thatsme

The vast expanse of barren land between Naseer Cycle Taxi and the place where we live is almost covered in its entirety with some thorny bushes and rocks, but for some long stretches of naturally formed lanes due to the flow of rain water downhill.
The moor was slightly sloped towards our place and the regular use of cycles on those lanes ensured that no grass grows on the stretch.
It was a bright sunny afternoon, with the sun lashing hard on everything under it. Weird it may appear; I wanted to practice cycling in the meanwhile, finding some company in my sister. We never owned a cycle then and we had no other option but to hire a Bicycle on an hourly basis. The Naseer Cycle taxi offered a wide variety of cycles, ranging from the very small ones to the regular ones.
My sister asked me to get the cycle. I went there and chose a medium sized one and did not ride it until I was completely sure that nobody else was using the road, in view of their safety..: D
The sight of long road downhill, did not warn my not-so-grown-up brain, about the possible accidents it may lead into. I started pedaling and the cycle was very well oiled and I could already feel the gaining impetus. I never forget my uncle's golden rule about Bicycle riding viz. "you will never fall off a Cycle, as long as you continue pedaling". I did the same. I never stopped pedaling. The cycle whizzed past the bushes and the small rocks and I had enough confidence to veer the vehicle conveniently, avoiding small hindrances.
The cycle now caught up enough speed to spur a slight fear down the spine. It was when i feebly checked if the brakes were working or not.
Gosh.....They weren't...
I did not know what to do and I cannot explain why I continued pedalling even after that. It was the fastest ride of my life and worst thing about it was that I had no control over it. Little did I know that I was rapidly approaching a naturally formed Rock ramp, inclined at about 35 degrees with the horizontal, abruptly ending into a ridge!!!!?
It didn’t take long for the speeding bicycle to reach the ramp and to take off the ramp. I had my heart in my mouth while the cycle was in the air. I clung to it like one of those AXN extreme bike riders and almost understood what Einstein theory of relativity is meant, practically. The time of flight seemed like an eternity. I can now correlate that scene to one of those scenes in the MATRIX Movie trilogy, wherein the time comes to a stand still with only thing that is moving is, you. I watched the ground moving beneath me as fast as I am moving forward in the air.
As the famous saying goes, “It’s not the fall that kills you. It’s the sudden stop at the end that does.” the flight was not the most fearsome, but the thought of the fall was as damaging as the fall itself would be.
I lost hold on the handle in the mid-way and somersaulted over the Bicycle to reach the ground like a Plane landing over the runway.
I nose-dived into the silt accumulated during the last rainy season, and glided along the ‘runway’ for about 6 feet before coming to a grinding halt.
My Cycle followed me and was over me. I’ve then learnt what role-reversal really meant.
Thankfully for me, the saving grace was the accumulated sand which provided the much needed cushioning effect for the crash landing.