A journey to remember...

A couple of days ago, John had the biggest blow in his life! He suffered a nasty crash while descending downhill at Genting Peres during the Inter-State Cycling tour organised by the Pedalphiles Cycling Club (PCC). His helmet and bicycle handle bar broke and his jersey...torn! It was the helmet that saved his head, otherwise it's curtain close for him!

Fortunately, he survived with a deep cut just above his right eye, wounds and bruises all over from his face down to his legs and his left elbow was the most critical. Who cares about anything else...thank god, he's alive! The other cyclists were all very helpful, quick to respond and came to his rescue almost immediately. One of the support team crews drove him on his car to catch up with me and we took him to the nearby clinic in Titi to get medical attention.

Actually when I first saw him, he was such a bloody mess; blood griping all over the place, yet he was still beaming and assured me he's okay. "Ok? I wasn't too sure..I doubted and thought he was playing poker." Well, after an injection, 3 stitches near his right eye and left arm bandaged - it's amazing that his spirit was still high. He was still keen to stay with the group and we decided to continue the journey and move along with PCC team but as a supporting crew.

Throughout the 3-day journey, John was his jovial self and became famous too...everyone (even the taukeh at the kopitiam and ah pek at the roadside stalls) got to know him and asked about his plight. I noticed that human beings are by nature kind and caring. I was also glad we made the decision to continue our journey with the pack and not return home despite the mishap that befell John. I observed that it was the collective energy of friendship that had helped ease the pain and the amount of compassion shown that helped heal the wounds. The sight of John actually made one feels that this guy must be in great pain. Pain - yes, but not as serious as he looks. We were also fortunate to have Dr. Raymond with us - he helped change the dressing for John during the journey.

We also had fun being the support team. We enjoyed cheering and taking photographs for fellow cyclists, handling food and water to the thirsty and rendering assistance to a trio with flat tyres. The fellowship over dinners were great. Like runners, cyclists are another special breed of humans with their own stories and their fair share of experiences (mainly accidents, oops!) and I was inspired listening to them.

While cyclists like Jason, Gerard, Jezamine, Tomato and others achieved their record of the longest ride; I achieved my own record of the longest drive in 3 days covering a total of about 665km. From Kajang - Bahau - Kuala Rompin - Kuantan - Kuala Lumpur...passing through plantations, lakes, estates, some very remote areas I hardly knew existed in M'sia and some very scenic and 'heavenly' places like Genting Peres, Felda Land at Gemas, the beautiful beaches of Pantai Lagenda.

All these and perhaps much more...will certainly etch to my memory and remain as one of my forget-me-nots.