On a normal day when we would go out in the morning the three of us in my family - my daughter, my wife and I - would go together. This has been going on for the last 16 years or so. I would first drop my daughter at her school on the edge of Park Circus (these days our next door neighbour's daughter also comes along as she is in the same school and class with my daughter). From there I would go to Dalhousie to drop her mother at her work. Then I would come back to my office. On the days when only I would need to go out, like on a working Saturday (oddly enough, the first and last Saturdays are working for us), I would take out my motorcycle. I had often thought about cycling to work on such days but it never quite happened.
Now, to unknowingly help the cause of my cycling, I ended up selling my motorcycle just before the lockdown because A. I got a decent price B. The guy who offered to buy it really pestered me C. I was wanting to sell it for quite some time, given it had certain inherent problems D. The BS VI norms for pollution control were going to be introduced in India when these pre-BS VI models would soon lose their value in the resale market.
Before I could buy a new motorcycle for local commute lockdown was clamped on India. After it was lifted for limited travel to office I grabbed the opportunity to go out of the house. I drove to work on the first day. The roads weren't really empty but traffic was really low. Next day I decided to cycle to work and see what happens.
So off I went.
Why Did I Choose To Cycle To Work
If you are not an Indian you need to know this. Indians don't like cycling to work. Those who do, do it under economic compulsion. They are mostly daily wage earners, peons and other lowly paid staff or self employed people to whom even a public transport is unaffordable, given the poor salary or income they get. They do not do it because they enjoy doing it. They all aspire to graduate at least to a motorcycle if not a car. It is almost unimaginable here in India that someone who has a car and can drive as well as afford the fuel should cycle to work. We have colleagues who drive 2 km from their home to office.
Now, why did I choose to cycle to work? First, the distance from my house to the office is a short 3.5 km of straight road. It takes me just 15 minutes to reach work on a cycle. Second, I find it ridiculous to drive this distance alone. Third, the clean air of Calcutta that we got during the lockdown forced me to rethink the decision to drive for these short distances and contribute to the pollution. Fourth, I found the peons were coming to work from far off distances on cycles because public transport is neither available nor is it safe for them. There are guys who are cycling for two hours each way to and from work. So in order to show my solidarity with them I decided to also pedal to work. Fifth, to be honest I wanted to do something different. Set an example or inspire someone? Absolutely not. I just love being different.
My Learnings So Far
The heat and sweat, exposure to direct pollution of smoke and dust and terribly undisciplined, uncouth and dangerous fellow drivers and pedestrians - these are the main impediments to cycling during office hours in Calcutta. I have so far not been stopped by rain. I have been extremely lucky that way. I do have a rain coat in my Ortlieb bag. But it cannot be used in heavy rain. Because when rain water falls on my glasses I cannot see anything. In a light drizzle I can use it. It's there in the bag because I have it.
The fear of heavy traffic is somewhat removed once you cycle for a few days in traffic. But the risk is always there. A veteran cyclist like Sanjay Daga has been knocked down on the by-pass and is right now recovering from the injury. I do not know the details of the accident like how it happened but Mr Daga, considerably older than me, cycles more than 50 km every single day including commute to work.
The sweat is really unmanageable when I come back home because I take long detours to come home. On the way up to the office I take the straight route and do not sweat so much. Sweating is also a function of fitness. The more fit you are the less you sweat, relatively speaking. Cyclists don't sweat so much while actually riding. Our sweating starts when the ride ends. I find a wet chin strap of the helmet most uncomfortable thing in the world. My palms also sweat and often it becomes difficult to grip the brake lever. But I manage.
July 6, 2020
Today I chose to come home via Race Course. I went straight towards Planetarium and turned towards Victoria. From there I headed towards the main gate of Fort William and on to the Red Road. There I turned towards Eden Gardens and then towards Prinsep Ghat. I kept pedalling further on and after crossing the small hump of a bridge, which is part of the noodle like road network on this side of the second Hooghly bridge, I went past the race course main gate towards DL Khan Road.
The road after crossing the bridge can be dangerous because it merges with another road that is coming from the second bridge. This road is on your left hand side. So you have to cross this to remain on the extreme left lane. I had to stop here for quite some time to let the traffic pass. Traffic, I must say, was rather heavy in this section past the Police Training School. From DL Khan Road I turned right towards Bhavani Bhavan and on to Gopal Nagar. Turned left and then came home via Kali temple and the Keoratala burning ghat. The total distance was a very satisfying 12 kms.
Tyre Pressure
I knew the basic fundamental of tyre pressure. That it made the bike roll faster but made the ride more rough if it was on the higher side and slower but more comfortable when on the lower side. In certain situations like wet roads or sandy roads lower pressure is better as it offers more grip.
But I did not know the exact limit. It is not written down anywhere for novices. I used to pump it up to 60 and 50 or sometimes 60 and 40 etc. Then I recently read the booklet by the owner of Thorn Cycles of the UK (if you have not I suggest you immediately download it and read it up). There he has given a chart for recommended bike tyre pressure for every possible tyre width.
I checked my tyre pressure after a long time. I knew it was on the lower side because the bike wasn't rolling fast enough but being the eternal procrastinator I didn't correct it. Finally on Sunday night I did it. Actually I finished three jobs in one. A. I used the Lezyne pump that Guria had brought for me. I had not used it in a long long time and mechanical things tend to malfunction if you do not use them once in a while. Why mechanical? Even shoes behave differently if you do not wear them every now and then. B. I wanted to keep the pump properly rolled up in a soft plastic wrapper. Because it was lying in the pannier just like that and could pick up some scratches.
So off I went. According to the Thorn Touring Bike Bible, the recommended pressure for my 1.75 tyre is 50 and 45 psi. I found my tyres had 30 psi pressure in both. No wonder it was sluggish but very comfortable. After the change the difference was immediately noticeable. It rolls like a dream. Since I am on the lighter side and the Calcutta roads are a little on the rougher side, I think for load less city riding I will keep it at 45/40 and see how it improves comfort. Of course the Schwalbe Marathon Plus touring tyres also help in keeping the comfort level very high. Touch wood, the bike now rolls like a dream.
My Cycling Gear
I have a robust carrier (these days everyone calls it a pannier rack) from Tubus where I load an Ortlieb pannier (I would rather call it just a water proof bag). It's a very convenient bag to load and unload. It clips on the carrier's tube and you can unhook it only if you pull it by the designated handle.
This bag contains everything I carry. Apart from my office lunch bag, reading glasses and charger, I have in the bag my multi-tool, tyre levers and other puncture repair paraphernalia, a chain link, my portable touring pump and a spare tube. If I get a flat, realistically speaking, I do not see myself sitting down by the road side to fix it unless I was caught very far from home that would take more than an hour to walk. I would prefer to walk it back home or hail a cab. I am not so enamoured by the idea of doing the work in the heat and dust of a busy Calcutta road but by the prospect of the spectacle that I would make to the casual onlookers and Calcutta is full of them. I can well imagine a motley crowd would soon gather around me and some of them will most definitely have some advice for me. I might soon get into a fist fight. I just cannot take unsolicited advice.
I have fixed a flat on the road only once. That was early in the morning and in front of the All India Radio on a small traffic island where there was not a single visiting soul around. Also I am not sure how long it will take for me to unseat and reseat the 1.75 inch tyre if I was doing it on the road in full view of a curious crowd.
Master Link of My Chain
9th July - Today I discovered the master link of my chain :-) I had looked for it a few times in the past while lubing the chain and couldn't find it. I thought it didn't have it as new bikes often don't come with such master links. I should have known that this bike was hand fitted at Happy Earth and not in a factory. It does have a master link after all. Today I found it. It will be now easier for me to lube up the chain properly. I would start from that point and end there.
Today I also fixed the iron stand that I have. It had to be finally widened to hold the bike properly.
The Garmin Edge 130 acted a little weird in the morning. That got fixed on its own by evening though. In the morning it did not sync my ride. In the evening it did for the evening ride but the old unsynced ride still didn't sync through the phone. Connected through the cable to the computer. Things took care of themselves. Apparently Nishant's isn't syncing for a few days now.
No More Pressure Meds (16th July 2020) - Last 4th July I had a sudden drop in my blood pressure. I was feeling very weak and dizzy. Checked the pressure. It was 90/60 or something like that. My normal is 120/80. Binayak told me to stop the Asomex 5 for a few days, which I did from that night onward. But I kept monitoring the pressure every day. I found it did not cross 110 (+/-5) and 70 (+/-3). Last night, after being off Asomex for 12 days I sent a message to Binayak informing him about the pressure range. He asked me not to take Asomex any more. I had thought he would make it 2.5 but no. He made it zero.
Is it because of my daily cycling? I think it is a combination of factors and the ground was building up for some time. My diabetic control has much to do with it. In fact last time when I saw him, Binayak had said next time he would reduce the pressure medicine. That next time never happened for a long time and then the lockdown started.
I think the daily cycling bit helped the cause but that may not be the only reason. My diabetic control has also been reasonably acceptable since I switched over to Jardiance from insulin. That might have played a role. End of the day, my hypertension is entirely linked to my diabetes.
I am happy for my kidneys though. Very proud of my achievement because my nephrologist told me that my only treatment to keep the kidneys in good shape is to control the blood pressure. It is a great relief to know that it is not only under control but as of now I do not even need a medicine for it.
July 21, 2020
Last Sunday, that is day before yesterday I had gone to Salt Lake Bike Studio to buy the Lizard Skins bar tape and the back light. I started at 11 am. Although the sun wasn't quite strong due to a light cloud cover it wasn't quite dark. After about an hour I started feeling a bit weak. Finished half a bottle of Electral and kept pushing pedals. Finally when I somehow managed to reach home it was 2:40. Therefore I cycled for more than 3 and a half hours. I was in the shop for about ten minutes and had an ice cream for another ten minutes or so.
I was feeling extremely tired and weak. I knew my pressure was really low. I finished the full two bottles of water - one had electral in it. I had an ice cream. Yet I was feeling too weak to pedal. Of course the cross wind and the strong sun on the EM Bypass didn't help matters. At one point I even took off my helmet, as its strap was thoroughly wet.
When I reached home, after two glasses of lime water with salt and a bottle of water, I took my pressure. It was 70/50. I couldn't believe it. I took it again. It was 73/51. I was feeling very very dizzy. When I got up from the sofa I almost blacked out.
Slept after a shower and full lunch. Felt much better after that. Pressure also rose up. But I was pretty alarmed. Finally I went to AMRI today, after Monday's complete rest, to get my blood tests done. HbA1C, CBC, creatinine were Binayak's suggestion. Suranjan added sodium, potassium and cortisol tests (which has to be done in an empty stomach).
The results came in later in the evening. Creatinine is on the higher side of normal range. 1.06. In 2018 it was 1.02. I think the limit is 1.9. But the most satisfying result was of HbA1C which is 6.1. This is my best in 12 years, despite all the rice I am eating twice every day. The previous one last September was 7.4, which is quite high.
I didn't cycle yesterday and today. So the Sunday 40 km got averaged out to 13 km over three days :-). I think I need to double my water intake on my long cycling days from the current 3 litres to 6 litres. Because Jardiance works like a diuretic of sorts.
Sunday, 26th July
Today I had gone to fetch my Merida from Ritabrata's Stay Tuned in Chetla. I had given it to him for a possible sale to someone who wanted Ritabrata to check and vet it. That sale didn't happen. So went to get it back. In fact while riding it the other day I felt like not selling it, as it rode like a dream. All it needed, I thought, was a proper pair of tyres. The ones that I had were too thin and meant for races. Some Maxxis model that came as OE. Good that the sale didn't happen. I have decided to keep it. But that is not the point.
The point is, while riding the bike back I realised what a fantastic saddle the Brooks is. The Red Roadie has a Merida OE saddle which I always thought was quite comfortable. But today I realised Brooks has spoilt me. I was missing that subtle flex for which I love the Brooks.
I will probably replace the Merida saddle with the ProBiker one that is lying idle and give the Merida away to a student or something. Meanwhile time for the new tyres - Continental Gator Skin. I will ride it on Sundays for long fast rides. I might attempt a brevet also with it. Let me see.
Garmin Outage
Garmin's Connect software meanwhile has stopped working. For a few days now. The company is saying nothing except that they are going through an outage that has affected all their software and even the call center. The rumour is that they are the latest high profile victim of some ransomeware.
This didn't stop me from going out this morning for a 26 km ride with the Edge 130 on. There is no problem with the individual units recording the activities but when it comes to uploading that data or even looking at old activities on the internet one is blocked. I am hoping things will come back to normal soon.
Some people seem devastated :-) I can wait to upload my data after at least 100 hours of activities, as that is the memory limit of my unit.
After A Long Time (10th September, 2020)
I haven't written in a long time. Nothing exciting happened actually in my daily commute routine. I go to work cycling on most days. I come back home. Monisha goes to work once a week or so. Those days I have to take the car out. Very reluctantly so.
I have not been able to cycle this week (today is Thursday) because the lift had gone out of order. Going downstairs with the cycle is not such a big problem but coming back tired and sweating I don't want to pull the bike up.
Meanwhile, one weekend I went for a 56 km ride to the airport on my red Merida shod with the new Gatorskins. Went via VIP and came back via New Town. Total of 56 Km. That has nothing to do with the coming 17th September when I turn 56. It was my fastest 40 Km, declared Garmin. I am glad. Yes, I did push the pedal hard but more importantly I stopped every 15 Km or so and drank some Electral. Pushed again. I think the regular Electral intake did me a world of good. There was also a young lad who rode with me on VIP. He was pushing very hard and to keep pace with him I also rode faster than my usual pace. In fact my fastest 5K happened during this phase :-) When I ride alone I do not push that hard. This is the beauty of pace making. You end up running or cycling faster.
The airport trip
Tomorrow is Saturday. I wish to go for another airport ride. Let me see if I can wake up. I installed the Garmin speed and cadence sensor on the Merida last night. Pointless keeping them on the Surly.
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