Seeing the dawn of a new day is a blessing to all of us. But when it is a Sunday, it is even more special for me – it is the official ride day with buddies.
Last weekend’s rendezvous involved Dr Harjeet Singh and yours truly. Due to his social and my professional commitments, we decided it would be a short round-trip 400km breakfast ride.
Dr Harjeet, who is always punctual, was late by 10 minutes at our meeting point – 5.30am at the petrol station in Jalan Duta, Kuala Lumpur. When he arrived, I noticed he was sporting a new pair of riding boots – the Klim Adventure GTX. Great boots, but a real pain when it comes to shifting gears.
I know this because three years ago, when they came onto the market, I tested them on my bike. Due to the toe box design, upshifting becomes very difficult. It required changing the original gear lever to an adjustable one – something I was not too keen on.
Sure enough, that was the reason for his delay, and unfortunately, the salesperson who sold the boots was unaware of the issue.
I was able to offer a quick solution to the problem, and even told him the exact gear lever he needs to get. That cheered him up.
It was a pleasant ride in the cool early morning air, though slightly later than our usual early start.
We reached Kedai Kopi Kheng Juan Hin in Melaka at 7.30am. Dr Harjeet was pleasantly surprised at how warmly the proprietor greeted me – like a long-lost friend, questioning why I was arriving so late.
I am usually his first customer when he opens at 5am.
The simple soul food is always comforting. Since I had patients to review, I bought breakfast for the medical and surgical ward staff, and the security team.
It was unfortunate that during this trip we witnessed an accident in Melaka. An elderly lady lost control of her car and crashed into the road divider.
Without a second thought, we parked at a safe distance and rushed over to help her. We got her out of the car – thankfully, she was not seriously injured.
She was in shock. We stayed on to monitor and comfort her until her son arrived.
Episodes like this show how situations can change in the blink of an eye. This could happen to any one of us.
An interesting coincidence – it was two doctors, an ophthalmologist and a general practitioner, who attended to the victim, a retired government hospital nurse. Fate, you could say.
We continued our journey back to Kuala Lumpur, stopping for hydration at a petrol station. There, we met a group of scooter riders taking turns for a group photo.
I offered to help take a photo of all of them together. This made them very happy. We bikers make friends easily – it is in our DNA.
Parting ways and wishing all a safe ride, our journey continued back to our respective destinations.
With the staff breakfast delivered and professional commitments fulfilled, the rest of the day was spent with the family.
This reminded me of an interesting discussion with a colleague regarding the habit of rewarding our children when they do well scholastically.
My youngest had recently done extremely well in her Cambridge Checkpoint exam. Congratulating her on the results, I told her that with her hard work, she was rewarding herself – investing in a stable future.
As parents, we are duty-bound to provide a stable environment and the means for personal, mental, spiritual and scholastic development.
On their part, they are duty-bound to work towards that goal.
In our younger days, it was only the ‘stick’. The ‘stick’ came in many shapes – a wooden ladle, hanger, or a slipper. There was also the occasional ‘twisting of the ear’ or the subtle pinch. Now, the talk is only about the carrot. The carrot is a privilege – to be decided by the parents, not to be expected or demanded.
As parents, we are there to help lay a strong foundation, so even if the foundation is taken away, they can still stand if they are deeply rooted. The world should not be able to shake them. It is important to strengthen their roots so that they can stand tall and face the world with confidence.
As I was happy for her achievement, we went out for a small celebratory dinner. She was called out for achievement – whereas her papa usually used to get called out for punishment.
Overall, it was a great day – a short breakfast ride with a brother, being the first responder at an accident, lending a photographic hand to fellow bikers, fulfilling my professional commitments and, most importantly, spending time with my family.
A dad or mum can lose their friends, be misunderstood by their family, and still sleep just fine. Why? Because their focus isn’t on being liked – their focus is on being respected by the only audience that matters: their children.
