Cycling is one of the forgotten pleasures of my youth, along with being free from the vice-like grip of my crippling depression. There’s something about cycling and having the wind in your face that makes you feel free, and forget that you haven’t paid your Vodafone bill in two months. Unfortunately, most of our cycles are long gone, either rusted and thrown away, or gifted to the maid’s young son. Fucking hate that guy.
If you’re missing the blissful carelessness of youth but have nowhere to keep a a cycle, Happy Cycles can help you out. For over 75 years, Happy Cycles has been renting out cycles from a busy shop on 3rd Pasta lane in Colaba. They have more than a hundred cycles for you to try, ranging from sidey chaiwalla ones to cool Lance Armstrong ones with gears and headlights (testicular cancer not included).
Happy Cycles is open 24hours on Friday & Saturday, so if you find yourself in Colaba at 3am, drunk and desperate for cool breeze in your face, a cycle ride isn’t that far away. If you’re life isn’t a steaming mess however, you can drop by in the day and ride around Colaba’s leafy lanes and look at the old British architecture. Maybe stop by at Modern across the street for a quick, refreshing watermelon juice (trust me, it’s the best thing they have).
The cycles at Happy Cycle Shop start at Rs.100 an hour, and go up to Rs.150 for the cool bikes with gears that your friend had, but you mother never got you. If you’re as unhealthy and pathetic as us, you’ll get tired long before your hour is over, and it’s only a matter of time before you end up nursing a large beer at Gokul or Alps down the road.
Happy Cycle Shop – 912222881529
