The Road of Freedom

The indescribable sensation.

"Life is like riding a bicycle. In order to keep your balance, you must keep moving."- Albert Einstein

Despite the fact that cycling has been around for several years, the pandemic has boosted the number of people who participate in this recreational activity. During the lockdown, the number of motor cars on the road has dropped, resulting in an increasing number of individuals taking to the streets by walking or cycling. Workers whose homes were several miles away from their workplaces relied on bicycles as means of transportation. Moreover, after the limits were lifted and most of the youth were able to walk outside, this has become one of their hobbies, through which they may engage with their friends or family members.

There was a moment when I came across a Facebook post from my former junior high school classmate. It was a group photo of my classmates with an Eiffel Tower imitation as the backdrop. They were also wearing cycling helmets, which led me to believe they rode bicycles. The fact that such a place existed, and that I found out that it was so far away from our home, took my breath away. I was thinking how they managed to go that far with just bicycles. I was also a little envious of them because they were able to travel to other locations with their bikes, whilst I was confined to my own home.

Later on, my friend encouraged me to join our former classmate and ride a bicycle somewhere, as she already owned one at the time. As a curious individual, I was eager to learn more about it, but the only difficulty was that I did not have a bicycle.Fortunately, my father has two bikes , one was a mountain bike and the other was an old bike that he simply rebuilds from the ground up. I take a chance and ask him if I may use his mountain bike. Fortunately, he gave me permission to use it as well as accompany my friend.

Photo of me taken at Mall of Asia Arena

My first, not-so-long ride would remain etched in my memory forever. Despite the fact that I have been riding a bike since I was a child, it still seems different when I am riding on a public road alongside automobiles. After planning that we would be going MOA, the one who had previously taken lengthy rides and was familiar with the area and road rules had to cancel just as we were about to arrive at their home. Me and my friend who were only recently introduced to riding, were completely at a loss for what to do. However, given that we were already clothed and that I was looking forward to my first ride, we decided to go ahead. Due to my frequent visits to MOA for motorcycle practice and jogging, I was the one who was familiar with the area; hence, led the way. The fact that it is my first trip there makes me nervous, but to be able to get to our destination, I had to be brave . Nevertheless, we arrived at our destination without incident, and we certainly enjoyed our tour of the location. However, when we were going back to our home, something happened to my bike. I honestly believed that I would be unable to get home or that I would have to walk back with the bike. Fortunately, there were also decent and kind cyclists who came to our aid in repairing my bike.

Despite the numerous misfortunes and difficulties that occurred, I genuinely loved the experience. After the first ride, there have been several more, and these rides have included people other than just my friend. Together with our former classmates, we rode to various locations such as the University of the Philippines, which was, by the way, the farthest place I have ever traveled by bike, the Meycauayan Sports Complex, and other places as well.

Riding a bicycle has provided me with a sense of fulfillment.The air that welcomed me and embraced me whenever I pedaled as fast as I could was just overwhelming. In addition, the places that we travel to are always worthwhile. I am not sure how to describe the sensation any more, but I know that the aching legs I had after every rides is something that I will not regret. Although I am not as fast as the other cyclists, it makes no difference to me; as long as I am having fun riding, I will keep doing this.