My GEMS Moments

GEMS.

I remember this series of campaign which ran a couple of years ago. Go the Extra Mile for Service.
I think that's what it stands for. NOT General Education Modules.

To show my appreciation for the wonderful help received last week, I went to Bt Timah to deliver a card to Ellen. Ellen is the lady who helped me with the flat when I punctured for the 3rd time last week. Also, I owe her a dollar because the tube costs a dollar more than the money I had at that time.

Ellen was out for lunch but I didnt have to wait long. She kept saying that I did not have to bother since it's just a dollar. My friends know that I haggle after returning people 10cents. Anyway, it was just a simple gesture to show my appreciation for this display of GEMS.

I took Vincent's Giant OCR out for a ride later in the day. Made an unintended stop at the bicycle shop near school because I saw the owner in the shop! In my few trips there, I saw the mechanic tending the shop alone. The owner looked busy tending to a VIP from Taiwan. Despite that, he was cool enough to loan me some tools to adjust my seat. I ended up looking around and enquired about the CAAD8. I had a most rewarding conversation with him because I ended up robbing him later.

Yes. I robbed him of a CycleOps Fluid 2 trainer.

I could not believe my luck when my casual enquiry about a trainer brought a series of question pertaining to my reason for wanting to get trainers. Bike shop owner was extremely patient and understanding towards my limited budget. A lack of money coupled with indecisiveness makes for a tough customer in any sales environment. Sometimes it is so easy to just push sales and think about the bottom line. That was not the case here as he hooked me up with a second hand trainer for a quarter of the price. I am partial to used goods as long as they are good. In this case, the condition of the trainer was excellent.

How terrible of me to repay kindness by robbing him.
GEMS: Go the Extra Mile for service.

Matthew 5: ⁴¹If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. ⁴²Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

My Air

Have you ever threaded on thin lines?

3 punctures highlights a frustrating week. I found out that my rear tire have been thinned out from almost 1000KM. Since I got a second hand tire, I have no idea how much more miles were put on it.

The first puncture happened at home. I realized it as I brought the bicycle out before Monday morning's ride with E. I reminded myself that checking and preparing my ride the night before is a necessity. I tried to fix the flat at Shell station in vain. Regretably, I wasted half an hour of E's time. Not to mention the disappointment of not riding.

The next was a timely puncture. On Wednesday, I told E that we'd go straight to school because I had 8am classes. I climbed to the top of a slope in school when I felt alot of the road. After the descent, I got a flat. This time it was my slipshod mounting of the tube. I was frustrated at my inept mechanical skills.
I looked forward to anything that took my mind off the bicycle. Thankfully I had a full day of tutorials and plently assignments left undone. Since I end CG at 9pm, I was tempted to leave the bicycle in school and take a bus home. Of course, I'd just be postponing the problem. XK kindly offered to take my rear wheel to the nearby bicycle shop to get the tubes changed. What seemed like a terrible start to the day led to an enjoyable time in school and also the subsequent ride home.

Armed with a properly mounted tube(and an expensive one at that!) E and I went for another ride the next day. Initially, I wanted to go to ECP but settled for our usual route. We didn't manage to go half that distance.
Yes. The wheel blew again.
We had breakfast at Adam Road and walked our bicycles along Bt Timah Road. We spent our time pressing our noses against the posh bicycle shops along the way. Our old steel bikes represented a pale shadow of the latest offerings of carbon and titanium.

This story might have ended on this sad difference between the "haves and the have-nots". However, we had a most amazing of encounter just a couple hundred metres down the road. Pushing our steel machines, I jokingly said we could go all the way down to my place and check out all the bicycle shops along the way. We stopped for a moment at the next shop, expectedly greeted by a locked door. (Seriously, most bicycle shops in SG opens late!)

A lady standing beside a SUV asked if we needed any help. After declining her kind offer and explaining our situation, we turned around to leave. Imagine our suprise when the same lady called us back and opened the glass door to the bicycle shop! All the time I was thinking she could not possibly be the owner! I am ashamed to say that I was prepared to change the tube myself. My embarrassment ended in full circle when she changed my tube in less than 5 minutes. I took half an hour!

As we rode home, I could not help but thank God for the little things in life.

To take a long walk after a short ride.
To enjoy the scenery amidst a cooling breeze.
To meet wonderful people despite the traffic induced lunacy on the road.

To have air in my tires.