Abhishek Boral: How did Ride2Breathe start breathing? Gautam Shroff: I was interested in biking since my school days. The inception of Ride2Breathe (RTB) was sometime in February 2011, when I started asking my neighbours and known ones for a cycling spree every morning. I found a good number - 8-10 people - who were enthusiastic about riding and we kicked off soon riding around 25-20 km every day from the Netaji Statue in Central Park, Salt Lake.
AB: How many members does RTB have at present?
GS: Presently RTB has approx 500 members on Facebook. Around 100 reside outside West Bengal, but actively interact with the other members and share their biking experience. We average of 45-50 members – the rest are irregular because of their hectic schedules, but sometimes do manage to join us for our Sunday rides.
AB: Sunday rides???
GS: Well… Sundays are fundays for us. We meet up almost every Sunday at 6 a.m. outside Victoria Memorial and ride something between 50-70 kms. The numbers of riders on Sundays are generally double the count as on weekdays.
AB: What do you think about Kolkata as a Riding hotspot?
GS: Kolkata like any other metropolitan has traffic jams, pollution and unruly riders. According to me what hinders Kolkata from being a hotspot for riding is the mentality of people who are somehow apprehensive to accept biking as a major sport. We wanted a plot of land in an easily accessible location from appropriate government authorities and wanted to transform it into a biking park but unfortunately the authorities find more promise in other sports than biking. The absence of biking trails in the city unlike all other metros sets Kolkata on a backfoot.
AB: Does RTB organize any other eco-friendly activity?
GS: We had an awareness ride on Earth Day this year to promote the usage of cycles in transportation. Other than that we also raised funds for the Quake-struck Japan and all of us rode to the Japanese Consulate in Kolkata to deliver the aid.
AB: What is next on the RTB board?
GS: We have a team of trained bikers and plan to hold workshops in various residential complexes to promote biking and inculcate safe biking practices among all age groups.
AB: How does someone interested become a part of RTB? Are there any criteria or requirements?
GS: Anyone with a bi-cycle can be a part of RTB and join us in our rides. We don’t insist on any particular make of bi-cycle, so anyone with even a ‘doodhwala’ cycle can join us. What we assert is safety measures like helmets and knee guards. To get started with RTB you just need to join us on Facebook or simply get in touch with any of our members. If you love riding, you are a part of us.
AB: Thanks for your time and all the information you shared about RTB!
