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The ride of your life
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Cycling is cool once again as ecological and health concerns come into play. But is cycling on Hyderabad road safe? SERISH NANISETTItries to find out
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RARING TO GO Cycling can take off in a big way if safety can be guaranteed
On Sunday morning, before
the sun peeped out of the
haze of Hyderabad on the
Necklace Road, Lohit Mohanta
cycled up to the spot before
People's Plaza, fished out
his camera and clicked a bunch
of images. Images of people
with fancy cycles with Shimano
gears, disc brakes, shock absorbers
and helmets and another
set of people young and old
people who paid Rs. 30 for cycles
just for the joy of riding in a
group. "Stand nikalke chalao
bhai," says a bystander to a girl
in cycling shorts who giggles
and kicks up the stand.
In another part of the city,
you can even hear the tringtring
of the cycle bell. These cycles
are dowdy without gears,
uncomfortable seats, dodgy
brakes but you are safe on the
road. Altaf works in a firm
where he has to go out for collecting
money for eight days in a
month. He does it on his cycle.
So, how's the going?
"I have been doing it for nine
years. Yes, I do get scared when
there is lot of traffic but the fear
factor is only 1 per cent, 99 per
cent of the time I am confident
that nothing will happen to
me," he says sitting on his Hero
cycle waiting for the traffic to
move near Purana Pul. At Raj
Cycle Taxi, an 80-year-old shop
run by Ali Mohammed near
Chatta Bazar, you can hire a cycle
for Rs. 5 per hour. "We give
only to people we know. Now
we have only 3 dozen cycles. At
one point of time we had more
than hundred," he says going into
a flashback mode where there
were dozens of shops lending
cycle for 15 paise an hour, smaller
cycles for 2 paise per hour.
But things are changing as
people discover the sheer exhilaration
on wheels. And cycling
is cool once more. Hyderabad
may not have cycling tracks like
European cities, it may not have
cycles-on-hire like Hamburg,
cyclists may still be seen as
hopelessly poor folks who cannot
move up in life but things
are changing fast.
"The full range of cycles are
now available in Hyderabad. It
depends on your budget and
what you want to do," says Lohit,
who drives a Merida, adding
that Hyderabadis are spoilt for
choices as far as the availability
of cycles is concerned. While
BSA has tied up to sell Cannondale
and Schwinn cycles, Firefox
is selling them from its own
outlets. An idea of interest in
cycles can be gauged from the
fact that Hyderabad Central
mall has a small counter to sell
Firefox cycles while Inorbit
mall has a range of higher-end
Raleigh cycles. But cycles without
bells and whistles don't
come cheap anymore. The most
ordinary cycle now costs upwards
of Rs. 2500. But do the
expensive cycles make a difference?
"Yes. There is a smoothness
of ride and you are assured of
better quality which you can
make out by just looking at
them," says a shopkeeper in Koti.
The shop has an assorted inventory
of cycles with some
from China that have a rough
edge to the finish with the killer
factor being the price: A full suspension
bike with disc brakes
costs Rs. 8,500 a comparative
branded piece costs Rs. 35,000.
Cycling cool is not when you
pedal what your father drove
ages ago, but it has to be an MTB
aka ATB. They burst on the cycling
scene with their balloon
tyres, smaller wheels (26 inch
rims), low centre of gravity, superb
braking control letting you
jump on and off the pedestrian
pathways or even on dirt tracks.
Now, they are the cycles of
choice even in urban areas as
cyclists prefer them over the
road bikes.
Why cycles now
* Ride a cycle, and traffic rules don't apply to you.
* Traffic cops don't bother you.
* Wear bright clothing while on the road.
* Cycles keep you fit.
* Cyclists are cool not poor.
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