Sustainable Transport: Six months of cycling to work in Bangalore

For the last six months, I've been cycling to work in Bangalore. Every day, rain or shine, except when I was sick or had an important meeting. And the results? I've lost six kilograms, my productivity at work has shot up, and more importantly, I'm genuinely happy with what I'm doing now.

Most problems in our world are complex, what scientists call "systems problems." Think environmental change or societal behavior – incredibly hard to model. These systems can deteriorate rapidly if we don't act in time. Our Earth is one such system. We're changing it fast, burning fossil fuels at an ever-increasing rate. We drive cars because roads are bad and air is polluted. Roads are bad because of our one-tonne cars. Air is polluted because IC engines are only 20-25% efficient, spewing out dangerous pollutants. These feedback loops multiply, and we could soon reach a point of no return for Earth's environment.

A cycle, on the other hand, weighs 10-20 kg. It's incredibly efficient at moving people from point A to point B, requiring only 100-250 Watts of energy. A typical car manufacturer wouldn't even measure energy in Watts; they talk Horse Power (1 HP = 750 Watts). Beyond this power efficiency, you get all the extra benefits: improved cardiovascular health, healthy weight, better cognition, and greater fitness. It's a no-brainer that people use cars for short commutes. Cars are the wrong solution to the right problem. They're excellent for comfort and long trips, but a nightmare for commuting in a narrow-laned city like Bangalore. Our one-size-fits-all attitude won't work when we exhaust our petroleum reserves.

Cycling in the city

I've kept things simple. My commute is about 4km each way. After deciding to cycle to work, I went to a bike shop, asked for the cheapest aluminum frame bike, and rode it home. Got a bunch of lights for safety and a helmet. I experimented with the route a lot in the first month. After some exploration, I found a route safe enough, less crowded during peak times.

The initial days were a pain. Struggling to pedal, constant sweating, the heat – it all bothered me. But as time passed, those early struggles faded. I started enjoying my commute, a stark contrast to previously staring at my phone, trying to book an Uber or Ola.

I've never had a single accident on the bike, and I've clocked close to 2000 kms on the saddle. There were a handful of close calls, vehicles passing too closely, which scared me. But that can happen to anyone, even a pedestrian.

Now, I commute to work in 12-18 minutes. Before cycling, my average commute hovered around 40-60 minutes. Most of that time was spent trying to book a cab or auto, coordinating with the driver, and endlessly staring into pollution. As a child, I used to have this repeated dream of staring into open space with twinkling stars while working in a modern city. Our city never gave any hope of seeing such a beautiful night; the smoke destroyed whatever childhood innocence I had left.

One word about pollution: my commutes are fairly short. If you're planning anything over 20 minutes in Bangalore traffic, I'd suggest a pollution mask. Other than that, just keep to the left, let the cars and bikes go, and pedal on!

Beautiful Journey

I've taken my bike to places I would have never gone otherwise. I go for long weekend rides, trying to bring back that child in me. Unlike going in a car, when you're cycling, you feel everything. You feel the ups and downs of the Earth, you're very close to nature's ecosystem. You can stop anywhere, enjoy the moment, click a few pics, and embrace what nature holds for us. Like my favorite author, Ursula K. Le Guin, says, "It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end."

I've gotten to see the sunrise a few times. It always feels magnificent to know our place, our tiny little habitable planet, a nature's garden flourishing with the dance of the sun. I've seen children pedal in this menace of traffic. We have to strive to make their future better. We have to keep this world beautiful to give them a fair chance at it.

Our ancestors understood the importance of harmony with nature. No matter how flawed we think they were, they lived in better harmony than us. We tend to destroy everything we get our hands on, like teenagers who never understood the importance of the place we live in. After all, this is our only habitable planet. And I believe cycling brings back that harmony. It is one of the simple solutions to a complex "systems problem" like keeping Earth's environment intact.