The very first planned ride!

Yesterday night i had decided that today being a holiday (shivarathri), I should get up early and go for a ride. I haven't traveled beyond Marthahalli much, had been to ITPL once but that was in bus and while in bus the only outside world that I see(notice) is the start and end points of journey, my mistake. So that was it, Whitefield was the place to go!

Went to sleep having asked 'someone' to wake me at 6.15am and with alarm set on my cell phone at 6.05am. I have not been able to enjoy good sleeps offlate, I keep getting up in between checking the clock what time it is!. This night I got up many times with my hands hitting on the under side of table (Bed has been shifted closer to the table to make space for my bike :)), but everytime I kept wondering if it was my bike or the table I hit :).

Finally after so many waking up and hitting on the table, alarm finally rang. I had little body pain from my previous rides ( I haven't mentioned them) and thought of lying in bed for somemore time. Finally got up by 6.10am, messaged the someone that I am already awake. By then the someone called me up and we had a chat for a few minutes and then I had to remind the someone that I am getting late for the ride..haha..the someone was also having trouble getting up from bed..poor someone ;)

I started getting ready for the ride..brushed teeth fast, took the helmet and gloves, put some money and key chain in the saddle bag and then started off. Yes in the same dress I was sleeping in..I am lazy..oh yeah, but did I have a cycling jersey..no I did not have..hehe..have to buy a pair atleast. And the ride started, the road had more vehicles than I had expected. I thought "where the hell are all these people going?"

Finally I touched the Airport Road (the traffic signals still blinking orange, meaning they are yet to become operational fully and hence we proceed with caution, pretty logical since there is not much traffic to manage at this time of day). I could see some people looking at me puzzled probably thinking "Who the hell is this guy?". Some might also think I am rich spoiled guy who has nothing else to worry about in life other than riding his bike early morning..haha..If you happen to be part of that crowd here is what I have to tell, It is better to forget your problems for a while and enjoy doing what you like :). And if you happen to be part of the crowd that thinks one should be rich to buy a 17k bike, then this is what I have to tell. At the end of one year I will be saving more than the amount spent on it, by riding it. It gives me something extra back too, good health :). For the curious lots, here are the statistics..my old bike cost me 5.5K inclusive of accessories and after 5months of usage I had saved around 8.5K. Healthwise my weight has come down and I am getting into better shape, I am waiting to have my next annual medical checkup for the actual reports, due in a few months.

I am riding along the Old Airport Road trying not to look at the 'surprised' people and trying to concentrate at the ride. If I was to see a guy riding the same way I will definitely not be able to stop looking, but I would be thinking a lot different in the following directions..what is his bike?..is he riding a bike better than mine?..what all accessories he has fitted on his bike?..how good is he riding?..is he really enjoying his ride or just out there to showoff?..where could he be staying, possibly near my house?..and so on..:)

As I moved around 1km ahead, the traffic started reducing and I started gaining speed. This new bike of mine can go lot faster than my old bike. I am still adjusting to the new sitting posture and gear shifters of this bike, so I never dared to take it to the maximum speed I could. All the way I rode at almost the same speed, slowing down a little at the climbs. It climbs better than the old bike too and the handling (road grip and brake) is perfect.

Finally I reach Varthur and find the lake on the other side of the lane I am traveling. I decide to stop by the lake side on my way back and enjoy its beauty. I could see from distance the mist over it almost covering the green foliage at the other bank of the lake. I riding towards Whitefield but everything looked boring, only concrete buildings. The fact that there was a beautiful lake behind me was pulling my thoughts back. So after a few kilometers of ride in thte direction of Whitefield, I gave up and traced back the route towards Varthur. It is visible in the map where the lake is at Varthur and the NH207 going besides the lake.

View Larger Map

So I take the NH 207 route, again the lake is on the other side of the lane. I traveled around 1 km on NH207 and stopped at the point where the lake was not visible. I ride back and then I could see clearly how beautiful the lake was because it was on side of my travel direction now. I stopped riding and then climbed on to the foothpath to get the best view possible. It looked really good. The water overflowing over the artificial dam like structure and then seeping through the bottom of the road ( a portion of the road is a small bridge) and then finally appearing at the other end of the bridge. Where was it flowing to, I had no visibility as lot of green trees and bushes covered my view in that direction. So I thought, my ride didn't go wasted, I had the opportunity to see a good slice of nature :). But I am not sure how beautiful the lake would look sometime later when the mist is gone.

I look at the watch and find time to be around 7.15am. I start riding back and decided to go slow as the traffic had increased and I did not want to put a lot of burden on my poor body. The ride back had lot more climbs including a big bridge (don't know the name, perhaps the bridge at Marthahalli). I reached near HAL (2km from HAL bustop) where I had a tender coconut (Rs.12) and then rode back home at average speed. The roads were full of people waiting for buses. In between the someone called and talked for sometime and I complained of being hungry. The someone was on way to office. I searched to see if there were any tea shops on the roadside, but couldn't find any. So I decided to park my bike safely at home and then take my old bike to the nearby hotel, to have breakfast. Had poori with some curry and tea, I wanted aaloo masala but they had some other bad tasting curry. Anyway ate whatever I got and returned home. Wanted to take a good shower, but I am lazy again.

Now as I type this blog lying on the bed, my bike is there by my side, on the floor leaning on to the wall ofcourse :). Altogether it was a good ride covering around 25Kms, my longest so far.