Half Way Through My Third 30-day Challenge

I have been on my third 30-day Challenge since somewhere at the beginning of Jan 2015, and the challenge is to rise with the sun and bike every morning for an hour. I have done it for two weeks by now. So far, I have actually risen with the sun but I have not seen a complete sunrise at the riverside because by the time I arrive there, the sun is already up from the horizon.

The sun this morning by the time I got to the riverside was like a beautiful red yolk hanging just at the lower part of the sky; slowly it shined brighter and brighter and had its mild ray radiated on the river. That was a magnificent view! I love to stand there inhaling the fresh air, stretching, observing the boats on the river, and feeding the pigeons. These are so nice, and I don’t think many of my friends have ever done so. I have found the merit of being alone and enjoying the nature and at the same time reflecting on myself.

To upgrade my challenge, once in a month, I will get up earlier and bike to a place where I enjoy the first sunray of the day.

Cheers,

Jocelyn

2015.01.17

10:03am

The Third 30 Day's Challenge - Morning Biking

This is the first day I started my third 30 Day's Challenge. I set my alarm clock at 5:45am and got up right away when it rang, no snooze. After simple wash-up, I grabbed my little Zen full with classical music ranging from the masterpieces of Beethoven to Mozart and kicked off with my Bikey out of the quiet morning neighborhood.

It was not too dark. The people in the small canteen near my house was already preparing the food for their customers who would be arriving and having breakfast before getting off to work and school. Some were driving on the road rushing to deliver vegetable and foodstuff to the retailers at the local traditional market. The waiters and waitresses at the cafe and restaurant were preparing to welcome their first customer of the day.

I was riding my Bikey inhaling the freshest air of the day. It was so refreshing and I felt energized  and romantic with the soft, relieving music from my earphones. I arrived at the riverside in front of the Royal Palace at 6:30am, stopped and did some stretchings. It was so relaxing to embrace the wind from the river and to appreciate the sunray hidden behind the cloud far at the horizon of the other side of the river. With regret, I was not there until the sun bathed on me due to time constraint.

It took me 25 minutes to bike from my house to the riverside. I plan to spend one hour every morning to bike to the riverside to inhale the fresh air of the day.

This marks a successful first day trying. I appreciate myself that I give myself one hour to spare with this life-improving activity; I appreciate my mum for cooking me breakfast every morning and encourage me to do more workout especially to let me out alone in such an early morning; I appreciate the fresh air given by the trees along the road which have already been fewer and fewer; I appreciate my Bikey that has taken me to places though it is old; I appreciate the people who sweep and pick up junks and plastics at the riverside and the park and condemn those who throw them away without conscience and love of the environment; I appreciate the sun that is still shining as it always is. 

Cheers,
Jocelyn
2015.01.05
9:54pm

 

Back to Bikey

I went biking this morning. It has been quite a long time that I have lost touch with it, the activity I used to love much. It was so nice to bike in the morning when I can inhale fresh air, enjoy the early sunrise, escape from noise pollution and crowd of people, and leave my normal commuting routes.

On one hand, I felt peace, refreshed, and relaxed; on the other hand, I felt unsafe while I biked alone on a silent, unfamiliar street. I wish every people on the road is kind and friendly; I wish no one will do any harm on me. I was thinking why I needed to be so scared to go out alone, why people cannot live peacefully with understanding and helping others around them, why the society these days are so cruel and selfish... There are so many WHYs. 

I really wanna enjoy doing things alone in this way as going to places like this does calm my mind and allow me to lose my stressed self behind.

Jocelyn

9:10pm

Chroychangva - Sokha Hotel

Biking Project: My Bikeprint on Every Road in Phnom Penh City

It's not out of a sudden that I come up with this idea. My first and original intention of biking was to explore Phnom Penh on my own in the most environmental-friendly way. However, it has somewhat been altered which I didn't expect to, but overall I have appreciated it. Now my original intention has emerged again, and I will realize it no matter what.

Phnom Penh is not too big to be explored by riding a bike. The total land area of the city is 678.46 squared km which is divided into 8 districts of similar sizes. However, I cannot go through every road in one time of biking. Hence, I decide to draw up a master plan for my biking project. Here is a summary of the plan.

Intention: There are three goals of this project:
- First goal is to bike on every road in Phnom Penh City.
- Second goal is to familiarize myself with how one road leads to another road.
- Third goal is to take note of renowned and significant buildings or areas where I see during my bike trip.

Destination: On the map, I will start cancelling out the roads I have been traveling on and are very familiar with. I will leave them as a concluding part of the project though. Among the 8 districts, Chamkarmorn, Daun Penh and 7 Makara should be my most familiar areas. I think I shall cancel quite a lot of roads in these areas.

Duration: I think I will not take quite long for this project. I will complete it within three months.

Frequency: This project will be carried out at least once in a week in a two-hour biking duration each time.

Report: Each time of my exploration will be noted down and will be posted in this blog for records.

It does need strong commitment to carry out this project. However, I determine to stick to it no matter what. In addition to commitment, I might also need courage to go around every small roads in the city where might be too quiet to go in.

Let's see if and when I complete it. ^^

Note: This plan might not be carried out in this October.