CYCLISTS ENDANGERED

My heart goes out to the family of young Jaman Morris. According to the report in the press, the youngster was hit off his bicycle by a minibus just days short of his 13th birthday, which incidentally should have fallen on New Years Day.

Is it therefore inappropriate for me to appeal to motorists to start the New Year with the resolve to show a little respect to other road users especially cyclists and pedestrians? For it seems to me that some motorists often approach pedestrians and cyclists as if they are gladiators in the arena and they get a certain amount of sadistic pleasure in seeing how closely they can get without actually hitting them Unfortunately however, they often miscalculate and guess who becomes another statistic? Just recently I had such a close shave with a JUTC bus and it was not the first time.

I wonder what it would take to bring motorists to the realisation that they have no special God given right to the roads to the exclusion of all others? But it is probably a national thing as I wrote a letter to both dailies earlier this year suggesting that when government builds new roads, cycle lanes should be put in. None carried the letter. but what can I expect? We are a rich country and automobiles are to be encouraged, not "fuel efficient" things like bicycles!

A DIFFERNT TYPE OF CHRISTMAS TREAT

For Christmas 2009, “Fun and Thrills Adventure Club” members decided to assist and mentor some children from the National Children’s Home in Papine instead of doing their usual gift exchange.

So on Saturday 19^th December we sat down and had breakfast with the kids who are abandoned children living in the home run by the Methodist church in Jamaica and unlike most kids in the island, they have no families with whom to spend the Christmas season or even have anyone to visit them on Christmas day.During breakfast, Damit had a photo slide running, showing pictures of some of the rides we had gone on over the past few months.

After breakfast, we.handed over a cycle rack (made and donated by Howie), safety helmets (for which Naomi got sponsorship) and bicycles. These bicycles did belong to the home, but because they were in a state of disrepair, the club had bought all the parts needed and paid for a technician to go to the school to repair the cycles.This was an excellent technician who took the time to explain to the excited children gathered around him during the four days it took to carry out the repairs, exactly what he was doing and basically how cycles work.

After breakfast, our most professional crasher, Barry, gave the kids a talk on road safety. One of the kids wanted to know how come someone who consistently crashed in the most spectacular manner, could talk to them about safety but it was explained that since he crashed the most, he learnt the most from his experiences.

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From our plans were (it was Charles' idea and this is not unusual since Charles is a professional mentor and surrogate father to many in his own right!)explained early in December to Mr. Leroy Anderson, Director of the National Children’s Home, he was extremely enthused, especially when it was revealed that some members were willing to give time on some Saturdays, to mentor kids by taking them on rides in Hope Gardens.

After breakfast, Mr. Anderson thanked us profusely and urged the children not only to take good care of the cycles but also to remember the safety tips that they were being given.Some members then took a few of the children for a ride in Hope Gardens, promising that this activity would become a regular feature of the Saturday morning activities of the Club.

Hampton Old Girls

I will never become a member of the Hampton old girls association, although I attended that high school. You see I have no intention of ever getting 0ld so I stridently refuse to be involved with anything so named. 

However, my neighbour Verleeta is an activist with that organisation so sometimes I am browbeaten into attending some of their functions.

 So yesterday I had to give up my healthy ride to Hermitage, to attend their carol service and brunch. 

The service was held at the Jamaica College chapel and it was OK with most of the carols, thank God, being those jazzy "relevant to Jamaica" ones created by father Ho Lung. 

Brunch was at St. Andrew high school. (Hampton is located in the country at Malvern in St. Elizabeth. It was a bit badly organised as the caterer came without serving staff. However the "old" girls jumped in and after an inordinately long wait we finally got fed. As they say, good things are worth waiting for and it was good. 

 During the after meal chat, I was called on to say something about the late Millicent Knight, an old girl who later became headmistress of Westwood High School and someone about whom I had written. She should have been at that function as a special guest but she died three weeks ago. She was 98 years old and had thoroughly enjoyed her life. I would sum her up as someone who was extremely happy in her own skin. Incidentally, I was asked to provide transportation for another famous old girl from the chapel to the brunch. 

That is the great Olive Lewin, icon of Jamaican dance and music. I had never met her before and although she looked very nice, unfortunately she suffers from Alzheimer's. Terrible disease. Poor soul, I don't even think she was aware that it was her old school's function. Her life has "ended" so tragically in comparison to Miss Knight's.

 Oh the terrible hazards of old age.

Well its now winter in Jamaica.

I know. laugh all you want but the fact is we have very serious winters here sometimes. Anyway, there are two recorded occasions when snow flurries were seen at the Blue Mountain Peak.

But you don't have to go to the Blue Mountains to freeze. I do it all the time. At Munroe, Spaldings, Colleyville and my hometown of Malvern, I am forever cold.

Neither is Kingston exempt as the members of "Fun and Thrills" have been demonstrating over the past two weeks. For no longer can we find most of our "dedicated riders" on a Sunday mornings at 6.30 am, for they all claim that it is too cold to get out of bed.

This Sunday was no different for we only four of us rode out of our headquarters at close to 7 am. They were Michael, Chris, Barry and of course, myself. Damit joined us about an hour later in Maryland.

Talk about cold! After riding uphill for over an hour, when I got to Maryland and got off my bicycle, the cold bumps were still visible on my arms. It must have been at least 72 degrees!Then horror of horrors, none of my brave Tarzan like colleagues jumped in the water. At least last week, two did show the spunk and jump in. This week, none did, but each one was urging the other to jump in but they never did! The water looked like ice and the air outside gave enough warning about what awaited anyone who got wet!

Well at least the breakfast was wonderful. Last week, Coy introduced us to gungo and salt fish and it was absolutely delicious. And guess what, he did it again this Sunday and although I did not know it could have been improved on, it was even better this week.

So whether its winter or summer and whether I am freezing or not, I suspect that Coy's breakfast will remain a magnet to drag me out of bed to continue doing the Sunday rides. Unless of course it actually snows!

To be fair to Howie and Heather however, despite the fact that its winter, I am sure they would have gotten out of bed, but they had gone to Negril to enter the "Reggae Marathon"and they did fantastically well in the half marathon category with Howie doing 2 hours and 8 minutes and Heather 2 hours and 40 minutes. I look forward to Howie's report (on everything, not only the running part!) on his blog.