Those Who Did It

Be the Change.

The soundbite is easy enough. The followup is often tough. Could be for the environment, could be for personal health, or choices one makes that are not the norm, non-conformist, even rebellious.

I'm going to try and do some coverage of people who've gone ahead and embraced change in their own small way. No major social impact, no media-interest stories - but more "I did it because it made sense to me" despite the reasons and excuses to not do it.

The change itself could be about the environment, or kids' schooling, or alternative careers, or different lifestyles. Anything - that takes some thinking through, conviction and courage to follow up on.

Format : I'll write a short note on what I thought impressed me, and answers to a few questions I pose to the person. Apart from this, no constraints. If you have some folks in mind, or want to ask a few questions for stuff you've been meaning to do yourself, let me know.

As a class, we in the GIMC are reasonably cynical and change/improvement are usually someone else's responsibility. Hopefully a few stories of small, one-off changes that people made will spark something off...

Otesha : Be the change

The Otesha Project: Take Action: Areas of action

The page discusses a lot of ideas one can try out - perhaps one at a time - towards a more responsible lifestyle. Not too much to ask, really.

Uncertainty Zone

I'm taking the-other road at the fork, and the amorphous mix of dreams, explorations, desires, fears and uncertainty ahead make it a very heady, exciting choice.

Hopefully it'll be mostly fun. Some of those journeys have started, and I'm already finding that the "lots of free time" is a myth :) But as the options evolve, and some emerge at the top of the "permanence table", that may solve itself.

I do hope to finish a few books, and network a lot more. I also hope to discover a lot more - of myself, of Bangalore, of Coorg, of the entrepreneurship space around here. And I hope to push myself into being more well-rounded (not physically!) and developing and putting to good use some of the skills I'd like to grow/see mature. More than anything, I definitely hope to do some stuff that gives me deep rooted satisfaction, and a sense of connectedness to the real world.

Life's a good school :)

Growing Forests

Organizations like Trees For Free and Hasiru Usiru are doing a commendable job of trying to enhance and protect our tree cover.

However, there is a basic contradiction in greening goals and urban landscapes - the latter is about "usage" of land - and that more in commercial terms than anything else. Everything else is secondary - and even the space legally, or voluntarily, created for trees and natural cover, is done as a major concession and something to be proud of.

Of course, it is something to be proud of. But its also something we should have realized by now that we depend on as a species - for keeping things cool, keeping the air fresh, and for keeping the water cycle going. Its not something that should be a discretionary afterthought, but the most important part of evolving urban landscapes.

Sure. But thats merely an ideal, and we're really really, really far from it.

In the hierarchy of needs and wants, the above ideal is pretty low. So while there's sporadic resistance, and occasional sparks of desire, and even action to see more green and less stone, prick, mortar and glass - its more or less a losing battle. The vocabulary is "cut as few trees as possible", or "try growing trees where it does not affect your foundations", etc. Can't blame anyone - thats how it is - and everyone's got fair reasons for it. N-thousand-per-square-foot is quite a compelling reason, more often than not. And pollution related disease and death is not that visible a counter-force. Sure the water's depleting, but our tanker guy manages to get us enough, and we're ok for now....

So ? We carry on ? What else could we do ?

So here's a whacky idea...

I've been vocalizing that the governement needs visionary goals, and one of those must be to grab back free land where available, not play the per-square-feet game, and afforest it with a manic zeal. But of course, I have little influence, and not too much hope that the government will formulate such goals and move in these directions.

Next best ? We do it. Me and you cannot go around buying too much land to afforest. But collectively, we could start building a layer of green defenses - perhaps within, and perhaps also around the city. A forest here, a green island there, maybe even an acre with a lake and a lot of trees.

A trust owns and manages the land. We legally ensure it can never be used for any other purpose. We try and ensure its marked as "forest" or "parks" in CDPs.

If 100000 people put in a 500/- each, thats a lot of forest land we could create around the city (25-30 kms away its still not that expensive). Sure there are legal hurdles, issues around policy formulation, long term goals, and financing issues. Worth a shot ? If it grows, I'm sure a few corporates would not mind pitching in.

Questions about loss of farmland and food security just in case this idea grows? Agriculture needs better techniques, innovation. As part of this effort, we can engage both for that as well as for conservation.

If 10 people respond to this, will create a mailing list, and a spreadsheet to collect "committments".

Idea? Non starter? Thoughts?

Your Own Little Space : Some Details

As the plans firm up, here are some more details.

• No fences inside the campus
• Duplex 2bhk+study/3 bhk/3+study/4 bhk homes
• Sizes 1300-2000 sqft on land sizes of 1500/2400/3000
  
• Price range 44-72Lacs + Regn, Deposits
  
• Clubhouse with a pool
• Rainwater Harvesting, Solar Heating for each home as well as common areas
• Trees trees, trees
• All details frozen this week (except proportions of the sizes - that depends on how many of the interested folks want what)
  

If you're curious, there's a place near Kengeri that you could visit to get a feel of what this community may look like.

Will send out a mail to all the interested folks by end of the coming week, and meet up someplace to switch from the feasibility mode to execution mode. Meanwhile, still looking for more like-minded people to participate. Do let me know.

Revisiting the voters' dilemma or What Exactly Was That ?

Voted yesterday.

There were 3 EVMs with nearly 3 dozen candidates for Bangalore Central, the constituency for which I was supposed to pick a candidate to vote for. I was familiar with a couple of the candidates, and knew a lot more about the parties themselves.

For a while I was unsure of what to do. Picked the least uncertain choice, and felt extremely illiterate about the entire exercise.

Here's a bunch of questions I have about the whole setup of State Assembly vs Lok Sabha candidates and elections:

• Whats the "impact" of choosing candidate X to the Lok Sabha. To the State Assembly ?
• What are the candidates rights, duties and scope of influence ? What issues can they raise/influence ?
  
• Is the specific candidate even relevant for the Lok Sabha polls ? Why ?
• Do candidates even have a voice within their parties during the functioning of the Assemblies ? Why is the concept of a "whip" permitted in a democracy ?
• What mechanisms/ground realities exist for these elected representatives to engage with their constituency before they participate in debates and vote on issues in the Assembly ? Does the concept of the "whip" render this idea impotent ?
• Should not candidates clearly pick and spell out specific agendas and causes they intend to pursue - obviously from those that are within their spehere of influence depending on whether they are representing the constituency at the centre or in the state ? Should they also not be working for these issues "off duty" - i.e. even when they are not members of the Assembly etc ?
  
• If the possible local impact of a Lok Sabha candidate is low, whats the big deal about a candidate "from my constituency" ? I'd rather pick someone - irrespective of where they are standing for election from - based on the attractiveness of their thoughts and leadership qualities on issues that impact the nation or policy making, as a whole.
  

I am totally confused about the candidate vs party, and a little cynical about the inner party democracy in all outfits - if all decision making is decided centrally, with little consultation at the constituency level, its hardly important who the candidate it. In fact, you don't really need "people" representing you if there's little dialogue or impact possible - you can vote for the symbol/party directly.

Perhaps I've got a lot wrong - perhaps there's just a lot of information gap. But to me, right now, it does look like the the mere exercise of franchise does not make for a healthy, functioning democracy on its own. There's definitely much more to it, and I cannot imagine too much of it happening around me as it exists today.

Anyhow - good first step - maybe the next set of changes will start to happen soon. Staying positive.

Haralur Road's Speed Breakers - or why "Only Our Needs Matter"

I get more and more cynical about the Great Indian Middle Class that I also belong to.

Here's the latest trigger: folks who use one of the roads that passes close to our house complaining about the numerous speed breakers that were added to it.

Background : this was till recently a rural road under the panchayat. Its primary purpose was to connect Haralur Village to Sarjapura Road. Obviously not a very wide road, it served the needs of numerous who walked along it, or cycled, to get to school, catch a bus at the main road, or buy provisions, etc.

All of a sudden it got "discovered" by the ever growing city, and a bunch of apartments and layouts, including ours, came up off it. So we got the road improved. Next, people discovered a short-cut to Hosur Road using a network of roads leading from this to the next village and the next. It saves more than half an hour, and lots of fuel! So far so good.

The traffic on this increased - and speeds started going northwards too after the road was improved and even widened! Being a narrow road used by mutiple modes of transport and pedestrians, the panchayats rightfully saw reason to enforce some sensible speeds and civic sense since fellow drivers obviously were not managing to use enough common sense of their own accord.

So the GIMC did what it does best - protest something that causes it "inconvenience" - in this case defined by slowing down for speed breakers and never getting to get up to speed, on a road where speeds are downright dangerous. [Enough drivers manage to still speed in between speedbreakers, btw] Anything that we start using automatically becomes a resource that is subjugate to our requirements and must bend to what we think is right.

I'm really wondering if the current trend of get-up-and-vote is a healthy thing for the nation. The signs aren't always healthy since this set of people rarely seem to be able to see things beyond their own noses.

Your Own Little Space ? Update ...

Some more details are available.

Likely location: Carmelaram - about 2.2 kms off the Sarjapura Road - the left turn before the railway track. Nice serene location and not far from the ORR, or Whitefield, or Sarjapura Road. The connections to Hosur Road make Electronic City a quick drive as well. The road that leads to the place has beautful old trees on both sides, and given campuses with Churches and associated buildings, is unlikely to get too urbanized too quickly. Sarjapura Road in the vicinity has all the creature comforts including stores, restaurants, etc. There's a couple of convenience shops in Carmelaram as well. The Carmelaram railway station is less than a km away, and hopefully Bangalore will have a train service someday ;)

What: About 30 homes - between 1300-2000 sqft in size. Land lots between 1500-3000sqft. A 2 acre campus overall. Some goals:

• Build less, and not with too much concrete showing. Lots of open, community spaces.
• Be as carbon neutral and energy efficient as possible
• Rainwater harvesting
• The area is the starting point for numerous jogging and cycling trails :)
• Develop a natural waterbody in campus. If the finances work out, a small pool as well.

Pricing: Should be between 45-65L for various options. This is indicative, of course, and will keep interested folks updated. Given lower than market pricing, there will be a certain amount of "seed funding" for the project.

If you know folks who're looking at homes in the area, let me know - numbers will make this dream a reality. You can drop me mail at get DOT sameer AHT gmail DOT com.

Update:

Here's a presentation with some early details. Nothing's frozen yet, and the idea is to iterate over the needs with those who're interested.

Skoda : Skeletons in the Closet ?

This is probably a good read for potential Skoda buyers, and auto enthusiasts generally.

The original string of problems and the subsequent responses, and even a threat from Skoda's representative!

Its amazing how unprofessional the entire response has been. On the other hand, as one story after another starts to surface about parts exchanged, inaction on Skoda's part when faced with consumer complaints against dealers, it starts to make one wonder if all is well. There are potentially some systemic issues that need to be set right, and Skoda has an opportunity to either come clean, or potentially face a severe drop in consumer confidence.

Our e-port card so far

Having become more "enlightened" citizens, we've been trying to reduce our footprint as much as possible. Here's a few things achieved, and a few more to go.

+ I cycle to work 90%+ of the time
+ We reuse the "waste" water ejected by the RO filter
+ The automatic dryer is strictly for emergencies - not switched on for ages now
+ Try and aggressively avoid "standby mode" for TV/Home theatre/chargers - still left on 30% of the time tho :(
+ Determined to do fewer kilometers on the car. Working out very well, thank you!
+ Been trying to promote cycling in our circle of influence, and beyond. Decent success.

- Cannot seem to reduce geyser usage. Love warm water, and attempts at minimizing time switched on have failed.
- Have not revived attempts towards en-mass adoption of solar heating in our apartment complex
- Have failed in attempt towards getting apartment to optimize usage of diesel for backup gensets
- The Standby Switchoff is only a partial success - needs more work
- Plastic usage is still not low. There's so much that comes packaged in plastic from the stores :(

Overall, pleased - but there's scope for improvement.

Silent Majority

They came first for the Communists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist;
And then they came for the trade unionists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist;
And then they came for the Jews, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew;
And then . . . they came for me . . . And by that time there was no one left to speak up.

Most recent trigger for the above - a biker got beaten up on the flimsy premise of his attire. The mailing list on which I read this got into a debate about the off-topic-ness of the story and reactions to it!

Overall, the spiritual leaders forgot to speak out strongly against the association of weapons with religion. The political leaders at the top got into marriages of conveniences with the terrorizers of local populations for short term "gains". We stay shut on the roads when there's a brawl, or a woman gets beaten up by some neanderthals.

None of my business. Thats what it is all boiling down to.

Your Own Little Space ? Read on...

If you've been thinking about a house, don't like living in the heart of bustle and traffic, want a good community, do not like the run-of-the-mill builder version of creating living spaces and were priced out of the market, this may be of interest to you.

What: A smallish comuunity - bet 12-25 homes (depending on costs, configurations) with potentially homes/condos/row-houses thrown in. Very green. Lots of open spaces.
Where: Off Sarjapura Road. Options exist between the area near the Railway Line and a little before Sarjapura Town. Beautiful green places, decent connectivity, emerging hotspots (hopefully a little in the future so we can have some peace and quiet)
How Much: Want to keep it in the affordable range - so maybe as much as a decently priced 3#BHK apartment.

Honestly, not all the details have been worked out. But I trust the guys who're ready to execute this. I've seen their work in the past, and saw something they're developing now only yesterday. The entire campus there needs just 7.5KW of electricity, which is completely supplied using a combination of solar and wind generation! In addtion there's a bio-mass unit, and rain water harvesting takes care of most of the water needs. And the construction style is concrete-minimum, and very energy friendly, yet pleasing.

Ok, that almost sounds like a sales pitch. Perhaps it is. The idea is to have like minded folks living in the same place, running a sustainable community without breaking the bank. If you're curious or keen, lemme know. There are 5-6 people on board already, and we could think in terms of an "expansion" of the plan in terms of the area/number of dwellings, but ideally don't want too much of built space.

Amen.

BCycle: B the change :)

Oh so cool. Will this work in Bangalore? Need someone to try this out. Whatsay ?

Engleash

Some I've noted. No its not irritating etc - just amusing how many have used these "incorrectly" and I'm guessing the latter won't even be true in another decade or so - quite like "prepone".

• loose/lose
• voila/viola
• off the mark/of the mark (and similar contexts) [ The Outlook's latest issue has this too! ]
• advice/advise [ of course used interchangeably :) ]
• consist of/comprise [ I've been corrected to "comprise of" instead of comprise, in a doc! ]

If you know more - comment maadi.

The one thats become popular already, and does get my goat :

• my bad (my bad what ?)

Then there's the very Bangalorean

• by the by

which is both a little irksome and a little cute.

[ Oh well, I'm probably just getting old :) ]

Seriously, language is a dynamic, living organism. Nothing proves it like these changes as more populations adopt one. So Messrs Wren & Martin, stop turning in your graves.

Edit:

Part of the reason (the more recent trigger being the Outlook) was this thread on BikesZone, where I added:

Advice for Advise ?
Which the Verb, which the Noun,
"Stadiums" reprimanded
"Prepone" gets a frown!
Ah the English Nazis march,
Hup-one-two-three
Love Queen's Desi tho
Want to break free.

Slow down your life, and all that jazz

Nice video:

Culture-vulture and all that

Culture. Hmm, deep one.

Ok, I'm trying to find my own personal answer to this. What is culture. Is there a "definition" ? Whats the "list of things" we can arm ourselves with to respond to the Selvams and the Muthaliks of the world ?

Well, here the definition (I like Wiki's combination of the more common ones, so quoting that)

Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning "to cultivate")^[1] is difficult to define. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions.^[2] However, the word "culture" is most commonly used in three basic senses:

• excellence of taste in the fine arts and humanities
• an integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for symbolic thought and social learning
• the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution, organization or group.

Part I is something I doubt occurred to Muthalik or Selvam or their ilk when they repeated what they've heard so often from others who wanted to use it as a blunt object to beat other people on the head with, or stop from this or that.

The second/third: Wow, those are deep and complex. What's the "pattern" for India - land of extreme vegetarianism as well as cannibalism, country of the devout and the atheist - not just now but in recorded history and given an appropriate place in the texts as well, social behaviour that stresses on idealism, is pragmatic about politics and corruption, includes in its ambit both polyandry and polygamy, and proudly tells tales of ferocious gods, and more human kings who started out bloodthirsty but overnight became persistent role models for peace mongering ?

Is it the rigid rules in the Vedas that define us, or the moral strictures, or our codified caste system, thats been handed down to us as collected knowledge ? Is it the subtle sarcasm in the extremely open minded Upanishads that define our philosophy, and the tradition of tark-vitark and recorded accepted disagreements ? Was there a reason for a personal God for every Indian, while the texts simultaneously speak of "inclusive monotheism, which acknowledges a personal form of God as the Supreme God, with all other forms of God as plenary expansions or aspects of the Supreme" (source) ?

Are we trying, too often, to define our beliefs, religions, culture and traditions by what is disallowed (often for a convenient truth in a political or social power struggle), illegal and considered profane ? Are these not better defined by their positives - what they enable, what they help better/improve ? Is culture not a concept that aims to define some set of ideals that works towards a more refined, tasteful goal ? Is that served well by fear, and a demand to adhere, or else... ?

To me, India and its culture is about not just tolerating, but embracing and adopting the strange and new, respecting the different even if one doesn't necessarily understand it, and celebrating life in all its myriad forms. What its never been, certainly, is homogeneous, or a one "best" thing to do, to follow. Gods, clothes, customs, traditions, beliefs, philosophies - we have numerous cores, and even more forms of packaging of each. Like a Buddhist Lama explained to me when I wondered about the gazillion sects of what started as a simple message - different folks accept the same truth presented differently. Its the same end goal. That, to me, was Indian culture. Be what you are, be comfortable, and expect to be comfortable with your truth though there are others who have a different truth and a different take on things.

Often this exists at an individual level as well. The west and western trained minds consider it hypocrisy - our extreme politeness with folks known to us, yet some very crude/rough edges in our behaviour with strangers, our patience in certain contexts when we cannot even queue up for a bus - but its the same comfort with multiple truths and acceptance of opposing concepts that co-exist simultaneously - that defines our culture.

If there's any one thing its never been about - any one negative you want to define it in - its rigidness. India is an old, mature adult who's seen it all, and is pragmatic yet pious, comfortable with its blemishes and revels in its grace. It certainly does not seek to define itself narrowly, or through intolerancle of this set of beliefs or that. And certainly not intolerance of tongue, or attire, or faith.

[ The song from "Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani" captures it quite nicely :D ]

Will ride better

The Well-Tempered Cyclist | Momentum - The Magazine For Self Propelled People!

No more "riding past" along with pedestrians - get down and walk if one has to use that. Bangalore's riders are a new lot, and we gotta establish the rules and the riding culture here.

Lets make Bangalore Hotter

There's a power cut right now. I'm at home, and last year we'd taken a call to not start the gensets between 10am-5pm if the electricity was out.

Its in the lower 30s right now - and thats out in the sun. This being Bangalore, the breeze is still pleasant, and its perfectly tolerable indoors, unless you've grown up in the Upper Himalayas or the Arctic or at least Canada. But there are mails about the unbearable heat, asking for backup power to be restored immediately. The power cuts are shorter these days, and surely we can afford this!

Can we ? Our apartment complex uses 2x180KWh generators to keep the backup power going. At peak loads, utilization has rarely exceeded 40%. During the day its worse - with most people at office. Can we really afford to keep making Bangalore hotter, and crib about the heat, and keep running gensets longer as we strain the power supply with a larger and larger demand for energy to keep our airconditioners running perpetually?

Yes, we've got so used to keeping airconditioning running all the time at work, in the cars, that the lack of it makes it unbearable? (Honest, its in no way hot as I type this. My daughter's here too, and not even close to complaining about the heat).

What can we do ? There's been talk of trying to connect both gensets and try and reduce the diesel consumption to a minimum. But the action's been slow, and I fear will die out once the gensets are back on fulltime. There's also the aspect of redefining what "need" is and the things we "cannot live without" as a society.

We in the middle class blame the government a lot for most stuff. Lack of roads, lack of electricity supply, lack of public transport, and everything else. Often rightly so. But my observation in the recent past also leads me to believe that we're quite insensitive and focused on our short term needs, even at a huge cost to our long term benefits. The craz.y salary spiral, the real estate bubble, the growing use of cars even for basic grocery shopping, the string of excuses for not using public transport, etc - these are all symptoms of a common malaise -"let me solve that little bit of an issue and who the hell cares if the cost is huge - I didn't create the problem after all". We keep giving in too easily, to too many "necessities", at too large a cost. I really have nothing against convenience, but we could start showing some level of sensitivity towards ensuring the footprint these cause is reduced as much as possible. Monetarily, we can surely afford that.

Fair enough. Sure, I'm probably over-reacting and hyper-ventilating, but then I'm also despairing.

Edit : just noticed the Google Ads on the side for this page - both hilarious and depressing. Commerce, ah.

Whither Bangalore ?

The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Gangs attack women in ‘western attire’

Horrible - and while I'm trying hard to not be biased, such elements seem to have been emboldened under the present government. I was optimistic when the government had changed and we'd gotten rid of the Gowda family and related uncertainty - but given their silence and inaction on these kind of issues makes me less certain Bangalore will continue to be as friendly as civilized under them. Its really a fringe element of society/polity, and it'll be sad if they're allowed to terrorize and radicalize a friendly place like this.

This entire outside/insider cr@p these guys rake up, and then proceed to target lone women for, is such a fraudaulent issue. This has been my home for 13 years now, including the coffee, people, weather, and the adjust maadi comfort one gets here - and its scary to see these lumpen narrowminded allowed freedom to roam the streets and tell people where they should live, what they should wear, who they're permitted to meet and what God they can and cannot pray to. Mangalore seems to have been under this terror for a while now, and I guess they want their influence to spread. Unless the good folks of Bangalore (or even Mangalore) stand up and resist - and the report doesn not inspire confidence wrt that - we'll just let these louts take over completely.

Mr. Yeddiurappa, whose side are you on ? Loud and clear, please, for once.

The Standard of Living Problem

This was sent on the Bangalore Bikers' Club group. Someone also noticed the mention that in the 70s, 71% of passenger trips were made on bicycles! He also commented that "It was better than Copenhagen."

So Bangalore, and in fact most of the country, did have a bike culture - ? Except it was hardly a culture - but more of a lack of choice. Our species is so governed by defined and accepted "standards" that we soon got hit by technology, and all that. And as affordability/incomes improved, there was only one path that spelled "progress" and we took to our Vespas and Lambrettas like there was no tomorrow, licence raj notwithstanding.

And so on and so forth. The used Ambys, Padminis, the landscape changing 800 and Gypsy for the braver souls, and in more recent part the plethora of options with more and more features becoming 'standard' and airconditioning becoming the only visible way to battle the noxiousness this progress brought into our lives.

The argument given, usually, is that this is the "price" of development and economic progress.

Really ? Are we so dumb that there's only the whole of one of two or three models to be picked from ? Nah, we just never bothered to define our own report card and terms of progress.

So its someone else's "standards" we're trying to catch up with - consumption of electricity, fuel, goods leading the march. Upsizing, a "standby" mode for everything at home, western WCs, zippy long expressways to merely get to work - all are symptoms of this affliction.

These "standards" have started to interfere with the "living" in a big way. Gotta evolve beyond the aping we've gotten into. Gotta be smarter than the species has been in the last 30-40 years or so.

Cars move cars, not people!

Amazingly good read about the inherent inefficiency of private transport, why trains work better and why cities should be defined by a 20 minute walking radius!

You might initially not find the ideas practical, or even digestible, but give it another read, and start asking "why not". For too long we've not questioned the way of life, the form of economics and the attributes of progress that have been defined for us and that we're expected to pursue and strive for.

Excerpt:

The real problem is, though, cars don’t move people, cars move cars. The average car or light truck is two tons or so: 4000-plus pounds to move 200 pounds of people. OK, everybody out of the SUVs and F-150s and into a nice, green Prius. However, the curb weight of an unladen Prius is 2765 pounds, which means a ton and a half around to get you and a bag of groceries home. Not good.

Someday a generation will wonder "How could they? Did they not pause to think, or did they have no brains or foresight?"

Ride The Bus! CBD Bangalore HOHO Service.

The BMTC has launched a Volvo service in the central business district which connects all the hotspots in 2 circular routes, at a low, convenient fare of 10/- for an all day pass! Just hop on and hop off wherever you need to go. All the major malls, intersections are covered, and you'll get to walk and discover the pleasures of Bangalore's happening zone too.

Thsi service is called the Kendriya Sarige (just ask for KS, eh ?) and you're guaranteed a bus every 5 minutes or so! Another service - the "Big10" (2 routes start today) connects the entire city using regular (10 minute frequency!) buses on the major arterial roads.

Here's a map of the routes and a list of stops on both the Blue line and the Orange line.

































I'm very very impressed with Namma BMTC and will definitely make use of Namma Bus :)

Bangalore, do try and not take the car to CBD - ride the bus instead! Saves fuel, pollution, congestion and encourages the city to think of more progressive options. Public transport options have been a chicken and egg story for a while, but BMTC has taken the first steps forward. Now its upto us to use it or lose it.

Update:

The Big10's are starting on 2 routes today - E-City and ITPL. Fromt next week, they'll start on the Sarjapura Road-Viveknagar-Brigade Road route too! Yay - it'll probably pass my office too :)

Hazards of being a bl**dy do-gooder

As is wont with the more enthusiastic bikers in Bangalore, Rohan and a bunch of others were at Lalbagh some time ago trying to spread the word and do their bit to create a mindset change towards cycling.

Look what they got from some senior citizen, and some official!



I remember a guy trying to pick a fight around the same place earlier too when we'd gone there for the first Critical Mass. Fine, you have a different point of view - but whats with the animal behaviour, morons ?

Cycling benefits illustrated

[ From the Mumbai Bikers' Picasa Pics ]

Freewheeling Bangalore

Ananth Ranganathan - Freewheeling

View more presentations or upload your own. (tags: ignitebangalore2 ignite)

I'm praying this comes to fruition, real soon. BMTC has some amazing plans too - if it all works out Bangalore would've taken a major leap forward.

Bangalore Train Commute : More info!

Glifford, who shared the train info with me earlier - responded with a lot of additional info to my earlier post about train commute options in Bangalore - so another entry is probably justified for sharing this:

Thanks Sameer for picking up on what I told you yesterday. I hope many readers of your blog try it out and actually begin using it.

I myself am planning to begin using it.

Well some more details.

Bangalore East <-> Krishnarapuram (one way) is

• Rs. 2 (lower than a platform ticket!!!) on a normal passenger train
• Rs. 24 on a Mail/Express train. Either way

way cheaper and faster than any other form of transport.

Bus fare from Krishnarajapuram <-> Kadabeesanahalli (J. P. Morgan, Prestige Tech Park) one way is

• 20 on a Volvo
• 15 on a Suvarna
• maybe 10 or cheaper on Pushpak or regular class (blue) buses.

Still works faster and cheaper than even the (motor)bike or scooter.

And finally, how do you plan your journey? This is what I do. Some time before leaving, I just check the current train status on:

http://www.trainenquiry.com/PassingThroughTrains_Display.aspx?sel_val=KJM+&queryDisplay=KRISHNARAJAPURM,+KJM+&time=24&name=&code=
(for Krishnarajapuram)
or for others search here: http://www.trainenquiry.com/PassingThroughTrains.aspx

Then plan accordingly considering about 20 mins for a bus ride from my office to KJM. Simple!

Maybe you should update the post with your links. And yes!

These trains are regular up-country trains. Not local trains. But nothing stops us from using them as such as long as we pay the fare and it stops where we want (Mail/Express have reserved compartments which you may choose to use, but not legal).

And yes, IT (or new economy) guys/gals are not the only ones who use it. Many sales people (the credit card types) and courier boys regularly travel to Whitefield station. This is from the conversations I managed to eavesdrop when sitting in these sparsely filled compartments!

Thanks Gliff! Hope to see the utilization of this mode of transport go up!

The NDTV blogger tamasha

Why NDTV lost my respect | Inside the mind and heart of Venkatesh Sridhar

Well, they lost mine too. While I did buy media-on-overdrive arguments earlier, I had also rationalized their behaviour as "they have a job to do". With this, they lost it completely - NDTV and Barkha have sunk to Sardesai-levels (yeah thats my personal benchmark of how terrible journos can be.)

The Fuel Efficiency of A Bicycle

Copenhagenize.com - The Copenhagen Bike Culture Blog: The Most Efficient Machine Ever Invented

Reasonably high, wouldn't you say ? Some other nice quotes and references in there as well. As you might have guessed by now, I'm a regular on the Copenhagenize blog by now. Of course, I hope we can do a Bangalore-ing of that as well :D

Bangalore has a local train option!!!

Was chatting with a pal of mine who works on the Outer Ring Road (ORR) - his office is right behind the JP Morgan building. This guy lives in Fraser Town, and has started driving recently (a biker all his adult life so far - rides a Pulsar and a scooterette as well) and started feeling the stress that accompanies driving in the city.

What he told me totally took me by surprise - apparently he tried out a train from Bangalore East - which is close to his home - to Krishnarajapuram and then took a BMTC bus to his office. Saved money, time and huge amounts of stress! Even more surprising - it seems a lot of folks who work on the OMR (Old Madras Road) and live anywhere along the railway line - Cantonment, Bangalore East, Byapanahalli, etc - take this option regularly with the last leg on foot/bus. Fare to KJM - 2/- :) Time : 10 mins flat!

Found an appropriate map with the tracks and localities marked along that route.

I guess it can actually work for a whole lot of people who travel to the OMR/ORR/Whitefield area, and we're not even talking about extra expenditure on a Metro etc.

One "downside" he mentioned is that one needs to plan a little in advance, there's a train approximately on the hour! Hey thats not bad at all. even in a car or on a motorcycle we end up trying to factor in traffic conditions and plan leaving home at certain hours to beat the rush. Whichever mode of transport you use, there's a little bit of working around its mechanics and optimization one learns in a week or so.

I'm thrilled that existing railway infrastructure is being used by commuters, and that many cars are effectively being kept off the roads. The trains are quite empty though at least a few dozen people use them already - so go ahead and try this option as well. At least from KJM there are buses along the ORR every couple of minutes. I'm nor certain but Whitefield Station may work well too for that area, or KJM might have buses going there.

Now all we need is a few pull-push services on the same tracks including connections to other parts of B'lore railways network, and integrated ticketing with the BMTC. Tall order, given that a central and a city organization will need to collaborate on this, but from the positive action I've heard about from BMTC's end, it's definitely not impossible :)'

[ Addendum : while I'm dreaming, a bike park-rent station at KJM/Whitefield would rock for the office goers in that area. Train + ride. Maybe even a cycle-carriage on the train itself, someday ? ]

[ Even more : followed the tracks around Bangalore even more. Its all connected! The univ - BSK - City - Malleshwaram - Yeswantpur - Hebbal - East/Cantt - OMR - Whitefield - Banaswadi - Bellandur - Sarjapura Road - Chandapura. Oh the possibilities! 5-6 3 rake trains going around continuously will solve a lot of pain. Just ensure good bus connections and it'll cover a lot of this city. ]

Whither Us ?

Rabble Rousing Random Ramblings: Intolerant India

Cause for concern, the growing tolerance of this intolerance. Politically, nobody has the guts to act even if its against a fringe group with no influence. No wait, our "leaders" and representatives are sooo disconnected they have no way of determining what or who has influence and who does not, and hence pander to every shrill, loud voice. Case in point - the "Terrorism" plank post Mumbai which royally backfired.

Shorter motorized transport distances : Impact!

Copenhagenize.com - The Copenhagen Bike Culture Blog: The Oregon Report

This gut-feel I've had has finally found some studied proof! There's a report in the above page that drives home the point about more sustainable, dynamic and healthier communities and local economies being encouraged by promoting fewer miles being traveled in motorized transport (especially private, I'd reckon).

Can Bangalore do it ? From what I've been hearing about the BMTC's efforts in the direction, I'd say I'm very hopeful! Its upto the educated car-driven elite, now.

Who is it ?

What is it that I adored ? Who did I love ?
What did I miss when it was gone ?
The form ? I so willingly buried that - and deny it now.
What is the essence of us ?
Is it as it lives in others ?
Do I only connect a part of me that I imagine to be the object of my affection, and cause of grieving ?
Will it always be a part of me ?

Critical Mass January

Yeah - one less car. Come and join the ride.

Drive Less.

Car Exhaust, Air Pollution and the Environment: Health Effects of Exhaust Chemicals

Make this a goal in your life. Walk, take the bus (and divide the kms by the number of passengers!). Ride a bike. Whatever. Just reduce the total number of kms per head done in Bangalore (or any city) by 30-40%, and we'll have solved a whole bunch of problems at one go.

Yes you have that usual reason of inconvenient public transport, or timings, or distance.

Same kinda reasons to not go jogging, or running, or start the big project you've been trying to.

We're a rather procrastinating species, it seems. Its starting to boil down to how much longer we want to sustain. Do you want to, or not ? Take a little bit of pain or inconvenience to get started, and try help solve the pain points instead.

Its not someone else's job to do this or that first before it becomes oh-so-totally easy for you to ride/bus/walk. its your job as well.

Come on. Let's shake our collective slumber and zombie-ness and get cracking. Use the automobile when necessary. And preferably, with 4 people inside.

Good argument for action

Tim O'Reilly makes a good case for taking steps towards reducing our carbon footprint whether or not you're convinced Global Warming is a real problem.

Of course, its astounding how people can continue to argue against taking such steps - even pollution related deaths - which far outnumber those killed in traffic accidents - are reason enough, even without the global impact aspect of it.

Rickshaws Redux

Solves so many problems at one shot. We need a lot more initiatives like this. (Ties in well with the no-cars-in-the-city-center plan too)

How many bhp was that ? Slow!

Like Bangalore's Bikers have been claiming for some time now - through the city, a cycle is quickest.

Here's proof:

New set of wheels!

Those are a few cell-cam pics of Shubha's new Merida SUB 5-V! Yes, she decided to take the plunge as well, and actually rode the first 15+ kms from Venkatesh's place in Chamrajpet to home quite easily! I got to ride the bike to work this morning as well because of a flat in my bike's rear wheel - nice relaxed ride, and got the hang of the rotary gears quite easily.

Ride Gear - what you need to wear

Don't necessarily use the hardcore bikers you going to Nandi Hills etc over weekend rides as a benchmark. A clean pair of trousers/jeans and a tee works well - you can splash and change at work. These days I do not even need a change - just ride a tad more gently than earlier so absolutely zero sweat.

Kinds of bikers

I'm somewhere in between, I guess :) Nice comic strip, this one.

Strike...

...when the iron's hot :)

The Oil PSU strike is a good excuse and a good time to pick a bike up - and reduce your dependence on carbon fuels. Its such a pleasure riding past petrol pumps and not havin the worry in one's head.

Also

* improve your health
* reach office happier (way lesser road rage), quicker (its really true)
* save money
* be greener
* help plan a better city, indirectly!

Re-introduction to Biking @ Redwoods, off Sarjapura Road:

We're doing a session on biking at our apartment on Sunday, the 11th of Jan at around 9:30am with help from the Ride-A-Cycle Foundation and Bangalore Bikers.

What to expect:

* Many snazzy looking bikes!
* Q&A on whats bike fit, and its importance
* Gears - do you need them ?
* Biking scene in Bangalore!
* Commuting by bike - is it really possible ? Issues - safety/clothes/locking, answers.
* What bike ? Where? Servicing? Costs ?
* It costs 20k!!!??? Wow ? Why ?
* Check out/Test ride some bikes.
* Any other questions you might have.

Will try getting some of the folks who deal with these bikes as well. In any case most people there will be able to help out with the various brand, model and price options.

Park Vista, Eastwoods folks, Trinity Woods/Acres and others in the area are welcome as well. Please let your friends around there know. Hope to see as many there as possible....

The Flush, Redux

Shubha filled up a one litre plastic bottle and plonked it inside the cistern this morning. The flush works as good as it did earlier - and each full flush needs a full litre lesser!

Now assuming just 5 full flushes everyday, for each of the 152 homes at Redwoods....

Thats 5x152 = 760 litres a day
or 22800 litres a month!
i.e. 22800/6000 = 3.8 tankers a month!
or 277400 litres a day
i.e. 46+ tankers a year!
At 400 a tanker, thats nearly 18.5k saved

And it probably more than just 5 flushes a day per home. Plus, there's the overall awareness about water usage. other "tricks" - smaller buckets, shorter showers (as someone put it - shower for less time than it takes to fill your bucket up!), reusing the "waste" from the Reverse Osmosis water purifiers most have installed.

Lazy Blogger

This is a nice n lazy post about stuff I've stumbled across.

Good reason to start cycling

Cycling Safety : Everyday tips, not just the helmet.

A nice poem about bikes

Is this doable, Bangalore ? Should try.

Still in the post TFN mood - what a ride!

End of the dream ride - Tour of the Nilgiris

Finished my 5 days of TFN, and got back from Ooty day before - rested the stiff muscles yesterday, and caught up on mails - and its slowly starting to suck me back into life-as-usual.

What a ride that was!

Day 1: Flag off and ride to Chamundi Hills

Got up real early and Shubha and the kids came along to St. Joseph's grounds to see the riders off. We got there around 5:30 and there were a bunch of riders and a whole lot of logistical activity on already! Parked, put the wheel on, put the last bit of luggage in the van and had a carb-loaded breakfast as dawn broke. There were guys handing out free hugs (with posters announcing the same :) ) and lots of press, families and high levels of enthusiasm. A lot many people had decided to ride along for a few kilometres - and a couple of them did that all the way till Mysore!



We started off at 6:45 after some media soundbytes and a formal flag-off by KSTDC and other sponsors. There were cops riding along as pilots, and ensuring a clear path at intersections - it was soooo cool to see traffic being asked to pause for cyclists - hopefully the future ? We regrouped near the University entrance, and then started off again - the road bikes first and groups of MTBs, which spread out rather quickly based on varying speeds.

The first 70 kms were mostly downhill, and I averaged 27kmph on that leg! About halfway through, a white Safari flagged me down and I was pleasantly surprised to see Venkat (of AutoService fame) and his daughter Sounjanya inside - they'd driven down to wish me for the ride :) I'm sure I owed at least part of the enthusiasm to this surprise.

It was kind of a longish break at the Petrol Pump - got food, and water. Sukhdev soon joined us and everyone gave him a standing ovation - at 11 years his is an amazing feat.

The next leg got a little tougher - the roads went uphill more often, the sun was harsher and the mornings extra enthusiasm started to tell on most of us :) We crossed Mandya and lumbered up the Srirangapatna inclines, and hunger caught up with me - making the last few kilometres into Mysore somewhat tough. For the last bit, I'd been riding with Sudhir, who had a cramp and just as we got into Mysore, a small run-in with another local cyclist and hurt his hand a bit. He rode on. nevertheless.

We traced our way through the city to the Chamundi Hills base. The others carried on while I rested a bit and had a bun and juice that the support vehicle offered. The climb up was slooow, even though the gradient was mild. The sun was harsh, and the long day and traffic-caused stress was probably telling on me.

With a couple of breaks and a lot of egging on from the road bikers who were already on their way down, finally made it to the top, and had a bit to eat. Rested and chatted a bit with the other riders who were resting there as well.

The downhill was sweet, and the great snacks and tea courtesy the Wild Flower resort near the base even better. Most people were extremely tired by now, and the prospect of the local ride was not too appealing. Nevertheless, we rode to the Palace for a quick snap or two, then rode through Mysore to the YHAI hostel where we were to rest for the night. 170kms for the day.

Got to hear of Seema's accident later - a car had rear-ended her bike on the 37th km itself - taking the rear wheel and derailleur set out :( The helmet helped, and the brave soul switched to an MTB and carried on!

Got a bed only post dinner at around 8:30. Warm water has rarely felt that good :)

Day 2: Mysore to Madikeri

The next day started at 7:30 after breakfast and the day's briefing. I'd checked pressure in the tires - and it'd dropped to sub-40!

The weather was great early in the morning, and the slopes were gentle and rolling, though unrelenting. Down one, and up another. We made good progress, and for the first couple of hours I managed to stay not too far behind the second set of road-bikers. The tarmac was terrific and they were having a ball with petty much no traffic.

I took the first banana-break at the 30km, had water, made calls home and carried on. The legs felt just a tad stiffer after the break, and the climbs were a little slower. I was still averaging upwards of 24kmph, and feeling fine overall. Soon got hungry, took a break for a bun, banana, biscuits and tea, and gave my legs and neck - which was hurting a bit by now - a 20 minute rest.

Sudhir - who rides easy and consistent unlike my blow-hot- blow-cold style, passed me during the break, and I caught up with him over the next 9 kms and more or less rode along right till the end of the day.

The route was pretty, with palm groves, and lakes alongside, and a gentle breeze keeping things cool. After Kushalnagar things got serious - the climb started and the roads deteriorated around the same time. The road bikers - whom I'd caught up with for a cola break (thanks Dicky) - started to have a tough time. A few gave up and took the float option upto Madikeri. We lumbered on. The ascent right after Suntikoppa was a major one, but I'd made up my mind to not give-in to the nanny gears before the slopes up to Ooty, and did not. Took another cream-bun and juice break where Sudhir caught up again, and started off slowly.

A few kms before Madikeri both of us amazingly ran out of water, and at a particularly bad curve with lots of dust and broken roads with a climb looming ahead, decided to wait for a support car to provide succour. One came along in 15 minutes, and a refill later we started off again.

Soon the climb ended, and the road started flattening/descending towards Madikeri for the most part - and I zipped off. From Madikeri to the Kalpavriksha homestay about 6 kms away was a mindblowing downhill, though with intermittent broken surface, and I kept ahead of a car just rolling downhill and braking late and hard (I think I got a lot of rubber onto the rim doing that).

Lunch was welcome, though a little low on veggies, and cold coffee was wow. The homestay was in a very pretty setting, with lots of space in the parking area where folks spread out catching up on the days stories. Each rider coming in was cheered and served.

Got a bed only post dinner at around 8:30. Warm water has rarely felt that good :)

Washed the shorts and jersey and had a nice warm bath. Dinner was around a campfire that felt soooo great.

123 kms or so for the day.

Day 3: Madikeri to Sultan Bathery via the toughest sections of my trip

The dinner last evening was a bit of a letdown, and the egg in the morning was very welcome! I'd been up and starving since 4:30am, and the early morning tea around the fire helped lift spirits too.

The days ride was led by birthday boy Kaushik (the previous day was Sharath's bday and he'd done the honours). We started a trifle late because of the mist, and it was still quite chilly for the first half and hour or so. The road was in decent shape till Virajpet, and I again made rapid progress helped in part by Joshine's keep-at-it-forever riding style. The surface after Virajpet was broken every now and then, and the roadbikes had a tougher and tougher ride every few kilometres. My shoulders and neck started hurting as well, and after the first major break (at 56kms!) after Gonikoppal, I took it slow and easy, with breaks and Gatorade more often.

We'd been climbing up and down rolling hills all morning, but things got serious pretty soon en-route to Kutta. The gradients, quality of roads, dry and sunny (tho thankfully still cool in the shade) conditions did not help one bit, and it took all of one's effort to not get down and walk. On the steeper climbs, I even gave up and switched to 1-1 (and was disheartened when I wondered what I'd do for the Ooty climb). It felt especially frustrating to see the stronger bikers move ahead, especially when my chain slipped off halfway up a climb when I switched gears, and I actually just sat for a few minutes before I tried putting it back on.

Slowly, surely, with tons of mental effort and encouragement from the support guys and the bloggers-turned-support-guys - got closer to the Kerala border. Caught up with Avinash, who was having a horrible "flat" day (3 flats and the guy was still cheerful) and more or less stayed with him till Kattrikulam. The 15 kms or so through the wildlife sanctuary were fun - at one point a falling bamboo clumb and some movement behind it gave me new reserves of energy that did my acceleration through the stretch a lot of good :)


Lunch at kattrikulam was a local Porotta-Egg curry-Cola affair, and what might've otherwise tasted iffy felt great. Was charged up for a few kilometres after lunch and stayed with the flying Italian - lost him at a drink break and carried on alone asking the way to Bathery.

After Panamaram the climbs and the sun got nastier every few kilometres, and I started to wane, especially having forgotten to add electral to my water. I was also convinced I was on the wrong track, since no riders/vehicles crossed me! About 20 kilometres before Bathery, stopped to buy water, and some road bikers and the stronger MTB riders caught up! Amazingly, I'd managed to stay ahead so I guess the pace had dropped for everyone.

I carried on slowly, but the lack of the hydration pack saw me slowing down for more water breaks and I soon lost the bunch. My legs were also refusing to push up slopes and I was doing them at a much lowered pace.

About 7kms before the town, my arms started to cramp - took a break - had a RiteBite and started again. Crossed Iggy who had had another flat - and after a strenuous uphill, stopped again for water, and made calls home.

Within the next half a km I had a flat! This was about 4-5 kms before Sultan Bathery, and I was in no mood to learn how to fix a flat then. Didn't have a spare tube, so started walking. Within a few metres Rakesh Nair stopped by - he'd loaded his roadbike into an auto after some severe ache in his legs - and I was thankful to him, God, the auto guy and life in general seemed to have recovered from the low point of the days graph.

Found the hotel where we were to stay for the night. No warm water meant no bath - and let me just say the TFN organizers were apologetic about the lack of options they had when the recce happened :)

We tried our luck at a glitzier (any thing would be) place nearby but other riders had been quicker on the draw and the place was full! Dinner at the place's coffee bar was pizza, burgers, puffs - loaded with chicken and salads, a couple of rounds of tea, and juices. All of that for 201/- !!!!

Anyhow, slept not-too-well without a sheet, and got up early again.

Did 145kms of the ride this day, plus 5 in the auto :)

Day 4 : Sultan Bathery to Ooty - aka the Big One!

This was the ride many of us were waiting for.

Tea at a roadside place along with a sweet-tasting vadai (?) felt great early in the morning, and breakfast at the WindFlower was nice and nutritious. Iggy managed to find me a spare tube even as the briefing was on, and I started about 10 minutes after the first riders had left.

The slopes were easy and nice, and the weather fantastic. The locals were very friendly too, with one little guy in particular who ran alongside for the better part of a km making as much conversation as possible given my limited Tamil and his limited English and Hindi.

We were soon gaining elevation up climbs that took us higher and higher despite the odd downhill. And given the amazing sights all around, great weather and very decent road surface, we were soon at Devarsholai which was also the first food stop - though I'd had enough "support" that had found its way into my tummy by the time I got up there. Had yummy badam milk and yogurt, and carried on towards Gudalur. This started off with an amazing downhill and then a couple of climbs more.

A little before Gudalur things got a little hot with the noon sun shining bright, and the town was rather bare and the traffic didn't help either. But the climb started almost immediately, and within minutes of switching into lower and lower gears, "Ooty 49" showed up along with canopied, well tarred roads.

One of the support bikes asked me if I wanted lunch and water, and I gladly accepted. Took a 20 minute break to finish all the biriyani and chapatis - and generally stared at the amazing view in front of me. Kamesh passed me - totally focused on the excruciating ascent and working those pedals diligently. Watching another MTB rider grind up the slope put things in perspective - an amazing sight.

Started the climb again - the next 23 odd kms were the steadiest 7kmph ride I've done ever! Mostly in 1-2, and on the particularly nasty ones - 1-1. Did get into the higher gears at the hairpins, and once in a while to just break the monotony of the pace - but usually with not-very-thankful legs begging me to do the sane thing and keep pedalling at a sane cadence, low effort.

It was primarily a mental game - that climb.

Started off amidst pretty pretty pretty tea gardens, and promised to stop after 5 kms for a drink break and taking in the view (and catching my breath). It happened in a kilometre and a half instead :) A couple of road bikers - Dicky and Avinash - who'd started much later - caught up and took a break as well. They carried on quickly while I resumed at 7kmph.

From thereon the breaks became short, but frequent. It was a major effort to tell oneself to "no breaks before the next 1.2kms". Every gift from the support Gods was accepted with gratitude and genuine thankfulness. Reports of a "relative flat" a little ahead became a driving force. Only to become "a little further" ahead as the "end" of each bend in the climb revealed another ascent and another bend, and another higher mountain where a sure downhill had seemed (at least to my tired mind) to exist earlier.

For a while, rode with a couple of other MTB riders. Took a longish break for snaps amidst the tall eucalyptus where Nelly, Iggy seemed to be merrily picniking :)

The flat stretch did come, and lasted all of a half kilometre. Felt real tired after that and took a good 10 minute break just to stop fretting. The mind had started doing some calculations by now about what the speed was, how much time I had and when the sweep vehicles would come pick me up. So no scenery and nothing gained for about half an hour, except worry and tense muscles.

Then, magically, a nice rolling downhill, past a small town by the prettiest lake you've ever seen. Speeds went into double digits, and then upto 30+!

Past the lake, ran into a fellow rider - took a breather and took it easy for a while - with a few metres of walking and slow riding. Pradeep met us in between and injected a huge dose of optimism when he announced the main climb ended after about 2 kms, and the roads were rolling with generous downhills and flat sections included.

The average speed went up quite a bit, and thoughts of getting picked up by the sweep slowly ebbed. The shadows had grown longer by now and the air had a chill in it - so all the breaks were now in the sun!

It was amazingly pretty all around.

There were a few more climbs which I did real slow and easy, and maxed out on the downhills (with my brakes fading very quickly now). One Tourist spot after another passed by, though the beautiful everything-in-between was the even more glorious bit. Crossed a huge lake (dam?) and thick woods before being welcomed by a decrepit looking signboard announcing the "Queen of the Hills - Ooty".

Traffic and enthusiasm both increased, and caught up with a couple of riders who'd gotten "floated" to the 5 km mark and were riding the last bit. Reached Charing Cross eventually and asked around for the Youth Hostel - there are three and we inevitably landed at the wrong one. More enquiries ensued and we walked past the main market where someone suggested hot bhajjis and chai - much needed succour.

Getting back onto the saddle was ruled out by my suddenly-severely-in-protest-mode rear, as well as completely ineffective brakes - so walked the last couple of kms through Ooty to the YHAI hostel beyond the bus stand. A couple who were riding across India - the lady on a Merida! - greeted us and asked about the ride, some route suggestions and wished us the best.

The YHAI hostel was real pretty, and the food was great as well. There was a sense of accomplishment all around, and that showed when we gathered around the campfire and sang, danced (Seema's steps to the item numbers were awesome :) ) and generally bonhomied late into the night. There was also a somewhat candid feedback session that I hope both enthused the organizers as well as provided some useful feedback.

The night was brrrrr - and the huge holes in the blankets did not help :) The mercury apparently dipped below zero!

This was a 95km day, a couple more on foot.

Day 5 : Rest, Walk, Run and Adieu, riders ....

It sure was the rest day, but the cold ensured everyone kind of got up early - especially aided by a few early risers in the dorms :)

Avinash, Hari and I went for a cuppa, and a walk towards the Fern Hill Palace in the morning. Got back to another round of tea at the hostel, and headed out for another walk with a different group along the railway tracks. It was amazing to meet so many different people, their stories, yet bound by the single joy we were all revelling in.

Breakfast was a Nilgiris Idli-Vadai-Sambhar affair - and the piping hot stuff felt soooo good that pretty much everyone had a bit too much of it. The runners who'd decided to jog up to Dodda Betta decided to push the plan out by an hour, and I had a warm bath, changed and packed.

Thejesh was headed to Bangalore as well, and we headed towards the bus stand to make reservations. Got a bus to Mysore leaving at 1:30 - so decided to go buy some handmade "Ooty Chocolates" and tea, and made an early lunch of some nice heavy dosas.

Got back to the hostel, picked up our bags and had one last run-in with the videographers :)

The bus ride back was slow and easy and caught a nap or two. Got a Volvo at Mysore almost immediately, and saw a horrid movie - 1920 - that they were playing on the bus. Got another Volvo to Koramangala at Majestic (my first ever bus from Majestic! - and a very decent experience). Shubha and the kids were there to pick me up.

Got home more or less fine, except a light niggle in the left ankle. Still persists.

Day 7 : TFN rolls into Bangalore

Went upto Bangalore Univ (in BMTC buses - good experience again even with 3 bus changes) and met the TFN caravan which had paused there to regroup, and for a drink. Got my bike down from the support truck, and rode along in a group behind the cops and support cars. The cops once more cleared the intersections, and even the Mysore Road flyover for the riders to ensure a smooth ride!

The ride ended at Cubbon Park - with an additional lap around the park. There were hugs, exchanged phone numbers, triumph, joy, sorrow, cheers, snaps, stories recounted, jokes made. Pretty much everyone just wanted it to last just that bit longer.

[ There was a sour note as well - in the melee Sangwan's bike went missing :( I'm hoping the cops are able to trace it quick - its not a bike you can hide anywhere too long. ]

But it had to end. The first edition of the Tour of Nilgiris finally got over. Like the end of a beautiful dream. So many friendships forged. Things learned. Places seen. Experiences lived. Wounds endured. Hills climbed. Fears conquered. Demons quietened. Minds opened.

TFN 09, here we come :)

[ There's a dinner get together tonight for TFN riders and all others in the cycling fraternity around Bangalore. One last cheer for this amazing trip! ]

Update :

Sangwan got his TFS-100 back - it had somehow gotten left behind at the Blore Univ stop - and the sugarcane juice guy there had handed it over to the Railway Cops, who handed it back right away - I like stories with happy endings :)

So next time you cross the place, do stop there for cane juice and tip the honest guy!

DH covers the TFN

Thats me in the center - tho its a little tough to make that out in the online edition :)

The Ride Song

Was having a chat with Vasu of the Bangalore Bikers Club, and something he said triggered this :

Furrows on your forehead
And a sigh in your breath
Think you need a little inspiration

A dull ache in your muscles
Sick building syndrome ?
Get out - get some invigoration

A little bit of sunshine
You'll be just fine
Hit the pedals and feel alive
A gentle rush - hey
It's made your day
Go the distance,
C'mon, do the ride

Push, ache
Give, take
Feel the things
That are never fake
Everything is the way that it should be
Thrill, tears,
Unconquered fears,
Demons shout
But no one hears,
You slowly get over the hill, and see

The little bit of sunshine
Its filled your mind
You plunged and you are now a-live
The gentle rush - hey
You've found your way
Did the distance,
And you spread the light.

Of a wonderful life.

The TFN site has it too

Even More dreams for Bangalore ?

Got this in my Inbox. Could we please just get started in Bangalore?

Bicycle now used more often than car

16 December 2008 – Amsterdammers now travel by bicycle more often (on average 0.87 times per day) than by car (0.84 times). In the early 2000s, cars were used on average 1.02 times per day and bicycles 0.90 times per day.

Seventy-three percent of Amsterdammers over 12 years old own a bicycle, up from 68% in the early 2000s. The percentage of Amsterdammers who have a car available has remained stable.

Car use dropped in all districts since 1990, on average by 14%. Bicycle use increased only within the ring road, by 36%. Centrum is the district where bicycle use is highest and car use lowest, which the municipality ascribes to stringent parking regulations.

Source: Fietsersbond / dIVV / O+S. Photo FaceMePLS

Critical Mass December

The next Critical Mass is happening on the 26th of Dec. A lot many riders will be out on the TFN, but there are probably enough in Bangalore to get the point across :)


Do turn up, even borrow a bike. It's a good statement to make - cyclists and pedestrians share the road-space with cars and buses and bikes, and need right of way, in many situations.

Bangalore's Traffic Solutions ?

A nice set of slides discussing various obvious ones.

Bangalore traffic - Solution

Uploaded on authorSTREAM by das | Upload your own presentation

If we don't start thinking NOW, and wake up from the sexy sleek-car-on-a-highway dream and short term convenience-of-a-car-myth, we will choose a very scary future.

Increasing road space is surely not the way to go. A network of smaller sub-cities, fewer long commutes, buses to connect the networks, wayyy more lung space - those are the options to focus on. Even at the cost of a short term pain for car users. Come to think of it, does their pain have any scope for increase ? Its horrible enough as is.

The Tour of Nilgiris Video

TFN's documentation partner - Flaunge - just uploaded a lovely video. See it here:


Tour Of Nilgiris - Experience Nature from Tour Of Nilgiris on Vimeo.

Of course the groans and puffs and pants of the Ooty climb are missing from the soundtrack, but its a beautful, beautiful place.....

Longer TFN Ride

Was earlier planning to do the Tour of Nilgiris days 3-5 but just decided to do days 1 and 2 as well! Thats a total of between 450-500kms - part of it I may do in support vehicles since I want to really really do the Ooty climb and not get too tired before that.

Now I'm not sure I've trained enough. A short 60km ride last weekend felt quite easy, but multiple days of sustained long distances is a totally different deal.

The reasons for doing this ?

• God knows when next
• 25th is a holiday, and I'd have taken a bus on the 26th morning anyhow
• I have done 2 150km rides.... (touch wood)
• The road tyres have given hope
• Shubha said "do it"
• The Ambulance, Physio, the promise of the "sports massage" and Dr Chandra's words which assured they'd keep us going :)
• Company - you often can do more
• Support vehicles - plan to not push too hard on days 1 & 2. Esp day 1.

Let's see how this goes....

More dreams for Bangalore ?

e² | transport | paris: vélo liberté | PBS - a good quick tour of community owned biking efforts in Paris. Narrator : Brad Pitt!

Imagine a 2 kilometer radius around Cauvery Jn (M.G. Road and Brigade Road) off limits to ALL private transport - and open to

• electric buses
• a few electric Taxis (Revas)
• cycles

Now imagine there being a pool of cycles - available at each entry/exit point to this city core. Imagine enough cycle lots, a standard "fare" for the bikes with a part refund when you drop it off. Imagine a standardized bus prepaid fare for this zone. Imagine less road space in the town center and more of the existing roads converted to tree lines boulevards and gardens.

Imagine....

(We might actually start visiting that part of town again!)

(If not Bangalore, who else? We're progressive, or are we?)

Someone please save us

Everyone I know is worried about climate change. But as this article points out - the disconnect in what we do as individuals and its impact on the environment, and on the polity which is responsible for affecting changes to policy for reducing this impact, is so high that most people shrug their shoulders, and, in essence, collectively continue to wait for environmental-doomsday.

I've personally started cycling, and am avoiding "upgrading" appliances, the car, etc for the heck of it. At home we try and reuse as much as possible. I try keeping the showers short and the buckets have shrunk in size. We're now also reusing the "waste" water from the RO filter.

Yet I so easily "forget" to switch off appliances at the socket - lots continue to run in standby. Our apartment's per capita consumption of energy is probably closer to levels in the developed world rather than the rest of India.

Why should fossil-fuel derived energy be cheap and plentiful (not a murmur when petrol prices dropped!)? Why should plastic be handed out with everything that comes wrapped in plastic at the store ? Why can't we calculate the real cost of these ? It should really really hurt to commute long distances in private cars - especially 1/2 people in a car.

I quite like the idea of growing some food on your own - as the article urges - and reconnect to the less specialized roles human civilization used to have. "But I have no time" is the easy one.

I guess human beings really have little time as a species - but looking beyond our noses isn't something we've gotten good at. We'll learn when the flooding happens even more often, and the hurricanes, or the out-of-turn snow, and droughts. Or maybe not even then.

Maybe its ok - whoever said we should never go extinct.

Edit:

For a while we've happily pointed fingers west saying "oh the US contributes 25% for 5% of the world's population" - no more - look at our meteoric "growth" on the pollution charts here.