All posts tagged: biking

Why TRI: 9 fun reasons you should give multi-sport a spin!

Published by Anita

I have an admission to make upfront. I’m not an athlete. Never have been. And possibly never will be. In the real sense. I mean you know the type. On the cover of Runners World magazine; rippling muscles, lean body, long strides. On Bicycling magazine, aero dynamic, serious “I mean business” look, lean, astride well-oiled machines, showing off incredible calves and toned arms. No, I am not that person. But what I lack in athleticism, I make up for in enthusiasm, curiosity and “I want to try everything” attitude! I want to be the best I can be. I don’t want to spend my life wishing I had tried (or “tri’d” for that matter). Wishing I’d done this. Or that. Or basically… wishing! In March this year, I began training with a group to complete my first sprint triathlon on June 28. A sprint is the baby of the group, followed by longer distances like the Olympic, Half-Ironman and the Full-Ironman and other distances in between. While the distances were small, for me it was …

saluting an invisible population

Saluting an invisible population

Published by Anita

In Delhi, I met a lady called Anita, who had sold her car around 10 years ago and now cycles around instead. She told me that with her workplace and home not too far from each other, she manages on two wheels most of the time. And this too, in Delhi! She said something else that struck a chord: “Do you notice that a large population of any city is on cycles. You just don’t notice them.” And this is so true. When I wasn’t cycling (and didn’t know how to!), cyclists never registered in my vision – at least consciously. But there’s a huge lower and middle class population that relies totally on cycles. If you start looking, they’re everywhere. On the road, they’re a bunch of folks who come to your notice only if you happen to be behind them at a traffic signal and in your way. Otherwise, they’re a largely anonymous lot, who are either in front or behind the traffic, or on the side of the road. Sometimes, they’re also …

TFN

TFN and the rest of the trip

Published by Anita

Day 3: Hassan to Madikeri A day filled with scenic routes but a lot of climbs and pretty tiring too in the end. It turned out to be a long day for me. The best part was early on when we had the Gorur dam stretch opened up for us to cycle on – around 3-4 kms on the dam itself. The ascent to Madikeri was a tough, tiring and long climb to end the day and after that we had another descent of nearly 5 kms to the homestay off Madikeri – made worse by the really really bad roads. We were glad that we had some Coorg food waiting for us!

Tour of the Nilgiris: Day 1 and 2

Published by Anita

On Day 1, we made it from Bangalore to Mysore via the National Highway. It wasn’t the most pleasant stretch in terms of traffic, but I was just glad that I could get this part over with. With trucks and other high speed vehicles all moving at break neck speeds and honking continuously, it’s not really conducive to cyclists. But after lunch on the road, we reached our destination – the comfortable Hotel Regaalis and even got some time to take in some sightseeing in the evening.

While I’ve been away!

Published by Anita

Just realised that it’s been a while since I updated. And I have good reason too! I have been busy preparing for the Tour of the Nilgiris… It’s now around a month and a week away – and I still don’t feel I’m preparing well enough. And though, I’ve been hard at work climbing hills around Bangalore, I still feel I have quite a way to go 🙂 Last weekend, we did 90km preparation ride from BTM, Kanakpura Road, Harohalli, Jigni, Anekal, Begur, Hosur Road and back to BTM – a distance of 90 kms including a few stretches of continuous inclines. Thankfully, the weather gods were on our side and we had light drizzles, cool winds and the sun went into hiding – just perfect weather for a tough and long ride! A few photos, courtesy Gopal V, who accompanied us all the way on his Bullet. From Running and Cycling From Running and Cycling From Running and Cycling