Cycling is not easy! Especially, if you haven't done it for years. Even if you are generally fit. Even if you have done it in the gym.
My enthusiasm for cycling was to be satisfied. It always seemed the thing that was missing in my list of aspirations.
I have cycled so much in life, I was an expert in city biking, in Bombay. And, this cliche, if you can bike in Bombay, you can do it anywhere in the world. I used to enjoy the breeze on my face, with music in my ears on an old tape walkman, ever ready to take off just like that.
And now here I was, 20 years later, trying to feed my desire to get back on that bike again. And I've been fascinated by a folding bike because I could carry it along to various places. Though, I now realise, it is easier said than done. And I was not finding a foldable bike that had a wheel diameter of 26 inches.
When I finally found one that met my specifications on Groupon at RM 599, I jumped at it. Well, not really. I still took a few weeks before I took the plunge. It was a Korean make Excider 26 inch.
The bike arrived one Friday afternoon, a few days before I expected it. It didn't take long to assemble, but the gear required some adjustments. I did that over a weekend and brought it back home.
No more excuses now. I took her on a trip one Sunday night, after much preparation, getting my Endomondo and S Health apps started, out on the road, changing gears often, and up a slope, when Oh! the pedal threading came off and I fell down, a minor injury on my knee. I walked back the way home, cycle in tow, with the broken pedal in my hand.
I parked the bike and didn't look at it for a couple of weeks. A visit to Chow Kit over that weekend, and I saw cheaper bikes, though not foldable, and felt worse.
I mustered up my will last evening and got the bike to Rodalink for repairs. The guy there is good at his work but bad at small talk. He managed to get the threading back in place, replaced the pedal and got it back in working condition. I had spent RM 100 more on the bike with not many miles to boast.
Last night I decided to start again, no Endomondo or S Health apps, no changing gears, no slopes, just plain simple doodhwala-biking, on a flat stretch of road just outside our place.
I had to come back to taking baby steps, rather than try something ambitious, so that my confidence is back in place. This time it worked, and though the result may not have been that romantic, it still counted as a positive.
And it rekindled hope that things will slowly get better!
My enthusiasm for cycling was to be satisfied. It always seemed the thing that was missing in my list of aspirations.
I have cycled so much in life, I was an expert in city biking, in Bombay. And, this cliche, if you can bike in Bombay, you can do it anywhere in the world. I used to enjoy the breeze on my face, with music in my ears on an old tape walkman, ever ready to take off just like that.
And now here I was, 20 years later, trying to feed my desire to get back on that bike again. And I've been fascinated by a folding bike because I could carry it along to various places. Though, I now realise, it is easier said than done. And I was not finding a foldable bike that had a wheel diameter of 26 inches.
When I finally found one that met my specifications on Groupon at RM 599, I jumped at it. Well, not really. I still took a few weeks before I took the plunge. It was a Korean make Excider 26 inch.
The bike arrived one Friday afternoon, a few days before I expected it. It didn't take long to assemble, but the gear required some adjustments. I did that over a weekend and brought it back home.
No more excuses now. I took her on a trip one Sunday night, after much preparation, getting my Endomondo and S Health apps started, out on the road, changing gears often, and up a slope, when Oh! the pedal threading came off and I fell down, a minor injury on my knee. I walked back the way home, cycle in tow, with the broken pedal in my hand.
I parked the bike and didn't look at it for a couple of weeks. A visit to Chow Kit over that weekend, and I saw cheaper bikes, though not foldable, and felt worse.
I mustered up my will last evening and got the bike to Rodalink for repairs. The guy there is good at his work but bad at small talk. He managed to get the threading back in place, replaced the pedal and got it back in working condition. I had spent RM 100 more on the bike with not many miles to boast.
Last night I decided to start again, no Endomondo or S Health apps, no changing gears, no slopes, just plain simple doodhwala-biking, on a flat stretch of road just outside our place.
I had to come back to taking baby steps, rather than try something ambitious, so that my confidence is back in place. This time it worked, and though the result may not have been that romantic, it still counted as a positive.
And it rekindled hope that things will slowly get better!
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