When I decided to buy a Bicycle...

On a sunny weekend morning of February 04, 2017, I decided to get a bicycle. My brain said, “Enough of thinking about this, let’s convert this thought to action”. I went to Decathlon(don’t ask me why I didn’t consider anything else, I won’t answer) and got myself a Btwin Rockrider 340 which put a sizable hole in my pocket. When did bicycles become so expensive? Anyways, I took it for the first ride from the store to my home and it went pretty smooth. Some minor problems with gears were all I faced from my beautiful bicycle.

Ever since that, I haven’t looked back on the decision of buying it.

Whenever I feel bored or exhausted, I used to lie on my bed contemplating over my life and eventually getting into the “existential crisis” mode. Nowadays, if I feel this, I get my gloves on and ride the city for an hour or two. When I come back, I feel refreshed, happy and a sense of vague achievement keeps me from feeling stupid. Following are the benefits I have observed from my cycling trips:

1. Got to know the streets:
   When I moved to Bangalore almost a year ago, I knew only about my surrounding areas and I never used to step out of it that often. When you have an hour or two to cycle, you can explore many things in your ten to twenty kilometers radius. I have explored places in the city and outside which I never would have explored had it not been for my bicycle.

2. Fitness(Duh!)
   I have shed a couple of kilograms in just a few weeks. Apart from this, it gives your perseverance a boost. Always thought about going on that Himalayan trek? Start small and start cycling. That fitness won’t build itself. That belly won’t make itself disappear.

3. Grew respect for the cycling community:
   Every time I am out on the road, I see people cycling and it feels good to know that we share the same hobby. You can meet a lot of like-minded people on organized trips and get to know them.

4. Traffic sense:
   In a city like Bangalore, I don’t think this concept exists. When you hit the road on your bike, you are the most vulnerable person to get hit. You will have to be constantly alert because people with heavier vehicles on the road will not pay much attention to you. When you start cycling, you become humble compared to being a jerk on the road which most of the drivers in this city are. Next time when you are driving your own vehicle, you will respect other entities on the road and will make the road a better place(of course I stole this line!).

I feel everyone should try it once. They may or may not find it as exciting as I do but I am sure many of you would agree on the benefits of cycling. Keep cycling, be safe. Shoot me a message for anything :)

Update: This is something I wrote in early 2016. I’ve come a long way since in Cycling and Running. More posts to follow on this.

cycling, fitness, inspiration, writing — Jul 2, 2020