Pune pedals to its old identity

The city of cycles, Pune, seems to be living up to its old adage and once again pedalling back to its old identity.

With rising environmental awareness and increasing health consciousness, Punekars are taking up cycling and joining cycling groups.

Many IT professionals, young entrepreneurs and college students are investing in cycles worth lakhs to pursue their passion of cycling and contributing towards a sustainable environment.

Mahesh Prabhudesai, a 50-year-old real estate consultant, took up cycling when he came to know about a cycle expedition from Pune to Kanyakumari covering a whopping distance of 1,500 km. The initiative was by Chrysalis Training and Consultancy Services to encourage the youth to take up entrepreneurship as a career and seven city entrepreneurs took up the challenge. 

“The idea excited me and without giving it a second thought I was a part of it. None of us were professional cyclists, so it took a lot of courage and commitment. It was the most thrilling experience of my life. Covering such a long distance on bicycle was challenging and it tested our physical stamina. It needed a lot of endurance,” says Prabhudesai, who owns a Trek (4 series) bicycle worth Rs27,000.

“Cycling not only keeps you fit, but is also a good exercise for your knees. Trek’s 4 series bicycles are true mountain bikes with 100 mm suspension fork and riding them is comfortable,” adds Mahesh who, with his group, cycles every Saturday to nearby places like Mulshi, Lavasa and Panshet.

With bad condition of roads and chaotic traffic, people often think that it is difficult to cycle on city roads, but what makes Pune an ideal cycling destination is its strategic location.

Manish Sabade, a city travel and tour entrepreneur, opened Lifecycle Mall on Tilak Road in 2010 with an aim to create awareness and promote cycling. Spread over 6,000 sq ft, this three-floored mall, which boasts of some of the leading international brands such as Giant, Trek, Bianchi, Merida, Firefox, Cannodale, Rockrider, Schwinn and B-Twin among others, is getting an overwhelming response by Punekars. 

“We sell around 250 to 300 cycles every month. The prices ranges from Rs8,000 to Rs5 lakh. The number of cycle enthusiasts is rising in the city and today people don’t mind shelling out a huge amount in buying these cycles,” says Sabade, who keeps arranging monthly cycle trips in and around Pune as part of the Guardian Cycle Tours.

“When we started with a cycling group as part of the Guardian Cycling Holiday in 2009, we had a few members. But today we have around 2,500 members who are keen cyclists and regularly participate in these expeditions,” adds Sabade.

Gajendra Pawar, MD of Pinnacle Group, who is a keen cycling enthusiast, commutes to his workplace on cycle. “Area-wise Pune is a small city. As people mostly opt to stay close to their workplace, they can easily commute on cycles. Amsterdam has around 6.2 lakh cyclists because of dedicated cycle tracks. If we also get the same infrastructure, we can switch to cycles,” says Pawar, who owns a Trek cycle worth Rs1 lakh.   

City Corporation Limited managing director, Aniruddha Deshpande also loves cycling. But he opines that unless we have dedicated cycle tracks cycling on city roads is risky.

“I remember cycling 400 km from Geneva to Zurich which took us six days. It was an amazing endeavour. The route was available via the GPS and there were tracks only for the cyclists. One can easily hire a cycle from the cycling club in other countries,” says Deshpande, who owns a Trek bicycle worth Rs90,000 and cycles on NDA Road once in a week.

“At Amanora, we always promote various cycling events. With the opening of two-three good cycle malls in the city, Punekars can avail of the opportunity of buying cycles of some international brands,” adds Deshpande.