My hectic MBA schedule for the past four months had made life really monotonous with lectures, assignments, presentations and assignments taking a toll on me. To beat the monotony and set my adrenaline pumping again, I and friend from college – Chirag – were planning an adventurous activity for quite some time. Inspired by the ‘Bombay Bikers Club’, we decided to go on a cycle trip. It had been ages since the both of us had cycled. But the idea was intriguing and got us riveted.
So after a week of planning, we decided to go for this adventure trip on Sunday (4 May 2008). Chirag arranged for a couple of cycles on Saturday evening. We were a bit apprehensive to go ahead with the plan as we hadn’t planned well enough – no spare tyres, no practise, nothing. But as I mentioned, we were riveted to the idea and were determined to set our adrenaline pumping again.
At around 4.15 AM, I reached Chirags’ house at Wadala and we started our journey fifteen minutes later – 4.30 AM. We decided to take the Central Mumbai route i.e. Wadala - Dadar - Parel - Chinchpokli - Byculla - Mohammad Ali Road - VT - Fountain - Churchgate – Nariman Point. The pleasant climate early in the morning and our enthusiasm helped us reach Flora Fountain (now Hutatma Chowk) in exactly 45 minutes. We halted here for some time for a sip of water and off-course some photographs!! After that we headed towards Churchgate station where we had some tea and bun-maska.
We then headed towards Nariman Point and were there at around 5.30 AM. Both of us cheered and admired the beauty of the city at dawn. We sat on the promenade for around half an hour, discussing our trip and places in Mumbai that we need to explore. As time passed, a number of joggers and other fitness enthusiasts arrived and guess who was one of them – Anil Ambani!!
We decided to head back home and took the Western Route this time - Point - Marine Drive - Peddar Road - Haji Ali - Worli - Prabhadevi - Shivaji Park – Wadala – However, the long break at the sea face made us realize that our hamstrings were sore. Moreover, this route had a long stretch of an incline, making it really difficult to pedal. So we walked for around a kilometre and then resumed cycling. We were tired but were also determined to complete the journey. Though it took longer to reach back, WE DID IT!!
The experience completely revitalized us and we already have a couple of more cycling adventures in mind. So we are looking for better cycles and even more people to join us on our future trips. The experience has added a new hobby to my list – CYCLING!!
