MC's Cycling Diary

Date: 20 December 2014 Total distance: 73 Kilometers Start Time: 6:00 am Return Time: 11:15 am With: Sushanth Altitude Profile: Sushanth had just picked up a cycle and after riding around the city, wanted to do a short ride outside the city. We zeroed in on Chikka Tirupathi which is approximately 35 kilometers one way. Started at 6:00 am from my place and met Sushanth at Mantri Flora, Outer Ring Road Junction at 6:15 am. I had done the ride till Sarjapur quite often, so the route till Sarjapur was pretty dull except at sun rise time when the sky takes different hues. Once we exited Sarjapur, the ride was better, traffic was thin and the road was good. Passed by a river, was pleasantly surprised to know that there was a water body in the area. We rode past a potter’s house, am seeing a potter after ages. Reached Chikka Tirupathi at 8:15 am, parked the cycle and went to the temple. The temple premises has changed significantly from the previou...

Date: 13 September 2014 Total distance: 198 Kilometers Start Time: 5:45 am Return Time: 8:15 pm With: Madhusudhan (upto Harohalli) Altitude Profile: It started as a thought to visit a waterfall and Barachukki falls was what came to mind, which is 130 kilometers from Bangalore. I checked with Madhusudhan whether he would join and was excited when he confirmed. However, within a couple of hours he called back and said that Barachukki is too far for him and he would prefer to do Mekedatu which is 100 kilometers away. I agreed as this was also a place of which I had fond memories. Did a little reading on cycling to Mekedatu and got to know that we can take the cycle across the river and cycle to the main point. I received another call from Madhusudhan that he cannot come till Mekedatu since he had to return by 11 am. He said that he would join for a couple of hours and then I would have to proceed alone. So it was decided to leave at 5 am. I was not confident that M...

Date: 6 September 2014 Total distance: 99 Kilometers Start Time: 2:00pm Return Time: 10:00 pm With: Priya & Gaurav Altitude Profile: Priya was very keen to cycle and wanted to do a day trip. Checked with Gaurav and he also agreed to come along. I wanted them to have a little practice so decided to rent two cycles on Friday itself after it was decided that we would go to Mancanabele which is approximately 50 kilometers from our residence on Saturday. Gaurav could not make it on Friday, Priya and I went for a practice ride of approximately 40 kilometers. She did it relatively comfortably. Next day, I had gone to my sister’s house, so met up with Priya and Gaurav near the Nayandahalli Flyover at 3:00 pm. Since we were riding in the afternoon, time was of essence since I wanted to make it back to the highway before dark. I pushed both of them to ride a little fast so that we could get back in time. Had a 15 minute stop near Decathlon, Mysore Road due to hea...

Date: 20 July 2014 Total distance: 143 Kilometers Start Time: 7:15 am Return Time: 7:00 pm Altitude Profile: Was just a week since I purchased the cycle and ridden roughly about 100 kilometers, i.e., on an average 20 kilometers per day. I wanted to know if I could cycle long distances and also wanted to know if I could pedal up a hill, so decided to cycle to Nandi Hills. Planned to start at 5 am, however, it was raining in the morning and had to delay the start. I finally started at 7 am. Approximately 70 kilometers to the peak, decided that I would take a break after every 20 kilometers since I had just started cycling. Enjoyed the cycling since it was a Sunday and there was no traffic. Was able to reach Yelahanka by 8:15 am when I stopped at Shreyas Residency for breakfast. I had done 25 kilometers in just over an hour. I was happy with the time. Resumed from the hotel after breakfast and then stopped just before the turn from the highway to Nandi Hills as ...

Date: 13 July 2014 Been a while since I realized that my daily routine was to spend long hours at work which resulted in there being no time for anything other than work. Was gaining a lot of weight and needed to get a lot of physical activity into my daily regime. The thought of cycling came up because I was doing a lot of city travelling by car and the driving was at an average speed of 20-30 Km/hr. I thought that I could do the same with a cycle and it would double up as an exercise as well. I made the decision to dedicate time on a daily basis to exercise and to cut down on work as well, since it was only resulting in my health deteriorating. I had a lot of well – wishers trying to dissuade me from buying the cycle stating that I would be at it only for a few months and after that the cycle would just lie around the house without being used. In spite of the negative comments there were a few positive words as well which encouraged me to take the dip into the world of cycling....