THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: “All I could see was the handle and the front wheel,” says Muhamed Musadhiq, after a 504 km journey on a cycle that turns left if you turn the handle right. All day long, during the six-day ride, he had his eyes fixated on the handle and the wheel, riding at a pace below 25kmph. Never for a moment could he take his eyes off the handle, because enjoying the vistas would mean falling. Manoeuvring this cycle is not a leisurely, easy breezy task, but a very demanding one. Because the cycle has a mind of its own, acting in contrary to the brain's command.
'Brain Cycle. Abnormal Cycle. Keep Distance', so reads the warning note plastered on Musadhiq's cycle. It has been several months since he remodelled the cycle and crafted a brain cycle out of it. But then, riding it still needed one to be careful enough. “At first the note was plastered for fun, but then after a few falls, I knew there was indeed a need to keep distance,” chuckles the final year mechanical engineering student.
He rode all the way from Kozhikode to Thiruvananthapuram along with his college mates attached to the College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram as part of promoting cycling across the state. Through the ride, he was also attempting a Guinness World Record in riding the max distance in the brain cycle. “Till now, no one has attempted the ride in the brain cycle. So it is a new event I am attempting,” says Musadhiq.
According to Musadhiq, the mechanics implemented in the cycle is simple.It was during the tech fest of his college that Musadhiq put forth this cycle, arguably the first in India to be made. “I am not aware of anyone who has made the brain cycle in India. At first, I made it for fun. But after making this, someone had to ride this. And that forced me to learn to ride the cycle,” he recalls. The result was numerous falls. “Oh, I fell a countless number of times. It might look simple from the outside. But to ride it is challenging. You have to train your brain accordingly,” he says.
His cycle is the connoisseur of all eyes, wherever he goes. Having introduced the cycle at various colleges, his aim is to popularise the art of cycling amongst the public. There are also plans to set up brain training centres in schools and colleges using the brain cycle to popularise cycling among the younger generation.
He has even put forth a challenge- ride 10 metres in the cycle and it will fetch you Rs 500. More than 2000 people have attempted the challenge, but none has won it.
"There are no tricks to ride the brain cycle, but practice,” says Musadhiq. “At one point I hope I will reach a state where I can ride the cycle at the same leisurely pace I do on a normal cycle,” he adds.