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Pedal pusher |
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By: Lavanya Srinivasan |
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Date:
2008-11-07 |
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Place: Bangalore |
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Chilling: Ranjan Kumar (in red and white) and his friends in Ooty (left). A trip through Kalkatti (above) | Ranjan Kumar, a software engineer, has been cycling to work for the past two years. It takes him 55 minutes to reach office on a cycle whereas it would take at least an hour-and-a-half if he used the car.
"If I use the car, I have to work out in a gym for at least one hour. With travelling time, that's a total of three hours a day. But if I ride, I can save an hour on travelling and one more hour that I have to spend in the gym," says Ranjan, who is working with Infineon Technologies.
Friends doing it
Ask him whether it is possible to ride a cycle even in a congested city like Bangalore, Ranjan says, "Why not? I have been doing it for quite sometime now. I am riding on roads connecting Varthur, Whitefield and ITPL. I have friends who are cycling everyday in city centres like Gandhinagar, Jayanagar and JP Nagar. I wear headgear for safety. All we need is will, practice and stamina."
Ranjan started cycling mainly because he had put on weight." I had gained a lot of weight and it made me lazy, I had to do something about it. So I started cycling to office instead of taking the car," he adds. What motivated him further was that he had lost 16 kgs within three months.
Cycle trips
In the past two years, he has travelled across South India on his bicycle. He visited beaches in Kerala, forests in Shimoga, Kodagu and many other places. So far, he has covered over 15,200 km. He rides at an average speed of 27 kmph.
"Whenever we go on trips in the car, we miss many things on the roadside. But when we travel by cycle, the journey offers wonderful experiences. I prefer visiting places alone by cycle. I take the car only when I take family members along with me," he said.
What started off as a discussion on the forum http://www.bikeszone.com/, has now turned into an organised tour, says the passionate cyclist, who along with a few cycling buddies planned the outing.
What also started as an all-guys team now has three girls.
Ooty, anyone?
In association with his like-minded friends he has set up an organisation, Riders Cycle Foundation, to promote bicycle riding. The foundation has organised a seven-day cycling tour of the Nilgiris from December 25 this year.
The tour starts from Bangalore and covers Mysore, Madikeri, Sultanbatheri and Ooty.
"The foundation provides food and accommodation. We are collecting Rs 10,000 as fee from each participant.
We are looking for sponsors. If we find some, the fee amount will come down. We already have 35 people wanting to do the trip," he said. |
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