Cycling Solo to Mumbai

Monday, January 18, 2010 | Posted by Ankur

Well the plan was to go Goa Dec month end and Mumbai was never in the plan. But to set -in the rhythm, after cycling Sinhagad a week earlier, thought of continuing ahead and going-in to Mumbai! After checking with folks in my group, it was kinda difficult for anyone on such notice to join in, so thought of going on solo itself. Though I knew it had be a little crazy but given the last couple of months, work etc, something of a little more intensity was a must required, to give myself a kick & get going! Just packed up some eatables, first aid and puncture repair kit and here I was all ready to embark onto my first solo long distance cycling tour!

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Started up sharp at 5.20 on very the morning of 20th Dec. Riding continuously through NH4 crossing Pimpri Chinchwad, Nigdi, Dehu Road, Talegaon, Vadgaon...reached over Lonavala at around 8.30. Obviously, riding solo is not all the same! It's altogether different experience be it cycle related issues, sleepiness or simply zero mind state! Though the first couple of kms 30-40 kms is a difficult task especially once you are out of civilization but once the rhythm sets in, most of the things are taken care of!
The route : Pune to Lonavala can be gauged as easy to moderate in terms of cycling; not enough climbs though gets a little monotonous as it gets closer to Panvel! Took 3 hours of pretty easy continuous cycling to cover off around 65kms to Lonavala. A must deserved break was necessary there as I didn't had any breakfast up in the mornings! Feed myself some Medu wada sambar and chai up there at some hotel just next to the Neeta hotel. Met a hiking group- 360 degree adventure who were planning to go in for trekking nearby Lonavala. Had a couple of chats with those guys. 


Moving ahead, I sped over the Khopoli Ghat slope. And that was the expressway patch! It That was indeed the highlight of the tour! ..not just becoz' of speeds but for the awful experience of riding alongwith trucks and buses! After crossing Khopoli, it's more so a flat ground and struggle to ride a mountain bike on asphalt under sun! Its indeed a test of patience! Cycling along the relatively much flat road renders nothing much, and that too riding alongwith the trucks and buses makes you sick of it. I touched the civilization of Mumbai by 11 or so...but going on was getting tougher as sun was baking me over more & more. A coconut water at Panvel soothed me up. Indeed it was amazing! The strange faces did sort of greet me, wondering what the crazy person is doing riding the bike on busy highways! Indeed it was a crazy getaway that too on MTB not meant for asphalt touring! Further the distance from Panvel to Vashi was jam packed full of traffic and flyovers. Ultimately, reached over Vashi, my destination for the Mumbai, by quarter to noon.
Definitely, that was good test of stamina, patience and cycling obviously! And this solo ride developed a new outlook towards cycling for me. May be cycling as a means to vacuum your mind! Also like to quote one of the lines of my dear friend , he says,"In solo cycling, body and mind feeds mutually; it is the body that feeds mind when that becomes tired!".
Solo cycling is an experience to cherish about, but it has its own sweet as well as sour tastes to it, its upto us to choose the taste & experiment with the cuisine! :P

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Power packed December!

Saturday, January 02, 2010 | Posted by Ankur

What I believe is what we carry along with is no money, no people, no material but a loads of memories along the path of life to places, countries, forests for that matter any new horizons...So, if we carry these memories, why not build good ones of those, anyways they are getting manifested every moment ; either we chart out or allow it to get charted out :)

Well, the point here is that, I realized this at the very end of 09...December that I don't really have anything great, positive,significant or intense to remind me of this very year. So, charted out a rough plan...and just executed it! Well, the plan was...


1st Sunday: Pune Marathon (Great run of 10kms)



2nd Sunday: Solo cycling to Sinhagad (first solo though not far but was test of stamina definately!)


 3rd Sunday: Solo cycling to Pune to Mumbai (Good experience..awesome slope after Khopoli at Xpressway!)








4nd Weekend: Cycling to Mahabaleshwar (Awesome ride indeed till date of late 2009 esp. becoz' of Great trio of Biker Pankaj, Trilok and myself)







Last 3 days:  Paragliding Course at Kamshet (Got P1 certified...Nothing better than flying in AIR celebrating 31st!:)


Indeed it was pretty power packed closure to the year 2009! And today I stand and feel great about these moments may be just for a moment though! :)
Well...that's the way it goes, what we can do is just try to supersede the lower moments and churn out better moments, I guess! Its kinda Moment Management as they might say in corporates! ;)

Anyways, Adios!
Have A Great, Happening and Full of Energy and Enthusiasm packed year ahead!
Ankur

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Pune Marathon 09' - Get a Life, Run through Streets!

Monday, December 14, 2009 | Posted by Ankur

Lately, haven’t been blogging much. Sorry to keep guys waiting! Well, this time around after loads of work, decided to participate in Marathon, for the first time. Though running has always been my favourite but never practiced it seriously. Still just to give it a shot, I registered for 10kms slot and pulled off two friends along with.

Many of you might have heard about the whole mismanagement of the oldest marathon in the country-Pune marathon. Yes, I did observe all that be it registration procedures (no online registrations! :( ), or no direction boards, or be it the marathon jerseys (simply sick baniyans! :( ). I guess most of this was due to lack of marketing and thereby, no major sponsors, so obviously less of glam value! Well, keeping apart all these organizational mismanagement, the event was still well received. Kudos to the Pune citizens and Marathon runners and some corporate participants! :)

Getting back to the day of marathon, i.e the historic 6th of Dec’09, we started off from Alka talkies. Obviously, the great dignitaries(or whatever) including the bollywood star Neha Dhupia were present to inaugurate the event. We started off easy with the hordes of marathon enthusiasts - young kids to marathon veterans, all at same platform vying to complete the marathon. Indeed it was great and different experience to run along with the crowd all together. First and foremost this brings about, the health quotient of the city. I say this with no doubt that Pune has always been and is a budding healthy city with so many enthusiasts bringing in their energies to keep up with moral of the city.
The route was from Tilak road to Jawaharlal Nehru road, then over to MG road reaching Pune cantonment and to Hotel Taj through Bund garden road. Running continuously for 10kms at constant pace may seem like monotonous but the fact that you are running along with the so many enthusiasts of city while hordes of city dwellers cheering across is what makes the event so special apart from the joy of running! Still remember the last patch of 300m, when I sped up to ravishing speeds and what a wonder feeling it was! :) Took less than hour for 10kms, not that bad without practice!
At the end point, you could actually see the crowned faces with utter content. Awesome moment really! :) Couple of omelette makers could be spotted, doing their brisk business, feeding the hungry souls at the site. Well, some not so normal people-handicap person as well completed the whole route on his hand operated vehicle.Cheers to his passion!
No doubt, the energy and passion in the atmosphere was so infectious that makes you feel do more and more and more..... :)

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