On my way to Bangalore TFN with Chain Reaction Cycles
‘No, not possible.’ said the taxi-driver.'It will not fit.'And there we stood in Gurgaon, a dusty city with no public transport, already late for my 9: 20 pm flight to Bangalore, to the coolest national cycling expedition - Tour of Nilgiris. We stared at the car as if doing that would expand it enough to stuff my cycle inside. Like staring at an algebra question makes it solve itself.
No, I couldn’t have procured a sponsorship with Chain Reaction Cycles, prepared for this event with maniacal cycling, and gotten a miraculous leave from the advertising agency I work at, only to be deterred by the 8 km that lay between me and the airport.
Switched to Plan Do-whatever. Waved a canter/tempo/rattle-machine to a stop. And insisted that the two mufflered, thin, inconspicuous gentlemen in it (driver and friend) come to my rescue. Hauled myself and my Trek 3700 cycle into it and said 'Go!' A windy ride. I held on, lest I be tossed from side to side. Drivers following the canter flicked their headlights from low to high beam, in conversation with me, I think. Arrived at the airport in the nick of time to swing into the plane and hit Bangalore.
Inside the plane, the guy sitting next to me asked me very politely if he could perhaps have a look at my in-flight magazine. By the end of it, he was showing me heartfelt songs he had written on his laptop, for a girl he had fallen for.
December 15th, 2009 - 22:26
Loved the Can-Do spur of the moment creative solution. Great job !!