My harrowing bike ride through the streets of Pune!

Arriving back at my Airbnb, bowled over with gratitude to be alive!!!! (Of course my mask hides my gleefully grinning expression!) 

Last Friday, I went to visit some friends at the Ananda Pune office, back in my old neighborhood of Bhosale Nagar. 

The rickshaw ride to get there was about 25 minutes. When all of us got to chatting about transportation in the city--and how to do it the most safely in this era of COVID--the others were of the opinion that I should avoid all public transport as much as possible, including semi-private vehicles such as Ubers. I demurred... the "autos" (the name for rickshaws here) are open vehicles; both driver and passenger (one only!) are required to wear masks; no money exchanges hands; the driver immediately hands the passenger sanitizer upon entry to the vehicle. I personally felt that the precautions were sufficient; my friends...not so sure. So one of them--Tushar--suggested I borrow his bicycle for the return ride back home to Koregaon Park. 

I was thrilled by the prospect! I have missed both my bicycles--stored back in the U.S.--very much, and had the idea brewing for some time that I would like to find a bike to ride. So here it was! Granted, the front brake didn't work, the seat was at a funny angle and there was only a single speed...but heck, it was a bicycle,  and beggars cannot be choosers, after all! 

So after my lovely visit with these dear friends,  I hopped on and off I went... 

But wait... problem: I had no idea what the way back was! I had to activate my Google Maps app. But then, I didn't want to be holding my phone with one hand and the handlebars with the other--not a good idea! I thus realized that I would have to try to determine landmarks ahead of time for when and where to make a turn.  Also, I would need to make frequent stops in order to take the phone out of my day pack and double check my navigation. 

This minor annoyance, however, was absolutely infinitesimal relative to what was soon to come:

 An enormous amount of traffic, for one! Lock-down has partially lifted, so what that means is that many more businesses are open; the main ones still closed are hotels, restaurants and malls. So, what was fairly light traffic when I landed in Pune a month ago, has now at least doubled in volume. This includes many large trucks, cars, and huge numbers of motorcycles and scooters--just as I remembered it when I first came to this city back in February. SO MANY VEHICLES! And whizzing by me, SO close...WAY too close for comfort! And the honking...my God, how Indians LOVE LOVE LOVE to honk their horns at every opportunity, most often for reasons which are not even remotely discernible to me! Maybe they are tooting their seeming self-importance: "Look at me! I am here...what do you think about that?!?!"  or, "Get the heck out of my way, everyone! I am the only one deserving to be on this road!"  This is something one never, EVER, gets used to! As a pedestrian walking along on the sidewalk, it was bad enough. But... alongside me, so close, out there on the road? My nerves were jangling, and I jumped each and every time a blasted horn blared anywhere near me. It just simply couldn't be helped. 

But wait! It gets worse: Autos, motorcyles and scooters, driving on the wrong side of the road and coming at me head-on! Yes, dear reader, I kid you not. This really, really happened to me...several times! I shrieked at them. I even cussed...how could I not?!?! I was obeying traffic laws, riding on the left side of the road, and keeping far to the left as bikes are supposed to do. So... what the heck were they thinking!?!?! and...where are the cops when you need them?!?!  This happened most often when there was a meridian divider in the street, separating the lanes of traffic. Clearly, these drivers were aiming for a business or who-knows-what on MY side of the road. GOD FORBID they actually go to the nearest intersection and make a U-turn!!! No, this was not an acceptable option, evidently. Much "easier" to drive across meridians and/or ALL lanes of traffic and head to their destination on the wrong side of the road!!!! 

This, as you may well imagine, was just too, too much. 

By some miracle, I arrived home--about 70 minutes from the time I left--thanking all the Gods in existence and shaking like a leaf. I am no timid creature, mind you--it takes a heck of a lot to scare the daylights out of me. Well...this nightmarish excursion on a bicycle did just that. 

So thanks, Tushar, for the thought...but guess what? When I take that bike out again, it will be to WALK it back to you and return it. What can I say? An Indian City is NOT a place for any sane person to venture out on a bicycle!!!! Chalk this little adventure up to experience...and leave it at that.