Cycling : Shimoga to Gokarna

Travelling is always fun as usual. This time we decided to go for a Cycle Trip.
Before embarking on this trip, this was our plan :
13th Thursday : Leave Bangalore to Shivamogga
14th Friday : Pedal from Shivamogga to Jog Falls (Appox : 100kms)
15th Saturday : Pedal from Jog Falls to Gokarna (Appox : 120kms)
16th Sunday : Relax in Gokarna and then travel back to Bangalore.

We were 5 members who finally made it, - Jimit, Abhishek, Rohan, Sumanth and Myself.  Ricky and Shantanu had to opt out due to their sudden personal work. Ricky was the one who planned the trip, route and stuffs. Unfortunately, we had to move on. Since we were well prepared for this trip we did not wanted to back out.

There were news of heavy rainfall in Shivamoga but we stick to our plan of Cycle trip.

We planned to ship our cycle via train for on-going journey and while coming back we thought of putting it on the bus. Yes, this was amateur ride. We knew there will be lot of learning as we have to manage on our own, no support vehicle too. We were all excited.

We had our train on Thursday at 11pm, but we had to be there near Luggage counter around 9pm for shipping the cycle. Jimit and I left marathalli to Majestic around 7pm, similarly Rohan, Sumanth and Abhishek left for Railway station to reach there by 9pm. And by 9pm, we were there at Railway station. We had little introduction of each other . After booking the tickets for luggage we went to have dinner to near by hotel. We came to each other well and decided the road plan for the next 3 days.

We reached Shimoga around 5am, after un-loading the cycles we got freshen up in railway station itself. We were all set to ride around 6am.  After some 10km, we had tea and Banana so that we have keep our energy level.

Sumanth had a cramp on the way. He had to rest and have to do stretches. We were in Ghat section and that did not seem to be good idea to rest. So, we were waiting for a tempo and truck so that it can carry cycle along. Thankfully we did not have to wait for long, a truck passed by and he agreed to drop 10km far. He was diverting from there. Anyways 10km was sufficient to get recovered.

We 4 continued our ride and reached Anandapura where Sumanth was waiting. We had breakfast here. And resumed our journey to jog.

The journey was amazing, the scenic view made us to love cycling even more. The road from Shivamoga to Jog was ultimate, the only issue was with truck and other vehicle, being a cyclist we had to follow the lane properly.

During our journey we experienced heavy rainfall, we rode and it was a great feeling. Greener along the sides with rain can made us happier.

As per the plan we had to ride from Shivamoga to Jog on the first day. And to our surprise we reached Jog by 3:15pm. The jog beauty was absolute classic. We enjoyed the beauty after which we decided to stay nearby Jog. Managed to get a room which is big enough for 5 of us for 1500rs. This was pretty good deal. We had the snacks in Jog. Room was large enough and we were comfortable.
The stay was approx 2km from Jog, we thought of re-visting the jog in the night. Since it was raining we did not wanted to go again and hence decided to pass time in room itself. We spent time talking and watching Saina's Semi-Final match and later pro-kabbadi. We ordered dinner from the stay itself.

It was an awesome first day of our trip. We slept around 11am and decided to start the ride by 6am.

Next morning we woke up around 5;15am and were ready by 6:30am to explore the ghat section. To our surprise Sumanth and My cycle were having flat tyre. Luckily for both of us it was the front wheel. But Unfortunately Sumanth's tube was broken at the tip and had to replace with the new tube. Rohan was an expert in fixing this and made the fixes quick. We left Jog around 7:30am.

Now we were about to cross Ghat section with terrrible up and down's. yes it was indeed a great experience. After riding some distance we had tea and biscuit. As mentioned the CYcling in the ghat section was amazing. We encountered the rain too. It was all fun. Finally reached a village where we planned to have break fast. The break fast was delicious. We had atleast 2-3 dishes. The Sun was coming out brightly and we were coming out of Ghat section as well. The ride till Honnavar was really challenging. Up hill and Sun never seemed to be off.

Finally we reached Honnavar. We were sweating bad. Luckily we found an AC restaurant named Romanancia. The food was Ok but the environment was the best. We sat nearby AC machine and enjoyed the cool weather which we were badly missing. We spend almost 2 hours here.

Around 3pm , we planned to leave to Gokarna. The route to Gokarna was almost flat. Due to Sun, the ride was bit challenging. Since, we were getting later to reach Gokarna, we decided to halt near Kumta. Kumta to Gokarna is 30km travel distance and we did not mind going next day morning.
Also, Sumanth had flat in his tyre , so we decided Kumta.

We visited Kumta beach, had cycled over the beach, shore and had fun in beach. We found a good hotel in Kumta and it was pretty decent. We had a beer and good food to close the day.

The last day of our trip, we left Kumta around 7am to Gokarna, we reached Gokarna by 10:30am. We visited Om Beach and spent time in Namaste Cafe. A good place to hang out. We spend entire day here.

Since we did not book Train ticket, we had to put the Cycle in Bus luggage counter. It was difficult to accomodate 5 cycle in bus, hence we had to dislocate each and every part possible and put over the luggage. Finally we managed to do.

We reached Majestic, Bangalore around 7am. Fixed our cycle and dispersed to our locality.

It was an awesome experience. Love Cycling :-)

Ramzan in Bangalore!

Ramzan is celebrated after the holy month of fasting and prayers. Ramzan is the ninth month of the Islamic calender and a month of fasting to commemorate the first revelation of the Quoran.

Our Muslim friends will keep the fast from morning 5am till evening 6:50pm after the prayer. It was the month of the Ramzan and the end of fasting was approaching.

Frazer Town in Bangalore is known for having wide and special range of non-veg counters in the road side. Here we have Mosque and as soon as the prayer ends the frazer town will be filled with customers for the delicious food.

This was the first time in Bangalore and I definitely did not wanted to miss the chance of having this delicious food also being a core non-vegetarian.

So, we (colleagues) decided to visit Frazer town after office on Friday.
We were a total of 6 members. We reached the Frazer town around 7pm, since the prayers were already offered the roads were full of food stalls. It was like a cloth bazaar as we usually see across many part of India.

We were already excited for batting the non -veg food. Initially we were confused of which way to take. We choose one way and decided to roam before jumping into any stall.

The varieties of Chicken, Mutton, Beef, Bird (Don't know which), Fish Items were present.

We started with starters enjoying most of the variety and finished with Shaddi-Ki biryani.
Splendid day for the food lovers. Enjoyed to the fullest.

Cycle Trip

1. Chicka-Tirupathi :
Being a cyclist, I had made friends with similar mind set people. So, here we were 3-4 friends planning for a sunday morning trip for about 70-80km.

The destination was planned to Chicka-Trirupathi, 35km from Marathalli. Jimit, Ricky, Sreekanth and I planned this ride.  We were from Marathalli (Roughly 5km radius) and started this ride around 6am.

The route was beautiful but the weather was not that pleasant. It was hot and we had to sweat it out o reach Chicka-Tirupathi. Chicka-Tirupathi is a temple where lot of devotees visit.

We reach Chicka-Tirupathi around 9am. After having a good breakfast here we headed back. We took a nap in the nearby village for half an hour and then resume our ride back to Marathalli.

We reached back around 12:30pm. The weather was harsh but was a great ride and great time with friends.

2. Janapadaloka:
This is 140km ride trip, organised by Anil S Kadsur. The destination was Janapadaloka, this is mid way of Bangalore and Mysore. From Bangalore it is 55km and 80km from Mysore. The route was scenic and with minimum traffic.

The uphills were tough, it was a good balance between uphill and downhill.

I started from Marathalli at 4am along with Shiva and Mohan. We reached the starting point at wheelsports,Chamarajpette around 5am.

Seera and Water had been arranged by Anil, this gave up bit more energy to our ride. Almost 40 people were present for this ride.

Early Birds'

We started around 5:30pm, the route was tough and beautiful. Reached Janapadaloka, Kamat hotel around 10am. Literally exhausted. Nirav my colleague was also present for this ride.

We had buffer breakfast in Kamat hotel. It was delicious. We choose buffet as we were already tired and we had to go back around 70km.

After having proper breakfast we planned to go back in the same route. The route was challenging now as the Sun was already up and the uphill were almost steep. We finalised that we will be going by the same route.

Yes, It was indeed exhausting. I reached back home by 4pm.

That is, overall I had been 12 hours for the cycle trip. Yes, this was my longest ride. I am happy that I choose cycling for the commute.

Cycling is fun :)

Yo! 100+ km ride

Second Marathon!

Zinnov 10K Marathon :

After TCS Marathon 2015, this is my second attempt to run 10K marathon. My focus of this marathon was to run 10K continuously without any rest.

I have been practising since May to build up my stamina. At-least 3-4days/week was my routine to build my stamina. So, I was bit confident for this race. Zinnov 10K was organised by Zinnov consultant group on July 12th.

I did not want to stress myself too hard as I have heard of bad news such as 27year old guy died during some marathon and 38year old guy died due to heart failure. So, I was being more cautious. Run slowly and stop after the finish line was my motto.

Finally the day had come, July 12th. I did not know anyone participating in the race and I didn't bother about it. I reached around 5:30 am to Kantaveera Stadium, Bangalore. The race was supposed to start at 6am. My commute was by Cycle. The distance was about 12km which was a warm up for the event. Zinnov also had a warm up session. The instructor played Zumba dance. It was fun as no one expected this for 10k or 5k marathon warm-up session. There was mixed response for this warm-up session. I tried a few steps of Zumba dance, it's not that easy :P.

So, Marathon began at 6am. The route was inside Cubbon Park. It was a 5k long loop. For 10k we had to run twice the loop. I was prepared for this run as I had running shoes from Sketchers unlike my first marathon.

This first loop was easy, I could complete it without any break. I had positive things on mind for completing this marathon without a break. Around 7km, I felt exhausted. I thought of quitting, then I remembered TCS 10K run where I wanted to run continuously but I couldn't, so I decided that I will run slowly but will not stop this time.

As I was closing in for finish line, I got more pumped up and last km I ran like a finisher. I was glad that I completed this marathon without any break.

The timing of this 10K marathon was 1hr 1min and 40sec. I am glad that I was better than past. I learnt from past and achieved what I intended to. This small step was a great step was my future :).

Hope I will continue this healthy habit :-)
Next plan : Half Marathon by November 2015.

Running is Fun!

Leh Adventure : 15/15

Summary :
The highlights are 3 States, 14 Friends, 15 Days, 2500 Km bike ride, experiencing First flight, Snow fall, Cold Dessert, Camel with double humps, Dust storm, Sand storm, Meeting new people, expanding the friends group. Yes, this will be in memories for a long time, beautiful place to go.

Here is our Budget  (Per Person):

Rough Estimation :

Budget/Person
Flight	Bangalore to Chandigarh : Two ways	10000
Bus	Chandigarh to Manali : Two ways	1700
Bike + Bolero + Mechanic	Manali to Leh : Two ways	16,500
Fuel	Manali to Leh : Two ways	2100
Stay + Food	All misc charges in the group (Pass entry/Camel ride..)	10000
Adcane buying	Trek Bag,Shoes, Woolen cloths....	5000
Misc	Self sponsord	4700
Total	Not included shopping for self/family members	50000

Picture Courtesy : Rajesh Sivakumar, Aditya P, Rakesh Rao, Vyas V and Tushar.
The photo album is shared in fb:
Rajesh : Leh
Rajesh : Leh2
Prashanth : Leh
Ram Charan : Leh 


Links :
Tips and Suggestion
Bike Details

Leh Adventure : 14/15

Last bike ride of the trip : Keylong to Manali

We planned to leave early as we had to reach Manali before 4pm. We had to do bill settlement of bikes and Bolero with Varun and leave to Chandigarh at 6:30pm.

After getting Ajay discharged from the Keylong hospital we left for Manali. We had breakfast in Keylong.

The obstacle for today's ride was Rohtang pass. We left at 9:30am, Rohtang pass was challenging but since we had already had experience of riding in tuff situation made us to handle this easily. We did not wait here for photography or to spend time. There were lot of activities going in Rohtang pass, where people enjoyed the snow. Activities such as Yak/Horse ride, slide of snow from top of the hill, Paragliding and much more. Nirmal and I while going had a glance over this and wondered if we had time to do this, but unfortunately no.

We were looking into paragliding ride and were about to fall steep as it was very curve road. The road was full of curve with no side boundaries after which I always fixed my eyes on the road.

We managed to bypass traffic and reach Manali early at 2pm, whereas others stopped in the midway for Lunch.

After reaching Manali we went to good restaurant to have good food, we had Butter Chicken and Roti. The taste was amazing after alo paratha and maggi food for couple of days.

Others reached Manali around 3:30pm.

We had the final bill settlement with Varun and walked towards private bus stop as there was much traffic. Going in Vehicle would have taken more time also the distance was less.

We managed to reach the Manali Private Bus Stop at 5:45pm. We got front seat for Ajay to get him comfortable.

The amazing road trip was ended :(. We reached Chandigarh airport at 7pm.

Ajay had flight in the evening but we re-booked 8am flight from Chandigarh to Bangalore, Ram Charan assisted him for the journey. We booked early so that they can have medical check up in the evening in Bangalore.

I had my flight at 1pm, whereas others had at 4:30pm, we all reached safely.

After the report from the doctor, it was understood that it was nerve issue and not the spinal code issue. We were happy for him as that would get heal and he will be back as normal in couple of weeks. I visited Ajay and was glad to see him happy and getting well soon. Hope for his speedy recovery.

We(3rd Team) met in Biryani Zone,Marathalli on Sunday to celebrate the success of the trip. It was indeed a great experience.

Next : Leh 15

Leh Adventure : 13/15

Today's journey was from Pang to Sirsu/Keylong.

The numbness in leg for Ajay had been increased. We had a option to go from Pang to Leh back or Pang to Keylong for checking up with Doctor as Keylong had hospital service. We had been to army camp for check up in Pang and the doctor suggested that he must not travel as it might be very serious issue.

We did not have much choice, both the way was risky. If all are together we can work out something so we headed towards Manali.

After having Maggi with lead and Tea we set out for Keylong. The road was bad.It was off-road for first 80km. We took almost 2 and half hour to reach Sarchu from Pang.

We planned to reach as close as Manali so that we can reach and have some more time for checkup for Ajay.

The Lachung la and Neekila pass were easy. The roads were good, snow surrounded place, it was a good ride.We did not have lunch we managed with biscuits and tea.

After passing the 2 passes, we had to face Barcala-cha where few scenes from Jab We Met was shoot. Before this there was Gata loops, which had twenty one hairpin bends. The roads were full of stone.

For the fraction of second I was thinking about something else during the ride and I applied front break at 20th hairpin pin. Result, Bike got skid we fell. Thankfully Nirmal and I were not hurt. Nirmal hurt his arm a bit but nothing was major.Broke the headlight too. After that, we resumed the ride and we had a laugh about the fall. Even this was a good experience. What is the point of ride without a fall :P.

We were expected Baralacha pass to be a tough one, it ended up with nominal one as there were no traffic and the road was ok. The roads were narrow thanks to less traffic we passed it soon.

We understood that there is a hospital in Keylong and planned to have a check up again.

Here, Himachal Pradesh CM had visited and roads were blocked. We discussed the emergency with the police officers and they let only Bolero and one vehicle to pass.

We other bikers were having a chit chat near Hanuman temple, Keylong,

I always prefer to interact with people of different state, it will be a new story and learning too. I started to interact with Police Officer and had a good chit chat.He mentioned that during winter the snow will be filled over road till knee and there will be total shut down of transport.The food, emergency requirements were transported through helicopter.They will play skiing during those season. Also, when talking about agriculture he mentioned that the season for agriculture is only 4-5 months unlike south india where the agriculture will be carried throughout the year. Even with few months of cultivation, the outcome will be good enough. Work hard for 6 months and play hard for the other 6 months.

Best thing was the people over there is that they will have lot of time to share the experience and all, whereas it is difficult to find that in Bangalore where one's life is very busy compared to others.

After consulting the doctor, the doctor advised to admit him so that he will get adequate rest and be ready tomorrow morning with better condition.We did not wanted to take further risk and admitted to Keylong hospital. We found a nearby lodge to stay. It was honeymoon special rooms, ie two rooms with common door. We had good non-veg dinner in Keylong and relaxed .

Last but one day of ride completed.

Next : Leh 14