My PASSION turned into OBSESSION -- SANAT RATH
Quoting Ernest Hemingway “ It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best”
Moving amidst nature, with the cool breeze hitting my legs, as I pedal through the roads unseen… nothing provides me more eternal pleasure. The landscape, terrain and the alluring altitude, in addition to the lush green forage, provides a perfect heavenly experience. I have been passionate about cycling since my schooldays. It has been 20 years from then, the hunger for cycling in me has increased manifold. The memory of my first love, Hercules MTB single speed bike, gifted by my father, is still fresh. Initially, it was just a mere hobby but with passing days, perhaps I became addicted to cycling. Travelling from one city to other, covering a distance of 50 kms, is my fond memories of high school days. Cycling not only keeps me healthy and fit, the greatest advantage being my constant weight since 18 years, but also rejuvenates my mind and body.
Lately, in 2016, I was introduced to the Randoneurring events by my fellow cyclist. The term Randonneuring refers to long distance cycling which comprises of 200 kms, 300 kms, 400 kms and 600 kms in 13.5 hrs, 20 hrs, 27 hrs and 40 hrs respectively. I can never forget my first 200 Brevet to Nandi Hills, Bangalore at an elevation of 4851 m above sea level. My joy knew no bounds when I accomplished it in 13 hrs. This instilled confidence in me and I was more focused on long distance cycling. I have been evolving after each ride, learning the technique and strategies along with increased stamina. The ecstasy of cycling during these events and the pleasure after its fruition--- a feeling which can be understood only by a cyclist.
Apart from cycling, I have a wild passion of collection of rare bikes which includes road bike, fat bike, tandem, folding bike, penny farthing, unicycle, chopper and a recumbent trike. This started off with owning a fat bike and a tandem and then before I realised, it had turned into an obsession and I wanted to ride any unique bike I came across. To me, its like when I see a unique bike, I buy it and then tame it to go for long rides. There was no one to guide me or teach me riding all the different kind of bikes, it was all my dedication and interest and sometimes googling through internets. I learnt each bike requires its unique set of skills and has its own advantages and disadvantages and each one teaches me something. To add to my passion, was my wife's eagerness to embrace my craziness and my family (my bikes), and the family only flourished....To summarise, it was my bike frenzy attitude which attracted my wife towards me and she too fell in love with my small and cute family and here we are happily settled aiming for the stars !!
It was in Jan 2016, I went to a bike shop to buy a bike for daily commute to work, when a fat bike caught my attention. I went for a test ride and not realising the time, I was so much engrossed came back to the shop after 30 mins when my friend called me. My mind was all set, I have to own this !! This was my first bike, a LA Soveriegn fat bike with 1X7 gears and 4" tire. Of course I upgraded to a FANTOM fat bike with 3X7 gears around July 2018. I was just in love with the bike and used to go for century rides (highest being 140 kms), and would get comments like whoa!! what a beast is this?? How do you manage to ride this?? Kids go frenzy and even the cyclists go gaga over it!! I realised that this the best bike for endurance rides, developing core and stamina and weight loss. Coming to this, I would like to give a briefing about fat bike. While the exact origin of fat bikes is disputed, they first came to public attention in Alaska in the 1980s when long distance bike racers used homemade prototypes to take the 1600 km Iditarod trail. Since then a variety of designs were developed all over the world, and the mid 2000s saw the emergence of commercially produced fat bikes, bringing the sport to the main stream. Unlike common mountain bikes, fat bikes lovingly called fatties can be ridden on the snowiest paths, softest meadows and slippery forest trails. Thanks to the large rims extra fat tires (4"- 5") these bikes can conquer every rugged terrain and allow cyclists to keep their balance at all times as the tires extra width allows the rider to float more easily over unstable terrain. Due to the weight of the bike, uphill requires a lot of effort but that compensates with the high speed rolling during downhills.
The second one on my list is a actually a beauty, while the first one was a beast. Now I can say I am a proud owner of both BEAUTY and the BEAST. An Avon single speed tandem, which again captivated my attention due to its uniqueness, fell into my collection on March 2016, which was upgraded to a FANTOM tandem with 3X6 gears after my marriage with a purpose of doing brevets. This was the most under used bike before my marriage, for I needed a partner to ride it. Seeing Meera and Rafi doing Nandi 200 on a brevet (my first brevet), I had always dreamt of doing a brevet on tandem, which came true when we (me and my wife) accomplished a 200 km Brevet on tandem on Nov 5th 2018. Whenever we are on a ride on tandem, people stop around, even the motor cyclist, auto walas, bus conductors, traffic police give an intense gaze, as if asking to themselves " WTH is this ??" Raising thumbs up, anxious looks from kids, appreciative waves, queries all these are common for tandem bikers. There seems to be something rather endearing about the look of a tandem and people are intrigued. Whenever we came across the question " What its like to ride a bicycle built for two?", we exchange knowing looks and provide an oversimplified answer "It's fun". But, in reality its way beyond that, is what we keep on realising on each and every long ride on the tandem. Tandem riding has its own unique challenges. The huge weight of the bicycle as well as the cumulative weight of the riders, in addition to its length, requires perfect coordination to balance and ride it smoothly. Stops, turns, deceleration, everything needs to be done in sync. The stoker (person at the rear) has to trust the person captaining the bike, and the captain has to rely on the stoker who maintains a steady position and is responsive to choices the captain makes. Learning the skills of riding this bike which demands a lot of synchronisation and communication between both the riders, in a way also helped in knowing each other better. Riding a tandem is like marriage, communication being the key to success. Ask for help when needed, and pedal extra hard for your spouse when they feel like they just can't go any further, and together we can sail the sea of life smoothly.
FANTOM TANDEM
The third addition to my fleet is a roadie. Road bikes are meant for endurance rides for they have smooth narrow tires with high pressure (> 100 psi) favouring lower rolling resistance. The dropped handle bars allow the rider position to be leaned forward and downward, thereby reducing the air resistance. This bike is used for brevets. My initial road bike was a suncross, bought in Oct 2016, which I owned it for doing brevet and I did my first Nandi brevet on this. Then I upgraded to a Btwin road bike and completed my 300 brevet, but still was not satisfied with the performance when it came to taking up long rides. Finally, me search ended, thanks to CYCLOP, and I found my giant SCR 2 roadie on June 2017. This is a light weight aluminium frame of almost 9 kg with 2X8 gear combination.
GIANT SCR 2 ROADIE
The fourth one to grace my club is a fat tyre Unicycle. Like most folks, I had seen a lot of people riding unicycles- circus performers and jugglers but I never had a chance of riding it until my wife gifted me this beauty when she visited India for engagement around Aug 2017. Its a single wheel bike and I still need to master the art of riding it, though I am able to ride it with the support of walls on one side. Unicycling is not a hobby for those seeking instant gratification. Achievements occur at the nano level, so one needs to be able to discern tiny, incremental improvements- then celebrate them with all your might. To learn to unicycle two things are required; desire, persistence. For an average person it requires 5 to 10 hours of practice to be able to balance on a unicycle for more than one pedal revolution looking like an idiot during most of that time, so only the most determined souls stick with it. I love riding it for it offers a great physical challenge and a complete mental focus. When you're unicycling, you're unicycling, thats it and I love that. I am always open to challenges and unicycling has been a fun diversion.
Fifth in the line is Penny Farthing owned again in Aug 2017. Penny Farthing is actually the fore father of the modern day bicycle with a bigger front wheel and a smaller rear wheel. Someday, I stumbled over a photo of this rare bike on internet, which was displayed on a shop in Kerela and instantly it was added to my next bucket list. Finally I caught a glimpse of the Penny Farthing at a shop in Bhubaneswar, my home town. Apparently, the shop owner had kept it as his personal collection but I managed to convince him and get it delivered to Bangalore. Penny farthings date from the early days of bicycling and reached their peak of popularity in the 1880s. They were called penny-farthing because they reminded people of two British coins, the penny and the farthing. The initial days penny farthing had a much larger front wheel which required the rider to board on the seat via the rear step, but subsequently it got modified with relatively smaller wheels. When starting the ride, you need to keep your pedals at 3 O'clock position and then start the pedalling which provides a balance to the bike. You cannot really stand up on the pedals, so all activity is done seated, and of course the pedals are fixed, so no stopping even on downhills. Steering is unusual, because the bars move as you pedal, and when cornering sharply the wheel can, indeed does, graze your inner thigh, so care needs to be taken that nothing gets in the way. There are no effective brakes; the brakes on the rear wheel are largely ineffective and brakes on the front wheel can send you over the bars. There are no gears and the riding position is such that all your weight is above the front axle, hence it puts a constraint that rider with more than 60 kg can't ride it. It is however very stable at low speed, and oddly enough, a bit scary at high speed. Overwhelmingly, my riding experiences have been positive and I have managed to ride it for 50 kms at a stretch in the busy traffic of Bangalore. I have fun and the bike seems to make everyone else around magically happy. People wave, shout out, smile, ask endless questions and are generally fascinated. It's not uncommon to be passed by a car with someone leaning out of the window taking photos on their phone. The term "header" was coined by Penny riders, because so many landed on their head, to the grave detriment of health. Having said that while it looks intimidating, I would suggest Pennys are "different" rather than "harder" to ride, so if you are a keen cyclist and do get the opportunity to try one, don't hesitate to climb aboard.
PENNY FARTHING
I was extremely honoured to own my sixth member, which is a customised recumbent tricycle (human powered three wheel bicycle). Recumbent tadpole or reverse trike is a recumbent design with two steered wheels at the front and one driven wheel at the back. Steering is done through the handle bars linked to the front wheels axle. With its low centre of gravity, aerodynamic layout its extremely stable. Disadvantages however include greater weight and width which poses a challenge of riding it in heavy traffic. But, the elderly people find it extremely ease to ride it, hence can be used an effective mode of commute for them. My you tube videos on trike caught the attention of few students from an engineering college in Bengaluru who were planning to build a recumbent trike as a part of their project. I am involved in the guidance of their project.
CHOPPER
The last but definitely not the least (and perhaps even not the final one) one was added to our small family when I gifted a Dahon folding bike (with 1X7 gears, 9 kg weight) on my wife's birthday on June 2018. Foldies are designed to fold into a compact form, facilitating transport and usage. In 1941, during the World War II, the British War Office called for a machine that weighed less than 10 kg and could withstand being dropped by parachute. In response BSA developed a folding bike. Due to 20" wheel size, these forgo the performance and easy ride benefits of their larger counterparts, acquiring characteristics similar to those of an adult folding kick scooter. Folding bikes generally come with a wider range of adjustments for accommodating various riders than do conventional bikes, as folding bike frames are usually only made in one size. However, seatposts and handlebar stems on folders extend as much as four times higher than conventional bikes, nevertheless, the distances among the centre of bottom bracket, the top of the saddle, and the handlebars are similar to conventional bikes. The advantages of the foldies lies in its smaller wheels which provide potential for more speed, quicker acceleration, greater maneuverability and easier storage. But the contradictory side to it is it is extremely unstable at rugged terrain and requires more skill to balance it. Even during downhills, it requires constant pedalling to thrust it forward. Owing to the challenge and advantage it offers, it has always appealed me and I have been doing century rides on this cutee pie off lately.
FOLDIE
All the above collection sums up to my Limca book of records "Largest collection of unique cycles". But my treasure hunt did not stop with the record and I have beaten my own record by owning 10 cycles now. The 2 other cycles added to the list are hybrid and fat tandem bike.
FANTOM FAT BIKE
The second one on my list is a actually a beauty, while the first one was a beast. Now I can say I am a proud owner of both BEAUTY and the BEAST. An Avon single speed tandem, which again captivated my attention due to its uniqueness, fell into my collection on March 2016, which was upgraded to a FANTOM tandem with 3X6 gears after my marriage with a purpose of doing brevets. This was the most under used bike before my marriage, for I needed a partner to ride it. Seeing Meera and Rafi doing Nandi 200 on a brevet (my first brevet), I had always dreamt of doing a brevet on tandem, which came true when we (me and my wife) accomplished a 200 km Brevet on tandem on Nov 5th 2018. Whenever we are on a ride on tandem, people stop around, even the motor cyclist, auto walas, bus conductors, traffic police give an intense gaze, as if asking to themselves " WTH is this ??" Raising thumbs up, anxious looks from kids, appreciative waves, queries all these are common for tandem bikers. There seems to be something rather endearing about the look of a tandem and people are intrigued. Whenever we came across the question " What its like to ride a bicycle built for two?", we exchange knowing looks and provide an oversimplified answer "It's fun". But, in reality its way beyond that, is what we keep on realising on each and every long ride on the tandem. Tandem riding has its own unique challenges. The huge weight of the bicycle as well as the cumulative weight of the riders, in addition to its length, requires perfect coordination to balance and ride it smoothly. Stops, turns, deceleration, everything needs to be done in sync. The stoker (person at the rear) has to trust the person captaining the bike, and the captain has to rely on the stoker who maintains a steady position and is responsive to choices the captain makes. Learning the skills of riding this bike which demands a lot of synchronisation and communication between both the riders, in a way also helped in knowing each other better. Riding a tandem is like marriage, communication being the key to success. Ask for help when needed, and pedal extra hard for your spouse when they feel like they just can't go any further, and together we can sail the sea of life smoothly.
The third addition to my fleet is a roadie. Road bikes are meant for endurance rides for they have smooth narrow tires with high pressure (> 100 psi) favouring lower rolling resistance. The dropped handle bars allow the rider position to be leaned forward and downward, thereby reducing the air resistance. This bike is used for brevets. My initial road bike was a suncross, bought in Oct 2016, which I owned it for doing brevet and I did my first Nandi brevet on this. Then I upgraded to a Btwin road bike and completed my 300 brevet, but still was not satisfied with the performance when it came to taking up long rides. Finally, me search ended, thanks to CYCLOP, and I found my giant SCR 2 roadie on June 2017. This is a light weight aluminium frame of almost 9 kg with 2X8 gear combination.
The fourth one to grace my club is a fat tyre Unicycle. Like most folks, I had seen a lot of people riding unicycles- circus performers and jugglers but I never had a chance of riding it until my wife gifted me this beauty when she visited India for engagement around Aug 2017. Its a single wheel bike and I still need to master the art of riding it, though I am able to ride it with the support of walls on one side. Unicycling is not a hobby for those seeking instant gratification. Achievements occur at the nano level, so one needs to be able to discern tiny, incremental improvements- then celebrate them with all your might. To learn to unicycle two things are required; desire, persistence. For an average person it requires 5 to 10 hours of practice to be able to balance on a unicycle for more than one pedal revolution looking like an idiot during most of that time, so only the most determined souls stick with it. I love riding it for it offers a great physical challenge and a complete mental focus. When you're unicycling, you're unicycling, thats it and I love that. I am always open to challenges and unicycling has been a fun diversion.
UNICYCLE
Fifth in the line is Penny Farthing owned again in Aug 2017. Penny Farthing is actually the fore father of the modern day bicycle with a bigger front wheel and a smaller rear wheel. Someday, I stumbled over a photo of this rare bike on internet, which was displayed on a shop in Kerela and instantly it was added to my next bucket list. Finally I caught a glimpse of the Penny Farthing at a shop in Bhubaneswar, my home town. Apparently, the shop owner had kept it as his personal collection but I managed to convince him and get it delivered to Bangalore. Penny farthings date from the early days of bicycling and reached their peak of popularity in the 1880s. They were called penny-farthing because they reminded people of two British coins, the penny and the farthing. The initial days penny farthing had a much larger front wheel which required the rider to board on the seat via the rear step, but subsequently it got modified with relatively smaller wheels. When starting the ride, you need to keep your pedals at 3 O'clock position and then start the pedalling which provides a balance to the bike. You cannot really stand up on the pedals, so all activity is done seated, and of course the pedals are fixed, so no stopping even on downhills. Steering is unusual, because the bars move as you pedal, and when cornering sharply the wheel can, indeed does, graze your inner thigh, so care needs to be taken that nothing gets in the way. There are no effective brakes; the brakes on the rear wheel are largely ineffective and brakes on the front wheel can send you over the bars. There are no gears and the riding position is such that all your weight is above the front axle, hence it puts a constraint that rider with more than 60 kg can't ride it. It is however very stable at low speed, and oddly enough, a bit scary at high speed. Overwhelmingly, my riding experiences have been positive and I have managed to ride it for 50 kms at a stretch in the busy traffic of Bangalore. I have fun and the bike seems to make everyone else around magically happy. People wave, shout out, smile, ask endless questions and are generally fascinated. It's not uncommon to be passed by a car with someone leaning out of the window taking photos on their phone. The term "header" was coined by Penny riders, because so many landed on their head, to the grave detriment of health. Having said that while it looks intimidating, I would suggest Pennys are "different" rather than "harder" to ride, so if you are a keen cyclist and do get the opportunity to try one, don't hesitate to climb aboard.
I was extremely honoured to own my sixth member, which is a customised recumbent tricycle (human powered three wheel bicycle). Recumbent tadpole or reverse trike is a recumbent design with two steered wheels at the front and one driven wheel at the back. Steering is done through the handle bars linked to the front wheels axle. With its low centre of gravity, aerodynamic layout its extremely stable. Disadvantages however include greater weight and width which poses a challenge of riding it in heavy traffic. But, the elderly people find it extremely ease to ride it, hence can be used an effective mode of commute for them. My you tube videos on trike caught the attention of few students from an engineering college in Bengaluru who were planning to build a recumbent trike as a part of their project. I am involved in the guidance of their project.
RECUMBENT TRIKE
Seventh one on the list is a single speed chopper, bought in June 2018, from a person who had imported the beauty from Qatar. The bike features a thin front tyre and a wider tyre at the rear, long padded high-back seat and high rise handle bars. Even the kickstand is designed to give the stationary bicycle a lean reminiscent of a parked motorcycle. The unusual frame similar to a motor bike appeals to the masses and would be a fun to ride it. Presently, the bike seat requires some customisation before I can ride this cool bike but I am waiting for the day, when I can flaunt this piece on the roads creating envy amongst the youth.
All the above collection sums up to my Limca book of records "Largest collection of unique cycles". But my treasure hunt did not stop with the record and I have beaten my own record by owning 10 cycles now. The 2 other cycles added to the list are hybrid and fat tandem bike.
The recently owned Giant Enlight hybrid bike is a perfect city commute bike which provide stability and comfort on a wide range of terrain and conditions within the city. Though this is a very popular kind of bike, I owned it for regular commute and training within city. The last one added (as of now) to the list is a monstrous fat tandem bike, a deadly combination of fat tires and tandem bike. And man, I must say, it has become my recent addiction and we have been training on this bike in recent times.
Hybrid bike
Happy "US" on a fat tandem bike
Growing up, I came to know the advantage of cycling as an ecofriendly mode of communication and the urge in me to commute to work by cycle became stronger. I felt this as my small contribution towards reduction of pollution. I feel so elated when CRPF personnel, kids, couples and pedestrians give a crazy look seeing my not-so-everyday cycles. Leaving all their work, eyes gazed on my cycles, some even gather around me to collect info about these unique bikes. This gives me a sense of pride and satisfaction… of having achieved something in life and motivating others to use bike as an ecofriendly mode of transport.
There are so many different types of riding, so many exotic places to ride, and a lot of people to meet in doing so. The basic mantra is to start off slow, get some basic tips from other folk riders and enjoy the activity. Leaving the daily stress behind and just going out for an enjoyable ride is one of the best balances in life—and believe me its truly contagious.
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