The press of work and a stiff wind made me less than enthusiastic about taking a spin on my bike. But I’d reached an impasse in the article I was working on. Cycling always clears my mind, so I figured that a couple of hours away from my desk would help me unblock the recalcitrant narrative line. Besides, I needed the exercise, even if I was already pretty tired. So I saddled up and headed out for a circuit on my favorite 20-mile loop. I was right to think that I’d feel better once I was underway, and I felt even better half an hour later when I rounded a bend to find a painted turtle hunkered down in the road.

I’d just been passed by several speeding cars, and at first I thought that I’d arrive on the scene too late—that the turtle had been struck. But I stopped anyway and was happy to see that the turtle was alive and well, even if she had withdrawn into her shell.

Ducking into a hard shell is a wonderful defensive strategy when a hungry coyote is sniffing about, but it does little to protect a turtle from a couple of tons of hurtling metal and glass. So, to make doubly sure that the turtle was unscathed, I lifted her from the pavement and gave her a once-over. That’s when I noticed the pair of fat leeches clinging to her carapace.

It only took a minute to flick the two hitchhikers off their host with a stick. (The turtle seemed none the worse for having giving them a free ride—and probably a free lunch, into the bargain.) Then I carried the endangered traveler well off the road and put her down near the edge of a boggy woods—this was where she’d been heading—before wishing her well and continuing on my ride.

A bit later, my circuit took me back to the stretch of road where I’d spotted the turtle. There was no sign of her, and for that I was glad. Any day when you can give a turtle a lift in your “taxi” is a good day as far as I’m concerned. And what about that blocked narrative line? No problem. When I got back from my ride I breezed through the rest of the article. Seems as if cycling is good for whatever ails you, especially when a ride puts you on the scene to lend a helping hand to a needy traveler.

 
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