Riding uphill builds character

Ami was attending a retreat with some of her work colleagues at Lonavala last Friday and Saturday. Although I was not sure what I would be doing while she was gone, I was certain that it would involve cycling.

Some of my colleagues had gone out to lunch on Wednesday and amongst them was good friend and fellow biker Amit (not to be confused with good wife and fellow biker Ami). He owns a Trek 4300D and regularly rides long distances on it. In the course of our conversation, one of us brought up the suggestion of a ride this weekend. Since Ami was going to be at Lonavala, we too decided to be there and surprise her.

Friday night I got home from visiting Surendra Cycles at Karve Road (that is another story, on another thread) and hit the sack early. We were to meet at 5:30 near my home and take the National Highway . Amit was waiting for me at 5:45 and I went down. This is where the fun began.

When I went down the cycle was not standing upright, as I had left it, but completely keeled over to one side, leaning against the wall. The cycle had developed a slow puncture in the rear tire from my trip the last evening. Fisssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss…

I was completely helpless at that point and called up Amit. He came over and we waited out at my place until the cycle store opened. Incidentally, it had occurred to me several times in the past few days to ask Amit to carry his puncture kit, but I ignored it. This was going to cramp our schedule big-time – over two hours lost.

Time to go

Finally, at 8-ish we pushed our cycles to the store. It took a few minutes for the patch-up to be completed and the ride was ready to roll again (Note to self: buy puncture kit). The sun was high in the sky by now. As mentioned in a previous post, the Pimpri-Chinchwad portion of the National Highway is a pleasure to ride. However, that applies only when you sweep off all other traffic and stray cattle from the road. I had three near misses with an autorickshaw, a pedestrian and a Mahindra Jeep when they broke the signal (except for the pedestrian, who was taking a leisurely stroll in the middle of the road). Once past Jai Hind Industries, up to where I had ridden the last time around, I was into virgin territory for my bicycle. From here onwards, commuter traffic began to thin out in favour of trucks.

On entering Dehu Road , we were into heaven, sort of – lush greenery all around, with an intermittent squatter generating…ahem…fertilizer for the plants. I had seen such views by the railway tracks in Mumbai. However, watching them answer nature's call on a 100-foot tall hill amongst fresh grass and goats even astonished me.

Halt!

We had been doing good time so far – 22 kilometres an hour and we had reached so far in just under an hour and a half. I called for the first break at Dehu Road . We stopped and I got off for a few minutes to ease the cramping in my thighs. I was now beginning to push myself beyond any previous ride attempt and would soon begin to show.

At little while later, near Vadgaon, I realized that the Maggi that I had had for breakfast had moved over and left a gaping void in my stomach. So we stopped again and had some biscuits and plenty of water. Since we were still hungry, we rolled into the first roadside hotel that showed up and feasted on wada's and a masala dosa. After refilling our bottles with water, we were on our way again.

Now is where the fun begins. All of a sudden, we were caught in a sweeping sheet of rain. However, before we had removed the rain gear from the bags and put it on, it had stopped. We left the jacket on anyways and continued onwards.

Uphill

I had to get off the bike at Kamshet because the slope was too steep for me to pedal the Exodus upon (what was this designer thinking when he fed it over 25 kilos of aluminium and steel?). On the other hand, Amit merrily clipped along up the hill in low gear.

Going downhill was much easier upon my legs and I coasted along easily until the next uphill slope before Karla. Once past this slope, the road flattened out into the distance for many kilometres. We could read the milestones counting down the distance to Lonavala – chhey, paanch, chaar, chhey…what?! Oh well, never mind. Somebody had mixed up the old and new milestones and could not be bothered to come and fix them again. After all, what's a couple of kilometres here or there for a car. Try to explain that to a cyclist though.

The Final Stretch

After that, we were unmindful of the milestones. We would know we were there once we actually got there. On that note, we forged ahead full steam and shortly found ourselves mired in the traffic jams of Lonavala. It is amazing how a perfectly serene spot is vandalized by our society in the name of development. What was once an idyllic retreat for retirees has now turned into a weekend picnic spot featuring a water park, plenty of restaurants to stuff your face and unorganized traffic. It is like the Mumbaikars (yes, I am looking at you) have brought a slice of Mumbai to Lonavala and instead of gobbling it up or taking it back, have left rotting leftovers for the Lonavalaites.

After this point, the road was downhill, with brief humps that the momentum of our bikes would take us over. We were going so fast that I barely noticed the sign to the resort that Ami was in and screeched to a halt just in time. We entered into the lane, and after some searching, finally found the road that led to the resort.

The road was a sheer slope, well beyond 45 degrees, covered with slippery and evilly sharp edged rocks. Amit easily went down on the Trek, but I was completely out of my element with my road-riding configuration. I was probably violating every rule of mountain biking – no helmet, a tall seat reaching above the handlebar, slippery calliper brakes and smoother tyre treads.

I did the prudent thing and dismounted, then lugged the cycle down the slope.

I left a note at the hotel reception and sent it to Ami. The smile on her face when she came down made the entire gruelling journey worthwhile.

We left after lunch at the hotel, but it was already quite late. Neither one of us was in the mood to ride 70 kilometres back home, especially since we would still be on the highway by the time it was dark without any lights. So instead, we purchased luggage tickets for the bicycles and boarded the Pune local. We left Lonavala at 5:20 and were back home by 6:45.

Some tips for bringing your cycle by train

The ticket clerk did not have a clue about bringing bicycles by train. He told me that it was not possible. Not looking forward to riding back in the dark, I persisted and spoke to the chief ticket inspector on the station. He told me that he would be able to make a luggage ticket for me.

The handy-dandy-freight-fare-reference book that the Indian Railways provides to its employees was probably written when the first train chugged from Boribunder to Thane, and has never been updated since. In the absence of a weighing scale, bicycles are to be considered as weighing 40 kilograms, which is quite absurd. We would have to be descendants of Hercules to be able to push 40 kilograms of anything over 70 kilometres. We tried to reason for a bit, but it turned out to be fruitless.

We went onto the platform and waited for the local train to arrive. We loaded the bicycles while the compartment was still empty and found comfortable seats. Amit's Trek was a great conversation starter with the locals.

I was glad when we stopped at Khadki station an hour later. One side of the platform at Khadki is reserved for military trains and hence was empty. Amit took the opportunity to live his childhood dream – riding a bicycle on a railway platform – a final bit of delight to a very enjoyable trip.

Lessons learnt

A non-geared bike is no match for a geared bike.

You can go anywhere on any reasonable bike. The condition of a bike matters less than the conditioning of the rider.

Going uphill on a non-geared bike builds character.

Going downhill on a steep slope can easily turn into a white-knuckle ride.

Riding a cycle lets you take in the entire road and not just visit a destination.

Safety is entirely your responsibility. I did not expect a single motorist to go warily around me and did my own defensive riding. Since I am not writing from a hospital bed, I can assume that this works.

To Chinchwad and back

It seemed like ages since I rode anywhere just for the joy of riding. Running errands and commuting does not count because in those situations the ride is just a means to get to point B. The weather was balmy and I was in good spirits after watching “Buddha Mar Gaya” on television. I donned my cycling outfit (new shorts!) and hopped down. Ami asked where I was headed off to and I said I did not know. I would go wherever my bike took me. But I promised I would be back in an hour or two.

We are planning to make a bicycling trip to Lonavala a few weeks from now with friends. Since the best way there is through NH4, I figured a bit of a reconnaissance along the way would stand us in good stead later. I have been on that road before – about 12 kilometres from home – which I covered in a flat 30 minutes, and for my insurance medical tests, no less (sue me if I don’t use that to negotiate a better premium rate next year). I merged into the Sunday-wala-low-intensity traffic and rolled along slowly at first. The monsoons had been lashing the city all morning and the roads were slick. I had left the tires slightly under-inflated for this reason, although I knew it would damage my speed a bit.

The highway doesn’t actually just pop out of Pune into no-mans land immediately. It rolls along highs and lows gradually through the suburb of Khadki and into the township of Pimpri-Chinchwad. This was originally an industrial area – a satellite of Pune – providing livelihood to a large portion of its citizens. Several pharmaceutical, automobile, industrial machinery and fabrication companies have set up plants and research units all over the place. Eventually the workers tired of the daily commute and chose to shift into Pimpri-Chinchwad itself. As a result, homes and factories are interspersed all along the highway and offshoot roads.

Because of its importance as the arterial road connecting Pune to Pimpri-Chinchwad, the NH4 management committee is never in dearth of funds. Even as I write, several new flyovers and underpasses are under progress here, accounting for crores of the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation’s budget. The road has widened to several times its original width – much more than what the Pune Municipal Corporation has managed to do with the portion of the highway under its purview.

NH4 is very well maintained in comparison to roads in Pune and other parts of PCMC. Several portions have been concretised, while the tarring on the rest is of exceptionally good quality and does not disintegrate when subjected to unusual rigours such as people walking or cars moving over it. I have not had the opportunity to ride here through a heavy rain so I don’t know if water logging is a problem here – it might be, due to the frequent, intense gradients in the road.

I passed by Dapodi, Kasarwadi, Pimpri, and finally, Chinchwad (pronounce as ‘Sinswad’ for a Maharashtrian accent) railway stations along the way. The area is littered with landmarks – the College of Military Engineering opposite Dapodi, Phugewadi Octroi Naka, units of Atlas Copco, Alfa Laval and Forbes Marshall – one after the other, Hotel Sagar Plaza, Serson Industries, PCMC ST Bus Stand, Indian Card Clothing Company Limited, Hindustan Antibiotics Limited, PCMC Headquarters, Premier Company Limited, Fame Adlabs, Greaves Cotton Limited and finally, Jai Hind Industries, where I turned back towards home. The weather changed from a light drizzle to dry roads and into a heavy downpour over a span of 12 kilometres. I’m sure I raised a few eyebrows when I whizzed past people on the dry portions of the roads with my cycle and clothing still dripping water from the downpour just a few kilometres behind me.

On the way back, the exit off the highway goes under a bridge – perfect place for water to collect. The exit also curves through 360 degrees – it leads to a road that is parallel and facing the same direction as the highway itself – basically an ‘O’ shape that is fun to race through in dry conditions. In the wet conditions of today, even cutting through at a moderate speed brought about an impressive splash in all directions. And the Swift that whizzed past at the same moment gave me a taste being drenched in the same effect, at several times the magnitude.

My home is not far from the highway. And I was riding through familiar lanes a few minutes later. A hot shower later, I was as good as new and ready for the next adventure of the evening – a trek up Baner tekdi. I really could get used to this life.

Riding to the movies

It's been a while since we did the whole rolling around on two wheels thing through the city. We've both been very busy with our jobs as well as social commitments.

Last Sunday we finally dropped everything and decided to do a short ride - less than 5 kilometres away - to a movie. We got tickets for the morning show for Sarkar Raj, which turns out to be an economically viable option as compared to spending a small fortune for the evening shows. We rolled out of our home at 8:40 and we were certain of being late for the show. But the fresh morning environment was so invigorating that I could've dropped the entire movie plan in favour of a ride if Ami would let me.

Khadki is a particularly laid back locality in Pune. It's proximity to the cantonment area means that land development proposals go through a particularly stringent verification process and most non-housing projects are rejected quickly. We also don't have too heavy vehicular traffic because the nearby NH4 sucks up most of the city commuters. As a result, cycling here is safe and peaceful.

On the way to the movie we had to pass through Range Hills - one of the many sites where the Battle of Khadki was fought between the Peshwa and the East India Company. This battle holds a particularly important position in the history of Maharashtra because it marked the end of the Peshwa's political control over his kingdom, to be replaced by the East India Company, and later, the British forces. Today it is mainly populated with apartment blocks for families of defence personnel. It also has several large playgrounds for football and cricket matches and one of the largest hospitals in the area - the Kirkee Military Hospital.

The Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies (SIMS) campus takes up sizeable portion of the area towards the Bhosale Nagar end. Beyond this campus, civilization returns and you're in the land of pubs, luxury condominiums, IT offices and malls. In spite of this, Bhosale Nagar manages to retain some old-time charm with the presence several pre-boomtime bungalows and estates.

Esquare multiplex lies just outside Bhosale Nagar at the other end of Range Hills. On entering the theatre premises we caused several heads to turn. It's not often that you see a couple riding into a movie theatre on bicycles. The guards were flummoxed. We seemed well-off enough to be able to afford a parking fee, but they didn't have any rule which said cycles had to be charged for parking. After some back and forth, they decided we could park without a fee in a far corner of the lot. We caught a few smiles from other patrons too as we rushed into the movie hall ten minutes late.

I'd provide a movie review here if I'd actually seen it. But since I spent the rest of the morning remininscing about the ride itself, I wasn't really paying attention.

Bicycle Excursion in Pune II - Empress Botanical Gardens

We hit the road again last Saturday. I think it is turning into a habit now where we need our weekly long-ride fix else we start showing withdrawal symptoms, curl up into a ball and turn pale-skinned.

This week we set our eyes upon Empress Botanical Garden on Solapur Road in Camp. Amongst the concrete morass that Pune has been turning into lately, 59 acres of green cover stands out like an emerald. It is a prominent landmark on the most obscure city map, rivalled only by the racecourse just next door.

Guru Nanak Darbar Gurudwara, Camp

We left home at 7:00 am and made a beeline for Camp again. Before anything else, we visited Guru Nanak Darbar Gurudwara in Camp itself, which is one of the largest in Pune. It was still quite early when we reached there and we were able to spend some time in peaceful meditation in the prayer hall. The ragi's were at work completing their daily quota of kirtan's, but far from being disturbing their melodious tunes added a pleasant spiritual touch to the environment.

Empress Botanical Gardens

Our next stop, after the customary breakfast at Modern Café, was Empress Gardens .

The history of the gardens is sketchy, but it was once owned by Sardar Vithalrao Purandare, a general in the Peshwa Madavrao's army and governor of the Saswad province. The British took over the management of the gardens after 1838. In 1845, when it came under the purview of Sir Charles Napier, he rechristened it as the Garden of Dr. Don . It was renamed Empress Garden in honour of Queen Victoria when she was proclaimed the Empress of India on May 1 1876, although it was called Soldier's Garden in colloquial conversation. When possession of the garden was handed over to the Bombay Government, it delegated the maintenance to the Agri-Horticultural Society of Western India.

The garden gates open from 6:30 in the morning as it is a popular spot for joggers. With several armed forces residences and hostels in the vicinity, I am sure that there is no dearth of eager exercise enthusiasts. A stream running through the premises and a children's park make it popular during weekends and vacations with picnickers with their little ones in tow.

We took respite from the heat in the gardens for well over an hour. When we returned to the parking lot of the gardens, I realised that my front tyre had been punctured. Pushing the cycle 2 kilometres towards the nearest repair shop at Wanowari was no fun. Luckily the mechanic was quick and friendly and managed to patch the tyre in no time. I returned to St. Patrick's Cathedral where Ami was waiting for me to return.

We rolled back to M.G. Road and had dosa's for lunch. After a bit of window-shopping at the stores we returned to our cycles and began the long ride home.

In all, it was a simple ride with little adventure other than the tyre puncture. Empress Gardens are about 12 kilometres from our home. But given the added trips of the gurudwara and M.G. Road I would pin our total distance travelled at about 35 kilometres for the entire trip, which is not bad for a single morning.

Running Errands

After last week's ride, I was itching for more this weekend. But Ami has not been keeping well and I did not want her to exert herself again on a marathon ride. Luckily though, there were some errands to be run at Pune Camp and the peth's. So I dusted off my faithful two-wheeled friend and took off on Saturday afternoon.

Return to the War Graves

During the course of my research for Kirkee War Cemetery I came across The War Graves Photographic Project, a volunteer effort to photograph every war grave and memorial of serving military personnel across the world from WWI to present day and archive them for families of the deceased. Many a times, families are unable to visit graves of a long deceased ancestor due to its location halfway across the world. The photographs are a minor compensation to these families to remember them, as well as pass on their memory to future generations.

This struck a chord deep inside. It seemed simple enough and yet would affect many. I immediately signed up as a volunteer and waited for the weekend to arrive and be back in the cemetery with my camera. But the local cemetery manager, whose permission I wanted to assure an unhindered photo shoot, kept eluding me all week.

Finally, on Saturday evening I showed up at the office to talk to him and found that he had gone on leave. What a bummer! Ah well, nothing I could do here. I decided to talk to him later when he returned from his trip.

Then I continued on my own journey.

Pune Camp

I followed the same road as last week to Pune Camp. Off late, the Cantonment Board which is responsible for maintenance of the Camp area has come up with the idea of turning M.G. Road into a walking plaza on weekends. This means that vehicular traffic is not allowed on this road and it turns into a fairground, with rock shows, food stalls and a general sense of gaiety prevailing which is reminiscent of Kala Ghoda in Mumbai.

So I parked my bicycle aside and walked beyond the barriers to complete my errands. That done, I took off again towards Laxmi Road for the rest of my shopping.

Riding at Laxmi Road

Laxmi Road is among the most well known commercial parts of Pune. It snakes for three kilometres past Rasta Peth, Raviwar Peth, Budhwar Peth, Shukrawar Peth, Dagaduseth Halwai Mandir and Narayan Peth. Several by-lanes fork off from the main road into different wholesale markets – from clothing, to electronics, to hardware to stationery.

My first task led me to the electronics market near Pasodya Vithal Temple . I parked my bicycle there and finished my purchases. Then rather than lugging it around with me I left it right there (CAUTION: do not attempt to do this with a Firefox or a Trek or that might be the last you ever see of it) and headed off to the hardware market at Bohri Alley.

There is something special about walking into a bustling market such as this. People jostling around, vehicles racing at shocking speeds within narrow gaps and the overwhelming smell of produce – whatever it may be they are selling. And what provides a higher thrill for the ardent shopper is the ample opportunity to compare-shop and bargain freely and aggressively. This is no place for the mall-bred weenies who pay by the MRP label.

Going Home

I spent a good hour and a half here after which I headed back to where I had parked my bicycle, hoping it would still be there. And it was. I thanked the stars and mounted the saddle. It was going to be a long ride home from here.

Once past Dagaduseth Halwai Mandir, Laxmi Road translates from a dark wholesale market to something akin of Times Square . The flashy neon lights serve just one purpose – attract shoppers galore to the stores beneath them. And practically all of them sell clothes. Every major brand has an outlet here, sharing space with the local brew brands that nobody has ever heard of.

Riding upon this road demands agility and quick reflexes because not only do you have a gazillion motorised vehicles chasing you but also have to dodge pedestrians jaywalking, not to mention the parked cars which could back out into your way any minute. Fun!

Sambhaji Bridge over the Mutha River connects Laxmi Road with F.C. Road . But because it is closed to two-wheeler traffic I had to go via the smaller Z-bridge towards Deccan Bus Depot. For some reason, the PMC still has some empty land by the side of the Mutha River near Z-bridge which it loves to rent out to travelling circuses and fairs. It does cause a traffic problem in the evenings but the sheer energy of the gathering seems to keep the drivers ignoring the problems and rolling past without protest.

I practically had to push my bicycle across the bridge for most part. But the view of the fairground and the massive ferris wheel that is present there these days was worth the effort. The steep climb from the bridge onto J.M. Road , and the Sambhaji Bridge extension immediately afterwards left me a bit out of breath though.

At F.C. Road I kept drawing stares from the bikers who could not comprehend why a bicyclist would follow rules such as stopping at signals, maintaining safe distances and stopping before the zebra crossing. I was thankful at that point for not being dressed in anything Lycra.

Being sick of the traffic by now, I rolled off into the quiet lanes of Model Colony rather than go via Ganesh Khind. And once past E-Square and into Range Hills I was practically home safe.

Why?

Ami often wonders why I ride so far into the city when I could easily take a bus or an autorickshaw and get there in a fraction of the time. But for me cycling is not just a means to commute. After all, riding 20 kilometres on a motorbike would take a fraction of the time that it takes on a bicycle. But there is no joy in being a motorcyclist on increasingly crowded and polluted roads because anybody can be one. But it takes a real man to pedal the same distance and ride alongside those crowds on a flimsy aluminium frame.