In an age when some people rev a scooter to drop their child to school which is four streets away or take the Honda to the Pazhamudhir store located on the other side of the colony, there are still a few who cycle.
Rangarajan, a Mylaporean is one such man. This senior executive of Brakes India chooses to cycle to work every day.
And just where is his workplace?
Padi.
Which means Rangarajan cycles 16 kms each way.
Is he tired after it all or does he nod at work?
“On the contrary, I am as alert as ever even though I leave as early as 6.30 a.m. I have never felt as fit before and I have been doing this for 8 years now,” says the intrepid cyclist.
What drives him to this seemingly odd choice?
Rangarajan says it has kept him fit, the mode is eco friendly and it has kept his weight at the same level over the last 10 years.
Does he own a modern cycle with gears and trappings?
“This is my vahana“, he says pointing to a standard model.
“It gets me around so well and I look after it like a baby,” says Rangarajan. ” Every 15 days I have it serviced and oiled and the tyres are in ship shape. I have so far been lucky and not had anything going wrong.”
Rangarajan seems to be a man for the outdoors.
He goes on a padayatra every year and his group walks the entire stretch over a few days.
Sundays mean a cycling tour of the temples in Mylapore, the Sri Parthasarathy Temple in Triplicane, the Ashtalakshmi Temple in Besant Nagar and Sri Anantha Padmanabhaswamy temple in Adyar.
Nothing will make me change this programme, he says very definitely.
Fears of accidents, hold-ups and traffic jams count little to him. He does not wears a helmet and often weaves through traffic – often getting a mouthful from a policeman or a motorist!
So convinced is the family now of his love for cycling that they have changed their tune. “Go by cycle, don’t use the vehicle!” they chorus.
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