Grace Tan and Jolene Chua

The Bicycle Ride

Grace Tan: 

Clang! Bang! Grace in her T-shirt and pyjamas bottom crashed the bicycle headlong into the car in the carpark. The loud bang caused her sister Constance running out of the house to check on the noise.

Sitting on the ground with the crashed bicycle was Grace, looking stunned with her torn pyjamas bottom and a badly scraped knee. Instead of helping Grace with the accident, she started laughing as she imagined how silly Grace looked trying to balance and ride an adult bicycle.

Fighting back her tears, Grace pleaded with her sister, Constance, to help her to upright the bicycle and sneak it back into the house before their brother discovered that it was gone.

Cheekily, Constance only agreed to help Grace if she agreed to take over her weekend housework chores rostered by their mother. Grace had no choice but to agree as she knew that the punishment from their brother would be much worse - sniffing chicken shit - For taking his things without his permission.

As time passed, Grace eventually learned to ride the bicycle the hard way - the frequent fall and the extra household chores to prevent Constance from snitching on her. It was all worth it. As she has not only earned her stripes - a scarred knee cap - but also able to join the neighbourhood boys to go cycling and catching spiders. She also learned the importance of perseverance. 

Jolene Chua: 

The years turned to decades and soon, Grace had her own handful of grandchildren to take care of. She would often tag along with her granddaughter and grandson to learn how to cycle just as she had many years ago. Reminding them constantly not to give up even if they fall.

Grace scoffed when she saw the shiny new bicycle in front of her. “And the height fits them perfectly” she tutted as Jarrell pushed Jolene along the concrete hardcourt.

Jarrell gives a sudden strong push and lets Jolene learn to pedal the bike herself. She wobbles frantically with the small pedals but loses the momentum to continue on, ultimately toppling over and scraping her knee caps.

Though Grace was concerned, she couldn’t help but exclaim with excitement “You have earned your stripes to join my bicycle club”. Jolene looked at her stupendously and wondered what is grandma talking about. Seeing her reaction, grandma started sharing with us her journey and how she started a special bicycle club.

The children ended up forgetting all about the accident as they want to hear more of grandma’s life and the things she did growing up in the 60s. If they have their way, they would definitely look forward to experiencing what their grandma experienced during her growing up years and having a “Never say die” attitude.