Humbling Ride

It was time to put the money where the mouth is for myself. All the talk about safe riding, reared its head to remind myself that I can make the same mistake.


I have been training all these while, mostly on my own, especially during the long rides. Because it was difficult to coordinate the different schedules on a weekly basis. I have a more flexible schedule, while others do not. They may not have their commitments during a certain period, while I may have.


Had a 145km ride today with Nigel. And one of the local lady from Joyriders joined in. For the past few years, she had been podium finisher at the Desaru Long Distance Triathlon (70.3 distance race). It was  fast and furious ride for me. The other 2 riders were simply too strong for me. Perhaps, I would attribute it to the lack of gels for the day - I had ran out and the stock had not been replenished. I was basically surviving on concentrated Gatorade mix. But I would say that bulk of the reason was I just was not good enough for them.


I beat a red light and because I thought that there were not other roads entering from the slip road. That proved to be a mistake because the traffic could make a slight detour to enter a very small slip road that I did not see. Lady followed me behind and was fine. But Nigel was caught in a traffic's way. Thankfully, both were alert and the unthinkable did not take place. Else, I would have to live with the deepest regret in my life.


My solo training had made me forget that there is a need for reaction time for the riders behind. And it was exactly this that almost destroyed my riding buddy. This was a good reminder to myself that we have to responsible for our actions, as end of the day, ALL cyclist will want to get home in one piece to relive the tale again on another day. No matter how hard the training was, it is not worth the life of one and others.


Whenever I ferry some colleagues or friends of mine with my car, I have a policy: that I MUST get them to their location safely because I am fully responsible for their lives. They must have enough faith to put their lives in my hands in the first place. They are the child/spouse/parent of others. How am I to answer to them if anything were to happen in my vehicle? And now, when riding in a group, it will be the same burden that I must remember for myself. It was a tough lesson to learn the hard way - to see the frailty of human life.