The 'hybrid'...

Hercules Top gear- the bicycle i always dreamed of getting during my school days. By the time i could afford one, the bicycle was out of the market. Many new brands, new models, new technologies had replaced the earlier ones. So, i could not get my hands on a top gear bicycle during my school days. But, the dream of owning a geared cycle never left my mind. Whenever i walk past a bicycle showroom, i always took few minutes of my time to check the models and keep myself updated on the trends in the bicycle market.

Finally, one day(that jobless day), a casual visit to broadway(in chennai) to source spares for my bicycle, took me towards the street famous for its bicycle dealers since independence. When i was enquiring about new models, they seemed to be going too far from practical expense limits and i wondered if i should even go forward with further enquiry. At last, The man who saw me asking so many questions, walked straight to me and suggested that i go ahead taking a used bicycle rather than sourcing spares and upgrading the existing one. It was always my dream to own a bicycle with gears. Finally, after listening to the man's explanation about the delay that would result in sourcing the spares, i agreed to take a look at the bicycle he was talking about. At first, i thought it would be another piece of metal trashed with this dealer in exchange for some higher model bicycle by some school kid.
But, i was completely taken off guard when this man brought this beauty that just needed a good cleaning with kerosene or diesel. I stock diesel at home for cleaning my bike's chain sprocket. Hence, i knew that i could get this hybrid(i knew i shouldn't be calling it a bicycle anymore as it was a true hybrid) cleaned at home and all it needed was minor tweaks in the gear shift mechanism.

In an hour's time, i was ready to take the 25kms long journey back home cycling on the newly acquired hybrid. While returning, i got reminded of the bicycle my dad had. The idea of installing  a drop bar popped up all of a sudden and when i was few kms from home, i decided to spend few more to get the bar installed right away and then go home. At another showroom, i sourced  a drop bar but had to wait for couple of days to get it installed as the mechanic ruled out the option of installing it in the hybrid and if i still wanted to try it, i should come with an idea in two days' time. The two days i spent bringing the sheen on the hybrid's surface and all that was left was to find a way to install the drop bars. It was a long sleepless night, i still remember, sitting with the drop bar, measuring the dimensions and the wire lengths, shifter positions, brake levers and everything it would take to make it work.

The next morning, i acquired a sense of pride with last night's work and headed off to install the bars and to my satisfaction and calculation, it was a perfect fit. The mechanic was stunned to see the bar fit without any hitch and agreed to forego his labour charge on seeing my enthusiasm. I told him it was only because of him that my dream of a customised hybrid has come true and took him to a shop to get him some refreshments. 

Later that day, i was returning home and could see that the hybrid, now a customised one was a one-of-a-kind in my locality and i had once again acquired something that is unique only to me. The long pending dream of a geared bicycle was now happening. I had a 18 gear, all alloy frame, customised hybrid with nylon tyres, butyl tubes, alloy rims and a sporty saddle. This, i thought, would fulfill my dream and shall remain a priceless possession. I thank my cousin who had sponsored for the sudden purchase of the hybrid whose money was in my possession for her laptop servicing. The hybrid has done considerable touring in my possession with the highest being a 56kms ride on a single trip. My dream would be to take it on the ECR someday till mahabalipuram and return home(100kms in all). Most of all, she loves my hybrid and i love riding it with that very thought.