The Cycle Saga

Wheels - Helping humans to travel faster, from one place to another. First introduction with vehicles for, almost, every human being is in the form of the Bicycle. 

Actually, a correction, first you face is a tricycle. Riding a tricycle is the easiest of all; you don’t need to balance, no brakes, no gears. But still it makes for a complex learning process cycle. Thanks to your short height, undeveloped brain to control the handle. Once you overcome these, you are on a mini-racer - Formula one tricycle.

Then comes the second phase - Bicycle. I didn’t know how to ride a bicycle. But my friend knew. Once I casually mentioned that how in my school there are wonderful slides. She said “I want to see them. Let’s go.” We went to my school with her riding the cycle and I sitting at the back. It was for the first time that she drove through the main road traffic. Later on, when my parents were finding us out as we went without telling them, they got to know about it and I was rebuked.

After some years, I decided to learn to ride a bicycle. I started feeling like it is a real challenge. I am darn sure that everyone has had a doubt in the mind whether one would be able ride it ever or not. Not to talk about the endless injuries - minor and major, while learning to ride it. Talking about injuries part, I myself have faced it.

I was a beginner in those days. Once a girl, who had a support to her bicycle, challenged me to race with her; I agreed on an impulse. Then began the high speed drama. She pedaled her cycle as fast as she could without any fear of falling. I did the same, but my bicycle had no support other than my hands with my feet, hardly, reaching the pedals. 

The bicycle fell off, but it was not its first time, I had thrown it many a times while I escaped falling every time. But this time it fell off with me; I remember a few inches long wound on my leg.

I quit riding bicycle after that episode. I took the bicycle after months again. By that time I had grown taller and my feet touched the pedals completely. It was only after this time that I learned to ride a cycle in true sense. We (me and my friends) started playing hide and seek on cycles after that.

And how I hated playing that game, but it was like a playing sensation those days, so I had to play it. If not for anything else then for the joy of riding the bicycle.

Originally published on the Daily Post blog