Extreme Games: Highway Cycling

Extreme Games: Highway Cycling

Riding into a stream of lights along the Sultan Qaboos Highway in Muscat, Oman to the music of cars zooming in and out of lanes and the smell of freedom in the form of sweet fragrant flowers. With my new bike in tow, I decided to take a spin on the highway. Jumping onto the highway trying to find my place in the emergency lane and walkway reminded me of the time when my brother, Steve and I received our new bikes. We rode 12 strong minutes from B & K Bicycle Shop to Georgetown. I used to ride touring bikes and dabbled with the idea of being a tri-athlete. A tri-athlete is someone who ride bikes, runs and swims several miles in a grueling competition that test a persons resolve. My cycling days as a teenager almost led me to go to Europe to pursue a career in professional cycling. We'll save the details of that story for another occasion. I prefer to speak of my time in Marrakesh, Morocco when I displayed my deft skills of jumping curbs, dodging in and out of traffic, making the bike come to a standstill without having to put my feet on the ground at traffic lights and pumping the pedals until the bike became my instrument. For some this might not seem like much, but if you've ever been to an Arabic speaking country, you know the drivers can be deadly. New York cabbies have nothing on regular Arab drivers in Arab Lands. My friends Rasheed and Fu'ad thought I was majnoon (crazy) the way I handled the bike and traffic. They couldn't believe my laid-black style had suddenly changed when I took the reins of a bicycle. I still smile when I reflect on their faces after showing them how to ride strong. If you ever see me riding my bike at your car, be certain that I'm willing to "Pop a Willy" on your hood and "Burn a Lil Rubber" on your trunk. That highway ride brought black so many precious memories, but don't try these tricks at home, on a car, in traffic or on the highway.