Commute by Cycle Update

After starting my short 2+2KM commute by cycle more than 7 months back, I am holding on to it and it has become a regular event unlike my earlier attempts where things just stopped in couple of months. Though it was a 3 day/week affair when it started, it became a regular daily ride before I took a break to give my legs a bit of rest for an injury(ITB) from running for a month and got back again. In fact 2K ride shouldn't have been a problem for the ITB, but nevertheless gave it a break for a month. I am guessing that the problem was due to a bit of over-load of running during the training for the Kavery Trail (half) marathon. So I am going easy on running and wouldn't want to take running so seriously that it impacts other things.

Looks like I have also conquered my Cyclist Inferiority Syndrome(CIS) on the road. The safety perception has improved tremendously by experiencing the ride and my conclusion is that you can claim your space on the road with a bicycle. I am not too worried about the traffic - I am pretty comfortable and dumped my helmet to just feel one among the cycling crowd, which is not bad on my route. I also had some longer(10K) rides during the weekends in traffic, which was not really that difficult and one of them was with a bit of load from shopping. Sometimes my commute tends to get over before it starts - I have couple of other longish routes that I have to try which may give it a better feel.

While cycling may be more riskier than driving a car, it is definitely safer than walking on the road. Most of the people on the road are well behaved on the road though there are always some of them who get too close for comfort - especially the autos and BMTC buses, but then they are also specialists at their jobs, which I can live with. Riding too close to the curb could make the 4-wheelers squeeze in between and so I try to block them off as much as possible by keeping a safe distance from the curb.

The bike has been pretty trouble free, but is not definitely the one for my kind of use. Carrying stuff around is still a problem with this MTB, which seems to be the default variety around. The road bikes may be too much for my kind of riding and a good commute bike is still not available in the market. It is either an MTB or a road bike, nothing in between. The carrier I bought is pretty useless to carry grocery and stuff and may be I need a normal Indian one instead of the expensive one I have. And without proper fenders, even hanging the bags in front of the cycle is a problem because the tires rub against the bags and cause some damage to the bags. The makeshift laptop carrier also didn't work very well because the leg rubs against the bag and you need to have a delicate positioning of the bag to get it right. So I am still on the lookout for some descent setup to carry stuff. The folks who sell great cycles and service are not much of help in this department. Hopefully things will improve on that aspect.

But overall, worth the effort and if you are interested in riding, get on the road and get a feel - it isn't that bad as people percieve it to be. And the best way to make it a regular event is to commute using the cycle.