Mere mention of the word cycle evokes memories of my childhood

My first bicycle was in the late 50s

 

One fine morning me and my brother decided to go out for a ride in our newly acquired machines

We rode to Ghanta Ghar about one and a half kilometre from our house

The tram used to come to Ghanta Ghar ,Sabzi Mandi  and culminated there

I was still learning how to ride the cycle

I saw the Tram tracks and decided to ride the cycle inbetween these tracks

Lo and behold ,the next thing I knew I was on the ground with the cycle all over me and a burst tyre

So much for the first experience

In the early 60s I was given a bicycyle yet again to go to school

St.Xaviers our school was  on Raj Niwas Marg and we used to cycle there  and back every morning and afternoon. It was approximately a 30 minute ride and we had to maneuvar  a hilly patch called BOUNTA near the Delhi University.While going up was tough,coming downhill was always fun and enjoyable

Initially we would get off the cycle at the base of the hill and walk up..Gradually as we got used to it and our stamina built uo we used to cycle all the way up

Once on the first day after the summer vacations we asked our dad for one rupee for bus fare to go to school

He asked us if there was anything wrong with the cycle.We said no but since it was the first day after the vacations and we had not cycled to school for almost 2 months,we would like to go by bus

He took out the money and gave it to us

As we were leaving he called us and asked how we will go to school the next day.

We said by cycle..He just remarked but wont that be the first day

We got the message ,returned the money and went to school by cycle

Later on I acquired 3 more cycles in different phases of my life .regular ones and the racing ones with gears..

While in Air India I uses to handle the Atlas Account and the owner Jaidev Kapoor graciously presented me with a racing cycle with Gears

I used it a number of times on my off days but sadly it was stolen from our house