Cycling in Bengaluru — Lessons and challenges 🚴
Recounting the challenges and lessons from 3 years (and counting) of cycling in probably a not-so-cycle-friendly “big city of the world”
It has been slightly more than three years since I switched over to the human powered bike. Many of my friends and fellow citizens of India relate to the bike as a motorcycle and cycle to the bicycle, which effectively changes the “bike” lane to mean the “cycle” lane. Just to clarify, I am referring to the bicycle when I say bike.
The background
I sold my car the instant I shifted to Bangalore (mentally at least). The first 18 months was on a beautiful BTWIN 7-gear MTB that I borrowed initially, then bought it off from a friend. It rode pretty well. The goal was to use this mode for wherever I wanted to go not just the mythical “bike to work” ideology (Mythical at least to my limited knowledge)
But unfortunately it killed my back and shoulders over long rides. The brakes weren’t the best. Probably a better suspension as well. It was narrow for my build, I needed something bigger. So I went shopping for “the one”. Six months down the line, I realized there is no “one”, there are many. I picked a hybrid Merida Crossway 150. This “one” had a 9x3 gear with precise disc brakes. An amazing suspension and better build quality. I could easily power up and cruise at 60Kmph on a highway, without the huff-puff and fearing for my life. The ability to stop in an instant is perfect for the perilous roads of Bangalore. Of course, there are bad things. This “one” was a costly one to get it up and running, with the multiple visits to the workshop. The seat placement fell off while I was riding. The tires were not meant for the Bangalore conditions, broken pieces of pebbles and rubble, so had at least 30+ punctures in the last year, reverting me to travel via the unpredictable bus system. Maybe I am a rough rider as well, so not all cycle’s fault.
Here it goes
If you find them useful, please feel to apply as needed. But You = me/I in the below set, no evangelizing or advisory.
Challenge—Your life choices will be polarizing
When friends, family, and strangers learned that I ride a cycle in Bangalore for regular usage, I get one of two results
A — “Do you have a death wish or something?”
B — “That’s so cool! And efficient at the same time!”
Your family, in my case, my parents, were initially against it and called it stupid, and against the stream. “Who goes on a cycle???” “You are supposed to buy a car now” “How will your future family fit on that?”.
Lesson 1— Be stubborn about things you believe to be good, with evidence. Stand by them. People change. Trust in that.
Challenge — The office
Imagine you ride in at breakneck speed (like 15kmph :|) and you are left with a mix of sweat, salt, and out-of-breathiness. And you enter your workplace. Your colleagues would probably throw you out. My colleagues are awesome, they have only subtly hinted at it if even mentioned. So a shower or some cleaning up or change or wear a dry-fit, whatever helps you keep your nearby surroundings okay-ish with your sweaty presence.
Lesson 2 —Be nice :P Give yourself enough chance for others to put up with you
Challenge — The dates or something like those social activities
This is a two-pronged challenge. One is reaching and not looking like you need a shower. Two is you are not going to have a traditionally “normal date” And let’s be clear you are not taking anyone “home”, or taking it somewhere else without a lot of figuring out.
Well, all of that is assuming you still have a chance after point number one. Besides, there are very few cycle-friendly places I have encountered.
Once I went to a cycle-themed resto-cafe called “Ciclo” as part of a group “date”/meet-n-greet thing. I couldn’t even find a cycle rack put up mine. Ended putting it in the dark and mucky cellar. Everyone I met there either drove or cabbed it. I have given up. I haven’t found any amicable solution to this, so let’s move on.
Lesson 3— There are some battles you can’t win without compromising on other things. Choose what you want and again, stand by them.
Challenge — Going out generally
For most, going out involves drinking. So as someone who needs to cycle back home, you should know your directions, and the stamina needed to get back home and then some. So it is incredibly important to get sober before you even think of cycling back home. Alcohol is pretty dehydrating, so it is not a good choice to make an effort when you are an inebriated state. Imagine trying to go over that flyover on the way back. Brrr… Probably very dangerous for you, more than others on the road.
Lesson 4 — You can probably do much lesser than what you think can do at the fag end of the day. Be aware of those limits, preserve yourself for tomorrow.
Challenge — The “others”
Potholes, manholes and assholes, I call them. There are plenty on the roads in Bangalore. Nothing specific to Bengaluru. Pretty much part of life in major cities of India. I have lived in Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai, etc. Relatively, Bangalore has got it bad. Arterial roads suddenly narrow into the size of a capillary.
Not to mention a huge volume of single-drive car owners enjoying their ride back home. Not. The sole driver holding up 10X6 feet of distance on average. Cabs are okay I guess, as they at least keep moving. The major challenges on the road
- Potholes and debris on the road. Smooth roads, and suddenly a small pond (during the rains), and then to a pebble patch, with size varying from grains to boulders. Easily topple you or puncture your tires or make you swerve.
Lesson 5 — Got brakes? Use them. Do not swerve out of the way and cause havoc on other people behind you. - Drivers on the wrong side. I used to live in the NGV complex in Koramangala. I ride through a wave of cars and bikes on the wrong side, especially the parents and professional people who are trying to save that 10 seconds at the cost of other people’s time and safety. Triggered.
Lesson 6 —Have eyes on the back of your head. Be aware of your surroundings. Stop if need be. Let the professionals and parents do what they are not licensed to do. - Parked vehicles. Oh my, these silent movers. With their sudden call to action with no indication, either a door opening or an extreme acceleration, only to halt at the next bumper :/
Lesson 7 — Parked vehicles on the roadsides are bigger threats than the moving ones. Stay far away from their sphere of influence. - Assholes. Yes, they exist. They will cut you off. They will force you to brake to a standstill on an uphill slope you have been trying to pedal out of. They will force you to doubt your choices.
Lesson 8— People are inconsiderate. Accept it. Deal with it.
During the initial days, I used to think road traffic rules are for vehicles with engines. I couldn’t have been further from the truth.
Lesson 9 — You are riding on the road, you are traffic. Period.
So I learnt to avoid riding on the wrong side of the road. Instead, I walk my cycle. Or try to find a cycle lane (very rare species). Or take the long U-turn. It is the right thing to do.
Lesson 10 — If there is a cycling lane, own it. Stand your ground. Ask people to get out of it if they are blocking you.
Quietly walking my cycle to the front and placing it right in between the others and the stop line gives me immense satisfaction. Don’t let people deter you from doing that. That lane is yours.
The sports bicyclists :/ and traffic rules
Have you seen people on fancy cycles zigzagging, zipping through traffic? Some even go hands-free, with their arms supporting their heavy heads instead of holding the handlebars. Pretty cool right? Probably much faster than the regular people. Makes you want to be one too right? Awesome! But it is also going to make you an asshole (read as someone who is inconsiderate of other people around them). You may not be hurt by it, but you could potentially cause injuries to others. Both mental (eg: frustration, stress) and physical (obv.)
Lesson 11 — The road is not a race track. Period.
Pavements are for pedestrians unless demarcated for cycle usage. I used to do it in the early part. Felt pretty smart about it. Woohoo, I am saving time compared to all you losers waiting on the road. After a little introspection though, it came out clearly that I was becoming part of the problem. If cyclists are second class citizens, pedestrians are treated like third class citizens. I definitely wanted to be part of the solution. Following the traffic rules forms a key part of that. Besides, the pavements are bust and probably cause you to brake and swerve frequently, or worse you could fall off right into the open pits.
Lesson 12 A — If you are in a hurry and you need to use the pavement — Don’t. Be late. It will sting you enough that the next day you will start earlier. (They will thank you later, just trust that)
Lesson 12 B — If you are in a hurry and you need to use the pavement and it is an emergency that can’t wait — Walk your cycle so that pedestrians are not scared out of the wits with your bulking rider presence behind or in front of them
Lesson 12 C —In conclusion — NEVER DRIVE ON THE PAVEMENTS.
Lesson 12 D — EVER.
Traffic signals need to be treated with the same dignity as your moral code. If you break them once, you will break them again and again.
Lesson 13 — If you are in a hurry and you need to cut across the red signal — Don’t be an asshole. Pay the price for starting late by being late. Do not make others pay for you. Please.
I have seen many a time where people on cycles think they are beyond the signals, and try to navigate their way across packed signals (imagine Bengaluru scale). That is just asking for trouble, and sometimes trouble does call back. So.
Miscellaneous lessons
In Bengaluru, bikes/bicycles are not considered worthy of being stolen, it is a poor man’s asset, AFAIK. But the accessories, they can and have been stolen in my case. My blinkers which were detachable were picked off from my co-working space parking area. Stupid decision to leave it on, really.
Lesson 14 —Lock it up, carry away the detachable parts whenever you park
This might sound silly, but do try to keep a note of where you parked. It is harder to find a cycle than a motorbike or a car, it is tiny. After the TCS 10K 2018, I lost my bike for about 20 mins. I had just walked on by where I had parked, without noticing the slender metal clinging to the fence. Then went back frantically looking for it. After making up my mind for the worst, on how I was going to file my FIR at the police station, etc. I realized it was where I had left it. It was just me overlooking the camouflaged setup, careless.
Lesson 15 — Remember where you parked, FWIW.
Last Lesson
Most of the lessons above are just about taking responsibility for your own actions and pretty much paying it out of your own pocket rather than making others on the road pay for it. So here goes the last one,
Lesson 16 — Be considerate. Be consistently considerate.
Be considerate not just because you want consideration from others, but it is giving first that can change things. You/I are/am not an island, it only gets better when more people become considerate, especially on the roads.
A big thanks to everyone who has supported me to do this on consistently, especially my family, friends and colleagues at Swym Corporation who have put up with it more than others 🙏
There are many pros to cycle wherever you go as well, but that’s another post :)
P.S + Question: There is something that annoys me, I work out of a WeWork space - WeWork Galaxy in Bengaluru. I keep my cycle on the rack in the basement parking area. I look around the parking lot, you know what I see? Cars. The number of Audis and BMWs outnumber the cycles (which from my count is like has always been < 10). Only the WeWork building staff bring more cycles. I only wonder if this is the state of all WeWork spaces out there, (which is a lot!) Do you have numbers that counter this? Please do share, I’d like to know what happens at other cities/countries, other spaces as well.
