Overcoming Childhood Phobia Of Cycling.

Cycling is one of the activities I wasn't confident about until I became a teenager. I had a phobia for a few things as a kid and balancing on two wheels was one of them, it appeared to be like magic when I saw people drop their hands and do various stunts when I couldn't even successfully use the bicycle pedals.

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As a kid, owning a bicycle was the last thing on my mind when we had to always bother about the next meal. It was quite challenging back then and I don't crave many things because I don't have them. There were kids in the neighborhood who had bicycles and my peers would run around with them taking turns to ride the bicycle but I didn't because of an experience I had when I was very much younger.

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A boy had this small electric game then and we did take turns to play. On that faithful day, it got to my turn and immediately I started tapping the button, the game went off. To cut the story short, I was accused of damaging the game and my mom warned against playing with whatever doesn't belong to me.

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I just watched them run around and when I was pressured to join them, I played football instead. It's not like I knew how to ride but I could have learned from there. Bicycle stunts became a trend in the neighborhood and whenever I see kids boast about what they can do, I just keep quiet. They talk about it everywhere and as time passed, I started feeling ashamed to tell anyone that I couldn't ride a bicycle.

I disobeyed Mom and tried riding a bicycle but it didn't end well. I followed these kids around and they took turns so when it got to mine, I couldn't ride. They pushed the bicycle for a few seconds just to help but I couldn't do it, I was really scared and that was how I missed out on taking other turns.

The boys were quick to say, "he can't ride" so the next person took my turn. I had the opportunity a few more times after that day but I was really scared as the thought of moving on two wheels seemed impossible.

I only became an admirer of bicycle riders and was like that for more than half a decade because I never dared to ride a bicycle again just to avoid any form of embarrassment from anyone. I have seen people say annoying things as if riding a bicycle was what would make my existence meaningful and don't like those mocking compliments.

I was in the seniors while my brother was in Junior school when he came home with his best friend's bicycle on a Saturday. Mom was out and after staring at the bicycle with my heart pounding heavily for a while, I asked if I could ride.

"Yes, it will be here till evening. I will return it before mom comes back," My brother replied. I tried riding several times but I kept stopping and even falling sometimes.

I got tired and almost gave up before my brother agreed to keep pushing until I could balance myself on the bicycle. It was very easy to ride while pushing me but when he stopped, I ended up falling. That day ended without any progress and somehow played with my emotions because my brother could ride easily.

He didn't stop trying to help me and one evening, we went to a very sloppy path in the neighborhood. My brother handed me the bicycle and told me to pedal down the slope. It was like a suicide mission for me and I turned it down because my heart was pounding really hard at the suggestion.

I thought about it again after he went down the slope twice and decided to try.

"Don't let your leg go off the pedal no matter how fast the bicycle moves and apply the brake gently," I remember his words clearly like it was yesterday.

I mounted the bicycle and just went down the slope. For a moment, I felt like I had accomplished something impossible and was in control until fear struck my heart again. I shivered and looked down to see the front wheel, that was the last thing I remembered before crashing into a fence.

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I got injured and also damaged the bicycle, I had to break my piggy bank immediately after we got home to fix it. I thought about how constant practice would help me so every weekend, I am my brother would rent a bicycle and practice on a field.

It took me a while but I eventually conquered my fear and for some time, I always rented bicycle every weekend to cycle with my brother. As we grew older, we a able to afford a bicycle and I became really good with it. The memories of the race we had against each other remain fresh and I will always admire those moments.