I CYCLED TO SCHOOL

As I drove past SK Pusat. my alma mater, my mind suddenly flashes back to a scenario sometimes 45 years back.

It was a hot sunny afternoon after school. There I was, cycling back from school under the punishing hot sun. It was a relatively new Raleigh bicycle.

The distance, well it was well over 6 miles from the school to Kg Bukit Kuang.

The road was not as busy as it is now. We could hardly see any cars passing by. Only timber lorries were making full use of the road to bring the bounty from the forest to sawmills. They, especially the empty ones were really the kings of the road then.

As far as I could remember there were only three cars in Chukai then. One was owned by the late Syed Noh and the other two, well, I have forgotten who the owners were, but I know for sure that once in a while I did hitch a ride in one of them two to school.

Six miles was easy for me back then. No sweat. But knowing well that something delicious was waiting for me at my late aunt whom I called Mak Long, in Kg Besut, I usually stop at her house for lunch. Still vivid in my mind how I criss-crossed the roads in Kg Besut before making it to the main road.

In youthful zealousness I got was involved in a few little road mishaps in Kg Besut. One was when I ran over the back of an old male muscovy duck. The duck was ok. It was me who came tumbling down and hit the jagged edge of the road. My knee was wide open and I just laid there in great pain. Cikgu Taha came to my rescue. After cleaning my wounds and repairing mr bicycle's handles, there I was speeding home, asif nothing had ever happened.

The second incident occurred on the way to school. As I was speeding away, out of a corner I saw a motorcycle crossing the junction. As it was so near to me, I just rammed into the back tyre and fell down. The
motorcycle rider stopped and helped me up. I continued my way to school after getting my bicycle handles realligned.

A rude driver overtaking me at a dangerous corner brings me back to the present world. I pressed the gas paddle slightly and the car speeds on chasing the Proton saga.