But since my son has started writing a diary now, father must do likewise 😜.
Locomotion has always been a problem for me and I have always taken more time than others to learn different modes of locomotion.
I learnt to walk almost one and a half years after my birth. I learnt to ride a bicycle when I was almost 12–13 years old. I learnt to ride a motorcycle after my postgraduation at the age of 25. And finally I learnt to drive a car just a year ago at the age of 38.
When I was young, I was very bad at playing bike and car racing games. I always wanted to go as fast as possible, but in doing so, I always lost my balance. When I started riding my bicycle and later on the motorcycle, the fantasy of driving fast never left me. I have tried to do so quite often on the roads as much as my human body could push the bicycle and the engine could pull the motorcycle. I was quite strong to never push my bicycle to Olympics standards (pun intended). My first motorcycle, Hero Honda Splendor NXG, was of 97cc and was good enough to be driven at 70-80 kmph in the first few years. But later it used to shake even at 50. Alas, when it was fit, I was afraid to attain such speeds so those 70-80 kmph rides happened maybe once or twice. And when I began to manage the speed, the bike couldn't!
It was when I bought my current bike, Honda X-Blade that I had the correct combination; a bike which could do 70-80 easily and a rider who could manage it. Also, the roads in Nagpur also improved during this period. I use my bike mostly for my commute to college and sometimes the car. But frankly speaking, as the days are going by, I hate to drive in the city. It's actually very boring and tiresome to change gears every few hundred metres. It's another matter that I am not big fan of gearless vehicles as well.
On Saturday morning, before the city wakes up properly, I have to reach college at 7:30 AM. I generally do this 8 km distance in little over 10 minutes which normally takes close to half an hour on other days. I enjoy this fifth gear ride very much. My son also has a penchant for speed. So, every week or at least once a fortnight, I take my car out for a ride outside the city where I don't have to change the gears. For kilometres, it is fifth gear only! Just a few days ago, we did 120 on Samruddhi Expressway for a few hundred kilometres at a stretch.
When I drive at high speeds in fifth gear, nowadays I don't experience any thrill or excitement. Instead, I get a calming effect. I feel at peace. This everyday hustle and bustle of life at times gets into my nerves. The urge to see what is in front, back, left or right decreases and the rides become enjoyable. These dopamine shots recharge my brain and help me to stay younger especially at heart.
I know life generally works between the third and the fourth gear, but till it permanently settles for the neutral, let me enjoy these fifth gear rides.
