Point of interest - folding cycle

Well, this part of my country is slightly deprived of bicyclists, and adds a folding one on that to make it rarer than the common house-sparrow (which is, by the way, I've heard, on its way to join endangered species - http://www2.rnw.nl/rnw/en/features/science/041129rf).

My home is around six and a half km away from my bus-stop, and since I'm  too lazy to drive daily, hence an optimum solution had to be found. Something which doesn't involve shouting at my brother to get ready as fast as he could so that I don’t miss my bus – everyday. So I was gifted a folding bicycle and since last few weeks I've been riding it to my bus-stop before hopping inside it and then carrying it over to my office building from bus-stop; and repeating the routine in opposite direction in the evening. 

So, since the first day I've been subjected to an endless curious looks, questions, comments and often loud exclamations which range from serious inquisitive to serious funny, teaching me to think on my feet - or on my peddles in the meantime! Here's a list of what I've been subjected to:

• Cost of cycle - the most frequent question. My answer varies depending upon the surroundings, time of day, sincerity and demeanor of inquirer, so far I've replied like:
• Hain…..what? Old Faridabad, Singla Cycle Works  - especially when motor-cycle riders come from behind and ask it. Evening and dark  -  be cautious mate!
• Humph humph humph – pretend to be tired  - but do it only when you are in a well populated area near to your bus-stop (…where your friends are waiting)
• 3-4 hazzar – for kids and  8-9 hazaar if the person asking is an adult and actual price when somebody asks in English.
• One of the them gave me a bright idea when he asked if it is for my site visit – I didn’t know what did it mean, but I said yes.
• Next day – I gave this reply to a biker – that my company gave this for site-visit, but this biker was a endless, never to be tired kind of person. He asked my employer’s name – then replied himself – must be Delhi Metro (thanks to my reflective vest and helmet). He was not a person who can be defeated by silence so easily – he asked the department where I work (Engineering – he replied, again) and then asked me where was I posted…finally I had to reply with a story on how fit does it feel after cycling daily.

• Shabaash / Aur Tez / Dhoom Macha le..and likes - the most "funny" one was "Yo Yo Honey Seeenng" - what? Yes - what is common in a cycle or a cyclist and Yo Yo? And "Harry Potter" - dafaq?
• Is it broken -or- how did it break in two parts – wow, this was asked by somebody from Information-technology industry. 
• Mileage...yes mileage. OK, the lady wanted to actually ask how fast can I go on this, but I have chosen to print the first question she asked.
• Police inquiry - subjected to not so grueling questioning from U.P. Police and Delhi Traffic Police. A demo was requested - I would have happily obliged if I was not getting late. The award for best police question goes to U.P. Police for "Kya is se pet ghat jata hai?" - which roughly translates to "Does it reduces belly-fat?".
• Kahan se lee - OK, I'm happy to be a brand ambassador for Singla Cycle Works of Old Faridbad in replying this one. 
• "Aa rahe ho kee jaa rahe ho"  - are you going or are you coming. The gem of a question, but I didn't reply and pretended like my phone was ringing!
• Where do you live? Where do you work? I do remember the advice given to me when I was a kid that never reveal your address to strangers.
• "Chalo race lagayaee" - let's have a race...sometimes they race even without uttering these words, and I must say that most of these guys are fitter than I could ever be in my life.
• Are you a "champion"..what - I mean is there any "championship" going around where you participate. Yes, the question is unquestioningly absurd, but the fact that a lady is considering you a "champion" is not very unflattering.

• MTF – more to follow!

Starting again - once again, this time with a folding bicycle - riding from home to office with a folding bicycle

25-Nov-2014
So, here I was -  looking again to commute to office.  But since now I live in a place which is 40km away from my office, the search this time was for a folding bicycle, capable of carrying my 90kg/6ft frame to 6up-n-6down kms on Weekdays to my bus stop...with doubts raging in my mind - would I be able to do that? Would my new bike be able to do that? Would it fit in my office bus (aisle space)? How about reliability for a daily "oh-no-it-is-7" chases? Not very important, but will it be able to go on my Sunday morning rounds ranging from 30 to 80kms?

The options I had were Tern Link7 - being sold by my LBS, and then (at a place not very close to my home)  Dahon Vitesse. Looked like only these two models were available here in Faridabad / nearby. My preference was for Tern (If everything else remains the same) because my LBS stocked this model.

So, one fine day - a Sunday we - the whole family went ahead and bought the machine. Here’s my impression of the new machine - alongwith a report of my first day and other general rambling. The other bike I can compare my experience with is a btwin CMW5:

• Brand - Tern, Link C7 - sold by Firefox
• Gears - 7, range didn't seem to be that wide like my other regular bike (wide range…if that is a real term!), missing the 3x5/6/7, I think!
• Light - surprisingly light. After bus, there is a walk of around 100m too to my office building.  It weighs around 13 kg, and was kind of OK.
• Felt kind of zippy - low turning radius...or was it only my perception? Doesn’t feel very stable like the other bike, also I need some training on braking - I’m used to use mostly the right one, but it causing the tires to slip – I need training.
• Folding (and unfolding too) is easy, and can be done in under half a minute.
• Was able to feel almost all the potholes...
• While carrying it, the magnets don't really keep the folded halves together, so I had to tie a bungee-chord. I was (still am…) thinking about getting a bag, so that our Bus’ driver doesn’t grumble (about seat / floor getting dirty and whatever). He hasn’t (so far!) and was amused – advised me to ride carefully as big vehicles like his sometime are not able to see the cyclists especially on the left.
• Was able to fit it in the bus as well - see the fotoos. But yes, it is the most spacious seat and I’m a little worried about the day they’ll send a small bus.
• Wow, it fits in the luggage area of my small car too without folding the rear seat!
• Could be used by all - my wife and 6yo too tried to ride it.
• This morning ride was an Oh-no-I-may-be-late ride, panic mode on and I was able to haul myself to 6 kms in around 20 minutes, felt tired at the end of it. I had my laptop on my back as well. It took around 25 minutes in the evening, without any tired feeling...comparable to my other bicycle.
• You need to keep pedaling; or it would stop almost in an instant - maybe due to small wheels.
• I got it from Singla Cycle Works, Faridbad, HR. Its MRP is 29.5k (http://www.firefoxbikes.com/BikeDetails.aspx?BikeId=108 ), but Ankit gave me – as he puts it – a “cool deal” because I’m a member of his riders’ group (Audacity Riders, Faridabad). 
• Kind of attention grabber - number of catcalls/”Shabaash”/”Keep it up”/”Dhoom macha le…”  during morning ride was 20+ – a school-bus even drove along with me with conductor asking me the name of this bike – "Pholding…haaainnnn"? For the first time of my life car-drivers seemed to be a kind of polite, curious maybe! However, the juvenile, male population of this part of my country has probably never been taken out to a circus, so their reactions were nothing short than a group-ecstasy!
• At the office I didn’t ride it after de-boarding the bus because I didn’t want to be shooed away to the basement (parking), but the security guys at reception told me to hide it behind (under )his table as “it won’t look good”.  Nobody rides a bicycle ( in this office ) and that there is no parking space marked for bicycles, but, he said that he will talk to his supervisor to find a place for it in the basement (…damm, that would kill 10 minutes  every single day).
• Back to bus - In the evening there were some cycle-jokes and requests that I should prove that it indeed is ride-able – I’ve been asked to give a demo tomorrow .My bus-mates ‘re really nice and had kept the most spacious seat vacated for me.
• Evening ride was insignificant – except for a motor cycle rider came and asked the price. It was dark and I forgot to carry my helmet and lights, so a bit scary – I promise that I would always carry these in future.

The bike - Tern Link C7 

Folded 

Folded, and inside the bus

Folded, and inside the bus

Riding this bike - comfortable for a 6ft. person

Riding this bike - II

Starting again...

Till three months back I was cycling almost daily. Almost, because my 'daily' translates into 3 times a week to work. Then it happened - the seat nut refused to take my abuse and it snapped - not once, but twice. When it happened first time, I was happy - confident that new nut makes me safe for almost next one year, but it didn't take 15 days or 10 rides to happen it again. It is dangerous if not just bad when you are riding on a busy road. So, I was made to shun this healthy practice of cycling to work by myself, and by my family as well. I had to start an on-line hunt for a perfect solution - perfect, as well as inexpensive. Finally, I found not a solution, but a temporary "jugad" that I could just use a steel nut which I may get for 10 bucks from local hardware shop, but still I lacked faith on this mechanical contraption. It was 3 months that I mustered enough courage to be back on the road - I rode to work this morning.

Today it was like first time again - except the fact that I knew the distance, the effort it takes, and I was familiar with the terrain, road and was fairly confident that my workplace is not that far. But it was tough - 3 months were enough to make me lazy. I was expecting a cool breeze in my hair kind of feeling, but instead it was slow and unsteady me, constantly huffing and puffing, who almost felt at times that it is not possible. But yes, I did it, would do it again in the evening, and in the coming days as well.

PS - It took around an hour and 10 minutes for me to cover 13.8km. It was not time - I would have saved at the most 15 minutes had I been cycling constantly from past 3 months - but it was the effort which I felt that it took too much this time.

PS-II - My on-line buddies form BBC - the Bangalore Bicycling Club, a Google Group -  have told me tha it is a fairly common problem with my riding machine - a Herculeus Act Rider 110. It is a design defect and happens to the most of cycles.  Even the manufacturing company acknowledges it and if you go to some designated dealers, they do provide you a replacement. But having said that none of them said that they will buy anything again from Herculus.....I can understand that- when a monstrous bus trying to touch your backside on road - it doesn't take seconds for brand-loyalty to vanish in such cases - replacement or no-replacement, Indian-brand or foreign brand - it is better to shun the sub-standard items / companies like these.

Day-1: Ride to the office

16th August, Bengaluru.

Day - 1: velocipede ride to the office - what a day! A hell of ride, of 13.8 km each way. Sharing road with all the Bengaluru traffic in an experience in itself...silent scooters to blaring buses - the bicycle rider is an object of interest for each one! Glad to make it, and determined to repeat the feat - not just tomorrow, but on all the days henceforth.
Must say that each of the ~60 minutes spent in both the journeys were well spent - especially when the bus ride (the morning one) takes longer than that!

Bicycling - while living closer to sky (on 2nd floor)

We, the denizens of Metropolitan cities have an additional problem at hand - which is almost never-ever faced by our less urbanized fellow countrymen - where to keep or park your bicycle at home. Bicycle is the tiniest mode of transportation - just a one-dimensional, linear structure  - that is how motorists view us - which is more agile than a small-car, is more capable of off-roading than an SUV, is cheaper than a pint of petrol(again...motorists' view), save millions a month on petrol, parking, traffic-tickets - and not to mention, require slightly above zero square feet of parking space.

But if you are living in a multi-story apartments, aka "societies" sometimes, then a few problems arise - unlike your car, which could shut itself out on click of a button to be left, and you could leave the lady alone, a cycle is open to all  sorts of intrusions - from seat mutilators, tire deflaters (and thieves for those having detachable tires and / or seats). Believe me, the lazy, once-a-week bicyclists' cycles are more noticed, for getting stolen / mutilations than the regular-horses.

We learn to manage this with time - learn to carry home the black-beauty every Sunday evening - after our occasional Saturday and / or Sunday mornings' touch of dirt. We become strong enough - not just to carry it on shoulders, but to go through the bemused smiles of next door long-nose interferes who have a right to know each and every activity which could provide any inane, useless information.

We become careful - careful enough to pick it up to the place where we live - either on Sunday evening or before leaving for work on Monday morning.

Not to mention any repairs and cleanings - all have to be done in the 4x2 ft balcony space - where the space has to be shared with  the drying stands for clothes.

In short, bicycling may be good, but for those living on upper floors, it becomes better as it teaches a few valuable lessons of life...be strong and manage space and time!

PS - November 2014: I manged to live with this too when moved closer to sky - now to the 8th floor. Now I have a folding bike which I can carry up and down without much problem. Also, I do ride it to my office - OK, only to my bus and then back from bus to my home in the evening....will shortly provide my feedback about that :)

Bicycling Street Smarts (with thanks from http://bikexprt.com/streetsmarts/ )

During my usual, net-bicycling, I found this a "Bicycling Street Smarts guide - http://bikexprt.com/streetsmarts/
For us - Cycling Street Smarts, left-hand drive version  - http://bikexprt.com/streetsmarts/lhd/index.htm
One of the very sane, very sensible and very much common sense'ible advise given on this site is "With very few exceptions, the safest way to ride is as part of the traffic". Not that it is very hard to follow, not that it is very exceptional piece of scientific knowledge which gets taught in the last semester of rocket-science and spacecraft engineering, but still something which a lot of cyclist ignore - be it zipping through the traffic, ignoring traffic lights, or even heading against the traffic, we do come across individual who, just to save a few seconds put their lives in danger.
To close today's blog entry,  I would like to quote another, very apt line from this site/guide -"With very few exceptions, cyclists have the same rights – and responsibilities – as motorists".

Happy cycling,
ALB

Introduction

As the name describes – I am the one – another lazy bicyclist, or AnotherLazyBicyclist - ALB. An individual who likes to mark oneself as a bicyclist, but is too lazy to do the actual bi-cycling - and opts for Google version of the activity itself. The one, who rather than kicking the proverbial butt, opts to search and gawk at bicycle facts, figures and photos on the web!

But occasionally, from time to time, ALB too decides to roll the wheels – and whenever this Halley’ish  ( as in Halley’s Comment ) activity happens – everybody in the listening  and / or watching radius around notices it!

Why did I start the blog – because though noting my musing on the WWW - wonderful  wall of the world where, everybody and anybody could read it – could, in some way, enrich the world – make it a better place to live.  And, perhaps, I too will, in turn, will learn something!

Why Another, and not ‘the’ or just 'a' Lazy Bi-cyclist / Cyclist – because I am the one – the lazy one, too lazy, and so lazy that other lesser-lazy mortals outwitted me to grab the name before I could! (Yeah, I won, thanks!). But laziness is a virtue in itself – it makes one to remain content with whatever one gets!

Happy Reading,

ALB