On and Off Bum on the Saddle

While I was looking for a (my fourth one) bicycle for some cross training for running which is my main interest outside of work(actually it is getting more interesting than work these days), someone pointed me to the BumsOnTheSaddle web site and the cycle forum.

Though I liked cycling, I was scared to ride on the main roads(NH17) and had strict instructions from home not to ride in heavy traffic. That time my main interest outside of school(more interesting than school off course) was football . So disobedience would have jeopardized my football career - in fact it didn't go anywhere and I became an engineer instead(see here ) Also I struggled to learn cycling, though I tried learning when I was 8 years, only when I was around 13 I could comfortably ride one(when there was no traffic:). So my first cycle was sparingly used by me though my brothers became experts in cycling. In fact the same cycle is still being maintained and used by my brother. In fact he has my second cycle also with him - he was good at fixing the cycle problems.

The second one I bought was for keeping myself fit, it was during one my manic days, though I used it for couple of months before my manic days ended with a hard thud:( Then I bought a maruti 800 and stopped using my cycle altogether - I would go by car to the tea shop where I used to walk or bike! So when my brother came to visit me he dismantled the cycle and put that in my car and took it to my hometown. Also the death of one of my brothers in a motor bike accident kind of scared me even more of bikes.

The third one was a Hercules family bike where my wife also learned cycling(that was a surprise to me!) which was mainly used to ride up to Lalbagh or Krisha Rao park or Bugle rock park(pretty good variety of parks in and around basvangudi) where I used to jog and skip rope(i can do crosses and double unders). I also bought a very expensive lock(16euros) for the bike which was just Rs.1800/= when I was in Helsinki, which is a pretty cool one actually. I could tie my bike to any pole or grill which I used to show off in Lalbagh west gate. That was an inspiration to bike for while! I also had aspirations to bike to work, but never got the courage to bike it up.

But when I moved to Bannerghatta Road from Basvangudi, my interests moved towards swimming(the pool was brand new), so I ignored cycling except for a few rides in the morning. Then one fine evening I took my bike out and realized that the break shoes were all missing - but one technique I learned from a friend saved me, I used my shoe on the rear tyre - it would have been easier without the mudguard! So I went and bought the brake shoes, a rear view mirror, a good bell etc. and started again only to loose interest soon. BTW, I keep a good tool set with me though I am not really good at it. So I have to consult my brother for anything more complicated than break shoes or seat adjustments or get things done when my brother visits me(even now).

Off late, I have developed some interest in running and was trying to use swimming as a cross training activity - skipping still pounds the leg and I can't use it for XT. I joined Runners for Life running group and saw that many of the folks were using cycling as a XT.