The day in the village was rather good as the sun was out and the atmosphere was clean. I considered riding a bike in the village, and that was a fantastic idea. I navigated the winding streets and back roads with the wind in my hair and sun on my face. I enjoyed being mobile and construction all the working corners of the village with no limitation of time.
While riding around the village, I saw that the majority of its inhabitants were on bicycles. For the villagers, the bicycle served as the basic means of transport, and such was logical. The settlement was small so that one could walk to most destinations in a few minutes. Therefore it was only practical as well as enjoyable to cycle around.
I was so surprised to see how many ways these people found to use a bicycle. Some people took their bicycles to go shopping and bring food back home. Some people rode it on the way to work or to school. Children were also not left out and were seen riding their bicycles around the village while enjoying themselves.
I understood that the bicycle for the people living in that village was not simply a means of transport, but more of an intricate aspect of their culture. It bring the people together and made it possible for them to engage with one another. It was a means of informal communication since it was common for a message to be taken by a bicycle riding from one end of the village to another.
While I watched the villagers ride their cycles, I couldn’t help but feel nostalgic.But as time went on, I reasoned that the practicality of a car was better than riding a bicycle and getting a car was a form of investment. But being in that village and realizing how the bike had been heavily relied on made me long for the good old days of cycling.
That is why, I made a decision to stay on the bicycle for the rest of the day and cycle around the village, enjoying the activities going on, within and outside the community. I cycled to the market, which was full of stalls with goods, where people were selling fruits and hand-made items. I rode my bicycle past the school, which had kids playing outside during the break. There was even a point where I cycled all the way to the village’s edges where green landscapes could be found in the far distance.
In the course of the day, I got to a point of total exhaustion but felt more than satisfied. I had tried and enjoyed an alternative lifestyle, one which was bike-oriented. This was also a great nostalgia as it had reminded how happy and free one could feel over a simple act such as riding a bicycle on a dirty road.
The next day when I was getting ready to leave the village, I was sure that such an experience would remain within me. I knew that I would always carry within me the memories of the sights and sounds of the village, the feel of the wind as I rode the bike and the way the bicycle brought the people of the village together. And who knows, maybe I would clean and lubricate my old bicycle when I go back home and enjoy a ride once more.