A cyclist's response to Overdrive's attack on cycles

A cyclist responds to an Autodrive article against comments made by the magazine last week.

It seems that human powered vehicles are a threat to Overdrive – the auto magazine.

Global warming and urbanization have pushed city-dwellers to try out bicycles and to their surprise they have found it addictive. Why wouldn’t they? In our metro cities, the average vehicular movement is anywhere between 15-25 km/hr. A bicycle is as fast as, if not faster than public transport. My commute of 15 km takes me about an hour to, an hour and half through public transport, changing buses and autos. On my hybrid bicycle it takes me between 35-45 minutes only.

Slow and steady wins the race.

Is that what led to Autodrive attacking bicycles? Reading the rant on Autodrive leaves a sour taste in my mouth. It would be one thing if the article made reasoned objections against cycling. I’m not denying that cyclists can potentially be a headache to other drivers. But what everyone forgets, is that every single vehicle on the road is potentially an obstacle to the other drivers on the road. And a bicycle is one of the most unobtrusive ones.

Some may liken us riders to mosquitoes, buzzing around hither and tither. And they yearn to swat us. Vikrant Singh is one of them. I feel like a fish willingly swallowing the troll bait being thrown my way -hook, line and sinker. If the rant by Vikrant was on a personal blog, I’d ignore it for the ramblings of a wayward spirit. But this incoherent rant is on Autodrive.in. When the big boys look to swat you like a insect, you need to stand up for yourself. And the article by Vikrant is a slap in the face of every cyclist in India.

If there were one or two lines which were particularly offensive, I could address them one by one. But the entire piece is an affront to cyclists, so I’ve responded to his tirade by quoting some of his lines and responding to them while controlling the urge to stoop to his level and twisted logic, as you’ll find out.

Cycles are a man’s best friend when it comes to any distance in urban metros especially (Getty Images)

“Hi there! Yes, you, Mr Cyclist. The one in the fancy aerodynamic helmet, and clothes so tight that they’ve probably choked the blood flow to your brain.”

Hey there Vikrant! I ride wearing baggy clothing for increased wind resistance. I’m ashamed to admit that I don’t wear a helmet despite riding a hybrid. A majority of cyclists don’t wear helmets or tight clothes. Those are the guys who are out of bed before the sun rises and bring us our milk and newspapers in the morning. A cycle is a common man’s preferred mode of transport. Cheap, sturdy and reliable. The fancy cycling gear you are talking about costs about as much as a simple bike does.

“Yes, you, the one in pseudo-rubber tights who probably wanted to be a deep sea diver, but ran short of money and so the rubber suit is a lot shorter than prescribed. You, the one riding that thin-as-a-twig bicycle but riding it as if you had rocket boosters stuck to your behind. What’s with the manic riding; the senseless filtering through traffic; the dangerous and uncouth overtaking; the mindless swerving across lanes as if the highway was a cycling track with no one on it but you?”

Leaving aside the allegation of every cyclist’s secret urge to be a deep sea driver, thin and light bikes make for faster and more efficient riding. I do ride like a manic. Covering 15 km in about half an hour requires one to pedal hard. Regardless of how hard a cyclist pedals, they barely sustain speed compared to motorbikes or even scooters. We cyclists only look like manics since our legs are chugging like pistons. I do filter through stationary or crawling traffic. Imagine if three cyclists queued up one after another behind one car. Would you really want that when the bikers can just sift through the gaps? As for dangerous and uncouth overtaking, the vast majority of cyclists are exceptionally wary when it comes to overtaking.

I’ll explain what goes through a biker’s head while overtaking a vehicle from the right-- What if a pedestrian/road bump blocks the path of the vehicle ahead and the driver swerves to the right?- What if some pedestrian runs across the car and into my path?- What if there’s another vehicle trying to overtake from behind me?

Cycling has a sport has seen a huge spike in interest in recent years

A biker glances behind to see if another vehicle is approaching, keeps a safe distance between them and the vehicle they are overtaking, and swerves back into the inside lane after getting ahead a safe distance. As for mindless swerving across lanes, we don’t zig-zag like a pinball. We’re aware that unpredictable movements on our part can result in collisions. And us bikers are no more than a bug on the windshield when we collide with pretty much any other vehicle. Anytime you are moving above 40 km/hr on a thin contraption with your entire body exposed to hard metal or concrete in event of a collision, it puts your mortality in stark perspective. Cyclists are only too aware of the danger of an accident. The driver behind the wheels can feel secure in the box on four wheels, we can’t.

Who do you think would be a more careful person on the road? One whose life hangs in the balance with nothing between them and gravel or one fortified inside a car?

Also, the cutting across cars and bikes, as if they were stationary or incapable of direction or speed changes, is all a death wish and nothing more. It might be peak hour evening traffic in Mumbai on a weekday and the cars might only be crawling at 18 km/hr, but you clearly underestimate the danger they pose. And because you seem so naive, let me tell you what you are dealing with here.

“It’s dark. You have no lights whatsoever on your pedaller. And though you are big, your black rubber suit and wire like dimensions of your bicycle make it impossible to spot you in the rear view mirror. You also underestimate the reaction time of the tired mind piloting the car – it spots obstacles late and reacts to it with utmost panic. Everything from hard braking to sudden swerving is a product of the above stated panic. And given your 50 km/h speed and your bicycle’s incompetent brakes, any of the above maneuvers will kill you, for sure.”

He makes cyclists sound like ninjas. Dressed in dark clothes from top to bottom to better blend into the darkness. There is a little something called reflectors on bike wheels, they shine thus-glow dark

I wear florescent clothing while riding. Clothes whose brightness just stop short of glowing in the dark. If a driver can’t spot a Christmas tree on two wheels, they ought not to be behind the wheels. Speaking of a tired mind of a driver, one which panics at sudden movements: Who do you think is more tired? The one pedaling away or the one sitting comfortably and pressing pedals?

As for the incompetent brakes, our brakes are so potent that they can bring the bike to a standstill faster than you can sneeze. I’ve toppled over my front wheel when pressing the front brake too hard back when I was getting used to a hybrid from a BMX. Bikers make it a point to brake in anticipation and slow down before they need to stop. And to dress in a manner which makes them visible.

Two dedicated cyclists on the streets of Kolkata

Before you get fooled by their slight builds and proclaim that only over-enthusiastic amateurs dress this way, let me tell you that the guy on the right, Jam Aryadeep has finished first in the only two public cycle races over the last two years- the India Cyclothon Amateur Ride last year and the Freedom Ride this month.

The fastest cyclists are also the most careful.

“Now I understand that smug face; you think that cycling will keep you fit and you also have the greenest credential on the road, and are therefore better than the other road users. But then we all know what the truth is – you are a miser. You don’t want to spend money either at the gym or on commuting. Because if it weren’t for these reasons, you’d simply ride the bicycle for kilometres on end, early in the morning, around the especially prepared cycle tracks near your house and be done with it. With no traffic, no heat and no obstacles, not only will that be safe, it would better serve your objective of exercising as well.”

I am a member of a gym. In addition to my 30 km cycling commute, I run over 15 kms daily and play basketball for over an hour. I wish I knew where you lived, within a stone’s throw of a cycling track. I haven’t seen a cycling track. While trekking I thought I spotted a Bigfoot, once while working out too hard I saw a unicorn in the distance. But a cycling track is still a rarer sight to me.

I don’t really ride for environmental friendly reasons. That’s a side effect I’m happy for, but my objective is to reduce a commute which takes three hours daily to one hour. I’ve been commuting on buses forever. My school was in the next town requiring a two hour bus commute daily. My college was pretty far off too, requiring a two hour commute. A good portion of my life has been spent in sitting inside a bus, gazing plaintively into the distance. If I have a choice to cut that time down by more than a half, and substitute sitting idly with pedaling away, its a great deal for me.

India is one of the countries where cycles are a primary means of transport for most of the population. That is how the other half of the country commutes. The one without enough disposable income to afford fuel for vehicles or a vehicle for that matter. Imagine an India without bicycles, assume that everyone can afford a motorized vehicle. The roads would become impossible to navigate. The fuel prices would be stratospheric. It would be faster to walk to destinations.

When a leading magazine like Autodrive endorses vicious rants against the common man’s means of transport, they need to be boycotted until an apology is issued. With some difficulty I’ve kept my responses to Vikrant Singh civil. Check out the comments on that article, over a 100 others have been less restrained. Hopefully Autodrive does the right thing and backtracks from the impossible stand they have taken.

The original article on Overdrive India which the author is referring to.

If that got you going about cycling , here are some more choice reads for all you cycling and fitness enthusiasts:

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