two steep hills

My sister and I were riding bicycles down a very steep road. My sister seemed to have no difficultly and she streamed ahead of me. Everything about her appeared relaxed, even her clothing. She did not wear a helmet, her hair whipped up in the wind, and she wore a blue patterned summer dress that allowed her ease of movement. I, on the other hand, found the steep hill extremely challenging. I felt restricted on my bike, and I could see potholes and gaping gutters appearing on the road. I steered my bike to avoid some of them, and rode - fingers crossed - over those I could not miss. My bicycle felt out of control, flying down the hill at breakneck speed. Even so, my sister was well ahead of me and stopped, halfway down the hill, to wait. As I reached her, I applied the brakes but, in so doing, I toppled the bike and skidded some way down the hill, gripping the road with my body to stop the motion. I was not hurt, though I was shaken. I warily hopped back on the bike and, together, we rode the rest of the way down the hill.
Later, I was driving through the streets of Newcastle, going home. I felt that I had travelled a long way to be here. I was only a street away and I had to turn right and drive down the steepest hill in the city. The road was long and built on such a slope that it was nearly vertical. With my foot planted on the brake pedal, I drove cautiously down the hill, my muscles clenched. At any moment, I felt the car could roll as the nose was pointing so low, or the brakes could fail and I would go sailing off down the streets and crash into the harbour. I passed other cars parked on the hill and I wondered how the owners could park there and feel relaxed about it. I felt that I would be fearful of both the actual act of parking and that, once parked, my car might slip off the hill. I braked all the way down until, finally, I reached the bottom of the hill. Through the window of the house I could see my family and my extended family - including family members no longer with us - gathered in the lounge room, but the gate in the fence around the garden was locked. I lay down on the ground and began to crawl under the gate, until my mother appeared to open it for me. Her cheeks were unusually flushed, as though wearing rosy blush.