Bike Path Buddies

As if there aren’t enough good reasons to get out on Marco Island’s shared-used paths, I’d like to add another: making friends. Whether it’s the two-legged, two-wheeled, or four-legged variety, I encourage you to take a minute to get to know those people you pass every day on our island's magnificent network of shared-use paths. 

I’ve got nicknames for some of the “regulars” we pass while going to and fro around the island by bicycle. One gentleman who is always looking down at the path I've nicknamed “look down.” A lady who is constantly on the phone with someone, waving her arm as she talks is “walkie-talkie.” 

But my favorite bike path friends are Mike and Milo. I used to often pass by Mike and his best friend - sometimes twice a day. After a while, I noticed that Milo looked like he wanted me to stop and pet him. I know I wanted to stop. So finally one day I did. 

“Can I pet your dog,” I asked Mike. “That’s what he's hoping for,” Mike answered with a smile. “He knows it’s you when he sees your blinking headlight.” 

I used to ride to school with my wife every morning, then meet her in the afternoon for the ride home. When we’d leave the house, I would often say, “I hope we see Mike and Milo this morning.”  When Milo sees my bike light blinking, I see his tail start wagging back and forth. When I get close enough and roll to a stop Mike lets Milo off his leash and Milo celebrates like a kid on Christmas morning. Truth is that I’m every bit as happy to see him. 

Sometimes when I’m on the beach, at the grocery store, or on assignment with the Coastal Breeze News, I will run into one of my bike path buddies. In fact, Mike and his wife now attend the same church as my wife and me. But with my wife’s recent retirement, our bike path schedule has changed dramatically. Just the other day I saw Mike and he said, “Milo misses you.” And believe me, the feeling’s mutual.