Facebook can act as a catalyst to get acquainted to a whole lot of things, a few of these are actually constructive. I got to know of Critical Mass - Lahore through facebook http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=38992998526 and was pretty intrigued by these individuals who were meeting up on a regular basis, despite the lahori heat to bike around lahore. So i decided to give it a shot and last Sunday i joined these folks at 6 pm at Zakir Tikka to check out what its all about.
Attendance is low during the summer time yet about 10 individuals showed up in the humid weather. The actual ride was about 8-10 kms on that particular day and the route changes from day to day. The pic showing an outlay of the route on a particular day. I learned that once you start cycling, you really don't feel the heat at all and the distance is not a major factor either and if you have a suitable bicycle and appropriate clothing it really is a joy to ride around town.
What was most exciting was the company of people during the ride. We had Rafay Alam, the insightful lawyer who had plenty of interesting facts to share, Rabia a teacher at NCA, Buraar, a luminite working at Warid, Kate, from Oxford studying urban development and there were plenty other very interesting people as well. All this has resulted in some attention from the media in terms of short news clips in the tv channels and some coverage in the newspapers as well, surprisingly it even caught the attention of international media such as this clip
The objective of this campaign is to re-introduce the idea of commuting via economically and environmentally feasible means. Rafay, who gives lectures at LUMS, uses his bike to commute to LUMS. So do some of these other people which was indeed very gratifying to know. So the next time you're complaining about not having anything to do and that you do not get enough exercise, just remember that an awesome alternative exists which is not only a lot of fun but a great way to meet new people while you get some good exercise aswell.
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