About 15 enthusiastic cyclists from all walks of life are hitting the road every weekend and pedalling 25 km into the suburbs and back. They call themselves ‘Rajajinagar Pedal Power.’
Led by former minister S Suresh Kumar, the weekly endeavour had its roots in a cycling expedition to celebrate the 75th year of Independence on August 15.
Suresh Kumar asked some participants whether they would like to go on expeditions regularly, and the answer was an enthusiastic yes.
“We ride 50 km every weekend, either on a Saturday or a Sunday. The ride begins at 5 am before the traffic kicks in,” Suresh Kumar tells Metrolife.
The youngest member of the group is 14 and the oldest 66. The group comprises students, hoteliers and people who run their own businesses.
Impressed by the group’s cycling routine, the Channapatna Cycling Team, comprising 30 professional cyclists, invited them for a joint expedition.
“Twelve of us went to Channapatna and joined them. We rode 60 km,” he says.
Bengaluru has many cycling lanes, but a lot more needs to be done to encourage cyclists, says Suresh Kumar.
“Motorists leave very little space for them to manoeuvre. We have a bicycle mayor and yet Bengaluru has not yet become a cycle-friendly city,” he says.
Sandesh Umashankar, a member of the group, says it is fitness that brought the group together.
“Suresh Kumar sir is the oldest in our group, but he is also the fittest of us all. His commitment to fitness is an inspiration,” he says.
The group carries its own food and water. “On long rides, we have friends who make arrangements for our food and rest,” he adds.
Cyclists have to build stamina to be able to cycle 12 to 14 km a hour, he says.
Suresh Kumar says cycling and walking are among the things that he is passionate about.
“As early as in 1974, I rode my Hercules cycle from Bengaluru to Kanyakumari, covering 670 km. I also rode a cycle through my college studies. Even after I became an advocate, I would go to the court on a cycle,” he says.
He has also travelled by foot to Tirupati, Sabarimala and Dharmasthala. “Even today, I enjoy walking. I embraced these two forms of fitness as a young boy and I continue to follow the regime to this day,” he says.
After he entered politics and became a corporator, he says, he had stopped cycling for some years.
To join the group call Sandesh Umashankar on 95383 03314.
Places covered
Tavarekere-Sondekoppa
Ghati Subramanya Temple, Doddaballapur
Savandurga in Magadi
Avalahalli forest in Hesaraghatta
Shivgange in Nelamangala
Channapatna
(Average ride: 50 km)
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