Bangalore needs this debate, at least

Copenhagenize.com - The Copenhagen Bike Culture Blog: Bike Licences Are Stupid

Well, what we really need is more cycling. The lanes, debates, etc will follow. My recent trip to Delhi presented a scary vision - would hate to see Bangalore go down that path. The city exists for its roads, and getting things moving from point X to Y - and the costs for that are very very high. The Netherlands model is something far more desirable, but to start with the debate about discouraging private cars on public roads needs to be sparked.

That link above has some great reasons for cycling - from the city's point of view. The comments also bring forth a whole bunch of information that was new and illuminating to me personally. Good read.

Edit : Found a paper discussing the sprawl, the automobile and alternatives. To me its a pretty simple equation, we need to focus on getting carbon fuel powered vehicles to travel as less as possible - and the form, flow and design of the urban landscape should just follow this thought. Make it painful to travel long distances, park in crowded centres, or even drive a privately owned vehicle. The clamour for better buses, trains, cycling lanes, shorter commutes will just happen. The first requirement is to build consensus for disincentivising private transportation outside of, say, a 5 kilometre zone of one's place of residence. Parallely, develop smarter bus routes, bike lanes. Make sure its better to walk or ride or bus than drive.

TFN Training Ride #4 : Nandi Hills X 2!

A lot of riders started from Hebbal around 6:30. Joshine and I left from Kgla/Sarjapura Road respectively at 5:20 to get there in time, and we did.

Eventually, the fragmented groups of riders were Ram, Alex, Joshine, Sharath, Saurabh, I and another guy on a roadbike (sorry - forgot the same). Nupur had driven upto Nandi's base and was riding up.

It was good going today and there were few stops - the first being for breakfast just before the airport turn, and the next a short one at Nandi base. Joshine climbed with no breaks, and I took 2. Sharath had a fall and aborted the ascent a a little before the top - and Saurabh did the last 3 kms again while we got to the top :) Sriram, who was running today - met him and Nupur on their way down - they helped Sharath out.

Flew back down - and there was a nice little gathering of all riders there, whom Vasu had joined too - he rode nonstop from Kgla to Nandi base!

Joshine and I decided to try the climb again, while the others left for Bangalore. The sun was nice and bright and hot by now. This time I remembered to lockout the suspension, but, in hindsight, should've eaten before we left. Stopped after 5+ kms once, and in another km and a half, felt a bit of loss of control. Stopped for a longish break, and realized I needed food. Finished the ride with superhuman will :) and immediately announced my alimentary intentions to Joshine, who'd again done it without a break - some willpower the girl's got!

Numerous biscuits, popcorn, juice, cucumber and chikki bites later, we started back. The downhill, as always, made it all worth it :)

Refilled water and started back for Bangalore in terrible heat. That sapped us of energy real quick - especially on the main highway. By the time we crossed the airport trumpet exchange, the consensus was to break for lunch, and wait it out till the sun was less harsh. We attacked the food with relish - tho I'm sure it wasn't the best around ;)

The heat was less of an issue when we started again, but it was slow and easy going from thereon. We were tired, clearly, though still pushing hard on descents. Eventually Hebbal came and the rush of the city traffic helped in a way. Did Hebbal - Sarjapura road in an hour! bid adieu to Joshine at viveknagar and rode slowly home, which I got to by 6:15.

The speedo showed about 156.5, but given that at Nandi top it wat 72, and the extra climb would have been 16-17 kms, I figure I actually managed 160! The speedo does stop working intermittently, and is a trifle pessimistic anyhow. In any case, its my century ride, 160 or not ;)

Feel much more ready for TFN, after this one. Learnt how to manage the heat a bit - gotta drink more often, take breaks evert 10-15 kms. The knees are just fine, though the shoulders need some more work. And I should probably get the cycling shorts anyhow....

Fitness Advice and Tests @ Manipal

919 kms, eh ? Sure, some of the TFN participants are seasoned riders, and many have done 100+ rides numerous times. Even so, doing such distances across mountain terrain day after day is not something that one's body usually takes to kindly.

It was in this context that Dr. Chandra, the doctor of sports medicine at the Manipal Hospital, the official Medical Assistance Partner for the TFN, had organized a session on advice related to nutrition and fitness for the participants today.

About 14 participants attended the session today. It was great to meet fellow participants, many of them with impressive histories.

The first session was on nutrition - conducted by Dr.Jyothi Prasad.

Nutrition (We start with the Cake Festival!)

Dr. Jyothi started off with a gem of an analogy about nutrition for endurance sports - paraphrasing here - "You are like a sports car, you won't go far on and empty tank or do too well on cheap fuel". So eat well, eat often and rehydrate all the time.

The total energy expended must be replenished, and this mostly comes from carbs, proteins and fats, and fluids and salts lost must be accounted for as well. While the exact amount of calories expended varies a lot per person and with effort, the replenishment should follow a 70% carbs, 20% proteins and 10% fats guideline.

- about 7-10g of fat per Kg per day
- about 1.5-2g of proteins per Kg per day

The average Indian meal has enough carbs to take care of your needs, and more often than not you do not need supplements of any form.

Its a good idea to stack up on carbs the night before a long ride, and unless you have breakfast 3 hours before the ride begins, go with a not-heavy breakfast and keep munching on quick release carbs - sugars, juices, energy bars - every now and then.

Hydration is of paramount importance to avoid fatigue and keep performance levels up throughout the ride. Drink 400-600ml before you start, and 150-300ml every 15Fitness-20 minutes as you ride. Its important to keep repleneshing salts as well, so an electrolyte (Electral/Gatorade or even water with some salt and sugar) will do much better than plain water. Include salt rich snacks as well.

Biscuits, chikki, bananas found pretty much everywhere make for good snacks. Its important to eat regularly. Its also important to replenish carbs, fluids, salt after the ride, so you're all set for the next day as well!

Fitness

Dr. Chandra has deep experience with sports medicine, and was with Machester United for a while as well!

We were initially introduced to the pre-ride issues - cycle fit techniques, riding positions, things to watch out for.

Its important to get the saddle height correct. One method discussed was

distance of crank to top of seat = 0.88 x inseam height of barefoot rider

The correct fore-aft position of the seat :

Sit on the bike, with both pedals parallel to the ground. In riding position, a plumb line dropped from the edge of the knee should ideally pass through the axis of the pedal. Else you're putting too much pressure on the knee.

He also discussed the muscles that get used most while riding, and training them well for achieving symmetry and balance in effort during the ride. The gluteus - buttock - muscles are the ones that provide maximum strength to the pedalling motion. These were the ones we all got tested later as well.

The importance of chained kinetics and hence strengthening the other 'helper' muscles as well was also highlighted. Doc especially pointed out the impact of weak scapula - the muscles between the shoulders - that can cause neck aches and overall fatigue and imbalance.

On the Ride

Dr. Chandra assured us that the medical team travelling along with the riders would be able to handle all aches, pains, strains and cramps, and keep the riders going. There's also Magesh - who will be available for specialist sports massages as needed - for peace of mind and muscle!

He did ask the riders to lookout for out-of-the-ordinary symptoms inclusing excessive sweating, dizziness, loss of control lasting a few tens of seconds, numbness, and rest, and seek attention. A process for keeping emergency contacts handy, and clearly outlining the name, location, nature of the problem, as well as getting a clear acknowledgement from the person at the other end, was also spelled out.

We were asked to not lose focus on recovery after the rides - stretching, resting with elevated legs, a decent massage, icing sone properly were some techniques described. Proper food and even psychological rejuventation are part of the recovery process itself, as is a good night's sleep!

We then got our blood grouping done, and Ravi kept all the cards. A test to gauge the strength and balance of our buttock muscles was also done, and I will completely avoid getting into the details of the results of my specific readings here for evident reasons :)

We had a very informative session, and the confidence it inspired in us about being is safe, experienced hands and having acceess to excellent medical facilities will surely help in a much more fun ride.

Thanks Doc, thanks Manipal and thanks Ravi and the TFN organizers!

Look forward to a terriffic ride.

How many riders....

Have been trying to collect details about how many people ride to work etc in Bangalore.

Now that the numbers of regular commuters who've responded has hit 50, sharing - the surveys still open and hope to see the numbers hit 100+

From Blogger Pictures

The ride without a because

Why am I riding the TFN ?

I'm a 34 year old desk-bound guy who's hardly gotten any exercise in a decade. I'm certainly not the athletic kinds, reasonably sedentary, in fact. I've just started cycling only a few months ago. My legs aren't that strong, and my knees howled in protest on the first long ride a couple of weeks ago. My parents will be in town, and I have a wife and kids who would have ideally joined me in a car on a trip to beautiful places like this.

Why does anyone ride ? Especially such a ride ?

I dunno - maybe its the idea of being up in the mountains with the December chill getting deep into your bones - with the only internal combustion happening inside your cells trying to counter the temperatures. Maybe its the silence of the wind whistling past your ears as you wheeeeeeee! down a slope. Perhaps its an escapist dream one wants to live for a few days, where all that matters is getting to the next milestone, or round the next bend. The company of like minded people to share stories with, and learn from, is surely part of the deal.

Is it the likely battle with ones own self as one struggles up the Ooty switchbacks, or when the muscles scream for rest ? About crossing personal barriers, overcoming demons ? Is it the adrenaline rush of the long distances in the most fun terrain around these parts ? Or the fear of the rapidly increasing numbers on the right hand side of columns in forms which say "age:", and a rush to do something before that number gets too big ?

What ?

Its a beautful place, and tough climbs, cool fresh air, great coffee, fun company. All of that. I could analyse this forever and ever. But at the end of the day, whats true is that I just want to do this ride. Perhaps I'll find the answer along the way, perhaps not. Perhaps I'll not even finish the legs I plan to do.

But - I'll have tried to do what I wanted to. Maybe thats the big one .....


C'y'all on the Tour of the Nilgiris.

Secure! Sanitize! Lockdown!

What is this ? The 21st century ? One might have predicted the obsolescence of armed forces as we knew them around WWII by now. Nopes, now target/hostiles/rdx etc are part of everyday vocabulary. Common citizens, and even kids, are familiar with the tools and methods of terrorism, and counter-terrorism, and counter-counter-insurgency, and warfare.

Whats wrong with the human race ? Our grey matter seems to manage way more negative than positive. I cannot understand for the life of me how that little mass of tissue inside the cranium can generate and carry around so much hatred - towards something or someone, that you can merrily destroy whatever crosses your path. Pretty effed up.

And the reaction now is equally scary. Yeah its necessary, but its already terrible to get frisked, have your bags checked at airports, and at malls, and for movies, and perhaps the neighbourhood grocer next. Its stressful, and a little irritating, and the lack of trust everyone has of everyone else slowly starts eating you from within.

Sure its required, and the enemy has forced it upon us, but see, the enemy is already winning.

Of course, its dumb to not take these precautions - after all every life is worth saving at whatever cost.

Is it ? Sure, sounds correct. But I don't really know upto what extent. The loss of innocence, the militarization of civilization, the omniscience of suspicion and "security-checks" - its all depressing. Stick to your friends, stay at home, retire to a small nondescript hamlet which is hopefully not a "potential target" - these seem to be the options.

Freedom ?

Used to love the carefreeness I've always associated with the word. I see it going, slowly.

At the same time, we claim to work towards freedom for those who have it not, and are chained by a variety of means. We're inventing a few ourselves now. New bottle, similar wine.

Damn the terrorists. Damn the fear. Almost damn the human brain.

Sorry, felt like a little rant this morning.

Update:

Now that I got that out of my system - the thought occurs that hard policing - including the heavy duty frisking and metal detectors and checks are probably the least effective methods of countering those seeking to strike terror. I cannot imagine the metal detectors at Forum, for instance, being of much use against someone determined to destroy lives and property.

The oft repeated "better intelligence" and "co-ordination" are probably less visible and more effective methods that avoid keeping the "terror" alive.

Though, given the complexity and size of the country, a few will slip the fingers. Oh well....

Critical Mass Poster Invite

Bike/Pedestrian primary city ?

The Dutch have done it a long time ago - turned against the automobile for commutes inside and immediately around the city. There are a lot many more who're either bike-friendly already, or waking up to it.

A lot many of us consider the coming decades to be India's, and Bangalore's surely one of the "smarter" and more cosmopolitan, forward thinking cities here.

Can we do it ?

What its got going for it ?

• A lot many people do live close to their workplaces - within 10-12kms
• Bangalore does have slopes - but nothing major
• Lovely weather most of the year - through the monsoon I got caught in the rain maybe thrice

What may it change ?

• Make it tougher/more expensive to drive - actively discourage bigger vehicles
• Might "split" the urban sprawl into smaller, more self contained centres. This will be a major help in managing them better as well. The various "towns" can be connected primarily using decent public transport which is again bike friendly.
• Fewer traffic related deaths, lesser pollution, lesser need to chop trees, expand roads and the like - lesser money spent better on public transport, a few arterial roads etc.

To me, the Dutch model for growth/urbanization beats the American Suburban sprawl model hands down. Its the way forward for civilization - and while this might seem like a utopian dream, its feasibility has been proven already, and "but-we're-Indians" is the only myth that needs busting.

Some cyclists are trying to do that a little this Fri - first ever Critical Mass ride in Bangalore. The plan is to ride in a single line (i.e one cyclist behind the other) and draw attention to the fact there there are people who cycle on the roads and that other people using the road should know about us and provide us
equal opportunity to use the roads.

Just a simple peaceful ride!

Cycle in a single file
No breaking red lights
No cussing
No arguing with motorists
Just a quiet ride. And it'll be fun.

I'm hoping we turn the IC-engine tide and pedal into a better city in a decade or so. Mere hope ? Who knows. I was really hoping the government would NOT drop fuel prices....

Bike To Work Basics

Bike To Work Book Free Chapters

It talks about some common anxieties, issues and myths. Good read if you're still wondering. If we can get 5% of Bangalore officegoers on bikes, it'll have done a tremendous lot for the city, and the riders as well.

My first century ride. Plus Nandi Hills!

Had planned a 90ish kms Nandi Hills ride, and as it turned out, did the full tour-day-distance! 145kms - mostly thanks to the extremely motivating Vasu, and never-say-die-first-long-distancer-Joshine. Joshine and I were the TFN aspirants on the ride, while Vasu was the guy who looked like he could actually do it easily :)

The first-cut-plan was to take a ride with Rajat upto CCD before the airport turnoff - but he had to pullout because of some personal reasons. Vasu called on Fri night and said he'd join as well.

Got home at 1am, caught some sleep and was off at 6 - Joshine got there too and we talked to a few BMTC guys who refused to entertain bikes. Vasu had gotten home at 3 - and asked us to carry on towards Hebbal when I called him. We left Koramangala around 6:50am

There was some pain below my left knee as we started, and stayed for a while but disappeared by the time we crossed Hebbal - we were doing decent time and I even did a burst or two of pushing hard. It rained a bit en-route, and we stopped for water + a snack a little before the airport turn. Vasu caught up with us and we pushed along. Iggy and Rushi crossed us around Devanahalli - apprently after 3 ascents up Nandi Hills! Devanahalli to the turn towards NH is a persistent gradual climb and it took all my might to maintain 14kmph on that. Ant other short break.

Just before the turn at the end of the straight - saw a guy with a compressor, and given the huge rolling resistance i was sensing and attributing to crosswinds - decided to check on tyre pressure anyhow. Front:30 - Rear:35!!! Arrgghhhh. Filled them up to 55-60 (not a very sure gauge I guess) and the improvement was immediate!

Stopped at the Nandi Hills base for eats - bun + tea + biscuits + tea + chips + chikki + water - and did a lot many stretches - answered questions about the bike - and about 20 mins later Joshine and Vasu got there. Another tea.

Felt much better stuffed with all the sugar, salt, water and air in the tubes. Started the climb with a fair bit of anxiety. Vasu provided ample tips on gear selection, planned breaks and the like.

My focus - throughout the ride - was on maintaining cadence as long as I could - and thats what I was focusing on the ascent as well - did that peacefully (gears:1x2/3, 7-10kmph) for the first 3 kms - took a break - carried on for another 3 in similar fashion, then hit the hairpins. The first couple were a disaster - went to 1x1 and was looking for the next lower gear by the end of the slope after the bend :) Vasu suggested moving to the next higher gear on the front (2x2/3) and standing up - pushing hard just around the bend and settling down to the lower gears imdtly after - that helped and went all the way up - with some effort tho. Nandi was in the clouds, and their was a fair smattering of rain to keep things cool.

It must routine for a lot of you guys, but I went "woooooooo..." when I reached the top :)

The downhill - in heavier rain for part of it - was a 35-44kmph affair all the way with the v-brakes doing a fairly decent job! Vasu timed himself and was actually pedalling hard as well - 11.something minutes from the ticketed gate to the base!

Vasu suggested a smaller road to Doddaballapur turning right from the base - we took that - lovely, scenic, lesser traffic. Lunch at D-b-pur was egg+rice/chapati as you wished.

The limbs were beginning to tire a bit - we hit the century a few kms along on the road to yelahanka - and average speeds dropped quite a bit. Joshine was in bad shape but determined nevertheless, and Vasu's egging, and lighthearted banter to keep us distracted, made life easier :) We got to Yelahanka eventually, and from there the rush of city traffic enveloped us, and soon we were cutting/dicing through the urban commuter mess.

Got home at nearly 8:15 - more than 14 hrs after I'd started, 13+ hrs of the actual ride and 8:40 on the saddle! 145kms - unthinkable in the morning but achieved by the evening...felt real good. Especially including the Nandi ascent and rain-riding. And the legs/knees didn't feel half as bad as after my earlier two long distance rides. Slept like a log, though each turn was a sloow painful process.

Am feeling a lot more confident about the TFN stages I'm doing - at least the first day. Getting up in some sort of shape and doing the Ooty climb on day 2 is totally another cup of tea. Raring to go, nevertheless...

Realty : Its beginning to slide ?

Slowdown: DLF slashes rates for its maiden Bangalore project - Corporate News - livemint.com

I'd kinda thought it would be in October, and sure, there were signs, but now it seems to have kicked in formally, with the biggest guys caving in as well!

Inspiration ?

My knee hurts a bit. Thank god i have a knee to hurt. Watch the video - it shut my knee up for some time at least. Awe inspiring stuff!



"Life is better than worrying about a leg, y'know...."

TFN Training Ride #2

Route:

Redwoods-ECity-Gottigere-Bannerghata NP-Jigani-Anekal-Chandapura Circle - Vakil Satellite Township - left to Huskur - Hosa Road - Sarjapura Road - Redwoods (about 77kms in all)

Started in the rain - left knee hurt by E-City already. Carried on with an eye of returning after meeting guys at Gottigere - carried on to the NP anyway - and then to Jigani.

Knee felt much worse between Jigani-Anekal and I dropped pace. A few stretches, slow riding and grimacing helped manage it.

Abhi and Ram took off to Pearl Valley while Jas and I went towards Hosur Road - walked a little in between, and felt better after some rest and tea/cake - rode much better after the Chandapura crossing and only after a bit of off-roading did I feel a huge stab in the knee, completely stopped, walked a little, and then the knee felt much better than it had all morning! The right knee - probably overloaded through the ride - ached a little by now - but an easy few kms saw me home.

Updated the log with takeaways etc.


Feel unsure about the TFN even now - but the last few kms felt better and gave me some hope.

Training Calendar

Suggestions for changes welcome.

Log/tips captured here.

Doc Rajat's Advice for TFN

Doc Rajat of Manipal Cure &Care helped out with some advice about training for the TFN. A lot of the audio below is unclear - have typed out a rough transcript below as well.






S-Sameer
R-Ravi
Doc-Doc Rajat

S:Should we start ?
R:yup!
S:...Just did 70km last sun - had done about max 40 before that
What happened was i felt some pain around the lower part of my knee
Its kind of disappeared over the last couple of days - I just kept riding
I'm just wondering what i did wrong and how one can recover from this.

Doc: As u said 40 is the longest you rode and thats really important because you doubled it right away.
Thats incorrect when you talk about endurance - running/cycling - what we recommend is 10% increases - because ur body needs to adapt - that was the big issue here.
Whatever you're complaining about - the layman bit - i think it is probably ITB - (?) - it happens suddenly - its like a sharp pain around there - each step that you take

S: It was happening only when i was cranking, or climbing stairs

Doc: Exactly - that usually happens amongst cyclists/runners - why it happens is as u increase ur inc ir mileage too much too soon - ur musculature is not right - maybe muscular imbalance problem - the stretching is not there - in cycling its not an issue but for runners the shoes may be wrong - it may seem all fine over short distances - it takes the strain - but its the distance that you do at one go - should not be more than 10% - mileage growth in a week, again, should not be more than 10%
Having said that, whatever your distance target is for the race - I would say do not test it right away - build it up over 2/3 weeks - basically the issue we have is you have around 5 weeks - and you need to taper off as well - its not like till the 5th week you have to stretch it - you have to go up and come down - so don't do too much - even you've done 70% of the distance you're fine

More than the distance its how much time you spend onthe bike.

S:And abt nutrition - have read we're supposed to eat 300 cal/hr

Doc: Professional Sports ppl more than amateurs - they're always looking for power gel, power bars - most of us are comfortable with natural - our normal diet so thats something you should try out beforehand so you get used to it - its something you've never taken - so while on the ride don't take it for the first time - it reacts.

But the bars are good - the way they're designed is they give you an immediate kick of carbohydrate or sugar...

S:Are there any indigenous foods so you don't have to carry everything, food store locally

Doc:They're great - this is not medical but as a runner - but don't bank on local stores etc - always have it in ur car or whatever vehicles supporting you - in the whole run dont depend on local availability - its better to cater to urself - not necessarily on you - but ...

S:In terms of salt intake - how do you really manage - is food enough ?

Doc:yes and no -

so if you're not cycling very quick - and have been cycling for a long time - its ok. More than plain water - i'd suggest having solvent sugar in it - much better than plain - try to have water with glucose it it - normal glucon-D - don't have too much plain water - too many people wait till they're very thirsty - and drink 1/2 or 1 litre at one shot.

....

In sports its very rare for people to have dehydration - its more common to have over-hydration.

----------------------------------------------------

rough guidelines:
About 250ml everyhour
Drink regularly - small sips

The last part is about what issues to look out for when starting to train for something like this after relative inactivity. Essentially some free consultation :)

TFN - Route details

Here are the stages I've committed to - 145 kms from Madikeri-Sultan Battery, with most of the climb at the end - the dark unknown zone so far as my riding abilities are concerned :)

Day 2 of my ride is shorter, but a major ascent -

Day 3, optional - is "in Ooty" itself - either a rest day or a ride to Dodda Betta, which I think is about 15 odd kms one way, though a major climb.

Right now it all looks impossible :) If I do not hit 120kms soon.......

Tour of Nilgiris Signup!

Did something my logical part had shot down after lots of deliberation - registered for days 3,4,5 of this - flyer below:

Will be posting training log updates here - starting with todays 68.8 km ride to Chikka Tirupati and back which has made me realize a lot of things I need to overcome before I consider myself capable of doing the 3 days I plan to.

Jampot TOIed

TOI recently did a story on Jamshedpur - of course with a Bollywood twist and all that. Its pretty much a trip down Nostalgic Alley, though a very "Northern Town" view of it :)

Given how permanently-smitten all us Jamshedpur folks are with where we came from - I'm not surprised the Bollywood gang has a reputation for going on-and-on-and-on about it in their circles as well.

Nice read, if you're from Jsr - especially Loyola or Dabba ( :D ok DBMS). For the rest of you out there, you should visit the place once if you're around there. But then its not so much a visitors' haven as the ideal place to grow up in.

Priorities, and the Matrix

What dictates our lives. How cool is that!

Mobile Greetings for your friends

Bunch of upgrades to Zook.

• Find the alert you want to set. Try “alerts movies INOX bangalore” or “alerts electronics deals“ - essentially syntax independent after the “alerts ….” - find and set the deals/movies/events you want to follow, not the “best whatever” somebody else puts and pushes to you.
• Greetings: Find a birthday/diwali/eid, etc, SMS forward, and set it up for the appropriate day as a mobile greeting! We’ll make sure its delivered on the right day and tell your friend you remembered them on the special day.
• Web Search: We’ve integrated web search results on Zook - just in case the data isn’t there, or good enough right away. Over time, we’ll try pulling information out of that too so you don’t have to grapple with links and more links and more links….

Keep Zook.in!

Why Ride

This one talks about how everyone benefits from cycling - everyone around too that is!

A little too positive, but yeah, if enough cars get off Sarjapura Road, everyone will benefit.

"Ring" tone is called that for a reason

Here's something that warmed my heart.

















I'm probably just old, but have not made my peace with non-"phone ring" ringtones yet :)

Markets down ? Not for cycles...

Original Article Here

I guess it is a wonderful invention, and as the human race discovers more and more of it, it can only do us all a lot of good. Meanwhile, people have been putting in fabulous mileage on their bikes - and I'm totally awed/inspired.

First "weekend" ride

Finally managed to do a weekend ride around Sarjapura Road this morning. Apartment - Hosa Road - left at the end towards Huskur - Continued straight towards the road on which Vakil Township etc are - then Dommasandra. Had IVC there - and headed back via DPS - some back roads - Sarjapura Road. 30 easy-riding kilometres in all. The stretch just before Huskur was pure off roading fun.


Riders/Bikes:

Saurabh/Trek 4300 V
Arvind/Trek 6500 D
Sameer/Merida SUB 40 V


Total time: 1Hr 40 mins including the breakfast break.
Average riding speed as per my Trek cyclometer: 17.4


Next week target : 50kms hopefully.


Pic: Saurabh rides up in a light drizzle as a I take a break.

Lets go down *that* road

live the life that you want to buy the high definition TV to watch on ?
be moments you catch in someone's fairy tale ?
breathe the cool mountain air that looks so cool on flickr ?
what do you wanna do ? lets go there ?
are you already in the script somebody else scripted ?
do you want to be in someone else's skin ?
which is the real you, and where will it be found ?
which is your favourite colour ? Dessert ? Sound ?
But thats just cause its cool.
acquired, borrowed taste.
an overarching sense of urgency and haste.
a busy life, a sense of purpose.
what is it you really want, what ?
high end beemer ? cruise control ?
faster download, smoother road ?
better this and more aspirational that ?
when you fly so high, oooh, it all looks flat.
or did you just catch a glimpse of what might be the other life ?
is it an escapist dream or the true self ?
what happens now, if you just give in ?
give in.
is it just a little bit the same as giving up ?
have you just tired a little of living it up ?
are you ready to face the consequences of the pursuit of the dream ?
or does the thought of "consequences" make you scream ?
free fall, high rise, take the context to a different life.
green grass, blue sky. Out of the tube, and go you, fly.
flow with it. go with it. take the risk thats not a risk.
ah what music to the heart
but will you, will I, ever ?

Not sure you want to buy that high end Trek/Merida?

Rent-a-cycle now, if you're not sure you want to invest in a high end one right away. Bangalore Bikers thought some about it, and decided it would both help people discover these bikes, and trails, and let the bikes earn for themselves when idle.

Moral Brigade Adventures Episode N

Now the moral police corrects moral code violations involving inter-community-interactions.

Isn't this contempt of law, the constitution and the basic ethos of multi-cultural India? If any hard line stance needs acceptance, its the one thats completely intolerant of such policing. Sure, they have a right to frown upon it and not agree with it conceptually, but "Girls reform themselves once they are thrashed and humiliated in public, but boys are tougher to control" gives away these Neanderthals for what they really are.

This is really regressive, sad and irritating. But then polity today lacks leaders - who can create consensus and drive progressive opinion - but has mere "followers" of populist - and sometimes not even that, but merely shrill and unchallenged - opinion. And one hardly expects these vacuous individuals to provide progressive thought leadership, or take on the loud mouths that are practicing anarchy in the name of ethnic, religious identities.

As you sow, so you feel

Calvin has his brush with the implications of mankinds misdeeds.

Come the rains...

Governance, governance, bad roads.

Such articles make an appearance around this time of the year, every year.
Does it matter who's running things, if nobody is at all ?
I think a lot's been done at a micro level - roads have been repaired, drains cleaned - but its the overall civic/town planning that does not exist at all - and they velleys and natural drainage systems have been interfered with all over Bangalore. I don't even think the guys running the show can think at that level of complexity/abstraction. The problem's bigger than them.

Biased, or merely shallow and lazy ?

Yet another "analysis" of the Kashmir situation without even a cursory read of the various issues, arguments and stances involved.

Yeah India's had the army in there for ages now, and that creates huge issues with the local population (anywhere, be it Naxalite dominated areas, the NE, or Kashmir). But the escalation was not a one way street - though surely not the best way to solve it. We've also had rather hostile neighbours around there, and the time there was lowered presence of personnel, we had to go to war to reclaim territory, and lost a few hundred brave men in the process.

Its also a fact the Kashmir enjoys special powers and an independent constitutional status, something very few countries would've permitted within their borders. Kashmir is almost an independent nation within India - and its been a one way street from that point of view. They've even managed a couple of really free polls and have had a shot at improving their situation with Kashmiris at the helm - how long can they keep on passing the buck to "New Delhi" ? Bihar has been in a worse spot, gets lesser from the Centre, yet cribs lesser, and is not clamouring for independence. If they could not make it work, and I'm not saying it didn't work - they are - within a free, democratic setup, then all the best within a mess like one that Pak is in today.

As for the plebiscite, India owes nothing to anyone, legally. If the Pak army had moved back, and freed up all of Kashmir, and if the vote happened in all of the region, the UN resolution argiment would've been admissible. Right now, it has no bearingon the case.

Also, the Valley is a small part of J&K (&L, if I may dare to include the voice a huge mass of people otherwise unrelated to this issue). Not all of those people are demanding Azaadi.

Yes, I think India should hold a referendum in the Valley - because we should take the higher moral path and try and get this resolved - and because we've tried hard enough and long enough. If they really want out, well, let them. not to honour defunct resolutions, but because we cannot get over their distrust of us anymore, and we'd rather not have them hang around in their current state.

Jammu, Ladakh are Indian, and happily at that. We cannot drag them into this.

And international reporters really really need a little deeper sense on the issue before they pass judgement. Its just too shallow, and presumptuous.

BIAL User Development Fee or What A Pain

Now this.

Oh well, the airline industry is facing massively challenging times. And the users are getting less and less positive about flying, at least in Blore. Its constantly getting more painful, AND more expensive, unlike the pre-low-fares era, where the emphasis, at least, was on the luxury/comfort part of flying.

Is it any wonder that trains are tougher to get reservations in, once more ?

The Choices For Kashmir

Gurcharan Das writes a very simple, straightforward and relevant piece on Kashmir's choices.

I agree (I point to the Valley alone when I say Kashmir). I have a fear that the wrong choice may already have been made - owing partly to poor PR skills on the Indian government and media's part, and to Neanderthal reactions from some political parties seeking to score political points in this issue of serious implications.

However, if the choice is indeed what the cacophony suggests it is, and if its proven to be thus by a referendum that we must conduct, then we must let go. And let go with a complete dissociation. All those who choose the idea of India our welcome. And all those with a parochial outook - bye.

I hope, if the average Kashmiris do think India's a better bet, that they muster the courage to come together and subdue the shrill voices we're hearing right now.

Cycling - aches, pains, postures and glossary

I have had a dull ache in the calf muscles for a week or so - and did some reading up about this. Am sharing what I've learned through this - its not first hand knowledge, and you should talk to a doc if you have specific issues.

• Learn about Cadence. Yeah its a technical term, but a useful one-read
• Don't trust your instinct alone - most of us associate "pushing hard" with developing fitness - and there are times where its useful, but mostly counter productive, for bikers
• Read this
• And this : The physiology of cycling,, pains, etc is good to keep in your head
  
• Stretching not only helps, but is very critical for overall fitness.
• Other pains, injuries. Correct Saddle height, riding technique, are all important as you start doing longer distances.
  

Happy riding - and see you on the roads :)

More on the Kashmir now-debate

Reuters picked up the 2 columns, and sparked off a debate.

From the comments, its obviously a tough battle - getting people to agree to even put let-Kashmir-go on the list. Years of chest beating have attuned us to patriotism based on weird stuff. It matters not that its an impediment to our march forward as a nation, and drag on resources, and to top it all, the people of the place want out.

The only stakeholders who can think otherwise with some legitimacy are the Pandits, whose home this land was and who've suffered there. But I suspect a lot many will be pragmatic, and look ahead rather than backwards.

At the very least, keeping this out of the scope of the discussion is certainly both short sighted and counter productive. I even think a lot many Kashmiris will themselves wonder about how it'll work out for them once this option becomes a possibility, however bleak. I'm sure they realize how Pakistan's progressed, and how Indian has. Even the Pandits that were pressurized into leaving have done way better outside of Kahmir.

We've got to look beyond the land itself, and boundaries. We've got to move ahead and get to other problems. Too much effort, money, time is being spent on this, with little in return.

Update: Jug Suraiya gets into the act too. Its a pretty strong vote for considering this possibility already. The shrill noises from the other end, as experienced from the users comments to this, mean that a lot of PR work remains if this option is to made workable, but totally discounting it isn't healthy for us, right now.

More on the Shabana Azmi utterances

This happened yesterday.

In the entire speech interview (which is very different, cause the questions often lead down certain paths), she:

• mentioned the first hand experience of difficulty in buying a house in Mumbai
• started off with the fact that she considers Muslims safer in India, and that they have a bigger say because of democracy.
• held that the Muslim leadership needed to do more for an image change
• clearly said that Muslims "is allowing itself to listen to the fundamentalists , who actually are not their leaders at all".
• said that there was a gap in understanding the community on the part of those outside it.

Its a rather honest assessment, springing from a bitter first hand experience (not debating whether its true by and large, etc - but its her experience, and she has a right to state it). Its absurd to read any of those points in isolation, as the media have done, and that Mr. V Naidu has promptly pounced upon and denounced as anti-majority, anti-national!!! Pray whats anti-majority/nation in stating one's first hand pain, and reflecting on your own community's problems in addressing issues that impact them ?

I understand the need for sensationalism - but this is twisting things way out context. Way too much.

Disgusting. The media, polity and all of that. So ready to bend anything for their petty PR gains. Yuck.

Increasing Polarization ?

Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi unable to buy houses cause of their religious affiliation ?

If true, its a very serious situation. I can say with confidence that Bangalore is way way way better than that (though, because of my name - assumed to be community specific in Bangalore, I have been sometimes asked "the question" when I tried renting a house some years ago. But by and large people live, eat, travel where they want to).

If true - this means to me that Gujarat and now Mumbai have gone down the drain as far as citizen's security is concerned, or even common ordinary folks, or even the leading lights of the places, have all become fundamentalists.

I hope to God she's wrong. I hope to God this was in frustration from a one-off incident. 61st "independence" day ? Hmmmmm......

I'm sticking to Bangalore. Shabana, Javed, you're welcome here too.

The Valley of no hope ?

I've been having similar thoughts to those that Vir Sanghvi expresses. Its only with a heavy heart, and despair, that one is forced to say this. I've always believed no problem is big enough if people are rational, open minded and fair. Sorry, those have turned out to be big ifs.

If we cannot own a people, there's no point owning the land. Tactical superiority and all that be damned - armed defense no longer depends on who owns the higher hill. And our false machismo about "how can we give away even an inch of our land" needs to be relooked at - since the Kashmiris do not consider their place part of "our land", who are we to ?

I'd love to be friends with the Valley and its people, but like Sanghvi, it looks like its gone beyond the point of no-hope. As he points out, plenty and more has been done. In fact I suspect that the special status might be one reason for Kashmiris thinking of themselves as a different country altogether. Bihar has had rigged elections, and pretty much every other state to some extent. A lot many places have less progress, more poverty. Yet you do not see this degree of a desire for secession, and at this scale.

If indeed most Kashmiris want to join Pakistan, or be an independent country, let them. ONLY the valley, of course. Not Ladakh, not Jammu.

And then, make sure we have NOTHING to do with them. Economically, politically, from the tourism point of view, whatever. Let's see how well they do without the larger embracing idea that India is. Let's see if narrow parochial, diehard ethnicity does better than what India's been managing to do. Even if the Valley then runs into problems, or needs help, sorry, you asked for it, idiots. You think we're out to get you ? Wait till you do it to yourself, or worse, the mess that Pakistan is happens to you. Alvida, guys.

I suspect the resilient Pundits have already kind of given up on the Valley, and in fact, many have done well in other parts of India. I have friends amongst them, and think we should do our all to ensure they are well settled in India. [ Or at least as well settled as the rest of us are :) ]

I hate thinking in terms of a "them", but in case, to hell with them, and good riddance.

Update:

Just came across a similar thought expressed by Swami Ankesaria Aiyer too. Reproducing the conclusion of his point of view :

India has sought integration with Kashmir, not colonial rule. But Kashmiris nevertheless demand azaadi. And ruling over those who resent it so strongly for so long is quasi-colonialism, regardless of our intentions. We promised Kashmiris a plebiscite six decades ago. Let us hold one now, and give them three choices: independence, union with Pakistan, and union with India. Almost certainly the Valley will opt for independence. Jammu will opt to stay with India, and probably Ladakh too. Let Kashmiris decide the outcome, not the politicians and armies of India and Pakistan.

So its definitely not an isolated thought. Its not gained political currency yet, but I guess as a first step, someone needs to make the thought of making this outcome an acceptable possibility - and to ensure this is presented as an extreme one-off step, with disastrous consequences for those who want it - but alas, we cannot really help them if they want out of a nation on the path of greatness. We had promised a plebiscite, so we're just making good on a promise.

Free Stuff: SD cards, Nokia batteries

Ok, a pal of mine has really cleaned up. Here goes:

http://give4free.blogspot.com/2008/08/16mb-canon-sd-card.html
http://give4free.blogspot.com/2008/08/2-nokia-bl-5c-batteries.html

And I realized I had this at home:

http://give4free.blogspot.com/2008/08/16mb-panasonic-sd-card.html

This should be useful to someone.

Two new BIAS buses to BIAL

BIAS-10
Shivajinagar Bus Station Bangalore International Air Port Indian Express, Vidhana Soudha, Cauvery Bhavan, AGO Office, Hotel Lee Meridian, Mekhri Circle, Hebbala, Jn.of Kogilu Cross ( Only Non AC Suvarna Services)

BIAS-11
Chikkalasandra Bangalore International Air Port Padmanabhanagar ,Kathriguppe, Hosakerehalli Cross, Deepanjalinagar, Vijayanagara, Basaveshwara nagar 8th Main, Navarang, Malleshwaram Bus Station, Sadashivanagara Bash yam Circle, Mekhri Circle , Hebbal, Jn.of Kogilu cross. (Only AC Vayuvajra Services)

Will be adding this to Zook BIAS schedules by tomorrow or so.

Got a helmet - Bell Venture

Prasant's colleague got a couple of helmets from the UK - both BELL Ventures (reviews here). Picked one up - seems very nice - especially with the adjustable "head-grip" or whatever.

Finally, will look weird riding to work :D

Bangalore Commute Data Update

Update for this:

• 66 responses so far.
• 51.5% ppl commute <>
• 56% take the car(25.8%)/2 wheeler. And this survey first went out to a cyclists' (15.2%) list
  
• 71% people have divided roads - Bangalore sure has improved. A mere 10.6% have unpaved surfaces enroute.
• 30.3% folks go at 8-9am, another 30.3% at 9-10am
• 77% people leave bet 5-8pm. Shows on the roads
• Average Speeds: 37.9% < 20kmph, 41.4% between 31-45kmph
  
• 30.8% ppl encounter a jam once a day, 29.2% find multiple jams everyday
• 65%+ folks do groceries within a km! Thats nice. Walk ? Drive ?
• 39.4% exercise rarely, another 24.4% only "sometimes"

Will put the details up once it crosses 100.

Free Geek Giveaways!

SDRAM
AGP Video Card

These are from a pal - check out and let me know if you're interested.

400kms up!

Got past the 400km (of cycling on the Merida) mark last evening. here's the reading after this morning's ride to work:

Some other random pics of the bike:

Parked @ Work


@ CCD, Behind BDA Complex, Koramangala

Bharath makes cars go at 180kmpl!

http://specials.rediff.com/money/2008/aug/07sl1.htm

Bharat - one of Shubha's cousins - was involved in the above project. He's been pretty passionate about it - and good to see the young team manage both the tech and the PR this well. I'm hoping they are able to impact the auto scene in India building upon ideas demonstrated here - all thats needed is some faith and a free hand given by the suits at the auto companies. Or maybe there's value in striking out on their own - creating a consulting and maybe a components startup that helps multiple automakers achieve better efficiencies.

Alien Alert - Holy Cow!

C`est La Vie: BREAKING NEWS indeed!!!

Holy Cow - and broken news :)

Now we know why milk's more expensive....

Commute Data for Bangalore

Am trying to gather commuting data for Bangalore. The idea is to see whats happening, and whats possible. Of course, will pass this on to those promoting cycling, and hope to see a lot more pedallers on the roads :)

Will keep this open till there's enough data and then publish it here.

Please take this survey and pass it on to colleagues/friends.

Survey : Commuting in Bangalore

Update:

• 66 responses so far.
• 51.5% ppl commute < 15kms to work
  
• 56% take the car(25.8%)/2 wheeler. And this survey first went out to a cyclists' (15.2%) list
  
• 71% people have divided roads - Bangalore sure has improved. A mere 10.6% have unpaved surfaces enroute.
• 30.3% folks go at 8-9am, another 30.3% at 9-10am
• 77% people leave bet 5-8pm. Shows on the roads
• Average Speeds: 37.9% <>
• 30.8% ppl encounter a jam once a day, 29.2% find multiple jams everyday
• 65%+ folks do groceries within a km! Thats nice. Walk ? Drive ?
• 39.4% exercise rarely, another 24.4% only "sometimes"

Will put the details up once it crosses 100.

This is weird : SIMI ban lifted

SIMI is now an officially acceptable organization.

Given how many blast related articles this org's name has appeared in - this is extremely weird. Perhaps they were just following the law literally - as they should - or maybe the govt decided they'd be easier to track if they are official, and record whatever they do (they hardly fizzled out just because of the ban). But even so - almost sounds like an endorsement. While I'm loathe to tie community specific org's to specific activities, SIMI is highly suspect and this does not sound right.

Edit: On the other hand, there is a silver lining, however disconnected to the main story. It does show that the executive cannot influence the judiciary directly, and that can only be a confirmation for our democratic health. Not to imply that I agree with the judgment itself, but this aspect's certainly positive.

Bangalore Cycling

Cycling : Especially In Bangalore

view presentation (tags: trek merida bangalore bikes)

In case you don't want to just give things away

http://give4free.blogspot.com/2008/08/lend-barter-too.html

15 mins of SlideShare fame :)

http://www.slideshare.net/zenx/what-can-i-do/ got featured on the SlideShare homepage!

Akshat's first bike trail

This was organized by some really enthu bikers from bangalore-bikers@googlegroups.com. 12+kms x 4 laps was the full race - and I thought it would be both inspiring and fun for Akshat to see a bunch of riders and a real trail.

Perfect weather, and Akshat managed to get up in the nick of time. We filled up on fluids, chocolates and were off. Took him through the bigger roads rather nervously - he has not yet figured out directional control that well - and made it to the starting point ok - about 2.5 kms from home. Over the next half hour over 25 people joined, and Akshat was easily the youngest of the lot!

Ravi and gang had been working hard, recce'ing the trail and marking it in detail for the rest of us - and there were arrangements for a toolkit, snacks and I even got a spare helmet. We started off around 9 - and everyone pretty much dissapeared within minutes while I kept pace with Akshat to get him comfortable riding given the new bike and new terrain. we soon hit a major stretch of slush, which he found extremely tough to negotiate - and perseverance on his part and some motivational effort on mine saw him not only carry on, but with a firm resolve to just ride through any slush he encountered later!

The trail was a great mix of slush, tarmac, grassy flats, tracks along lakes, hard rocky bits, a small 'drop', and a ride through closely planted trees - and well marked with chalk signs all the way.

Akshat completed a full lap - a little over 12kms - and was not too tired at the end. I did another lap by myself - a lot quicker - and then headed home. Total ride for the day - 30kms for me and 17 for Akshat - not bad for a first attempt :)

A great way to spend a Sunday morning. Most importantly, Akshat proved to be a way better rider and showed much better stamina than I'd expected.

Edit: Some trail pix courtesy Pradeep.

Free Stuff ?

Started yet another blog - to connect people who want to get rid of stuff, to people who want to help them get rid of it.



http://givefree.blogspot.com/




This is part social experiment, part curiosity, part a need waiting for a solution. Also, want to see whether the spirit of giving has any virality built into it.

The Li'lfox Demon

Got Akshat one of those over the weekend. He's totally thrilled, and its a proper bike. hope to go on rides with him now that his knees won't bend all the time. Gotta teach him how to use brakes, first...

Oh yeah, the blasts

Bangalore got away relatively unharmed, and not too perturbed. Its the Ahmedabad folks who had it really bad. Sad. Confounding.

We're a very weird species.

Paper, Plastic, Cups

A lot of offices use paper cups. Lots of paper cups. For water, tea, etc. Sometimes even plastic ones. A discussion on one of the yahoo groups I'm a part of brought out this. Apparently, one floor uses 4000+ paper cups in month!

A simple and effective way out - gift each employee a basic ceramic mug or even a pseud looking stell one when they join - and a hip looking bottle they can refill for water. Saves infinite plastic/paper. [Increases the amount of water a person drinks too and thats usually healthy.]

Styrofoam is even worse - its got similar problems as plastics, and more so from a health pov.

Finally, nothing quite beats "wash and reuse". Especially so for personal mugs/cups which don't really need as much water or detergent as shared ones, especially for mere swigs of water.

Reuse. Not Recycle. Wherever possible.

Bike and save - a lot of things

Pledge some miles:



You'll save:

• Your health
• fuel
• money
• pollution
• traffic stress/chaos
• and, in the inner cities, time!

Its pretty much a no brainer, isn't it ?

Hat tip: BOTS

Kungfu Panda - wonderful movie

Watched this with Akshat on Sat - a delightful, well made movie. A trifle complex for younger kids, but they sort it out towards the end and love the action anyways.

Best part - Innovative was nearly empty - got tickets 10 mins before the show. And even better - they had kept an extra cushion on EVERY seat - keeping in mind the audience. Very very impressive!

No Parking!

No Parking for cycles!

On the one hand there's a certain population trying to make cycling "acceptable" again, thus presenting a very viable alternative to the traffic and pollution issues we've come to expect as de facto, and otoh there's short sighted "rules" preventing usage of this amazing means of transport.

C'mon business owners - if each of you dedicates a lot of 3-5 bikes each you'll help kick-start a revolution. The malls can surely do this much, and more. In fact the city should too - GWiz's get free parking and zero congestion tax in London, surely bikers here deserve that much.

What Can I Do?

As we hurtle towards an ominous future of our own doing:

Another Brick in The Wall

A little overdone, but gets a very useful message across.



Change to CFLs, put that brick in the cistern, and remember to switch off.

BIAS Routes Info

The Vayu Vajra/BIAS route info can now be found on the phone browser on http://zook.in or by sending an SMS query to 57575665. Queries could be "late night jayanagar bias" or "koramangala afternoon bus to bial", etc. The SMS interface is still being tweaked, but I hope its helpful in more people finding out more about the BIAS service, and taking them more often.

Children's Festival and learning

Shubha's helping out with the Festival starting tomorrow, and it got TOI coverage! Rainwater Club is surely doing a lot for awareness too.

Vir Sanghvi on Bottling Water

Vir Sanghvi writes in LiveMint about the idiocy of bottled water. Fortunately, Bangalore seems to be an exception inasmuch that most restaurants do have water filters and I've seen most people trust these and ask for "regular, not bottled".

The shipping part is very irksome - for water more so.

Choosing kids' bikes

We have been looking around for an upgrade for Akshat's current bike. Came across this:

http://www.ibike.org/education/buying.htm

Sadly, there's very little knowhow amongst bike dealers around here.

Lovin' it ?

After a long time we mustered up the courage to venture out on a Saturday evening - albeit to the close-by Total Mall in Madivala. Following Akshat's keyboard performance at school, the kids had been promised a much awaited trip to the Golden Arches, and their excitement itself was reason enough to brave traffic, the rain and the crowds.

Surprisingly, it was a nice experience at McD's for a change. Not the food - there are better burgers all over town - and the Fish Fillet I tried was the suckiest fish I've had (tho I'm no connoiseur when it comes to any form of meat), but the overall experience was definitely good. For one, the kids totally loved it and there were no bored-kids-to-be-distracted fires to be put out :) Also, the staff is trained to be kid friendly, and I even sent Akshat to get stuff, and both of them seemed at ease. Of course, the "window" seat, the India-Bangladesh match on the TV right in front, and the gentle rain outside helped the mood overall.

I'd never imagined I'd be caught saying this - but I came close to kinda lovin it.

How expensive is that bike again ?

Oh well, this should answer questions about "why so expensive" once and for all :) My poor entry-level Merida is a fraction of a fraction of a fraction (about 0.00038 times) of this!

100kms Up!

Crossed the 3 digit mark on the way to work today on the bike! Haven't missed a single day of commute-on-the-bike since I started 6 days ago. Had a chain slip today - and it got caught between the front cog and the cover - and wouldn't budge. An auto guy smilingly obliged when I asked for a screwdriver, and that was fixed in a jiffy.

Yesterday was great too -

Cut pasting from an email thread:

---

Yesterday got "mobbed" by 3 traffic cops at Sony World while I waited for traffic to pause :)

what is this - battery ? no, lights
geared ? yes, 24
Cost ? 15k [ ok i lied, tried to lessen shock, to no avail ]
15k ???? 1-5-0-0 ? No, 1-5-0-0-0
why? Sir you can easily go up Nandi Hills on this.
Alone ? No carrier/lover-geever along ? (smile) no sir, alone. Married, two kids, saar.
(Vigorous head-shake) ? Exercise, saar, and no pollution
Good good! (way clear) ok sir, have to go now....

:) I think I'll meet all the people I've never met on my commute

---

In fact the commute's been full of interesting episodes - for other people as well. Here's a link to a thread where people are posting their road experiences.

More Less-Fumes, in Chennai now

Techies on bicycles Quintegra chants green mantra - CIOL Feature

This is pretty cool - either I'm getting to know more and more of this, or its just spreading faster. (Especially in Chennai's humidity - its very commendable!) Hope its the latter, and at least in the urban context we take off at least a few thousand cars of the road over the next year or so.

Baby's Day Out

Took Akshat out on his bike on Haralur Road while I rode "guard" alongside to shield him from the traffic and vice-versa. We did the 2-km "round trip" twice - and this included a slope (both up and down), a road crossing, a u-turn and light to moderate traffic crossing us, with a few pedestrians thrown in for good measure. He totally loved it, and so did I (top speed 8 kmph, lowest about 4). Realized how tough riding on the bike he has is, and have decided to get him a better/larger one.

All our wheels

Added pics for all the wheels we have at home here. Overall, the bias towards less fuel consuming modes is evident, and hopefully, we'll be able to add more cycles and less cars on the roads.

First ride to work

Had Cramsters to carry for a fellow (motor)biker - so asked Nikhil to swing by in an auto and carry them for me. Handed them over near Springfields and left along with the auto.

The butt felt a little sore from last evening's ride - though surprisingly that was the only noticeable after-effect. In a few minutes that eased up - and the gears slotted relatively easily - though shifting the front gears will take me some more practice. Soon was climbing the only (gentle) ascent of my entire commute - from the ORR intersection towards Iblur Camp - at a fairly easy pace since I did not want to push myself too hard all of a sudden. From thereon it was gentle easy riding, took the first right after the lake and stayed as much as possible on the back-roads. Getting past the Sony World lights was a breeze, cause the pavement was suddenly legitimate territory, and drop-offs not a problem :D

As I got to office, Nikhil was just walking up the stairs - so I managed the same time as an auto, at least. And as the legs get more used to this, I should manage an average speed of more than the 18.3kmph that I did today.

Update:

The ride back was a bit more strenuous - my limbs were beginning to speak to me a bit, plus right from Sony World all the way home is a gentle upslope except a short patch or two. I was probably also a little tired after a long day at work. But the after effects wore off in 10 mins and a glass of water, so the optimism is alive!

Is my carbon-credit meter ticking on nicely or what :)

Black, White, Wheels!

Got it! The Merida SUB 40-V in Black and White, with a touch of Red!



Rode 15+kms to home. Got the first flat within 5 kms - a sharp nail being the culprit.



Venkatesh was there to help right away - he and Prashant - another rider - fixed the flat in moments. Gotta learn this stuff. Prashant rode back upto BTM - did a lot of pavement riding too.
I will take a couple of days to "slot" into traffic. Gotta get a good helmet, too.


Feeling good - a little surprised how easy the first 15 felt. Am looking forward to both the commute and some serious riding. More pics at http://picasaweb.google.com/get.sameer/Merida

Edit: And I must mention this - what got me started on this journey was BOTS - and Rohan and Nikhil's infectious enthusiasm and help with the entire process.

Born Again Biker ?

Have been deliberating for some time now - and with a heart of steel, have decided to go ahead and get the Merida Matts Sub 40-V 18" :)

Lets see where this goes. If it does go well, I'll save fuel, be healthier and would have done that little extra for the planet. Its also a slower-than-(motor)bikes mode of transport, so I should get to see more.

Next Question: where does one park these things. Home ? Office ?

Oh, and the extra vocabulary I picked up in all of this:

Hardtail : no suspension at the rear
Lockout : Switch to a "no-suspension" mode for serious climbs etc

apart from the usual dérailleurs, new frame fundaes, etc.

Cheap Plastic, eh?

Reusable Bags - The Real Cost of "Free"

Shouldn't everything packaged, especially in plastic, have a carbon-credits cost added to it ? Similarly, shouldn't stuff transported over a long distance have a larger carbon credit tax added as compared to stuff brought in locally ? Should not it be worth it to NOT chop down Amazon forests for crop grown for producing bio-fuels?

Oh I nearly forgot! We're the generation who merrily borrows from our future. We're the ones who're "tactical" - and have ensured "better lifestyles" at the cost of risking life itself as we know it. We're the civilization which competes amongst us for "growth" - whether we need that growth or not. The endless debates on the definitions of various needs is pointer enough. We're a bunch of short-sighted morons, nothing less.

Sorry - feeling a little grumpy, cynical and pessimistic about our planet and us. Actually I take that back. The planet will probably survive.