Nearly half a century elapsed  before I rode on a bicycle again yesterday. 

Woke up early from a nice sleep in a motel-like lodging house located at rural I-lan , I rode on an in-house bicycle, trying to have a sightseeing on "五峰旗 Cascade".  After few seconds' staggering and swinging to and fro, I regained  balance from grabbing the center of gravity and started my fisrt bicycle riding since high school days.  Fresh breeze and bright light in the morning make it a perfect day for a riding along country roads which are surrounded by verdant paddies of newly-transplanted seeds.  Nonetheless, I failed to reach the destination due mostly to the uncomfortable height of the seat and my unfamiliarity with the gearshift.  I stopped en route before a gentle slope and returned.   Though I almost got charley horses in my legs, I felt like young again.   Well, I was not alone and we, classmates reunited 45 years later graduation, all felt like young again!   

A century ago there were few cars and buses on the streets, so the bicycle riders had to compete with pedicabs only, so bicycle riding was the most convenient method of transpotation.  In addition to going to school on bicycle everyday, it was not unusual for me to ride to the beaches in Keelung area from Taipei in summer time(26 k one way).  Those were the good days!

But the yellow smiling E-bike in Taipei today may someday become traffic ills to the city because of lacking exclusive paths for bicycles, which makes the riders have to scramble for roads with sedans, buses, motercycles, pedestrians, and worst at all, their lungs gasping for fresh air have to inhale exhaust fumes instead.  Now these are the bad days!