On Christmas Day this year, RK and I went for a day trip to Sekinchan with 9 of his nephews and nieces. Yes, 9 aged 1 to 11 years old. I don’t think I’ve travelled with this many kids before so I didn’t know what to expect. Definitely didn’t expect to go cycling because I wore a dress! Didn’t really come to my mind that cycling at Sekinchan by paddy fields was a thing in our tropical weather.
We actually arrived at the paddy fields after lunch by car to take photos with haystacks. Not sure when they harvested the paddies but there was none left at the end of December. However, it was still very interesting and fun to photograph with haystacks! The kids had fun rolling the haystacks around like they were in boot camp.
After the “warm-up” session, we drove over to AMG Bicycle Renting nearby. We left our 3 petrol-powered cars for 4 human-powered quadracycles (aka four-wheeled bicycles). They had tandem bikes as well but we opted for quadracycles because it’s easier to balance even though the former is likely lighter.
Everyone else left in their 4-8-seater quadracycles with many kids while RK and I took a 2-seater quadracycles without any kid. We quickly learned that we had to share the road with cars and it felt insane! Firstly, we were slow thus slowing the traffic. Secondly, we were bulky and took up almost half of the width of the road thus blocking the traffic. Oops.
Luckily the traffic by the paddy fields was slow and patient so I even had time to InstaStory while riding. Actually, I wasn’t riding. I was just seated on the quadracycles while RK cycled because I wore a dress, remember? 😆
We cycled past the haystacks we took photos with earlier and toward the paddy processing factory down the road. “Down the road” is an understatement when you’re on a quadracycle. Just when RK and I got a hang of the cycling experience by the endless fields of (harvested) paddy, our tyre busted.
We called the bicycle shop for help but shortly after realized that RK could still ride on the quadracycle on the side that was fine. I hopped on a bigger quadracycle and continued the journey to the paddy processing factory — but this bigger quadracycle was heavier so RK ended up having to push us with one hand while cycling behind us on his busted quadracycle. #macho 😍
While we were at the paddy processing factory, our busted tyre got replaced. We made some changes to the quadracycling arrangement so that RK’s muscles would be put to better use. Of course, he assigned himself to the quadracycle that didn’t seem to move well and partnered himself with me: the non-cyclist in dress. Wahaha.
It was during this ride back that we realized how far the factory is from the bicycle rental shop. I verified it on Google Maps; it was 3km one-way so we cycled 6km! And please allow me to clarify that “we” were 11 adults and 9 children. 😨
No wonder RK felt like his legs were breaking mid-way during our return ride. He actually hopped off the quadracycle and pushed us from the back because it was actually lighter to push than to cycle. *scratch head*
For the record, I ended up pedalling also in the second half of our return ride with one hand holding my dress. I hope that wasn’t the reason someone in a passing car was taking photo of us (or me). 🙈
Hey, we even managed to overtake the other 2 big quadracycles while I was cycling so I definitely chipped in! It was as if we were in competition when we suddenly accelerated just to overtake the other 2.
Once we arrived back at AMG Bicycle Renting, everybody asked the same question: “Why didn’t we take the motorized quadracycles or just drive to the factory?” Actually, we could have cycled to a nearer “destination” but I wouldn’t have such eventful cycling experience to blog about. 😂
All in all, it was the most memorable experience during our day trip to Sekinchan. You should try too the next time you visit Sekinchan. Just remember to cycle to a nearer destination promptly and make sure not to wear a dress.
