trials riding ever seen. There's some huge riding, but also some of the most technically difficult and imaginative lines you will ever see. Without a doubt, this video pushes the envelope of what is perceived as possible on a trials bike.

Credit to Band of Horses for their epic song 'The Funeral.' You can find out more about the band and their music at www.bandofhorses.com or you can buy the featured song from itunes here: http://ax.itunes.apple.com/WebObjects...

And, I am also not musical or inclined to send people to purchase music, yet this was an inspired music selection for the video. What a delicious way to start my Friday.

Update: This lasted moments, when I checked out the next Blog of Note choice and felt some deep anguish.*sigh* It's hard to reconcile the abrupt shift - its like the weather this week.

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1 comment:

Rosa said...

I envy you your ocean access.

My ex was a BMX rider. It's a shame so many riders give it up as they get older - but you have to ride a *lot* to keep the strength you need to get the speed it takes to get real air, and of course they get hurt a lot.

My son is already trying to pull tricks on his little three-wheel scooter, now that he can reliably ride it without falling off. It's going to be hard for me, figuring out how much I can let him join the tribes of skating & bike-riding boys around here - none of them wear helmets (my ex FINALLY started wearing a mouthguard helmet when he got his THIRD set of front teeth) & the 12-15s really like to ride in traffic to see if they can intimidate the cars. But that sense of freedom and mastery is so beautiful, and bikes & skateboards are really the main human-powered way to get it.

4/29/09, 11:06 AM

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