With air this cold, huffing and puffing is no picnic.
You see, I’m a biker. No, no, not the kind with the leather jacket. I’m talking about bicycles. I started biking to school at the start of term 1 and have developed quite an affinity for my time on the road.
Now, I’m not a hardcore biker by any stretch of the imagination. I bike in street clothes. I switch to super easy gears on hills. My bike has a bell.
But despite my sometimes unavoidable grimace at the mention of biking, I’ve grown to love it. Dearly. It’s the only time of the day that I have entirely to myself. Just me, my bike, and the road. No emails, no phone calls, no projects, no deadlines. Some of my best game ideas have come from these bike rides.
About a month ago, I got a flat tire. With little free time to fix it, the tire remained flat and my bike remained indoors. For over a month.
Today was my first day back behind the handlebars. The funny thing about taking a hiatus from biking is that you never forget how to ride the bike. You just forget all the little things that go with it. The red light I’d always tried to speed past. The sequences of gear shifts I’d used for uphill and downhill stretches. The cold morning wind.
But as soon as my foot pushed down on the pedal, it all came rushing back. It felt like coming home.
I biked past familiar neighborhoods, saw familiar scenes, smelled familiar smells. Before I knew it, I’d arrived at school. I went into the classroom, saw the familiar desks and computers, the overused coat rack, the cluttered whiteboard. Classmates started filing in, and the busy chatter and warm greetings filled the room. It felt like coming home all over again.
A year ago, I was lost. I didn’t know what I wanted to be, who I wanted to be. But through a roundabout turn of events, I found my way to game design. And I know that this is where I’m meant to be. I’m back behind the handlebars and ready for all the ups and downs of the next six months.