Not a poor man’s ride

It is thanks to D.V. Manohar, chairman of the Hyderabad Bicycling Club (HBC), that 6,600 people are online members of the club today, making it the largest online cycling club, overtaking Denver Cycling Club, USA.

“When I took over as the chairman of HBC in August, 2011, we had less the 800 members. I realised that to promote cycling effectively, we had to create enabling infrastructure. To achieve that we have set up bike stations with state-of-the-art bicycles at Necklace Road and Gachibowli with the support of GHMC, HMR and TSIIC. We also organise various events, the latest being the Bicyclone IV, on the occasion of Earth Hour Day, in association with WWF. We are also discussing with the state government for the creation of dedicated cycling tracks,” says Manohar, currently in France.

Manohar is the only Indian delegate selected to address the closing plenary session on June 5 at the World Cycling Conference — Velo City 2015, which is being attended by over 1,300 delegates from all over the world. He will also be speaking at the special TV show session “Bicycle with pride of place in housing and public space” which will be telecast live on French TV.

Manohar admits that he himself is an example of how good this hobby is for one’s health. “The perceptions of people have to change given that the bicycle in our country is viewed as a poor man’s ride. I have just entered the sixties but I feel much younger, thanks to cycling. Diabetes was the reason for me to take to cycling five years ago. I was told by my doctor to slow down and reduce my hectic work,” says Manohar.

“But I am not someone to slow down, I believe in action. So the only solution which I could think of then was cycling and it did not prove me wrong. I am managing my diabetes pretty well and as usual have a hectic schedule,” he adds.

Manohar has also cycled from Paris to London, a grueling 518 km, in four days, an activity he has undertaken twice, in 2011 and 2013.