I intended to take a bus to school that day with my bike (JZ88), but on the way while cycling to the bus stop I met a fellow Pastor who’s on her way to a meeting near my school. So she suggested giving me a ride, I agreed and folded the bike into the car boot in less than 5 mins. This surprised her that the bike can go into the boot so well and there is space even for my bag and hers.

She dropped me off at her place of meeting which is about 5 km from my school, I took out the bike and ride it and on the way I felt the tire was soft and stopped at Mobile station to pump it up. It was uneventful the ride, but the usual concern when I was going uphill, the bike’s cranking sound is louder, I guess the weight of my books and myself combined is straining it. (I’ll be putting all my stuff into a locker at school soon and will only take along my mini EEE PC computer and a water bottle.)

I had to go to Pasir Ris for another appointment at night, but somehow I bumped into another Pastor at the school and he agreed to give me a ride down. (You see, Pastors are always obliged to be helpful…hee hee), and I got a ride to my next destination in a car!

After the meeting, I was tired, and it’s ten at night, I sighed at the thought of getting the bike on and off the bus, but to my surprise, the bike’s ability to stand up on its own after I folded it to the smallest size means I don’t need to even hold the weight of it. Then when the bus arrived, I just lift it up like a medium sized bag. I carried it right to the back row of the bus and sat down there. By the time the bus reached Tampinese Bus Interchange from Upper Serangoon Road there were few people on the bus, so I unfolded it quickly before the bus comes to a full stop and could ride off the bus immediately to the surprise of some by-standers at the interchange. (I bet they’ve not seen someone coming down from a bus with a bike!)

Cycling quickly to the Tampines MRT station, I decided to wheel in the bike by bending it by half but keeping the seat post and the handlebar upright, Then trolley like I wheel it in, under the glare of the station master but nobody stopped me. On the MRT I wheeled it to a corner near the other end of the door and since it is about 11pm I had all the seats to myself but didn’t take any. I wheeled the bike out when I came to the stop I wanted and just ride off back home after that. Reached home by 11:10pm!

My family thought I’ll take longer, but I didn’t.

Thanks for the bike, it’s amazing. I may have to put off more weight first cycling long stretches with my racer bike before I can load more weight on that tiny one. But it did accomplish the use it was for.

Oh another thing, the hills that I encountered (they are about 5 stories high at the max) and the incline that it is at, I cannot go up without getting off the bike. It’s ok, no big deal, the ride down was very fast but I felt stable and not wobbly. Good bike.

Yours,
Bill
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Thanks to Bill (Not his real name) for his permission to publish his post in this blog