The bus driver watched me emerge from the belly of his mechanical beast with my 2000’s era Trek bicycle, and two fully loaded bike panniers.
I stood up straight and peered at the road ahead of me while I held both handlebars.
“You really got your money’s worth, huh?” he asked with laughter.
“Good for you!” he added.
But the tart blackberries on the side of Highway 101 only cost me time.
The wind at my face as I careened between pines only cost me a few hundred feet of climbing (and a fair bit of sweat.)
The smiles from children playing in the front yard of their grandparent’s beach cottage only cost me a wave.
And the peace of the water lapping at Cullaby Lake’s shore, while the savannah sparrows chirped in rhythm, was only made possible because I paid attention.