Growing up on Wheels

It has been exactly 60 days since I bought my car. My own vehicle after the BSA SLR that I drove till my 12th. Thinking back, it is the 4th vehicle that I called it as my own in all my life. The first one was the tricycle that I had when I was one or two years old. I still remember the days when I would cycle around the hall continuously all the time. Though everyone knows it’s just a cycle, it had acted as a Bullet-Enfield bike and would make similar sounds though it always comes from my mouth instead of the non-existing exhaust pipe. It had also acted as sports cars and even space ship in which I would fly around space dodging meteorites (furniture) all around me. And if you think tricycles are very safe, I even had an accident and injured my sister who was sitting on the back seat. But that never stopped me from driving my tricycle. Unfortunately, my growth did stop me from riding it. Slowly things got changed and by the age of 8, it was time for reducing the number of wheels in my cycle.

My dad and uncle were great tutors and would do the same thing that every tutor does. They lie about holding the back of your seat all the time and when you want to know how to use the brakes and would turn around to ask them, they will be standing far away from you and you need not ask them anyway as you might have already hit the floor hard. The interesting part for me was I knew what was going to happen as I had seen the ways in which my cousin was taught. Also people like my sister are always in a suspicious mood and will turn around every few seconds to check if my dad is still holding the bike and had tough time learning. After tough learning that gave entrance to the big world of two wheelers, I was riding the kids bicycle taken for rent. It would be charged 1 rupee for an hour and you don't need to place any deposit to rent one. So time flew by while my tour went larger than the hall this time and extended to the whole neighborhood. I drove my cycle in all stretches of our town and sometimes would go to the immediate villages nearby. No reason was needed for the ride. It was a wonderful time going around the same houses, ringing the bell often and holding the steering bar with just one hand. It was also a cool thing to try riding without holding the bar at all and it rewarded bumper prizes many times with wounds and bruises.

My second vehicle to call as my own was my cousin'ssmall old bicycle which he gave me when he got Hercules MTB considered the latest talk of the town. But I was not dreaming that high because I was not that high in height. When you are a kid of 8 and have friends who also have their bikes, it would mean only one thing on weekends. Race! My bike had always won many races and that is even against big bulky stylish bikes of the town. This small bicycle was so close to me that I was driving that even during my 6th standard. But it was time for a change as everyone in school started addressing me as "The kid with the small bike". And coincidently, there was BSA SLR waiting for me that was wrongly brought for my elder sister. With the new bike, it was always time to show off that I wanted to drive as far as 30 miles to my home town. But all I could drive was for 3 miles to our Fiber factory which has a large ground similar to race tracks. I would drive fast and faster until either I get tired out or the tires get burst. Best remembered memories were during the 10th standard by which we have already formed a team of bike racers with race everyday from our home to the tuition center. Races were considered much serious than exams and racing fast with all energy to win. Notable events include hitting hard on the road with cuts on elbows and knees and the race with the friend who is very new to town and forgot that he didn't knew the route to tuition. The race ended and I was the clear winner with no sign of him at all. He had lost the way but somehow managed to return home while I was searching all over the town for hours.

Things needed to be much faster during the higher secondary days as we had to travel long distance for tuitions. Dad's bike slowly took over the bicycle time but I couldn't visualize how much the use of my cycle was reduced with need for engine power. And when I went for college in a different town, riding bicycles became a rare opportunity for me. And before I could realize, my BSA SLR worn out and I do not know what happened to the bicycle that was part of most of my travels around the town. The days at work in Bangalore and Hyderabad also didn't demand the need for a two wheeler so there was no vehicle to be called as my own since my college days. And here I am holding the keys to my own car and as I look back, I have driven a long way to reach here and there is also going to be long journey ahead in the future.