Rocking in the Free World

After having posted enough and more about my bike riding forays, and having cycled through all the bylanes of Bangalore and having visited every place except Whitefield and Majestic on it during the time I have placed my bum on its saddle, I finally took the plunge to ride the bike to my office.

I’ve worked for a month or so towards ensuring that our office also becomes bicycle friendly – which means that they’d have to provide metal retainers to which one could lock one’s bike to, rather than just park it in the stand with two wheelers and risk someone lifting it off and carrying it away. My bike is so light despite being a mountain hardtail, and I am naturally paranoid about its security, and hence the retainers would go a long way in assuaging my fears.

Additionaly, I’d also requested for provisions to ensure that we’d have showers at the office, just so as not to raise a stink. Personally, this shower funda was raised keeping other people’s sensibilities in mind. I am totally comfortable with my odour (thanks to a phenomenon named olfactory adaptation, as learnt in class 11), and so far, I’ve not heard complaints. But then again, we’d not want cyclists at my office to get a bad name due to BO, and hence the necessary precaution.

Measures are being put into place as we speak in our parking lot, and I am eagerly waiting for the day which will bring about the unveiling of said facilities. However, I honestly got tired of waiting and decided to ride my bike to work. That was the only important place that I’d not taken it to.

Hence, on friday morning, I set out along the 11 km route, and as I reached the office, I suddenly realized that I had carried all my locks to tie up the bike, but I had forgotten the keys back at home. I had two options, one of which was to stash it in a friend’s car. Her Ford Ikon was not able to fit my bike, despite me having dismantled the front and rear wheel and the handle.

Consequently, I had to cycle back home, pick up the keys and cycle back to the office. By the end of the day, when I got home after a long day at work, which, incidentally was the last day at our office for my favourite manager (and the person who took my interview to recruit me in college), I had clocked approx 50 km, and I was raring to go for more.

I think I’m now an endorphin addict, for sure.

In other news: I always wear a helmet when riding my bike, even for short ranges. It is a combination of being paranoid about one’s safety, combined with the fact that the helmet makes me look cooler and gives the impression of me being a serious cyclist, as I mentioned before. I think it would be a 70-30 weightage break-up between the two factors.

In any case, some random guy asked me, ‘Why do you wear a helmet for riding a bicycle?‘ and my reply, which in retrospect was deeper than I had originally intended for it to be was, ‘Because I have a head‘.

I’m awesome.