Bike Shifting in Bannerghatta

Anyone who lives near the forest edge learns to lock the kitchen window and stop leaving fruit on the table. Monkeys in this part of the world are quick, curious and unafraid of people, and they are good at reading a situation. A house where doors stand open, cartons sit on the porch and strangers are carrying things in and out is a house where things can be picked up. A bike standing at the gate, waiting for the crew, is part of that picture, and it is more tempting than most owners imagine.

Here is what a bike offers a macaque. A seat is a nice place to sit, and a soft cover can be pulled at. The mirrors, the keys, a phone holder, a shiny reflector are interesting things to grab or rattle. The boot or under seat box may hold a packet of biscuits, a banana or a bag of groceries left there from the last shopping trip, and a monkey that smells food will tear at anything to get to it. Hanging bags on the hook are another invitation. None of this is an emergency. It is an ordinary nuisance that shows up at the worst possible moment, when the crew is at the door and the owner is upstairs.

So the way to handle a bike move here is to take away the reasons. Empty the boot completely the night before, food and all, and leave the seat open a crack so nothing inside smells of anything. Take the bag off the hook and the phone holder and any charger cable off the handlebar. Put the keys in your pocket. Keep the bike indoors, in a ground floor room or a garage with a shut door, until the crew arrives, or as close to that moment as you can manage. If it has to stand outside, put someone next to it.

On the morning, the crew works with a simple rule. Nothing waits in the open. The bike is walked from the room to the carrier and strapped straight away, and a second person keeps an eye on the open gate while it is done. We do not chase monkeys. If one wanders in, everybody steps back, leaves it a clear exit and lets it go. They can bite when cornered, and a dented mirror is a good deal cheaper than a hospital visit. The carrier's doors are shut between trips so nothing can wander inside, since a monkey in a loaded vehicle is harder to remove than anything else that goes wrong on a move.

Packing the crew's own day around the animals is a small thing, but it affects the time. Doors are opened and closed in turn, each trip is shorter than it would be elsewhere, and the final check of the house is done with the doors shut. Expect the job to run a little longer than a comparable one in the city, and expect us to say so when we give you the window.

Bannerghatta town is also a long way from most of the city, at the far end of Bannerghatta Road, well past everything else. The crew comes out from Bangalore, so we start early enough to finish loading in daylight and miss the worst of the slow peak hours on the return. Village lanes here can be soft after rain, and if the carrier cannot get close, the crew walks the bike out to firmer ground. Anyone moving the whole house can read the town's packers page for Bannerghatta. Bike transport is the only topic here.

An electric scooter has fewer smells, but its shiny dash, its exposed cables and a glossy charge port draw attention all the same. Keep it indoors until the crew comes, and take the charger lead in with you. Mention the make, and tell us whether the cells can be carried indoors. The journey plan for the battery, and the receiver's share of it, is agreed at booking. If you charge it on a verandah socket, unplug it the night before and coil the lead well out of reach of curious hands.