Corporate honchos shun swanky wheels for cycles

They own luxury cars, and yet cycle to office. While some do it to avoid traffic snarls, for others it is a means to contribute to a cleaner environment.

An online community of over 130 members, most of them Mumbaikars, has taken up cycling as a means of travelling to work.

“I started cycling at the age of nine. At that time, there were no crowded roads and I used to cycle from Chembur to my college in Bandra,” said Anil Uchil, a resident of Mulund, who runs a corporate communications firm. Uchil cycles from home to his Andheri office almost every day. “The only time I use my vehicle is when am going out with family,” he said.

Uchil prefers to cycle to work for more than one reason. “Apart from keeping me healthy, it is also an eco-friendly act. It reduces carbon footprints and petrol consumption, takes up lesser parking space, and is a much faster mode of travel during rush hours.

“People feel that a cycle is only for the poor, which is a myth, as a good cycle costs anywhere between Rs35,000 and Rs40,000. Also, people feel one cannot travel long distances on the cycle, but in reality, it is easily possible to cycle 20kms in a day,” he said.
On March 7, Uchil started an online community, Cycle to Work (C2W), on www.cyclists.in. In a short span, the community has grown to 130-member strong.

Kiran Sarode, 38, who works as a deputy general manager in Godrej and Boyce at Vikhroli, also cycles to work from his Andheri residence. “I have been cycling for the past two years and have recently started cycling to work three to four times a week. The distance to my office is about 11kms. Even my senior general manager comes to office on a cycle. Cycling keeps me healthy and I do not have to go to the gym,” Sarode said.

Another cyclist, Amit Narsana, 37, a businessman and a resident of Andheri, has also recently taken up cycling as a mode of travel to office. “It takes nearly 45 minutes to reach my office at JP Road by car. But now, I get there in hardly 10 minutes as I can use the small by-lanes,” Narsana said.

“I go to my office in Juhu from my residence on cycle, and I do my household shopping on it. I had also participated in the recent cyclathon and had completed the 24kms in 52 minutes,” said 39-year-old Firozza Suresh, a resident of Juhu, and an advertising professional.