Anupam- The Dreamer

For some, the journey doesn’t matter, but only the destination. For some, the destination doesn’t matter, only journey does. For some, both don’t matter. And for others, the journey and destination both matter. Here, I will talk about the last category of people, as I belong to this one.

Bike riding on the road, is as joyous as the exhilaration of reaching the destination. If the destination is an unknown one, then it doubles the adventure. But, even if the destination is a known one, then also it doesn’t in any way diminish the joy of the journey! It is known only to those who enjoy the bike ride. I will list a few joys that the biker’s experience during the ride:

1. It is nothing short of a paradise experience– On a scenic long route with the tree-hugged roads and the mild wind blowing, a biker gets the first-hand experience of the best of the weather conditions. You can feel the speed of the wind, you can feel the humidity and temperature of the air. You can literally smell the air. In the rains, the petrichor (smell of the soil in the rain) is very profound. Basically, most of your senses come alive when you ride a bike- of sight, touch (by wind), smell, hear, which brings the rider closer to the experience of a paradise.
2. Biker can “feel” the route and the speed– When you ride a bike, your senses are alert and you have a better look of your surroundings than riding a car. You can literally feel the bump on the road, the potholes, the twists and turns and your wide-eye view is extensive. Ask a biker and a car driver about each and every pothole on the everyday road they drive, and see for yourself who describes the route better. Also, a biker can “feel” the speed of the vehicle just by feeling the force of the wind. The exhilaration that comes with that cannot be put into words.
3. Multiple routes are available vis-à-vis car driver– The bike can navigate narrow lanes and by-lanes, which are at time prohibited for four-wheelers. The biker can easily modify the route and take turns, which may be difficult or impossible to do by the cars. So, more routes means less hussle and faster ride.
4. Easy navigation in traffic jam– When I see cars huddled in the traffic jam, it gives a different kind of pleasure to just drive the bike through the left of the left-most lane, which is almost unusable for the cars and heavy trucks. So, while they get stuck in traffic jams, the bikers can smile and pass through easily from the narrow “gully” while waving good-bye to those stuck in jams.
5. No tolls for bikers– The toll taxes take a heavy toll on the travellers, especially when you have to cross multiple tolls daily/frequently. But, the bikers are exempt from each and every toll!!!! And that is a big big privilege, you see. While the others pay a hefty amount on the toll, sometimes thousands, the bikers ride without any extra taxes!
6. Bikers can help others– for example, the experienced bikers can push the broken bike or a cycle rickshaw with one of their leg, as you must have seen sometime. Also, they can hold the hand of a bicycle-rider and give him a push through the hilly terrain or on a long route. The four-wheelers cannot help such people, if even they want to.

This is not to say that the drivers of other form of vehicles don’t have any fun! They do have other things to enjoy. But still, they won’t be able to witness some of the joys that a biker does!

This is the first bike that I bought when I was working in TATA Steel at Jamshedpur and my 2 cents on the riding experience: