MUMBAI: Bikes and cars are favourite toys for most men and actor Jay Zaveri who is currently part of tv show Apnapan is no exception. He is also someone who prefers to travel by bike to the sets also. Speaking about his love for bikes, Jay says, "I am a crazy bike fanatic. If given an option of a luxurious car and a bike then I would go for the bike any day, anytime. During my 9th grade I had been on my first bike ride. My friend's dad had a Bullet and I learnt how to ride a bike. My dad didn't allow me to buy a bike. In my college days, I used to ride my friend's bike. It was like if someone has a bike then he has to be my friend.”

So when was the time you owned your first bike? He adds, "When I came back from Australia after staying there for 5 years, I started working. It was a marketing job. I had to attend at least 7-8 meetings in a day between Andheri and Bandra. I told my dad about it as having a bike would be easier as I would be able to do more meetings but he was not convinced.So I used reverse psychology and told him to buy me an Activa scooty instead so that even my mom and sister could use it. Then he said that Activa wouldn’t suit me so I should get a bike and that’s how I got my first bike which was a Honda Trigger and I still have that. I consider it as my lucky bike. I even won the best salesman of the year award in my first year at office and surprisingly I got one more bike from them which was a Honda Unicorn.”

Jay also shares why he prefers his bike to commute. He says, "Whenever I go for shoots or go out I prefer riding a bike because I love bikes and secondly because of the Mumbai traffic. Whether the set is in Naigaon or in Filmcity or in Madh, I reach that location in max 40 minutes. You are saving your time and that’s one of the biggest advantages. Yes, the disadvantage is that it’s risky and you have to be more careful.“ Talking about his long drives on bike Jay says, "I have done one day trips to Shirdi. Once I went to Gujarat on a solo trip. It was a great experience.

I want to join a bikers club and go to Ladakh and experience riding a bike over there." So what is your wish-list of bikes? “I would love to buy a Harley Davidson Fat Boy one , and Chief Dark Horse by a company called Indian. MS Dhoni’s garage has so many different kinds of bikes so one day I would like to have a garage like his where I will have 20-30 bikes. It’s a different feeling for me when I ride my bike. I consider it as therapy. Whenever I am in a bad mood, I go for a bike ride alone with some music and that’s my me time.”

At the end Jay also shares the safety protocols which he follows while riding on a bike. “No one will recognise me when I'm riding a bike because I wear my helmet, glares, face mask, biker jacket, elbow guards, knee guards and safety shoes. If I am going close by then I have my safety shoes on with helmet and flares and a face mask is a must for me. I am fully covered from top to bottom. Riding a bike is a risky thing so you have to take safety measures and in monsoons I have rainwear too.”