Pedal your way to green tomorrow

BANGALORE: On a Sunday morning last November, a group of cyclists requested a passer-by to take their picture. He generously obliged, but was intrigued enough to ask the group's leader Prabhakar Rao C M if he could join them some day. Anthony Christy was curious about them, and with good reason -- it was the 360-member GoGreenGoCycling (GGGC) group.
Draw people's attention to cyclists and then to cycling. That's how Rao, chief information officer at a city-based garment manufacturing company, adds on members to his brainchild. The non-profit GGGC, which was set up on September 2, 2008, now has 740 members who call themselves Go Green Initiators. They hit the streets on cycles wearing trademark green-black tees emblazoned with `Go Green Go Cycling'. "People riding for their good alone won't make any difference to Mother Nature. It's important to spread the message by cycling," is what Rao tells GGIs, who are in the 8-78 age group and from different walks of life.
The green brigade goes on campaign rides every Sunday morning and inevitably gets queries on how others can join. Rao set up www.GoGreenGoCycling.org to make information about the group and its activities easily accessible. GGGC helps newbies pick up cycling etiquette and also has branches in Hyderabad and Mumbai.
Spreading the message
Go Green Initiators help each other with information relating to the nuances of bike models, accessories, rides, etc. through an online group. During campaign rides on the theme `Go Green, For a better tomorrow, Go Cycling', they meet at designated points and visit different localities. About 70% of them also regularly cycle to office.
To celebrate its second anniversary, on Sunday GGCC will go on a 10-km loop ride from BRV Grounds on MG Road to Lalbagh