Benefits of riding a bike -- in verse

For whatever reason, my thoughts have been hijacked by short snippets of verse in haiku form. Bicycle enthusiasts call this style of poetry #baiku. I wrote three of them last week, and here are three more that I posted on Twitter. This time, I post them with titles. I think of them as healing words:

THE START
Bike trail begins
thin line embedded in dirt
can't wait for downhill.

THE CHALLENGE
Uphill I go...slow
sometimes I have to walk up
but I never quit. 

A REASON TO RIDE
When bike takes you there
to paradise and then back
your life will be changed.

Haiku Day! Celebrating the joy of bikes and biking

In celebration of the bike, and to follow today's WordCount Blogathon theme to share a Haiku Day, I went in search of the three-lined poems on Twitter. I looked for biking and cycling enthusiasts to share what they had to say in verse. There's actually a community of poets, if you will, who specialize in the subject, and they call it baiku. I love that! I don't think folks give cyclists, bike riders, and the biking community the creative credit they so deserve. So, in honor of Haiku Day, I'm doling out the credit here, sharing with you what this special community can do with just a few words when they're writing about something they love.

Drumroll please...and let the haiku begin, starting with mine:

The Trek of my dreams
takes me places on two wheels--
a land of freedom
     ~by Jackie Dishner (@bikelady on Twitter)

Joyful May weather!
Birds and flowers celebrate
Cyclists enjoy spring.
     ~by Richard Masoner (@cyclelicious on Twitter) 

Cool breeze on my face

Wind chimes calming melodies

crickets sing along 

     ~by Martha A. Boyd (@twittyboyd on Twitter) 

Bike tires deflated

The frame gathers cobwebs, dust

TLC a must!

     ~by Jennifer Derryberry Man (@mamahhhjenni on Twitter)

You can find more of these #haiku on Twitter at #baiku. The photo above, by the way, was taken by me in Portland, Me., last summer at Brad's, a bike rental shop on Peak's Island, after I returned my rental. And for another look inside the world of #baiku, here's a screen shot of one, sent to me by @bikerly. Thanks, Jim!