CYCLING MISADVENTURES

The best activity that I picked up in 2017 was cycling. It was (and still is) my ardent desire to be able to cycle around the outskirts of Kota Kinabalu and beyond, and to be able to enjoy nature while cycling. I was happy that Alfred shared the same enthusiasm in cycling too.

We started hesitantly. I, in particular, was not sure of my ability to balance myself on the bicycle, and soon I was able to ride reasonably well. What joy it was to ride on the path along Tanjong Lipat in Likas and to see the beautiful sunrise. KK is so beautiful ! 

We then moved a step higher to the more challenging terrain in University Malaysia Sabah campus. It was tough but soon, we were able to tackle the steep slopes with relative ease.

Early this year, (January 9th, to be exact), we went for our usual ride at UMS campus. I decided I would try for speed this time. We made our usual route around the campus, and I was doing pretty well. We reached the Marine Research Centre. It was a downhill ride. This section has been a challenge, but I have improved going downhill and uphill. 

As I whizzed down the hill, and I came to the bump, I lifted my body up from the saddle. Oops, I realized that I had lifted my bum a tad too high. Immediately I knew that I had lost the centre of gravity. It flashed through my mind that I was going to be thrown off my bicycle.I squeezed the brake tightly, but I could feel my body being pulled away from the bicycle. My immediate prayer was, "Oh Lord, please cushion the fall.". I felt a thud, then silence......

Then I became conscious of someone lifting me up. I heard mumbled voices, everything was blur. Then I heard Alfred's voice. I heard the word, "Ambulance.." and I felt being lifted into the ambulance. Inside the ambulance was the reassuring voice of the paramedic. Then I vomited. I didn't feel any pain. Everything looked blur and I just felt dazed.

I have high praise for the team at the Emergency and Trauma Department. They attended to me immediately, cleaning my wound, and giving me painkiller, for by then, I began to sense a throbbing pain. The doctors examined me and checked for any broken bones. Then, I was wheeled into X- Ray section for a series of CT scans and x-rays. 

I was a sight to behold. I had sustained a cut across my eyebrow. Part of my left face was skinned off. I suffered 3 broken teeth, and one of the tooth had embedded in my left cheek. indeed the broken tooth had cut deep into the lips. My left eye was swollen and bloodshot.  God really did cushion my fall. The fall could have fractured my rib cage or my pelvis, or caused damage to my eyes (as the eye area was badly bruised).  

After examining me, the doctors found that despite the extensive injuries, there were no broken bones and most of the injuries were soft tissue injuries. Alfred had gone back to the scene of the accident, and judging from the site of the bicycle to where he found me lying on the road, it looked like I had been thrown 40 feet away. And I am still mobile! What a miracle. I give thanks to my God who protected and cushioned my fall. Praise the Lord!

CYCLING ADVENTURES 1

My cycling debut started in 2017 , when at one of our church's Senior Citizens gathering, the organizer invited a cycling enthusiast, a pilot, to share about his cycling adventures. The talk stirred my latent desire to cycle. I wished I could ride around KK and enjoy the freedom and exhilaration of the experience. I had often looked with envy the cyclists whizzing along the road in and around KK. They looked like they were having a great time. 

The speaker brought along some of his cycling friends, all in their senior years. Some of them have had open heart surgery before, some had had cancer and are in remission. All of them shared their joy of cycling. One of them, Mr. George Ng, was particularly helpful. He loaned us his bicycles and coached us on the basics of cycling. 
Many senior citizens turned up for the 1st lesson, but as the lessons proceeded, all but four of us were left. 

We started off by cycling in Likas, along Tanjung Lipat cycling track. The view was lovely and we enjoyed looking towards the sea as we cycled in the early morning. We saw people fishing in the shallow water ...

R-L : George, our coach, Alfred, Me, Donald and James

Sunrise at Tanjong Lipat

Eventually, Donald and James left and there were just the 2 of us. We bought our first bicycles. How exciting!

We signed up for the Christmas "Fun Ride and Run" event organized by KK City Hall and Sabah Council of Churches (in conjunction with KK Christmas Carnival). What fun riding at night with hundreds of other cyclists. 

Both Alfred and I have grown more confident in handling our bicycles and we ventured to more challenging trails.The next cycling destination was in University Sabah campus. It was a challenge to ride on the undulating terrain. How I puffed and struggled as I tried to go uphill. Sometimes, I had to get down and push my bike. There were 5 little hills to scale. But as the weeks passed, my legs became stronger and I was able to tackle those terrains with confidence. UMS is a beautiful campus, in fact it is one of the most beautiful campus in Malaysia as the campus overlooks the Likas Bay.

We then became braver and started cycling along the main roads. I was jittery each time a car or lorry whizzed passed. But the experience of riding along the roads was exhilarating. We side-tracked from the main roads and rode to small villages, and got to know the little kampongs in Sepangar, Karambunai and Penampang. These were places we would normally not venture had we not been cycling.

It was thrilling to ride all the way to Tuaran. We went to the Tambalang Racecourse and to the Cowboy town in Tuaran. We went up close to the horses at the beach. We stumbled across a fish farm.

The cycling fraternity is a very friendly group. Once they found out we were into cycling, they immediately invited us to join in their cycling outing, which we did for a while. It was fun to ride with different groups. the dynamics of group cycling is encouraging and exhilarating. However, we also found we enjoyed cycling, just the two of us, at our own pace and our choice of destinations.

I feel that before long, we would dare to venture a ride in another district, maybe to Kota Belud, or Tenom, and from then, perhaps to Amsterdam, which is a cyclist friendly place. Alfred, however is more cautious. He's just happy to cycle in and around KK (sigh)

JUBILANT JANUARY, DELIGHTFUL DECEMBER 2017

2017 has been an eventful year for us. 

As mentioned in my January 2017 post, the year started with extreme joy and excitement as we welcomed our granddaughter, Olivia to this world. 

It had been a journey of connecting through Skype as we tracked Livvie's progress : from her delight on seeing her kung kung and por por through the screen,  and being able to wave goodbye at the end of each Skype sessions, to seeing her demonstrate her grasp of language as she obediently points to parts of her body, and then progressing to mouthing the words such as "Por Por", "Bye", as well as playing "Peek-A -Boo" with us.

The highlight of the year was when all the children and grandchildren were able to gather in KK for the Christmas holidays. What a time we had - 

( Left - Livvie giving us a grin    & Right - Mandatory climb up the staircase)

Nathan and Grace were delighted to connect with their new cousin.

We also connected with Nathan and Grace through Skype. We observed how each of them has grown both in stature and maturity. The social media has been a boon for long distance grandparents. We were able to chat with them as they eagerly recounted their routines as well as adventures. 

 (Nathan and Grace posing at a restaurant in Kundasang)

 (Nathan and Grace loved the indoor tent sleeping corner that we rigged for them. Every night was an adventure of reading, story telling and play acting)

Grace has shown more confidence when she related to us in person. During our Skype sessions, she was hesitant when speaking to us and was contented to let her brother finish her sentences. Now, whenever her brother tried to interrupt, she would look at him and say firmly, : "Nathan, I haven't finish speaking yet." (And the brother would apologise for interrupting)

I still remember the days when I read to Nathan and after reading a story, he would look at me earnestly and say : Por Por, when I learn to read, I will read to you." Well, the day finally came and I was impressed by his level of reading. 

We took a trip to the National Park as Nathan was eager to see the Rafflesia and Nepenthe plant aka Pitcher plant. He was not disappointed as on Christmas day, one Rafflesia bloomed. It was a whopping 75 cm , 6 petaled flower. Certainly a birthday gift to him. 

The children were fascinated by the nepenthes although Nathan would love to see the plant devouring an insect !

 Serene was keen to let the children experience Fish Spa and so we took the children to a village, some 30 km away. We passed a gigantic teapot at a roundabout. It was like a page out of 'Alice in Wonderland'

Memories are made from experiences such as these. There's a saying, "Some people bring joy wherever they go....." and certainly this is exactly how we feel about our grandchildren !!

A JOYOUS CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION

Christmas 2017 was a celebration that will last in my mind for years to come. It was the rare occasion when all the three married children, together with their spouses and their children were here to celebrate the event with us.

The highlight of the visit was the grandchildren. Hubby and I waited in eager anticipation of the grandchildren's  visit. 

It was Livvie's first trip to Sabah, and we were eager to see how she responded to the new environment. And as she emerged from the terminal gate, her eyes lit up with recognition ( as we had been connecting through Skype) and she gave me a tentative wave and a hint of a smile. 

We had the extended Lee family meal, our cell group family meal, and of course numerous intimate family meals.So it was a time of cooking, eating and talking. I could have, of course, arrange to have our meals in the restaurants most of the time. However, in my opinion, there's nothing like some home cooked food, and gathering around the family table, and eating in a leisurely manner. Besides, it was the preparation and cooking the meals together that bonds the family in a way that no restaurant could do.

The children and grandchildren chipped in to help with the preparation of the meals.

Paul did the roast lamb

Sam and Rachael came up with Tirumisu cake for desserts

Nathan and Grace did their part in preparing the salads. And Serene and Jun Shi helped with the setting of the table.

For the cell group dinner, we have Meng How, our master carver to carve the turkey

After dinner, it was time to open the presents and we were happy to receive the gifts that the children had thoughtfully chosen for us. 

 The children were enthralled by the puppets during the Christmas service.

Christmas has always been a joyous occasion in our family - family getting together to celebrate our legacy of Christian faith. May the children continue to uphold their faith for generations to come.

"One generation will declare Your works to the next and will proclaim Your mighty acts" Psalm 145 : 4