Whenever I see someone cycling, I'll just imagine that I was the one but sadly I doubt if I can pedal a bicycle now, not when I haven't done so for almost a decade now. You know when you stop doing something for a long time, there's every likelihood that you'll forget how to go about doing it, not until you learn it all over again.
Talking about learning all over again, well I found myself learning how to cycle again as an adult after the incident that happened on one Christmas holiday during my teen. The most commonest means of transportation in my village then was the bicycle. Every family had at least one bicycle, some had two depending on how well to do they were.
The popular bicycles then were White horse and Raleigh, which were all adult bicycles.
Children's bicycle wasn't a thing then. Infact the only places I was seeing children's bicycle was in the television, not until one of our neighbors bought bicycles for her twin girls. They had come back from abroad to attend school and to also get to learn about their culture and language too. They were about my age and school mates so we became friends. I usually visit their house and would be allowed to have some few rides while being pushed from behind. The funny thing is that I'll be screaming at the top of my voice while struggling to pedal, hehehe. Although it was somehow frightening, I still enjoyed it though, lol.
Back to my village, since there was no children's bicycle then, the only option was for the kids to learn how to ride the adult bicycles and the parents usually start early to teach them. Each time we traveled home, I'll see kids way younger than I was already pedaling a bicycle and I didn't know how to. It was always embarrassing.
Well, I wouldn't blame myself because we were living in the city. Although we had a bicycle in the village and I tried learning each time we traveled home for the Christmas holiday, but that wasn't enough for me to perfect it because after the holidays, everything end till the next Christmas time.
It continued that way until one of the holidays when I resolved to master bicycle riding by fire by force, lol. Luckily my sister wasn't using the bicycle to go to work then so it was a great opportunity for me. My cousins were there to teach me. At every little chance I had, I would mount the bike, and cycle at my own pace. I fell down multiple times, but luckily never got any bruise. I persevered and learnt it. I was so overjoyed that I could ride it along the main road while running errands like other children. But my joy was short lived as the unthinkable happened one day.
On the said day, I and my cousins plus others were fetching water, they usually carry their jerry cans on the bicycle while I carry mine on the head but out of excitement as the latest bicycle rider I decided to join them too. Infact they were the ones who encouraged me as it would also help me master it the more.
We all got to the tap, filled our jerry cans and headed back home while pushing our bicycles gently. No, we didn't ride because some parts of the road were sandy which wouldn't have been easy for me to navigate. Even while pushing the bicycle, I was very careful and focused all my attention on the road because any slip would be catastrophic. But despite all that, little did I know that my village people had other plans for me, hehehe.
It was after we had passed the most sandy part of the road and I decided to relax a bit that they struck. I can't really say how it happened but I just found myself losing grip of the bicycle's handles and it came crashing on the ground. Efuo m oo ( I am finished), I shouted and one of my cousins rushed to carry the bicycle up. Luckily nothing happened to it but the jerry can broke at the middle and the water poured away.
Crying, I went home and got the scolding of my life from mom.
After that incident I never rode nor even went close to a bicycle again until after many years, when I was already an adult, and by then I didn't know A nor B about riding a bicycle again, lol.
Fast forward to how I got back to cycling again. I was staying at the navy barracks, you know there's usually lots of sporting activities and exercises going on there which cycling was one of them. You would see people, even kids, cycling early in the morning or evening and I would always wish to join them but who dash monkey banana, lol.
I had a friend who owned a sports bicycle and when he learnt that I couldn't cycle he opted to teach me, no it was actually a refresher course, because by the second night, I was able to cycle to a little distance unattended to, although with some fright, lol. On the fourth night, we did a cycling race. He borrowed a bicycle from his friend, while I took his and we cycled down to the naval base. It became a routine that every morning and evening. I'll borrow his bike and cycle round the barracks. I enjoyed it as it was also a way of keeping fit.
It wasn't long before he went on transfer to another ship taking the bicycle along with him. Was that the end of my cycling expedition? Nah. Luckily my inlaw brought his own back because he, too was on transfer. So my cycling continued till I moved to another state. Since then, I haven't cycled again. Who knows in the near future, I might consider starting again.
Thank you for reading...
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