Bike ride -07th Sept.

Despite the enthusiasm for a good clean cycle ride , I overslept.

I could blame it on my 9 month old toddler son for waking me up at 4:30 AM to take care of his sudden demand for attention and coochi-coo and then making me oversleep because of the effort I had to dispense at such unearthly hours; but then there is no point in pointing fingers -especially to a person who cant point back. Indeed !! the buck stops here!!

My friend , Sundar, who was supposed to join me, first send an sms and alarmed at my no replies rang me up. All in all we were on the road at about 8 AM when we should have been at 7 AM. Me on the desi Hero octane and he on a more fashionable Trek.

We were supposed to join a group of regular riders from whitefield. And we were late !!! They did hang around for a while waiting for us , but then their patience ran out. I am normally a guy who would stick to the timings but then.... you know whom to blame , right? If there are members of that ride reading this - do accept my ( our) apologies.

Our route till rendezvous was Basavanagar- Airport Road - Marathalli-Whitefield road- Shell petrol bunk. Here we tried to follow the track of the Whitefield Riders,who had left 20 odd minutes before us, but gave up and returned to the main road due to doubts on the direction they took. Since the incentive of meeting them was now in doubt we decided to take a path of our own .Hence pushed forward along the whitefield road and turned into Varthur road. Nice roads , great views and pleasant climate. The undulating road skirting Varthur lake was a treat.

The lake is beautiful and serene. But then, on closer look you realise that the water is green-a dark green. And every time it gathers speed, or hit an obstacle you could see it foaming and then you realise the extent to which the water is polluted. So much for the beauty!! Cant understand why we ( read Indians. If the problem is universal, read Human Beings) screw up ( cant think of another word) the surroundings we live. Killing the mother who gives us birth!!! But then, that discussion is for another day, another time.

After the obligatory snaps ,we moved on and turned right just before the varthur police station to hit a dirt road that would eventually take us to Outer Ring Road. The road was slushy but not treacherous ( next time we need to take a more slushy road , I guess ) , and we did deviate once to get a closer look at the varathur lake and the paddy fields. Hmmm the ambience was divine. The ride brought back memories of childhood where there were rivers, lush green hills, trekking, climbing trees, earthy smell ,dirt and slush and carefreeness ( is there such a word?). Hope I will increase my life expectancy as Dr.Dean Ornish says it will, when one goes back in time and enjoy.

We hit the over head rail cross near the Belandur station, proceeded underneath , to reach the ORR. Turned right and negotiated the slight incline to reach the tender coconut guy in front of Innovative Multiplex. 3 fantastic tender coconuts later we were ready for the home run. We merged with the saturday morning traffic at Marathally - Thats one place which is perennially jammed!!! From peace to reality , from breeze to smoke , cattle to cars- we were back!! After jostling for space and right- of- way on the mean streets of Bangalore , we ducked right into the HAL colony. Another incline and One kilometer and I was back at home, with Sundar having to negotiate another 2 Kms.

My lower back side - you know, the soft portion which has no backbone and has two cheeks- was numb and on fire ,simultanously! . Sundar, with a larger "lower back side" might have been better off , I guess .

I would most definitely want to repeat this and make it regular. Next time around , I hope I can catch up with the riders we promised to meet; and have fun riding in a group.

The photos are at http://picasaweb.google.com/menon.jayaraj/BikeRide07thSept2008#