Making My Own Bicycle
It was a Saturday morning. James and I were at the Bamboo Bicycle Club, ready for our bamboo bicycle building course.
The first step was setting up the structure for holding the frame (骨架) in place. After that we were told to ____1____ the bamboo to be of use, which was a delicate job. There were several things to ____2____. Of course, finding pieces that were the color we wanted was just as important.
The rest of the afternoon was spent ____3____ each piece of the frame into the structure. Bamboo is fairly flexible, and this particular ____4____ meant that some adjustments were really necessary. One problem lining up the two chains causes ____5____ made our frame useless. Luckily, however, after some careful ____6____, we confirmed that it was alright. There was just enough space to fit a wheel.
On Sunday morning we returned to the workshop to complete the final ____7____. We began to tightly wrap each joint on the frame, to keep it ____8____ with natural fibers kept in special glue. All that was left now was for it to dry. In a few hours we would be official members of the Bamboo Bicycle Club.
Finally we finished our job. I couldn’t wait to ____9____ our bicycle to find out what it was really like to ride a bamboo bicycle. It felt just as ____10____ as any bicycle, but softer and more relaxed. Now, every time I get on our bicycle, I can’t help smiling. It reminds me of when James and I built it and makes me proud of myself.