Peddling a good cause

in mumbai, no one looks strangely at aamir khan when he cycles to work as and when he can. so why should things be different in namma bengaluru? now, bangaloreans too can proudly say they will bring down pollution levels by leaving their cars and bikes at home and cycling at least once a week. at 9 am on april 21, (also earth day), cyclomania will be flagged off from police commissioner h t sangliana''s office.air, the group responsible for this event comprises renu ojha, senior account manager, good relations, sb gopinath, another public relation personnel, g krishnamurthy, account manager, brand-comm and others. the idea was to give back to the city what they enjoyed till a couple of years ago -- fresh, unpolluted air. g krishnamurthy says, "when i floated this idea seven months ago, my colleagues told me, `we know the market is down but we are not that down to start cycling around town''. but i believe the aim is to sensitise people." the registration for this cyclomania is free and already 50 people have signed up. cycling over short distances is fine, but ojha says that long distances by cycle may not be a good idea. "initially, we did think of asking all the participants to come to work by cycle. but then we realised no one would want to come to work sweating and looking dull. so people who live within a 6 to 8 km radius of mg road can do it if they want to." for bob hextra, ceo, philips software, cycling is something he does regularly. "i come from holland and back there we have cycling lanes. so i go to the foothills of nandi hills in my car and climb up on my mountain bike. i have done this more than 50 times." but in the city parents are sometimes paranoid about their children cycling on busy streets. to solve this problem, air plans to conduct programmes on lane discipline. "it will include only basics such as sticking to the left, wearing bright coloured clothes and having proper lights on their bikes," say the organisers. every third sunday, the will cycle to a different destination. this will also include visits to orphanages and other places. "we want every bangalorean to be involved," says krishnamurthy, adding, "the whole idea is to bring an awareness that cycling is a recreational activity that can be combined with a social touch." levi''s is sponsoring caps and t-shirts for this event and people interested in signing up can do so on www.airzone.org or contact krishnamurthy on 2991870.