Pedal Power Cafe has Re-launched in Vasai on 7th June and this time it returns in a new avatar under the franchise of BykIndia. Pedal Power Café is the first ever ‘Cycle Themed’ cafe of Maharashtra and is packaged with offerings like high-end bicycles, custom made designed frames, coaching for competitive cycling, cycling tours and delicious food served at the café.
Morning Ride:
Dedicated to the cycling community, team pedal power organised a morning ride which started from the cafe front to the city centre in Vasai. We attended a small event to celebrate ‘World Environment Day’ where local authorities and NGO’s gave a talk on sustainable living. Rajan Fonseca, who works as an Environment, Health and Safety specialist in the United States was one of the speakers and gave a live demonstration on fire and safety measures. Post few announcements, all cyclists returned to the café for the opening ceremony.
Store Launch:
Bicycle Mayor of Mumbai, Ms Firoza Suresh was the guest of honour. She completed a 20 km ride with us and officially inaugurated the store in presence of the Owners, Relatives, Friends and Cyclists.
Speaking on this occasion Firoza said “I am thrilled to be a part of this one of its kind concept café which is committed to establish a culture of fitness and caters to all kinds of cycling enthusiasts. Cycling is a great social activity and this store will further boost our vision in building the ridership in the city. On the occasion of World Environment Day, I congratulate team Pedal Power for investing in business of sustainable transport and active mobility”
Interiors:
Its raw, rugged and informal. Flooring is rough grey, anti-slip. Tyre shaped table top furniture that accommodates two; suited for private talks and wooden benches for group sitting. Each wall has mural paintings that narrates the landscape, terrain and topography of Vasai.
Soft yellow lighting lifts the ambiance. The roof is painted black; illuminated with circular lights with ash grey shaded shadow of a cycle crank. Visible use of spray paints and metal roof sheets assembles an appearance of a Junk station. Overall mood is dark and rustic.
Sales and Services:
The BykIndia franchise store houses top notch cycle brands like BMC, Bottecchia, Java, Format, Castelli, Camelbak, Sigma Planetbike, AGU, 3T, Decca, Atomlabs and Fizik. They come in different frame sizes and colours. And if a customer has a specific requirement, it can be catered to by custom building it or shipping it from the original manufacturer by BykIndia. They are the official dealers of several international brands in India.
The services for bicycles is taken care by trained mechanics – Bheem Rokaya who is one of India’s best grease monkey and MTB racer who is mostly a podium finisher and Harsh Sethi from Pedalbunker group.
Pedal Power Café features an in-house bike-spa and uses only the best Muc-Off to wash and lube. (Muc-Off is a globally accepted bicycle maintenance range used by professionals. The brand is known for its high performance cleaning products which helps in restoration of dirty bikes and keeps it running to its full potential).
To fix bikes, the store mechanics uses ‘Park Tools’ another high grade American brand specializing in bicycle tools and equipment meant for professional use and workshops.
The store has parking facilities with bicycle stands for locals and tourists.
Food:
The café serves appetizers like Garlic Mushroom, Italian Bruschetta, BBQ Sausages, Nachos, Classic Fish & Chips and Crunchy Fries, Burgers, Sandwiches and Pastas. Pizzas are thin crust, stone baked and gluten free. Hot and Cold Beverages, Milkshakes, Smoothies and Nutri Meal for the health conscious souls.
The cakes, breads and pizza dough is all in-house and the liquids are sugar less. They use wooden straws – discouraging use of plastic. Waste is segregated into dry & wet trash cans before passing it to the municipal collection vans.
Location Advantage:
The cafe has a new and better location surrounded with beaches nearby and all of those can be accessed after few kilometers of ride while enjoying stunning views in the journey. The open fields are perfect for off-roading. The route equally supports road cycling and one can pedal with joy through the narrow village routes and reach their desired destination. The store gives you an ideal pit-stop experience even if you are starting your ride from elsewhere or on a middle of a road trip in a motorized vehicle.
Community Initiatives:
It all started when Ajay Malik, founder of Pedal Power used to work in a cycle shop. Driven by the passion to ride, he mostly went about exploring the city alone; visited places of historic significance, sometimes took unfamiliar paths, spoke to the strangers in the journey, indulged in street food and captured serene moments in his camera lens.
Speaking about his early days of adventure he says “I was absorbed by the mystic of nature. Sitting motionless for hours, admiring the ecosystem and its magical interplay unfolding from dawn to dark. Feeling arrested day after day living in the company of my bike I talked to the plants, butterflies and insects. I was contented being surrendered and was gratified by natures generosity”.
People started appreciating his ‘act of indulgence’ and acknowledged his style of living a life with resolute and complimented him often. His posts on social media motivated him further to start a cycle group to uplift the cycling culture. Gradually, the response to his pedaling stories translated into a business idea thus resulting into formation of ‘Pedal Power’.
Having come a long way, Team Pedal Power now focuses on nurturing new talent by organizing duathlons and cycling events. They train aspiring Tri-athletes, aide them with professional bicycles and support equipment’s. An athlete gets complete training in mental and physical endurance to compete at the highest level.
Attention is also paid to community development initiatives like beach clean-ups, ride for a social cause, teaching cycling to rural kids and organizing leisure rides. To charge up the youngsters, the cafe holds fun musical nights with live band every Saturday evening.
So you have enough incentives to visit Pedal Power Café and immerse yourself into Coffee Cycle Culture.
Ways to connect with Pedal Power Café:
Facebook: Pedal Power Cafe
Instagram: pedalpowercafe
Instagram Ajay Malik: aj4adrenalinejunkie
How to reach there:
Get down at Vasai station, take an auto and ask the driver to take you to Gass road, Bhuigaon – it’s a ten minute commute.
Google map: Cafe Location
Nearby attractions:
Bhuigaon beach, Kalamb beach, Rajodi beach, Arnala beach, Navapur beach, Bena beach, Rangaon beach, Suruchi beach and Vasai fort.
More photos taken at the cafe:
Author: Vijay Malhotra, Mumbai
