Hello there!
I guess you are a cyclist, that’s why you are reading this. Come on guys, there are other things than cycling. Have you heard this statement before? If yes, you are amongst us, the cycling crazy frenzy people.
My cycling journey started way back in 2003 when I was just a college fresher. I tried a cycle kept at my uncle’s home and kept practising balancing on it. You would be surprised why I did not know it before. Yes because, I am from Himalayan reasons, where you are discouraged by parents to avoid activities which can take you to those deep valleys. Furthermore, my house was 3 km from the road so having a cycle made no sense. Let me tell you a fact when I see a crazy bike ride on those mountains and off-road, now I feel it was quite possible to ride the bike in my hometown.
But now that time has gone by, let’s talk about the present. I started riding again in the 2020 post-COVID first wave. It’s not I did not want to ride the bike before, I thought about it many times but did not have the courage and time due to work. This time we had enough time space to cycle. It started with a low-end bike which I bought considering it could be a fad. It turned out to. be a passion; crazy passion. It can see the passion in this blog that even I started writing about cycling.
I started riding a bike once again post covid was a boon and a refreshing lifeline. It was quite sure and you would relate to the story of your own, that we all start learning the nitty-gritty of the cycling world once we meet other people. From buying the smallest things to having all fancies of the world of cycling. Now, we talk about only those expensive items which probably we all have one day.
Coming back after the first few days of cycling, was quite fun at the same time scary on busy Indian roads in New Delhi. For those who are not from India reading it, it is most chaotic and dangerous on Indian roads to cycle. No one, literally no one, cares about a cyclist and even if you have a cycling path, you would find tuk-tuk (autos) and motorcycling riding on it. You are no one and would not have the right on road. You are at the bottom of the pyramid of commute.
This was changing in a couple of months in India. The cycling demand was higher than the supply and people were buying expensive bikes. The lust for Shimano’s higher-end groupsets and low weight alloy & carbon framesets went crazy in demand. Believe me, first time Indians were buying more cycles and accessories than gold.
This did not stop here, we found many friends on the way to our ride.
In my case, living Delhi for the last 10 years, I did not see Delhi that well which I saw in a few months of cycling. I explored all monuments, greenery and road routes within Delhi.
My mind says you should stop writing here, and start your work now, as this crazy story won’t finish even in thousand words.
I know you can relate to what I want to tell you, the life of a cyclist is full of passion, adventure, exploration and hardship. It’s not easy to be a cyclist. It makes me happy that we have people like you, the goodness of society and many cyclist friends in India.
Let’s connect and have a ride together. I would love to meet you digitally, if not personally and chat a lot about it. You can reach me at hello@ridewatt.com. Please do write to me if you about your journey of cycling in the comment box or via email.
I have to finish it here else, I will miss my work deadlines.
I wish you a cheerful ride always.
