10 life lessons inspired by joining a bike gang

Art by me. Copyright and stuff.

A few things to note before we begin:

I am not in a bike gang. Not literally. Or metaphorically. Or otherwise. Bike gang made for a good title (and artwork I think) and I went with it.

Sorry not sorry.

By bike I mean Bicycle guys.

1. Coming down is easy, going up is hard, but worth it. It’s the same as climbing a mountain, and anybody who has climbed any mountain can testify. And like any climber will tell you, getting to the top makes it all worth it. If things are hard, keep climbing. Just make sure you’re going upward though.
2. When the going is good prepare for the times when things may be bad, because there will be times like that. A good cyclist knows that when you are cycling down a hill you allow gravity to do the work and push you down. This saves your energy and enables you to ride longer without getting burnt out. Life is the same way. There are times when things are easy and everything is working out, in those times it is easy to get caught up and forget that a time might come when the tides change and you might have a hard time. Prepare for those times. One important way of preparing for hard times is just by saving money. Do it! Buy a piggy bank (or asusu) if you have to.
3. It’s okay to be on your own. I always have a buddy when I ride but even though we ride together there are times when we are separate because one person is faster than the other and so I very often find myself riding alone. With the wind in my ears and the thoughts in my head. Get used to your company. Know yourself. Listen to your body. Think! Being on your own helps you identify what is you and what is external influence.
4. The journey is the reward. Sometimes it’s ok not to have a destination but you always need to have a home. You always need to be able to find your way back home, but you always have to enjoy the ride. Happiness now matters.
5. You need to take risks in life to get to where you are going. Riding a bicycle has its risks involved depending on where you are riding. Riding a bicycle in Nigeria comes with its own special set of challenges which makes it all the more risky. You can lose your balance and fall, or be hit by a moving vehicle. Or be hit by stationary vehicles. So anytime I ride my bicycle I am more conscious of the risks I am taking and I always try my best to mitigate them but I have never thought “Oh, there are bad drivers on the road and no pavement and all these other things trying to take my life” and then decided to not ride. In Life, there will always be risks you have to take, the secret is to mitigate the risks.
6. Life is a marathon made up of small races. Or Go at your own pace. Because I always ride with a buddy there is a tendency to always want to be in front. To be the first. And that’s okay. Sometimes we race and someone wins. But after riding for a bit I realized that those races, as fun as they are, only make up a tiny bit of the big picture of my riding. Which is to push yourself, to overcome your terrain and to reach your destination (even if it is back home). Your success is not measured against the successes of other but against your potential and all the opportunities that are available to you. It doesn’t matter how long it takes for you to get to your destination, as long as you have fun along the way. It certainly doesn’t matter if someone gets to his own destination quicker.
7. Make the best of what you have. My first bicycle did not have a gear or the ability to “roll”. You had to keep pedaling, like all the time. This made riding a very grueling ordeal especially if you had to climb a hill. Now, new bicycles have gears that make it easier to do things like climb hills and stuff and I utilize those gears like a boss. At first I felt like it made me seem not-hardcore and didn't use it, but later I realized that they were there to make my life easier. I put down my pride and picked up some common sense. There will always be things, which we usually take for granted, that we can use to our advantage. No matter how small they may seem, use them. Remember that not everyone has the privileges you do.
8. In Life, it’s all about finding balance. Riding a bicycle is essentially an exercise in balance. If you cannot balance your weight and that of the bicycle you will lose balance and crash. If you cannot balance the various aspects of your life: your personal life, your career, family, social, religious; you would be overwhelmed and implode. Find balance; make compromises, make your life work.
9. To thine-self be true. You will get tired and want to give up sometimes. It’s okay to get off your bike and sit on the pavement for a while.
10. Keep moving.