LOVE LOCKS 

Here I go again. 

Asking the same question I have started many posts with. 

Do I ride because I love to ride, or do I ride because I love the things that happen when I ride? 

This one is not really along the lines of ‘happen.’ 

It is more along the lines of what I pay attention to. 

Things I don’t want to miss. 

Things I get a kick out of. 

The ‘kick’ is just for me. 

Audience of one. 

There are lots of bridges where I live. 

Lots. 

For every bridge that takes you over a road, ten bridges take you over water. 

Rivers to be specific. 

Some of the bridges are short. 

The 100M ones. 

Others are architectural masterpieces spanning kilometres. 

Old, new, smooth, rough, shaky, sturdy, loud, quiet. 

I love to ride them. 

There is so much to look at. 

Ships below, turtles on rocks, rapids, people fishing. 

You get to see the world the way birds see. 

But there is one thing that I pay close attention to. 

Really close attention. 

Love Locks. 

I am fascinated by them. 

Not the story behind them. 

Zero interest in that. 

I am talking about the locks. 

The lock itself. 

The lock a couple chose to lock on the bridge. 

To lock their love. 

You can tell so much from them. 

Whether the girl bought it. 

Shiny, new, silver, heart shape. 

Whether the guy bought it. 

Lock from his backyard shed or fence. 

Whether it was spur of the moment or carefully thought out? 

Not too committed. 

‘Let’s put it on near the beginning, I don’t feel like walking all the way to the middle.’ 

Accessories like ribbon. 

My favourite, like my all-time favourite. 

The unbeatable one. 

The one that makes me laugh every time. 

The one that I will go out of my way to ride the bridge to see? 

Ready? 

There is one with a combination lock. 

OMG 

I love this one. 

I have the scenario down. 

It is obviously a guy. 

A guy who is using the lock from his gym locker. 

A guy who is thinking, when we break up, I am coming back for it. 

A guy who has had this lock since his first year of High School. 

The combination etched in his head. 

The combination he will take to his grave. 

…the lock too. 

LOVE LOCKS 

Insert key emoji here. 

‘There is another way to ride.’