Wednesday, August 6, 2008

sometimes in the peloton, the routine gets to you. riding in one bunch, your view of the world is basically confined to the butt in front of you. its constrictive and when the roads become bumpy and pot hole ridden, also a little dangerous.

the peloton moves like a catepillar, it stretches and folds. With every obstacle it contracts before the front accelerates off again and the back has to play catch up. you surge, then brake, surge then brake again like a broken accordion. much of it has to do with our lack of skill as a group; not everyone is comfortable going over narrow, pot holed roads at speeds higher than 30 kph when we are riding mere centimeters from each other's back wheels. and so we sigh and moan and gripe, some silently, others a little more outspoken.

it is then that the wheels started whispering to me. with every slow torturous spin they mocked the speed i was going at. Break away , they said. break away, and we will give you the strength.

i had thought myself a reasonable person. it is unwise to break away in foreign lands, away from the safety of the group anything could happen and it would be a long way off for the safety vehicle to catch up (seeing as it would be following behind the main pack). we had talks about this before the trip, no breaking away. it was, is, a rule. how Singaporean of us, our love of safety, our fear of the unknown.

i rode to the front of the group. we need to go faster, the back is bunching up over the potholes, which is dangerous. but hey, the front can't go faster cos its a dangerous area as well, with heavy vehicles moving about. i return to the back, frustrated and the wheels are whispering more insistently now : go at a crazy pace. go where nobody will dare to follow.

and then, as if in a final act of will, the road opened up into a climb. we were moving into the hilly regions surrounding Port Dickson to Meleka. and so i went, wheels giggling with delight with every surge of the pedal. usually i burn on climbs, like breathing liquid fire, but the wheels fulfilled their promise. this time, i felt nothing but their joyous exultation. yes! yes!

a gap opened. first 20 metres, then 50, then 200, and then i was away, over the hills and plunging down into a corner at 50 kph in the descent. the scenery was glorious, rows of pineapples spread out and basking in the morning sun, the cool morning air caressing my chin, the insistent hum of the rear wheel hub, the gentle sigh of the bike as it surged through the corners.

i looked back only once. i saw someone trying vainly to catch up, the rest spread over the dwindling horizon like so many grains of sand. and then the wind gently, softly blew them away as well as another climb presented itself. it was into this gentle rhythm that i settled, free from the constriction. free from the cares and the worries of the world. The wheels, they spoke to my soul.

how can i possibly convey to you the moment? imagine you were a bird in a cage set free. but that would be too literal. imagine you were drinking sun light. but that's too abstract. maybe the best way would be to imagine yourself giving a part of yourself away. like letting loose totally. like a bit of a deep breath that you held in for the longest time and then now you can finally let go.

like floating in a swimming pool on a hot summer's day. like watching a bird sing, or a cat stretch. its a subtle, multifaceted thing. its just you being yourself.

its just you being free.


PS. I was screwed later. but i have this memory forever.

Posted by Anonymous at 10:32 PM