Some context, for those of you who aren’t at rehearsal twice a week: There’s something in the piece we’re working on for July about bicycles & freedom.
What DO bikes have to do with freedom? Riding in the summer, yeah, I get the freedom. I can go forever, anywhere I please. And bicycles were heavily tied to the suffragette movement. But riding in winter is mostly just scary. Some days more than others. The amount of willpower it takes to get on my bike when the world is full of ice, snow & angry drivers is sometimes nearly impossible to gather.
Sometimes once I’m on the bike all that falls away and the sense of freedom pervades. But sometimes I have to work hard to defeat those fears, to be aware and to remember at all times where I am and what I am doing. I wouldn’t call it pleasant, but it’s important. Good practice. Like having rehearsal, dredging through the crap of our lives and our fear and excitement to make shows. Good practice. Like blogging here. Practice, practice, practice.