Pedaling Memories: Honoring My Grandfather's Legacy.

A loud buzz emanated from my alarm clock as I remembered that today was the death anniversary of my beloved grandfather.

I woke up immediately to call my mom to ask how she was doing since it was her father's death anniversary. This time I wasn't feeling sad about it, but I chose to speak so much of the little time I had spent with him while he was alive.

I remember my grandfather being a palm wine tapper who went to tap wine from the palm tree using his bicycle as a means of transportation. After tapping wine, he also distributed the wine with his bicycle, and he was very fond of his bicycle.

During our long vacation as students, I did visit him in the village, and I remember accompanying him to the market square on his bicycle, where he goes to distribute palm wine. Being his grandchild, Grandpa ensured he gave me good treats. We would stop in a shop where they sell bush meat, and we would sit there to eat and then drink our palm wine.

Grandpa loved his bicycle so much that he was very intentional about caring for it. I have seen him countless times trying to service it by himself, oiling it, cleaning it, and ensuring all the parts were okay for the next trip.

"I will gift you a bicycle when you turn 16," he would always say, and I always looked forward to that day. Even though my parents had given me empty promises to buy me a bicycle, I was still optimistic that my grandfather would fulfil his promise.

Sadly, he died when I was about 14 years old, and he never fulfilled his promise, but those beautiful memories linger in my head: how he would let me sit on the bicycle, and he pushed me around since I didn't know how to ride one, coupled with the fact that his bicycle was so big for me and I couldn't control it. I still remember how he told me stories while he rode the bicycle, and I sat right behind him. I was a curious person who bombarded him with a series of questions while we rode the bicycle, but Grandpa never got tired of me; in fact, he answered every one of my questions.

I also remember my first visit to the stream, courtesy of my grandfather. He rode me to the stream and showed me around the village, and I enjoyed every moment I spent with him.

Now that I've grown so big, my love for cycling increased because of how Grandpa enjoyed cycling for work and fun. I still remember caring for my bicycle, and occasionally I use my bicycle as a means of exercise at a nearby mall to get weekend groceries. Hopefully, I would love to have a cycling date with a few friends in a very big field where we can all have fun together while riding on our bicycles.

I miss Grandpa so much, but after reminiscing about the lovely times I spent with him, I have decided to smile today, knowing I had the best grandpa anyone could ask for.