The Lion King | 41
LK Sports
while riding my bicycle and minding my
own business that a small white hairy dog
chased me aggressively for no reason. In
my bid to increase my speed and zoom
away, I panicked and fell down. I was so
angry that I quickly got up and started
chasing the dog. I was determined to bite
the miserable dog and make newspaper
headlines. The dog, on seeing my red eye,
took off in the opposite direction. Luckily
for the dog, I calmed down and continued
to ride my bicycle. No shaking.
Secondly, can you afford it? Yes. There are
all kinds of bicycles available at differ-
ent prices. From NGN25,000.00 to NGN1.5
million (Yepa!), you can pick up a good
bicycle that would take you from here to
there and make you shed the kilos. No
need for parking space, you can keep the
bicycle in one of your rooms or hang it on
the wall. No real storage is space required.
Compared to buying a car, or buying a
mobile phone, buying a bicycle is chicken
feed. You could go high end when your
confidence and cash flow improves. You
can even, for a start, buy a good (empha-
sis on “good”) second-hand bicycle for
less than N25,000.00. The cost of ownership
is no excuse here. Also, the maintenance
cost is insignificant. Bicycles are solid as-
sets. They sometimes outlive the owners. I
have an Italian bicycle which I got in 2002,
a beautiful Bianchi bicycle. It is still with
me and in top condition. I take care of it
myself: washing it, lubricating the chains,
pumping the tyres, etc. The bicycle is still
serving me well. In the intervening period,
I have bought countless phones, comput-
ers, clothes (you get the drift) that have
all gone with the wind. I say again, the
bicycle is a long lasting asset.
Thirdly, is riding a bicycle safe? Is driving
your car safe? Is riding an Okada or sitting
in a bus safe? Is going by air safe? Is walk-
ing on the road safe? Is taking the elevator
safe? Do I continue? Safety, like my wife
would say, is in the eye of the beholder.
Even cooking in the kitchen or taking a
bath is unsafe if handled irresponsibly or
without proper care, instruction or learn-
ing. You can’t just buy a bicycle and hit
the road without proper skills and coach-
ing. You should first of all hone your skills
in a safe environment before taking on
the roads. Indeed, properly trained riders
have toured continents, (yes, continents)
with little or no incidents. I have ridden my
bicycle from Ikoyi to Epe Town and back
to the Lekki area, covering a distance of
100 kilometres in slightly over 4 hours with
no incident. The issue of safety is also no
excuse here. Riding with experienced rid-
ers and joining a cycling club would also
help to make you a master of the roads in
a short time.
Cycling would boost your energy levels,
make you lose weight (or prevent you from
putting on weight) and enhance your met-
abolic rate. Cycling would not stress your
joints like running and walking. Cycling
is associated with freedom, relaxation
and longevity. Cycling would take you far
away from leading the sedentary lifestyle
of a couch potato. As a self-proclaimed
cycling ambassador, I could go on and
on. I would stop here. I have more to write
on cycling in the weeks to come.
Finally, what was my first step towards
cultivating the bicycle culture? I remem-
ber how I soooo wanted a bicycle. I could
not afford it then. (Ah, (emi omo baba
olowo). What did I do? I did what I could. I
could afford a helmet! I went ahead and
bought the helmet. A few people thought
it funny. Some laughed behind my back
and in front of me. Guess what, from that
first step of buying a helmet, I subsequently
got my bicycle and have bought and
given out lots of bicycles since then. I have
convinced many to take up cycling. I
have ridden my bicycles with professional
cyclists and top executives. I have covered
thousands and thousands of kilometres. I
have experienced freedom and joy while
cycling. I am a Board Member of the Cy-
cling Federation of Nigeria. All of this from
that very first and significant step of buying
a helmet. Who is laughing now? Failing
to take that important first step in any
endeavour is actually what fails us. Think
about that.
Go on, take the first step, and get a bicy-
cle. The world is for riding.
Bili Odum
