If you are in Pune, what do you do on a weekend when you have a few hours at hand? Go visit a bicycle museum.
Mr. Vikram Pendse has converted his three storied home into a private collection of bicycle and many other artifacts. This is a clean and neatly manintained place. If you are a professional cyclist or an amateur cyclist, you'd love this place. If you have cycled during your school or college days, this place would remind you of the good old memories. If you have never ridden a cycle, you may get inspired to buy a cycle. If your spouse or a family member is a cyclist, visiting this place would help you to understand the person better. If you are an owner of a motorised two wheeler vehicle, this place would help you appreciate of those who are the engine when they ride their two wheeler on the road. If you are an owner of a car who has no botheration for the cyclists, this place might mellow you a bit. For the cellphone addicts, this place could be an hours' escape to the vintage world, because photography and making videos is prohibited here. If you think giving away 100 rupees to see old cycles and artifacts is way too much, then why bother, stay at home or do something else.
Why do people visit museums? Reasons could be many. Education, knwoing the history and the culture, finding inspiration, delving deeper into a specific area, to have a new perspective.
This is a private collection of more than 150 vintage bicycles, tricycles, and pedal cars from the last hundred years or so. Many spare parts and accessories are also on display. A replica of a roadside cycle repair shop reminds of the bygone days when a cycle was our primary mode of transport in the city.
Apart from cycles, many ancient artifacts are part of this collection. Radios, metal locks, lamps, fans, typewriters, stove, oven, phonograph, bioscope, weighing scales, glass bottles, keychains, sewing machine, kitchenware, etc.
A calabash tree in the courtyard, few ducks quacking around, a strong dog guarding the porch, and garage space full of ancient cars and motorised two wheeler vehicles leaves the final impression on the mind while we leave the premises.
Vikram Pendse Cycle Museum
Address = 22, Harsh, Sahawas Society, Karvenagar, Pune, Maharashtra, India
Timing = 11 AM to 6:30 PM only on Saturday and Sunday. Closed on weekdays.
Ticket = Rs 100 per person
Typical duration of visit = 1 hour
Photography and making videos is prohibited.
Parking = Not Available by the museum owner. However, vehicles could be parked on the nearby roads.
