Friday evening, no plans for the weekend. I thought why not start the weekend with a ride of 50-100 km. Posted for the same on BBC. Harsha replied that he and Naveen are riding to Nandi hills tomorrow. Though I was not looking for more than 100 km ride, still decided to join them.
Plan was to start at 5:00 am in the morning. But naveen faced some issue with his front wheel, so we started at 5:45 am from Marathalli bridge. Took a couple of break in between and reached Nandi hill base by 9:30 am. Naveen complained about having pain in his knee. We had breakfast at the base and then started the climb. It was my first time to Nandi hills. Somehow I managed to ride 4km. It gets more steeper as we go up. I talked to a auto and he agreed to carry my bike, so I got in to the auto and reached to the top. I realized that it was a good decision to take auto as climb gets much steeper in later half. Harsha and Naveen rode till there. We relaxed amid the beautiful greenish mountain.
Naveen told us that there is another hill Kalwarbetta nearby where people do night treking. Harsha asked can we go for it today, I said yes casually (I had no idea that we will actually end up there). Then we returned back to the base and had lunch there. There we seriously considered going there. We were very well aware that we are not prepared for staying in the night on the hill top. But it was perfect timing for night treking as it was a day before full moon and no chance of rain in the evening. Finally we decided to go for the treking.
Naveen got a puncture in the front wheel of his bike. He got it repaired at a shop there. Then we rode to Kalwara village. It is next to Muddenahalli village (birth place of Sir.M.Visweswaraih). On the way we bought some buiscuits, bananas and water bottles for the night. We reached Kalwara village by 5:30 pm. Harsha talked to a villager Ramanjneyappa and he agreed to keep our bikes in his cow shelter and locked it together. Then we started our treking.
By the time we reached at the base of the mountain, it was already getting dark. Luckily I had my bike headlight which we used as torch. We started climbing up the hill. There is a trail which goes up to the top. We followed the trail. At about half of the mountain we found a nice place to stay. Now the challening part was there. A nice cold breez was going on which initially felt very pleaseing as we were sweating due to climbing up but very soon we started feeling cold. Naveen's knee pain had also increased by now. Harsha collected some woods and we made a camp fire. Other than the cold breez, it was an amazing experience to be there on the hill. It was so peaceful out there. None of us could sleep due to cold so we spent the whole night around the camp fire. After 2:00 pm other groups of people started treking on the hill. At 3:30 am we started coming down the hill as it was a bit cloudy and foggy so there was no chance of getting to see the sunrise.
We reached the village at 5:30 pm, picked up our bikes. Naveen's bike got punctured again, he changed the tube. Naveen was hardly able to paddle the bike. Some how he managed till the place from where we take a turn to nandi hill. There we hired a TATA ACE and came back home.
It was really a crazy idea to spent the night at the hill without any preparation. But we managed well. Other than Naveen's knee pain every thing went really well.
Here are the pics of the trip.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=561381&id=532930516&l=cfef83338f
Showing posts with label Hercules Act 110. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hercules Act 110. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
My first century ride
This time BBC had organized its September month end long ride on Oct 3rd. Plan was to start from Merida junction and go till Muthathi, take a dip in river Kaveri and return back. The total round trip distance was around 180 km from Merida junction. Previously I had ridden a maximum of 67 km in a day so it seemed too much to me, so I decided to return from Kanakapura itself. Still the round trip distance for me was around 135 km from Marathalli bridge.
On Saturday evening, I was a bit excited for the ride and little nervous as well as in my last long ride I was totally drained out after 67km only. This time I had taken a challenge to double the distance.
On Sunday, woke up around 3:30, got fresh and started the ride at 4:30 am from Marathalli bridge with Vishy and Aditya. It started drizzling as soon as we started. Though it was a light drizzle but enough to drenched us and get mud from the road through rear wheel on our t-shirt. Still the drizzle felt very pleasant. Met Ravi and Aditya's friend on the way to Merida junction. Reached there at 5:45 am. There I met Manoj Verma and his son. There most of the riders had already reached by then, few even had started the ride.
We started our ride at exactly 6:00 am after a brief from Yogesh about direction. Riding till Kanakapura was very easy. It was all the way down, so rode at a very decent average speed of 20kmph. Reached Kanakapura at 8:30 am after riding 48 km from Merida junction without any break in between. Met Gunashekar and his wife on the way. His wife was riding on a single speed bike so they were riding slowly.
Had breakfast there, Now from there most of the people (including those who initially planned to return from Kanakapura) was going ahead. They also asked me to come and it was really tempting to go ahead as I was still feeling very fresh though I had started feeling a little pain in my shoulder and this was due to not having handle at the proper height even though I had raised it to the maximum. I had to lean against the handle and that way my upper body weight was on my shoulder. These are the small technical details in which our Indian companies are still lacking. I knew that going ahead is easy and optional but returning back is mandatory and it will be really tough as it is all the way uphill ride. Moreover I knew that my shoulder pain is going to get worse.
So decided to return from there itself. Got company of Anil and Sudarshan to return back. By that time Manoj and his son also reached there. Manoj told us to carry on as he wanted to take some more time there. Anil and Sudarshan had already started while I was talking to Manoj. I also started riding back, cached both of them very soon.
After only 8-10 km we started feeling the toughness of uphill ride. Took a small break of 5 min. Again we started from there but as we rode ahead riding was getting more and more tough. Also by this time I had started getting pain in my shoulders. Again took a small break and had coconut water there. We started again, Anil was riding ahead of us and I and Sudarshan were riding together. Only after 4-5 km from there my shoulders pain has increased so I stopped and lie down for some time there. Anil carried on as he was riding ahead of us. After 15 min again got up, did some stretching and started riding again. I told Sudarshan to carry on from my next break as I will take my time. Again stopped after half an hour, Sudarshan carried on from there. I kept taking breaks of 5 min after 3-4 km.
After harrohalli I met Badri, stopped there for some time. He was taking his friend on his car as it was the maiden ride for his friend and he was not able to paddle on the up hill. Asked if he has move spray, which he didn't had but he said he could give me some message on my shoulders. And that really helped a lot, I had move gel with me, asked him to apply it on my shoulder. That massage gave me a fresh energy. Badri asked if I would be able to complete the ride as it was still 10-12 km to Merida junction which I replied positively. Completed rest of the ride till Merida junction in next one hour, took 3-4 small breaks in between. My flat was still 18 km away from Merida junction but from there riding had become much easier as it was more or less plane road from there. On plane road I was still riding at 20-25kmph even after so much tiredness. Reached home at 2:45 pm. Fall on the bed and slept till evening.
After that talked to home and friends, no one could guess that I have ridden 132 km in a day. Few weeks ago even I would not have imagined myself riding more than 100 km in a day but now after this ride I feel very confident for a 100 km ride. After reading story of others, I think I did pretty well on my first 100+ km ride. Covered 132 km in 10:15 hrs including half an hour break for breakfast and all the small breaks in between. Even after 132 km my legs were not that much tired but it was the improper height of the handle which made the ride a bit painful. For that I will get an additional handle bar (which you see on any ranger cycle) to attach it to the handle to avoid shoulder pain on my next ride [Jugaad technology :)]. A big thanks to Anil, Sudarshan and Badri to help me complete the ride.
On Saturday evening, I was a bit excited for the ride and little nervous as well as in my last long ride I was totally drained out after 67km only. This time I had taken a challenge to double the distance.
On Sunday, woke up around 3:30, got fresh and started the ride at 4:30 am from Marathalli bridge with Vishy and Aditya. It started drizzling as soon as we started. Though it was a light drizzle but enough to drenched us and get mud from the road through rear wheel on our t-shirt. Still the drizzle felt very pleasant. Met Ravi and Aditya's friend on the way to Merida junction. Reached there at 5:45 am. There I met Manoj Verma and his son. There most of the riders had already reached by then, few even had started the ride.
We started our ride at exactly 6:00 am after a brief from Yogesh about direction. Riding till Kanakapura was very easy. It was all the way down, so rode at a very decent average speed of 20kmph. Reached Kanakapura at 8:30 am after riding 48 km from Merida junction without any break in between. Met Gunashekar and his wife on the way. His wife was riding on a single speed bike so they were riding slowly.
Had breakfast there, Now from there most of the people (including those who initially planned to return from Kanakapura) was going ahead. They also asked me to come and it was really tempting to go ahead as I was still feeling very fresh though I had started feeling a little pain in my shoulder and this was due to not having handle at the proper height even though I had raised it to the maximum. I had to lean against the handle and that way my upper body weight was on my shoulder. These are the small technical details in which our Indian companies are still lacking. I knew that going ahead is easy and optional but returning back is mandatory and it will be really tough as it is all the way uphill ride. Moreover I knew that my shoulder pain is going to get worse.
So decided to return from there itself. Got company of Anil and Sudarshan to return back. By that time Manoj and his son also reached there. Manoj told us to carry on as he wanted to take some more time there. Anil and Sudarshan had already started while I was talking to Manoj. I also started riding back, cached both of them very soon.
After only 8-10 km we started feeling the toughness of uphill ride. Took a small break of 5 min. Again we started from there but as we rode ahead riding was getting more and more tough. Also by this time I had started getting pain in my shoulders. Again took a small break and had coconut water there. We started again, Anil was riding ahead of us and I and Sudarshan were riding together. Only after 4-5 km from there my shoulders pain has increased so I stopped and lie down for some time there. Anil carried on as he was riding ahead of us. After 15 min again got up, did some stretching and started riding again. I told Sudarshan to carry on from my next break as I will take my time. Again stopped after half an hour, Sudarshan carried on from there. I kept taking breaks of 5 min after 3-4 km.
After harrohalli I met Badri, stopped there for some time. He was taking his friend on his car as it was the maiden ride for his friend and he was not able to paddle on the up hill. Asked if he has move spray, which he didn't had but he said he could give me some message on my shoulders. And that really helped a lot, I had move gel with me, asked him to apply it on my shoulder. That massage gave me a fresh energy. Badri asked if I would be able to complete the ride as it was still 10-12 km to Merida junction which I replied positively. Completed rest of the ride till Merida junction in next one hour, took 3-4 small breaks in between. My flat was still 18 km away from Merida junction but from there riding had become much easier as it was more or less plane road from there. On plane road I was still riding at 20-25kmph even after so much tiredness. Reached home at 2:45 pm. Fall on the bed and slept till evening.
After that talked to home and friends, no one could guess that I have ridden 132 km in a day. Few weeks ago even I would not have imagined myself riding more than 100 km in a day but now after this ride I feel very confident for a 100 km ride. After reading story of others, I think I did pretty well on my first 100+ km ride. Covered 132 km in 10:15 hrs including half an hour break for breakfast and all the small breaks in between. Even after 132 km my legs were not that much tired but it was the improper height of the handle which made the ride a bit painful. For that I will get an additional handle bar (which you see on any ranger cycle) to attach it to the handle to avoid shoulder pain on my next ride [Jugaad technology :)]. A big thanks to Anil, Sudarshan and Badri to help me complete the ride.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Story of my bike, Hercules Act 110
After getting out of college, I thought now I am done with cycle. Spent a year without cycle, never felt need for it.
But after joining Oracle, my colleague Sachin suggested me to get a cycle to commute to office as I live only 1.5km away from my office. He said to get a good bike which would make ride more interesting and exciting. He suggested Hero Octane. I checked its price on net, it comes around 9.5k.
Now there were so many unanswered questions. When I can afford a bike then why should I go for a cycle. Moreover why should I spend 10k on a cycle just to commute 3km per day (which right now cost me Rs20 per day in a Volvo). On the other getting bike would mean at least some physical activity. I have started gaining weight. I gained 6kg in less than a year. Though I have started swimming but that is not a way to lose weight. I thought why not give myself some time to find answers of these questions.
I found a google group Bangalore Bikers Club. It is an online community of some serious bikers. They organize trips almost every weekend. Joined it to get some info about bike and bikers in Bangalore. There it was another incentive to join them some weekend trips which will not only make the bike more useful but weekend interesting as well (and of course it will be a really good exercise). I decided lets start with a middle range bike.
I asked group member about bikes in the range of 6-8k as I really didn't want to spend much on a cycle. Also I wanted both front and rear suspension along with multi gears. On the group people suggested me to increase my budget by 2k and get either Hercules Act 110 or Rockrider 5.1. They said that you won't get good suspension in this range of bikes. They gave very negative feedback about Octane. I read specification of both the bikes on net, visited couple of cycle stores and saw both the bike and finally decided to get Hercules Act 110. There I came to know that a cycle could cost you as much as 50k.
Now once I decided for the cycle then next thing was accessories. Group members said that helmet, lock and back light are essential for a bike if you want to drive it in city. Other optional accessories are front light, cyclo meter, sunglass, spare tube, puncture kit, air pump chain lube etc. I thought that I wont need spare tubes, puncture kit or other optional accessories immediately but what about cyclo computer. It would be really a nice feeling to see myself riding over 30kmph on a paddle bike and record total distances covered as well. So decided to get a cyclo computer as well and make the ride more interesting.
Finally I went to RR cycle store at Marathalli bridge. Before going to the store I noted down price of accessories from Decathalon site for their members. After some negotiation, dealer agreed to give other accessories at Decathalon price. With hercules Act 110, I got BTWIN MIX helmet, DC4W cyclomener, front and back light and Coil lock SP5. All together it cost me 11.1k. Immediately I went on a small ride on Outer Ring Road, It was really a wonderful experience riding a light weight bike with 21 gear combination. It took me some time to get adjusted with gear combination. On returning, I touched 43kmph under Marathalli bridge (of course with the help of downward slope). The feeling was really awesome.
From Monday (05 Sep) I started commuting to office by bike.
Ready to ride to office for the first time
Bike rear view
Bike front view
Leaving for office.
It takes only five minutes to reach to office (It used to take me 15-20 minutes by bus including time to reach the bus stand, crossing the road twice, waiting for bus and then walking to the office).
Next step:
I am looking forward to join Bangalore Bikers club members on their rides to places near by Bangalore.
But after joining Oracle, my colleague Sachin suggested me to get a cycle to commute to office as I live only 1.5km away from my office. He said to get a good bike which would make ride more interesting and exciting. He suggested Hero Octane. I checked its price on net, it comes around 9.5k.
Now there were so many unanswered questions. When I can afford a bike then why should I go for a cycle. Moreover why should I spend 10k on a cycle just to commute 3km per day (which right now cost me Rs20 per day in a Volvo). On the other getting bike would mean at least some physical activity. I have started gaining weight. I gained 6kg in less than a year. Though I have started swimming but that is not a way to lose weight. I thought why not give myself some time to find answers of these questions.
I found a google group Bangalore Bikers Club. It is an online community of some serious bikers. They organize trips almost every weekend. Joined it to get some info about bike and bikers in Bangalore. There it was another incentive to join them some weekend trips which will not only make the bike more useful but weekend interesting as well (and of course it will be a really good exercise). I decided lets start with a middle range bike.
I asked group member about bikes in the range of 6-8k as I really didn't want to spend much on a cycle. Also I wanted both front and rear suspension along with multi gears. On the group people suggested me to increase my budget by 2k and get either Hercules Act 110 or Rockrider 5.1. They said that you won't get good suspension in this range of bikes. They gave very negative feedback about Octane. I read specification of both the bikes on net, visited couple of cycle stores and saw both the bike and finally decided to get Hercules Act 110. There I came to know that a cycle could cost you as much as 50k.
Now once I decided for the cycle then next thing was accessories. Group members said that helmet, lock and back light are essential for a bike if you want to drive it in city. Other optional accessories are front light, cyclo meter, sunglass, spare tube, puncture kit, air pump chain lube etc. I thought that I wont need spare tubes, puncture kit or other optional accessories immediately but what about cyclo computer. It would be really a nice feeling to see myself riding over 30kmph on a paddle bike and record total distances covered as well. So decided to get a cyclo computer as well and make the ride more interesting.
Finally I went to RR cycle store at Marathalli bridge. Before going to the store I noted down price of accessories from Decathalon site for their members. After some negotiation, dealer agreed to give other accessories at Decathalon price. With hercules Act 110, I got BTWIN MIX helmet, DC4W cyclomener, front and back light and Coil lock SP5. All together it cost me 11.1k. Immediately I went on a small ride on Outer Ring Road, It was really a wonderful experience riding a light weight bike with 21 gear combination. It took me some time to get adjusted with gear combination. On returning, I touched 43kmph under Marathalli bridge (of course with the help of downward slope). The feeling was really awesome.
From Monday (05 Sep) I started commuting to office by bike.
Ready to ride to office for the first time
Bike rear view
Bike front view
Leaving for office.Next step:
I am looking forward to join Bangalore Bikers club members on their rides to places near by Bangalore.
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