Bike Ride With Older Boys - Notes

First Impression of the Poem

• Initial task: Answer question one regarding first impressions of the poem.

• Method: Open the PDF worksheet of the poem to analyze.

• Process: Record initial impressions to revisit later for a second impression.

The Poem: "Bike Ride with Older Boys"

• Missing the Ride:

  • The narrator was 13, the boys were older.

  • Met them at the public pool and likely gave them her number.

• Summer Setting:

  • Summer afternoons, mother at work, the narrator had a bike.

  • The boys proposed a bike ride with just her and them.

• Decision and Absence:

  • The speaker agreed to meet at the Stop and Go at 4:00 but didn't show up.

• Averted Incident/Gift:

  • The act of not going is perceived as avoiding a potentially negative or harmful experience—"a little gift."

  • This gift was unearned but impactful.

• Reflection on Choices:

  • Contemplation of what was gained and lost due to this choice.

• Uncertainty and Imagined Outcomes:

  • The speaker acknowledges a lack of wisdom and imagines alternative scenarios.

  • Positive scenario: a respectful bike ride admired by other girls.

  • Negative scenario: a traumatic experience in a vacant field resulting in self-loathing.

• Future Reflection:

  • At 37, the narrator reflects on the incident while performing mundane tasks.

  • She imagines the boys growing older, still waiting at the Stop and Go.