Fastest Engineless Bike on Earth Called thing gari.

This bike runs on kinetic energy. Speed depends on the size of the wheels and the type and quantity of lubricant used. Ninety nine percent of the body part is wood with only one percent comprising of iron nails to hold the body parts together. This bike is specially designed and built only for use in the most mountainous and most remote regions on earth.

There is no record about the person who designed or invented it. The bike is called "thing gari" or "wooden motorcycle." Another surprising aspect about manufacturing of these bikes is that they are made by children of 8 to 13 years. Again, there is no architectural myth that older boys always make better bikes.

The Manufacturing

As expected, making of the bike has it tedious production cycle. First the kids have to scout the vast forest scouting for the most rounded rhododendron tree trunk (kokluithing) that meets the tyre size of their dream, fell the tree and carry home the heavy trunk. By the way, this is not child labor as there is no insistence from adults that they have to build these bikes. Adults hate the bikes and some even go to the extent of axing and destroying them.

As the bikes are mainly for dirt biking, they make dusty village roads even dustier. This is the obvious reason why grownups are concern more about the roads than the fun of the children doing dirt biking.

Nevertheless, nothing can deter these determined kids. After bringing home the tree trunks, they'll hide it in places where the eyes of the adults would be least interested to investigate. These kids would sneak out from home with the sharpest knives and start cutting out the wheels and make holes in the middle. The job is half done there.

The next task is to build the body part on the wheels, which is comparatively easier than cutting out the wheels. The body part is usually trunks of young flexible plants to give that springy feel while riding or racing. Everything gets nailed together in the end.

Racing Time

It's time for racing finally and this is when the kids steal pork lards from home to use as lubricant on the wheels. Those who are not so lucky to have pork lard at home have to chew a rather yucky and slippery herb as an alternative.

Every village has steep hill slopes, and these are the favorite places for racing. The race starts from top and ends at the foothill. The bikes have to be carried uphill which usually is done by the assistant of the bike owners. All the racers will be covered with dust and look more like hard working moles emerging out of the soil after digging like crazy.

The Fare

The normal and minimum fare for a ride downhill is one iron nail or a piece of pork lard. This arrangement is ideal for those kids who don't own bikes for reasons both known and unknown. These bikes are never kept at home for the fear of invoking anger in the family and destruction. There are special common garages in the bushes which the bikers know is safe from the reach of adults.

Author's note: Wooden motor cycles were part of my childhood. Childhood was so much fun with all the dirt, scolding, spanking and chasing we get from grownups for dirt biking. Time has changed though, one hardly see these wooden motorcycles even in the remotest villages in Ukhrul district, Manipur, where I was born and brought up..