This episode is brought to you by www.thebikeaffair.comIf you are in search of a one-stop destination that caters to all your cycling needs, our today's sponsor, The Bike Affair, is the perfect place to check out! With over 14 years of experience, The Bike Affair has established itself as a trusted source offering honest advice and exceptional service. They are offering a special treat for the listeners of this podcast. You can enjoy a 10% discount on your first order by using the code 'BIKEYVENKY' on their website. Visit their bike store in Hyderabad or shop online by using the link www.thebikeaffair.com In this episode I talk to my team mate at Spectrum Racing and a long time mentor for a lot of us, Rajesh Nair. Rajesh a.k.a BabaVelo has raced all around the world as an amateur over the last 25 years or so. He is very passionate about cycling and is in a privileged position of being able to travel and participate in some of the best cycling events around the world. That meant he took part in 100s of races all around the world over the years. That experience gives him a perspective that not many of us have. He is outspoken. He wears his heart on his sleeve and shares his opinion without any filters. I think, that makes it all the more valuable. To set the context for this episode, a couple of days before we sat down for this chat, he withdrew from a race we travelled to take part in because of safety concerns. He did not want to risk racing in the dark on roads with traffic. We shared constructive feedback to the organizers who were very receptive for the same. But, I thought that this is a topic all of us need to think more about. In that context, we sat down to discuss about road racing in India and safety aspects we need to take care of when it comes to racing here since we don't have closed roads. Please note that the intent is not to knock on any one race or any one organizer but to discuss openly what can be done to make racing in general safer for everyone. I hope it comes across as such and that it helps all of us think more seriously about this topic. 0:00:00 Intro0:10:15 Safety of an event0:12:35 Road closures, BBCh0:17:15 Tour of Thekkady0:19:30 CFI and closed roads0:21:40 What can be done to make events safer within the constraints of India0:25:00 Shayadhri Classic and Tour of Nilgiris formats0:22:00 Circuit Races, Gravel events 0:30:40 Mountain biking as a safer option for kids0:31:40 ITTs don't have to be 40k 0:32:50 Gravel is not bad roads0:33:50 Organizers and safety standards0:35:00 Tour of Thekkady, Safety concerns, racing in the dark, neutral zones0:43:15 Talking of categories 0:46:00 Closing About the PodcastThe working athlete podcast is a podcast with and for working athletes from all walks of life and various sports. The goal is to provide inspiration, training tips, mental hacks, time management and life-style advice through conversations with some of the best in sport, from athletes to coaches. If you think you can benefit from this, please consider subscribing so that you don't miss the weekly episodes in future. Who is a working athlete? Someone working fulltime/part-time, entrepreneur or anyone who has to work to make ends meet and doesn't let being busy to stop him/her from pursuing an active lifestyle is a working athlete. I consider stay at home moms/dads who pursue a sport, as working athletes because homemaking is a full-time job.If you like this, share with friends who could be interested.For the visually inclined, a video version of the podcast can be found here: YouTubeOther Places you'll find the podcast on:Anchor | RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google podcasts | Pocket Casts | Radio Public | Breaker

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