My first time to the United States turned out to be a short trip indeed. I only had one destination in my calendar – San Fransisco. A quick trip to Seattle happened too, except that I only saw the interiors of my aunt’s home there 🙂
The launch of the Bangalore Brevets ride will happen on Sunday, December 5. This is a launch ride for a series of brevet rides that will be held in the city next year as qualifiers to the prestigious Paris-Brest-Paris event.
I still remember the show we watched during a trip to Kerala last year. It was at Thekkady, while we were out exploring, when we saw a sign saying advertising a Kalari performance in the evening. We decided to venture in. Kalaripayattu is derived from the words Kalari – which means “place, threshing floor, or battlefield”, and payattu – which means to “exercise in arms or practice”. In fact, legend traces the art form to more than 3000 years ago to sage Parasurama. It is also said that Kung-fu, popularized by the monks of the Shaolin Temple traces its ancestry to Bodhi Dharma – an Indian Buddhist monk and a Kalaripayattu master. It was like opening a new door. I watched quite fascinated by what was going on in the “performance” area. With their oiled bodies, they stood in perfect symmetry, executing jumps, leaps and moves that did not seem humanly possible. They could move any way – forward and backward – with extreme agility as if they had elastic in their spine. In fact, …
Over 400 kms on some of the worst roads (and no roads in some places) but the most beautiful countryside. Manali to Leh on cycle spanning 10 days and many many breathless moments (both because of the altitude and the sight of the mighty Himalayan ranges!). The journey took us through lush evergreen forests, green hills and valleys to barren desert-like mountains with not a sight of tree for a whole day. Many a times we had just the river gushing beside us, endless miles of road in front and the mountains fringing the horizon challenging us as we embarked on our numerous climbs. Spanning many high passes, numerous climbs, bone rattling downhills and some amazingly scenic landscapes made it the ride of a lifetime and a high like no other! Meanwhile, here are some pictures: Day 1-3 | Day 4-6 | Day 7-10 And some pictures of the team members!
It’s been a while since I headed North. A few years in fact. I still have some vivid memories skiing down the lovely while slopes of Auli. And roaming around the gallis of Dharamasala in search of the perfect momo and of course visiting the Indian abode of HH The Dalai Lama. It’s time to go back! This time I head towards Manali and will make my way towards Leh, all depending on the road conditions. There have already been a lot of reports about the excessive rain and snowfall this time around. But then, that’s the fun of travel and adventure. Some amount of unpredictability – the plans are all well laid but we don’t quite know what will happen until we get there! The travel will extend towards the end of July and I will try and keep my twitter updated wherever I have signal. But I intend to fully enjoy a signal free life 🙂
4 motorbikes 5 musketeers Generous doses of rain Dollops of delicious food Loads of scenic routes and trails Platefuls of hot bhajjiya A few bottles of Coorg wine to taste And 1 place to Linger around Mix all of them and shake generously. And voila – you get a perfect monsoon weekend!