cycling

FORward150 initiated Cycling group about 6 months back to promote cycling in commuting and fun riding. It was named as FORward150_on_cycle. Our group was recently branded as COCO [Cycle On Cycle Onwards] to make it more generic and accommodate members from neighbouring areas in promoting cycling. We have internal target for each member to inspire/motivate atleast one person per month to take up cycling. Its going good in inspiring and motivating many. Group was started with just 2 members and now it has grown healthy with 59 members. Some of the members are often going on long rides during weekends;…

On this Saturday, February 13, if you happen to be travelling to Mysore don't be surprised to see more than 50-70 cyclists who will take to this route for the Bangalore Brevets 300 km ride. This is part of a series of ongoing brevet rides in the city, held as qualifiers to the prestigious Paris-Brest-Paris event, an approximately 1200 km ride that happens once in four years. This year, the Paris ride will take place in August and a few lucky riders will travel from India to participate in the event.   A brevet is a self supported ride where a cyclist…

Courteous. Respectful. Almost obsequious. That's typically the treatment meted out to the well-heeled visitor at the entrance to any of the city's top-notch hotels. The exaggerated politeness is a sad illustration of the mile-high class barriers that permeate urban society. The erstwhile Taj Residency makes no bones about the policy of vehicular differentiation it practices. The Leela and Windsor Manor are more discrete: you just get booted by security. Pic: Kanishka Lahiri. A typical sequence of events is as follows. Mr Cool drives up in a chauffeur-driven BMW. Tinted windows, so dark they must surely be illegal, are rolled down…

When I was 5 I had requested my father (ofcourse through Home Minister, my mom) for a bicycle. My father said NO with a reason 'I may end up in unnecessary accidents'.I did fasting for 1 full day (I know Gandhian way when I was 5 ;-) ) for pressurizing my father to buy me a bi-cycle. He buckled at the end of the day and new bicycle was at home next day evening. I donno the cost of the bicycle at that time but it was newly introduce Geared one by BSA.I had bicycle (2nd one) till I completed…

Sanjay Mokla, 30, a native of Sangameshwar in Maharashtra joined Decathlon, a sports store in Bangalore as a cycle technician after quitting his job as a sales executive to be around what he loves most - cycles. His passion is evident when he introduces his work area as "dream place". Sanjay Mokla at home amidst cycles. Pic: Yogaraj S Mudalgi At college, Mokla has been a B.Sc topper and has cycled from Srinagar to Kanyakumari. More recently from his base in Bengaluru, he has taken on several long distance cycling trips. In conversation with Citizen Matters, he talks about his…

In a previous article which appeared in Citizen Matters a month ago, I talked about the fact as to how Bangalore was becoming another Mumbai (a concrete jungle, without any open spaces and hardly any greenery ). And although I have moved to another city in another continent (Delft, Netherlands) to pursue a PhD in trying to understand the ‘institutional & governance side of urban transportation' (in which I will be studying four cities including Bangalore), I cannot help but read about the latest developments in Bangalore through news reports which seem to suggest that the administration (municipal and state)…

Recently, on the  Hasiru Usiru e-group (a mailing list for people who want to engage with the government to see how best we can keep this city green while developing it) we have been having a debate about cyclists participating in the Cyclothon.Cyclothon is a cycling event on the Peripheral Ring Road, which is usually not open to cyclists, built by Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises (NICE), that is alleged to have exploited farmers. The debate has heated up. But that's not what I want to talk about.One person made this statement about the cyclists who want to participate in the…

Most festivals irrespective of religion are these days scrutinised for the impact they have on environment. Ganesh Chaturthi is one such festival. Environmentalists say that the plaster of paris and toxic paints used in making Ganesha idols, when immersed in lakes and pond harm the environment. Cycle Race at National College Grounds. Pic: Deepak. But this unique celebration at National College grounds in Jayanagar was not merely environment friendly but also encouraged the use of cycles which is one of the most humble and powerful solutions to the grave environmental problems we face today.RideACycle Foundation (RAC-F), organised a cycle race…

  The Social Responsibility Committee (SRC) of Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Bangalore, conducted a Biking Awareness Workshop at their campus on the 31st of July in association with Ride A Cycle Foundation, B-Twin, Merida & Bangalore Bikers Club. The event was a continuation of the Go Green Campaign conducted by SRC, SIBM-B. Last year, the campaign focused on sapling plantation. This time around the objective was to sell 'biking' as a cool option which is environment friendly. Bangalore Bikers Club is currently the largest biking club of its kind in the country, with a membership base of more than…

Bangalore witnessed the first event of its kind in India on the 14th of June, a duathlon! Runners for Life (RFL), an organisation dedicated to runners and running, partnered with Ride a Cycle foundation, a non-profit organization which encourages cycling as a form of recreation, sport and a means to commute to work. A duathlon is an athletic event that consists of a running leg, followed by a cycling leg and then another running leg. First leg of the duathlon (pic: DS) Many of the city’s seasoned as well as first time runners along with cyclists were gathered at the…