Techie shuns car to derive double benefit

Techie shuns car to derive double benefit
By Satish Shile, DH News Service, Bangalore:
Bangaloreans spend hours on roads, cursing the heavy traffic. But here is a man for whom travelling a 42 km a day is not at all a problem even in Bangalore.

On top of it, he saves an hour of travelling time. Meet Ravi Ranjan, a 31-year old software engineer. He is employed with Infineon Technologies at ITPL.

Unlike many software engineers, he does not take car or a bike to reach office. For the last two years, he has been riding to his office from residence on Sarjapur Road-- a distance of 21 km-- on his sports bicycle.

“I need about 55 minutes to reach office on cycle. If I travel by car, I need at least one and half hours. If I use car I have to do work out in a gym for at least one hour. Totally four hours a day. But if I ride I can save an hour on travelling and one more hour that I have to spend in gym”, he said.

Ranjan, a native of Bihar, is settled in Bangalore since 1994. He started cycling two years ago. “Till three years ago, I was very much addicted to watching TV. No manual labour. I was engaged only in attending to my work and watching TV. I gained too much weight - 85 kgs. Believe it or not I could not even play with my son. One day my friend forced me to join him for a jog. Gradually I got interest in it”, he said. Later, he participated in marathons conducted in the City.

Within three months he lost 16 kgs. “First time I went on cycle along with a friend on Sarjapur Road. With that my long journey on bicycle began. It was a refreshing experience. Soon I bought two sports bicycles”, he said. Now he weighs 64 kg. In the last two years he has travelled across South India by his bicycle. He visited beaches of Kerala, forests in Shimoga, Kodagu and many other places. So far he has covered over 15,200 kms by bicycle. He rides bicycle at an average speed of 27 kmph.

“Whenever we go for tour by car we miss many things on roadside. But when we travel by bicycle the journey offers more wonderful experiences. I prefer visiting places alone by cycling. I take car only when I take family members along with me”, he said.

Ask him whether it is possible to ride on cycle even in a congested city like Bangalore, Ranjan says, “Why not? I have been doing it for last 2 years. I am riding on roads connecting Varthur, Whitefield and ITPL. I have friends who are cycling everyday in the City centres like Gandhinagar, Jayanagar and JP Nagar. I wear headgear for safety. All we need is will , practice and stamina”.

In association with his like-minded friends he has set up an organisation Riders Cycle Foundation, to promote bicycle riding. The foundation has organised a seven-day tour of Nilgiris on bicycle from December 25 this year. The tour starts from Bangalore and covers Mysore, Madikeri, Sultanbatheri and Ooty. “The foundation provides food and accommodation. We are collecting Rs 10,000 as fee from each participant. The foundation is looking for sponsors. If we get the sponsors, the fee amount will be cut down. All 35 seats have been already booked. There are many in the waiting list”, he said.