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

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:

3 Cycling experiments in Kolkata #CyKolJoy of Cycling #CyKolHow cycling helps the society #CyKolCycling And Transport Caste System In India #CyKol