Oceanbluesandsummerbreeze: Braveheart

Monday, October 31, 2005

Braveheart

In my family, only my dad and brother know how to ride a motorbike. My dad rode one when he was young, and my brother is still riding his. As for the rest of us (my mum, sis, sister-in-law and me), only my sister-in-law is a regular pillion-rider with my brother, as it requires lots of courage to ride on one.

I've tried it twice. The first time, I nearly "suffocated" my brother by wrapping my arms really tightly around his waist for fear of falling off the bike. Throughout the journey, he had to turn his head back many times to shout at me to loosen my grip. In turn, I had to tell him many times to slow down. By the time we reached our destination, his shirt was drenched, especially at the waist area. My brother looked at me and shook his head in disgust while airing his shirt. The second time was much better. I roughly got the hang of riding on a motorbike. It was quite fun actually, but I still dread the part when my brother had to do a turning. He had to slant the bike at nearly 45 degrees and it always felt as though it was going to topple over.

My sis also tried riding the bike with my brother at the wheel (poor guy!). He later told me that when he did a turning, my sis also automatically "turned" his body, as though she was at the wheel. He was also nearly "suffocated".

As for my mum, no matter how we persuaded her to try riding it, she simply refused. One fine day, she finally relented. It was only when my brother agreed to push the bike instead. And the "journey"? It was from one end of my house to the next. Even then, when she descended from the bike, she could hardly walk.

Someday, I hope to learn to ride a motorbike, but as my legs are not long enough to reach the ground when seated, I'll have to be contented with driving a car.