roastedneutrons

Sexual dimorphism in humans shopping clothes

2011-11-10T13:22:00.001+05:30

Well, this topic is definitely so cliche, that i dont think anyone can add any more info to it. But i had my own little realization about its causes, when i recently went as a bulk-discount-filler with a lady. (i.e. "buy 2 get 2 free, but i want only 2 clothes. Will u club with me?"). And this particular behaviour i'm describing is only restricted to the type of shopping where one says "i need more clothes" rather than "lets go shopping". Buying clothes in these two modes is very different, but i guess i wont get into that now. And my observations are based on a rather small sample size of n~=5 females. But, i'm definitely not willing to spend time trying to increase the sample size, for obvious reasons.

Disclaimer: I'm not a sexist pig. Dimorphism doesnt mean one way is better. It just means there is a difference.

The phenotype:
Males choose a shop based on monetary + style + variety based considerations. Go in. Visually pick a bunch of things that they like. Try them, pick a few out of the n options. Done.

Females choose a shop based on similar parameters. Pick a whole lot of things. Try some of them. Buy none. Repeat these steps in another shop. And keep repeating until you have checked all shops in the area. And then either go back to one of the shops (where she might even have picked a fight with the shopkeeper) or a very likely other option - dont buy anything at all. And repeat this in another area some other day.

My hypothesis of the cause:
Females have a particular image in their head, of what they want to buy, before they enter any shop. If they dont find things matching the picture, no matter how awesome it is, they wont buy it. The best that piece of clothing will fetch is a "ah, thats nice and cute. But not now". Well, the rationale is that they wouldnt want to subtract out from the budget for the thing in their mind. But, this of course depends on how much money one has at hand.

Males get into a shop unprejudiced by what they want. In some cases, they even dont have a model of what they already have. Buy almost everything in one shop, even though it might not be the best deal for all of the items purchased, because they are lazy to invest so much time on clothes.

Current mood: meh
Currently listening to: Indifference - Pearl Jam

DoodleTronicking

2011-10-14T21:47:00.000+05:30

Found the word that fits what i love to do a lot these days..... Playing with the Arduino and basic electronics stuff, not particularly for any use, but just knowing that u can do stuff..... Or doing roundabout solutions to simple problems, just so that you can get to use some cool thing you have. Unfortunately, DoodleTronics is some stupid company's name which has nothing to do with tronics, and probably a little to do with doodles. No matter, doodletronics it is!

Current mood: inventive
Currently listening to: Tuesday's gone - Metallica

Javadi Hills | 6 Jun 2011

2011-09-28T00:20:00.000+05:30

There have been a lot of posts pending, regarding quite a few treks. Here's one more of 'em

Where: Javadi hill region, Eastern Ghats, Tamil Nadu

Who: Srikanth, Vinay and meself

Srikanth was back to Bangalore after a while, and he was itching for a trek. A friend had told us about this nice place called Javadi hills in north Tamil Nadu, where she had earlier gone for some social work stuff. This fit the bill perfectly, as we had only one day at hand.

We boarded a bus to Thiruvannamalai at night. And then waited for a bus to Jamunamarthur (via polur) that would arrive at ~4:30 am..... We waited sleepy eyed for the bus.... None of us knew to read tamil. Except, Vinay recognized some letters, and we would try to auto-complete the words. All of us were experts in speaking broken incomprehensible tamil though. So we somehow got our questions across to people. And we could sorta get most of their replies as well....

There's always a stampede to get into these buses. So we rushed and joined in at the first bus that showed up around that time. We grabbed and blocked our seats, and were proud of our abilities in this field! But, we were on the wrong bus, which we asked and figured out in a short while..... So, we had to do this ritual all over again, until we were on the right bus. Luckily, the next bus we rushed into was the right one.

Around a coupla hours and we were out of the bus. (I forget the name of the place presently. I guess you can ask for melchapli[pronounced male-cha-plea] and be dropped off at the right spot).... We filled our bottles with water at the village near the road, and asked directions to melchapli. And there was a big fat wide jeep track that led there. We followed the track religiously, assuming that it will turn exciting sometime later, when we could actually do the wandering stuff. We reached Melchapli even before we could complete the thought. And by that time, we drank the water we collected at the village, and it was downright horrible to taste. We saw a dried up stream on the way up, and then realised that we will not get any water anywhere on the trail. We ususally dont carry too much water, cos there are always streams where you can get refills.... But not this time... It was the core of summer in this region

A little beyond and downhill from melchapli was kilchapli (keeL- cha -plea), where we refilled with some water (which tasted much better. But we only had 2 litres of water for the three of us. We asked the way to the ruins of the dwarf settlements (which is a mild tourist attraction there. And if you fumble long enough to hunt for words to describe ruins and dwarves, they usually figure out what you want and direct you).... And before long, we actually hit our destination: the ruins of the dwarf settlement on Javadi. And we were there by as early as 9:30 am, thoroughly dissapointed at the lack of challenge as well as the lack of nature, as most of the route we walked on established trails from village to village.

After dillydallying around on the top, and staring at the descent down the hill into the village at the base (but opposite side to the way we came), we decided to go down the hard way, carving our own route. It was getting hotter, but there was some respite in the shade of trees and shrubs. We were making good progress initially until we started getting dehydrated.... We added electral in the last litre of water. That got over quicker than the first one

Dehydration hit me first of the three.... i started cramping while doing some tricky sections.... After some time, my steps faltered, and i started slipping quite a bit.... Slowly went into a zombie mode.... Soon, the others started showing effects of mental stress due to dehydration. We started yelling at each other for no reason.... The village was easily visible to us, and we could hear kids shouting there....... It was that close, yet so far (pardon the cliche, but those words are exactly what describe it best)..... Finally, i just gave up and sat down, saying i couldnt take it anymore.... I gave them my gps, and marked the location at which i was gonna stay. And they would go down and get back with water.

I sat there exhausted, muscles sore from all the cramps, and slipped into delusions. Every few minutes i hallucinated that someone was calling my name.... And then, i slipped into a dream maybe where i was sitting at that spot waiting until the next day..... And in some i was in a much more crippled state, and was getting down like the guy in Touching the Void. When i woke up from that, i was so glad that nothing serious had happened..... I just needed water, which would slowly arrive, and all would be fine. The triviality of my situation compared to the one in 127 hours and Touching the Void, brought me instant cheer and inspiration..... With some more time spent with hallucinations and dreams, i heard the real voices of them calling out for me. I gupled down a litre and half of water in one go! (plus electral), waited a while, and then started down the descent through some thorny brush.

Soon we hit the village and gulped down more water. Then it was a long boring road to the bus stop where we had to wait two hours for the bus to come. We hitched a ride on a tractor until some distance. Then it was the bus to thiruvannamalai.

Thiruvannamalai was another big mess! There was some festival or some auspicious day, and devotees crowded the bus stop, waiting to swarm into any bus that gets in. And we were in no strength to fight for seats. We booked a room and went back to Bangalore the next morning.

That day definitely made it to the top 5 of the most exhausting days in my life.

Directions:
Bus to Thiruvannamalai. Bus to Jamunamarathur from there, via Polur. Ask for Melchapli(mel-cha-plea near Javadi, and the conductor will let you know at the right stop).

Head to Melchapli, then to Kilchapli (KeeL-cha-plea), and then ask for dwarves' houses and ruins). Someone called them 'pyramids' as well!

If you want to go down the steeper face of the hill like we did, carve your own way down. But here's our overall track, in case you need some idea.

The splattering of co-ordinates are either because we roamed around a bit in those regions, or when the gps recception was inaccurate due to interrupting foliage.

Current mood: Dehydrated just thinking about that day

Currently listening to: Given and denied - Poets of the Fall

Fooood please

2011-09-21T21:32:00.000+05:30

The world record for most number of food items on display in a single day is 5845. And that was a cheese based theme. i.e. they made 5845 cheese dishes (well..... the sponsor was some cheese company!). The total number of dishes in the world must be a hundred fold more maybe? 584500?

Now let's say i've got a hundred years more to live (i hope not though).... And say i eat a new dish every time i have a meal. I'll eat 3*365*100 = 109500 meals..... And yet i wouldnt have tasted all the food in the world!

And thats why, every time i eat something i've already had before, and am not so fond of, i regret that its taking the place of something exciting and unknown, which i'll never have a chance to even try!

Current mood: vagabond-ish

Currently listening to: My body is a cage - Peter Gabriel

Paithal Mala | 17-18 Sep 2011

2011-09-20T21:12:00.002+05:30

After hearing enough complaints of me not blogging about many things, i thought i should put in some extra effort straight away and finish this trek-alogue and post it, before it goes into the ah-now-its-too-late-to-post-it state.

The crew:
Bejoy, Deepthi, Richa, Shanid and myself.

The plan:
Sync up at Kannur. Then a bus to Taliparamba. And from there to Kappimala. Then a jeep to however high up the hill the jeep track could take us. And then head on the trail, until we reach the top of Paithalmala. Find a way to get to the adjacent Purathoty mala. Camp somewhere near the KTDC resort there.

The next day, we would ascend the purathotymala to the north, with mostly grassy slopes. Then head eastward, on a mild descent through rainforest proper, but still stay on top of the hill ridge, untill we reach the next clearing. And all this would be on unmarked trails carving our own route, unlike the previous day. And we would go on further, on the day after that, to reach somewhere near Choma kunda or Thadiandamol.

And of course we expected rain, as we were doing a monsoon trek in rainforest. Consequently we also expected helluva lot of leeches. We went armed with high spirits, some deisel and salt.

The map above was sort of the limits to which we could stretch the plan, rather than the plan itself. The above marked route might take 4-5 days or maybe even more.

The way it turned out:
Day1: We reached Kappimala by bus through a coupla hours of some rather run-of-the-mill kerala views. We gobbled some food there, and packed some for the night. All food for future days were already packed. Then we hired a jeep to get as much up the hill as we could.

The jeep driver kept asking the locals on the way about the situation with the elephants. It turned out that elephants had messed up with some plantation and was driven back into the forest, just the previous night. He warned us about the elephants, but didn't obstruct our intention of continuing our trek. He informed us that there are a few kiddo elephants who could innocently wander our way, but we'd be in trouble if their parents saw us anywhere near them.

We finally got onto our feet, stuffed our socks with salt, and started moving. We were anxious, excited and all of those on-the-edge-ey adjectives. And when we smelt elephant poop, we were reminded to keep staying alert. The slushy terrain preserved a lot of the footprints of the giants as well. But, after some time we were all possessed with de-leeching ourselves that, we couldnt spare it enough worry. The occasional drizzle, lots of uprooted bamboo trees, streams, slush and leeches later, we were out of the forest and on the grassy hilltop of Paithal mala. Roamed around a bit, soaking in the awesome views of moving clouds all around us, and headed to the watch tower on the southern end, for a pitstop. Enroute we saw the trail to a jeeptrack to get onto the adjacent hill, Purathoty mala, which we followed after having a yummy food break at the watch tower.

The trail to purathoty mala was more or less a steady gradual descent through the forest, which we hurriedly went through, so that we wouldnt be caught in it during the dark. We emerged out into the grassland again, and the trail led us to the KTDC resort. To our astonishment, we found a rather well tarred road there (compared to a trail that we saw in google maps). This meant that we probably should have gotten to this side of the hill by bus in the first place, to have more time on our hands to do the more challenging bits. Anyway.... it got pretty cold quick, and our mildly rainsoaked clothes didnt make it any better. We pitched our tent near the resort before it got dark. After a final leech check, we were all inside, 5 people in a 3 person tent. We decided to cram ourselves, as it would be easy to stay warm, and less of a burden to carry the extra weight of another tent. Food, some spirits to warm us up, and a lot of chit-chat and laughter later, we were off to sleep.

Day2: We woke up at 6:30 and went about the regular morning routine, but with thoughts completely on the exciting day ahead. This was the day, when the actual interesting part would start, as we would carve out our own way, and into nicer denser forest. We packed our stuff, coated our legs with deisel (for the leeches) and started out at 8:30. Our first goal was to reach the top of the hill we were already on, by a mildly steep hike through the grassland-ish section. Most of it was easy, as the grassy parts were easy to grip. The occasional boulders werent too much of a bother, as we could circumvent it (They were too slippery to climb on directly).... The occasional patch of the rainforest trees, were a bit tricky as it was really slippery. But we got through without much incident. There was an elephant trail more or less around the way we were taking, easily noticeable through the uprooted grass and plants, and a LOT of poop. The poop wasnt stinking much even after getting wet in the occasional drizzle, which meant that this shit wasnt fresh enough to cause us much bother. We kept ascending while drizzles and sunshine were battling it out. Soon, we hit the top and saw the majestic view of the overwhelming amount of rainforest spread in all directions. Although we had expected the exact same thing from looking at the google map, actually seeing so much of rainforest covering you in all directions.... is an awesome feeling.

Except..... we hoped to see a grassy hill top in the distance, towards east, where we would aim to get to next. The grassy hilltop was nowhere in sight (probably occluded by stuff closer to us). We had just done the easy bit of the grassland ascent. the core of the rainforest seemed a little daunting. We decided against going into it, because the forest we faced until now was really slippery, and our rate of covering it would be too slow to reach the grassy hilltop before nightfall. And there was no realistic hope of camping anywhere on the slopes within the rainforest either.

The weather up there was changing every minute. One moment, it was all clear and you could see all the hills to the distance, and the next, everything is all covered up, and the next it pours, and then some mild sunshine, except its much more feebler than the sun we are used to. A much colder sun. We, saw clouds approaching from both sides of a hill ridge, and then colliding and forming a single big blanket..... Much of all the amazing stuff was happening when i couldnt take my camera out to take pictures due to the rain.

We stood there on top, hoping there might be some spark of thought that would give some new twist. We grabbed a quick bite, and relaxed for a while. Slowly, and heavy-heartedly, we were trying to get down to the reality that we would have to head back. And then it rained. And it rained heavily enough to not leave any room for second thoughts. We still waited a while for the rain to subside though. We heard some distant thunder. And realizing that the peak was not the place to be when there is a possibility of lightning, we soon saw ourselves descending through the elephant trail. Many slippery portions, a few not-so-nasty falls and few thorn pricks later, we were down onto the road again. Then it was a rather dull walk down the road to civilization.

Directions: Kannur => Taliparamba => Kappimala by bus. Then a jeep to go some more distance up. Then followed the trail to the watch tower. Then the trail to the KTDC resort.

Alternatively, you could come to the KTDC resort side of it first, through Kannur =>Taliparamba => Pottem Plavu (via kudiyanmala), and then catch a jeep.

And then we went up the hill we were on, towards north (and headed back the same way down)

We hope to get back to it sometime probably during late winter, so that the rainforest bit wouldnt be too hard.

Current mood: Lazy
Currently listening to: Blue sky - The Allman brothers band

No news yet!

2011-09-04T16:06:00.002+05:30

For those of you who are curious of what has been happening to the startup..... well.... there's no news yet :(... We (me,bro,sis-in-law) have been building arbit stuff that are needed for the startup ultimately..... i.e. Everything is still under construction.... Mostly we have been building stuff to build parts required for the machines we are planning.... We were thinking of either building a reprap, or a cnc-mill..... The cnc-mill is just a few steps short of complete.... And u know, i guess these are the hardest.... And we've been doing things in bursts, rather than a continuous effort, cos we are easily distracted

And for those of you who were thinking that, my cycling, running and treks would have increased in number.... it has actually turned opposite.... Its hit such lows like before i started cycling/running

Current mood: the trying-to-get-back-on-track
Currently listening to: The Night - Black Lab

Free?

2011-04-13T10:35:00.003+05:30

After my long stint at ncbs, now i've stepped out, hoping to rough it out in the real world.... Me n my bro, going the startup way, attempting to automate some lab work, and making some bucks out of it as well. Working experience in a fly lab, and knowing the rate limiting factors in experiments, will hopefully provide us an edge in the niche.

The past few chaotic months, spent in jitters over taking the plunge, are now to follow with more months of uncertainty, before something shapes up....

And i hope to be more regular at the blog than i've been before

Current mood: Confused

Currently listening to: Weightless - Enigma

Arrhythmia

2010-11-30T16:56:00.002+05:30

Free to go wherever i choose to...
But, in the middle of the ocean
Not drowning...
But is that all there is to life?

There are great voids to cross
Can be trudged through...
But why bother?

Lost, not just the heart,
But the hope as well

Skipped beats here n there...
And now its arrhythmia

But why the love for order?

Current mood: Unproductive
Currently listening to: Heartbreak warfare - John Mayer

Post Excitement Stress Disorder (PESD)

2010-11-10T11:19:00.002+05:30

Wanted it to somehow be pisd, But pesd sounds almost like it...

I thought i was the only one with this! But i thought i'll call it a syndrome, once i heard Venkat also cribbing about feeling low and finding issues with everything he's been working on, on the days following the awesome BCB race

Symptoms:
- Generally feeling low, although you have to be proud of what you just achieved
- Hating the stupid work thrown at you, all of which seems pointless (mostly rightly so :)
- Inability to concentrate on the bullshit and smalltalk others are spewing
- Inability to continue reading a book you were reading just before the excitement

Suggested medicine (experimental, awaiting FDA approval):
- Good food
- Rock or metal (some might like sad and depressing songs too)
- Mindless insane pace running/riding
- Start doing some mundane chore religiously (like clean your room/desk)
- Beer
- A tight slap
- Another one
....

Current mood: pesd
Currently listening to: The wicker man - Iron Maiden

Bulldog UltraBCB experience

2010-11-09T10:20:00.002+05:30

"Ooh, look at those carbon wheels"..... "Why am i feeling like i am gonna write an exam".... "Shit! Look at his calves!"...... "First time i ever shaved my legs".....

11 riders, ~300 km, Bangalore -> Chamundi Hills(Mysore) -> Bangalore

3 participants from my team, Cleated Warriors - Venkat, Anita and yours truly... The flagoff was flooded with the red of our jerseys, as most of the 15 member strong team had come to cheer us on

My support crew: On a motorbike, Vinay, my close friend since high school, lugging a rather heavy bag containing spares, tools for any mechanicals, food, electrolytes, energy, first aid....

First ~10 km was worthy of nothing more than a yawn.... Steep downhills, but we were doing a dull 15 kmph pace in the 'neutral zone' where no one is allowed to overtake the lead car.... When not yawning, we spent our time almost bumping into Sriram's car, or yelling out curses at Sriram....

Once the neutral zone was done with, and when Samim waved us through on the Mysore highway, the pace shot up in a snap and everyone were at each other's throats setting an insane pace.... Yours truly here, however, was still taking it slow n steady, fearing that i'll burn out too soon..... But in spite of all my efforts of keeping myself calm, i was going at a much faster pace than i had planned, thanks to all the mental battles with everyone around...

But, once i saw one of the riders burn out at ~75 km, i got back to my senses and rode a comfortable pace.... At around 130 km point, close to mysore, i took a 2 min break to eat up, stretch my back, happy with the 30.5 kmph average i was keeping, but still at 6th position... My pace soon dropped to 29.5 by the time i reached Chamundi base, full credit to the crappy state the Mysore ring road was in.....

A rather easy and dull climb, and i overtook Shreyas taking a break at Chamundi top and moved to 5th position.... and i saw that Venkat and Craig were just a few mins ahead of me..... Venkat was looking strong, and i assumed he'll take on Craig, and i took an easy pace (which dropped to 28.5 kph avg).... But seeing Venkat take a break at Mandya (200 km), it was now all up to me to catch up with Craig for the 3rd position, who was just 4 mins ahead

Cranked it up like crazy trying to take on Craig..... The insanity burst lasted all of 20 km, after which i too burnt out..... Now, i slowly turned into a zombie, getting hypnotized by the rhythm of my clean shaven legs going up n down.... I would look at how the muscles contract and relax, showing the new formed cuts in my quads..... Occasionally get inspired and pump it up for a while

The zombie ride took me uneventfully to the next time station (Chennapatna).... I was hoping that Craig was too far away, so that i could give up the chase, and ride in peace.... But alas, that was not so.... He was just 10 mins ahead!

After all the sweet things i had been having all day for food, i longed for something different.... A plain boiled potato tasted so friggin awesome at this point.... Got myself to crank it up again, but this time i fizzed out even faster.... but still maintaining the 28 kmph average, riding like a zombie.... With ~20 km remaining, and knowing that Craig was >10km ahead, i finally gave up and went into survival mode....

The final 10 kms from Kengeri to the finish point was harder than the chamundi climb, probably even steeper..... Now, totally spent, knowing there is a huge gap between the rider ahead and behind, i was managing with a slow 10-15 kmph pace, and outsourced all the direction finding to Vinay

After struggling through the inclines, was done with the ~300 km distance in 11hr 14min (riding time of 10hr 54min) in 4th place, happy with my pace....

Ultracycling has officially begun as a sport in Bangalore! Thank you Samim, Sriram and Bulldog for this event.... Lets hope it gets bigger and bigger

And once again, thanks Vinay, for the awesome support.... I couldnt have maintained that pace without ur help.... And thank you Cleated Warriors for all the moral and logistics support, and the super awesome jersey

Current mood: Phasing back into reality
Currently listening to: All those yesterdays - Pearl Jam

The 24 hr ride! (Oct 18-19 2010)

2010-10-18T14:30:00.006+05:30

Finally got my roadbike (will be a post on that soon).... And without time to get used to the new posture (or take pretty pictures of it), i set out on my biggest ride ever.... Multiple laps of Chickballapur - Yelahanka CCD plus multiple nandi climbs was the vague ride plan

Started 5:15 pm, where a whole bunch of Cleated Warriors (Nalla, Anita and hubby Sandeep, Venkat, Anke, Reena) had come in to flag me off... They were riding with me for a while, and then i zoomed off, hoping to get as much distance covered before the sun would be switched off.... The sun was gone soon enough, and i rode on with my adequate enough headlights.... And it was drizzling, and i was now worried of all the slush that would get into my drivetrain

At the railway level crossing near devanhalli, the thin roadie tyres got into the grooves of the track and i had a topple, a 360 degree side way roll, with one leg uncleated in time to soften the fall. And for dramatic effect, all this was in a puddle of muddy water... Only scrape wounds, so carried on without much trouble, except that i was a bit unnerved.... Killed a lot of time cleaning it up and fixing the bike after i reached ccd.

Had a relaxed meal and set out again, but decided i would do airport laps instead of chikballapur cos the roads were well lit, and that particular nasty stretch of construction work near the railway crossing could be avoided.... Still was maintaining a 25 kmph riding average... But the handlebar position, saddle angle etc seemed a little uncomfortable... For quite a lot of time to come, it was all just tweaking all these settings.

Anita, reena, sandeep were there till 1 am taking care of me, and also meanwhile doing their own night centuries.... Sachin and Ramesh dropped by too, to check out how things were going

By the time i had done 150 km, and finally found the right settings of saddle and handlebar, my wrists were already hurting like crazy.... So took breaks often to stretch and relieve.... And on my way back, saw that the lights were slowly being turned off on different sections of the road.... I had my headlight, but i wouldnt be able to maintain a good speed.... And Thammiah and his friend Yashoda came in at the right time, and supported me with their car lighting up the way... Did a lap of chickballapur and headed to Nandi base(with the light provided by Nalla's car until it got bright) where other riders would sync up, and there was an RFL nandi run happening to add to the active crowd on the hill

Took a nice break, took in some salts and energy, and some rest before the first climb... Nalla was riding with me.... Gave my everything to it, hoping to beat my mtb time... Missed it by 2 secs! But, anyway, a 36:28 is still a good climb in my books.... But i exerted so feverishly on this one that i started shivering once i was done..... But, i was feeling strong and invincible.. Took a break, descended and turned back again, with Sachin and Ramesh joining in as well.... But this time i took it real slow and shifted into granny gears pretty early on.... Started cramping inspite of all the salts i had taken in..... Had to take a coupla breaks, and did the climb in 61 min (including breaks)..... Had breakfast of set dosa after descent.....

The third ascent was a killer.... I took a power nap of 15 min, and another 5 min break, and finished the climb in 68 min... And only two climbs before i felt invincible, now i was feeling dead! The descent was crazy, everything started looking dreamy, i somehow felt i was riding down a twisted ribbon... All i needed to do was to straighten the ribbon instead of negotiating the hairpins etc... And the curves looked a little exaggerated... Had i bonked? Or was it the sleeplessness? Or worst still, was it both? Took it ultra slow, and just concentrated on following Nalla's line..... the only other thing that registered in my mind was Athreya who was running 60 km up n down nandi.... Man, what an inspiration!

Met Suma at the base, and we rode as a bunch till Bellary road, where i took another power nap in Nalla's car..... The dead me got alive again, and felt really strong, doing a 26 kmph average on the chikballapur laps.... Suma went to CCD, fetched me sandwiches and brownies..... And by the time i was on my way back to CCD, Reena and Anita started riding with me, and venkat was on his mobike chattin and pumping me up.... Except for my hurting wrists, i felt as if i had just started riding, and was feeling i was good to go at least another 100 km

I'm sooooo super proud of my team, who did a collective ~1000 km supporting me.... I owe it all to you

Although, initial plans were to be able to do atleast a 450 km, the amount of breaks i took dint allow it

Ended up with 372.76 km in 16hr 32min of riding.... (Which means all i need to take care of is to manage my breaks better)

Current mood: the kind when you are just waking up after you fainted
Currently listening to: Reload - Rob Zombie

ultraBOB

2010-10-13T11:35:00.002+05:30

636km including the climb up Ooty, with a time cutoff of 72 hrs. I hope to do it atleast in 48 hrs, or if i'm good enuf, even lesser.... Training going well for it. The biggest of my training rides coming in this weekend..... And hope my raodbike is ready by then!

More details of the race here

Current mood: Anxious
Currently listening to: War - Poets of the Fall

Inspirations

2010-09-09T19:13:00.000+05:30

When you are inspired to do multiple things, you are pulled in all directions with great force, but you end up staying where you are.... But, ultimately, what the forces actually do is rip you apart!

Current mood: sciencey

Currently listening to: Half of my heart - John Mayer

In search of memory....

2010-08-27T18:13:00.002+05:30

"In search of Memory" is the autobiography and a layman level summary of Eric Kandel's work, mainly on how memory is stored in the brain, some of which led him to win a Nobel prize.... Its a really nice book, as it taught me more about the stuff than the many reviews i have read before..... He also puts all of the studies in context with the state of the rest of the fields like molecular biology, cell bio, biotech, etc..... Add to this, weaving his life and conversion from a emigrant survivor jew of the WWII era, to a literature guy, to a psychoanalyst, to a neuroscientist

Ok, my intention is not to write a review of the book... but to write what i learnt about life from it.... My confusions about what to do with life seem to be too trivial if i zoom out and look at a bigger picture of where i want to be.... Kandel only had a few paragraphs to describe any of the work he did as a phd student.... And that's all this period is gonna be in my book of life too... So i should just get my work done and move on..... And it is okay to wander around and enjoy life..... One doesnt need to be a prodigy to be a good scientist...

Current mood: Trying to be as Vulcan as possible

Currently listening to: Science - System of a Down

Promises

2010-08-27T17:04:00.003+05:30

Its been a long time since the last post.... The usual course of action is to promise that i'll be regular from now on, right?..... Well, let the times to come tell it rather than my untrustable words :)

Meanwhile, i did have quite an eventful time since my last post..... races, cycle rides, training, treks, learning experiences, bro's wedding, potential life changing decisions...... Ah, there u got it... 'potential life changing decisions' is usually what sets someone to blog again..... Let me see if i can pull myself together to write all of it....

Current mood: Nostalgic

Currently listening to: Echoes - Pink Floyd

Langtang trek (Nepal) | Dec 25th '09 - Jan 9th '10

2010-02-16T20:06:00.009+05:30

I'm more than a month due on the report, for reasons more than plain laziness.... Anyway, here goes

The overall breakdown:

Dec 25: Having only one day after returning from TFN, the packing was hurried.... But left to Attibele to help Vinay finish his packing.... Then took a bus to Hosur.... And from there to Tirupattur... and from there to Jolarpettai, where we waited till evening for our train to Gorakhpur....

At Jolarpettai railway station

Dec 26: Lot of dumb charades, pictionary, cards etc on the train... nothing particularly interesting through the windows, as we were goin through the drier regions of Andhra

Dec 27: There was fog all through the day, even at noon, as the train chugged through it.... Reached Gorakhpur at ~8pm and took the last bus to Sinauli (Indo-Nepal border).... The bus conductor entertained us with poetry and songs, as the driver rode through zero visibility fog at terrifying speeds.... Halted at a guest house at Sinauli for the night.... Faced a low of ~12 C

The foggy northern plains

Dec 28: After a cycle rickshaw ride to the border proper, we walked into Nepal.... Took a Mini (a van kinda thing that seats ~12) to Kathmandu.... The road was almost entirely on the banks of the Trishuli river..... After checking into a hotel, we went shopping in Thamel, particularly for gloves.... At Kathmandu, the temperature was manageable at ~12 deg.

Trishuli river

Dec 29: We missed the morning bus to Syabrubesi cos of some confusion.... So took a bus to Kalikasthan..... This was a useless step, cos the next day, we would catch the same bus that starts from Kathmandu.... The final bit of the bus ride, meself and Vinay decided to sit on top of the bus like many other passengers..... This was one helluva experience...... With the bus rattling along the edges of the road with just a few cms off cliff edges..... And we holding tight and somehow just managing to stay on it..... And the guy sitting next to us finds it the right moment to tell us "People keep falling off the bus often... And sometimes buses fall off the cliffs too"..... Scared to shit, we gripped with hands and legs, while this chap happily lights a cigarette holding onto nothin.... Finally reached Kalikasthan well before sunset..... And this tiny village in the middle of nowhere, and far from touristy activities.... had a snooker table!

View from Kalikasthan

Dec 30: This time, we dint have an option of getting seats inside the bus..... So, all of us were on top..... And learning from yesterday's lessons, found a comfortable spot, cushioned by bags on all sides, and put my center of gravity in a potential well, to ensure stability.... So, i was stable enough to venture taking photos from the top, although still a pretty unnerving thing...... And whenever a town or village came.... we had to duck under the cables running across the street..... We took the trekking permit at Dhunche, where the bus waited for us to finish the business...... And finally reached Syabrubesi after a scary descent from Dhunche...... Some of us ventured to take a dip in the friggin cold stream.... Vinay actually got swept by the strong currents, and was saved by a quick reflex rescue by Santosh

The road to Syabrubesi

Dec 31: The actual trek begins! In all our excitement, we actually missed a junction, and went the wrong way.... We climbed all the way to Thulosyafru, and then realised that we had to descend all the way down in a different direction, and we might actually make it to Pyro (aka... Landslide lodges).... We also went and bathed in the hot water spring (Tatopani) there.... But we ended up being stinkier, cos of the hydrogen sulphide(the rotten egg smell u should remember from chemistry lab) dissolved in it!..... The nights were getting colder..... But, the dining hall was warm, thanks to a wood stove.... The folks at the lodge we stayed (Namaste guest house) were really hospitable... and together we chit-chatted, sang, listened to music, exchanged knowledge about each other's culture etc.... It was a lovely new year's eve.... the only thing lacking was the booze!

View of Langtang from close to Thulosyafru

Jan 1: We started as quickly as the sun let us, cos we had to cover for lost time...... By lunchtime, we reached Rimche..... And around tea time, the group split, as my vision is terrible in low light... so, me and vinay headed off, minimizing breaks.... while the others came at a leisurely pace...... We encountered our first few patches of snow..... We made it to Ghoda Tabela before it got unbearably dark.... And the others were there soon enough..... And this night, we got drunk on the local brew Nepali Rakshi, and splurged on food, celebrating new year!

View from Rimche

Jan 2: From Ghoda Tabela, we went to Langtang Village.... And there again, we split due to light reasons..... Me and Vinay again managed to get to Kyangjin Gompa just before it got dark, while the others came in when the temperatures were negative Celsius, and the light low..... We managed to get the last two rooms available

View of the Langtang range from a little before reaching Kyanjin Gompa

Jan 3: From now on, it was all descent.... So we could be much faster...... But thanks to my stereo vision problems, i usually descend slowly...... So it again meant the group had to split...... We had lunch at Ghoda Tabela and reached Rimche by evening

Sayin goodbye to the snow

Jan 4: Late lunch at Pyro and Syabrubesi by evening.... More Rakshi and laughter

Fragile bridge on a gushing river

Jan 5: Syabrubesi -> Kathmandu, this time, inside the bus!..... Shopped at Thamel for souvenirs and gifts.... And ate amazing Buff momos at a small eatery

Jan 6: Took a bus from Kathmandu to Bhairav (Nepal side of Indo-Nepal border)..... The bus was totally crowded. And although i was sitting, i couldnt move my legs even by a cm..... To top it, there was a Maoist strike blocking the highway.... if it stayed, we would definitely have to miss our train next morn...... One peculiar thing we saw: As soon as the vehicle stopped due to the big long queue of vehicles waiting for the strike to get over, folks got down from the bus, spread a towel on the street, and started playing cards..... They'd pack it all up in a jiffy when the vehicle moves forward a little..... Then onto the street again when it halts, to start the card games..... After sitting the longest duration in a day, for 13 hrs, and with the butt threatening to commit suicide, we finally reached Bhairav.... we got to the border by Cycle rickshaw and crossed the border by foot. After a brief interrogation by the immigration office, took a cab to Gorakhpur

The first vehicle from the other side..... sign of the end of the strike

Jan 7: Train to Jolarpettai from Gorakhpur

Jan 8: Recollecting trek..... Dumb charades, pictionary, cards

Jan 9: Got down at Jolarpettai. Jolarpettai -> Tirupattur -> Bangalore

Notes:

- The whole trip costed ~7k, batteries included, Bangalore to Bangalore.....

- The train to Gorakhpur is always four hours late at destination!

- Nepali women look absolutely gorgeous! And Nepali men think Indian women look gorgeous (specially the tanned kind)

- The price of accomodation was a uniform 200NPR (~120INR) per room throughout the trek route, irrespective of whether the room could hold 2 people or 6

- On the trek route, the price of food increased with the distance from Syabrubesi.... At Kyanjin Gompa, a plate of Dal Bhaat(Rice + cereal curry, their staple food) costed 300NPR (~200 INR), where a room costed only 200 NPR..... The price hike is cos the porters need to lug it on their backs, for multiple days, for it to reach there.... The food prices are standardised by a committee.... So, there wouldnt be a point to go hunt for cheaper food

- Their local drink, Nepali Rakshi, tasted awesome.... Tasted a bit like port wine, and only mildly stronger if at all

- The porters lug upto 60 kgs on their backs and climb all the treacherous slopes for such long distances.... And, the earnings from a 15 day trek, can suffice to run the porter's family for 6 months!

- Transliteration into english is not specific.... i.e. Syafru, Syabru, Syapru are all the same (However, Thamel and Jhamel are not!)

- The Nepali script is the same as Hindi script... So an Indian can often read Nepali signboards... But u still cant read an essay and make much sense.... However, lots of the locals know at least broken hindi

- The Nepalese listen to a lot of flop Bollywood songs from around a decade ago..... Refreshed my memories of nauseating songs that were around when i was a kid

Current mood: Nostalgic

Currently listening to: Why go home - Pearl Jam

Tour of Nilgiris 2009 | Summary

2010-01-12T12:47:00.004+05:30

From the rainy starts of the initial days, to the sunny-as-heck ride on the last day, ~70 riders made cycling ~800 km look like piece of cake.... There were artists, photographers, techies, scientists, doctors, entrepreneurs, students, unemployed folks..... all bonded by one common passion: cycling..... And they rode their heart (and lungs) out during the 8 day party.....

For me, Day1 (Bangalore->Mysore) had nothing much on offer in terms of scenery..... I took it as a race..... a race against myself to get my fastest 150km+ ride...... The remaining days, it was more time behind the camera than on the bike for me...... And the time spent on the bike too, was at a relaxed pace, soaking the surroundings in, conversing with curious onlookers..... Pumping down a descent hoping to scale up the next rolling uphill with ease...... but only to stop midway, for a nice photo opportunity (and then cursing myself for it as i battled the uphill later).....

Pics from the ride:

All the pics of riders are in a separate album and shared only privately..... (unless they are arbit subjects aiding in telling the story in a picture)

A few moments that would best refresh my TFN09 experience:
kids jumping around looking at us.......... The speed battles with Bharani (which he always won)..... Dumb charades..... Rum Charades...... The collective roar of a bunch of clicking freewheels*........ The Neil Armstrong** roads...... The sunset ride at Hassan w Manjula et al..... The friendly sound of someone shifting gears when you thought you were alone on that nasty long uphill stretch...... The ooty tea breaks...... the once in a few minutes butt breaks, on the way up ooty...... Following Srikar's wheel when he got into his maniacal dont-wanna-get-swept mode..... The dryfruits of the carb pack...... The 36 hairpins..... The lonely peaceful roads of Wayanad and Bandipur

*Freewheels are those things that go click-ick-ick-ick-ick-ick when you are not pedaling and going downhill......
** Quoted from fellow rider Anand Mulky's statement, "On that stretch, I was like Neil Armstrong going around craters. But after Wayanad, I was like Lance Armstrong ripping the road"

Do look at previous posts to look at the day-wise breakdown

Current mood: missing the good times
Currently listening to: All we ever do is say goodbye - John Mayer

TFN09 Day8 | Ooty -> Bandipur + getting home

2010-01-12T11:13:00.003+05:30

Distance: 72km
Saddle time: 4hr 8min

A bunch of us decided to get down-to-earth and ride in jeans instead of the spandex sporting bunch we usually are..... (Actually, i did not have space for the jeans in my bag, making way for a kilo of ooty-homemade-chocolates).... And birthday boy descended down the 36 hairpins of Kalhatti with a few breaks to cool the brakes, and also to take pics...... I was faster on the descent than last time, so am happy..... The descent was followed by a nice peaceful ride in the jungles of Mudumalai and Bandipur..... Went slowly and almost dint pedal, as i wanted to enjoy the lonely roads and the forest sounds around..... Immediately after Bandipur, we had our last lunch together...... Got our bikes loaded in a truck and left to Bangalore....... And the tour ended..... How we wished it lasted longer... a thousand more kilometres even?

Current mood: lost in thinking about the previous days
Currently listening to: Better together - Jack Johnson

TFN09 Day7 | SultanBatheri -> Ooty

2010-01-12T11:04:00.004+05:30

Distance: 101km
Saddle time: 7hr 3min

~2200 metres of climbing...... Awesome views of tea estates...... And going brrrrrr at the top as we sipped chai amidst the estates....... Took a zillion breaks for pics, chai and well.... butt relief.... Srikar gave me good company as a photographer and pacer..... The final steep climb to the hotel was the icing on the cake (well.... for a masochist).... Followed by celebrations of the conquest, by the heat of a campfire, and of whisky and Vodka

Current mood: Powerful
Currently listening to: Six feet from the edge - Creed

TFN09 Day6 | Irpu -> SultanBatheri

2010-01-12T10:18:00.003+05:30

Distance: 94 km
Saddle time: 5hr 38min

The roads in Coorg were bad, and again, i was glad i was on an MTB..... As we entered Wayanad, the roads were awesome.... And we got to look around and enjoy the lush tropical evergreen, instead of concentrating on which crater to avoid..... Took it nice n slow to enjoy the fresh air, with the entire road having shade cover... The day's ride being a short one, i went around scouting for some trails after reaching SultanBatheri........ But all of them were pretty steep, and decided to save my legs for the next day's Hors Categorie climb

Current mood: well prepared
Currently listening to: Chekele - Avial

TFN09 Day 5 | Rest day at Irpu

2009-12-21T21:50:00.003+05:30

Walked 7 odd km to Irpu falls takin pics all the way, and faced the maddening tourist crowd....... Dint get into the water..... But managed to get some nice pics,,,,,, The rest of the day went into showing some love to the bike, striving for a a glittering chain and cassette

Current mood: Waiting for tomorrow
Currently listening to: someday - Flipsyde

TFN09 Day4 | Madikeri -> Irpu

2009-12-21T20:35:00.002+05:30

Distance: 129km
Saddle time: 7hr 58 min

A real tough ride, considering the killer gradients amidst such pathetic roads, although the greenery around was beautiful.... The climb up Talacauvery and the rewarding descent thereafter was the best part of the ride.... Hitched a ride in the suoport truck for 12 km, to ensure i made it before dark... And as the light got low, all i did was follow Srikar's wheel closely as he zipped around potholes and patches

Current mood: Sleepy
Currently listening to: Gudugudiya sedi nodo - Raghu Dixit

TFN09 Day3 | Hassan -> Madikeri

2009-12-21T06:10:00.005+05:30

Distance: 123 km
Saddle time: 7hr 19 min

Bad to moderate roads...... Took it slow...... The rolling ascents and descents weren't easy on the bad roads.... But the cooler air with the scents of eucalyptus, cardamom and other trees made it all worth it
Currently mood: happy
Currently listening to: nothing

TFN09 Day2 | Mysore -> Hassan

2009-12-21T05:41:00.003+05:30

Dustance: 143 km
Saddle time: 6hr 54min

A drizzling start, which i blitzed through sucking a friend's wheel (i.e. drafting behind him)..... Then out came paddy fields, one prettier than the other....... Took it slow and took a lot of pics..... Reached Hassan for a late lunch.... Then went on a local ride and enjoyed the setting sun by the countryside

Current mood: excited
Currently listening to: nothing

TFN09 Day 1 | Bangalore -> Mysore

2009-12-17T05:48:00.004+05:30

Distance: 170 km (from home)
Saddle time: 6hr 47min

Blitzed past the highway, and spared myself for a few photo breaks and food breaks. Some slight drizzle en route , adding to the perfect weather for riding. Muthu and me drafted each other for a long while, and helped keep the pace, in an dull route. Reached the hotel at 3pm and relaxed the rest of the day.

Current mood: Waiting for Day2 to officially begin
Currently listening to: nothing

wanderlust

2009-12-12T20:35:00.002+05:30

I just wanna keep wandering.... Staying in one spot is so tiring...... But the world doesnt like vagabonds....

Current mood: preoccupied
Currently listening to: Open road - Bryan Adams

Cycling to Bevinatta (20 Nov 09 and again on 22 Nov 09)

2009-12-12T19:56:00.003+05:30

I cycled the longest single day ride.... and i am too lazy to post it..... And i do the same ride again, with just a day's gap.... A feat for sure to do two 190 km rides almost back to back..... But yet, it felt so normal... so un-blog-worthy while doing it.... no huge sense of accomplishment.... But yet, the route was nice..... the company was nice while i rode the second time round.... And it definitely needs mention in my blog.

Route: Sarjapur ->Attibele -> TVS Rd -> Anusonay -> Bevinatta -> Denkanikottai -> TVS Rd -> Attibele -> Sarjapur..... Route was 190 km roundtrip for me, starting from home

One fine Friday morning, at around 8 am, i just head off to drop a biker to territory she knew.... Just continued riding on, until i found myself at Attibele (50 km from my house)...... Thinking arbit things, and monotonously moving forward pedalstroke after another.... just a 700 ml bottle of water in the holder.... Tender coconuts en route helped a bit too..... Finally i realized i was absent mindedly heading to Bevinatta, where i had been to once with vinay (but by boarding random buses).... Nice empty roads amidst vilages, greenery, fields and hillocks....... Until the chaos of Denkannikottai.... A quick 20 min lunch, and off to Bangalore on another nice low traffic road..... At the end of it, dint even feel that i had done 190 kms

A coupla days later, i herd a bunch of folks training for TFN (www.tourofnilgiris.com), on the same route... this time with a camera, and more water! We got down the stream near Bevinatta, picnicking around.... then we ate sugarcane right off the fields, as they were being harvested.... And a tired but good ride home..... Only few of them did the complete ride (which was upto 160 kms for the others).... But those who did, went home with pride, and joy

I was numb throughout the ride, mentally that is.... and a storm was underway..... Thats where i got all the energy to ride!

Current mood: preoccupied
Currently listening to: Bulla ki Janam kaun - Rabbi Shergill

Trek 4300

2009-10-20T13:47:00.005+05:30

My all new Trek 4300 (2010 model)! If u r wondering how come its so dirty when its still new, It did ~35 kms of trails and some slush on BBCh6 on the day just after it was bought. And in the 3 days since it was bought it has already done ~200 km.....

The bike feels awesome.... The suspension lockout is really handy..... And the Alivio shifts much better than the Acero I had on the crossway...... Im yet to utilize the all-terrain-ness of the bike..... I need to do some blitzy trail rides.... The seatpost is a bit short for me, when i have to be in road riding position, fine for trails though.... have to look for a longer one soon.....

Wait for a review in some time when i've done some distance on it.... Until then, its still learning to ride trails for me.

Current mood: Excited to know that next BBCh is a criterium
Currently listening to: Chop suey - System of a down

The failed double century ride to Anchetti

2009-08-31T20:31:00.002+05:30

~60 riders..... target of cycling 200 kms in one day..... some doing their first ever 100+ ride.... some who find it just 'refreshing'.... Few riders crashed, serious enough to need surgeries, some escaped w relatively mino bruises..... some quit due to shortcomings of either man or machine (man: exhaustion.... machine: cut cables, screwed up tubes[like mine] and tires, screwed sprockets)....

overall, awesome route.... will do it again sooner or later

Current mood: raring to go
Currently listening to: Sound the bugle now - Bryan Adams

Fork

2009-07-03T17:18:00.002+05:30

Opportunity knocks but once... but once
Either way, and the other beckons.
Regretting the future regrets.
Living upto long set targets
Love and Life which should be one,
Going separate ways, delaying union

A life unsettled
An undreamt dream
Opportunity knocks but once... but once
Either way, and the other beckons.

Current mood: blah
Currently listening to: Analyze - Thom Yorke

Data

2009-06-15T12:01:00.002+05:30

People have been complainin that my blog has become more of an event announcement and reporting blog. Where's the passion? where's the love in the post?

Things that i was passionate about, have become more routine these days.... For example, it was a big thing to cycle to Nandi hills once. Now its something that happens very often. But u might ask, arent ur limits still being stretched? Arent there new things that u r doing?

Yes indeed. But, these things take time to write about. I spend more time doing the things than writing about them these days. But i hope to mend that, cos i still love to write these things, so that i can visit it back with the same flavour as i originally relished it.

So there are a few things that i've been writing for ages now.... those articles with a soul.... All just drafts waiting to be completed somewhere in the near future hopefully..... The trip to Sangannakal's neolithic rock art..... ambitions and traininng for the Sunfeast 10k...... The sudden trip to Pondicherry..... Training for the duathlon..... Cradles of Innovation..... My experience teaching kids.....

The problem with the things that u want to write with passion is that u always feel that u havent done a good job writing it, and keep modifying it eternally until u feel its palatable.

Current mood: swinging
Currently listening to: Ascension of the spirit - Evanescence

5000km up

2009-05-21T15:45:00.005+05:30

Also a review of Merida Crossway10V, cycling in bangalore, and also on my cycling over the year.

The bike: I figured that the bike is not the right frame size for me. But still pretty comfortable, when riding with a reasonably high saddle. The original saddle was bad engineering. It had a fragile plastic thingy at a place which would recieve some load when one shifts weight on the saddle. And it cracked within two months of my riding it. The new one (that usually comes with a Merida Sub 20) has been awesome.

Also had to replace the headset, cos i lost some peices of it when over dissembling and transporting the bike once.

The Rear derailleur once just blew out, when i was shifting while on a bump. Apparently it was cos there was a loose screw and the RD swung and got caught in spokes. So replaced it with a shimano Acero, and things have been fine since.

Apart form the tiny replacements here and there, the bike has been good to me, inspite of me abusing it. i feel i have definitely earned out the money i've spent on it (one year is pretty quick payback time).

Have done many Nandi rides, some trail rides, a big ride to Yelagiri, and Tour oF Nilgiris(TFN) with it, with a pleasant experience throughout

The last big thing i did on my bike (apart from having two recent falls) was to do good at the TimeTrial held last month. Other than that, its been just roaming around. Since my girlfriend doesnt mind me sweaty (and probably likes me salty to taste :D), i go on dates on cycle too. In fact, we got to bond with each other in the process of me teaching her to ride the bike when both of us were drunk!)

The first TimeTrial of BBCh09 (Bangalore Bicycle Championships) comes this sunday, and my RD shifting thumb is still out of shape (due to a fall last sunday). Hope i can still do ok.

Current mood: annoyed at my screwed thumb
Currently listening to: Round a bend - Beck

BBCh '09 - Starting May 24th

2009-05-04T12:44:00.003+05:30

After the success and interest in last month's time trial, BBC (Bangalore Bikers Club) is making it bigger with a monthly race, with scores that'll be tallied up, with an official season. The first race in the season will be a time trial on May 24th. Unfortunately for me (but fair nevertheless), there'll be no MTB/hybrid category anymore. The season will have long rides, criteriums, timetrials etc.

Full details here.

Current mood: Cheerful
Currently listening to: High hopes - Pink floyd

The Rube life

2009-05-04T12:38:00.002+05:30

Life is just a Rube Goldberg contraption to get chemicals from a higher energy state to a lower energy state

Current mood: not as dejected as the statement sounds. In fact pretty happy
Currently listening to: Sleep - Poets of the Fall

Bangalore Duathlon

2009-04-27T11:24:00.002+05:30

Date: June 14th
Categories:
10k run + 20k cycle
5k run + 10k cycle

The exact format is being worked out. (cycle,run or run,cycle or run,cycle,run)..... Since its being conducted by RFL and RAC-F, it should be well organised.

At last, something that suits me perfect..... running+cycling. I beleive i have a niche when these two are combined. Let me see how it goes. But i need to train hard to be in prime shape for this. I hope to finish the 10k run +20k cycle in less than 1:45:00. Or should i fancy my chances at victory in the 5k run + 10k cycle? Where i hope to do it within 0:50:00?

Anyway, i need to try out a practice run/ride to check how high/low these goals are

Current mood: stupidly overconfident
currently listening to: Njaan Ara - Avial

Time Trial

2009-04-27T07:55:00.003+05:30

Yesterday, it was probably the first time i had a podium finish in any sport. Well, it was not an official 'event', it was just an informal event where a bunch of guys from BBC (Bangalore Bikers Club) / BZ (BikesZone Cycling) tested their speed versus each other. But, nevertheless, it was a first time i won even an informal event.

For those of you who dont know what a time trial is..... Its a cycle race, with a staggered start (One cyclist starts one minute after the another cyclist who starts.....), so that the cylists dont bump into each other too often. And you do a short distance like 10-20 km, where u try to hit the maximum pace u can.

There were two categories: Roadbikes and MTB/Hybrid. The course was 8.65 km long. It was generally a gentle downhill for round1. And in round2, it was the same course uphill. It saw around 20 participants

Round1: There was a nasty truck that was blocking the road for a lot of the route, that was preventing me from doing fast enough.... the advantages of drafting behind it was soon lost. So i dropped the truck as soon as it permitted, doing a dangerous pumped up overtake...... In some time, overtook 3 ppl who started ahead of me..... Finished the 8.65 km in 14:47 at an average speed of 35.1 kmph.... Finished first in the MTB/Hybrid cactegory and third overall(including roadbikes)

Round 2: the long gentle uphill, is painful and irritating, as it doesn't give any break for ur legs. And to top it all, there was headwind (wind coming head on), making it hard to even touch the thirties speed, forget maintaining it.... Did it in 18:41 at avg speed of 27.7 kmph. Won in my category again, and came 4th overall (Missed third spot by 3 secs).

Overall results combining round 1 and 2 : 17.3 km in 33:28 at an avg speed of 31.2 kmph. First in MTB/Hybrid category and third overall.

Current mood: Jumpin around
Currently listening to: Jupiter Cafe - Thermal and a Quarter

Sunfeast world 10k 2009 comin up

2009-03-19T00:51:00.005+05:30

Although there hasn't been any official declaration yet, inside sources (read RFL spies) say that the Sunfeast world 10k would be on May 10th. The registrations will begin sometime soon.

Meanwhile, Vinay and meself have started on a training program, knowing that we have still ~6 weeks for the event. All those who r waiting for the news to start training, sould probably start training now.

If u r in bangalore, u have a few options for being trained:
- The Nike Run Club (at Kanteerava stadium every sat and wed)
- "Runner's high" by Dr. Rajat et al

I am however planning to stick to training programs here.
And u can track my trainin at dailymile.

Edit: Tanvir Kazmi points out that there is still juggling of dates going on, as we can see from here. (This link says May 31st). So what i would do is to start on a 3 week training program (like here), by which time, the date should get settled. And then do some speed drills and cross-training during the gap the posponement would introduce. Then do another 3 week trainin cycle to reach optimum training for D-Day

Re-edit: Its on May 31 finally. And i am totally sucky at following training schedules that the change of date doesn't affect my so-called training at all! :)

Current mood: Sleepy
Currently listening to: Little room - Norah Jones

Movie night at BOTS

2009-03-08T00:03:00.002+05:30

BOTS screens biking movies once in a while at the rooftop store of theirs. This was the second such session. This time, the movies screened were:
- a 10 min trailer of the TFN documentary by Flaunge
- F1RST
- Seasons

The movies were good, but the best part of such events is the chance to meet other bikers, and catch up w the ones u know.

Current mood: still gettin out of sleep
currently listening to: Knights of Cydonia - Muse

Nijagallu | 22 Feb 2009

2009-02-25T01:06:00.005+05:30

Waking up late after the 'adventure that never happened' in my previous post, the original intentions of going to Hessarghatta close to sunrise, was out of the question. So we decided to go there in the evening, while in the morning, we would go to this place called Nijagallu, off Tumkur Road (NH4).

Who: Myself, Vinay, Achutha, Chetan
Where: Nijagallu, Off Tumkur Road, just beyond Dobbspet

The idea initially was to go to the top of the tiny hillock and see what Chetan said would be a nice 'romantic spot', away from the humdrum of the temple just a little distance below the hilltop. But, we being we, had to find a way that was hard enough to go through.... Chetan was new to this, but was willing to try....

Soon enough, we found our way into thorns and big boulders and crevices..... It offered some variety in techniques needed to climb, including my personal favourite - the spiderman climb.... the spiderman climb is when u have a 60-80 degree incline, of flat rock, and u r climbing it with just the friction of ur hands and legs and the tiny surface features of the rock..... these are stuff that look impossible at the onset.... terribly risky if u screw up.... and terribly satisfying once u conquer the stretch.....

Somewhere in between, we found a tree that had branched a lot... a tree perfect for beginers like me and chetan to climb.... spent a lot of time doin crazy stuff on the tree (including sleeping on it!). Camera batteries died by now, w enough power to last a few snaps

A few more spiderman climbs and we reached the fort on top. took pictures conserving remainin battery power.... then headed down into the valley, to go to the other side where the temple was, so that we could finally go to where Chetan originally wanted to take us!

The temple area was filthy with all the pollution brought in by the devotees! (Unlike the pristine areas we trekked through moments earlier). But the spot that Chetan showed us was a nice place, and was away from the chaos of the temple.

We got down to our bikes and then headed to Hessarghatta as planned. Where the usual joys of the place brought in a peaceful finale to the heavy work of the earlier part of the day. Achutha, who hadn't been here before, just began jumping around and yelling, like a mad guy!

Current mood: sleepy
Currently listening to: Story of my life - Bon Jovi

The adventure that didn't happen

2009-02-24T23:46:00.002+05:30

I was way too sleepy.... But we decided to watch Philadelphia instead...... But we watched 'Pyar ke side effects' instead..... then at 2 in the night, we decided to go to Cantonment station to have 'coffee' and 'masala tea', two of us on one motorbike, and one on cycle..... But we headed off to Nandi hills instead.... But we stopped for coffee at Cafe Coffee Day at 3 am..... got a flat on my cycle, and the Nandi trip got cancelled, with the mobike carrying the three of us, and the cycle resting on my shoulders....

All this happened without anyone at home knowing anythin abt it..... Not that it matters much..... But its a top secret...... at least because we took care of everythin not to wake anyone up doin our sneaky adventures!

Confused, abt what this is all about? Well, we din't have a clue either. It was just one freaky idea after another..... an adventure that never happened, but yet an adventure that never happened! (The repitition not a typo btw)

Current mood: loopy
Currently listening to: Round a bend - Beck

side effects of dopamine

2009-02-19T08:23:00.003+05:30

- insomnia
- a strange field that makes electronic stuff like cellphones, stick to your body
- hair loss
- restlessness
- mild insanity
- increased activity of the right half of the brain (the arts et al)
- decrease in activity of the left side (logic et al)

Current mood: drowsy (due to after-effect of side-effect-1)
Currently listening to: Annie's song - John Denver

Fresh surge of Dopamine

2009-02-16T17:37:00.003+05:30

Wine.... Floyd.... under the shade of trees.... with open meadows till the eyes can reach..... My neurons blissfully drowning in the flash flood of Dopamine.... The best of highs on V-Day!

Current mood: swimming in the ocean of Dopamine
Currently listening to: Wish you were here - Pink Floyd

Tata Book House Book Fair

2009-02-06T13:59:00.004+05:30

My favorite book stall in Bangalore, Tata Book House (inside IISc campus) is organising a book fair which will last till Feb 15th. With discounts ranging from 25% to 50%, this is a real steal, for getting the waiting-in-wishlist books. For those who dont know TBH already, it is a bookstore that stocks a lot of technical books and popular science books, that u wouldn't get so easily outside. Plus, even during the non-book-fair times, u get a healthy 10-20% discount on the books. U also get the literature kinda books too, like novels, general literature, self-help books etc.

And i am now drained of ~4k buyin many books that were on my droolin-on-it-but-too-pricey-for-now-list
Books i got:
- The Character of Physical Law - Richard Feynman
- The Road to Reality - Roger Penrose
- Don't you have time to think? - Richard Feynman
- Dialogues concerning two new sciences - Galileo Galilei (with commentary by Stephen Hawking)
- The six not-so-easy pieces - Richard Feynman
- On the shoulder of giants - collected works of Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, Newton and Einstein with Coommentary by Stephen Hawking
- Godel Escher Bach - Douglas Hofstadter
- Unweaving the rainbow - Richard Dawkins
- Tek Money - William Shatner

Current mood: Lost deep into reading "Character of Physical Law" by Feynman
Currently listening to: Skip divided - Thom Yorke

Hessarghattta once more

2009-02-01T21:20:00.012+05:30

Missed Critical Mass on Saturday, as i was wayyy too sleepy. And waking up late next day, ensured that i'd miss any planned long Sunday ride. A friend suggested that i do Sarjapur. But by the time i finished deciding for or against it, another friend (Chetan) pulled me into riding to Hessarghatta.

We went on the Hessarghatta main road, unlike my previous rides where we took some tiny out-of-shape shortcut roads. I must say that i enjoyed the main road better inspite of the mild traffic on it, because the road was so much nicer. And although there was nothin mightily scenic enroute, it was pleasant.

But, once we reached Hessarghatta, it was heaven as usual. The scenery here doesn't fail to mesmerize how many ever times we've been here. I have been here for the Bangalore Ultra runs, a few training runs, and quite a few cycle rides before. And Chetan had been here on motorbike many times before too. However, this was his first cycle ride of this distance. (He did ~65 km on this ride)

We slowly soaked in the gentle sun reflected off the golden grass, moving at a leisurely pace, chit chatting abt life, girls and the combination of the two. Took every possible photo-break, water-break, sugarcane-juice-break, watermelon break, tender-coconut-break, lets just-sleep-on-the-grass-and-enjoy-for-a-while-break, etc. etc.

Chetan did quite well for his first half century ride, albeit with sore butt and muscles. (Extra credit for being on a steel frame bike without gears). And for me this was the longest ride since TFN (did many rides b/w 20 and 50 km, but never went on any long ride i planned)

Directions: If u head out of the city on NH4 (Tumkur road) from Gorgontepalya(Where NH4 meets ORR). U'll reach a turn(right) called "8th mile". (There should be a petrol bunk on ur right, which could be obscured by construction work). This will get u on Hessarghatta main road. At any fork ( i remember only one major one), just ask the directions to Hessarghatta. Ride on and u'll get Hessarghatta bus stand. Just before the bus stand, u'll see a right turn with sign boards to Taj Kuteeram and Nrityagram. (If u r confused, just ask around for directions to nrityagram). Head on that road for ~4 km and u'll see a mass of trees on ur left. That's the canopy u see in the first pic. If u go on the tarmac instead of getting lost in those woods, u should ultimately reach Kuteeram and Nrityagram. Just before u reach there, u'll see a right turn leading to the horizon. Just keep ur eyes open, u cant miss it. If u do, ask around for directions to this resort called "Our Native Village". There are plenty of trails around. Explore and enjoy.

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Current mood: blank
Currently listening to: Ramble on - Led Zeppelin

My fastest 5k so far

2009-01-29T07:38:00.002+05:30

Just got the mood to run today, and wanted to better my 5k run timings. And i did it quite comfortably, in 25m40s. (Which beats the world record for 10 km!)

How did i improve
1. All the biomechanics i learnt for giving a talk at Sympotein-III ! About running step frequencies being the resonant frequencies of the spring mass system. My gait thus far was somewhat in between walking and running, which is very inefficient (but is still what i do on longer runs as i have not trained myself to run properly for longer distances)
2. In my previous gait, my landing was braking too much and transferring much less energy into the next step. Consciously correctied that during he run
3. I have relatively small calves, and haven't trained them well enough. So i usually have a very tiny push from it into the next step. I consciously did that extra leap this time. And it lasted for at least a km continuously in the begining, and on and off later on.

Hopes in running this year:
a sub 20m 5k run
a sub 45m 10k run
a sub 2 hr half marathon
a sub 5 hr marathon
a sub 11hr 75k ultra

But this would need a helluva lot of training. And i'd have to also lose a lot of the extra deadweight. Which i guess will happen simultaneously though :)

Current mood: still lost
Currently listening to: Sunday sun - Beck

Critical Mass Bangalore 31st Jan 2009

2009-01-28T15:08:00.002+05:30

Want to make Bangalore, bicycle friendly? Greener? Reduce traffic jams? Join Bangalore's edition of Critical Mass. Also be there for the Bangalore Cycling Inclusive Planning Workshop (which happens just before critical mass), to show the cyclists' strength in numbers.

Co-ordinates of start point : Click here

Current mood: Sorta lost
Currently listening to: Angie - Rolling Stones

Certainty

2009-01-25T10:39:00.003+05:30

x: .... Not only is that improbable, its impossible!
Y: Well... Accordinng to Quantum mechanics, u can only say that its improbable. X: Ah! Now you bring in Quantum mechanics for this?
Y: There is always a tiny probability for any event to occur.
X: Whatever!
Me: "The only thing that's certainly impossible, is certainty"
*Waited for applause, whistles, claps.... *

Just got ppl staring at me trying to understand it. :(

Moments later:
Y: You flicked that quote from somewhere. Its too good to have been invented on the spot by you.

Honestly, i invented it on the spot. And have been trying to explain the meaning to everyone, hoping that someday, it will be a famous quote!

But found a cooler quote by someone else, which sorta means more or less the same. So there dies my dash at fame!
"The only certain thing in life is uncertainty" Author unknown

Current mood: excited
Currently listening to: Somewhere I belong - Linkin Park

Benagluru Midnight Marathon 2009

2009-01-12T17:14:00.003+05:30

Did my best official timimg at a marathon (5hr 55 min). I say "official" because i did the first 42.2 km of Bangalore Ultra 07 in better time, 5hr 50 min.

Anyway, I'm happy with my performance, especially considering that it hasn't been even two weeks since TFN.

Special thanks goes to RFL, for the support to slow runners like me, when the marathon organisers' support was dwindling.

Organisation of the marathon: Better than previous editions. At least there was water till the end! But they threatened to close down support and certification at 5 and half hours instead of the 6 hrs they had promised on the website. A friend and myself got really pissed with this... yelled at them.... and decided to run and not be swept, And yeah, they did keep it open until the 6 hr time limit. But, we had to do the final 45 mins dodging vehicles and facing the glare of oncoming vehicles amidst darkness. This part, was seriously annoying.

But the frustration against the organisers fueled a 2nd wave and both of us covered the last 5 point chillar km in pretty good time.

Overall, I felt i could have managed my run better. I could have shaved at least an additional 20 mins that way. My 4:1 plan (4 min runnin and 1 min walking) din't happen at all. It became a random run/walk, as i was trying to syncronise with others.

And RFLers, especially the women did us proud being in the top 3 of most events.

Current mood: pissed at many things
Currently listening to: King of the Bongo - Manu Chao

I deserve laziness too

2009-01-06T16:56:00.003+05:30

X: Can you get me some coffee?
Y: I'm too lazy. Get it youself na?
X: What? U cycle nine hundred and odd kilometers. I can't buy that argument.
Y: *thinks*......
X: *angrily gets coffee waiting for response*
Y: Well, at least i deserve the laziness.

Current mood: lazy to make poster for annual talks
Currently listening to: The trainman cometh (Matrix Revolutions OST) - Don Davis

Heartshake

2009-01-05T08:54:00.002+05:30

A cheerful face,
A steady slow pace,
Mind chases,
Heart races

But someone's faster than me.

Yet i don't lose hope,
Mind chases, Heart races,
Sweet voices flowing around,
Dreams still stay skyward bound

But someone's flying to it faster than me.

One last chance, one last try.....
I slow down to try match pace
Still trapped in a dizzying daze
Anyway, Its not a race, its not a race

But someone's courting It better than me

My hopes failing me,
I zoom ahead not waiting
Drafting behind a boring thing
Lot of distance now covered,
A small wait,
with no bait
Result: No fish
I zoom ahead drafting behind boring things
instead of waiting for the nice company.
But consciously so......
I'll have to learn to live anyway.... heart shaken.

Current mood: Heartshaken
Currently listening to: My different versions of singing this out

Tour oF Nilgiris 08 (Dec 25th-31st 2008)

2009-01-01T11:47:00.018+05:30

For those who don't know it already, TFN was a 919 km cycle ride through Bangalore-Mysore-Madikeri-Wayanad-Ooty-Mysore-Bangalore. We actually did a shorter distance(~800 km) as we didn't do most of the local rides.

Short report:
Did my longest ride ever (~750 km)
The ride was awesome.
Support crew were excellent.
Met a diverse bunch of amazing people
The Ooty climb was not as hard as expected.
The Madikeri to Sultan Batheri ride was the hardest and most fun. With ~150 km of rolling terrain (ups n downs)
Madumalai-Bandipur was the awesomest stretch
Ooty was cold
Had loooads of fun
Photo slideshow is at the bottom of the post

Day minus one (Dec 24th): A very un-brief briefing..... Collected goodies. Deposited luggage. Got to know abt the riders riding along......

Day 1 | Bangalore - Mysore (160 km): Lots of ppl turned up from RFL and BBC to send us off..... Some even rode all the way to Mysore..... Did the first 75 km at a 26.6 kmph avg speed. Then by the time reached Mysore average speed dropped to 25 kmph...... Was an uneventful ride except for a fall at Mysore and injured my hand a bit (due to which i couldn't do the Chamundi climb)

Before the start

Evening saw us at a nice resort (WindFlower) at Chamundi base, where we had snacks and coffee.... Did a local ride and met up with some Mysore bikers..... Finally reached the Youth Hostel to listen to the Warden's very long breifing on the "norms" of the hostel and the history of their employees(sigh!), before heading to sleep.

Day 2 | Mysore - Madikeri (125 km): Amazing road until Kushalnagar...... Nice pleasant ride.... mildly scenic, nothing worth the camera though...... But after Kushalnagar, the scenery turned beautiful and the roads turned horrible.... And there was a long climb to reach Madikeri. Climbed hard, ran out of juice within myself and also my hydration pack..... Caught up with Sameer (like we inevitably always did almost through the tour) who was also out of juice..... We stopped and waited for the support car to load up on food and Gatorade..... Chit-chatting, especially with the witty remarks from Sameer got me through the climb. A six kilometer descent later, reached the estate where we retired for the day.

At Madikeri

Had a campfire at night, where we heard Avinash doing the Malgudi days tune on the flute..... Lots of jib-jabbing and a tiny walk later, went off to sleep.

Day 3 | Madikeri - Sultan Batheri (150 km) aka i-love-my-bike ride: Extremely scenic. But the road was bad. Most road bikers didnt do much of riding as the bikes would be a piece of rubble at the end of it (except for the ones who bunny-hopped over potholes).... Since mine was a hybrid bike it did both thae bad patches and good patches reasonably well.... Wayanad was beautiful.... Ullas had a bad fall with a lost tooth and a fractured hand..... I rode extra carefully on the downhills..... The whole route was ups and downs.... Steeeeeep ups and downs..... Some ups were so steep and long that, one could give up on it just by looking! But i rode managing my best to avoid stooping down to the nanny gear..... Finally reached the dingy hotel where we stayed the night. Was proud that i did every stretch of the steep climbs and long bad roads(thanks to padded shorts for safety of important stuff).

Wayanad

The night was spent cribbing about the hotel and worrying about how safe our bikes would be, before we went to sleep peacefully keeping our bikes indoors.

Day 4 | Sultan Batheri - Ooty [95 km (70 km on cycle + 25 km in sweep vehicle)] : Was a scenic ride, going through tea estates at Devarsolai. After Gudalur came the big climb that many of us were fearing all through. Took plenty of breaks (photo breaks, water breaks, food breaks, rest breaks). But the gradient was not even close to the gradients climbed on the previous day. Only thing was that it was up n up n up this time instead of ups n downs. And finally after 70 kms of hard effort, got swept (sweeper vehicles are the ones that pick u up and float u to the destination if u don't do it fast enough) with around 25 km yet to go, as it was getting cold and dark. But i now realize that i could have actually rode through, as it was mainly downhill with a coupla small ups).

On the climb to Ooty

The night saw shivering people and a warm campfire with amazing local food. There was singing and dancing especially from Seema and Avinash. Then a few slept, while the others were busy preventing them from sleeping, laughing their hearts out listening to ride stories (especially from Avinash).

Day 5 | Rest day at Ooty (rode 15 km): Some went running up Dodda betta, others went cyclng. Some mended their bikes all day through. The support team finally slept that day and did a tiny ride around Ooty....... I rode around Ooty in the morning with Francis and Murali...... "Trekked" in the garden at the KSTDC hotel with them.... Had a gala time and then slept tight through noon, instead of earlier plans of riding up Doddabetta..... Then went around chocolate shopping..... Finally rode the "Chaiyya-Chaiyya" train from Ooty to Coonoor with a bunch of riders. Dickie gifted me a nice jersey. (Saminder Singh aka Dickie is an avid cyclist, now 46, is very rich at heart and has a lot of cycling gear that he gives out as "shareware", to build a cycling community that helps each other). Had a fun time, taking a break from the daily cycling, and got to know so much more about Dickie, from the first time i heard of him.

Ooty Lake

Once more, there was a campfire at night, where we had more fun n frolic. Many of us stayed up late at bed singing and guffawing. And boy, what a mix it was when we had professional singers like Deeksha, and the besuras like myself, and of course with the woofers provided by the snoring lot! We stayed up until 1 am, inspite of knowing that we had to ride the next day! That would most likely be the last day we could stay together like that! (Thanks to the "norms" of the Mysore hostel the next day)

Day 6 | Ooty - Mysore [120 km (80 km on cycle+ 40 km in sweep vehicle)] : Woke up to the tunes of Murali playing the flute before we headed off.... reached Madumalai after a slow and careful ~20 km descent with breathtaking views, and 36 crazy hairpins...... Burnt rubber on the descent (not the rubber of the tyres, but the rubber of the brakes)...... I was scared chicken shit of the crazy downhills and hairpins, that i went almost at the pace of going up hill!..... (Nelly, the pro downhill rider did the descent in 18 mins, where i took 1 hr 18 mins). Then entered the awesomest stretch through Madumalai-Bandipur. The feel was so amazing that i slowed down as much as i could and just enjoyed the scenery..... the gentle sun coming through the branches of the trees around..... the chirping of birds.... the chattering of Langurs..... i was drunk with nature, din't bother takin my camera out, lest i screw up the high i was relishing..... I wanted this state of mind to last ass long ass it could, doing my best to be as slow as possible....... That's the most amazing slow ride i've ever had.

On reaching Guldlupet, the road was mighty horrible and even my padded shorts couldn't save my poor butts. I survived through the bad patch of roads, which were worsened by strong headwinds, which also picked up some dust. But i could do it at a horrendously slow pace. The road after Gundlupet was good, but i was still 40 km short around 5 pm. I still could've managed to reach Mysore on the cycle by 7 pm, but i din't wanna brave crazy traffic at dark. So willingly got swept.

Bandipur

No campfire this night, yet, many of us just sat together, with another round of guffawing.... The ladies slipped into our rooms too, sneaking away from the warden's eyes.... Some more gala time and off to sleep.

Day 7 | Mysore Bangalore (155 km) : Rode initially with Deeksha, Kaushik and Francis until almost near Mandya. there were really strong headwinds.,,,,, Drafted behind a tractor carryinng gravel, for a looooong while before i could no longer match sppeds. By then had lost the group. Stopped for a while and relaxed, waiting for the group...... still no sign.... then saw Vaz, and tried drafting behind him..... lost all my energy trying to keep up pace.... gave up and took some rest and food...... Then was a constant effort doing the boring stretch all the way to Bangalore, where i finally managed to get lost in the Bangalore University campus (We were supposed to meet at the BU gate, but someone gave me directions to a different BU gate :).

The 11 yr old Sukhdev who did 95 km on day 1 and 75 km on day 7

Then was the tough and strenuous part of riding upto Vidhana Soudha beside some crazy traffic (Even though the traffic police tried their best to limit traffic). And then it was finally over, with lots of cameras flashing, some from the press, many from the ones who wanted to grab as much as possible for memories.

Tossing the support crew

Post TFN Party: Most riders and support crew met up at Orange Peel on Jan 1st and had a good time, having the one last time we could see all of us together like that until probably the end of this year.

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Photo slideshow

Something that i felt during the ride...... Sameer, seemed extremely like my REAPmate Suhas, the kind of witty jokes and remarks.... Both Hari and Dino seemed like another REAPmate Aditya Rotti... the way they talked and laughed.... I'm probably seeing the past great company i've had in the new friends i make...... Or long distance riding does things to ur mind :) .... Anyway, a wierd feeling.

Current mood: Missing people already
Currently listening to: Linger - The Cranberries

TFN sneak peek

2008-12-22T21:36:00.002+05:30

Flaunge, one of the partners for Tour oF Nilgiris (TFN), have made a short clip of the recce done earlier, which very beautifully portrays the flavours of TFN. A lovely TFN ad, if u may call it so.

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

Current mood: Thrilled to bits
Currently listening to: repeatedly playing the lovely tune of the TFN clip!

Cycling | The road travelled thus far

2008-12-17T00:54:00.000+05:30

When i was a little guy, in 4th standard(=grade) i guess, our painter (construction work going on at home) taught me how to cycle. Then i used to ride friends' cycles. And yeah, unlike kids' usual way of learning cycling, i learnt it without a fall, or support wheels :) Back then, cycling was just another fun thing to do, a toy rather,

Around a year later, my bro got a cycle for his daily commute of 2 km to a computer course. It was a Hercules Rockshock, which had five gears and front suspension. It was the coolest cycle of the neighborhood for quite some time. And i used to get some precious moments on it once in a while. Then, one fine day, my bro had an accident, and then he gave up cycling altogether. And of course, i was stopped too, fearing similar risks.

The cycle was just lying in a corner, catchin dust n rust for a few years. Then, after a lot of debate, i officially was granted permission to ride the cycle, with strings attached though (no main-roads, if u have to cross a mainroad, get down n push, etc etc). And i used to break the rules once in a while. I once rode 12 kms without anyone's knowledge.... And that sense of accomplishment after that.... Bragging about it to friends n all.

And then one fine day when i had finished my 10th, on a similar sneaky ride to a friend's place, i had a great fall, and lost one of my front teeth in the accident. As a result, cycling was banned at home. And this time, i was scared too. And the cycle lay in the corner again, until it got sold away to a friend.

Years later, when i was doing my 3rd yr BSc, some friends were planning a long cycle ride(40 km). Getting permission was not as hard as it would've been before. I was a bigger kid(sic!), and mom wasn't around either. Borrowed a bike, and had loads of fun (and butt-ache too) during the 40 km ride to Hessarghatta and back (ride report here).

A few months later, i bought my Hercules Ultima DX. Main purpose was for exploring around the GKVK campus (my institute, NCBS, is at the edge of GKVK) and beyond. And then, i found shortcuts to reach my institute from home, on a almost-no-traffic route. It then became my daily commute. I also would occasionally just head off to some random colony and cycle around. For close to half a year, that's all the bike did: daily commute (~10 km to n fro) and some urban exploration.

Once, when my then-girlfriend was out of town for a long while, and i wanted to take my mind off it, i went on a solo ride to Nandi. And the ride is a whole interesting story in itself! (read it here). That was my first century ride. And was damn proud of it, in spite of how i struggled through it. My cycle was reduced to rubble at the end of the ride, and stayed unrepaired for quite some time.

Then my gf ditched me (which led to lot of painful philosophical-self-revisit), and soon enough it was time for another loooong ride to take my mind off it. Did the Makalidurga ride then. (Ride report here). And this time, i ended in much better shape at the end of the ride, and so was my cycle.

I felt i was becoming a pro at this. And soon, i was looking for a biking forum where i would find others like me. I joined Bangallore Bikers Club (BBC) as suggested by a few RFL'ers. This marked a new era in my cycling life. What i once felt were insane distances, were the distances many ppl in the forum rode on almost every weekend! And their long distances, were much insaner! Stuff like Bangalore-Mangalore, Chennai-Calcutta, Bangalore- Kanyakumari, Bangalore-Ooty. I was contemplating a Bangalore-Mysore ride once, thinking of it as a BIG thing. But, here those were such trivial things. I sorta felt out of place. For a long while, i was just reading all the mails and sporadically asking doubts, speechless at the expertise and experience of almost everyone who were discussing.

Then, once after a long vacation in Rajasthan, my Ultima vanished (it later turned out that there was a huge shuffle in the parking lot, and my cycle was tucked away somewhere, and i din't get the message as i wasn't around). I saw this as a sign to get a better bike. By now, i had gotten accustomed to the fact that bikes can actually cost quite a lot. And i had saved up enough to buy one. I knew of Trek, Firefox and Merida as options. Paid a visit to BOTS(deals with TREK and Firefox bikes). Rohan there, was a real nice guy, who told me stuff that i never thought / knew of : Frame size. Most bikes for the average Indian, won't suit me, as they are very small for a 6'6" guy. And he was so great that he never pushed on the bikes he had in stock. He was a true caring cyclist, who wanted people to enjoy their rides, rather than trying to push as many bikes through. He was a cyclist first, and then a bike dealer. I loved the Trek 4300D, but he didn't have it in my frame size and shipping the right one in would take months

Venkatesh, dealing with Meridas, had a Merida Crossway, that had a 21.5" frame, which was ok for my height. And since it was a cross-bike (MTB x Road bike), it fit my requirements perfectly. I bought it, as it seemed real value for money. And Venkatesh too, is a cyclist first, and then a dealer. He was once cycling for the state team, and now has his on cycling team.

And from there on, came the phase, where i would do a 100 km ride, just when i got some time. Nandi became a usual haunt,, instead of a destination to head to when haunted. I din't need a reason to do a long ride, i just started doin it as and when time permitted.

One month after i bought the bike, i did the Bangalore-Mysore ride (report here). Although, i wasn't happy with my performance then, it still stays the longest distance i covered in a single day(160 km, that's a century mile!). The cycle stayed idle for a coupla months as my saddle was out of sorts, and i misplaced a part of the headset, trying to over-dis-assemble my bike to fit into a car.

After that hiatus, got the cycle fixed and the old fun began all over again. Now, when i'm off mood, my ride distances increase. And rides like the 362 km ride to Yelagiri happen.

Riding on the Merida was effortless. And it has become my default mode of transportation no matter where i go in the city. On weekends, its my fun ride, my meditation, my girlfriend,

And now, I'm headed to do my longest ride ever! 919 km at the Tour oF Nilgiris, starting Dec 25th. Hope it goes all well.

Current mood: Excited and nervous
Currently listening to: Say what you need to say - John Mayer

TFN approaching

2008-12-12T16:19:00.002+05:30

TFN is fast approaching (12 days away from today). And i haven't done a long ride (100km+) in 3 weeks! I'll do Nandi again this weekend probably, and get some confidence in! I've to try out my new padded cycling shorts and also my new road tires. And i discovered today morning that i have a rim bend! Will have to fix that asap.

I somehow feel extremely ill-prepared for the climbs! But now its too late to train. this is gonna be my last long ride!

Current mood: 919 km! *jitters*
Currently listening to: Zombie - The Cranberries

Bangalore Book Festival 08

2008-11-22T13:51:00.006+05:30

The last time the book festival was here, i took three days(4-5 hrs per day) to finish scanning all the stalls. This time, i was short on time, and did some quick shopping.(read 4 hrs). Bought books for ~3k. And feeling good abt it!

My favourite stall: BookWorm

The books i bought:
- Every second counts - Lance Armstrong
- The God delusion - Richard Dawkins
- Six easy pieces - Richard Feynman
- Motorcycle diaries - Che Guevara
- The Last Lecture - Randy Pausch
- White Tiger - Aravind Adiga
- The meaning of it all - Richard Feynman
- Kepler's witch - James Connor
Classics:
- Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
- Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe
- David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
- Around the world in 80 days - Jules Verne
- Time Machine - HG Wells
Novels:
- Vector - Robin Cook
- Invasion - Robin Cook
and 5 Star Trek novels

Current mood: confused turning in all directions
Currently listening to: Brothers in arms - Dire Straits

Dead@Die-athlon

2008-11-19T11:38:00.004+05:30

Event3 from earlier post did not happen as my rear derailleur blew up(literally) on my way to the venue (And i had to push the cycle 10 km). So all i did was sit (plus sleep) at the supplies tent through the night to help Santosh do his 24 hr run (plus Doc Rajat and Shumit doing 100+km too, and Gaurav hovering around on his cycle through the night). Had good company from Balu, Anita and Santosh's parents through the night, plus tonnnes of yummy food. Carbo-loading got a new meaning that night!

Morning came and Event4 (Bangalore Ultra 2008) was calling! And the weather was perfect throughout the run! But yet i screwed it up. Didn't end up doin 75 km. Mismanaged my run! Did my first coupla 12.5 km laps way too quick. And that screwed the rest of the run. Third lap was sorta ok. But in the 4th lap, killed lot of time walking. Got disgusted at the slow pace i was moving at. I wasn't down n out. But muscles were sore. Mathematical possibility of completing 75km within deadline was out too. So, lost enthu.... Quit at 50 km. Could have done another lap too. But didn't see the point.

Things that went wrong for me:
Lack of training: the longest training run i had done was the half marathon at KTM. (But domestic n work situations didn't spare me any time)
Trail was trickier and harder than last time: Some sections were pebbly. So, doing a slightly longer by-path which was slightly longer would've been smarter. There were more elevation changes, thus slowing me down more as i was doin walk-the-ups-n-run-the-downs.
Did the first two laps way too quick: Did first lap in 1:35 and second in 1:45. Much too quick for my capacity. That definitely affected my next coupla laps. Shud've followed what A1 once said, "run as slow as you can, and then try running even slower".
Lack of a challenge: There was no one to discourage me this time, and thus no sense of fighting back.
I was plain sucky: I guess that doesn't need much explanation!

But still happy in being part of history in at least some tiny way..... in helping Santosh becoming the "Indian who covered the longest distance on road in 24h" by doing 156 km. Just a tad bit short of 100 miles.

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I'm sorry for so few pics, and that too this crappy!
Reasons (read excuses): The sun wasn't out. As a result, the lighting wasn't that great. So was the colour composition. Plus i had a real bad mood close to the end. Yeah, but if u look at Anita Bora's pics, u'll figure out that i'm just giving excuses.

Current mood: Restless
Currently listening to: Suicide note Part I - Nirvana

Die-athlon update!

2008-11-15T13:48:00.002+05:30

Event1 mentioned in earlier post skipped! Yippee! Thanks to me being a good boy and making a good ppt early. So caught sleep on pre-talk day
Event 2: Talk went well! Now heading out for Event 3 and 4

And i fell yesterday on my way back home. Nothing much, a bruise on my knee and something screwed up on my left hand. My running shouldn't be affected i guess. But will have a hard time on the cycle i presume. On a test ride today morning, left hand was hurting bad while tryin to hold the rear brake. Hope i can manage.

Current mood: Hyper jittery
Currently listening to: In the Bleak winter - Bert Jansch

Tour oF Nilgiris (TFN08)

2008-11-12T11:07:00.003+05:30

910 kms | 7days of cycling through picturesque surrounds.
Chk it out:
Plus the goodies u'll get sponsored by Wildcraft

Current mood : Jittery abt Upcomin sequence of events described in previous post
Currently listening to : Tetsujin (Matrix Revolutions OST) - Don Davis

The die-athlon comin up

2008-11-07T01:58:00.002+05:30

Well, its more than cycling and running that makes this one up.

Event1: sleepless preparation for Event2
Event2: The NCBS Fly-meet where I'll be giving a talk
Event3: Just after finishing event2, hurriedly cycle to Hessarghatta for Event4
Event4: Cycle ~100km from 6pm to 6am to help Dr. Rajat on his 200 km in 24h run.
Event5: Run 75 km at the Bangalore Ultra

Now that makes a great die-athlon

Current mood: Odd
Currently listening to: Silver rain fell - Evanescence

Cycling to Yelagiri (26-29 Oct 2008)

2008-10-31T00:12:00.006+05:30

Diwali time every year, i just wish to get out of the city, runnin away from crackers and smoke filled gray nights..... Was looking at wikimapia hunting for an attractive enuf long ride destination. Yelagiri (In TN, near Tirupattur/Jolarpettai) fit the bill perfectly. Would be a one way dist of 175km from home, Since I had to do the painful climb up the hill included within the 175 km, i decided to split it into two days.

Day1 : Sanjaynagar to Attibele (Bangalore-TN border) | 51 km
Vinay, a friend of mine, stays at Attibele. So started off from home at 5 in the evening, to reach his house by night. Pretty uneventful, except for my odometer ticking over a 1234.5 km. Rested well after some philosophy shit with Vinay overnight.

Day2 : Attibele to Yelagiri | 123 km
Started from Attibele at 6:30 am. The route was simple: Attibele - Krishnagiri. Take left at a flyover (in direction of Vellore, Chennai etc). then go tillJolarpettai and ask around

The road was just friggin awesome. Raced past as much as i could. I even did my personal record for speed - 53 kmph, on a stretch near Shoolagiri. I could see the surprise on the other vehicle riders that were going by side at that moment.

Unlike the previous week, there was zero cloud cover! The blazing heat extracted a lot from me. And i took a nice nap at some coconut plantation on the way. Reached the base of the hill by 2 pm. After that was a long push up the hill for 13 odd km. I just couldnt ride it up, as i would lose balance in the Nanny gear. But faster was just possible for short stretches. Took more naps until i reached the top. Finally reached the top at 5:30 ish. Slopped in bed watchin some TV. Had some VERY oily noodles for dinner. No sense of guilt!. (But a sense of insecurity of it affecting the ride back)

Day 3 : Roaming around Yelagiri + Ylg to Attibele | 13 + 125 = 138 km
Frankly, Yelagiri din't live up to my expectations. It was nice n all, but over tourist-ised to feel the nature around. Also, probably i dint explore too much. Did 13 km of roaming around (which isnt much on the big long hill). Then left the place around 9:30 am after a short nap and a good breakfast. Doing the hairpins was awesome on the way down. After getting down, Just kept on moving, taking electrolyte breaks every 10 km, refilling water at every village. Stopped at some desolate Dhabas for food.Was fun and relaxing with not much of civilisation around.

Had i left at 6 am itself, i could have probly finished the ride back home that day itself. (I dont like riding in the night, especially near Diwali). Pit-stopped at Vinay's house again, where we discussed Life, the Universe and Everything over some beer.

Day 4 : Attibele - Sanjaynagar | 50 km
On the way back home, someone on a motorbike stopped me and asked from where i was coming. After i told him abt my ride, he told me of his, which he had done in his younger days. Back in the 80's he (Prem Kumar) and his friend(Krishnappa) had done a south India tour on their cycles (gearless steel framed BSA ones). They did ~3000 km in around a month. He also treated me to some badam milk and biscuits. Then i advertised a bit abt Bangalore-Bikers and Tour oF Nilgiris. Afer the bye-bye's headed home without much delaying in between.

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Overall ride stats
Distance: 362 km
Average speed: 19.1 kmph
Top speed: 53 kmph

Current mood: Wondering what to do
Currently listening to: Throes of Rejection - Nirvana

KTM '08

2008-10-21T23:58:00.003+05:30

As promised, this was my worst performance in a half marathon ever. I clocked 2:30 hrs to do the 21 km. Conditions were more gruelling than usual with high temp and humidity...... (ah! more excuses!).

The route was scenic as expected. But there was gravel (for road construction) on quite a lot of sections of the road, making it very inconvenient to run on. (This was not there last year). But RFL support was good as ever. The only irritant being the late start due to which we had to see a lot more of the sun. The previous days' rains had sloshed up some sections of the road, and more annoyingly, increased the humidity levels. All in all, a very demanding run.

Anyway, this is the best marathon u can find this side of life. So no complainin.

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Current mood : Scared to bits abt the upcoming die-athlon at the Ultra
Currently listening to : I am a rock - Simon & Garfunkel

KTM '08 comin up

2008-10-17T14:19:00.003+05:30

The 2008 edition of the Kaveri Trail Marathon will be on the coming sunday. And I'm all jittery about it, like a kid afraid of upcoming exams, when u've not prepared well enuf..... Sickness, then being busy, and then my aunt gettin a brain tumour (hospital up n downs on that end) and then her passin away.... Its been pretty chaotic.... with my longest run being just 12 km :( But i've done a few long distance cycle rides though (four rides of 100+ kms in the past 4 months). But my legs somehow are still tired from last sunday's ride. Probably becoz of incorrect diet after the ride.

Well, this post is sorta like giving excuses why it'll not be a great show from my side, And why I'm runnin only the half marathon this time. Well, it's better to tell that now rather than tellin it after the poor performance! (I guess it acts as shock absorbers to do so :)

There's a Pasta party tonight for carbo-loading at Herbs n Spices, Indiranagar. There, i'll get to meet lots of other runners and get jealous of their training schedules.

Nelamangala-magadi cycling

2008-10-13T07:42:00.006+05:30

My odometer with a reading of ~935 km (total distance bike has travelled), was begging to cross the 1000 mark. So I thought i'd do a 60-70 km ride of Nelamangala-TG Halli dam- and back. But, i took a turn at Nelamangala a little too late, and had to go through a longer route - through magadi and then TG Halli and back. Anyway, the ride was not that gr8, as half the route had pathetic roads. And for a quarter of the distance was bullied by the big bosses of the roads (buses and trucks). But the stretch from Nelamamngala to Madhavpura was good almost throughout, and was mildly scenic as well. The stretch from Madhavpura to Magadi (13 km) was quite pleasant inspite of the deteriorating roads. The stretch from Magadi to Bangalore was under construction/repair in many places, and was pretty irritating.

Overall, not the best of rides. But, still enjoyed it (probably in the pretext of crossing the 1000 mark)

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Stats
Route : NCBS (near GKVK) - Nelamangala - Madhavpura - Magadi - NCBS
Distance : 109 km
Time on bike : 5:51 hrs
Top speed : 45 kmph
Average speed : 18.3 kmph

Current mood : Unexcited
Currently listening to : Paper Tiger - Beck

Bevinatta

2008-09-13T13:44:00.002+05:30

After tonnes of plans along with Vinay and Arun, of going to different places on the previous evening, we did not go anywhere but home (me in Vinay's house though).... Me and Vinay slept on the terrace discussing philospohy in the biting cold...... Next day, the travelling urge still lurking, we decided to check out this place Vinay had heard of.....

Destination: Bevinatta
Explorers: Me, Vinay
Route: Attibele-Hosur-Dankanikotta-Anusanai-Bevinatta

After boarding different cheap-fared-buses, we got down at Anusanai, and headed out to walk a beautiful stretch of road from Anusanai to Bevinatta...... The bright green paddy fields flanking on each side of the road..... A range of tiny hills at the distance in blue..... The silent road sparing only the sounds of rustling leaves, bird calls and the roar of the wind...... We saw a gushing stream and dipped in..... enjoyed the massage of the forceful waters.....

We walked the road again, drippin wet with the river water......... the sun and the wind slowly drying it up, letting us stay at a pleasant temperature throughout.....

And finally, we reached Bevinatta, after we walking either 4,6,7 or 9 km (well, that's what was the distance according to different locals we asked)...... Well, Bevinatta is no tourist spot. Its just an arbit village. so there was nothing to see there but a nice village..... A village with a view though.... the roads further ahead led to a reserved forest..... A range of hillocks at a distance...... A hillock overseeing the village, with a temple on top...... Our eyes got everything expected of the place we had in our minds

Vinay's dad's friend who lives there, told us that the forest has wild animals too, and that it is accessible..... thus deciding on coming here some other day, we boarded the bus back to traffic-jam-city.

Next time, we could probably go there by cycle and stay overnight on the hillock or in the forest........

Current mood: trying to evade the thought of work that has piled up.
Currently listening to: Bring me to Life - Evanescence

p.s: You might be wondering why there is no picture, but the thousand words instead. Well, for vagabonds like us, there is no knowledge of when we would decide to head off. So there was no advance notice for the camera to join me.

Training for the Bangalore Ultra 2008

2008-09-10T21:45:00.006+05:30

The Bangalore Ultra is just two months away. And i started training for it only today. Worse than last time. But better late than never.

I have worked out a schedule as a Google spreadsheet. I'll keep updating on my progress as well.

Caution: My schedule is a very quick ramp up, and not advisable for anyone, especially not newbies. Its just a courageous mad rush!

Here's the link:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pCKb253uuCKlbd8dRoZWdZg

The "should" in there is as directed by http://www.scrunners.org/ultrasch.php

I'm open to others suggestions on the schedule. And also if anyone wants to sync up.

Link to the Ultra Homepage: www.bangaloreultra.com
Link to the organizers, RunnersForLife: www.runnersforlife.com

Current mood: Excited
Currently listening to: Paper Tiger - Beck

Vagabond Researcher

2008-09-10T13:27:00.002+05:30

Its my other new blog.

http://vagabondresearcher.blogspot.com

I occasionally get into a fit of figuring out stuff about things that happen around me. Most of them stay as unanswered questions. And i've decided to write them as blog posts. Someday, i'll hopefully look back at them and solve them. Not necessarily for the use of humankind or anythin, rather for the kicks of solving things.

Current mood: Refreshed
Currently listening to: Crazy - Gnarles Barkley

One liners

2008-09-03T01:37:00.001+05:30

..... are a good way to show that u r still alive!

Celebrating 10,000 hits!

2008-08-26T23:59:00.002+05:30

Its been four years. And my blog has survived through multiple lean periods of both writing and reading.

I spent some of my densely packed time to read all of my previous posts. And i could see the evolution in these stages:
1. geek blogging pointelss stuff
2. semi-geek(phy) [meaning, that i got more social] + traveller + lovestruck
3. semi-geek(bio) + trekker + heartbroken > lovestruck > heartbroken
4. semi-geek + amateur athelete

Amidst all this was strewn poetry authored with passion. I felt the passion pinch me as i re-read them!

And i hope that i keep blogging. Years later it'll serve as a crystal ball to the past.

Cycling from Bangalore to Mysore (Aug 2 2008)

2008-08-15T13:58:00.008+05:30

Was a friend's wedding in Mysore..... Took this as an excuse to take a long weekend ride, plus have a pseudo-support-car with the rest of the friends coming there by car. (Pseudo as they wouldn't be going along with me, but would pick me up if anything goes wrong)

Started off on a fine Saturday morning at 6:15 am, with a slight threat of rain..... Went at a decent pace of 20 kmph for the first 30 km, until i hit the Bangalore-Mysore Highway close to Kengeri...... Clean pleasant ride till I reached my first pitstop - Kamat Lokaruchi at 64.5 km (speed 19 point chillar kmph)...... Had the breakfast buffet..... mmmm the Vadas were Yummy! Had loads of 'em..... Hit the road again half an hour to 45 mins later.....

.... when the odometer was in the vicinities of 90km, I felt a sudden decrease in my speed. Earlier i was conveniently doing ups at around 14-18 kmph and downs at 28-37 kmph. But at around the 90 km mark, my ups were reduced to 8-12 kmph and downs to 16-20 kmph. And the transition was quite abrupt.... I had now experienced what in proffesional cycling terminology is called "Bonking".... I had an inkling that i had bonked, and was wondering how i could have bonked inspite of eating so well...

A few moments and a few hundred metres later, I got the answer..... I puked...... there goes all the nutrition along with the Vadas..... Soon, I feel drowsy.... (Do not sleep n drive).... saw a desolate bus-stop.... Locked cycle and zzzzzzzzzzzzzz...... Woke up, saw cycle still there, zzzzzzzz..... One hour's siesta made me fresh. Had some juice and set off again...... Had more pit stops just to be cautious.... An uneventful pleasant ride until I reached Mysore at 5:30 ish, with a ride time of close to 8.5-9.5 hrs (Thanks to a little kid at a shop who got a bit curious with the red button on the cyclometer, i have lost the exact distance and ride time).... And after getting there, took me 7 o clock to find the destination.

And i enter the reception hall in cycling shorts and a stinky tee, my change of clothes still crawling its way to Mysore along with my friends..... Got the looks from all around, until i quickly made a dash and locked myself up in the choultry room, until my clothes arrived!

Well, had an interview session with kids, later on. Many asked what cause was i cycling for..... Hmm.... I cycle to run away from the world, and myself too.... Too far fetched to explain to even adults, let alone these sweet kids..... "I cycled just like that. I just needed an excuse"......

Current mood : Sleepy
Currently listening to : Zombie - Cranberries

p.s: I had originally planned to ride back to bangalore. But, had to get back soon as i had to make my presentation for rehearsals of the sympotein

Thoughts running in my head

2008-08-14T01:44:00.004+05:30

- Experiments to distinguish Central Pattern Generators(CPGs) vs Chain-of-Reflexes networks for larvae and adult drosophila
- Which is the best sport that India should train in to increase its Olympic gold tally the maximum in the next Olympics?
- A biomechanical theory on the adoption of different gaits in going up and coming down a vertical in Drosophila
- If both the trot and gallop of horses are to be explained by the pogo-stick model, how does just the phase difference between the legs, create different natural frequencies?
- Oh! that girl, mmmm,...... who was she, dammit.... she was so..... nice
- When will i get a girl?!
- I think its better off being single... no pressures
- CPGs! CPGs! What was it about CPGs?
- oh Shit! Have forgotten about writing the Sympotein review
- Opamps!...... Have to build neurons! Will have to design the dendrites and synapses
- I need a girl, who would go cycling with me long distances, then we'll snuggle up all tired (not sweaty though) in some picturesque spot somewhere far far away......
- I need to cycle somewhere around 500 km away
- I need to find keys to my locker which have my cycle keys locked inside
- I haven't updated my comic for ages now
- I need a girl!
- I need new results to give Boss before the end of the month
- How do I train for winning a marathon?
- How long does it take to train to win an olympic medal?
- Chuck it all, I need a girl
- First publish paper, then worry abt everything else
- But still..... need a girl

Current mood : Lost in thought
Currently listening to : Taare Zameen Par - Shankar Mahadevan et al

Sympotein 8/8/8

2008-08-11T20:46:00.005+05:30

Read lots of papers... Collect relevant info.... Mock presentation....... Corrections...... Bloody videos not working, thanks to the zillion codecs an avi can be of.... Screwed up rehearsals..... More suggestions.... Certain ppl not happy..... bigger issues with others' presentations..... Busy getting others' stuff ready..... Making animations...... Getting everyone's videos to work..... D-DAY ARRIVES!....... D-HOUR ARRIVES!..... Nervous, but fluent enuf delivery..... Answer questions to the audience well..... Satisfied.... done with it!......

Unintended jokes that got laughter rippling through the audience:
".... if you'd compare a T.Rex to a chick......"
".... at an orgasmic level..." instead of saying "at an organism level..."

Overall, the talk was well recieved...... and i could get the ideas across

Current mood: Relieved
Currently listening to: In my head - Don Davis

100 to just 100

2008-07-22T11:19:00.004+05:30

Distances....... when a kid, going to the UAS campus that's around a km away from home, was a long distance outdoors adventure. Then school also moved to 'far away' (read 1.5 km)...... At high school, far away got redefined to 7 km, where my school was. And i was travelling a 'long' distance to school, by bus. And once, I secretly, without anyone's knowledge, cycled the distance to school and back. Something to brag about amongst friends...... Around early college times, this distance turned short, i used to walk around the same distance regularly..... Sometime later, Nandi hills was far away, Hessarghatta was far away...... first yr after college, i made a 'huge leap' into cycling a total of ~100 km to Nandi and back...... 'Wow! 100 kms'...... Now, its turned to a routine race distance - 'just 100 kms'........ And i can even run ~80 km (Bangalore Ultra '07).

waiting for a 'long' ride to happen soon......

Current mood : sleepy
Currently listening to : Orion - Metallica

One month on my Merida Crossway

2008-07-20T20:18:00.004+05:30

Its been a month on my new bike. And it's been fabulous all the way. I've probably earned one tenth the price of the bike in terms of cash paid to autos! Its been my default mode of transport irrespective of where in the city i go (except during rains).

The stats:
Total distance: 701 km
Top speed: 43 kmph (on a flat stretch with a long very mild downwards incline between Devanhalli and Nandi hills)
Longest ride: The BBC Nandi race - 100km - 5:31 hrs

Current mood: Excited thinking of a possible Bangalore-Mysore ride in August
Currently listening to: Deng Wo Hui Lai - Aaron Kwok (Experimenting with listening to Chinese n Japanese pop for a while, thanks to a gift by a Singaporean labmate)

Revisiting Hessarghatta

2008-06-24T23:16:00.006+05:30

Few minutes left for the first sunday after getting my Merida...... Thought of revisiting the first ever respectable-distance ride i did, more than 2 yrs ago...... Convinced Pushky to join me on the ride.....

Started off at 5:45 am...... Pushky's "good condition" Hero DTB had a wheel-bend, faulty brakes, a slowly leaking tyre, creaking pedals et al...... But still, he was game for it. (Mind you, he did long distance rides once in a while, with his defintion of long ride until this being ~6km).... We had a pleasant uneventful ride till we reached the completely dried out Hessarghatta lake..... then on to Nrityagram and Taj Kuteeram..... Now the quest was for that "amazing spot" that our gang discovered on the earlier ride..... The open meadow where one could see the horizon..... The most scenic stretch of the Bangalore Ultra..... Searched around for it, recollecting vague memories......

......Went all around on the rich red mud roads in search of the place...... And in the process, lost Pushky...... I search frantically, racing through every fork of the bumpy trail roads that he could have possibly taken..... I experienced moments of flight, when the bumps sent me soaring!..... I searched, racing ups n downs alike at ~30kmph...... Knowing the speed limitations of his "good condition" bike, i did not have to do more than ~4km of searching, until finally we found each other at the "amazing spot"...... A few snacks, coffees and teas at a nearby petty-shop later, we headed to Bangalore..... in the wrong direction!.... Retraced our paths..... were heading back the way we originally came from.....

.... kkkkhhhhhh..... crash!!!.... Yes, i fell down.... Owing to cellphone in left hand and right hand clutching font brake harder than necessary.... Bruises at several places.... A brown-ed KTM T-shirt.... And an injured thigh muscle.... Rushed (read hi-speed-limp) to the Taj nearby for cleaning up the bruises!.... Could still pedal flat and low-grade ups, thanks to endorphins i guess..... Had amazing sweet jackfruit (from an over-generous vendor who kept on giving more n more without asking for more cash).... Then finally reached NCBS at last.

Total distance covered: 64 km (including 15-20k of roaming around Hessarghatta)
Total time: 6 hrs including lot of timepass!

important consequence: Added one zero to the right, in Pushky's definition of a long ride, which he managed without incident on his "good condition" bike, albeit at a slow pace.

Current mood: Waiting to do another long ride
Currently listening to: Sounds of UT2004 music recverberating through the lab!

yeeha! My new bike: Merida Crosssway

2008-06-21T00:08:00.004+05:30

I was enquiring abt TREK and Merida bikes here in Bangallore. BOTS had run out of 21" framed TREKs, plus the TREK prices had risen >10%. I went to Venkat's Merida store. I had more or less decided to go for a hybrid bike instead of an MTB, but was keeping fingers crossed hoping he had my size. (But i had also the dream of gettin disc brakes, which sadly would cost me bombs more, plus of course, the size issue)

He had a Merida-Crossway..... Perfect......And i bought it!

Experience so far (18km Chamrajpet-Sanjaynagar-GKVK):
Pros:
- Awesome, effortless ride
- Powerful V-brakes. Doesn't move an inch beyond the spot u braked at. Very smooth too. Was just that powerful even in rain.
- lightweight. Can lift it with one finger (btw, that's not an exaggeration. I actually did that)
- Weird bell - Looks funky

Cons:
- Looks awesome. Chicks looking more at bike than at me.
- Needs extra protection, cos it looks too cool and is so easy to lift and run away.
- A bit of fidgeting at a particular gear position, but i guess i'll just have to tune it a bit and it'll be fine.
- Weird bell - sounds different, so ppl don't realize that there's a cycle behind.

Well, the better aspects of it can probably be apparent on a long ride, or rather after many long rides!

Edit:
Here's what ppl have asked, which i missed on my post earlier

Price: Rs. 15,000. And it came with a free TREK cycle-computer, a tail lamp, headlamp and sidestand. (Offer valid with venkat only till jun 30th). I din't like the headlamp( and bought a good quality TREK headlamp later from BOTS).

Pic:

Preparing for my first ever talk to a research audience

2008-06-19T11:04:00.002+05:30

I have given a talk before to bio students at the planetarium abt the GAl4-UAS system. But never given any sort of talk to a research audience. People expect me to be a good speaker, but i do not know if i'll live upto it.

The occasion: The NCBS sympotein on animal locomotion. The sympotein is a great idea that the NCBSites have caught on to, where students present about a generic topic after reading up all relevant papers and reviews on that topic. It takes time n effort to read up everything, including the dull n boring papers. But, its a really good learning experience. I definitely feel wiser after reading just half the papers.

This sympotein, as of now is scheduled to be somewhere in the first week of August. An awful lot of time left..... Am excited already.

Current mood: Itching to read another symp paper, but still cribbing abt filling lab notebook
Currently listening to: clicketly-clickety-click-click all around

Waiting for a new bike

2008-06-19T10:49:00.002+05:30

It's been more than a month now since my Hercules Ultima DX is gone.... Waiting to lay hands on a TREK or a Merida.... Itching to go on a long ride.... But as in anything i want to buy, people don't have my size!!! I need a 21" frame, and that sadly has to come from halfway around the world.... And it costs a bomb too! Waited accumulating cash, and now the TREK prices have gone up! Have to try Merida before they follow the global trend of hiking up bike prices.

Happy that atleast we have good shops in bangalore for these, owned by passionate bikers, who are a class apart.

Current mood: Cribbing abt having to fill up lab notebook
currently listening to: Mungaru maleye - Sonu Nigam

a year that ran by......

2008-01-03T20:06:00.000+05:30

..... not that 2007 was very interesting that the moments seemed to fly, but rather, i dont remember doing anything much....... The first few months of the year were happy....... I got new hope, which was more important than the hormonal rushes that accompanied....... Even in the work front, everything was steady.....

Things were going strong until midyear...... June...... Hope shattered...... hormones flushed....... No major purpose in life...... Blogged a lot in agony..... Work progress was halted....... Was continuously recovering from the stupid state for months...... I didnt find any point in life..... For a while, work went zooming ahead, because i used to put in days and nights into it trying to hide my mind from thoughts......

In september, i started preparing for the Bangalore Ultramarathon....... The training was behind schedule, but i wanted a stiff goal...... Something i can struggle and reach, but not a guaranteed success...... Much of the training, inspiration and knowledge on running are thanks to Runners for Life (RFL), which is an amazing group of enthusiastic runners

At work, i was now disinterested, my talents werent being used...... New co-boss was irritating and picking at me..... I had almost decided to chuck it....... Then suddenly, i get a new partner to work with.... He's a cool guy who is 1) a python programmer like me 2) can easily understand and argue back on anything that i say 3) has the 'do it now' attitude....... Work scene changed....... Now im doing things im better at and have someone to share with...... Have minimised interaction w new co-boss......... Completely happy giving all the time to work now....

And yeah! I ran 78 km at the Bangalore Ultra! Probably, the only thing i can be proud of in the whole of 2007

Hope that the coming year turns out better.

Current mood: lost in thought
Currently listening to: Dance alone - Sting

Bangalore Ultra '07 (Dec 16th 2007)

2007-12-19T01:18:00.001+05:30

"Some of the world's greatest feats were accomplished by people not smart enough to know they were impossible" - Doug Larson

'Are u sure? 78 kms?".......... "Oh my god! U are some guy eh!"......... "Do u still think u can do it?"....... "Remember Sudhir, u are well short of training for this"........ "Its ok..... Its doable. But, be sensible".......... "Hey! No way! Its impossible".......... "Why are u doing this to urself?"........ "Wow man...... All the best"........ "wtf maga! U serious?"......... "Good good! Keep urself hydrated and full of electrolyte".......... "There's a limit to which u should stretch ur limits"........ "I never thought this fellow will grow up to run crazy distances".......... "Sudhir, i know its ur dream and all, but if u ask me, i think u should do 52"........... "Good! I have company now"......... "Are u still sure u r doing 78 and not 52?"........ "He is MAD"........ "Might be the distance, but doing it in time.....?"

Everytime someone said 'are u still sure?', i was getting more surer than before...... I had to do this! I knew i was mentally prepared for it....... Physically, although fit, short of training........

"I do not suffer from insanity..... I enjoy it"

The course: A to and fro distance of 13 km making a lap, amidst a picturesque trail in Hessarghatta (A place on bangalore outskirts). Ppl ran different multiples of 13 km, starting from 26. But most runners fell into three categories: 26k/52k/78k. I was doing 78. It was to be completed in 12 hrs

6 am: We started bang on time........ I started out too fast..... "The brighter the flame, the shorter it lasts"....... tried my best at slowing down...... Finished first lap much earlier than i decided to (1h 40 min)......

If the cloudy weather would stay, i could probably hope to keep close to this pace throughout......But the pictures wont turn out as great if its cloudy (very selfish of me, i know) ........ Second lap - Bang on target (1h 50m) ..........

Had been running juggling between different gangs of runners...... Then alone for a while, listening to music, clicking pictures ...... The clouds were clearing, the sun shone gently....... From halfway on the third lap, ran along with Manoj and later Lingu too........ Plugged out the music and chattered with manoj all the way (and we were together till almost the end)..... The sun was up now and cloud cover was almost completely lost...... so target lap times got revised....... Third lap done bang on time (2 hrs)......

Started 4th lap in good shape, but the uneasines was creeping up the legs, even though ever so slightly..... The temperatures rising now, and the sun at its peak, stealing away the gallons of gatorade that went in...... Mild cramps showed up, but managed it with ease, thanks to the medical assistance and also my friendship with cramps since childhood....... Finished 4th lap surprisingly on time(2h) (for which i got called 'the god who gave me half an hour' for showing Manoj that his math was screwed).......

Started 5th lap worrying how hard this one's going to be....... fatigue now evident on our legs...... mild cramps popping up a little more frequently....... The temperatures were still high...... Struggled a bit....... we declared all flat roads to be uphill as well, and walked them...... Finished 5th lap much behind schedule (2h 20 m).........

Sixth lap..... 2h 10 min left for race deadline....... The temperatures were getting to more tolerable levels..... But, we were close to thinking we should stop at 65..... but we dint express our thoughts to each other...... we went a considerable distance into it.... then there was no turning back...... "The finish will be tight........Have to see if we can actually make it atleast less than half an hour after deadline"......... "No way! I want to do it in time!"...... Manoj was not upto pushing too much on hmself... after all, he had to ride us home on his bike......... And also our philosophies abt finishes differed.... To him, "U have to finish ur run in good shape. U should be able to party the next night"...... Well, i had to go to a party the same night in fact, but yet to me. "If u r not totally useless just beyond the finish line, u havent pushed urself hard enough"...... I know most regular runners would rather agree with manoj than me.... But yes, i am weird and stubborn at many things, including the fact that i was even running this distance........

I decided my legs were fresh as new...... My legs dint agree however...... But went some distance....... Then at the aid-station, there was a goddess, named Leisl (hope i've spelt it right), who coaxed my legs to listen to me, by that amazing massage she did for the calves......... The legs were happy at last.... reached the halfway point along with manoj with 1 hr left for deadline...... Still at the edge of doability, but still its hoping too much....... "I am going to try doing it at least"......

Doc Rajat, the insanest of us all, just caught up with us as we reached the aid station at halfway point....... Well, he was two laps ahead of us :) He was attempting 104 km....... I decided that I had to part with Manoj and speed ahead if i had to live up to my dreams...... And my legs were upto it...... Reached the divine-Leisl aid-station again for the last time for the day....... She did her magic again....... From there on pushed hard and strong, the legs didnt yell back at me, was running the ups as well now..... I still spared time to click the sunset....... I reach the '2 km left' mark with ~10 mins left........ "Boy! This is gonna be tough. I have managed this speed only during initial parts of short runs. But anyway, still try!".......1km mark with 4 min left......... Ran hard and fast, but still kept it in control so that i dont lose the fizz soon....... I look at my watch again...... 2 min left!!!!! Run! Run! Run!!!!........ I ran with even more gusto....... I could see the crowd at the finish line now...... The fizz was dying out fast...... Loud applause and cheers from everyone......... Fully pumped up, gave a really hard sprint....... so hard, i could feel that my legs were independent beings, running on their own in full pace......... crossed the finish line..... dropped flat on the grass, staring blurry-eyed at the moon seen through the red tinged clouds...... I finished in 11h 59 min.

I lived up to my dreams......... Was happy........ The sky lit up w glorious patterns...... I saw manoj comin in a few mins later......... I was proud that i am part of the cream who can run 78 km
....... I was still soaking it in for a looooong time.......

Partied that night as planned...... But with a lot of pampering from my lab friends (including the birthday boy!)...... woke up the next day with my upper half fully hyperactive, and my lower half still almost dead........ But satisfied......

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Acknowledgements: (In random order)
- All those who both encouraged me and discouraged me to do this....... Couldnt have done it without either
- RFL - 1) for it being such an amazing club..... and 2) for flawless organisation of the best footrace on earth!
- The aid station volunteers and the health crew from manipal, who stayed there for the whole day, counting mad people - without whom i couldnt have dared to push my limits
- Leisl - for doing the magic u did to my legs on the last lap
- Manoj - for pacing me and giving me company for a loooooooong time. Also for the bike ride on his AMAZING bike
- My running mommy, Sabine - for being my mommy in every nice respect apart from the piles of tips n facts
- folks at home - for stayin sane through my insanity.
- Madhu - The guru of us all, whose vision this race was. And also for preventing me from doing some crazy stuff preparing for the ultra
- My labmates - who pampered me after i got to the party
- To KAA - For organising a marathon on the same day, and to screw it up.... making me even more proud of belonging to the smarter crowd.
- To the almighty Flying Sphagetti Monster, for ensuring that the visiting Prof to the lab didnt turn up on Monday!

BangaloreUltra rocks!!

Current mood: excited abt multiple things
Currently listening to: Higher - Creed

My first ever full marathon

2007-11-19T18:58:00.000+05:30

..... And what an amazing place to do it...... The river by the side almost throughout the run..... It was an amazing run...... Although it would have been better if i wouldnt have been the last to finish.... But hey, i finished!!! ......

Event: Kaveri Trail Marathon, November 2007

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A huge thanks to RFL for the whole thing.... And special thanks to the support team for stayin up for the whole long period i was running.

Current mood: Recovering from tiredness
Currently listening to: Speed of sound - Coldplay

Biking to Manchinbele and Savandurga (10th Nov 2007)

2007-11-19T16:14:00.000+05:30

For ppl who know me, i know u must half be thinking that bike here means bicycle, but instead it is a motorbike this time (which i dint drive either...The only thing i actually know to drive is the former version of the bike) .... And yea, din't climb Savandurga either...... Hmmmm, u must be thinking that there is a catch somewhere..... Well, u'll soon discover......

The gang: Me, Srik, Goo, Vinay, Arun

Long time since all of us met.... A road trip to celebrate this rare occasion!...... Also, Srik was showing us at savandurga, the route we will be taking on our hard trek weeks later. (Trust me, if srik says its hard and sends a mail saying 'be physically and mentally fit for it', it means much more than that)..... Thinking abt this trek would send shivers up my spine..... But when i looked at the peak this time, there were two things runnin in my mind..... 1. Wow! It still looks as inviting as the first time.... 2. Wait till i tame u!.....

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And going at breathtaking speeds amidst greenery (which i have no pics of, cos i was so involved enjoyin it). Its definitely different from the thrills of either speeding or enjoying the greenery at a slow pace. (Btw, this was in between manchinbele and savandurga, for those who want to enjoy it too.)

Current mood: tired
Currently listening to: Fragile - Sting

Running in the rain again

2007-10-23T19:55:00.000+05:30

........ only, this time some stuff was different

1. It was dark
2. It wasnt pouring as it was last time.... only a steady heavy drizzle
3. I had company (Kiru running and Ann cycling along. Or else i probably wouldnt have ventured to run in the dark)

Did it in pretty decent time for running in water (~4 km in 27 mins). And also happy that my injuries seem to have healed.

Its so much fun when running in the rain, especially with company (and splashing water at the others, as u run). Kiru was gasping for breath in laughter.

Again, we were the subject of astonishment and envy to ppl in the cozy comforts of cars.

Thank u kiru and ann. (And sorry for all the water i splashed into ur mouth!)

Current mood: Blank
Currently listening to: Tere Bin - Atif

Old traditions in new avataars

2007-10-20T18:38:00.000+05:30

I remember those days when i was a kid, when neighbors used to share sweets on occasions..... Usually some home made delicacies, that they send in some plates (wrapped in newspapers sometimes) or tiffin boxes........ Then there is this custom that u shouldnt return the vessel empty. So you fill it with some goodies from your side, while u return it......

Well, some of the aunties of the house still follow these, but wat im talking about is the gen-Y of today who follow this tradition in a different way. Somebody asks u some stuff on ur comp (music, pictures, software etc.). U give it to him in ur USB pendrive...... He returns u the pendrive with some goodies he has (more music, movies etc.).....

Well, i think both the old and new traditions are applicable only to places like india :)

And some ppl forget to return the pen drives until reminded (just like some neighbors accidentally forget all abt ur vessel, and is mixed up with their own vessels)

Current mood: blank
Currently listening to: slow train coming - Bob Dylan

RFL ONV run

2007-10-08T17:58:00.000+05:30

I ran my first official RFL run. The location was Hessarghatta this time, which will be the racetrack for the Bangalore ultramarathon as well. The route was very picturesque. I have missed out on taking pictures in one of the best portions of the race track - the woods - where i was so focussed on running (or limping on my sore-kneed second lap) that i forgot that i am a shutterbug.

ONV (Our Native Village) was the host for the RFL run, and will be for the ultra as well. Special mention has to be made of the 'completely natural' aspect of everything at ONV.

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Current mood: Worried that my sore knee is still sore
Currently listening to: Sonne-Rammstein

Coffee with Aki

2007-10-08T07:00:00.000+05:30

........ mmmmmMMMMM..... the aroma..... ...... "Perfect! as always!"...... ...... "Some more coffee powder aki"........,............. "Perfect! As always!"

Some versions of coffee have a special something in them..... Somethin the Cafe Coffee Days and Baristas cant offer..... Its an essence that even coffee made by ur mom or lover lacks. (which is definitely great in their own league, but i feel this one is different). Its not the love that goes into aki's coffee, its the total selfless care that she offers everyone, that is so well-expressed in the coffee.....

Thanks for the AMAZING coffee, aki

Current mood: Happy (its not too often these days that im happy)
Currently listening to: Better than you- Metallica

Running in the rain......

2007-09-19T18:55:00.000+05:30

The first ever bangalore ultramarathon(80 km run) is on Dec 16th.... Started practisin a few days back...... Started slowly increasing the distance im running day by day....... But today was different....... It was drizzlin strongly when i started....... Soon my spectacles got completely crowded by the enormous number of raindrops that were pushing each other to stay on it....... Realized i was better off without the glasses..... Soon, the mighty drizzle turned into a downpour, as has been the case in bangalore for quite a few days...... I continue running further, enjoying the rain hittin my face...... sipping the few drops hiitin my mouth...... I wanted to face the elements raw...... Here i was, running at my normal pace, as if there were no rain at all.......

I felt proud...... I feel good abt not going to dance classes (salsa, waltz, tango etc. which i had enrolled to earlier) and doing running instead...... I can get lost in running..... and especially with perks like raindrops darting at ur face...... Salsa cant give me all this! Especially since i am and will be single, at least for a long while...... I stop regretting my decision of quitting learning dance..... It was fun dancing, but not involving enough...... Why the hell am i thinking so much abt it? Enjoy the rain, dumbo!......

I recollect an older blog post of mine, as im writing this...... The crux of it is still relevant now..... But i prefer a re-rendition accurate to my current situation:

A new horizon appeared, much after i was lost thinking abt the old....
It came so close, that i kissed it.....
I was swept by it.......
I found my reason to run......
I found a direction to run......
But it fell quicker than it rose.......
One quick hit...... and im limping again........
I came close to stopping......

But, i pick up speed and run again......
I run...... Not because i love to......
I run...... because i chose to......
To stop...... im no longer scared to, but i chose not to.....

I run..... reasons unknown....
I run..... reasons i dont wanna know......
I run..... in all directions......
I run..... to reach nowhere.......

The mind no longer seeks the horizon......
Its fast asleep..... Thinking of nothing..... Thinking of no one.....

I run..... seeking no end

I finish my first 2 kms in 12 mins, my average timing on other normal days........... Am happy n proud..... I head back on the same route to NCBS...... The rain darts at me with even more fervour...... the road now has turned into a river....... I enjoy splashing and running through it....... Cars slow down looking at me......... some are curious........... some jealous........ I am enjoying it..... But running in the water is so much slower...... I dont care abt timings now..... Just enjoy dammit!...... second 2 km takes 15 mins...... pretty ok considering running against the current of water!

I run....... only to run

Current mood: Hungry!
Cuurently listening to: Good bye - James blunt

Muthathi to Sangama : A walk with nature (9th sep 07)

2007-09-11T23:25:00.000+05:30

Wanted to do something for the weekend..... Srik had sent an invitation for a trek..... Couldnt squeeze in both sat and sun for it...... Labmates and some friends pressed to go on a trek..... Since one of em, was an absolute amateur, decided to do a simple walk down the jeep track from Muthathi to Sangama....... a nice 20 km stroll along the bank of river cauvery.......

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All surprisingly met relatively on time at ksrtc bus stand........ Bus to Kanakpura....... Kanakpura to Halagur.... Halagur to Muthathi......... Walk from Muthathi........ No sight of Manasa's beloved elephant(s) against her hopes......... walked a bit...... stopped at a spot where the water was shallow and under the shade of trees....... chilled there for a long time......... scared the shit outta manasa by sending some eels at her under water(er... those were my legs)........ realised we chilled out for too long...... would compensate for lost time by sacrificing some nice spots planned for later....... the girls had curfew, so had to reach home before late......

walked along enjoying the forest scents........... and views of the hills...... the rich blue of the sky and the pure white clouds which seemed so near........ Me happy clickin away at everything...... the rest started playing some song-humming n guessing-which-song game, on the move....... i stayed out of it as i wasnt suited for such stuff....... i started thinkin as usual...... Why am i doing this?...... I know i wanted to do srik's trek badly, and i could've somehow squeezed the 2 days required for it....... Moreover srik needed the trek too...... We had lunch after passing Galibore at around 2:30.....

Why? Why am i doing this walk instead of the grueling one srik has in store...... I decide on what to do, thinking subconsciously rather than consciously (as per srik's suggestions)...... But i needed to analyze why my subconsciousness chose to do this..... I realize probably, i wanted to do something, being in the lead..... I wanted to prove to myself that i can lead at least somethin all by myself..... take responsibilities...... All these - things i've never done....... Ahhh! cute looking cloud with another cloud behind it....... Hmmm, but why do i need to take lead and be responsible?..... I can easily choose not to be a leader...... i am a researcher...... all i need to worry abt is my science and my life.... why lead anything?......... Then back to the good ol question....... why life or science?........ Hey, those clouds rising behind the hills looks awesome........ Meanwhile, the others are playing some word game...... i decide to join in instead of pondering abt vainly chasing these questions

A long stretch of walking and photography later..... we were gettin close to sangama...... a little fight with Manasa........ continue walking angrily........ Reached sangama by 5:30 pm...... half an hr late than wat was supposed to be our worst case scenario...... The ksrtc bus was only at 6:30..... was surprised that there were no private buses either...... had to wait, staring at all the ppl there gettin drunk and making ruckus(es)...... I realize, the girls wont reach home by curfew time......... I realize i suck as a leader...... Decide that i wont ever lead as i did not live up to my own expectations...... I dint take the most scenic route, in order to save time and yet couldnt get everyone back in time......

Long ride back home...... curfew girls reach home around 10 pm. two hrs above max-deadline...... face music...... But, they later say they enjoyed the trip and would like to do somethin again....... am glad

Current mood: all enthu abt doing the 80k ultramarathon
Currently listening to: Something in the way - Nirvana

My nerd score!

2007-09-04T18:24:00.000+05:30

When i was killin time on the net, i came across this site that tells u whether u r a nerd, based on ur (honest) answering of a list of questions. According to them, here's my score, stats and type:

Ok, im not a semi-geek after all. I am a higher order geek than i thought i was! (Or so they make me believe)

Current mood: Thinkin of trekkin somewhere, but most likely cant go
Currently listening to: Vermillion Pt.2 - Slipknot

ncbs (and dbs) entrance exams

2007-09-01T18:14:00.001+05:30

I see from StatCounter that there are few ppl coming to my blog, with 'ncbs' as a search string. I presume its all in the entrance exam preparation fever. I do not want them to go back disappointed. Also, i have also been receiving orkut scraps and emails from my juniors and other ppl asking abt the entrances. So, i thought it would be nice to write a post on it and direct everyone here. I am writing this in a FAQ style (more or less because i can directly flick from some of my mails ;)

Note: All these have been written based on my (and my co-interview-mates') experience of the Integrated PhD selection of the 2006 batch (there could have been changes since then). I faced all the rounds, but did not clear the final round interview. I am currently a Junior Research Fellow at NCBS in Prof. VijayRaghavan's lab, working on developmental neuroscience. Exact project: "Organisation and asssembly of the neuronal network required for walking in Drosophila". Sorry if that sounds neither like greek nor latin

Does ncbs have scope for anything apart from biology? (modified version of the question ppl usually ask me: "I thought u r a physics guy. How come u r in a biology place?") ncbs is a bio institute alright, but biology these days has become interdisciplinary (like almost every other subject). There are interesting fields like Biophysics which need math, computation, physics (of course, the name has it) etc. And stuff like cancer research, cell signalling mechanisms, biological nanotechnology etc require chemistry, biotech and physics knowledge. Neuroscience requires physics and computation. Synthetic systems biology requires biotech, and cell biology knowledge. Population genetics and ecology require biotech, genetics, computation, old style botany-zoology and so on.
So, to put it short...... ncbs is looking for all kinds of ppl from different backgrounds - mathematics, theoretical physics, experimental physicis, biotech, botany, zoology, engineering, computers, chemistry, pharmacy etc. For ppl interested in wildlife conservation, there is a separate entrance for MSc in wildlife. It is an amazing course with field trips to amazing forests throughout India. Almost all students of the last batch won awards in international conferences last year)

What are the different stages in the selection process?
1. Entrance test (usually on the first or second sunday of dec)
2. Write-up submission (jan-feb)
3. First round interview(may-june)
4. Final round interview(usually within 1 or 2 days after first round interview)
Note:Until the final interview, the stages are common for both NCBS and DBS, TIFR. The final interview is held such that the DBS and NCBS interviews dont clash. So u can attempt two institutes in one go.

Entrance test: The test paper has four parts carrying 20 marks: 1)General math/aptitude 2)Physics 3)Chemistry 4)Biology. You do not need to be good at ALL the fields. U can easily clear it even if u r rorrible at one field, average at another and reasonably good in other two. (For eg. I was good in general math and Phy, not so good in bio, and horrible in chemistry (i answered only 1 out of 15 questions in chem).
Each part has 10 one mark questions and 5 two-mark questions. All are objective type questions with negative marking(-1/2 and -1 respectively.) (Obviously, the two mark ones are more tricky and hard)

Write-up round: Once u clear the entrance, u will recieve a letter and form from ncbs, which u'll have to fill and send back in about a month or two. Apart from boring details like ur score in exams and other similar crap, there is a section which asks you why u want to join ncbs. This part bears quite some weightage in ur selection. So write it wisely. Dont try to show off too much. Be modest, keep it simple. Dont use too much complicated jargon.
The most important bit they ask u to do is to write a short essay within 300-400 words abt any unanswered question or research topic of ur choice, in biology (It can be stuff thats not done in ncbs too. Or even a whacky field u invent on the spot). U have to describe the question, give some background, and state ur approach to solve it. It can be quite hard to tuck everything in 400 words. Also cite references to strengthen ur points if applicable. Note that u don need to get down to excruciating details. Keep it simple, neat and elegant. Remember that this bit is what carries most importance in this round.
Along with this you will have to get 2 recommendation letters. (General hint: If u have a choice between a renowned person who will give u a below-average reco and a not-renowned person(say, a good lecturer) who's known u for a long while, and will give u a good reco, go for the second option)

First round interview: In the first round interview, students are divided into different batches, who will face different interview panels (probably at random). Each interview panel has three interviewer, usually from different backgrounds. During the interview, they first ask u what is the area which u r comfortable with. This could be Physics, biotech, engg, math.... anything. Make sure that u r really strong in the field that u mention (even if it is not ur favorite). They'll bombard u with questions, and try screwin u up in ur own field of choice. The interviewers will be helpful whenever u r stuck somewhere. Its not whether u answer it that counts, its how u answer it...... ur approach. For anything and everything, keep using the board... write down formulae, draw diagrams to explain, even if they dont prompt u to..... And they'll ask u stuff related to ur write-up, to test ur knowledge in that field. So, it is best if the idea is entirely urs. They can easily figure it out if u r fakin it or if u've flicked it from someone. The results are usually announced on the same day as the interview

Final round interview: You will face a 15 member panel now. This is pretty unnerving initially. With different ppl firing different questions from all sides. Make sure that u say that u dont know something, when u are not strong in that particular field. (I screwed up royallly on this aspect. I said, i was ok with genetics and tried attempting a genetics question thrown at me. I had no clue wat to do. I screwed up). And make sure u keep pushing the questions towards wat u r reallly strong at.

How hard are the entrance and interviews?
I felt the entrance to be simple, moderatrely easy and pretty interesting. There were some simple looking tricky ones, some simple straight forward ones and some difficult looking moderate ones.
The first round was fairly easy for me. So was the final one. But dont get stuck in a field which u r not comfy with. Make sure u r perfect in the field u state to be ur strength.(I also screwed up some phy questions, which i shud've answered).

What should i read to prepare for the exam?
Nothing. Last moment preparation does almost no good in such exams. Just strengthen ur basics in whatever u already know. Its ur overall smartness that will help u clear all rounds, more than just plain knowledge.

What are the different topics people are doing research on at ncbs?
Check out the ncbs website's page on it: http://www.ncbs.res.in/researchncbs/groups.htm

As ppl ask me more, i'll add more here too. And if you have any queries, please drop it in the comments page. I'll answer them as and when i can

Suggestions from others (Thanks to Umesh Mohan): In chemistry, strengthen ur reaction kinetics basics

Cycling to MakaliDurga (29th Jul 2007)

2007-08-02T09:19:00.000+05:30

Route: Yelahanka - Rajankunte - Dodballapur - Makalidurga (and the same way back)

After the Nandi cycling expedition, the cycle had been its dilapidated self for a coupla months without attention, partly due to a similar condition of my pockets. But now, I definitely wanted to cycle somewhere on the weekend.... Lots of work pending at lab(NCBS)..... Just freed from the practical exams of my correspondence MSc course...... Theory exams on Aug 10th......Also, still unable to get out of the fact that I’ve been ditched when I was feeling so much for her (still don’t know why she still lingers in my mind)...... After a little confusion of where to go, I decide to go to this place called MakaliDurga (also mis-spelt as maklidurga, thanks to the non-phonetic English), around 15 kms from Dodballapur, which in turn is around 35 kms from my lab (near Yelahanka, Bangalore).... A net distance of around 50 ± 5 km which means a 100 ± 10 km to and fro distance..... Reviews from some blogs (like The Nomad) made me firmly decide on going there..... I then remember that Neha and Ashesh had once ventured to go there. They did reach there, but had to hitch a ride on a lorry on the way back, as they were out of energy and time.... Ahhh, thinking of Neha… the fun time we used to have in the lab.... Of the ever smiling and enthusiastic face no matter how tired she was.... She is the only girl I know who has such stamina to go on long distance cycle treks..... Well, she’s half way across the globe now, barely in touch with sporadic mails, thanks to both of our busy lives.... I somehow feel like dedicating this cycle trip and this post to her, as a mark of honor and memory....

My companions on the journey

Friday evening, after getting cycle repaired (costed me 800 damn bucks due to my negligence), I started packing up

- food (chocolates biscuits and 2.4 litres of bottled mango juice)
- 2.6 litres water
- 2 litres water+2 packets electral (to keep my electrolytes balanced)
- a bicycle pump
- spare tubes (in case of a puncture)
- some wall-tubes and blow-nuts (in case some pranksters flick em off, when parked somewhere and left alone for a long while)
- Relispray (for cramps which I always get very quick, partly because of Marfans syndrome I guess)
- and other basic first aid medication.......

Route all checked up on wikimapia.... Sleep early in the lab itself.... Wake up at 4:30...... Leave NCBS at around 5:30..... I take a short cut to the dodballapur highway.... I keep cycling for around half an hour..... the road thins down to a single lane.... Not too many lorries around.... I reach a bifurcation...... hmmmm, I saw no bifurcation on the map..... eerie..... I see a board that says take right to Sambhram Institute of Technology..... Hey! That should be to the left of dodballapur Road!.... I ask someone.... I realize I’ve gone a long way in the wrong direction..... I have to cycle almost all the way back to yelahanka to get to dodballapur road!.... 6:30 and back to square one..... At last I confirm that im on the right track..... A long butt-wrenching ride later I reach Dodballapur railway station.... Had some amazing onion Bajjis and lemon rice there....

The hills from a distance (If u notice carefully, there are two hills- one behind the other

....Started off again to makali....The road was either bad or under repairs most of the distance right from almost close to Bangalore..... Gave my butt a hard time, especially with its torn seat cover.... Little kids of the villages that I went by were amazed to see a geared cycle with shock absorbers.... Quite a few even asked me to change gears and show them..... some wanted me take photos of them..... by and by, reached Makalidurga railway station around 12 -12:15. Then, a serious butt-whacking ride down the road-in-between-potholes later, reached the deviation to go to the hill....

View from Makalidurga railway station

A ~120 degree panorama of the hills as seen from the highway . The hill to the right is Makalidurga(The stitching hasnt comeout that good as the clouds moved and light conditions changed in the component photos)

Parked cycle at the temple at the base of the hill…… tried ascending based on what I heard from locals there….. went a little distance up….. found a shady spot…… slept until 1:45…. Woke up…. Tried different ways of going up…. Realized that I wont be able to go up and be back in time….. I spot a lake from half way up the hill…… decide to go there…. I descend, take my cycle and head to the lake…… the road is terrrrrrrrible...... I go quite some distance and decide that its better to head back home as it was already 3:00.... Uphill on the terrible road was out of the question, especially with trucks trying to bully u out of the road..... Push it along quite a distance...

The lake and hills beyond when on makalidurga(not on top of it though)

The view from the valley betweeen the two hills

The sun has always been hidden under the clouds so far, except a few peeps now and then…. I feel that there is some mysterious power trying to help me….. Well! What the crap!, this is the rainy season! It is SUPPOSED to be this way…. I shut my fanciful poetic mind and go ahead….. A coupla light drizzles on the way remind me of the ‘SUPPOSED to be this way’ part…. I cycle along enjoying the drizzle….

As i go, the mind gets some room to have its own thoughts. It starts humming a Creed song and connects to my life -
"Who's got my back now?
When all we have left is deceptive
So disconnected
what is the truth now?"
-Who's got my back - Creed

Cycled faster.... concentrated on the road more until totally tired.... stopped for rehydration ... continued to cycle and push intermittently until better roads from maklidurga railway station onwards..... 4:30..... Then started cycling again..... Butt achin realllll hard, and some cramps too..... In between, I meet people who are curious and who ask me where im from, where im going, why am I doing this, blah blah blah..... I give some lame replies which are quite interesting to them….. I wouldn’t be able to convey my thoughts to them.... In their minds, im some guy with amazing grit and determination and big goals and all.... But I know why I’m doing it.... I’m trying to hide away from reality..... I’m tryin to be so involved in something that I forget my immediate surroundings… my work pressure, my academic pressure, my heartbreaks, most of all – the purposelessness of life..... Im somehow coaxing myself to live..... Im trying to be in a total blur that I can no longer think….Do some freaky thing when ur mind haunts you..... Its a weird kinda meditation - to be unable to concentrate on things that bother u

“Blessed is the person who is too busy to worry in the daytime and too sleepy to worry at night.” — Leo Aikman

….. I reach Dodballapur railway station at around 5:30….. Stop for some coffee…. Start off again….. Some ppl who’ve already seen me there in the morning, ask me the usual where, what, why and all. Then as I talk more ppl gather around curious about this Bangalorean (long haired guy wearing shorts, is enough clue for them to guess that im bangalorean)…. Then there’s a huge crowd surrounding me…. One guy gets me some bananas….. And they all want a pic taken with me….. Gawd! I feel like a celebrity….. Many good wishes later, Im off again, on the long road back to Bangalore....

Fanfare..... (Im holding the bananas they gifted me)

I realize, I’ve totally lost around an hour due to the fanfare so far….. Time is running..... n I need to beat the sun home….. But I know I cant….. Anyway, it gets dark before soon….. I don’t prefer to cycle on the highway at night, especially due to my vision problems….. however, I was just behind a JCB, wich went about cycle-speed. It guarded me against the glare of the hi-beam lamps of incoming vehicles…… Followed it until it stopped somewhere before reaching Bangalore…. Then had to push the cycle a considerable distance before reaching the lab…. Relaxed a while and headed home.... This trip somehow appealed more to me than the nandi trip… probably because of the fanfare..... but most likely due to the destination being nicer…… But, my body wasn’t aching as bad as I expected..... One night’s sleep.... Wake up unable to lift arms and legs....... Satisfied!.... back to sleep!

I realize that the song continues and gives some hope
"Who's got my back now?
When all we have left is deceptive
So disconnected
what is the truth now?

(what is the truth?)

There's still time
All that has been devastated
Can be recreated
Realize
We pick up the broken pieces
Of our lives
Giving ourselves to each other..ourselves to each other
To rest our head on"
Who's got my back - Creed

Current mood: Pressure slightly reduced from wat it was before cycling
Currently listening to: Dekha hai aise bhi - Lucky Ali (Lucky ali songs are perfectly suited for the vagabond moods)

Phit! Count

2007-07-28T10:03:00.000+05:30

PhitCount is the term i've given to the number of mosquitoes u've electrocuted. Its a kind of count of some kinda karma points i reckon. The amount of good u have done to the human race. Well, by using the mosquito electrocutor (the shocking-coil powered tennis raquet thats been very popular these days), you kill a mosquito instead of plainly driving it away or blinding its senses so that it doesnt bite u (thats how most mosquito repellants work). This way, you are preventing not only it from biting u, but also its children, grandchildren and so on. In a more polished way of saying, you are affecting a chain propogation step, which means a slight input, will create a large output(in this case- absence of mosquitoes).

If at all there is a god for humans, who looks for wat good i've done to humans, i hope She (i bet God is a sexy bitch as much as It could be the Flying Spaghetti Monster) will read my blog (why? God must be having an ultrabroadband connection for all i know) and send me to heaven for the amount of good i've done.

So, from now on, i'm going to keep a count of how many mosquitoes i've electrocuted, and update the number on the sidebar. (For ppl who havent already guessed, the 'phit' of the phitCount refers to the scary and sweet sound of electrocution)

Current Mood: excited (not for killin mosquitoes)
Currently listening to: Destination anywhere - Bon Jovi

Good ol' times

2007-07-26T06:35:00.000+05:30

Ahhh. those days...... when all that mattered to me was Physics and myself..... Completely drowned in it..... Not speakin to anyone much (except other fellow geeks of course)..... to the point that the rest of college actually 'feared' talking to me..... I looked like a dork and wasnt bothered abt it..... Then in the third year of my bachelors degree, i decided i would socialize...... i looked less like a dork.... i started talking to more people... people other than geeks...... the others liked talking to me too...... i began liking someone...... sometime later, someone else started liking me..... neither of them clicked..... my mind, although it loved physics.... there was something hot n happenin in this new kind of world.... I had one crush after another.... Just crushes... not love.... until pretty recently that is..... but even love betrayed me..... got dumped in a way, i never thought i would be dumped..... anyway, i've gotten over the ditching..... All i long for is those good ol' times..... where all that matters is Physics, me and my experiments.....

However, the geek federation has split and are scattered. Its more or less a lone walk down the 'path less trodden'..... which reminds me of a recent meetup with Aditya. Amidst all the gibberish that he usually gibbers, he told "I choose to take no path. Its definitely not trodden".... thats some kind of 0/0 kinda indeterminate kinda argument, but it definitely makes some wierd sense! I'm still thinking of deeper meanings to it. (I know he dint mean it any deeper than 'grilled' canteens and the other crap he said. But, there's something interesting in this statement).....

Ahhh.... those good ol' times spent w aditya...... The times we spent at the planetarium..... fighting over every little difference we find between our solutions to problems..... The number of bets we placed over those problems(which he won almost every time)..... The time we worked together on the Rijke effect...... learning something new everyday........ The eureka moments of the 'uphill cone' and 'uphill ball'..............

Im not in too bad a state now to do anything.... its just that i'm doing nothing that i can be proud of.... the way i used to be once upon a time..... The whole year of 2006 went in vain..... Although, i got my first ever paper published (although 6th author) during this time.... i coant see a huge difference in what wisdom i have..... I oughta make 2007 different..... Forget all the mere mortal desires of Love, glory and entertainment..... I had more joy, during those good ol' days..... I prefer being a happy nerd than a sad stud.

Current mood: nostalgic yet pumped up to do something, but indecisive of wat to do
Currently listening to: Astronomy - Metallica

Template changed.

2007-07-02T12:19:00.001+05:30

I had to change the template of the blog to the newer blogger version, in order to make my life a little easier. I couldnt make haloscan comments link to the old p[osts of the new blog properly. So, i've decided to chuck haloscan. Sorrry for sacrificing all those valuable comments.

On all wierd things

2007-06-30T10:06:00.000+05:30

Richard Feynman was a GENIUS. He understood both - Quantum Mechanics AND girls.

I can understand neither! :(

And i've given up hope to learn. Atleast the latter.

Current mood: blank
Currently listening to: Comfortably numb - Pink Floyd

On Life, the Universe and Everything

2007-06-27T12:17:00.000+05:30

..... Life sucks.... the Universe is annoyingly unknown and large.... and Everything is crap....

Hold on..... the universe is unknown and large..... Hmmm....

But, what if all that i percieve is just a stupid dream of some giant almighty cosmic dreamer? (Or a tiny powerles bloody useless good-for-nothing shitty cosmic dreamer either)... Or the saga of the noodly appendages of the Flying Spaghetti Monster? Or something that our thoughts were designed not to comprehend?

WTF(What the fisherman)..... If its a dream, I am still a part, pointless, but yeah, still a part. So, hangin in there until the bubble bursts..... But, there seems to be some disgusting sense of uselessness, which tells me to end it all. Go ahead! Burst the bubble urself! Why wait for it like most others do. Am a bit too curious to find out what happens when the bubble bursts.....

But, then if i do that, I'll becomne wat i despise - A ditcher, ditching whoever has cared for me in this dream. I may not care a damn.... But, im not selfish either..... I'll hang in there until there's no one who needs me to hang in there. (Except for my bro of course, cos he is a useless wierdo psycho like me, sharing similar thoughts about everything)..... Yet, im still curious abt the bursting.....

Hmmmmmmmmm....... it seems inviting....... But hey wait! Im not a ditcher! But does all this even matter anymore after the bubble bursts? Why wait? .... hmmmmmm......

Current mood: Tissue paper drying up. But still shredded
Currently listening to: Naked - Bon jovi

Tissue paper revisited

2007-06-25T18:45:00.000+05:30

Tissue paper is wet with its own tears.

Current mood: Shredded, soggy, but still white. (But does it even matter that it is white?)
Currently listening to: Fluff - Black Sabbath

Tissue paper

2007-06-25T16:32:00.000+05:30

Suffocated.... Apparent gush of air, but mere hallucination...... Then choked to death!

Its amazing wat emotions some species of tissue paper can have, inspite of its sole use being to wipe off tears n dust, and then happily be thrown away.

However, there were nice times too, when the fragile tissue paper was handled with care. But now, all that care has turned useless in the tiny bits that its torn into.

Current mood: Shredded tissue paper
Currently litening to: To live is to die - Metallica

Sangama-Galibore-Muthathi trek (Jun 16-17 2007)

2007-06-18T19:51:00.000+05:30

This trek was through some easy hills n valleys and some portion along the banks of river cauvery. It suited more of a romantic outing than a trek (we could have done it harder by doing some more hills). We did not follow the usual travellers' route (as usual!). We also camped at night in the jungle on a hill (Photos not taken during the 'interesting' night). The most beautiful part of the trek was the view from the riverbanks: hills flanking the river all the way through.

BubbleShare: Share photos - Print Christmas Coloring Pages.

Also, we had great fun discussing physics and mathematics throughout the journey. And especially the new technique by srikanth called 'reductio contradictum' i.e. The proof of the conjecture is "contradict me".

Credits: Some of the excellent pictures here were taken by srik.

Current mood: Feeling nice about a fresh surge of dopamine levels
Currently listening to: One - Metallica

Dopamine 2

2007-06-08T11:20:00.000+05:30

Two souls waiting to be one,
But trapped in bodies staying far across.
In yestermonths, days of fun,
Now, its recollections are the only solace.

Events flow by... days fly,
In trying to find an alternative joy

Suffocated with want,
The world seems a continuous blur
Thirsty for love,
In this halllucianted stir

Events flow by... days fly,
Still longing for the same days to live by.....

Current mood: Clueless about life
Currently listening to: Sultans of swing - Dire Straits

Freakend getaway - Nandi (Apr 21 2007)

2007-06-08T11:15:00.000+05:30

Workload low...... weekend approaching....... Some freak neurons in my head start firing....... I plan to go cycling to Nandi hills (from hometown Bangalore)....... A colleague says she wansa come too..... Route all checked on wikimapia, including pitstops on the way......

Everything packed...... 10 30 pm..... Just about to catch some sleep in the lab ..... People talk colleague out of it, scaring her with facts.... "Do you know how far it is? Its 50 kms from here? 100 kims to and fro! In one day, by cycle?!"..... I get pissed.... She is still in half mind to come..... But I finally call the trek off.... Or so the others thought....

Next day, 5 am, I start off from NCBS alone, with only 2.8 litres of water, and 1 litre of Gatorade, as fluids. I knew I'd need more, but planned to get them on the way.... It was still dark.... Apart from a few trucks that zoomed across, the six lane road was completely empty.... The air damp with yesternite's rains...... I tread slowly, due to lack of light and pools of water on the road at some places..... I go on cycling for an hour like this.... dawn breaks.... the clouds at the eastern horizon get a red tinge.

I cycle a bit further..... I get cramps in my leg..... I halt for a break..... Used a cramp relieving spray,,,,, Im contemplating whether i can do it..... "If i get cramps this early on the trek, I am defintely not going to make it"....... I do a routine check on all my belongings..... I figure I've lost my wallet...... I begin to feel that things arent goiung well.... Half mind, or rather 3/4th mind of heading back......

Talk to myself..... "C'mon boy, don chicken out! Its all still do-able.... Nothing has happened that will prevent u from finishing the trek (I had some spare cash distributed elsewhere, apart from my wallet). Go ahead! At least to Devanhalli (which is around halfway) and then decide..... I go ahead....... Amazing road.....

I cycle ahead..... I reach Devanahalli with full spirit..... Milestone reads 'Nandi 22 km'...... "When i've come this far, why not all the way?".... Little bouts of stopping for buying fluid food (bottled mango juice a.k.a maaza), water and also air for the tyres....... Long and tiring period of cycling, when the summer sun is roasting me..... At last the foot of the hill..... 8 kms to the top, through the winding roads.... Cant pedal uphill, pushing the cycle instead...... The heat is tiring..... no cloud cover at all.... Reach the top around 12 noon..... Im tired, yet happy about myself....... I overhear some ppl talking about 'the guy who came here by cycle'...... I feel proud too!

Girlfriend calls...... blasts me for half an hour for doing this..... 12:30....... I scan around the hillscape..... The view didnt live upto my expectations...... Some rest and 1 litre of mango juice(my lunch) later, i head to take my cycle...... Someone has let the air out of my rear tyre..... The pride felt a while ago is now lost, as i see the bigger scheme..... Someone offers to fill air for a price of Rs.10.... I have twenty bucks with me..... I have no choice however........ I buy the expensive hill air for my tyres.......

The descent delayed due to the incident, I head down at good speed....... Amazing hairpin bends....... Finally some cloud cover as well..... Enjoying the air hitting my face...... Plonk!....... Scrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeech........ My cycle is skidding down the slope..... hairpin a little ahead..... I see metal under the tyre rubbinng on the road....... Still struggliong to slow down...... "Has my tyre come off? And is that metal underneath, the wheel rim?"...... "Will i have to push the cycle all the way back?"...... I somehow manage to stop without falling after around a 30m skid.... I see that my mudguard is the metal that's under my tyre.... But how did the mudguard get under my tyre?..... Probably, the mudgard fell off, onto the ground, however still connected at the sides, then dragged by the tyre up, and rammed in the region where the breakes and stuff are..... I try pulling the mudguard out..... Stuck hard... Not coming out.....

Contrary to Melchizedek in The Alchemist, I feel "If u really want to do something with full determination, the whole world conspires against u achieving it"

All i need is a spanner to loosen the nuts holding the mudguard and ease it out...... "why the !#$@ dint i get my toolkit?"....... I try stoppin vehicles goin by....... Most dont bother to notice (After all why would anyone wanna be bothered on a picnic)...... A few stopped, but either dint have their toolkit, or dint have the right spanner..... I lose time..... I lose hope...... "I cant even drag it in this state!"...... I still try nudging the mudguard out....... Slow progress....... I've given up on tryin to stop vehicles...... Anyway, i use my brains instead of my muscles, and make slow progress..... Meanwhile, a coupla guys stop over and offer help..... They have the spanner i need.... they help me out....... Mudguard removed and chucked..... back brakes non-functional..... I thank them, and all of us are back on our own ways........... Amazing hairpins......... at last the foot of the hill.......

The guys who helped me out, triumphantly holdin the mudguard

A tiresome and uneventful, yet semi-scenic journey upto devanhalli......... I discover that the air in my rear tyre is very low, but not dangerously low........ I decide that i can manage it till the end....... I go ahead..... Empty my 10 remaining bucks on tea at multiple points on the way..... Now have absolutely zero cash on me...... I still cycle ahead.... cycling gets harder and harder.... I feel a repeated bump when im cycling..... I stop.... i see that the air has gone real low, and theres a wheelbend...... Around 20 kms more to go......... I push it on the level roads and the ups..... cycling on the downs....... At last reach the lab at 8pm with a badly disfigured rear wheel........ toatally exhausted....... but extremely happy.....

Moral of the story: The most expensive way to get to Nandi from bangalore is by cycle. Well, i spent around Rs.500 (excluding wat i lost w my wallet) for food, electrolytes, water and repairs.

On a more serious note: "If u really want to do something with full determination, the whole world conspires against u achieving it". But, if you are still determined enough, you can still achieve it!

Current mood: Bugged by reality
Currently listening to: It's not over - Daughtry