Back on... yayyy :)

After the long lapse from cycling I decided to get back on today. I was looking for this opportunity of having some time to myself and today that happened. I managed to get one of the boys to help me with filling in some air so I could ride to the nearest gas station and fill in the right amount of air. I had called Adda to check if it was ok to ride with less air and he told me to get on and go to a place where I can check the tyre pressure too. A good tip well taken.

So though I hadn't woken up early for a morning ride, seeing the pleasant weather I decided to go. The sunlight was mild and the weather slightly humid due to the lack of rain in the last few days. But there was a breeze and I got on the saddle after lunch. Surprisingly, the ride wasn't tiring even after not having ridden in a while. The nearest place was 2 kms away. When I reached the person who fills air had gone for lunch. I decided to wait and get a break as I really was in no hurry.

Not much to my surprise, I attracted a lot of attention. People in India are not used to seeing people on cycles, and even more women riding cycles. Some how in India we seem to only upgrade to more luxurious options, and something like this is treated with a lot of curiosity. While I waited, at least 3 people in the petrol bunk came to ask me what the 'problem' was. Why couldn't this girl on the cycle just go to a guy who had a pump? After all their machine is not equipped to fill air in cycle tyres !!! I quite sternly let them know that I need to see the pressure in the tyres and my cycle's nozzle will be compatible ;) Finally, the boy came back from lunch, he was told we were waiting to fill air in our vehicles :) He gave my cycle a look and then asked me how much air to fill in. I told him 70 psi and he was quite surprised. I told him to look at the indication on the tyre and it was indeed what I had told him. To lessen his seeming disagreement I told him to fill in 50. He did it willingly and assured me the tyre was 'tight' :) Finally, I had filled in air into the tyres after the fiasco... I tipped him well and then went on to some more chores and found it so much easier to park my cycle, use short routes which I cannot do with my car. It was a relief. I was worried someone may fiddle with the gears in the parking and when I came back it was true. The gears were 1-4 instead of 2-4. Fortunately, the chain was intact and I rode back. I had to tolerate and ignore several jeers from random eve-teasers who found a girl riding a cycle very entertaining. I didn't lose my temper as I was having a really nice time. These people are just going to have to get used to it!!!

On getting my cycle back home I had to lug it up to the 3rd floor myself but I am not taking any chances after having my odometer stolen! Never-the-less, I was getting restless about not being able to cycle with almost flat tyres and now feel a real 'high' from having got it done and also a short but nice ride in pleasant weather!! I plan to use my cycle for such chores in future and it will keep me cycling despite most odds and not being able to get up early ....