An Exciting Ride (Use of Passive Voice)

     Shortly after my 19th birthday, I left home. No, not for the rest of my life! What I was doing that year was unusual, however. I took my bicycle out of my parents’ house and rode it all the way to Halifax, Nova Scotia (about 8,000 kilometers away). Of course, I had many exciting and unusual experiences along the way. One time, when a truck went by, I was blown off the road. That was bad, but riding out of Regina, Saskatchewan, I noticed dark clouds on the horizon behind me. On that day, the town was hit by the worst flood in 100 years! But I, to my family’s amazement, didn’t even get wet. Along the way, the most exciting things were seeing the Canadian landscape go by—slowly—and enjoying the many different kinds of people in our country. Near the end of my voyage, I came close to another big storm. A hurricane had hit the city of Halifax two days before. Trees and branches were broken and smashed all over town. Being a young man, I didn’t even consider that my parents might be worried about me. Much later that night, after I’d had a beer and found a place to stay in the university dormitory, I finally remembered to call. It was my mother's and father’s turn to be excited then, for they were sure I had been trapped under a tall tree somewhere. To return home I was more sensible: I took an Air Canada jet with my bicycle safely stowed in the baggage compartment.

See the original assignment