The pain of cycling (on Indian roads naturally)

I love cycling. Of course riding in a car is the height of all comforts on roads that don’t give you much to rave about- either you are in a car or you are crushed. But cycling is freedom. I have a standard BSA bike with horns attached to handles. I don’t why the manufacturer designed the horns in the first place but these are highly uncomfortable because the portion around your wrists constantly keeps brushing against them and these do not allow you to change your grip on the handles in the slightest. I had them removed at the first instance.
Considering Indian roads, the joy of cycling in definitely not in pedalling unperturbed or smoothly. You guessed it, the joy comes when the road is choc-a-block and vehicles are paying two hoots to traffic signals thereby creating a traffic jam (this situation is seamless and is permanent so the joy stays with you longer). I can easily weave in and out of traffic and am out of the jam in minutes while the cars are honking in desperation and a few drivers have even stepped out of their steeds. I am out of that scene like a bullet. Pro number 2 is that I obviously on petrol costs that have multiplied 6 times since 1989 when it me just Rs. 10 per litre to ride my Luna. Since I am currently unemployed, I just fill up petrol worth 1500 rupees, shut it and forget it for at least 20 days.
But folks that is the end of the story of the joy of cycling. Now comes the pain. Besides hitting you where is most hurts, the pain is magnified several times due to roads or rather lack of them. Potholes are the worst on your lower back. Then you also have to negotiate speed breakers, roads that are dug-up, unpaved roads and roads where the surface is coming off- which means basically gravel and stones of all sundry sizes waiting for the bicycle wheel to run over them and hurt you.
Oh I seem to have forgotten huge cars and buses. These monsters play with you. They will either come up quietly behind you and then honk to startle you are just try to bully by honking you into submission. Depending on my mood I either give in wisely or if my belligerence gets the better of my, the driver is in for a rough time for at least the ten seconds that he needs to overtake me. He (it’s always a he) will honk in the expectation that I will move to the side of the road (which is essentially non-existent as that part is dug up, is unpaved and has pipes lining it). I stick to my guns and ride out the entire stretch. If he is a psychopath (that he never is) he will run me over and this never happens judging by the fact that I am hammering this piece for my blog.
Humour apart, cyclists and pedestrians have the worst end of the deal when it comes to using public roads. There is no footpath and if there is one, it’s almost entirely taken over by hawkers and scooterists. There are traffic signals of course but those are notional. These are some silly lights that blink green, red and yellow at regular intervals. Wonder what these are! Probably some celebratory things that the government put up when we won the cricket world cup?
But I ride on and I heed the traffic signals, I ride on and continue giving the finger to the lawless drivers (to my potential detriment), I ride on and increase my vocabulary to agitate exponentially (give gaalis..in short)