Spirit on the saddle

What's the secret of Bangalore's enduring spirit? The answer perhaps lies in a set of people who have been relentlessly cycling, rain or shine. While some do it with no other choice, a whole lot of others pedal just to 'burn fat, not fuel' and get an adreline rush, the maddening traffic notwithstanding. So one can spot many cyclists on the city roads: from those delivering newspapers, gas cylinders, couriers, etc.to the ones going to schools in uniforms or to office in formal clothes.
K S Vasudevachar (58), who works for a Kannada publication house on Residency Road, has been cycling for the past 45 years from his house in Chamarajpet. "In the early days, there was hardly any traffic on J C Road. And all my 15-km (one way) rides were jolly rides, thanks to the greenery, especially from Siddaiah Road to Richmond Circle," he recalls. He vows not give up his friend for years, for it has become his life partner! But his colleague N Basavaraj gave up cycle after pedalling for 40 years, in 2004. Reason? "Not enough cycle shops on the way. It's tiring to walk long distances with a flat tyre to get it back in shape." However, both of them cherish the days of going on weekends to distant places like Hesaraghatta, Bannerghatta, Melkote, etc, on their favourite vehicles.
B R Janardhan, who recently turned 76, says he has been maintaining a daily average of 52-km cycling since 1997. "To ensure that, I have given up my car. I cycle from my house near New BEL Circle to see my relatives in Bannerghatta Road, Hanumanthanagar, and for other work" he says, adding this helped him get rid of epilepsy which he was diagnosed with in 1995. H S Mrutyunjaya has fond memories of how he enjoyed his days at the Controllerate of Quality Assurance Electronics Ltd (CQAL near TV tower in J C Nagar) where even scooters were hand counted, let alone cars, in the late '70s. "I have seen my seniors wearing ties and suits and staffers of Vidhana Soudha with 'kacche' panche and 'peta' on cycles," he says, recalling his 15-km ride from his Jayanagar house. Now his cycle is retired and so does he.
MAKE WAY, GREEN BUDDIES ARE COMING
Garden City can breathe ease, for there are many youngsters who prefer to be on the saddle. Some more would join the green brigade in the coming days, courtesy organizations like Ride A Cycle Foundation (RACF - www.rideacycle.org), Bangalore Bikers' Club (BBC -www.bangalorebikersclub.com), Go Green Go Cycling (GGGC -www.gogreengocycling.org) and Bums On The Saddle (BOTS -www.bumsonthesaddle.com).
RACF, since its inception in October 2008, has been creating awareness among people to bring the cycles back on Bangalore roads. Says Pradeep S V, one of the seven trustees of RACF: "Cycling is the most sustainable mode of transport in Bangalore as the average distance covered by any office-goer is 10 km, which can easily be covered in 30 minutes. Moreover, Bangalore weather is a boon for cyclists." They are also in touch with the transport department and other stakeholders of traffic to ensure right of way for the cyclists. Enthused by the government's positive response to mark lanes around Madiwala Lake and on certain corridors, RACF is working on to set up cycle parlours in Electronics City "so that office-goers there can alight from buses and borrow cycles from parlours at strategic points to go to office and come back". Their ambitious project - safe route-to-school which is in the planning stage - aims at encouraging schoolchildren to hit the pedal. As part of the project, RACF has identified some nine stretches in JP Nagar and Jayanagar so the children can ride their way to schools there.
BBC, with a strength of over 1,000 members including some women, has grown to be the largest bikers' club in India. Prabhakar Rao C M, in spite of being chief information officer at a private export company, does not mind dividing his time between BBC and the 230-member-strong GGGC to promote cycling by organizing jolly rides, campaign rides and races during weekends. "We have been targeting people in 22-60 age group and it is paying dividends. More and more people are understanding its importance, the latest being a 54-year-old professor from a college in Koramangala."
Shivaram Venkatesh, who is associated with RACF and Karnataka Amateur Cycling Association, swears by cycling as "this is the most easiest and efficient fat-burning sport of all". "Fuel can last for another 40-50 years, but not our strength, which only gets stronger by the day. Besides being wallet-friendly, cycling also helps one maneuver the traffic easily," he adds. Endorsing similar views, BOTS' head Rohan Kini says: "It is also important to be aware of the safety and technical aspects of cycling. We at BOTS organize workshops to ensure that. The response to our commute-to-office campaign is encouraging." Blog posts, SMSes, and emails are keeping all the green buddies networked so that they are updated on weekend rides, races, championships, expeditions, etc. But what keeps them on the saddle is undoubtedly their enthusiasm to retain the sobriquet Garden City to 'namma Bengaluru'.
Chikkaiah Poojari, who has been cycling to his work place - a hotel near Myosre Bank on KG Road - from his Shivanagar house for the past 16 years, best summarizes the contrasting scenario of cycling 'then and now'. "I enjoyed overtaking many a cyclist during my 10-km ride in the initial years. But now, there are any hardly cyclists to compete with..." Maybe many more join him in the race, the race against time to save that precious greenery. ��� TNN
The writer has been cycling his way to TOI office on MG Road, covering 20 km everyday for the past two years