SWEETHEART


Yes, it has been very very long. It is not that I did not have thoughts to share but I did not find the words to express all of it. Maybe not here, but I have done some writing. Am working hard on my proposal, now that it is aided by a fresh volume of notes imported from the British Library.

I am sure I do not have to report happenings of my life or thoughts in a chronological fashion on this blog. This means I might talk about my London experience later on. This blog is about my new sweetheart.

I was definitely not in love with it the first time I saw it but I still brought it home with me. I wish the seat was higher. I wish the gears worked better. I wish I knew the combination for the lock, that is definitely not adding any ornamental value to my vehicle. In fact it makes it heavy.

But I am still beginning to fall in love with it. I love ‘not walking’ everywhere now. I love going downhill effortlessly. I love riding through the avenues. I love to see the patchwork the foliage creates on the cobbled road beneath. I sometimes look up at the sky while riding and I love to see the sun in the clear sky.

My bike is old. But she is a ‘sad oldie’. She has quite a sad history. She was never really used till she was handed over to me. The relationship between the rider and the bike is unique and she is beginning to feel the warmth of that relationship quite late. I hope I shall make up for all the gloomy days she spent in the garage. I am sure she loves to be woken up every morning and asked ‘how are you today..all set ?” She makes an effort to make my ride comfortable and I try to make sure that I avoid every stone on the road. I try to take a new route everyday so that she is able to see more of Oxford. I promised that I would take her to Hueston Woods but it is too far. I took her to Marcum Trail but the authorities did not want her. (Sigh !!! “No Bikes”)

I love her. I have not named her yet. She is the only one I am closest to, in Oxford. She keeps all my secrets to herself and in return all I have to do is ride her everyday. She listens to me patiently. Does not comment much. I had promised her a week back that I would write about ‘us’ in my blog but since I did not she developed a puncture as a mark of protest. So here is my blog dedicated to HER. Actually the day I made my promise was a special day. That was the first time when in the whole day I made no mistakes while riding. Smooth ride. It is not an easy task to chalk out a smooth route in Oxford. So after two weeks of trial and error I had decided on a route that had minimum amount of uphill rides. It was a day to rejoice.

Bye