“My Green Bike and That One Road That Don’t Like Me” | by Chelsea Judge | Bless Her Heart & Mine Too | Sep, 2025
Let me tell you something about this little green bike I got. She’s not fancy. No gears, no flashy decals — just a basket on the front, a bell that sounds like it’s got asthma, and a wobble in her back tire that matches my knees on a humid day. But she’s mine. Bought her secondhand from a woman who said she was “decluttering her twenties.” I didn’t ask.
Every Saturday morning, I try to ride through town like I’ve got peace in my life and thighs made of steel. But there’s this one road — Pine Bluff Road — that don’t like me. It’s long, cracked, and slightly uphill no matter which direction I go. I’m convinced it’s spiritually against me.
My town ain’t got no proper greenway. It’s just roads, potholes, and drivers who forget that cyclists are living creatures. The last time I took Pine Bluff, a man in a lifted pickup rolled his window down just to yell, “You brave!” and peeled off. I waved sweetly, then cussed under my breath. Southern charm and sass co-exist, trust me.
Still, I keep going.
Why?
Because the wind hits different when you’ve been through hell and decide to pedal anyway. Because I need something to look forward to after a week of customer service emails and coworkers who reply all like it’s a sport. Because my AC don’t work right in the car, and these leather seats are turning my thighs into bacon strips. Because this is how I take my joy back — one sweaty, shaky mile at a time.
Some Saturdays, I stop at the park and swing. Others, I ride by the church I used to go to just to see if Sister Nadine still parks crooked. There’s a rhythm to it now — me and the road, in a weird kind of truce. Even Pine Bluff and I, we’re learning to tolerate each other. Barely.
And every time I make it home, legs shaking, heart racing, basket full of snacks and maybe a new plant from Miss Darlene’s porch sale, I feel like I won. No medals. Just peace. Just air in my lungs and freedom under $60 worth of green paint and squeaky wheels.
One day I might even bike somewhere new. But for now, me and this town… we’ve got unfinished business.
