Cyclists...
If you have ever driven on the roads of India then you might be aware of our lovely cyclists. They can perform "sudden emergence" tricks that could put the best magicians to shame. And their sudden, almost spasmodic turns can raise your blood pressure to almost 400. Recently I got an opportunity to look at the world from the other side.I sprained my foot while running so the doctor advised me to "respect" my body and to stop running for a few days. Bloody hell! I was really surprised at that language. I looked up to see if the guy was looking at me in a condescending way. He was not much to my relief. :-) So for someone like me who needs a mild "sweat" fix on a regular basis (No sexual overtones here. I am saving myself for Jessica Alba or Deepika Padukone), I found cycling to be something outdoorish and a fun thing to do. So I borrowed a friend's cycle which I must say is not meant to be driven on the ruba daba dub dub ooh aah ouch roads of Delhi. The day after my first ride, my hind was hurting so bad that I am sure people must have mocked my funny walk. I am better now thank you.
My first ride itself made me realize that getting on a cycle is something like wearing Harry Potter's cloak of invisibility. You become invisible to any mechanized vehicle. Completely. So while you are constantly pushed to the side of the road by equally spasmodic drivers, the berm/side of the road is completely ruba daba dub dub ooh aah ouch . The thrill and adventure never ends till you put your bike in the garage, kiss the ground and thank the lord that you are still alive.
The red lights are the trickiest. There is no real place where I can be on the bike and wait for the light to turn green. Most of us cyclists are squished and we huddle together in our invisibility. The worst is when the light turns green. Just thinking about this is making me anxious. Cars, trucks, scooters, bikes...rush to quickly reach F1 speeds while taking spasmodic turns.
The best thing I like about cycling? There are no red lights for cyclists. We can never be given a traffic violation ticket. Ever. No registration number, no license, no pollution certificate, no insurance...f#*k you Mr. Policeman!!! Love it.
posted by Musings on India @ 12:41 AM
2 Comments:
hahaha...
we have no footpaths... forget cycling tracks. Delhi is much better by the way than bangalore in this regard overall.
Here Cyclists cycle right in the middle of the road - not sure if it is a case of nowhere else to cycle or i care a damn!
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