My cycle's story!!!

It hardly takes 30 min to walk from my house to my office, but it will be little difficult to spend that much amount of time and of course energy early in the morning. I used to walk for some 15 min to the Jayadeva bus stop, wait there for 5 min, get into a crowded bus and come to office with a lot of difficulty. Even this took me almost half an hour and it depended a lot on the famous Bangalore traffic. So I decided to get myself a vehicle. I didn’t have any option other than to go for a bicycle. Yes, I don’t know how to ride a bike. Many people used to ask me one question when they saw me coming to office in my cycle or whenever they hear me talking about it. And the question was “Why did you buy a bicycle rather than getting a bike?” Here is the answer. : )

Starting from my childhood days I didn’t have any attraction towards bikes. I started going to school in a cycle when I was in my 5th standard. We were in trichy that time and my father got two BSA SLR cycles, one for me and the other for my brother. Once we got transferred to Madras after that, my school was almost 12 to 15 Km from my house. So I started going to school in PTC bus. We have a Bajaj scooter at home which my father uses. I didn’t even bother to learn it as it doesn’t look good and of course that was an age where always wanted to prove point to people around you that you are the best and you do all the best things in life. I switched back to my cycle during my last 2 years of schooling in Pondicherry. I didn’t get an opportunity to learn bike driving during that time too as I was totally engrossed with my studies.

In college I didn’t have close friends who can lend me their bikes so that I can learn. I did learn how to drive un-geared vehicles. Once I drove from Mount road LIC building till my college in Chromepet after my friend who owns the bike met with a minor accident. It should have been a 20 Km drive. So I don’t have any fear when it comes to driving on busy roads.

Even after my college days, I didn’t get any enthusiasm for driving bikes. But I contemplated over getting a second hand bike from my uncle and start learning it from him. But a friend of mine gave me a very good suggestion that it is better to get a 4 wheeler license along with a 2 wheeler rather than getting only a 2 wheeler license. Considering this factor I dropped the idea of getting the bike from my uncle.

I had another reason for getting a cycle. I was not doing my exercises properly and I my physical fitness was going from bad to worse. My mom suggested that cycling will be a good exercise and I can reduce my tummy. Another reason was that most of my team mates in office were making fun of me that I used to ask them lifts to my house.


So one good day I decided to buy a new cycle. Now I need to find a good place to buy it. I searched in newspapers, enquired people in office and also had a post in my office bulletin board. First I went to a cycle shop near the jayadeva signal but found it to be too costly as it was a retail shop. Then I decided to go to K.R. market which should be 10 km from my house. I wanted someone to bargain for me so I took one of my college senior who works in my office. We both went in his vehicle and tried out in 2 or 3 shops there. At last we found a shop named ‘Madras cycle importing Co.’ and thought that the shop owner is a Tamilian and we can easily bargain there. Unfortunately he wasn’t a Tamilian and we somehow managed to bargain for 300 bugs and I got a new Hero Exodus bicycle.
Then came the toughest part of the whole game. I have not been on cycle for almost 6 years and I had to ride back the cycle to my house which was 10 to 12 km from there. Somehow I managed to do it 45 min thanks to my iPod. : )

I called up my parents to inform about my new vehicle. My mom was very happy that I have at least listened to her words and got myself a cycle. I had a wonderful sleep after that for two reasons. One due to tiredness and the two, my father told me something which I can’t forget for my life. He said “Even I started my career with a bicycle”.