Pedal Picnic

Sense of achievement or happiness doesn't necessarily comes out of something extraordinary every time. Sometimes ordinary looking things or events give us such joy & excitement which we may not be able to get otherwise. It may seem not so special for others but for those involved , it becomes a memorable moment of ultimate joy! I had one such experience last Sunday. I've been going for cycling as part of my work out daily morning along with my companion-Dinesh Motwani- formerly my patient but now a friend, thanks to cycling. We go 5 kms. up & down amounting to a total of 10 kms. at a stretch. It takes about 45 mins. We were planning to go to Gandhinagar for quite some time. Infocity is about 10 kms. from Motera. That means we had to go double the distance we daily travel. After a couple of lapses, we finally decided to have a go last Sunday. One of my closest friends, Dr. Manish Joshi would also join us. He would come on Dinesh's son's cycle. Oiling & air-pressure check was done a couple of days before to avoid mishap on the final day. Water-bottles were kept in refrigerator for cooling on previous night. Alarm was set at 5:30 a.m. We had scheduled to set at 6 a.m. sharp. I used to get up so early a couple of years back when I was learning swimming. We were in bed on time hoping for our smooth journey next morning. But whenever you are up to something, nature tests your courage by means of unexpected occurrences. At midnight, an emergency patient came which disturbed my sleep. Still, next morning we were ready on time & then came the SMS from Manish that someone in his relation had died & all his elders were heading for rituals right then. So he would be a little late. He came at 6:30 a.m. & we hurriedly went to Dinesh's house only to find that one of the cycles was having a flat tyre. 6:30 in the morning, 3 men ready for an extended cycle ride are now one cycle short. Dinesh went in search of an another cycle but we were apprehensive because the clock was ticking & we had 20 kms. ride pending ahead of us. We had to come before 9'o clock as it would get very hot after that on the summer day of March. But the real issue was, would he be able to fetch a cycle or we would have to cancel our trip? But he did manage to get a cycle of one of the security guards. When he came to us, we were not sure whether that cycle would run intact for 20 kms. It was a big black cycle generally used by milkmen or labourers & was looking in the worst imaginable condition. But we were left with no option & off we went with all our guts for our ride at 6:45 a.m. The atmosphere was pleasant, especially due to lush green plantation around the highway. It's amazing that when you have a good company, time & distance pass just like a flash. We reached Infocity after 45 mins. & weren't feeling tired yet. Einstein's theory of relativity was working with us. We were surprised that how easily we reached our destination which we feared would be tough for us. We took rest, set on the lawn & had Nero- the refreshing juice made out of palm or dates. We started our return ride at 7:45a.m. & we were at Motera around 8:30 a.m. We had "Navkaarshi"- morning breakfast- at Merudham Jain Tirth which comes on the way from Koba to Motera. It was like "an icing on the cake" for our ride to end with such a delicious & nutritious breakfast. We were very much satisfied, thrilled & happy. Thus, the journey which started with a couple of jerks, ended smoothly with a sense of joy & achievement. In fact, we felt that it tested our dedication, commitment & courage. In a way it was a test of our character & attitude. But in the end, we emerged victorious. This victory may not seem that much important for others but for us it was an event to cherish & remember. In fact, we are planning to go for such long trips on regular basis. This trip taught us an important lesson that," Obstacles may set you back, but they cannot prevent yourself from coming back. You may have to step back in life, only to take a big jump to overcome the problem."

"રસ્તો નહીં જડે તો રસ્તો કરી જવાના,

થોડા અમે મૂંઝાઈ મનમાં, મરી જવાના ?
એક આત્મબળ અમારું દુઃખ માત્રની દવા છે,

હર જખ્મને નજરથી ટાંકા ભરી જવાના !
સમજો છો શું અમને? સ્વયં પ્રકાશ છીએ !

દીપક નથી અમે કે ઠાર્યા ઠરી જવાના !
અય કાળ, કંઈ નથી ભય, તું થાય તે કરી લે;

ઈશ્વર સમો ધણી છે, થોડા ડરી જવાના ?"
- અમૃત ઘાયલ