Welcoming cheers from the wonderful volunteers as you enter the control refreshes you. The happiness of making it to the control and the exuberance of the people recharges you. And as you enter the control, it is amazing to see the zillion cycles in different postures – some elegantly poised with the seat tip on the horizontal bar in the bike parking, some sleepng on lawns, and some resting against the poles. I drop the…
Browsing Category Experiences
My experiences outdoors on the bike or on the feet!
PBP Experience #3
The quiet slow ride on Day 3, enjoying the wonderful French country side. Expansive fields between picturesque villages, lovely houses, families sitting on their manicured lawn eating a leisurely breakfast. The sun gently warms up the fields, slowing down time, relaxing you completely, the legs gracefully circling to move the cycle gently on the smooth French roads. Fantastic Armin van Burren music fills the ears, and the loud humming spreads the happiness to the countryside….
PBP Experience #2
Pitch dark forest mountain roads with beautiful curves, cycle zipping possibly at 40-50kmph, body shifting weight as you gracefully negotiate the bends, the chilly mountain air charging you with fresh energy. And when you a see red light(s) at a distance, you know that the downhill has changed direction. No adrenalin rush, just the quiet blissful feeling which sometimes you selfishly wish would prolong further.
PBP Experience #1
Time distorts, stops, curves, becoming a sharp point. Eyes half closed, sharpening focus, just you and the few feet of road, hands light and feathering the handlebar. Legs supple and pumping away, generating awesome power as you blitz past the huge peloton up the long never ending beautiful climb. Sheer bliss as you quietly zip past others effortlessly. Hands caressing the handlebar as if massaging the smooth beautiful skin of the opposite sex, priceless moments…
Thank you dear Trek 7100
FB reminded me of a memory two years ago, my trusty Trek 7100 which prepared me well for PBP. We have done quite a few brevets and long rides totalling nearly 25000kms and has been instrumental in making me a good rider. He has never let me down in any ride, every ride smooth and pleasurable aided by a generous sofa seat that has been a pleasure for the bottom, and the relaxed geometry calming…
Paris Je t’aime. Au Revoir.
Au Revoir Paris. After a lovely time in Paris, it is the time to bid goodbye. And what better way to sign off other than a cycle and run. A nice 28km cycling tour of the famous Paris landmarks yesterday – Grand Palace, Louvre museum, Sacred Heart church, Notre Dame and then a 5km run today, the day of departure visiting Roland Garros. This has been a lovely trip where I realised a long cherished…
Paradise on two wheels
Paris, Aug 2015. Had a good 55 km ride yesterday, went to the start point National Velodrome. What struck me was the peace and serenity all around. Traffic light and quiet, people unhurried, wide boulevards 400ft wide lined with tall trees. Old people walking dogs, couples holding hands and enjoying their walk, sporadic runners, people sitting on the bistros on the pavement and enjoying their food and coffee. And the cycle tracks on the roads,…
Belgaum 1000, oops Dharwad 868
A wonderful 868km brevet to Dharwad and back, the bonding exercise between me and the new Merida Ride 500 road bike went off well. Bad food at a Dhaba before Hubli at 320km and plate meals dinner with poori at Hubli curtailed our ride. We were an hour ahead of the control time at Hubli and 30kms after (near Dharwad), when the after-effects of bad food showed up, causing extreme sleep in Somaskanda and a…
Night ride and early morning run
Night ride on OMR Road – The first century After multiple 10K runs during the week, it was time to rotate the legs over the weekend. The new Merino wool Baselayer and socks to provide the warmth for the cold nights of PBP arrived a couple of weeks back from UK and needed to be tested. So it was to be on the night of Friday, a quick 100KM on the Old Madras Road to…
Remembering Challakere 400
Remembering my first 400 ride two years after, my debut DNF.. The road to the future, discovered via cycling three years ago. Well, the future is always interesting and meanders all the way. And when we reminisce the past as FB did for me today, they are wonderful memories. This was my second brevet (400km), my first night ride, where I enjoyed gazing up the stars lying down on a bench outside a closed tea…