The Cycling Shock

I never thought I’d be so shocked in my life until I made my first trip to the northern part of Ghana back in 2019. In the south where I come from, our main means of transportation was either our legs, or cars be it private cars, public or what have you. You find just a few people using motorcycles.

Growing up in my neighbourhood, there was a time one lady relocated to our end and everyone thought she was weird because she drove a motorcycle and sometimes a bicycle. The kids in my neighbourhood would always run out to watch her anytime she passed by and even the adults thought she was weird. In the south, ladies cycling was something new to us.

You’ll come to understand the reason for my shock when I visited the north. Just as I alighted from the bus which brought me from Accra all the way to Novrongo, the first thing that struck me was the number of bicycles I saw. It was like ants feeding on some sugar. I started to count them…1, 2, 3 , 4,50, 55……. I finally lost count because I started to get dizzy. It felt as if I was the only one who felt something was off but those around were just going about their activities like normal. Hell, there was even a food joint called Fatawu’s bicycle.😂

image belongs to @depressedfuckup
It’s been over 4 years down the line and I have grow to embrace the way of life here. As they say, you make do with what you have in some situations. Over here, almost everyone has a bicycle or a motorcycle because that is the main form of transportation here, then there’s we those who use our legs.😂 Once, I was surprised to come across one man selling coffee and tea from this kind of weird bicycle. It was really amazing to me and I just couldn’t stop staring at him.

At first I didn’t even like the idea of cycling but I got used to it since everyone was cycling to wherever they wanted to. Now, I feel weird when I go back to the south and have to sit in a bus because I feel it’s so overcrowded.😂 One thing I love most about cycling is the fact that you get to move at your own pace while having so much space to yourself. And oh, no one is left out when it come to cycling. Kids, men, women, the old and the young, everyone can cycle if only they have the skills.

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So, I guess you now know the reason for my shock but guess what? I’m no more shocked because I am the shock now.😂