骑着铁马破风去!

14199751_10153975920533261_3074581902597310009_n去年九月在台中,骑了一趟脚踏车,印象最深刻应该是九号隧道的那段路吧。也许是因为不是旅游旺季人潮不多,一路上在后丰铁马道停停走走,拍照时好像我们把整条路给包了下来一样,要怎么拍就怎么拍。Shiok!

可是话说回来,当时我们租了两辆脚踏车:一辆单人脚踏车,一辆双人脚踏车,没给他骑单人脚踏车主要因为担心小胖乐乐半路累了会“罢骑”。启程的时候还OK,可是骑着骑着发现双脚越来越沉重,原来坐在后座的小胖根本都没有帮忙踩啊!他从起点到结束就一派悠闲地坐着欣赏风景,而我却一路载着相当于四袋10公斤白米重量的小胖,脸不黑才怪。14199168_10153976344923261_2941673303820530278_n

 

回到台北后发现,原来台北有共享脚踏车youbike,可是由于需要注册悠游卡,加上我们又对那里的路线不是很熟悉,因此没去试用。

今年年初,hh在早报中看到本地也将推出共享脚踏车的报道,而几天后也在我们家附近发现有两辆Obike,于是就在第一时间注册账号,自此开启了我们的共享脚踏车之旅啦。

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三个人各自骑着自己的脚踏车,从家里出发到附近的商场再骑回家,着短短的距离却给了我们大大的满足感。小胖子一路听从指示:往左靠、小心路人、在交通灯前停下、下车推脚踏车,他一步一脚印慢慢学习在脚踏车道行驶的交通规则,看他每一次安全又顺利地完成旅程,都给我们很大的满足感。

好啦,说回重点。

好多朋友看我们在面簿上记录我们的脚踏车行程后,好奇地问我:你们到底是怎么从裕廊东(Jurong East)一路 骑到位于加冷(Kallang)的体育城(Sport Hub)?我总结了我们的经验,在这里与大家分享一下 “ah bob 爸爸对共享脚踏车的4大建议” 吧。

 

1)两台手机三辆脚踏车

刚开始的时候,小胖是骑着自己的脚踏车,而hh和我是用我们的手机下载 ObikeMobike 的apps,各自骑一辆脚踏车和小胖子一起上路。第一次最远是从裕廊东(Jurong East) 沿着公园连道(Park Connector Network, 简称PCN)骑到西海岸公园,休息之后再继续沿着西海岸大道旁的行人道前往虎豹别墅。由于小胖子是骑着我们自己的脚踏车,所以再辛苦也必须骑回家。来回的路程大约是20km。18489713_10154706549293261_2375610206614115382_o

 

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那一趟之后,我们的野心越来越大。

hh 说“不如下一次我们骑到VIVOCITY(怡丰城)?”

查了地图,从住家出发到那里全程大约14km,来回就28km了,我想我们应该办不到吧。于是我们就开始让小胖子学习骑我们用的共享脚踏车,心想,他如果学会用obike/mobike,那回程若太累,我们就可以搭地铁或巴士回家。几次尝试之后,YEAH!!! 小胖子终于学会啦!。

可是一台手机只能租用一辆共享脚踏车,怎么办?哈哈,我们只好下载两家共享脚踏车公司的应用程序,用一台手机向两家公司各租一辆脚踏车,问题不就解决了!所以现在我们经常是两辆mobike,一辆obike到处去玩!

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*tips: Mobike的高度比较适合小胖子(他的高度大约是140+cm)。新款的Obike也适合,因为座椅比较低,适合小孩。可是如何分辨新还是旧的呢?

  • 没有篮子的Obike
  • 如果你家楼下的Obike 都有篮子,那么就从轮子来分辨新或旧。新的Obike轮子比较细,脚踏车的整体重量也比较轻
  • ofo 也适合孩童(可是我们没有下载ofo)

 

2)路程那么长,小孩OK吗?

好多朋友问起,十几二十公里的路程难道小胖子没有闹脾气吗?

其实每次出游,我们都不赶时间,也不是要和谁比快,跟着自己的步伐骑着脚踏车,累了就休息,饿了就到便利店/油站/小贩中心吃点东西。好几次出游,我们都自备零食和水,但其实一路上都有油站和超市,不怕口渴肚子饿买不到吃的喝的。

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有一次原本计划骑到小桂林野餐,不料半路下起了大雨,而我们又忘了带雨衣,就只好在有盖走廊避雨。有了那一次的经验之后,hh在出门前会把背包变成小叮当的百宝袋:吃的、喝的、穿的、防蚊剂、hansaplast 应有尽有!

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3) 要怎样计划路程?

几个星期前, 我们一家三口从裕廊东(Jurong East)一路骑到位于加冷(Kallang)的体育城(Sport Hub)。上个星期日我们又尝试新路线:裕廊东-金文泰-荷兰村,然后一路骑到新加坡植物园(Singapore Botanic Gardens)。20045335_10154900458948261_5119284007796347442_o

 

朋友好奇地问,公园连道(PCN)能连接到这些地方吗?答案是还没有完全连接,部分路段还是必须在人行道上行驶。现在只有一些地区有公园连道,根据URA的资料,必须等到2030年才会有环岛150km的环岛绿道(Round Island Route) 。

park connector network

national cycling plan 2013

出发到新的目的地前,我通常会用Google map 参考步行的路程,然后沿着PCN和大道旁的行人道前往目的地。

原本还担心一些路段不在公园连道内,乐乐在车流不断的道路旁骑着脚踏车会不会危险,后来发现其实人行道和道路之间,很多时候都隔了一块草坪,又或是有灌木丛,所以还挺安全的。

4)使用共享脚踏车每台手机要支付49元押金,值得咩?

很多朋友说,买一辆普通的脚踏车,顶多不是100多元,为什么要花钱用共享脚踏车?我的看法是:

  • 我只要花49元,就能骑着路上看到的任何一辆共享脚踏车出发。
  • 家里空间不大,要放三辆脚踏车有点麻烦;放在组屋底层,又怕被人偷走零件。
  • 我们的私家车也载不了三辆脚踏车,虽然可以装置脚踏车架,但是太麻烦了。
  • 重点是,我们可以在骑累了的时候,就这样把共享脚踏车停放在地铁站外的停放处,搭地铁回家,不用担心脚踏车如何处置的问题。
  • 加上最近几家共享脚踏车公司竞争得厉害,经常提供周末骑车免付费的优惠,最近甚至整个7月骑车不用钱,所以我们可是乐开了怀!

经常看到朋友在面簿上投诉共享脚踏车随处停放、阻碍公共空间的问题,看了总是很难过。其实共享脚踏车就像图书馆内的图书,需要大家合理照顾,这样下一个人才能有机会看到你借过的这本好书。希望大家也能发挥公民意识,善用共享脚踏车,让它能继续给更多人带来骑车乐趣!

 

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乐乐的针灸初体验:)

乐乐第一次接受针灸治疗,据陈美娥医师说,这有助改善他的专注力。
乐乐第一次接受针灸治疗,据陈美娥医师说,这有助改善他的专注力。

过去几次,B到陈医师那里请她帮忙治手指麻痹、脚痛问题时,陈医师都建议我们带乐乐来做针灸,以改善他的专注力。
我们当时虽然也想给乐乐试试看针灸疗程,不过心里总是担心:这个小胖子怎么可能乖乖坐在那里给医师施针?把他五花大绑起来,要是他使劲挣扎,那针不小心插入他的小脑袋,那岂不是很危险?
结果,给乐乐试一试做针灸的想法一直都只是空谈。

昨晚,我们带B的哥哥J到陈美娥医师那里治疗他的痛风问题,陈医师给J施火针后,突然说想见见乐乐。
小胖当时正在医务所外玩电梯的按钮,他应该没有想到,突然被“召”进诊所跟医师打招呼后,小脑袋上竟然会被扎上几针。
医师施针手法利落,不到一会儿功夫就扎上四针。施针时,我和B负责压住乐乐双手,诊所内一名工作人员则好心拿来糖果分散他的注意力。
医师扎针时应该不是很痛,因为乐乐没有哭,不过他倒是一直要伸手去扯掉头上的针,结果B只好拿出“法宝”–最近新买、还没让乐乐看过的ipad mini–给他玩。
又骗又哄,好不容易度过了十分钟,乐乐的针灸初体验还算挺成功的,至于疗效,相信要做多几次疗程才能判断。

不过医师要出国了,下次来做针灸,应该是几个星期后的事。有面簿友问起针灸是否真的对自闭儿有帮助,这个我们也不清楚,可能给乐乐做多几次疗程后再与大家分享我们的经验。

不过我上网查阅资料,发现香港浸会大学中医药学院的网站上,有关针灸如何改善自闭儿学习能力的理论听起来相当有道理,下次等美娥医师有空,要请她给我们讲解一下针灸改善专注力的原理。

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七个月努力的成果

时针指向晚上10点,我们展开哄乐乐入睡的步骤:先是陪他一起收拾玩具,接着提醒他上厕所,然后再带领他跟我们一起熄灯上床。
有好长一段日子,我们最怕他即将入眠的那一刻:原本已安详合上双眼的他会突然嚎啕大哭,每晚都要哭上近半小时,哭到累了才入睡。我们确定他不是身体不适,但是却找不出让他如此不安、难过的原因。翻阅一些讨论有关自闭儿情绪变化的书本,我们只能推断,这可能是他宣泄情绪的方式。

楼上邻居相信是受不了他刺耳的哭声,连续几晚,每当乐乐开始哭闹时,天花板就会传来楼上用铁锤击地抗议的声音。尽管心里满是歉意,但是我们用尽各种方法都无法安抚乐乐不哭,结果只好在每次他一开始哭闹时,赶紧把窗户都关起来,免得干扰邻居。

那天B问我拿七个月无薪假的感想,我向他忆述这段经历。也许因为这半年来见证了乐乐的许多变化,他已忘了有这件事,但是我却清楚记得自己当时无法理解为何乐乐情绪起伏不定的那种无助感。

直到现在,我们仍没有找出当时导致乐乐在临睡前哭闹的理由,但是庆幸的是,他早在好几个月前就已不再这样无故哭闹了。可能是因为我们后来尽量不让他在白天兴奋过度,也可能是因为我们控制了他每餐摄取的热量,又或是因为我们刻意让他在白天多跑动,让他用尽体力晚上好入眠⋯⋯不管究竟是哪个方法发挥了作用,庆幸这段夜半哭啼的日子已成往事。

过去七个月来,见证了乐乐的多项改变和成长,让我确定当初拿无薪假的决定没有错。

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A letter from HH Mama to Lele

Dec 21,2012 Friday 

Dear Jun Le,

This is Mama’s first letter to you. Thought I’ll start penning down the things we did together, the improvements you’ve made and our hopes and wishes for you, so that one day, when you are grown up and when you’ve learnt to understand what we’re writing, you’ll be able to relive the memories of the wonderful times we spent together through this little diary.
In a week’s time, Mama will be going back to work full-time at the newsroom. Can’t believe the past seven months just flew past like that. 
Mama is really proud of your achievements over these few months. You really amaze us with the things you say sometimes, and it makes us wonder if we’ve underestimated your cognitive skills. 
I was really surprised and truly elated when you came over to me last week and said “I’m hungry”. You’ve never been able to express your needs that well, Mama is so proud of you.
I can still remember how we used to be afraid of taking you out to the mall or anywhere else. We’re always fearful of your meltdowns in public and I can still remember our helplessness during those times.
You probably cannot remember, but there was once we took you on a bus ride to Haw Par Villa. On the way back, on bus no 188, you got really upset because the air-con in the bus was not working and it was getting really stuffy. You made such a big fuss, we had to alight before we reached our stop.The other passengers were casting disapproving looks at us as if we were indulgent parents who could not control our willful child.
As we’re unable to always successfully prevent such meltdowns in public, your Papa is always hesitant whenever I suggested taking you out. I reasoned that always  keeping you in a familiar environment is not the way to go. I want you to learn through experience how to behave in different situations, despite knowing that it may be difficult to control you sometimes. I insisted on taking you on bus rides, MRT rides, bringing you to the beach, we even braved two 6 hour plane rides to and back from Shanghai. 
You’ve shown us that you can learn how to behave in different situations, you just needed the chance to try.
One of my biggest achievement during this seven months break was toilet training you. It was an unforgettable experience. You were already five years old, and the teachers at Feiyue were terribly concerned that if you continued to poo in your diapers, no special school will take you. The teachers mentioned an example of a 20-year-old autistic young adult from St Andrew’s School who was still on diapers, and I was worried that you’d be like this too. I was determined not to let this happen.
Not sure if you can remember Mama breaking down and crying together with you in the room when you rejected all my attempts to help you to sit on the throne. Papa was away in Hokkaido on a work trip, and it was just me and you. You finally relented when I threatened to walk out of the house and leave you on your own. Others may find it ridiculous, but the sense of relief I felt when I saw you making your first attempt at pooing in the toilet bowl was indescribable. Not only was it a big milestone for us, it also signaled to me that you are able to learn the ways of living like the rest of us in this society, you just needed a bit more time and help.
I’ve heard from other parents of special needs children about their worries for their children when they pass on. Some parents invested in huge trust funds or insurance policies for their children, others silently prayed that the child will not outlive them. Sometimes I’d also worry, but I realized that it’s not going to be of much help worrying. We’d try to save as much as we can so that you’ve got something to fall back on when we’re gone, but I guess a more practical gift for you is to do all we can to help you overcome your learning disability, so that you can live independently when you’re grown up. 
Not sure how the future holds for us, but it’s ok, we’ll take one step at a time ok?

Love,
HH mama

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