Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Travelling light in life

Long, long ago, I had this bicycle...

old bike

That's Bobby with me, way back in the old neighbourhood...many, many, many years ago


It was a mountain bike. One day, my son cycled on it to play basketball, left my bike in the court and walked back after that. So that was the end of the bike! (So yes, as Chen commented, luckily he flies a plane these days...less chances of him leaving the plane and walking back home!)


So I have been bikeless for 7 years since then.


But yesterday, I decided it's time to cycle again. I had just read from somewhere that Parkinson's patients were cured after they were made to cycle.


What's there to lose? Moreover, cycling is fun.


So, we went to the bike shop yesterday, and chose the simplest bicycle. The old fashioned type with a basket in front and a carrier at the back. Yes, a utility bike which can double-up as an exercise vehicle. I can go buy veggies with it too, and collect AnimalCare application mails.


It has no gears at all as I wanted something as basic as possible. But, it's made of alloy (to withstand rust from cat spraying...ha ha). And it was reasonably priced. Made in China, I think.


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I cycled back from the shop!


(Photos taken by my husband from the car.)


The construction you see in the photo above is the LRT that they are building, claiming that it would be useful for the residents (though I doubt it very much). Gone are our lovely and mature green trees. The most beautiful and serene road in Subang Jaya has now been turned into a nightmare, but never mind, let's just hope the monstrosity they are building will actually benefit some people.


After not cycling for 7 years, it took some time to get used to it, especially so when a mountain bike requires you to bend forward whereas with a normal bike, you need to keep an almost vertical back.


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 Fun, fun, fun!


It's pink!


http://news.discovery.com/adventure/the-top-7-health-benefits-of-cycling.htm


By the way, shortly after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was co-awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007, they issued a report which said that if we want to help brake global warming, there are three essential things which we must embrace in our daily lives:

(1)  Don’t eat meat,

(2)  Ride a bike,

(3)  Be a frugal shopper.

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 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuTV0E3b3GI

27 comments:

Maneki Neko said...

YAY! I love your new pink bike! I would love to cycle around, but frankly, I think the stress of navigating Brickfields traffic on a bike would be too much. I'll continue on foot. Should I ever shift farther outside the city center, though, I'll definitely follow in your wheeltracks and get a bicycle. Good on you!

AL said...

Hi Dr. Chan, please take care (and wear a helmet) while riding a bicycle among the crazy drivers out there! =)

Joyce said...

Way to go DR Chan! I am starting to ride a bike too!

Donovan said...

Dear Dr Chan,

So happy to see you taking up cycling again. As an avid cyclist, I'm always happy to see more people getting back on 2 wheels.

I just wanted to add that I would highly recommend buying a bicycle helmet. It's a small investment to protect the one of the most important parts of the body. The mantra is "No Helmet, No Ride".

Maybe get a pink one to match the bike :)

Have fun on the bike.

Donovan

Diana Chiew said...

I love your PINK bike! Now should I get myself one? I need the exercise! Lol......

chankahyein said...

Hi everyone, Yes, yes, thanks for the reminder on the helmet! Wasn't expecting to ride the bike home from the shop, but since traffic looked good, I thought it'd be fun. Will remember about the helmet!

Joy E. Saga said...

Yup! Do be safe on the bike. I love biking too, wish i can cycle to work, but I think the Malaysian drivers are not alert enough to cyclist. The statistics show proof that our roads are not safe for cyclist (re: motorbikes). Our roads too are not bike-friendly. I saw in Damansara Damai they built the roads with a bike lane, but I've watched numerous times in horror the same lane is used by buses and cars.

chankahyein said...

My area is still safe...so far.

Chen said...

Your son cycled off and walked back? LOL. Good thing he is now flying planes - can't walk back from where he landed - too far.

Stay safe, yes?

chankahyein said...

YES, he did. He cycled to the court, played basketball, and then walked home!! Will stay safe, thanks! I would think cycling is safer than walking (can get away from robbers?)

jasmine ong said...

I love your pink bike, it's very nice! I used to ride a bike when I was in primary school until I crashed into a wall one day while racing with my cousins around the back alleys and my nose had to be bandaged for days. I seldom ride a bike nowadays though it was fun then :)

Take care on the road, wear your helmet and always ride safe Sis. Kah Yein.

chankahyein said...

Thanks very much, Sis! Crashing into the wall sounds "ouch"!! Melaka town should be safe for biking?

Chen said...

While shopping for helmet, please consider also adding knee and elbow pads into the shopping list. Not young anymore, so any kind of bumps hurts like hell and takes longer to heal. Plus you may find the knee caps useful one day should you ever need to coax a cat to come out from under a car. :D

chankahyein said...

Ooh...I will look like...Iron Man then? Ha ha ha...yes, I know about knees. My knees are pretty much gone...sobs.

Donovan said...

Knee and elbow pads are only required if you plan to go offroading or if you want to do stunts. On the road it's highly unlikely you'll hurt your knees and elbows (unless one is a really bad rider and keep falling). It might even hamper your ability to cycle because knee and elbow pads do hinder movement. So my suggestion, leave the pads unless you really decide you need them or if you want to go offroading but get the helmet a.s.a.p.

Donovan said...

Oh btw.. make sure your seat is setup right. Having it too low will actually cause knee damage (and is less efficient)

chankahyein said...

Learning from the expert here....yay, I won't need to look like Iron Man now. Ha ha...I haven't actually (touchwood!!!) fallen from a bike before except for childhood days when I was learning to ride. But yes, the helmet is compulsory. Ok, ok...next stop, helmet shop!

chankahyein said...

How to measure, Don?

Donovan said...

If you want to buy something extra besides the helmet.. it might be gloves. It does 2 things. It helps you get a better hold on the grips of the handlebar .. and if you do happen to fall, natural reaction is to use the hands to break the fall. The gloves will prevent (or at least minimise road rash on the palms. Get the half finger cycling gloves if you are planning to get them (full finger gloves are too hot for Malaysia)

Donovan said...

Adjust your seat so that at the bottom of the pedal stroke (6 o'clock position) your legs are almost straight. It's almost because you don't want to have to be completely lock-out straight. So just before it's completely straight. This will give you the max power output on your pedal stroke as well as preventing injury.

chankahyein said...

That's cool guidelines - many thanks. So it's too low now. I'll adjust it this evening. The gloves sounds a good idea too and makes good sense, but I'll do without them first coz this is a leisure bike and I'm just cycling around here. Thanks!

Linda said...

Make me wanna buy a bike this instant moment ~ haha !

chankahyein said...

Ha ha....bike fever!!

jasmine ong said...

It's quite safe to cycle around the neighbourhood.

Have to be extra careful around Melaka town because traffic is really heavy especially during weekends and public holidays.

Donovan said...

Excellent. Yeah.. go without the gloves for now or you may never even feel the need for it. Ride first then decide later. Hope the seat adjusted feels better.

chankahyein said...

Haven't adjusted yet because we went out this evening. Will adjust tomorrow and I'm sure it will feel better! Thanks very much.

chankahyein said...

Hey Don, I have adjusted the seat, but it still seems low (using the "almost straight at 6 o'clock" guideline). Maybe I have to get another "tube" for the seat then. But yes, you are right, it feels TONS better with the seat higher up. The only thing is I have to be careful when I stop now. I can only tiptop on the ground.