hello all.
u muz be wondering what mission it is. ok here goes.
I CAN CYCLE!
yeah i can't really swerve properly, and when i turn left or right sometimes i juz stop. and im not sure i can u-turn. but well, i can cycle straight! and avoid ppl, and go fast or slow when i want to. though maintaining a super slow speed is very difficult. but yes! and i can brake and yess! in juz one day. in juz 2 hours. or less?
well today i went to bedok mrt for our 6L gathering. we went to giant and 7-eleven to buy bbq stuff. then we went to east coast park. and well, walked around the beach and started a bbq. unfortunately, the wind was extremely strong. -think geog- the sea breeze, in the day, where the land is warmer than the sea, and the pressure is higher at the sea, so the air moves towards the lower pressure area at land, and so the wind was blowing furiously at us. -facing the sea of course-
and yeah the fire juz doesn't start. the matchsticks went out the very moment it lit up. the lighter is cranky too, and doesn't have any fire. only some weird sparks. yeah after trying to start a fire, but to no avail, i decided to ask other ppl to help us. of course, all other girls, -btw all the guys went of to look for bicycles to rent, and more went to look for more bicycles, leaving us 4 ppl only to start a pathetic fire.-
ok basically the others refused to ask, or even accompany me to ask, so i, under such desperate situations, picked up my couraged and approached a group of adults, some malay, who are in the shelter with some food there. and yeah we got help. he ended up lighting the fire in the dustbin, and then hurrah! the fire got started and yeah it got wrapped up in charcoal, and soon it was burning brightly. and well we decided to go get a bicycle at this point. bcos we needed some time to let the charcoal heat up.
and we trooped off. and i of course don't noe how to cycle, but hoping they will help me. and when i was small, i sat on the back of a bicycle in china b4, some relative's one, then she [she's about my age] swerved suddenly and stopped too fast, and i fell off the bike and scraped my knee. and it bled. yeah and it's rather scary falling isn't it.
but i realised that cycling is easier than ice-skating, or roller-blading, bcos u can use ur arms to help too. basically after renting the bikes, my frens dumped me behind, and went off cycling, and i, poor thing, was left there helplessly trying to get the bike to move. it juz kept moving left, or right, and neverrrrr straight.
and i juz can't get my balance. after struggling for a while, some guy -he's nice- came over and taught me. but not very useful though. juz stuff about when to pedal and start off, and he held on to the back of my bicycle, and somehow i managed to make a few pedals with him and after he let go. of course i didn't noe that, but well, juz a few pedals, then i stopped. i didn't realise there were brakes of course. i was moving soooooo slowly i didn't need brakes.
and after a few tries which were pathetically useless, -and he was encouraging me =P- i fell. hard. my whole body fell sideways, onto my right knee, which got scraped against the sand and rocks. and now there are several claw-like scratches on my knee. and ouch it hurts. but me, as being the brave me, didn't cry, and didn't clutch it in pain and writhing on the ground in agony. i juz got up, got all the sand off me, -and loads of dirt. in my wound there were soo much dirt. all embedded in the wound and couldn't be washed away no matter how i tried afterwards.-
well i didn't even look at my knee and see how serious it was -if not i would freak out. it was bleeding like so much and the whole thing is red PLUS lots of dirt.-
not to forget a big fat bruise on my left shin bone. yes. it's still red, but will turn purple soon. and is rather swollen.
i juz continued trying to cycle helplessly. when my frens came back and tried to teach me. and apparently they are not very good teachers, and not much patience too. so soon they gave up and juz went off on their own, leaving me, poor me, to myself. and i tried to get my way back by cycling. and i tried. and i tried. it was veryyyyyy slow. very. agonzingly. slow.
and not much improvement. i was encouraging myself, that i HAVE to learn how to cycle todayyyy, and since i rented it, the money WILL NOT go to waste. i MUST get back to the barbecue pit! which is about 15 to 20 minutes walk away.
so. i was half-convinced to juz get off, and walk the bicycle back. it's less tiring, and easier, and faster. then my frens came back, and continue teaching me. not much help though. and then. VOILA! yi tong appeared. ^^ i was excited to see her! she's sooo nice. and i was convinced she would be able to teach me how to cycle. and she's quite a good teacher.
my frens left me and yi tong on our slow journey back. while trying to learn how to cycle. she held onto the handle bars and guided me along, so that i could simply pedal in a straight line. eventually i found out that if i start turning to the right i simply have to turn the handle bars back to the left and lean my body to the left and then right. and vice versa. so that i won't fall over. and i will be able to get my balance that way, and cycle straight.
her arms so strong lah! i mean, she held on, even when i was toppling over to the right or left, she managed to help pull me back. my whole body weight, plus the bicycle. wow.
well we made it back to the bbq pit. our progress was rather slow. i kept stopping bcos i swerved to the right and left. constantly. juz can't be straight. but of course u can't, we were moving at a snail's speed!
then we continued with the bbq. and cooked all kinds of weird food. i had no appetite. i mean by then it's almost 3. didn't really have a lunch. i ate a packet of biscuits at around 12.30pm, and a cup of a&w root beer. yeah i wasn't hungry after that. didn't really eat much lah. lotss of food leftover.
then i continued cycling with yitong holding on to the bars. she wanted to roller blade, and rent the skates, so yeah. and she did. then we realised she can't really guide me on wheels, so i had to try to cycle on my own. so i tried.
it was difficult starting off, but once i got started, i felt exactly the same as when she was holding on, except i had to turn to keep balance for myself. and no more pressure on the handle bars. uhhh so when i turned towards the right i simply turned back to the left and got my balance again. i managed to cycle a little at first. and yitong was encouraging me, saying that yeah i can cycle alrd.
yeah i was veryyyy happy. but i have to perfect it more. so i practised. and soon i was able to cycle! practise makes perfect. (:
yay! it's one of my dreams come true. and one mission accomplished. it's the only thing i can be proud of. yay!
yah and i spent the whole day cycling around. plenty of practise avoiding ppl, and swerving, braking, turning right and left. didn't dare try u-turn though. >.< too narrow. and well, i am able to catch up with all my other friends! yay!
but my hands got rather tired. heh. and i tried another kind of bicycle bcos my fren wanted to exchange. and it was veryyy difficult to pedal and keep balance. and once u go off u move very very very quickly. a little scary moving so fast. later what if u had to emergency brake?
after all im still rather inexperienced. and i got used to the pain in my knee, and ignored it. until i washed it and stuck on some plasters i have in my wallet. then at the bicycle rentals, the auntie was very nice, and she saw im hurt, so she got some alchohol or dunno what thing, very cooling, and she rubbed veryyy hard in my wounds. rather painful, but i didn't scream of cry. -beams- she said she has to get rid of all the dirt, get it out. and they are embedded in the wound. so imagine how painful that was. then she got some medicine, and helped me apply. yeah. and it's quite ok lah.
very nice experience. im proud that im able to learn to cycle in such a short time! and the method of holding on to the handlebars is rather effective. u get used to the momentum of the bicycle, and turning here and there. then when no one is holding on, u juz try a few times and with the correct pedaling and all, off u go! ^^
