The ride to work!

I am off to office on my two-wheeler! Traffic is sparse, so it is easy to ride. Suddenly, right in the middle of the road, I find a Men At Work sign. The road’s been freshly dug up! Damn – there was no work happening last night. That’s one good (And bad ) thing about our civic bodies – they take up road digging very seriously. Whether it is road widening, or cable laying, or laying pipelines, or laying out sewage lines. Infact , at one point, 2 departments starting digging from opposite sides – one for a water line, the other for a sewage line! They finally met in the middle, and I wonder which line went through. In Bangalore, it is better that way – we have the same dept. for both water supply and sewage. So, it is the same set of people digging up either.
Anyway, there I was at a newly dug crater and wondering where the blazes it came from. My office was only a km away on the other side, and taking a diversion would have meant 5 extra kilometers. So, I did the best thing possible – got off, lifted my two wheeler and carried it across. Lifted it across you wonder – why yes, looks like I forgot to mention that at the start. I ride a bicycle to office  . No no – I have not suddenly become health conscious, or become a member of the green brigand.. sorry . brigade or anything of that sort. It is just that a combination of factors has contributed to the decision. Firstly, there was this newspaper headline
“Mukesh Ambani: Crude oil price to rise above $100 a barrel”
Well, I am sure the senior Ambani knows a thing or two about price of petrol. Hell, he has the wealth to make petrol prices rise to $100 a barrel I am sure. So, if he says it,I better believe it! Anyway, that headline made me realize that petrol or diesel in any 2,3 or 4 wheeler would be simply unaffordable.
Secondly, there are the (bad) roads! You can lift a cycle across any diversion – try doing that with even a Nano! Thirdly there is the health angle – wait a minute.. what health angle? When I ride this cycle, I am afraid of being run over by bikes (yeah I don’t even think of buses – the damn BIG10 buses in Bangalore are like T. Rex dinosaurs. The drivers will run over a cycle and think they hit a speed bump!). That keeps my nerves on the edge – and is sure to give me hypertension. The smoke is enough to choke anyone – I guess, I get more coal tar than a chain smoker!
But hey – yes, it is damn exciting. So folks, if you want excitement in your lives, cycle away to work. Maybe we will have a Tour de France winner from India soon!