Exploring Nature with Cycling Expeditions

November 7, 2013

Ever fancied taking up cycling as a hobby or as a fitness regime? It may sound weird to many who have fascination for speed bikes, cool cars or those who hit the gym. Be it as a hobby, a mode of transport, as an exhilarating sport, a recreational activity, a form of fitness regime or just as pastime - cycling is increasingly gaining acceptance and popularity among many people including youngsters. The port city of Mangalore also has a group of enthusiastic cycling aficionados who go on regular cycling expedition for sheer fun.

The only common factor that bonds many of these cycling enthusiasts is their passion for cycling and they love frolicking joyfully on their bikes amid the bucolic splendor of our evergreen Ghats. Through WhatsApp they keep connected and chalk out an itinerary. They come together every Sunday and go on a cycling expedition traversing through different parts of the city. Once a month some of them venture out on an odyssey and they love the challenge involved. The group with their gear cycles and attractive headgears, knee pads and glows, has attracted many eyeballs. Harish Maheshwari, a Mangalore-based Marwari businessman points out that from the initial reaction of raising eyebrows and askance glances, there is general acceptance from the public. “On a few occasions when we used to move in a group people used to disturb us by blocking the way or even making fun of us. We took it very positively and went about our task and now we are happy to say we are accepted and people even co-operate with us”.

For Harish who joined the group a year back, it has been a fulfilling year as a cyclist. He joined the group on the invitation of another cycliniacs (as they call one another) when he attended the Rx Life annual cycle rally a year ago. The invitation proved to be like manna from heaven as he met like-minded cycling enthusiasts and from then on he has been on regular cycling expeditions. Recently a gang of six cycled about 90 kms to and fro from Mangalore to Kota beach and back, on a two day cycling journey. One of the relatives of another cycliniac had a beach house in Kota and the group had a memorable outing, both cycling and skylarking on beach side.

To overcome the risk factor the group had a pilot jeep in which they had put their belongings and food stuff so that they could ride freely without any baggage. It also served as a precautionary measure and the riders did not want to take any risks on a long journey.

Laxmeesh Shenoy, another young cycling aficionado says he cycles for health and also to enjoy nature and her bounty. He cycles regularly on his own and every Sunday he along with a few members goes cycling from Mangala Stadium to Tannirbavi at around 6.30 am and interested people them. Those interested in being a part of the group need to have a good gear cycle, a good headgear and other accessories like kneepad, glows and other paraphernalia to ensure safety. Laxmeesh says “anyone above the age of 18 can join us but they should be capable of taking their own decisions. They should be able to repair their own bike in the event of something going wrong, though we help out one another”.

There are about 10 regular bikers in the group sharing the passion of cycling and going on long journey. On week days they cycle about 5 to 6 kms to maintain fitness or they may even go in a group of 2 or 3. On Sundays they traverse about 30 to 40 kms which keeps them fit as a fiddle to undertake longer journeys.

Another businessman Chandramouli Shenoy has been a regular at many cycling expeditions. He joined the group as he always fancied cycling and like the adventure part of it. “Generally people belittle us saying we are jobless and consider cycling is a waste of time. But I just enjoy the adventure part of it which sublimates my stress and is the best way out from the humdrum of everyday life. It is relaxing and is a great stress buster”, he exults.

Both Harish and Chandramouli share a great camaraderie as cycliniacs and are now venturing on a much more challenging expedition. They are planning to cycle all the way from Bangalore to Mangalore in two days by October end. “We will travel by bus with our cycles and want to cycle all the 360 kms with a stopover in Sakleshpur. It is going to test our endurance and fitness”, Chandramouli says. Harish is quite upbeat about the forthcoming adventure and he says this expedition would serve as a practice for the national cycling expedition conducted every year by Youth Hostel Association in Leh, in which he wants to participate.

It is heartening to know that many youngsters have joined the group and there are a few students who are regulars at expeditions. So far there isn’t any lady member in the group but Laxmeesh says “women are always welcome into our group. There is lot of discrimination against women which acts as a barrier for many of them to be a part of adventurous groups like ours”.

For all those who are health conscious, fitness freak, love nature with all her inexorable wonders and simply adore cycling, the best option is to be a part of this group and you will find that life is going to be a vivifying experience.

 

Florine Roche Recent Archives:

 

    By Florine Roche
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    Comment on this article

    • John DSouza, Mangalore

      Fri, Nov 08 2013

      Congratulations. Cycles for physical fitness and marks for sports
      Cycles are inspiration to have dialogue “chalti ka naam ghadi”, because wheels support the flexible movement.

      Being millions of cycles manufactured every year, what is the main purpose of them? Is it sports, physical fitness or transport?
      Are we happy with its single rider option? Is there hope or scope, to move a group of friends or the family together on them?
      As we notice, bicycles are used to triple ride, carry fish baskets, gas cylinders, bakery stocks, milk cans etc. is there any possibility to increase the capacity of them to use for transport and commercial purposes?
      Since we have a huge youth force unemployed with enormous hours to spare, can we think of employing them productively and with physical fitness too?
      As we have more than 600,000 villages in India, with lack of transport possibilities, what is the potential, if manual vehicles are manufactured with capacity to move 6 to 10 people?
      If a village is provided with 25 such vehicles to facilitate at least three miles of distance, how many people can be employed and how many villages can be covered with basic transport facilities and how many miles of distance without expensive fuel consumption and pollution?

    • Ramesh baliga, Mangalore/mangalore

      Fri, Nov 08 2013

      Keep it guys...Chandru and gajmam rock

    • Roshan Madtha, Mangalore

      Fri, Nov 08 2013

      Great guys continue the spirit....

    • Chandramouli Shenoy, Mangalore

      Thu, Nov 07 2013

      I would be very happy if this article should encourage cyclist young or old to start pedaling.

      I would suggest everyone to venture out for solo short ride frequently at their own convenient time.

      Anyone who is interested to join for fun ride on sunday or plan for longer rides can contact me on 9880295995.

    • John DSouza, Mangalore

      Thu, Nov 07 2013

      Cycle is a great invention in wheel history, which runs with human energy
      Though it is an ancient invention, it is still comfortable only for a single rider
      Its capacity is limited because it is defaulted only to level roads, single piece
      As divide and rule is a best practice, we have option is to multiply its capacity

      The dead weight of commuters/goods can be used as a pushing force to move
      And hence generated energy is cost free, pollution free, with huge flexibility
      Instead of a single rider/user, it can be used to move multiple people/goods
      The energy being used/utilized/wasted in clubs/gyms can be converted, as jobs

      Grounds, campuses, parks and compounds can be provided with cool transport
      An option to create enormous jobs, to employ a major part of youth power/force
      The change is to have exciting and incredible benefits, with amazing benefits
      An opportunity to break a lengthy evolution, with a surface transport revolution

    • laxmeesh, mangalore

      Thu, Nov 07 2013

      Thanks Daijiworld and Florine Roche for showing interest in supporting cycling and the importance of it . I hope this article might help many to choose as a hobby .


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