Using the cycle to commute

I cycled to work every day last week. Before this, I would cycle to work on and off, but never as a regular thing. There are too many articles on the benefits of cycling in general and cycling to work, so I am not going to rehash all that. Here I am just going to list out my experience of cycling to work every day.

It takes the same amount of time. I live around 8km from my office. In the car or motorcycle, it takes me between 25-30 minutes on average to get from home to work or the other way around. That’s roughly the same time it takes me on the cycle.

Flexibility. When you are on the cycle, you can choose when you want to be a pedestrian and when to be a two-wheeler rider. It’s cool. The signal goes red, I get off my bike and push it across along with the other pedestrians. It is also safer since it becomes quite a melee when the light goes green and all those vehicles are getting off the blocks in a hurry.

Great workout. Continuing from the previous point, you get to roll your daily workout into your commute without having to set aside specific time for it. Cycling through traffic is a more effective workout than riding on open roads since there is so much stop-and-go to navigate. You burn more calories than if you ride the same distance or duration on open roads.

Another benefit is walking into work with a sense of achievement. The day just starts on a high.

Of course, all this is possible because my workplace has shower facilities – pretty good facility.

A lot of people ask me whether Hyderabad is safe for cyclists. To be honest, I don't really know. I haven't cycled in other cities for comparison. That said, for the most part, I find people are respectful towards cyclists. It stands to reason since the penalty of knocking down a cyclist or pedestrian is high in terms of time. So even if it comes out of a selfish motive, the bottom-line is that cycling in Hyderabad is about as safe as walking in Hyderabad.