5 Reasons why cycling will get more mainstream in India

For a developing country like India, cycles are still commonly used in villages and small towns. While it is a means of commute there, our cities and urban areas have started adapting to cycles in a different way. We are starting to embrace the bicycle more as a lifestyle than just means of commute. And we trust that this change is here to stay and cycling will only become more mainstream in the coming years.

1. More and more Indians have taken up competitive cycling especially at a later stage

Image Courtesy: Hyderabad Racing League

Several Indians are now serious about competitive cycling. Some of these are active trekkers and mountaineers, while some are corporate employees who train in the comforts of weekends. In fact several competitive cyclists are those that have embraced the sport at a later stage in life.

In fact, currently several professional cycling teams such as The Specialized KYNKYNY Cycling Team have started being formed. Another huge inspiration is Anu Vaidyanathan, India's first woman to have completed an Ironman. She is also the only Asian (male or female) to compete and finish an Ultraman. 

In our very own Hyderabad, we have seen several competitive cyclists including Raman Garimella, an engineer who quit his IT job to take up professional cycling. He finished in the top 10 in the National Road Racing Championships in 2013 before moving to Germany to pursue his interests along with pursuing a masters degree in sports.

Dr. Vignan quit practising medicine in order to train to become an elite Ironman triathlete. He is representing Telangana in the ongoing National Games in Kerala. As of 2015, he has won Hyderabad, Thonnur and Pune Triathlon. He aspires to compete as an elite in Ironman 70.3 starting this year. 

2. The number of triathlons and brevets are on the rise

Image Courtesy: Hyderabad Brevets

The last few years have seen a steep rise in the number city-based races, brevets and triathlons. In 2010, brevets were organized only in 2 cities in India and by 2013, the same grew to a whopping 8 cities (which also includes Hyderabad). India is also ranked 14^th worldwide in official brevet mileage. Randonneuring is here to stay and across the country, there have been some really inspiring randonneurs.

There is also a visible increase in the number of triathlons and bicycle races. Hyderabad itself has a Hyderabad Triathlon and the Hyderabad Racing League, which have been active in recent times.

3. Celebrities have embraced bicycles

Image Courtesy: www.bollywoodmantra.com

Recently, in an interview well known South Indian actor Sarath Kumar spoke about his love for cycling for close to 3 whole minutes. He is an avid cyclist and enjoys the sport not just for fitness, but has also ventured into competitive cycling.

Famous actor Vikram, also admits to have embraced cycling especially to lose weight as part of his preparation for the role in his recent movie, I.

In Bollywood’s scheme of fitness, actor Siddharth Malhotra (of Student of the Year fame) has also been spotted cycling on busy streets of Mumbai. And Bollywood’s poster boy for a muscular physique, Salman Khan has constantly supported cycling and has also been spotted several times commuting on his bicycle!

4. Our roads have bike lanes!

Image Courtesy: bangalore.citizenmatters.in

Officially, the municipal corporations have started recognizing the need for dedicated cycling lanes. In a country where most cities have clogged roads, more bicycles will in fact ensure lesser traffic!

This started with Bangalore introducing a bicycle lane in Jayanagar. Though it was not exactly a complete success, the Directorate of Urban Land Transport has planned 3 more dedicated cycling corridors. There is a plan to include a 22km cycle lane in Gurgaon as well.

Hyderabad also has dedicated bicycling lanes in Gachibowli along with the option of renting bicycles. This trend is bound to increase the number of people opting to commute by bicycles more regularly.

5. Because, cycling is the new golf

Image Courtesy: www.caleidoscope.in

There have been recent reports that cycling is replacing golf as the networking sport in America. For a country like India, where golf never caught on, cycling definitely is a sought after sport for networking. In fact this sport can be easily embraced by corporations to better build teams and need not necessarily be competitive as golf thereby helping build better working relationships. In golf you are necessarily competing against each other, whereas in cycling, a group enhances the energy levels. 

In the current culture and lifestyle where exercise is external to everyday work, this is a fun chance to merge the two.

Brevet - An Experience

I began my day at 3 AM. This is it I thought, the day has finally arrived. I pedaled away to TBA, Kondapur, refusing to let any feelings of anxiety and fretfulness consume me.

And even before saddling up, I realized that I had the wrong tube! Krish, came to my rescue by opening up the store, just for me! Finally, with a million thoughts cropping up my head, we started to cycle our way to 200KM.

With my attitude drenched in zest, I took in the atmosphere of lively and sporty people, ready to take on the challenge.

After crossing Shankarpally, out of the blue, Krish was cursed with a flat tyre. Krish was planning to sacrifice a hundred rupee note to fix the flat, but eventually we managed to do it with a piece of paper - a first for me!

Till now, everybody managed to fill each other with words glossing with inspiration. But I could feel the nervous energy - nervous, because we had to arrive at the first check point in time and we were running out of those valuable seconds!

It was a huge “phew!” moment when we managed to reach, pushing it to the last minute.

After filling our stomachs with some heavenly food, we got onto our cycles, helmets resting on our heads.

The real amusement became crystal clear when we glided down in Anantgiri Hills at a sharp speed. The wind was up against us, almost like striking us and saying “take that!”. I practically flew down the hill at ease at 56 km/hr, barely even feeling any resistance.

While the rest were caught up in the swirling speed of making it through, gobbling up the food in haste, Aayush, Krish, Varun and I had a different perspective. We cherished our food, while soaking our minds with the delightful lake. You see, we were thrilled to accomplish 100 KM and wanted to create a  graceful memory of enjoying the moment.

Back on our way, some of us walked with our cycles on the steep hilly land of Anantgiri. While I panted, Venkata made several attempts to cycle his way up. Vishwas, Varun, Ayush, Venkata, and I congratulated each other on finishing the toughest part.

This was when I was going downhill, not physically, mentally. My shoes seemed to have turned into breathing creatures clawing at my feet. I could feel my enthusiasm getting sucked into a black hole. My body was asking me to walk away while I could still walk away. But the voice in my head managed to turn this into a mere whisper and I was back!

The last 30 km were left, and my only fuel was Mirza Ghalib’s poetry and my motivating friends.

The Microsoft climb was a piece of cake after what we had experienced just a while ago.

We finished! We achieved it! And we had the cozy welcome from a team, who appreciated us and made it worth the hard work.

Yes, I struggled and completely exhausted myself. But nothing beats the moment when you cycle through villages, giving more than 50 kids a high five as you cut through the wind. Nothing surpasses the curiosity of the amused people, enquiring about the “fancy” group, flaunting their tired selves, shiny cycles and helmets and pedaling has if there was no dead end.

I truly appreciate the efforts of the organizing team for all the arrangements and motivation provided to us at each checkpoint

So, a lot went down on this rollercoaster of a day, and like the ocean waves, left back gorgeous memories on the shore of my heart.

---- 

Rider - Deepankar Joshi
Words - Priya Joshi (Class 9 Student)
Ride - Heaven & Hell 200 KM Brevet, Hyderabad, 12th July 2014
Bike - Cannondale Quick 4