I Cycle to work now

October 16, 2011

I have decided to cycle to work.. daily

I have already sold off my Pulsar 220 DTS-Fi a couple of months back..

Back in the early-mid nineties, I was almost inseparable from my bicycle. From going to school in the morning and coming back home in the afternoon, to attending evening tuition, or just to hang out with my friends, my bicycle used to be my noble steed. But once I graduated from high school, bi-cycling just faded away from my life.

Amidst "College - Engineering - MBA - Girl Friend - Professional Job - Marriage" and not to mention my love for motorcycles and my Blog: Bike Chronicles of India, where was the time for going back to bicycling once again?

[My new bicycle is the "Rockrider 5.0" from the French bicycle specialist, btwin. Will post more about my Rockrider 5.0 on a different blog post]


But just yesterday I got myself a brand new bicycle and have made a resolution to get back to cycling like I once used to in high school days nearly 18 years back. The only difference would be that instead of cycling to school, I will now cycle to my office/work place and instead of attending evening tuition, maybe I would be occasionally visiting the neighborhood grocery shop.

So why cycle to work?

The most common and clichéd justifications given for taking up cycling are

• Cycling is a healthy workout activity


• Cycling reduces our use of fossil fuel, therefore it is good for the planet

The "health" aspect of cycling and "saving the planet" are the most fashionable statements usually made for taking up cycling. But it is actually the "escalating like mad", petrol prices that has been the real catalyst for me to take up cycling.

By not using my car for my daily office commute, I will be saving almost 50% of my monthly fuel (petrol) bills..!!


Why not commute to office on a motorcycle instead of a car?

I am at that point in my life where I have to decide on whether to give up motorcycling altogether. After a year of car ownership, I now prefer my car to commute to the city. A four wheeler is definitely more comfortable, less stressful, safe and spacious for carrying the shopping bags. I have no qualms in admitting that I now love the comfort of driving a car with my family as it keeps us safe, comfortable and happy.

I have already sold off my Pulsar 220 DTS-Fi (Fuel Injected) a couple of months back. But that does not mean that I have lost my love and passion for riding motorcycles.

I now realize that this is actually the next stage of my life as a "biker next door". Where I want to enjoy riding motorcycles purely for pleasure and not to reach from point A to B.


I don't want to reduce my motorcycle to a commuter

By cycling to work, it will actually liberate me to ride my next motorcycle (most probably the KTM 200 Duke) purely as a hobby/pleasure/leisure activity and not reduce it to a mere commuting tool.

So in a nutshell, I have decided to cycle to work because it would:

• Save me on my fuel costs


• Prevent reducing my motorcycle as a tool for commuting


• Keep me fit for my occasional long motorcycle rides

And if you ask me, you should take up cycling too.