It has become the talk of the town since March, with T-town stars and Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy being present at the inauguration of the Bicyclone, bicycle tracks venture at the Necklace road. Though it was widely popular only a few have actually tried it; partly due to the location and the rest due to the timings.
Recently, I had an opportunity to get my foot on the pristine pedals of a Firefox which I could rent for just Rs 30/- for a period of almost three hours. With a friend, we rode all along the length of the Necklace road, with ease and the trip made us feel fresher and fitter. Other people around who were also on bicycles rented from the bike shed here could not say otherwise.
A bike track was established with the nod from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation and help from the Hyderabad Biking Club (HBC) under the name bicyclone. The bike shelter has over a hundred bicycles for kids and adults. Nostalgia struck my mind when I heard that renting bicycles is still possible in this concrete and motorized jungle. I paid a visit not expecting much from the shed but I couldn't have been more wrong. A well organized shed, Firefox and high end Hercules cycles lined up side by side dismissed all my negative thoughts.
To the right were a set of rules, timings and a disclaimer printed in white over green. Yes, green to signify the green-ness of the activity. A small cubicle where you have to make payments and give your contact details and an ID proof for security was right beside the board in green. Any standard ID card would be accepted, the person in the cabin said.
For a nominal price of Rs 30 per bike, we took two bikes and took a stroll along the lake. Merely walking alongside the lake on a pleasant evening is magnificent and you can only imagine how we felt biking along the roads, on such an evening. The bikes were in perfect condition, geared whether you an effortless drive or a adrenaline filled race. It had been quite a while since I rode a bike and the experience after a long time was overwhelming.
People on the road were unaware of the bike rental right beside the place they were walking. This points out at the ignorance of the people despite governments efforts to popularize and promote the novel idea in the state.
Here are further details of the bike rental. A little further after crossing Ohri's and Jal Vihar on the Necklace Road, and then the temporary carnival set up, to the left is the bike rental from GHMC. The location just cannot be missed. The timings for the biking center are from 5am to 7am in the mornings and 5pm to 8pm in the evenings.
Rent:
Morning: Kids: Rs 10/-
Adult: Rs 20/-
Add 10 rupees in case you are going for a ride in the evening. You can choose whether to take a stroll in the adjacent Sanjeevaih Park or on the roads; depending on how safe you can feel. The traffic in the evenings could prevent you from the complete freedom of biking, so we recommend that you go to the park if it is the evening.
There are different types of bicycles available for your choice. A 3x7 geared Hercules or Firefox is a great choice for all kinds of rides. You can take your partner on a Tandem Bicycle, while taking a casual stroll whilst still spending quality time and bonding with the loved ones. Fitness is a bonus.
They also offer a lifetime membership for just Rs. 100/- which is soon to become compulsory to rent the bikes. It is also our part to support such healthy ideas and help ourselves in return. The membership negates the need for a ID to be submitted at the cabin apart from a few other benefits. In short the Bicyclone is a complete package of fun and fitness which has the potential to be a popular weekend hangout.
There are plans to establish similar bicycle tracks in city are around Kasu Brahmananda Reddy Park, defence areas in Cantonment among other places. The availability of the cycles would also be increased as the demand from the visitors increases. This is probably the beginning of a tradition already popular in most developed nations where you can rent bicycles at bus and trains stations then cycle for shorted distances and deposit the cycle back at another station. Think of how green the city can be with fewer automobiles on the road and extend your support to "Bicyclone".
(AW- Anil)
