I had organised Pune Heritage Photography Tour many years back and realised that there were many who were quite interested in knowing about the heritage and culture. So when Janwani organised a meeting of several persons from different walks of life in Pune and invited suggestions about celebrating World Heritage Day, I suggested that we do Pune Heritage Cycle Ride. This suggestion was accepted and it was decided that Art India Foundation will be take the lead in organising this ride. We worked out the route which comprised of visit to important heritage sites in Pune.

This cycle ride commenced from Fergusson College at 7 a.m. on 22nd April 2012. The response was overwhelmimg with 80 riders participating. The riders represented all age groups and were drawn from all walks of life.

We covered various heritage structures in Pune such as Pataleshwar Temple, Omkareshwar Temple, Shaniwarwada, Kasba Ganapati, Raste Wada, Peshve Daftar, Council Hall, Southern Command, War Memorial and ended at Empress Garden. At the war memorial, I suddenly realised that we had as one of the riders - Wg. Cdr.Vibhas Pande, an ex Indian Air Force pilot. I requested him to show us the MIG 27 displayed there and explain various systems of the aircraft. It was very interesting to listen to the narrative from somebody who had flown that aircraft.

The cycle ride culminated at Empress Garden where refreshments were served to all participating riders. The refreshments and support vehicle for the ride was sponsored by Girikand Travels. A painting session by artist Chitra Vaidya was planned at Empress garden and many who were interested stayed back to see the painting demonstration.