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Walter Susilo The Conclusion (from Sulawesi to the summit, and back down again!)
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 22-11-2024 07:16
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| The Hobbit |
Posted on 20-09-2013 13:37
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Spoiler this is my story, it is my first and there is a 99% likelihood it will not survive! I may not even get to the first race! It is based on a rider I created for Adam Bruce's Raleigh story! hope he doesn't mind  it is about an Indonesian cyclist's story. WARNING contains info on Boxing Day Tsunami, I don't want to offend people by talking about it without warning.
Newcastle England 2013
I write this story at the time of what I hope is the start of my professional career, I have high hopes, but I know that most of them will never come to fruition. Still, from my position it shouldn't be too difficult to become Indonesia's most famous cyclist.
You may wonder how a boy from Indonesia got close to being a professional cyclist though, and it fear I will have to recount that dreadful tale before I can proclaim my victories.
Spoiler I know the intro is short, but his story will be told in small segments.
Edited by The Hobbit on 24-10-2013 17:36
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| Selwink |
Posted on 20-09-2013 13:45
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Good luck
Spoiler I assume we can post, I can always delete this if it isn't the case
Edited by Selwink on 20-09-2013 13:45
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| The Hobbit |
Posted on 20-09-2013 13:51
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Yeah feel free to post, won't start for a while so I can build up what limited tension my poor vocabulary can muster, and make a little surprise in the stage editor, was also mentioned in the Raleigh story! See if anyone can spot it.
Edited by The Hobbit on 20-09-2013 13:53
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| The Hobbit |
Posted on 20-09-2013 14:15
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Ummm, just realised I accidentally put this in 13 stories, and I'm playing with 12. Is there a way to move it, should I just carry on, or should I stop and start again in 12? |
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| Mresuperstar |
Posted on 20-09-2013 14:21
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The Hobbit wrote:
Ummm, just realised I accidentally put this in 13 stories, and I'm playing with 12. Is there a way to move it, should I just carry on, or should I stop and start again in 12?
Moved. Good Luck. 
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| The Hobbit |
Posted on 20-09-2013 14:24
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Thankyou, got off to a great start there... |
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| The Hobbit |
Posted on 20-09-2013 14:45
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As you can see I was cycling at an early age, since I was growing up in Indonesia, on Sulaesi (or Celebes) in Indonesia, the third most populous island. If I had wanted to cycle anywhere I'd need to climb though, it is one of the more mountainous islands. In fact, this was what initially put me off cycling, you wouldn't want to cycle in the cities, ( I grew up in Makasar, a beautiful city, but not exactly a cyclist's haven). As a boy I had nowhere near the strength to climb, but my parents weren't likely to let me go out in the suburbs, where we lived, either. So I put my tricycle away (no one in my family rode either) and focused on work.
We came from a rather well of family, my Grandparents came over from England (hence unusual name) and as such I was allowed a good education. I was a smart boy, but it never really interested me.
Spoiler I apologise for the millions of Indonesians and other story writers I have just offended/ripped off ( I have limited knowledge of Indonesia) |
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| The Hobbit |
Posted on 20-09-2013 16:17
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[img].
Boxing Day 2004
Spoiler I'm terribly sorry, but I don"t know how I could have written about an Indonesian in this era, sorry if it's disrespectful, I thought it would be more so if I just left it out
Boxing Day 2004 was one of the worst days of my life. Thankfully I lived at a relatively high altitude and managed to escape to a higher altitude as the Tsunami struck. All my family survived, but the house was ruined. My parents told me to be thankful, we were the lucky ones. This was only the beginning.
We walked back down the hills after the water receded, the sight was horrific, thankfully this was only the suburbs, I was glad that we were not gazing upon the devastation of the harbour.
There was no time to erect any shelter for the night so we walked back up the hill and slept on the ground, it was better than lying in the standing water and debris below. I did not sleep, not because of the horrors, my mind was still in a state of shock, and still to this day I have no full recollection of those events. It is as if my mind is trying to protect me from the full horror.
And so my family was left, sheltering under the trees on the hillside overlooking our ransacked homes, with no immediate shelter, food or (cruelly enough) drink. Since we were on one of the further islands it would take even longer for aid to arrive, we may have been the lucky ones, but that is the opposite of how I felt
Spoiler sorry again! I feel bad, but soon I hope your tolerance will be rewarded. |
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| Jesleyh |
Posted on 20-09-2013 16:34
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Good luck with the story
Also, stop excusing yourself every time 
Feyenoord(football) and Kelderman fanboy
PCMdaily Awards: 12x nomination, 9x runner-up, 0x win.
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| The Hobbit |
Posted on 20-09-2013 16:37
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I will never stop excusing myself, it's my trademark... |
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| nielsboy1998 |
Posted on 20-09-2013 17:02
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Good Luck I hope your rider will ride good results 
Always see the bright Side of life! |
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| baia |
Posted on 20-09-2013 17:41
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Good luck with Walter
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| Jesleyh |
Posted on 20-09-2013 17:42
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The Hobbit wrote:
I will never stop excusing myself, it's my trademark...
True that. 
Feyenoord(football) and Kelderman fanboy
PCMdaily Awards: 12x nomination, 9x runner-up, 0x win.
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| The Hobbit |
Posted on 21-09-2013 08:08
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Spoiler guys, I was wondering if all this disaster stuff is really necessary, after all it could be offensive, especially from someone like me who isn't such a good writer. Therefore I've set up a poll I didn't want to clutter the story any more. Also we'll get to the cycling soon, after all I have a database, and I'm ready to announce the two stage editor surprises.
We left off sleeping on a mountainside above my ruined home and the grief below. My parents argued long into the night, hoping I was asleep! I was not! but neither did I carry any great desire to listen in so I was still surprised, yet unnerved by the announcement my dad made the next day. We were to walk across the mountains to my uncle's house, which is at altitude and thus intact.
We had done the walk before, but nether in such dire circumstances. It normally takes at least a day, but with our weariness and lack of provisions it could be much more, yet what choice did we have, aid would not get there for days, months or maybe years, we had no ay of knowing if the outside world even cared. And so we started on our trek, what was once a camping holiday, was now last chance of survival. |
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| The Hobbit |
Posted on 21-09-2013 08:08
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How do you add a poll?
Haven't worked it out yet, just post here, I'll decide when it's over.
Edited by The Hobbit on 21-09-2013 08:29
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| The Hobbit |
Posted on 21-09-2013 11:53
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We walked for miles upon miles, not caring for refreshment or food, but striving for the goal ever on the horizon of safety. Not many people had made the journey with us, so we were alone in the mountains, no one would know if we failed, and we would be counted among the millions of other who went missing that day. Eventually after 19 hours walking we collapsed on the doorstep of my uncle's house.
Upon seeing us he rushed us inside and he and my aunt looked after us, nurturing us back to full health. But we could not stay even here for long, the tsunami had destroyed the rice fields and all other forms of food, we would be too much of a drain on resources. We had to hatch another plan, thankfully this one was a little easier on the legs. As I have already said, we are relatively well off.
My uncle would drive us into a port in a bay on the far side of the island, one which was barely effected by the tsunami. We would then pay for a ferry crossing to Darwin Australia. Our island has strong links with the country so there would (hopefully) be plenty of boats to the country.
From then on we'd be on our own, the idea was to find the nearest airport and take the first flight to the UK. Thankfully our passports still held duel nationalities so it might even be legal. Some of our relatives are there so we could stay with them while we try to access our money and start a new life there. It was an idea I had little part in the making of, nor did I have any intention of understanding, I got the idea my parents told this just to run it through themselves as much as inform their child. And so our journey began.
Spoiler I haven't got to grips with adding polls post here if you think
a. Delete tsunami info
B. Keep tsunami info
Thanks
Edited by The Hobbit on 21-09-2013 11:55
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| Jesleyh |
Posted on 21-09-2013 11:58
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Just keep it, it's okay...
Feyenoord(football) and Kelderman fanboy
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| tpinot |
Posted on 21-09-2013 12:00
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you should keep it like that.
great start and good luck btw |
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| The Hobbit |
Posted on 21-09-2013 12:44
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Hmmm, alright, I'll keep it right now, but carry on posting what you think, so, is there no way of making a new poll?
By the way, sorry to those whose stories I've ripped off, there's more to come!! |
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| The Hobbit |
Posted on 21-09-2013 13:28
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Miraculously I slept through the car and ferry journey to Darwin! though I was told it went in eventfully, I was surprised I managed sleep, but knowing I was safe must have triggered my body into realizing I had a good week of sleep to catch up on. I awoke in Darwin! it is still tropical so not too different to Indonesia. However it did not take long to realise I had moved. Soon I got too grips with the situation and was informed (again) of the plan. The journey to the airport was not particularly taxing (it was in a taxi  BAD PUN) we had just about enough money for a budget flight to Newcastle (England not. Newcastle AUS). That was the cheapest airport, at the time I hadn't even heard of it, but we were lucky yet again, as we had relatives in the Pennines nearby.
The flight was boring, I had never flown before so I had no idea how long it would take, I had assumed Newcastle was only as far as Darwin, not the far side of the world. Eventually we touched down, and got out of the airport as quickly as customs and security allowed (I've never flown either so I don't know how it all works).
Then we were on our way, taking another taxi across to the cottage in the. Pennines. As I got out the car I was taken aback by the chill, there was snow everywhere, the likes of which I haven't seen except on the highest mountain tops. I hurried inside and the house amazed me. The style is completely different.
I could tell there was a long way to go before I was used to this. The first thing my parents did was pop into town to get the money. We'd need plenty of that to start a new life, what followed was a load of boring logistic finance stuff, so I'll skip that, watch for the new episode when my cycling story begins (you'll have to wait a bit for actual racing though!)
Edited by The Hobbit on 21-09-2013 13:29
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