Wheels and I
I was probably two years old running around on a stone paved street of Dhankuta.... well running as much as a two year old can. I always found it fascinating that we can train our body to get faster and faster and when we have pushed our limit we can get on wheels and go even faster.
I got my first taste of wheels on a little tricycle that my grandfather bought me. It was a combination of plastic and metal parts. My grandfather journeyed to two towns over, almost to the edge of our country to get me this tricycle. Back then, the roads were still being developed and there was probably one or two bus a day from my grand parents home town to the next city. So a trip always had to be a few days worth since you could not go and come back on the same day. Well this was back then. Now more cars, buses, motorbikes and better roads people can go in the morning and come back in one day. But not back then.
It had silver handlebars, with tassels. Pink seat, which I didn't care and also there was so sense of colour that was designated for men or women. They were just colours no gender so I loved my first set of wheels. I rode it in my grand parents court yard back and forth on the stone paved yard. Then to the city of Kathmandu I bought my tricycle and rode it around the house. But my body was growing and the tricycle remained the same size. Never growing big with me.
Eventually one day I saw a bicycle on a shop window. All i remember was that it was blue with fender, I was only five or so back then. My parents obviously said NO! I didn't know how to ride a bicycle and they were not keen to me falling and hurting myself. Not that there were not lack of falls off of trees and walls. So I didn't what any kid would do to get what they wanted I cried. Twisted face and somehow I managed to get lots of tears out from my eyes. Yet the answer remained a firm NO!
So after may persuasive crying my parents agreed to buy me a bicycle if I got all A's. let's just say that it was mission impossible for me. Specially when you are going to school in Nepal and teachers having a habit of giving you a lower grade because they didn't like your answer or the answer was not what they told you it was. The teacher was right was the rule.
Here I was growing bigger now with no bicycle, yet the tricycle was still there for me. So I rode it till I was 7 barely fitting on the seat until I got too heavy and it broke. It just broke in two and there I was, wheel less. And wheel less I remained for many year.
It wasn't until few years later that my mom decided to take me to a park and rent a bicycle for me to learn to ride. It was better than nothing, at least I would be ready to ride a bicycle when my parents bought me one. So I learn to ride a bicycle on a rented mountain bike that was almost as tall as i was. I could barely reach the peddle when fully extended but it was a bicycle. Two wheels, I was graduating from my three wheeler to a two wheeler, to a faster ride. So I learned to ride on a dusty park in front of the Kathmandu zoo.
Many years past, there was always a B or a A- that prevented me from getting a bicycle. Never could pull off all A's so I just rode whenever I could get my hands on a bicycle of a friend or someone I knew who would let me ride.
Eventually I was in college and few years later a friend of my dad who lived in town gave me a bike that was left at their place by a former student. I was very excited, i rode around town, to the supermarket and well pretty much even a block away.I was happy with a bicycle that was too tall for me to ride because I had a bicycle.
One day I decided to put the bike on a drive way for few mins while I ran inside to pick up few stuff at Sigma Nu. This was the town where people left their doors open and went grocery shopping in their cars and came back to find everything just the way it was.
But it was not meant to be for me. That driveway was not the same when I got back outside. My bicycle was missing. Left again without my wheels, left to wonder who would take something that didn't belong to them. I guess at least whoever took my bicycle was feeling the joy that I feel when riding a bicycle.
Few years later I decided to stay for summer to take summer classes so I saved up and bought a mountain bike from Toys R' Us. It was almost $200 and that was pretty much all I had. Didn't know the difference in the types of bikes so I just bought one that could handle Galesburg road, mostly paved some dirt. No experience in maintaining the bicycle or knowing the ratio or my height to the seat height, I just peddled from place to place. The humid midwest sun beating down going as fast as 5 miles per hour was still fun.
Again few years past and I was graduating and moving back to New York City. I had to choose between lots of my things so I donated my roller blades to salvation army and my bicycle to my dad's friend so maybe his daughter when she got older or someone else who likes to ride could use it.
Years have gone now. I have a new bike, DD Bhaisi, and I have not looked back other than to make sure I don't hit a car coming my way or another bicycle passing me. I just ride and when I get tired I just loop Enter Sandman in my head, and pretend I am a timberwolf running thru concrete and steel trees that reach the sky. Avoiding the bumps on the road and may other creatures on the floor. I keep peddling because I know when I peddle during the night or day I can see the wonders of this city instead of the darkness of the tunnel as I ride the belly of a metal worm.
I got my first taste of wheels on a little tricycle that my grandfather bought me. It was a combination of plastic and metal parts. My grandfather journeyed to two towns over, almost to the edge of our country to get me this tricycle. Back then, the roads were still being developed and there was probably one or two bus a day from my grand parents home town to the next city. So a trip always had to be a few days worth since you could not go and come back on the same day. Well this was back then. Now more cars, buses, motorbikes and better roads people can go in the morning and come back in one day. But not back then.
It had silver handlebars, with tassels. Pink seat, which I didn't care and also there was so sense of colour that was designated for men or women. They were just colours no gender so I loved my first set of wheels. I rode it in my grand parents court yard back and forth on the stone paved yard. Then to the city of Kathmandu I bought my tricycle and rode it around the house. But my body was growing and the tricycle remained the same size. Never growing big with me.
Eventually one day I saw a bicycle on a shop window. All i remember was that it was blue with fender, I was only five or so back then. My parents obviously said NO! I didn't know how to ride a bicycle and they were not keen to me falling and hurting myself. Not that there were not lack of falls off of trees and walls. So I didn't what any kid would do to get what they wanted I cried. Twisted face and somehow I managed to get lots of tears out from my eyes. Yet the answer remained a firm NO!
So after may persuasive crying my parents agreed to buy me a bicycle if I got all A's. let's just say that it was mission impossible for me. Specially when you are going to school in Nepal and teachers having a habit of giving you a lower grade because they didn't like your answer or the answer was not what they told you it was. The teacher was right was the rule.
Here I was growing bigger now with no bicycle, yet the tricycle was still there for me. So I rode it till I was 7 barely fitting on the seat until I got too heavy and it broke. It just broke in two and there I was, wheel less. And wheel less I remained for many year.
It wasn't until few years later that my mom decided to take me to a park and rent a bicycle for me to learn to ride. It was better than nothing, at least I would be ready to ride a bicycle when my parents bought me one. So I learn to ride a bicycle on a rented mountain bike that was almost as tall as i was. I could barely reach the peddle when fully extended but it was a bicycle. Two wheels, I was graduating from my three wheeler to a two wheeler, to a faster ride. So I learned to ride on a dusty park in front of the Kathmandu zoo.
Many years past, there was always a B or a A- that prevented me from getting a bicycle. Never could pull off all A's so I just rode whenever I could get my hands on a bicycle of a friend or someone I knew who would let me ride.
Eventually I was in college and few years later a friend of my dad who lived in town gave me a bike that was left at their place by a former student. I was very excited, i rode around town, to the supermarket and well pretty much even a block away.I was happy with a bicycle that was too tall for me to ride because I had a bicycle.
One day I decided to put the bike on a drive way for few mins while I ran inside to pick up few stuff at Sigma Nu. This was the town where people left their doors open and went grocery shopping in their cars and came back to find everything just the way it was.
But it was not meant to be for me. That driveway was not the same when I got back outside. My bicycle was missing. Left again without my wheels, left to wonder who would take something that didn't belong to them. I guess at least whoever took my bicycle was feeling the joy that I feel when riding a bicycle.
Few years later I decided to stay for summer to take summer classes so I saved up and bought a mountain bike from Toys R' Us. It was almost $200 and that was pretty much all I had. Didn't know the difference in the types of bikes so I just bought one that could handle Galesburg road, mostly paved some dirt. No experience in maintaining the bicycle or knowing the ratio or my height to the seat height, I just peddled from place to place. The humid midwest sun beating down going as fast as 5 miles per hour was still fun.
Again few years past and I was graduating and moving back to New York City. I had to choose between lots of my things so I donated my roller blades to salvation army and my bicycle to my dad's friend so maybe his daughter when she got older or someone else who likes to ride could use it.
Years have gone now. I have a new bike, DD Bhaisi, and I have not looked back other than to make sure I don't hit a car coming my way or another bicycle passing me. I just ride and when I get tired I just loop Enter Sandman in my head, and pretend I am a timberwolf running thru concrete and steel trees that reach the sky. Avoiding the bumps on the road and may other creatures on the floor. I keep peddling because I know when I peddle during the night or day I can see the wonders of this city instead of the darkness of the tunnel as I ride the belly of a metal worm.
posted by Unknown at 10:50 AM
2 Comments:
Interesting.
Thank you.
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