350 Cycling Rally

For those who do not know today is 350: The International Day for climate action. Find the details here . As part of this we had organised a cycling rally in Bangalore the details of which can be found here .

This was my first experience as a member of a cycling community and to say it was fun would be an understatement. Around 50 cyclists travelling together for a forty five minute ride in the heart of Bangalore was bound to attract a lot of eyeballs. Riding in pairs and chit chatting with people with whom the only connection you have is your interest in cycling is not an experience you often get.

Highlight of the day would be two seven year olds Advaith and Arpita riding with the gang. There mom came to the starting point and left them responsible to the group. (My double thumbs up to the mother of A & A) It was amazing to see their enthusiasm. I am pretty sure there will be someone who will start cycling just because they saw these kids today.

MMs efforts despite the fact that she almost ruined last nights party were highly appreciated. It was awesome to see everyone wearing blue coloured bibs spreading the message of 350. That she did not ride herself is altogether a different matter!

However, I was not able to appreciate the climax of the rally. At the end we were supposed to get together in a "350" formation and get photos clicked. Somehow we got permissions to do it in the middle of the road. It took us around 20 mins to get this thing done. Obviously, we caused a lot of inconvenience to other people. Sometimes people ( I am including myself) get carried away when they do things they passionately believe in, forgetting the impact it is having on other people. The next time I see a jam because of people doing something on the road, I don't think I will have the right to call them jerks.

Overall it was a very fulfilling day. Three cheers to D, MM, Dodo and Hallidude for pulling it off. Dodo is one of the most enthusiastic guys I know of in Bangalore and Halli is on his way to becoming a politician in his own right.

Btw today I rode the maximum I have ever done till now in one day. 24Kms! Hopefully I will break this record next week :)