As an avid cyclist, I can attest to the pleasures of cycling. I am happiest when I am on the cycle. After you take up cycling, you follow a typical trajectory. You start with a cheap hybrid or a mountain cycle. A few months later as the distances grow, you get a better hybrid and next you get a roadie. As the passion grows, so do the number of gadgets - cycle computers, clipless pedals and shoes, power meters, heart rate monitors, and so on. The list is endless. None of this is cheap. Cycling is one of the most expensive sports you can take up. A relatively decent roadie will cost you upwards of Rs. 1,00,000.
Then come the distances. First, it's 50km rides, then 100. Next up are brevets that start at 200 and go all the way up to 1000. After that, you aim for the Paris-Brest-Paris or London-Edinburgh-London rides, or both. The number of 100km rides you do in a year becomes a badge. You aim to do 12000km in a year.
While these targets are great fitness aims, is this what cycling is about?
I would like to propose a different trajectory. Instead of counting miles, speed, or power, what if we were to count the number of times we use the cycle to commute to work? We could, for instance, commit to commute 100 days in a year on the cycle. If every cyclist in the city were to begin to do that, the benefits could be manifold:
Reduce pollution
Reduce usage of carbon fuels
Reduce congestion on the roads
Force local governments to provide cycling tracks in and around the business district
Reduce pressure for parking space in office complexes
There are related benefits too. For instance, you are no longer looking for the high-end bikes that cost the sky. Instead a reasonably good hybrid will suffice. That's about a tenth of the price of a high-end roadie.
You also save time since you are rolling your workout time into your commute time. This leaves you more time with family or more time to work, whichever way you lean.
So that's my commitment, in 2023 I'm going to do at least 100 commute rides.
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