It's post noon. Morning peak hours are supposed to be over. But the traffic on the way to Wadala says otherwise. It's like an urban portrait of still life. The incessant honking is anything but music to the ears, and the fumes emanating from the cars smell like the opposite of roses. There's a palpable impatience in the area's polluted air when the driver of the auto I am in says that this is how far he can go. Only taxis are allowed hereafter. Tough luck. So I get off and change my mode of CNG transport to reach my destination, a shop called The Cycle Worx, which has launched an in-house store for an e-bike called Bergamont. That's what I am out to test-ride.
But on reaching, Debjyoti Mandhata — my guide for the afternoon who is part of the product team at the firm that owns the brand — suggests that I begin by trying out one of their basic bicycles. "Yes, let's tire him out first," Sameer Meisheri, the store's owner, jokes. So be it. Mandhata gets on an e-bike, and I start pedaling on its country cousin. The ride, to be fair, is quite a smooth one. But it's not what I am here for. So after about 200 metres, before I am actually tired, Mandhata and I exchange transports. It's my first ever time on an e-bike.

The Cycle Worx in Wadala