We used to cycle more during our early years.

I remember how I learned to handle a bicycle back at Padang Serai in 1967. It was a huge “Male bicycle” that I first laid my hands on it.

This is a picture of a male bicycle prominently with a horizontal bar between the seat and the handle. As a small and short boy, I had to hold on the horizontal bar in between my right arm pit and holding onto the horizontal bar with my right hand, while the left hand (only hand) on the bicycle handle.

The right leg has to be slotted underneath the horizontal bar for the pedal and the bicycle seat was never used. It was kind of a balancing act on two wheels as I have to dare myself to pedal forward, obviously it came with lots and lots of falls, knocks and bruises in order to master the skill of cycling. It would be easier that time if we could get smaller bicycles to learn. Such smaller bicycles come with additional smaller side wheels which hardly can topple. No such privileges for us during those times.

During my Lower Secondary School days, I modified my bicycle into an Easy Rider Chopper with long front wheel and high handle bar (something like the photo above). Boy, it was tough to ride and definitely not comfortable. My late dad was real mad when I converted a proper bicycle into a ridiculous chopper.

I used to cycle especially during the last day of school terms from Padang Serai to Sultan Badlishah School, Kulim which is about 10 miles away from home and took me probably 1 hours plus to complete the journey.

Here I was doing a wheelie with my step mum's mini bike somewhere in Junjong. I rode from Padang Serai to Kulim to meet up my friends and together we cycled to Junjong.

During my Fifth Form where I stayed in Kulim and had the opportunity to cycle daily to school. I was using a female bicycle then and I enjoyed the cycling. How I wonder I could do it again……