The Engineer’s tryst with destiny

 

The Engineer’s tryst with destiny

“There’s a blessing in everything that happens to us.” – Kamaru Usman

 

During the outbreak of the Corona pandemic in 2020, the entire world was locked down. While the Doctors & other medical professionals had to toil with the Corona patients, and the Police had to keep strict surveillance to curb any public movements, the Engineers had to do their part to ensure that the telecom/IT infrastructure remained operational so that everyone could stay informed about what was happening everywhere. It was the combined efforts of all the Public servants that made us overcome the Corona.

As an Electrical Engineer for a Telecom Company at the time, I had to keep an eye on whether all the HVAC and electrical equipment in the significant telecom sites were providing continuous service. Due to the suspension of public transportation, I had to travel about 100-150 km every day on my bike to visit a number of installations. About 65 kilometres away from my usual job location, in the next city, were some large installations. I used to ride my bike once a week to the installations in this city.

I want to narrate an intriguing incident that happened during one of my visits to the nearby city. I had to cross a hill with steep road on either side spanning 10 km. Early in the morning, I rode my bike, reached the place, and did my routine inspections. I finished all the planned tasks and started back in the evening around 5.00 PM. After a few minutes, it started raining and I had to stop near a small closed shop to take shelter.

Around six o'clock in the evening, the rain diminished to a light drizzle. I was in the shop with some locals when some of them started to depart. As it was getting late, I also made the decision to go since I wanted to get drenched in the drizzle.  I continued travelling, and the light rainfall made it nice. When a car passed me and splashed water directly upon my face and body from a pit in the road, I received a wet bath. It felt like a sudden, complete chilling from a forced jet spray. I loved it, especially considering how hot the summer was where I lived. I really enjoyed it. After a while, the drizzle grew heavier and I started to feel the sting of the water drops. Having failed to locate any local shelter, I made the decision to continue travelling.

As the road was steep, I arrived at the hill and began to hike. My bike had to travel against the water flow that was coming from the slope. At this point, the sky had grown dark. As the rain continued to fall, lightning also began to strike. Every time there was a large thunderbolt, my body jerked. At a distance of less than 100 metres, I could witness lightning strikes. There was no one present on the road. Now that it is raining heavily, there is lightning and thunder, a stream of water is flowing from the hill to the valley, and the wind is pushing me toward the side of the valley.

My heart beat rapidly. The Plain above the slope was nowhere in sight. I gave full throttle in an effort to get to the top of the slope as quickly as possible. But the strong wind and the descending stream slowed my bike to the point where I thought I was barely moving. I remembered that my bike had a self-starting issue and that it can only be manually started using the kick-lever. The water stream has almost reached the level of the kick-lever, making it impossible to start using it if the engine shuts off.  Without the bike lights, What would you do in the dark if your bike didn't have lights?

Since I've been riding motorcycles for more than 20 years, I am aware that when under extreme pressure, the engine may stall out while shifting gears. Despite wanting to change to first gear to deal with the challenging downstream against the bike, I kept going in second gear. I was even more startled to notice a truck in the rearview mirror that had started closely following me Given that truck drivers find it difficult to stop when travelling on high terrain, if the bike stops, I'll very certainly get crushed under the vehicle. (If they stop, they will lose momentum and find it challenging to start again and pick up speed). I became aware that this is my testing time.

I kept going uphill at the same speed with 100% focus. Due to the intense downpour, I had to open the front glass of my helmet since I could not see. Because of this, raindrops stung my face and neck, creating discomfort. I realized that I had entered the most difficult experience of my life when I encountered rain, wind, thunderbolts, lightning, being downstream of water, and the closely following truck. Every cell in my body went into alert mode, urging me not to give up. I rode continuously and consciously. It appeared to be the most difficult ride. I soon saw that the water stream was becoming thinner, which was somewhat comforting. I kept going, and after another five minutes, I was at the top of the road. Due to the hill protecting me on one side, the stream, the wind, and the truck are no longer a threat to me. The truck may also pass me because the road is broader there. But the rain and lightning kept coming.

 I had to go across to the hill's opposite side, which slopes downward. Fearing any rocks that might fall from the hill, I chose to keep going. Due to the downslope, the journey was simple this time. I made good progress. Soon after, the truck vanished from view from behind. I arrived at a Petrol station in a little town. The rain had turned to drizzle and the lightning had stopped by that point. I finally finished it. I sighed heavily in relief. I started thanking God for rescuing me from the peril. I began to feel lighter. But until I got home, I never stopped anywhere.

My wife yelled at me for not seeking shelter somewhere when she saw how wet I was and said she wouldn't be responsible if I got sick. I chuckled silently. As I lay in bed that night, I told my wife and kids about the entire episode and explained how I had recovered from a near-death experience. My daughter questioned whether I would try the same thing again if given a second chance. She was shouted at by my wife. My son responded to the question with his customary wrinkled brow, expressing his disapproval of the question. You all know what I would have said in response to the question, but all I did was smile at the child.

It had taken about 30 minutes to complete the entire rainy journey. But it felt like the longest voyage of my life.

Grit and perseverance are what get you through difficult situations and to safety. Never give up, ever.

The Bike that never let me down

See you in the next post, bye.