We love bicycles, and at BUMSONTHESADDLE we aim to share this passion with as many people as possible. Biking to Work can be one of the simplest things most Bangaloreans can do to kick off a fantastic day. The BOTS “Wheels of Change” project aims to get more people biking to work via corporate workshops, partnerships, events and simply sharing the joy of cycling to work!
Want to be a part of the Wheels of Change team? Shoot us an email – support@bumsonthesaddle.com
There are commuters and then there are the zippy commuters. Ganapathy Subramanian has been zipping his way to work through the busy streets of Bangalore on his Silver Shadow (Polygon Zenith single speed bike) since January 2015. And loving it!
Ganapathy commutes 55km every day to work and back and uses this distance and time as a form of training coupled with his commute. These training rides build an overall sense of preparedness for the endurance riding that he loves. Talk about multi tasking – saving time, money, commuting green and having a blast. All at the same time!
He loves riding at 25-30kph in service lanes while most of the traffic is at a standstill (silkboard as an example). Simple pleasures in life :wink: There are times when he’s forced to take his motorbike to work and those are the lethargic super-long-never-ending days that he hates. Riding a bike brings immense energy which allows him to stay energised and super-productive.
There are lot of welcome distractions through his commutes. He’s had motor-bikers cheer him when he overtakes and autos giving a smile to egg him on. Lately, even the BMTC Volvo buses seem to be bike friendly, he adds. The journey from starting out as a curious commuter with a lot of ‘what if’s’ to now a seasoned zippy commuter, Ganapathy has inspired many of his teammates at Hewlett Packard to bike to work and has contributed to the growth of the commuter’s tribe at HP.
His advice to fellow commuters – “Don’t let traffic bother you. Anticipate the speed and flow of motorized transport and enjoy the commute by looking at the travel time differently – enjoy chasing flyover climbs, glide thru greener traffic by-lanes and wizz past slow moving traffic in most parts of the city”
Ganapathy is also an endurance athlete. He is one of the very few randonneurs in India to have completed the toughest brevet – a 1200km ride in Karnataka – aptly named “Bliss in the hills”. You can also spot him racing for the Cleated Warriers team in various races across Bangalore city.
Thanks for being awesome, Ganapathy.
