Don’t know exactly when did this cycling bug hit me so hard. Some 4 1/2 yrs somewhere from nowhere I got a thought of buying a bicycle. But it took me 4 years to finally purchase a bicycle. Thanks to my friends Krishna Bhatia, Pankaj Khairnar and Omesh Patil for all the support which made me finally buy a bicycle.
The choice was not obvious, had a budget of somewhere near Rs.8,000 and the only bicycle that did suit me at the moment was Hercules Roadeo Turner. But during the research ended on this forum Bikeszone (http://www.bikeszone.com/) which was dedicated to all the bicycle fanatics. And there was this wonderful article regarding how to choose a bicycle and what you should be looking for in a bicycle and how you can select a bicycle in your budget by getting rid of things you dont really require. The article was named Want to buy a bike? READ THIS FIRST.
After reading the post I got enlightened and continued search for the ultimate goal of my life. And then I came across the bicycle named Rockrider 5.0 made by the company named B’twin. As per B’twin its the Leisure MTB which means you can ride it on road and off road but dont expect this bicycle to perform good on hardtail. And that was exactly I wanted, in Mumbai you generally don’t have an open space like Hills, Mountain, Mud Roads. Rockrider 5.0 costed me Rs.10500 including the shipping charges from the reseller in Mumbai named Selection Sports.
Recently I have been using the bicycle to travel from my home (Charkop, Kandivali, Mumbai) to office (Near Andheri Subway, Andheri East, Mumbai) once in a week. I usually ride the bicycle on the day from home to office and then keep cycle in office for 2-3 days and on Friday night I ride it back to home. The distance is around 13 kms, varies by .5 km depending on the route I choose. It takes me approximately anywhere from 40-55 mins irrespective of the traffic conditions. The experience has been good, but considering riding on Mumbai roads at the time of heavy traffice is not a pleasant experience, still riding in night is wonderful experience.
Since I rode the bicycle in heavy traffic conditions I got a head gear for myself. I took myself a Probike Sport Headgear for somewhere around Rs 850. Its pretty comfirtable and even while riding at hot noon it works well with proper ventillation for the air flow. B’twin bicycles and accessories are sold in India by the sports goods manufacturer Decathlon. You can’t buy a thing from Decathlon India online if you are not the member. You can only buy stuff by visiting a Decathlon store in Bangalore. But recently there were 2 good news that came to me. 1st – Our company DirectI had tied up with them and now we get products with some nice discounts. 2nd – The Decathlon store has opened up near Mumbai in Thane. Although the Thane store havent started shipping the goods, we still have to buy the goods online but they are shipped from Bangalore with shipping price which increases the total price. But one good thing is Decathlon sometimes keeps free shipping on festival time (They had free shipping on 26th January – Republic Day of India). I took the benefit of it and got Bottle Cage, Bottle and Air Pump for Rs. 99 each, normally they cost somewhere near to Rs.100 +.
One more thing about cycling is, it has become kind of contagious at my workplace, and quiet a few people have alrady purchased bicycles. Surya Sen Singh got Firefox – Rapide 21S for himself. Purushottam Bhatt already had Hero Octane which was not in use for quiet some time, but he got it all setup again. We are planning some trips in and around Mumbai. Surya has been quiet a inspiration, from the day he has taken the bicycle, he is not ready to stop at any cost. He is going on a 5 day trip to Srivardhan via Alibaug on a mixed tour (part of it on boat, and part of it on bicycle). Would have loved to join him on a journey, but will surely make it up next time.
Will keep you posted on our plans, till then keep riding. If you haven’t started yet, think about it.