If we fall, we fall together

Our Hero Honda Passion's 'cockpit'

After my time aboard the Science Express, I've been trying to get Smitha to ride the bike. The bike is a Hero Honda Passion, with a 100 cc engine - what folks generally term a 'commuter'. I've ridden it over vales and hills, near rocks and lagoons and about 40,000 km in the two-and-a-half years that I've owned it. What I really would love to see, is my darling wife riding it. Confidently. Comfortably. And of course, joyously. As far as the last one is concerned - joy - I am sure she'll find that it comes with the phenomenon of bike-riding. As for the first two, confidence and comfort - I decided to begin building it.

One night, I gently coaxed Smitha to ride the bike for about 4.5 km, inside Mysore city. This coaxing took several persuasive words from my part, plus my hands controlling the handlebars from the pillion position behind her. I also acted as her right rearview mirror, and at times, helped her operate the clutch gear shift lever with her left foot. Among all my words of  coaxing, the only ones that I still remember are: Don't worry. If we fall, we fall together. These words weren't simply said. I meant them with every fibre in my body. And as we sped along that night, I kept thinking and praying, God, if we fall, make it so that we are not too hurt. Both of us. We made it home safe. The next time I offered her the bike to ride for the same stretch, I barely touched the handlebars. The gear-shifting was all her own. It wasn't a very satisfying ride for the biker in me, but we all start with baby steps, don't we? After that, there have been one or two other such rides and couple of stints on the highway between Mysore and Bangalore. Smitha has ridden at least 65 km on the highway. Illegal - I know. Dangerous - I know. But whatever happens, happens to the both of us. With trust in God above, and little trust in the fledgling rider that my wife is, I had let go of the bike's control completely. I found that the comfort and the confidence part go hand in hand. Her comfort in riding the bike depends as much on her confidence in doing the same. And I'm still laying on the bricks...

I don't know if Smitha would ever really bike down the highway, completely unassisted. Alone, or otherwise. Yet, I feel that these words apply to so much more than just biking - If we fall, we fall together. I believe this makes the two, one. I believe it shows support. I believe it shows sharing of trials and sorrows. Most of all, I find, it encourages a partner to stand tall and attempt something seldom attempted. And that, my dear readers, is worth the risk of falling. Together.