Cycling to work

Bangalore — one of the first things that comes to mind is Information Technology. The second should probably be traffic. I happen to sit very close to the cafeteria and end up overhearing most conversations. Almost everyday, everyone at work, brings up traffic in their tea-time conversations, and understandably so. No matter what time of the day you leave for/from work, you are bound to get stuck in traffic. I have been a regular at ranting about the traffic as well when I was interning in Bangalore. It used to take more than an hour at times for travelling 8KMs with just a couple of traffic signals on wide roads. Around that time I discovered a cheap cycle renting service and that was it. I had always wanted to try out those fancy mountain bikes and this was my way of finally fulfilling my yearning. I rented the cycle for two weeks and for most parts it was a pleasant experience. So, now that I started on my first job in Bangalore, I knew that I have to get a cycle for myself. I went back to the cycle renting service and rented a simple single speed Btwin bike this time. I have been commuting via a cycle to work everyday for almost a month now and looks like it is an awesome option for daily commute, specially if workplace is close (<5KM radius) to home.

The cycle I have been using for my 4KM commute to and fro work.

When I decided on commuting to work, I scanned the internet for experiences of others in cycling to work. A lot of those blog articles helped, so here I am, writing my own medium story, hoping it might end up encouraging someone else to peddle to work.

The Why

I guess this should be addressed first. Why on earth should you be cycling to work? Here are the points of merit according to me:

1. Ditch the crowds.

Well, this should be the primary reason for cycling in Bangalore. No matter what other mode of transport you use (Public buses, cars, bikes, metro), during peak hours, there will always be a lot of people who will be travelling with you, translating to clogged roads or jam packed buses/metros/local trains. I personally find this to be extremely inconvenient. When you are cycling, you just pick up your bike and go. With a bike you can meander through the clogged roads, whiz past traffic via the mud roads or generally take short cuts which you couldn’t have taken on cars/buses. Personally, I like riding on the service roads. Most cars don’t come here since they are narrower and hence have terrible bottle necks. On a cycle you can simply walk through these short bottle necks and you will be through. Extremely convenient.

2. Daily Exercise.

Well, no matter what your body type is, you need some form of exercise everyday. For most of us, maintaining a strict exercise regime is a short lived resolution. There will always be hectic schedules, late nights or plain lethargy which will put you back to your sedentary lifestyle. Cycling ensures that you are doing some exercise every day. A lite exercise which just slips into your hectic schedules completely unnoticed.

3. Save Money AND Environment

Again, this a no-brainer. Whichever other form of transport you choose (except walking of course), you will be paying for the fuel in one way or the other. For public transport, this much money may not be a lot, but it is still an amount that you actively save. Besides, come on, we all have to do our bit for the environment — at least to participate in those Save-The-Environment arm-chair discussions with less shame.

I can go on meriting cycling to work with trivial points like developing a new hobby or easily becoming more hipster. I guess you get the drift now and hence I will move on to some tips for you if you are planning to cycle to work.

The How

Things that come to mind:

1. A good cycle might be a worthy investment but an expensive one too. I feel that for most city based cycling, normal single speed (gear-less) cycles work really well. Personal recommendation will be BTwin MyBike — available at the Decathlon stores along with other cycle marts. You can always try out different cycles and see which one suits you best by renting different bikes.
2. A big problem, for most people, is reaching office completely drenched in sweat from all the cycling. Thankfully, I have a short commute and Bangalore weather has been an absolute beauty with all the winds, so I do not have to bother about this much. I keep a deodorant and some wipes and these float the boat. You can consider the showers in your office gym — if you have any, alternatively.
3. For carrying your stuff, there are many cycle bag options available. Again, just go to a good local cycle store and explore what suits your needs. If you do not have any store close by, most online websites in India at least have a lot of options as well.
4. Definitely get a good mud-guard on your cycle. I learnt it the hard way when I reached office to find a completely muddy backpack.
5. The most popular tip is to be noticeable to avoid any accidents. Use tail-lights, wear bright clothes etc. Honestly, I haven’t followed any of this tips, yet. But i completely intend to. Till then, I just cycle towards the corners and cautiously.

The When?

Right now! With monsoon slowly giving way to winters, I think now is the best time to cycle, at least weather wise. Just refurbish your old cycle, or find some cycle on rent and get started. Give it a try for a week. I am pretty sure, you will like and the genius that you are, you will come up with nifty solutions for the trivial problems that might come up.

Oh and if you do end up cycling to work, do leave a comment here. This post is kind of social experiment for me to see, how many people can I really encourage, so your comments will be helpful!