He said “No, it is mine”.
Main gate to Adarsh Palm Retreat is about a km and I commented again – So you went across to buy something at Outer Ring Road, couldn’t be anything better than a bike for this distance and it will keep you fit also.

Prompt came the reply with a smile “No, I am coming back from office”
I said – “That is cool, are you working in Eco Space” (1.5 km from APR)
Then came the unexpected reply – “No, my office is 15 km from here”

I was amazed to learn that Valsan has been doing APR to office 30 km round trip daily and he looked in good shape. I was quite excited to see his bike and took a small round in the basement. When he told me that he was off to Goa next weekend, I asked him if I can take his bike to my other flat at Domlur. He said bike is all yours while I am away!!

This was a mountain bike – I peddled along thinking if Valsan can do 30km round trip I should be able to do 12km to get me to Domlur. First time I realized Bangalore roads are not flat, I had to get off the bike at Marthahalli Bridge as bike slowed down first and then refused to move up – I couldn’t manage the climb!

It was evening time and beyond Marthahalli it started to rain but, then there was no stopping. Reached home safe and it was great feeling to complete 12 km ride – told all my friends about how I cycled 12km. This is how it all started off. Realized that with each ride strength and stamina is building up. Tried EGL and Belandur lake route to go back to ORR. It was amazing ride – by this time I was completely hooked on to the idea of getting my own bike and reducing pollution on Bangalore roads

Valsan told me RR is a good place to buy the bike – checked out Decathlon and RR. After lot of study and analysis landed up with Schwinn Searcher Hybrid to do my daily commute to office. Started off with Domlur Silk board circuit and then Domlur Whitefield. Thought it would be foolish to ride to Global Village, Mysore road but, one day started off at 7am from Domlur and saw the office cab on the way. I reached Global Village office at 7:50am and found that cab reached after 8am. So my bike was now leaving the Cabs and Volvos behind in terms of timing and proving to be the best way to commute.

So far my round trips were about 50km max – then came invite from Arun D’Sylva for a Sat morning ride to Hoskote, Chika Tirupathi, Sarjapur and back – about 100km. Arun was another great influence in taking up cycling, helping me decide on which bike to buy and to get on to treks like TfN. His multiple bikes and stories of many cycling treks will motivate many more to enjoy cycling thrills. We started off at 6am as planned – within first few km I realized that I was no match for other three. Every one hour they had to wait for me for 10 minutes or more. Some how I managed and we reached back around 10:30am – this was my first big ride and a great stretch. It gave me confidence that I can do rides like 100km plus.

Through the TfN Google Group, I joined with Abhilesh for the first 150km ride to Nandi a week back. I slowed down Abhilesh a lot and we reached late at Siva’s road where we were supposed to meet up with fellow TfNers. Thanks to Abhilesh’s continuous encouragements and a few energy bars he gave me, I was able to make it to Nandi base and back to Domlur in 8 hrs. By this time I was treated like a pro in my friends circuit – Arun has done 140km and can also walk later on!!

Abhilesh advised me to that I need to do 10 Nandi’s to get ready for TfN. Trying to follow his advice and do a few more Nandi’s before the big day.

Editor’s note: * Standing Ovation *

That was 18 years ago; I’ve been cycling ever since. I plan to get through the long days with a combination of my iPhone music and regular stops at coconut stands!

Editor’s note:Don’t forget to carry that camera with the extra long lasting batteries!

There were many reasons not to. Our extended families would be a half a world away. I would have to quit my job as an environmental consultant. We would be moving away from San Francisco, a place we loved where we enjoyed easy access to the great outdoors. We would be leaving all our friends. And we already had enough to challenge us just trying to figure out how to raise our 18 month old son and stay sane.

But there was one overwhelming reason to make the leap: it would be an adventure. The same simple logic explains why I want to ride in TfN 11. When given the choice, always choose adventure. Riding TfN gives me an opportunity to see a significant chunk of a country that exists on the opposite side of the world from my the one I grew up in from the best possible vantage point, the seat of a bicycle. All in the company of a big happy group fellow adventure seekers. Making that choice to move to Bangalore has led to my finding a career path that truly satisfies my soul.

Who knows what riding in the tour will bring? How could I not join up? Oh, right, I remember why not. It is 850 km of riding in a week, with days that include 190 km in one go. Previously the longest ride I’ve done was 165 km. It hurt my butt. I think I did the last 20 km standing up. And I was much better trained for that ride. I shall now confess that I have done virtually no training since moving to Bangalore 7 months ago. The city traffic and pollution have bested me, mostly restricting my exercise regime to running inside on a treadmill, which I once considered slightly less pleasant watching paint dry. Upping the distance from my previous longest ride and putting multiple days in a row, which I have never done before, all while being just a tad undertrained should be, uh, interesting.

But it will surely be an adventure. So I will be there, smiling.

Editor’s note: Maybe, we should promote TfN as the reason why India is still shining, eh?!

I got my first bike, a hybrid last year, a month after we had our baby and got hooked on to it. I used it for my daily commute to work which was about 25k one way and totally enjoyed it. When I started riding longer I decided to switch to a road bike and bought one in late Jan this year and ever since “the road bike cartel” has made me commit me one sin after the other – upgrade, upgrade, upgrade…I think I’ve changed everything on my bike except for my legs, wish I cud upgrade them too. So the whole point of TFN is to log in base miles until August next year and train in a more structured way thereafter and I think TFN is a glorified way to do just that….

Editor’s note:And you’re welcome!