More than 1,200 cyclists turned out to observe the city’s first Cycle Day, surprising even the organisers. The youngest cyclist at the event was 15 months old, who rode on the back seat of his father’s cycle, and the oldest was 81 years old.
“We were expecting about 400-500 people and had also arranged about 100 extra cycles at Cubbon Park for those who did not bring their cycles. But more and more people showed up,” said Zubin Jagtiani, an avid cyclist and a volunteer.
Cycle Day, an initiative by the Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) in collaboration with BMTC, BMRCL and various citizen groups and cycling communities, promotes non- motorised transport in the city.
Mayor B S Sathyanarayana inaugurated the event and took a ceremonial 1 km ride around Cubbon Park.
“There is no doubt about the fact that there are a large number of people who want to cycle through the city. Initially, I was skeptical about cycling in the city. I thought it was not safe. Sure, there are dangers and you need your space, but a lot of people want to take it up,” Jagtiani, a participant, said.
Pranav Jha, member of Praja RAAG, a not-for-profit organisation working towards solving the city’s infrastructure problems and one of the volunteers at the event, believed that the number of people who participated in the event means that more people are waiting to take up cycling. “I met a lot of people who said that they were cycling after 10-20 years. It gives me the confidence that if we do things to make cycling easier, many will take it up,” he said.
“BMTC supported the event by allowing cyclists to use the Volvos to commute to Cubbon Park and the Horticulture Department helped us by providing parking facilities,” he added.
“This time, we organised the event in Cubbon Park. Over the next few months, we will be taking it through various parts of the city,” said Pranav. The next cycling event will be held on November 24.
Bikes Roar to Save Wildlife
Close to 300 bikers from various motorcycle clubs in the city rode to the Bannerghatta Biological Park (BBP) from Cubbon Park on Sunday morning to create awareness on Saving Wildlife. Organised by the Bangalore RD350 Club, the ‘Annual Ride For A Cause’ featured bikes such as Yamaha RD350, Royal Enfield Bullet, KTM among other bikes. “Every year, we promote a cause that is closest to our hearts. Wildlife is one such cause and so this year we rode to BBP to promote the wildlife conservation,” said Vishal Agarwal, founder, Bangalore RD350 Club. The bikers managed to raise about `15,000, which was donated to the BBP.