Cycling again!
Ever since my very first BMX as a tiny tot of a boy, I have been an avid cyclist. After about 2 hours of cycling with the stabilizing wheels, I dismantled them, hopped on the bike, fell off maybe once or twice, dusted myself off, and resumed cycling, and have never looked back since. That led to a second and a third BMX bike, and then one day, I was gloriously presented with my very first MTB, a green 24” Montana with real Shimano shifters (18x) and V brakes. It came with real road-ready tyres, with threads that extended all the way to the sides of the tyres, making it possible to do daredevil turns at high speeds.
Well, with the BMX bikes, my repertoire was limited mainly to tricks and ‘joy’ cycling. Once I had the road-ready MTB though, I took to the roads. That led to my second bike, a 26” Blue MTB, with alloy wheels, and a slanted frame that allowed me to do climbs and attempt crazy slopes and hills, no longer afraid of bumping my nuts on the horizontal bar of my previous MTB. The alloy wheels proved lighter, did not rust, and the bike overall was lighter. Armed with such a machine, I began to (hey, why not make use of it right?) mix with the neighbourhood boys and we cycled in light forests, over gentle streams, carried our bikes over logs and pipes, and went on neighbourhood terror rides, and formed our own bicycle gang. I won’t elaborate on what we did as that outfit, coz some of it isn’t legal!
After a multi-year cycling hiatus, due to distractions, I popped over to Australia to further my studies. In first year, I bought myself a blue 26” MTB, a solid bike that was sturdy, strong but heavy, meant for light road cycling. Hence on, I engaged in only a very few cycling expeditions, some uni-organized, some with friends.
Since returning back here, it’s been one dreary working day after another. I look longingly out the window at work all the time, wanting to be out in the outdoors. So, instead of merely wishful longing, I actually bought myself another MTB, this time, a BH Diamond frame, with Shimano Deore 27 speed shifters, V brakes (disc ones are slightly unnecessary and costly at this point). He is called Bumblebee, because of his colours, after the Transformers character. I’ve been hitting the trails recently with my buddies, at Kiara Hills, and it has been really fun, addictive and wonderful. First of all, the experience is wonderful, there is thrill, spill, adrenaline, adventure, physical challenges and toughness galore, equal parts grit, mud, endurance, strength mental strength, sweat and blood. Second of all, it is good exercise, a healthy getaway from urban life, just me, my friends, my bike. And every inch you go, you have to earn it. There definitely ain’t no free ride. And the thing is, even if the first hour is very hard, we just have to be mentally strong, and fight on, and eventually, we’ll overcome it, and be glad we didn’t succumb. You’ll prolly encounter more cycling posts later.
Well, with the BMX bikes, my repertoire was limited mainly to tricks and ‘joy’ cycling. Once I had the road-ready MTB though, I took to the roads. That led to my second bike, a 26” Blue MTB, with alloy wheels, and a slanted frame that allowed me to do climbs and attempt crazy slopes and hills, no longer afraid of bumping my nuts on the horizontal bar of my previous MTB. The alloy wheels proved lighter, did not rust, and the bike overall was lighter. Armed with such a machine, I began to (hey, why not make use of it right?) mix with the neighbourhood boys and we cycled in light forests, over gentle streams, carried our bikes over logs and pipes, and went on neighbourhood terror rides, and formed our own bicycle gang. I won’t elaborate on what we did as that outfit, coz some of it isn’t legal!
After a multi-year cycling hiatus, due to distractions, I popped over to Australia to further my studies. In first year, I bought myself a blue 26” MTB, a solid bike that was sturdy, strong but heavy, meant for light road cycling. Hence on, I engaged in only a very few cycling expeditions, some uni-organized, some with friends.
Since returning back here, it’s been one dreary working day after another. I look longingly out the window at work all the time, wanting to be out in the outdoors. So, instead of merely wishful longing, I actually bought myself another MTB, this time, a BH Diamond frame, with Shimano Deore 27 speed shifters, V brakes (disc ones are slightly unnecessary and costly at this point). He is called Bumblebee, because of his colours, after the Transformers character. I’ve been hitting the trails recently with my buddies, at Kiara Hills, and it has been really fun, addictive and wonderful. First of all, the experience is wonderful, there is thrill, spill, adrenaline, adventure, physical challenges and toughness galore, equal parts grit, mud, endurance, strength mental strength, sweat and blood. Second of all, it is good exercise, a healthy getaway from urban life, just me, my friends, my bike. And every inch you go, you have to earn it. There definitely ain’t no free ride. And the thing is, even if the first hour is very hard, we just have to be mentally strong, and fight on, and eventually, we’ll overcome it, and be glad we didn’t succumb. You’ll prolly encounter more cycling posts later.
No comments:
Post a Comment