Cult of Cycling

Bangalore Critical Mass 002 - Pictures

2009-01-09T05:30:00.000-08:00

Well Abhijit wont let me embed the pictures on the blog for some reason, so here's the link you need to follow to see the pictures!

http://picasaweb.google.com/BikesZone/20081226CriticalMassBangalore002

or here to see the slideshow:-

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=BikesZone&target=ALBUM&id=5284149914185157649&authkey=cs75cLOMZ3Y&feat=email&mode=SLIDESHOW

BCM002 - Ride Route

2009-01-09T05:27:00.000-08:00

Ride Route for Bangalore Critical Mass 002

Distance Covered: 16kms

H Siddaiah Circle, Jayanagar, Bangalore, Karnataka(12.948290,77.580096) to Minerva Circle, Kalasipalyam, Bangalore, Karnataka(12.955191,77.579967) to Sri Narsimha Rao Road, Nagartapete, Bangalore, Karnataka(12.963764,77.585095) TO Siddalingaiah Circle, Shanthala Nagar, Bangalore, Karnataka(12.971940,77.593748) TO Queens Road, Gandhi Nagar, Bangalore, Karnataka(12.976650,77.599187) TO Brigade Road, Shanthala Nagar, Bangalore, Karnataka(12.975087,77.607969) TO Ashwarya Apartments, Shanthala Nagar, Bangalore, Karnataka(12.971930,77.607062) TO Residency Road, Ashok Nagar, Bangalore, Karnataka(12.973237,77.609702) TO Commmerisat Road, Ashok Nagar, Bangalore, Karnataka(12.970278,77.610313) TO NH7, Viveka Nagar, Bangalore, Karnataka(12.966242,77.606826) TO Prestige Acropolis, Adugodi, Bangalore, Karnataka(12.934571,77.612196) TO Marigowda Road, Wilson Garden, Bangalore, Karnataka(12.939977,77.597691) TO South End Road, Jayanagar, Bangalore, Karnataka(12.936662,77.583228)

Bangalore Critical Mass - 002

2009-01-08T05:32:00.000-08:00

It was my first time at the Critical Mass (CM) in Bangalore and I was all excited!

Started off from my home at 5pm and met Rohan at BOTS at 5:20. Spoke to him for a couple of mins and checked out his store (which was still being renovated/set up). Got his Thunder MTB for the ride and we were off to meet everyone at Lalbagh West Gate.

Quite a few people had gathered up including Prabhakar Rao who was promoting go-green cycling and giving out t-shirts. We were about 25-30 of us...could have been more, given that a good bunch of people were doing the Tour of Nilgiris. We started off at 6pm.

The route was Lalbagh West Gate - Minerva Circle - Corporation/Hudson Circle - Kastubra Road - MG Road - Brigade Road - Mayo Hall - Garuda Mall - Adugodi - Forum and back.

Stop 1 was at Utility Building Junction just to get a little organized (and start riding in a single lane - at a constant speed).

Brigade road was nicely lit up!

Our next major stop was Garuda mall where we did our first Bike Salute!

And next one opposite forum, in front of Pizza Hut. Met dad, mom there who were wating for me and introduced them to the bikers, and they sure were thrilled about my cycling interests :-)

Shamirpet Ride Pictures

2008-12-24T00:35:00.000-08:00

Shamirpet Ride : 21-Dec-08

2008-12-23T22:43:00.000-08:00

Following the beautiful rides last week in and around AOC, Chandra planned for a ride to Shamirpet lake - a 60km ride on Sunday. I was not really sure if I'd make it after the Medak ride, but was really wanted to go along with the group.

I reached the meeting point (AOC, Picket - opp. Ghanshyam super market) at 6:50am and met Nalin and Prasanna who were already there.

Prasanna was the new kid on the block, who had RSVP-ed for the ride. He was on his new bike (12days old) - LA Sovereign Wave Alloy, and Nalin on Firefox Cyclone. Chandra joined us at 7:10am and we were all set and ready to go!

Shamirpet lake was approx 25km from AOC, and we did pretty well in reaching the lake in just under 1.5hrs. We went inside AOC/Cantonment area, and exited on to Shamirpet/Siddipet Road. The roads were pretty good, and it was really big relief for me compared to Medak Road the previous day. Basically lesser dust and pollution and more greenery and cleaner roads. I guess we did that initial distance pretty quickly (about 45mins/8am), we were on Siddipet road.

Got a call from Ritu and confirmed, that we were on our way and should reach the lake by 9am. There was a nice slant from there on and we rode relatively faster, crossing Alankrita and Country club on the way, reaching Shamirpet Lake by 8:45am itself.

I had met Ritu just 2days back at a workshop, and got to know her interests with cycling, and coincidently she was residing at Shamirpet and us doing the ride there on Sunday!

Ritu joined us at 9am, and we hoped we could have some tea at her place. But we decided we'll put off our tea/breakfast plans for some more time as we wanted to explore the place a little bit. Ritu who took us around, along the water, waded the water and reached a tiny rock island.

Nalin and Ritu wanted to do some rock climbing...did a little and got down (former for his back, and latter on a loved one's request :-))

I got inspired and wanted to do the full, took an alternate route and started from the behind, and climbed up the first rock with a push from Prasanna. Climbed up the other two and I was on the TOP (Checkout the pictures in the album)! It was a terrific experience in all, and it was my first rock climb!

We also got to know that Ritu was an adventure freak, and we sure should plan for a lot of trip in the times to come. So the sweaty stinky riders were now off to Ritu's house, who welcomed us, and treated us to some nice breakfast (Scrambled eggs, and toasts, and tea). It was so relaxing that I wished I didnt have to ride back home and hoped I could Teleport myself home :-)

We started to head back at 12pm (Middle of the day!!). I did about 5km, when Chandra's car passed, and offered me a lift. I happily took it, and got a 10km riding-break upto AOC entrance. Then rode back home via Subway (Mayfair) where I packed a foot long for lunch.

All in all, it was a fantastic experience and according to me, our best ride till date.

Here's the approx. ride route, and pictures!

Total Distance: 30+30kms

Things of desire - Update 1

2008-12-20T04:52:00.000-08:00

Done:
1. Adjust saddle height - I guess its pretty ok right now considering the fact that I haven't had any pain or anything till now - By Dec'09 - Done
2. Helmet - By Dec'09 - Done - Bought it at Bharat Sports Co. at MG Road on 18/Dec - 275rs (after bargain - initial price 325rs)
3. Cable lock - Have a luggage chain that's working out fine for now - it's long so can fix it at most places - By Dec'09 - Done
4. Spare tube - By Dec'09 - Done - Bought it at BSA/Atlas cycle accessories shop at MG Road on 18/Dec - 60rs

Pending:
Not urgent:
1. CycloComputer - By Jan'09
2. Different handlebars/adjust the ones that are there currently - By Jan'09
3. Gears? - Not sure but the Pro Road bikes have gears, so yeah - By Feb'09
5. Better Saddle? - Softer one if possible - By Jan'09
6. Gloves? - Maybe - By Jan'09
Somewhat urgent:
1. Toolkit - Allen keys, etc.
2. Saddle bag - Very useful to carry stuff

Will see what I can pick up this time in Bangalore probably at BOTS or somewhere else (RR Cycles, Madivala?)

Medak Charity Ride - 20-Dec-2008

2008-12-20T04:27:00.000-08:00

Shay was gonna do a Charity ride as part of Microsoft Giving Campaign and most of us (8 confirmed) decided to accompany him along for the 100km ride from Hyderabad to Medak.

Woke up early at 4:45am (Phew!!), took bath, got ready, reached Begumpet station at 6am and took the 6:12 MMTS to get to Hafeezpet. Was asked by a few in the station to book the Cycle (as luggage!). I was sure they'd allow it in the vendor bogie as the train would be fairly empty at that time, and just bought my ticket (3rs).

Reached Hafeezpet station and rode to Miyapur 'X' roads from there to reach at about 6:45. Tried to call Shay to let him know that I was gonna join them from there but his phone was busy. So decided to ride further and meet them all at the original meeting point - Reddy labs gate on the Medak road. Called him twice again, but line was busy, so just waited there and had chai (2rs50ps). After a little while about 7:10am he confirmed that they'd passed that place about 45mins back!!!

So it had to be that I had to do the ride alone, to catch up with them or just do some distance and head back - which is what I decided to do.

Rode quite a bit of distance - passed a few engg. colleges on the way. So until that point I guess I had covered almost 15-20km, after starting from Hafeezpet. Decided to head back at about 8:30am as it was starting to get hotter.

Took a deviation and came via Nizampet - passed Maytas Hill County and lots of other construction sites and finally reached Kukkatpally junction. Reached home at 9:30, not totally exhausted but with a feeling of a nice neat ride.

Well, almost forgot to mention that I did this ride, carrying a backpack of about 5kgs which had extra clothes - to change into in the later half of the day, stuff to eat etc...din happen to need any of those!

I guess I did all of this 35-40km today, just on half a bottle of water and a tiny cup of chai. I guess it was worth it, and gave me a fair idea of how much I could do.

Here's the approx ride route:-

The Tour of Nilgiris Video

2008-12-20T04:24:00.000-08:00

Beautiful Video of TFN!

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

Dinner Ride : 17-Dec-2008

2008-12-18T02:22:00.000-08:00

Distance: 10km

Y! Map: http://bit.ly/1dN4

Secunderabad Ride - Pictures

2008-12-17T06:03:00.000-08:00

Weekend - Secunderabad Rides - Part 2

2008-12-15T03:48:00.000-08:00

On finishing the loop we felt we had a lot of "gas" left and felt we should do more. Chandra's son dropped off, and we headed towards the route around AOC/Cantonment area, with Nalin leading the ride.

What was coming up next was just too good to be true! I had never imagined Secunderabad area could be so green and beautiful!

As it was mostly the Army area, there was tons and tons of greenery and fresh air and clean roads. Though I don't have the exact route map for this ride, it was just the perfect place for biking. We did approx. 10km one-way and headed back to complete close to 20km of riding around Cantonment. Saw a few old tankers, jeeps and felt as though I was somewhere in the North India around borders doing cycle rides! I'm sure we'll go there many more times, and take pictures to post it up here.

Had breakfast at hotel, was a little tired, so dropped off the bike at Chandra's house and got home. But it was such an excellent experience - overall about 50km in just my 3rd day!

Approx map:-

Sunday was an exact repeat of the Part 2 of this journey but covering about 35kms in all on Chandra's cyclo-computer.

I gotta buy one of those, it's nice to keep of my rides more accurately. Added the things that I'd need/desire here.

Weekend - Secunderabad Rides - Part 1

2008-12-15T03:39:00.000-08:00

Weekend had some awesome rides around Secunderabad.

First on Saturday, woke up early around 5:30 and rode to Diamond point where Nalin, Chandra, his son and I met up at 6:30. We initially planned to do the route suggested by Chandra which was a nice 18km loop with a bit of off-road and highway. We met Anil on the Hasmatpet road and finished the loop. We particularly enjoyed the off-road sections and planned to do more of it in the future.

Here's the route map for the same:-

Read here on what we did next!

Things of desire

2008-12-14T08:37:00.000-08:00

After the first few days back with butts on the bicycle, here're are some things on my mind:-

1. CycloComputer - Something that can capture/display the current speed, maximum speed, trip distance, trip time, total distance traveled, and the current time. Obviously there are more advanced models which display altitude, incline, heart rate, pedaling cadence, temperature, a stopwatch and also as a GPS navigation device. They enhance the experience of bicycling as a sport as well as a recreational activity.

2. Different handlebars/adjust the ones that are there currently.

3. Gears? - Not sure but the Pro Road bikes have gears, so yeah.

4. Adjust saddle height - I guess its pretty ok right now considering the fact that I haven't had any pain or anything till now.

5. Better Saddle? - Softer one if possible.

6. Gloves? - Maybe.

However, there are things that I need very soon:-
1. Helmet
2. Cable lock
3. Spare tube
4. Toolkit - Allen keys, tools to fix a flat/change tube n stuff.
5. Saddle bag

Bike Pictures

2008-12-14T08:29:00.000-08:00

Taken on 13-Dec-2008 at Cantonment, Secunderabad

Taken on 14-Dec-2008 at Home, Begumpet, Hyderabad

Ride Route : 12-Dec-2008

2008-12-14T07:20:00.000-08:00

Went out in the night for a ride in the 'old' airport. Was suprised to find the place soooooooo empty having travelled from there quite a number of times over the last few years.

Anyways, did some nice loops including the Ramps - was a really nice experience.

Had dinner (to celebrate :P) at Pizza hut!

Here's the ride route:-

Y! Map: http://bit.ly/NgwX
Distance: 9.5km

Beyond the Cult of Cycling

2008-12-12T00:18:00.001-08:00

Picture from my Cubicle at office

Ride Route : 11-Dec-2008

2008-12-11T23:52:00.000-08:00

Route: 17.427079,78.457553 to 17.424192,78.462896 to 17.448083, 78.460729

Y! Map: http://bit.ly/9JHB
Distance: 12kms

Cult of Cycling

2008-12-11T23:41:00.000-08:00

Hurray! I started Cycling again!

Went ahead and bought a BSA Mach yesterday at BSA Go Showroom in SomajiGuda.

Cost of the Bike - Rs 3600 (or Approx $75).

Got a free cable lock and a hand pump with it. Decent service and nice people at the showroom.

Did a 12km ride (see ride route in the next post), and felt really really good!

Will post the picture of the bike shortly.

Specs and details here: https://www.ticyclesindia.com/pdf/mach18.pdf

Updated: Pictures here: http://cult-of-cycling.blogspot.com/2008/12/bike-pictures.html