The Bamboo Sanctuary

Walking is a joy, but an even greater joy is to ride a bicycle. Bicycling is a universal skill in Cambridge: women, small children, old men alike relish the pleasure of the two-wheeled dance. ~Xu Zhimo

Being notorious for constantly switching hobbies, I ditched cycling a few years back. Haven’t you heard of some myth like, too much cycling makes guys impotent? I don’t know about the credibility of this myth but it was definitely not the reason I stopped cycling, though it does hurt my rear.

Anyway, two weeks ago, I picked up the hobby again, out of the blue. And, so, I cleaned my old pal – gosh, it was getting rusty here and there – and walked it to a petrol station a hundred metres away to get the tyres pumped. However, when I decided to take my old buddy out again yesterday, I had to visit the petrol station once more because the rear tyre lost its pressure again. (The front one was okay since it’s relatively new. I had it changed after I blew the old one while trying to… uh… ram up a pavement.) So, that’s the major reason I gave up on cycling, ever since my air pump expired long ago.

To me, cycling on the busy main roads has never sounded like a good idea at all. So, all this while, there are only basically three housing estates, including the one I live in, which are accessible to me on my bicycle.

The slope in Batu Uban is one of the places I like. Going down the slope at break-neck speed never fails to raise the level of adrenaline. Whoopee! But, of course, going up the slope at the lowest gear combination is equally enjoyable. Heck, what do you call a guy who enjoys forcing his heart to work at full capacity? A masochist? Hah!

However, I’ve been in this neighbourhood for so long a time that cycling in the place has inevitably become slightly boring. Thus, I decided to do some exploration of my own to see if there’re any other attractions. And, so, I came to The Sanctuary, so read the sign. This, I guess, is the steepest slope in the neighbourhood. Heh! Another place for me to flex my biceps femoris and gastrocnemius. Pardon the jargon. (Mischievious grin.)

I couldn’t help noticing that both sides of the slope was planted with bamboos. So, this was a bamboo sanctuary? What was up there? A panda’s castle?

The only way to find out was to go up. But, heck! It was a steep slope alright! After stopping midway – to read a signboard set up by some contractor regarding the proposal to construct 50 odd bungalow lots in the area – I couldn’t get the wheels to move; the pedals just wouldn’t budge!

I didn’t want to risk breaking the gears of my old buddy, which is half my age. Therefore, I had to walk up instead since there was no point giving up the “exploration” after coming all the way. I didn’t went far though, before coming to a fenced-up area, apparently the construction site.

As far as I know, this place used to be one of the few green lungs in the vicinity. Ah, human encroachment! So, this will soon become a sanctuary for overly rich aristocrats, eh? Aptly named! (Mumble, mumble… )

Oh, well, that ended my “exploration”. Unless I decided to venture out onto the busy roads to get elsewhere, there just isn’t much thrill left in cycling. What else could a guy who’s looking for new experience do? Cycle to his school in Air Itam ten kilometres away?

Sounds like a good idea!