Arrival of My Sweetheart … TREK 4300D !

TREK 4300D, My New Sweetheart!

The story of my TREK is quite an exciting one and I have shared it with everyone, whosoever even tried to know a bit about this `toy of big boys’,  while looking at my this new `girl friend’  admiringly.

Few months ago, I saw my FaceBook contact Navneet Kaur Ahuja’s photo where she was riding this so called stylish bicycle. I just admired her cycle and said that even I am contemplating about a bicycle and could not resist asking the price. On being told by her that it was around Rs 23K,  felt dejected, for my dream of owning this bicycle got washed into drain in seconds. Navneet could sense it as I said that I can not afford it, my camera bag demands more and more all the time, offered a second hand bike which was for Rs 15k. Now, I was typical Indian, why pay that much for a bicycle in first place, when I can buy an Indian conventional bicycle for around Rs 4k.

Next person in the cue is Gurpreet Singh, who spoilt me further for good. About a month after I had seen Navneet on her bicycle,  I saw Gurpreet Singh riding on his bicycle in his FB profile photo, sent him a message and he popped an instant reply on chat. He took off and told me all about these bicycles. I must say that he sowed the seeds for this cycle TREK 4300D. He offered to come all the way to let me enjoy a test ride of his bicycle. His place is almost 25 kms from my house. First, I thought that he is also an eccentric, with a loose nut somewhere in his head for coming all the way to give me a test ride. But I admired his spirit, which only a Khalsa like him can have. When  asked him about how to get to see different models of the swanky bicycles, he told me about FIREFOX showroom at Chandigarh. And the discussion ended, not very keen to take it further, but he did strengthen my desire to buy a bicycle. Though, I did not have the courage to spend Rs 25k on a bicycle, having financial crunch, scrounging every single penny for GREEN DOT EXPEDITIONS and for my primary duty towards my family.

Few days, after my FB encounter with Gurpreet, when me and my family were on a family tour of Chandigarh to do some to accomplish some domestic chores, we stumbled upon the Firefox showroom by chance. I asked my wife to go ahead to the homeo store to buy medicines, as she is a homeo doctor, and I could not go past these bicycles. On closer look, I found that these bikes were very well crafted. But I did not even think in my dreams that a `fatal sting’ by the `cycle bug’ is waiting for me too. I asked the manager to give me a test ride on any of the bicycles available there. While he was briefing me about the bike, he warned me with a grin that after the test ride I won’t like to go in my car anymore. Amazingly, his words proved godly, whereas I stared at him with a snarl, for I hate when these salesmen try to push their products unreasonably.

After the test ride in veranda of the FireFox, it was like `love at first sight’ … I was excited like a child, not for the looks but for the quality of brakes and the pleasure of riding. All these decades, I deprived of myself about the hidden beauty of these bicycles. Never knew that these could be so amazingly great bikes for the absolute pleasure of riding a bicycle. After the cycle accident of my son Chirag, he broke his left arm badly, I realised that brakes and other safety features of a cycle are very important. by now, I  had made up my mind very firm that I will buy my bicycle very soon and for my kids as well. But I did not have much money to spare, as the new school session was close by and that means big money for school  fee, school uniforms, bags, new books and transport, etc.

When my wife returned from the homeo store, she could not believe seeing me so excited about the Trek cycles. I just could not express in words other than `now I have to buy this bike’ and for kids as well. I just could not stop talking about the bicycles for 25 kilometers till we reached home and could stop blabbering about even while having dinner and after dinner. My wife had no problems about it, wheres most ladies just won’t agree, especially under the given circumstances. She was clearly affirmative ! I knew onething that now I have strong desire and all the reasons to buy this bike and I would get money even its in the shape of a lottery. Sure enough, just after two days, my four photographs got sold and I was on cloud nine. A miracle which I have experienced many times in life.

I did not buy this for any fancy for the looks or hype, I had all the good reasons to buy this bike. And I am glad that I took this bold decision of buying this bike, especially when I could not afford to buy under the circumstances.

Two major reasons: safety (brakes are superb) and pleasure of riding.

The moment, it was confirmed that my photos are sold, I placed order with Firefox,  over phone. But getting this bicycle was NOT a pleasant experience. FIREFOX turned around on all their commitments, even on the colour of the bike. No sense of commitment at all, whatsoever. Can you imagine they did not even honour the commitment about a paltry discount made by their store manager.

Thanks to Sandeep Singh, from Dehradun, for advising me and enlightening about the most important issue of brakes …. why hydraulic disc brakes on my bike…thus I bought TREK 4300 D.

SPECIAL THANKS to my wife for supporting me with her whole heart, as always, never even blinked her eyes against my proposal to buy my bike.