Amey Joshi
Do you remember the days you spent as a kid riding your favourite bike down the street and felt the adrenaline rush as you picked up speed? Well, Probyk is here to help you relieve all those cherished memories. Some of you might not be familiar with the name Probyk. So let me make things simple.
Probyk is an established multi-brand bicycle speciality store, offering retail sales of bicycles, parts and accessories, apparel, maintenance and repair services. Probyk has several leading brands from all over the world such as Giant, Cervelo, Merida, Ghost, Lapierre, Michelin, Continental, Camelback, Kask and KED to name a few. Stores are stocked with several types of bikes from high-end road bikes and hybrids to beach cruisers and mountain bikes. In addition to bike sales, the shop provides excellent bike service and wash stations in store. Probyk is not just a retail outlet but also a brand which encourages individuals to start cycling and continue to do so for many years in the future. This is done with regular events and workshops being held to help cyclists learn, grow and connect with a larger community of bike riding enthusiasts.
Now that you’re familiar with the name ‘Probyk’, let’s take a look at some of their favourite and successful events. If you live in Goa, you know that we pride ourselves for our Christmas celebrations. If there’s anyone who knows to party and have a good time, it’s us Goans. What’s so cool about Probyk is that it takes advantage of all its opportunities including (yes you guessed it) Christmas!
Every year on the 23rd of December the Santa Ride event takes place in Goa and sees participants of all ages joining in with family and friends to ride across Panjim City singing carols and spreading the holiday spirit. Santa caps and refreshments are provided to all the riders who register. The event usually takes place over a course of two hours.
Another special event hosted is the annual ‘Friendship Ride’ which is held on 6th August. Bikers ride across Goa on the day of friendship to spread the message of peace and harmony. This event has been considered a success in the past with riders travelling through any 5 Talukas of Goa. So if you have friends or if you are a people’s person, I do recommend you take part in the next friendship ride.
The first ever ‘Goa Duathlon’ took place this past month. This event provided participants with a new fitness and sport experience as it kept runners and cyclists on the go from start to finish. The event took place at the SP Mukherjee Stadium in Bambolim and recorded a distance of 27.5 Km altogether- 5 Km on the run, 20 Km cycling and 2.5 Km again on the run. Sure seems like a lot of calories burned. Well, if you are up for it then you better have your running shoes on next time around.
Besides the three fun events we just spoke about, the ‘Vagus’ event seems to stand out to most people. This one is more for an adventurous person. You don’t know where you are going until you get directions at the next checkpoint. I think this is what excites most riders. The suspense makes you so anxious yet excited and ready to go at the same time.
The event starts with each rider receiving details of the first checkpoint. Riders then check the route and start at the appointed time. Riders have to then stop at each checkpoint to sign that they have reached and pick up instructions for the next checkpoint. Do not mistake it for a race, however, the rider needs to complete the route in the given time to qualify. You can say that it’s more of a time trial rather. The ‘Vagus’ season starts on 1st October and ends on 30th September every year.
Other such events from Probyk include the weekly rides which include the ‘Club Probyk Morning Ride Schedule’, ‘Tuesday Roadies Ride Out’ to Zuari Bridge, ‘Thursday Trials’ to Pomburpa Bastora, ‘Saturday Bhaji Ride’ to Divar Island and many more.
These are all upcoming events and more details about Probyk and their events can be found at www.probyk.in
Probyk has inspired and encouraged many people to live their lives out of a box and if there’s anything that would give you that same joy and happiness that you experienced as a kid, it has to be Probyk.
