Good day to you all in the cycling community.
In life, we can't get everything at a GO! We just have to keep it gradual. We take it one step after another. Those who felt they could get it all at the same time most times fall into unexpected difficulties. With patience, consistency, and determination you can ride a unicycle on a bumpy road.
When we were kids, the common way we got to see things was via textbooks and those are images we see in them. Some Nigerians would know this textbook very well.
“Edet lives in calabar”
Many times when I read this book I get into the imaginary world as a child seeing myself inside of it. At times I become Edet in reality but with an imaginary bicycle.
Edet does go to school just like we do. But with a bicycle, his dad bought it for him. Whenever he goes to school, he is always faster than his mates trekking down the school gate. I also wished so badly that if Dad could buy us a bicycle just like Edet, I would still go to school like I am riding one.
It was hard to come by bicycles on our street, maybe those who had just ridden indoors. But I knew that someday my dreams of seeing and riding a bicycle would come to pass.
A Visit to the Village
There was a time when Dad told us we would be going home to see our grandparents in the village. That was our first time going there. We had a handcrafted imagination of what the place would look like. Mum told us it's not like the city of Lagos where we lived. There is a lot of difference. But we would get to know that ourselves.
The day came by and it was time to visit, we got there, the weather was so welcoming and the first thing I realized was our car looked so special across the street. But there are lots of Rally bicycles across the street. Woah. Bicycles everywhere. Even I could see a little child of my age riding one. Then I became positive that I could ride it too.
We got to our grandparents' home and luckily I was able to see my grandpa's bicycle. Haha 😆. Instead of paying attention to other things. My mind was just focused on the bicycle. I felt like pushing it out for a ride but it was so dusty and had flat tires already. We asked him to allow us to ride or take it home. But we got a negative response. One thing I knew I accomplished that very time was that I was able to feel how it looks to pedal a bicycle, feel the touch of the spokes, the tires, the seat, and ring the bell 😂.
My first pedaling
Years passed by, and this time around I was fortunate to have met with a friend who owned a bicycle but the mystery around the story was that when the bicycle was working perfectly fine, I never knew him that close, but when the bicycle got damaged, that was when I got to know him. Anyway, that was still a cool experience because it was my first time riding a bicycle.
The bicycle had a damaged tire and the pedals were no more. You can only use the iron that holds the pedal and the rim that holds the tires. It was so hard to get a balance then. We struggle to ride on sandy soil, the rims get buried in them and they form tracks across the floor. The strength you have to apply to create a movement is hell. But then I got my brother around sometimes as he would be the one pushing me while I tried to maintain a balance. Riding it was hell but fun 🤩.
We did this for several days till we felt we should be able to ride a perfect bicycle. But the Big question here was where are we going to get a good bicycle??
The Feelings of a Real Pedal
There was a lady whose house was a little distance from our side. I saw her on a bike across the road. I felt she wasn't the owner but when I got to see her consistently on the same bike for several days I got to realize she was the owner of the bike. I asked my brother if we could just go borrow from her to test our ability, if we could ride better, or if we still needed some sort of training.
I did go to borrow this bicycle. I think it was a size 32 then. And the one we used for practice was a size 16. That shouldn’t be a barrier. I was the first to give it a trial on my way back home. Why do I have to push it on its tires and walk by the side? 😂. I sat on it, though my legs didn’t touch the ground directly after placing them on the pedals. But the bicycle has a good brake.
The fresh air, the cycling pace, the feelings made me so happy and everything seemed so real. So this is how it feels to get a balance on a bicycle. I was so happy. I raced down home at full speed and then used the brake when I got to the entrance of our home. Everyone smiled. My brother had his ride too. Then we got to return the bicycle in the evening. The feeling was so real.
All images are mine…