Pedaling to the Past

Cycling - A fitness instructor would tell how good an aerobics and cardio exercise it is. A pre-teen or teenager would tell how fun it is to do this with friends. The romantic couple in a hill station would think of going a round in it. Most of those beach side residents (Oh! lucky them!) would do this every morning diligently. It is also something that a person forgets about and gets nostalgic some day and ends up writing in a blog! Huh! - Pity that I fell into this last category.

So how did this door to the past suddenly opened today? I was as usual sitting on the back seat of the Toyota Corolla that my friend was driving and in this signal near our office, I saw this guy riding this cycle of his - in the hot sun ofcourse (Oh man Salt Lake is hot - literally hot. But my friends at Nevada might just choke me up for saying Salt Lake is hot - You should visit Vegas this time of the year - you will hate it for all the heat that the Sun gives this place). Well hot or not, it was rather a sight to see how happily that guy was riding his bike! It’s not such a rare scene here - I see them everyday as a matter of fact, but as I said suddenly it opened this door to my past and there I saw myself riding my cycle too.

The first cycling lesson that I got was in Mumbai with the help of my uncle in his spacious Ghatkopar West Apartment - And then I became cycle insane. Commuting to school was by my BSA SLR and oh I so much loved it. Loved what? The cycle, the ride, the school - all of them! The return journey from school was even more fun as a group of us would ride our bikes together in the small Arcot road - thereby blocking the whole traffic on one side. Oh! Were we that rustic? You bet!

So I still do this stationary cycling some times in the gym - though it brings me no such excitement as the past. I was infact thinking as to why should I not buy a bicycle and go a couple of rounds in it when I get back in Chennai! Well crazy it may sound - but it’s actually something that would be good. Riding slowly in the night with the wife in the calm streets when the cool breezy air moves your hair away from your forehead! Well - so much imagination!

Here is a little tasty piece of information that I garnered from Google - A Danish study in 2000 concluded that cycling to work was linked to a 40% reduction in mortality rate; this included all causes of death, including road deaths! How good it is? Is cycling discussion ever complete without the mention of Tour De France and Lance Armstrong – the winner of the most prestigious cycling race for seven consecutive times and that he achieved this feat after being treated for testicular cancer? Well – now the discussion is complete!

With More Thoughts...