Thanks Honourable Mayor of Thiruvananthapuram, Sri VK Prasanth for riding along with us for the whole of the rally with the 125 odd riders.

His participation really inspired all riders and had given a different perspective to the event. This rally definitely must have a given a space in his thoughts for promoting the green mode of transport.

World Bicycle Day

Indus cycling embassy conducted a Bicycle rally on the eve of World Bicycle day. There were about 45 cyclists attended the rally

Sanoj P.R., a PhD student in Hindi at the University of Calicut, got in touch with Prakash Gopinath of the Indus Cycling Embassy over phone two weeks ago and expressed his desire to learn cycling.

Ten years ago, Sanoj’s left arm was amputated after he was diagnosed with bone cancer. Without the use of an arm, he was apprehensive if he would be able to ride a bicycle, but Prakash assured him it might take longer than usual but was definitely possible. He also asked Sanoj to come down to the city for a few days. Last Wednesday, Sanoj arrived at Prakash’s house and as Prakash had predicted, he took only four days to learn to ride. For the past few days, he has been cycling the city roads to get more practice.

While Sanoj had learnt to ride a bicycle, he did wonder what he would do after going back to Kozhikode since he did not own a bicycle nor did he have the means to buy one.

Top rank-holder in MA and topper again in the PhD entrance examination of the University of Calicut, Sanoj has no close family to speak of but for a grandmother. His research guide has found him accommodation and helps him financially too.

Unknown to Sanoj, the Indus Cycling Embassy, which has been gifting cycles to students in the district, decided to collect funds from friends and well-wishers to buy him a bicycle.

They managed to raise ₹22,300, of which ₹6,800 was spent on the cycle, modifications, and the helmet, with the cycle store throwing in a good discount. A cheque for the remaining amount was made out in his name.

Mayor V.K. Prasanth handed over the bicycle to Sanoj on the Corporation premises on Thursday while Deputy Mayor Rakhi Ravikumar handed over the cheque to him. Says Sanoj, “It was a surprise. Prakash casually mentioned meeting the Mayor, but only when I reached there did I get to know about the bicycle.”

Trial and error

The bicycle, Prakash says, has been modified to suit Sanoj’s requirements. Its front brake, back brake, and gear are in the right handle. This necessitated a lot of trial and error so that Sanoj could use them comfortably.

Sanoj says he had been practising without using his artificial limb, but when he tried riding with the limb on, he started feeling its weight. The next few days will be spent in getting accustomed to the limb while riding.

The 25-year-old student says that after returning to Kozhikode by train on Monday, he plans to ride his bicycle from where he lives to the university department.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/surprise-gift-for-cycling-enthusiast/article26946876.ece/amp/

Thiruvananthapuram: It was a moment of joy for Sanoj PR as his long-cherished dream to own a cycle was fulfilled on Thursday. Though he found it difficult to find a balance with his artificial hand, he was all smiles as he peddled through the corporation office compound on his brand-new cycle. The cycle was presented by mayor V K Prasanth at corporation office in the presence of deputy mayor Rakhi Ravikumar.

A native of Thrissur, Sanoj‘s left hand was amputated after he was diagnosed with bone cancer in 2009. His wish to ride a cycle remained a dream until last week when he joined training to ride a cycle at Indus Cycling Embassy. He learnt cycling in four days.

“My friend from Thiruvananthapuram had told me about ICE, where I can learn cycling. And when I came to the city for check-up at RCC on April 18, I visited Prakash from ICE and he offered to train me. First it was hard to balance as my hand and legs were hurting. Only on the fourth day I could properly balance with my hand and gained confidence to cycle. I was informed that we are going to see the mayor and the cycle came as a surprise,” he said.

“I have been cycling without the artificial limb, which weighs around 5kg. I have to practice with the artificial limb to get my balance and peddle correctly. I will use my cycle to commute between my hostel and the campus. I think it should take 15 minutes. I’m yet to decide on transporting the cycle to Kozhikode. I hope to ride a scooter and drive a car someday,” added Sanoj.

ICE members contributed an amount to purchase a special cycle for Sanoj. The gear, front and back brakes were fixed on the righthand-side handle of the cycle.

“He told us that he doesn’t have a cycle when he came to learn cycling, so we fulfilled his wish. It took time to fix the gears on the righthand-side handle so that he can ride comfortably,” said Prakash P Gopinath, managing trustee of Indus Cycling Embassy.

Sanoj, who is pursuing PhD in Hindi, received the first rank in Hindi from Calicut University in 2017.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/m.timesofindia.com/city/thiruvananthapuram/he-came-to-learn-cycling-and-got-a-cycle-as-gift/amp_articleshow/69049139.cms

ICEDaCC (INDUS Cycling EMBASSY DONATE a CYCLE Campaign)

Indus Cycling Embassy, a city-based cycling club, kicks off its ‘Donate a cycle’ campaign this month to empower young women

Thanks to the efforts of a bunch of cycling enthusiasts, it’s wheels up for several young women in the city. As a new chapter for women empowerment in Thiruvananthapuram and to promote cycling among school students, Indus Cycling Embassy (ICE), a city-based cycling club, is launching ‘Donate a Cycle’ campaign to gift cycles to girl students of city, who are from economically disadvantaged families.