HYDERABAD: Whenever you are caught in a traffic jam or failed to find parking space for your car, how many times have you wished that you had a bicycle? Think of the city with bike stations at short distances, where you could hire a bicycle, finish any work in the vicinity and of course, give yourself a bit of exercise too.Well, your wish is coming true. For free at that. In a welcome move, the Hyderabad Bicycling Club (HBC) launched its first bike station at the Institute of Hotel Management, Sri Shakti, Begumpet here on Thursday. All you have to do is spend a couple of minutes online to register yourself with the HBC.Any member of the club is entitled to use the bicycles. Speaking after opening the bike station, DV Manohar, president of the HBC and CMD of Sri Shakti Resort and Hotels Ltd, said, “Our target is to launch 12 similar bike stations across the city within one year.” Each bike station will have 10 latest bicycles and all that a member has to produce are an ID proof and HBC membership to hire one. “The cycles are only for recreational purpose and will have to be returned in an hour,” he said. HBC, which was established in 2007, has 1560 members. “We also plan to carry out a Heritage series from October 29, where members will cycle through various heritage cites and reach Charminar,” announced Srinivas Simhadri, general secretary, HBC and general manager, Microsoft.Recalling that his 10-year old son, who pedals 20km every Saturday, he said the HBC was in talks with various serene campuses in Hyderabad like the HCU, OU and the ISB for promotion of cycling among kids. Adheer, a student from IHM, after trying his free ride, welcomed the new initiative which according to him was found only in some European countries.“These cycles are of supreme quality,” he said. Meanwhile, the Confederation of the Indian Industry (CII) and the Hyderabad Bicycling Club (HBC), in association with the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC), will be organising ‘The Southern Cycling Challenge’, a two-day ride from Vizag to Anantagiri and back from Oct 15.The total distance of 180 km involves 50 cyclists from the HBC. Participation will be on a first-come-first-serve basis. All the expenses, including that of accommodation, will be taken care of by the CII and the APTDC.“The ultimate challenge will be climbing the steep last 20 km between Tyda to Anantagiri,” said Manohar, president, HBC. APTDC general manager Sumeet Singh felt there was scope for a similar kind of challenge in a city like Hyderabad. “APTDC extends full support to such endeavors to enhance our heritage,” he said.
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