The Best Option To Ride

It was about 5 in the evening when I pulled out my Honda Unicorn and wiped a thin veneer of dust settled on it. The dust wasn't an unusual thing, given that there are several vehicles travelling through our colony, for there is a massive restructuring of paths and traffic routes all over JP Nagar due to the start of construction of a new traffic-decongestant subway at the 24th main. The route to my home from the market had just got longer, for there was the need to travel all the way down the intersection and take a U-turn for the simple task of crossing the raised median. Not too far away, I could catch the sight of a few people accompanied by a bicycle crossing the median by just crossing the cycle over the ridge. It's so very easy to sneak through with a bicycle than travel far and forth by my Honda. Add to that, the ease of pedalling and working out a few lazy, teeny-weeny muscles in your thigh, it's thousand times better to use a lovely-little-lighter frame of a chassis called Bicycle. It's like using a pencil on a moon than a specially invented zero-gravity refill pen. This perhaps is an appropriate metaphor. Simple things make things simpler, more often than not.

Bicycle, the term was coined by the French in 1860. A simple manifestation of a wheel driven by a pedalled gear, bicycle is perhaps the biggest accomplishment of a mechanical engineer who would dream of motorbikes and other transport vehicles. The chassis is a triangular frame, as in most of the cases, and the balance created on the frame is impeccable. At the first sight, the body may not generate any curiosity but come to think of it in technical terms and the mechanism which transforms the force generated by the pedal and imparted to the torque of the gear which transforms into a rotatory action, you have a marvel of a creation here. Over a long period of time, bicycle has undergone a lot of changes in its design and appearance but the charm of riding it for the very first time still remains to be matched.



Bicycle offers a vast sphere of advantage to its users. Talking of health and physical exercise, riding a bicycle gets rid of all the lethargy gained from jobs, most of which are getting more sedentary by the day. It is found that riding a bicycle for ten miles has the health benefit which is as much as the deficit of health caused by smoking a pack of cigarettes. A long ride during weekends in the verdant meadows and green country side should give you the ideal health uplift if the rest of the days are spent working at a desk at office. Cycling offers us a good alternative to catch up with some much-needed exercise compared to that obtained from a saunter in a park or a casual walk. A good amount of cycling would easily help you shed all those flaccid rings on your belly, and if you are a lean person, it would increase your hunger and thereby assimilate more.

Many would feel to see that there's no fun involved in cycling but ask someone who pedals regularly, he'd give you a perfect reason. When we pedal in using that extra bit of energy required to climb an acclivity, there's a complete breathe-in of fresh air which reaches all the way to the depth of the lungs. Breathing well is the single most important sensation to keep yourself young and feel rejuvenated over and again. Ask Yoga teachers and those who teach meditation, they would never disagree.

Coming to the hike of fuel prices, we are in the era where a barrel of crude oil costs US $126, which stood at around $99 not more than an year ago. If this increase gets more wanton and unheralded, days would not be far away when one would think more than once about their means of commuting. What could not be achieved by the Earth Hour would then be accomplished by the sheer rise in oil prices....!! Moreover, a layman would not demand the intelligence of a rocket scientist to understand the benefits of bicycle over motorbikes when it comes to maintaining the cleanliness of environment and reducing air pollution. And just imagine the pleasant sound of a cycle bell than the long clangor and din of relentless frantic honking and all sorts of noise made by automated vehicles. Noise pollution levels would come down considerably and a sense of tranquility prevails all over. It's more than in one way, useful and effective.


I take an exception to those travelling to farther places with limited time, but isn't it wise to use a bicycle if you have to commute moderate distances, in the vicinity of around 2-3 km? And for those who stay in cities like Bangalore, where there's a mandatory helmet rule in current existence, a simple pedal would save all the frowns and grimace of choking under the weight and help you keep smiling instead. For many good reasons as stated, cycling is a healthy practice. Don't feel shy of cycling, in case you do, for there's no age limit or barrier as such. Bicycle's a great gift to us from all those engineers who spent long hours designing it. They definitely deserve a special mention here. It's nothing mind-boggling but not less important indeed.

I believe that to a large extent that your views are affirmative with those of mine. And cycling is, after all, a ride to enjoy. It won't be long before cycling would be in the vogue.

Rbk- I Am What I Am

The era of late 18th and early 19th century assumes tremendous importance in history. And there are no prizes for guessing why. For it was during this period that the great Industrial Revolution kicked off in North America and Europe, especially Britain. It all started with James Watt inventing the famous Steam Engine in 1781. The manual-labor-driven economy gradually started making way to a machinery-automation-driven one. The change was not very fast but was effectual nevertheless. A few prominent inventions in this era include the Electric generator by Michael Faraday, Steel Plough by John Deere, Lead Acid Battery by Gaston Plante, Cathode Ray Tube by William Crookes, Wireless Telecommunication by Nicolas Tesla and many more. What makes it interesting to observe that these inventions were the results of improvisation of scientists and engineers on various new discoveries of effects and properties. Engineers then designed methods for large-scale manufacture of products and the upshot of this was the emerging of new factories and industries and thus, business companies.

And to introduce you all into this, this is something about the advent of a shoe industry. The first known shoes date back to 7000 to 8000 years before this. But it was not before the year 1895, a new industry called Mercury Sports was found by Joseph William Foster. 63 years thereafter, it was renamed as Reebok by siblings Joe and Jesse Foster, derived from the word (which Joe found in a dictionary won in a race), 'rhebok', an African word for an antelope. Later, it took special efforts from Paul Fireman to procure distribution rights in North America.

It was in the year 1982, when people started taking interests in fitness and aerobics. As a popular American actress and political activist, Jane Fonda, in her set of well known fitness videos, of the Workout Series and in the much-famed Workout Book, released in 1982, acknowledges that fitness craze was in the air and it was the same force which resulted in a record sale of more than 17 million copies of her book. Jobs became more sedentary and there was an increasing awareness to catch up with the missing fitness. Games like Baseball and Basketball started garnering enthusiasm among the stay-fit-folk and their rapid accretion appeared imminent. Throngs of people crowded gymnasiums and fitness centers to keep themselves in good shape. Who doesn't want to have a supple and flexible body, after all?

Reebok grew famous in this generation, especially with its Free-Style Athletic series, designed for women. Being a prominent player in the industry of its kind, Reebok dishes out several sport accessories, apparel and athletic footwear. Another particular series of footwear was The Reebok 'Pump' Series which was designed for comfort of ankle. It was incorporated with a special air bladder, capable of being inflated using an internal mechanism. And the tag line was more interesting, "Pump Up, Air Out". Initially used by basketball players, this brand grew more in demand and it wasn't long before 'Pump' hit the tennis and soccer arena. Some zealots used it to flaunt and at the same time, improve their gait. And few others displayed a penchant to wear wrist-bands with the famous vector logo on them.

In as many as 14 countries, we can find Reebok's factories. It's China which tops the list with 51% of the Reebok products being manufactured, followed by US, Indonesia and Vietnam. The workforce employed is close to 76000. The assessment of production, marketing and operating costs have been carefully carried out and set-up accordingly. Customers and users from Asia and Europe have welcomed Reebok products well, looking at the consumers statistics displayed on a geographical basis.

One can see that Reebok covers many international sportsmen from a host of games when it came to endorsements. Talking of cricket, Indian skipper MS Dhoni, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Gautham Gambhir and many other players like Shoaib Malik and Chris Gayle have been roped in. Come to soccer, French striker Thierry Henry and Ukraine champ Andriy Shevchenko have been great ambassadors. As many as 5 teams in the Australian Football League have been sponsored of late. This apart, Reebok has sponsored many singers, Rapper Jay-Z and 50 Cent to name a few. Not to forget the "Lost in Translation" beauty and Golden Globe Award winning American actress Scarlett Johannson.

Reebok is what Reebok is. Much in reflection with its special unique selling proposition "I Am What I Am"....