Mumbai to Manila on electric wheels!
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- Category: Events
- Published on Friday, 10 February 2012 10:51
- Written by Tejas Joseph
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An e-Cyclothon for the cause of clean mobility
Janice Valdez drove up to our doorstep a week after Auroville (where Evfuture is located) and the Pondicherry region had taken a hurricane beating on the night of 29th December 2011. The fallen trees, power lines and relief work on the roads didn't dampen her spirits. She spent a few days here and spoke to people about her journey,which had taken about three months, spanned two continents, crossed three Indian states and clocked in around 1000 kilometers of e-cycle distance.
Janice is an artist with a background in theater. Her family is of Filipino descent who came to British Columbia more than 30 years ago. She moved to Vancouver in 2001 and started 'Humanergy Coop' (HUM) in 2011 to promote the mass acceptance of clean mobility powered by human (humane!) and electrical energy. She is deeply concerned about the deteriorating quality of the environment (particularly in the developing world) due to pollution and feels that a quick transition to sustainable technologies and applications is urgent. The electric cycle for her is the perfect symbol of this synthesis between human need and environmental responsibility.
Janice set out from Vancouver in November 2011 on a historic journey on her STROMER electric cycle on a trip dramatically and tellingly named “Mumbai to Manila”. It was both a journey to promote and accomplish sustainable travel using an electric cycle as much as it was one of discovering her ancestral roots in the Phillippines. She flew into Mumbai and to her first taste of all things Indian – from crazy traffic and curious onlookers to high urban noise (and pollution) levels and spicy food. She made a lot of friends and found supporters of her cause in the most unlikely places. She then flew to Bangalore in the south from where her 'cyclothon' would formally start. Her STROMER eCycle got packed and accompanied her like a faithful pet during these transits (between pedaling) by plane and train.
From Bangalore (where she met a lot of bicycle enthusiasts) she cycled to Mysore in Karnataka before going off to Ooty in the Nilagiri hills via the scenic wildlife parks of Mudumalai and Masinagudi. The climb up to Ooty was quite a tough one, she confesses, and placed considerable stress on her STROMER ( a leading Swiss e -cycle brand), with the sharp inclines and devilish hair pins of the Nilagiri hills extracting harsh dues for the experience of climbing them. But this was amply compensated for by the beauty of the mountainscapes she pedaled through and the warm people she got to meet.
From Ooty it was on to Aleppey in Kerala via the bustling towns of Trichur and Kochi. She got to ride in a canoe in this 'Venice of south India" and met (again!) kind souls (who helped find a box for her cycle) and an air conditioning expert who was an avid cyclist.He gave up his car temporarily to show his solidarity for the cause of sustainable transportation by joining her on his bicycle for a few miles.
She packed her STROMER into The Allepey-Chennai express train and landed in Chennai for the last but one leg of her historic e-cycle trip in India in the Christmas week of 2011. Her trip to Pondicherry was delayed by a few days due to Hurricane (cyclone to us) 'Thane',amongst the strongest to have visited these parts in more than fifty years.
For us it was both wonderful and a relief to be able to talk about things (other than the cyclone and its ravages) with Janice,particularly about electric mobility and the next transportation era. We salute the spirit of individuals like her who are spearheading campaigns of awareness solely driven by personal motivation and concern. EVFuture was happy to host her for the few days she was here and has agreed to being part of the 'humanergy' network to find ways to bring clean mobility into the public domain through events and other platforms. We look forward to seeing her again soon on her next eCycle saga.
To know more about Janice Valedez,the Mumbai to Manila eCycle trip and the coming dawn of electric mobility, visit her website www.janicevaldez.com .Also visit www.humanergycoop.com to know about the policy and planning initiatives pro-green cities like Vancouver (which is aspiring to become the world's 'greenest city') take to become people and cycle friendly.
Janice invites you to join her facebook group called "humanergy- cycle our light". Become part of a new cycle in the making!
After Marathons,its now Cyclothons!
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- Published on Friday, 13 May 2011 10:15
- Written by Tejas Joseph
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Cycling as a sport is moving middle class India in a big way
The awakening of a personal fitness consciousness, tinged perhaps by the rising incidence of heart disease and lifestyle related ailments amongst Indians, is stimulating interest in new sporting activities. India has always been a bicycling nation accounting for the largest number of users worldwide, second only to China. Until the mass acceptance of the motorcycle in the 70s, the bicycle was the undisputed king of the Indian road. It was used by farmers and traders in its rural villages as much as by teachers and government staff in its cities and small towns. The switch to the motorcycle symbolized a shift in changing social values and status. While it signified a new found prosperity amongst Indians, it also paved the way for a sedentary lifestyle,which would eventually necessitate a return to this basic two wheeler in its most evolved form yet.
The last decade has witnessed a big interest in sporting bicycles and bicycle sports. Though India still has an active bicycling culture, one would never dare risk riding a cycle on any Indian city during peak hours due to its intensely ( and dangerously) congested roads. Town planning in India still does not respect the needs of pedestrians or cyclists by including exclusive pathways for them. Despite all these barriers however, a small but strong neo bicycle sporting culture is emerging,mostly confined to the big cities and amongst a prosperous and mobile Indian social class. High end retail shops have appeared in the last few years selling expensive brands of bicycles and accessories. This phenomenon has stimulated our home industry to make high quality bicycles aimed at this emerging target group who embrace a new found lifestyle ethic based on 'fitness and freedom'.
In the wake of marathons for runners, which have become very popular in India today, comes the cyclothon for bicyclists. Sports 18, a sports media company along with TI Cycles,one of India's oldest and largest bicycle makers, organised this year's cyclothon in Mumbai. It drew 6000 participants from around the country who rolled out their bicycles (of all makes and types) to ride for a triad of reasons – a greener tomorrow, animal welfare and cardiac health! There were many events under different categories and a clutch of top brands - BSA,Dabur and LG to name a few - sponsored the prizes for these events. The cyclothon also drew a few celebrity supporters of the sport in F1 racer Karun Chandok, Miss Earth 2010 Nicole Faria and Bollywood actor Imran Khan.
EV Future's chief executive, Aurosukrit, formed part of a four member squad from Auroville along with Andre Deplechin,Giorgio Meneghetti and Peter Clarence Smith. All of these are accomplished racers who have been into endurance and off-road bicycling both as a serious hobby and a sport for many years. This same team won top honors at the Chennai cyclothon held earlier this year. Andre Deplechin was given a special prize at the Mumbai cyclothon for being the oldest professional cyclist to have participated in the event.
Solitude Mustic Festival: EVs at an Eco Fair !
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- Published on Friday, 04 February 2011 12:24
- Written by Tejas Joseph
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Celebrating nature and all things natural
An unusual green fest was held at Solitude farm in Auroville (solitudefarm.blogspot.com ) on saturday the 29th of january 2011. It drew a few hundred visitors from all around interested in organic farming, aquaponics,indigenous seed collections, natural foods made with local grains and ingredients,innovative products made from recycled paper and paper wastes,bamboo jewellery and soaps and a host of other ingenious creations and concepts that defined a natural way of life. Krishna,its organiser, calls it a labour of love ; a love for all things green and natural. It took two months to pull together but it rode on its own wave of green enthusiasm and spirit he reiminded us.
But the fair was more than just an exhibition of green commodities, services and ideas.It sought to kindle(or rekindle) a flame for the simple, the good and the essential in life. To reinforce this central theme there were short plays and skits topped off by some good music played by local and visiting musicians informed by a sense of kinship and community. Listening to them play and sing a new vison for a happier mankind while munching on salads and rice grown on the farm against the comforting drone of the murmuring and chatting of a couple of hundred odd excited people, you could be forgiven for thinking that green was indeed the order of the day and the prevailing colour of the world.
Being a researcher,assembler and promoter of small electric vehicles on a small scale, evfuture fit pretty well into the agenda of the fair with its endorsement of clean and non polluting technologies for personal mobility. We set up a small stall to explain our work and field queries from many on electrifying their cycles and mopeds. We were happy to note that in the car park outside the fair there were quite a few evehicles, both cars and two wheelers. Auroville,with its captive green populace, is likley to have the highest per capita penetration of ev users in the country. It is a market that sustains us and drives our electric dreams.
In search of cycles and electric kits
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- Published on Friday, 25 March 2011 11:12
- Written by Tejas Joseph
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EV Future attends Taipei Cycle 2011
The Taipei Cycle show is a premium event for the bicycle industry and enthusiasts. Organised by TAITRA (The Taiwan External Trade Development Council) it is an event that began in 1970 and attracts a few thousand visitors from all over the world every year to see the latest bicycles and accessories designed and produced by the Taiwan cycle industry. Taipei Cycle 2011 had about 5000 visitors thronging to more than 3000 booths showcasing complete bicycles, frames, parts and accessories. A recent addition to the Taipei cycle shows is the LEV (Light electric vehicle) section featuring electric cycles,scooters and motorbikes to highlight this emerging segment.
Two from our small team at EVfuture took a week off to attend the meet and to witness first hand the developments in this dynamic and creative two wheeler segment that sets and drives international trends. The Taiwanese cycle industry is known for its innovative designs, high manufacturing standards and ability to customise the most demanding of buyer requirements. About 80% of the world's best cycles are made in Taiwan. All the top brands of the world have their cycles made here.
This year's event was special for another reason - the exhibition of light electric vehicles as a rapidly evolving and popular category at the Taipei cycle show. LEVA (The Light Electric Vehicle Association - a worldwide body promoting light electric vehicles) headed by its dynamic chairperson Ed Benjamin organised a summit of the top players in this emerging segment who spoke about the frontiers of their research and gave a hint of things to come. Big players like Panasonic, Sanyo, Fujitsu and Bosch were now making motors, controllers, battery packs and other critical components for EVs. Their presence indicates clearly that the EV sector world wide is coming of age and the quality bars are constantly being raised.
The technical seminar was attended by experts from America, Europe, Japan and Asia working in light EV design and manufacturing. The Indian contingent was small and consisted of just three : Hemant and Sukrit from EV Future and Mr. Navin Munjal* of Hero Motors and Cycles.
Enjoying more than just cycles and EVs It wasn't all about EVs and bicycles only for our boys,as much as they love them. They found the time to explore Taipei's sights and the famous night food bazaars that serve the most astonishing Oriental culinary innovations – varied, tasty, healthy and quite cheap. In fact food seems to be the most affordable commodity in Taiwan,which is not exactly a shoppers paradise they discovered. Taipei is an orderly, clean and efficient city where everything works and is on time. However, its highly developed economy and society has not killed off its cultural and social warmth as is the case with Singapore, according to many. The city was easy on the soul as much as it was on the eyes. Unlike mainland China that lost its past to communism, Taiwan has retained its traditions and cultural institutions, many of which were evident in its daily social,economic and cultural life.
China, here we come! We have been bitten by the bicycle (travel) bug. The EV future team is preparing to go to China to attend the Shanghai cycle and motor show this May. This show is also a leading international one and we will be prowling for both great bicycles and electric kits to charge them up. Will keep you posted.
* We will soon be bringing you an exclusive interview with Navin Munjal of Hero Motors and Cycles on the emerging light EV segment in India. Look Out!