Cycling scene in Bangalore

Hmm… cycling in Bangalore is picking up fast. I see a lot more cyclists on the road these days. From the expensive Trek’s and Merida’s to the low cost Hero’s and Hercules’, you see them all. Clad in colorful attire complete with gloves and helmets, cylists here are pedaling their way towards a better and healthier Bangalore.

This year has been a wonderful year for cycling. We had the cyclothon. We have our own BBCh races and of course, any weekend, there are riders contemplating between a Nandi hill ride and a Bannerghatta trail ride. Some like Francis and Shreekumar keep planning for their next 1000Km ride. And events like TFN have helped immensely in popularising the sport. Cycling is amongst the most happening things in Bangalore now.

Also, I see a lot of cycling oriented adventure sports ventures springing up. A few that I know are

• Cycling and more
• Muddyboots
• Tandem Trails

And the forums are bubbling with activity.

• Bikezone
• Bangalore bikers club
  

Hmm.. the tribe is growing and carbon footprints are rising! How wonderful it would be if we had dedicated parking and cycling lanes in the city!! I see that happening pretty soon in the near future, at least in Bangalore, at least in a couple of places. (Recently the GGI members managed to convince Forum mall management to allow cyclists in.. way to go!)

Now, isn’t it high time you got a life? Go get a cycle! And use it!

BSA Cyclothon

I have registered for the BSA Cyclothon. For the 50 Km amateur ride.

Have you registered too?

Tour of Nilgiris – birding, cycling, photography & nature

Would anyone be interested in a trip to Nilgiris from Sept 18-25.

As of now, we are two people. Dev and I. We are looking for more company. The ideal head count would be between 4 and 6. If you are interested, do let us know.

We intend to carry our cycles on a car and do a lot of cycling as well. So, a cycle is a must for this ride. (If you dont have one, can be rented). Also, since cycles will be carried too, I think only 2 can ride in a car unless it has room for more.

The activities planned for this trip are:

• cycling
• bird watching
• nature and landscape photography
• Nilgiri mountain train ride
• street photography at places like Stephen church, Assembly rooms, etc

The itinerary is as follows. Have also mentioned the estimated cost, stay, etc. However, the final version could change too.

NOTE:  Would also appreciate your feedback for the plan below.

Spot the bird!

Can you spot the bird in the picture?

Bangalore Bikers Club

If you like cycling and if you are in Bangalore, here is something you should not miss.

Bangalore Bikers Club

Visit this group

Subscribe to this club

Trip to Manchinabele

This is a long overdue post. I was very busy in the recent few weeks to sit down and write! Bad!!

I am a huge fan of Sudhir Shivaram and when he announced his Elephas outdoors, I was keen to participate. And when he tweeted on the date and location, I sent my confirmation immediately! I was happy that I was part of the 3 member team that would go on the trip with him. Vidya and Jayaram were the other two.

The date was June 28. We started at 6.30 am. I parked my car @ BDA complex in HSR layout and hopped into a nice and new Scorpio (Sudhir’s). Weather was excellent. We reached Manchinabele in about an hour. (Via Nice road). Surprisingly, the road was good throughout.

ROUTE: HSR layout- NICE road – Mysore road – Dodda Alada Mara – Confusing lefts and rights – Manchinabele.

Upon reaching the first birding spot, Sudhir gave us a few tips on bird photography (some I knew already, some I didnt).

June is not a great period for birding (Sudhir too had conveyed this point earlier in his email) and we didnt see many birds. But we did see the regulars.. mynas, bulbuls, bushchats, parakeets, bee eaters, etc and we clicked those. A few like the red wattled lapwings were too far away and we didn’t bother to click them. And our search for the baya weavers was not fruitful.. (I have never spotted them till date).

What was new to me was driving into rough terrain (in Scorpio) and getting real close to birds. Previously, I had always tried to approach birds by foot and in many cases only scared them away.

I got some good shots of the shrike, bushchat and the myna. The shrike especially was patient enough to pose for us many times. Sudhir also helped with a few tips on composition and also about the angle at which the shrike looks beautiful on snap. He then took us around to quite a few areas in search of more species. At one spot, I saw the coucal. But before I could get a good click of him, he scampered away.. leaving me with only a record shot.

We then decided to take a break and have breakfast. Thatte idlis and coffee. It was decent enough and filling. We then resumed our birding.

At one location, we noticed a parakeet sitting high on a branch. The background was too bright. I raised the exposure by 2/3 stop and clicked. It looked better. (Previously I had attended Kalyan Varma’s training and knew how to use these options. But after a field trip like this, with Sudhir to clarify any doubts I had, I felt I only improved my photography skills).

We moved onto rocky areas. The terrain was rough and we sighted a few kites there and a few lizards like rock agama. Also a Laughing pigeon at close quarters. We drove close to it and got a few good shots.

By then the light was harsh and not many birds were around. So we decided to hit the dam, the main attraction around the place.

Boy.. it was amazing! The place is just too awesome! I dont feel competent enough to describe the place, you need to experience it yourself. Pure magic. I clicked a few shots of the place after changing from 70-300 VR to the 18-70 lens.

At the water body, I was able to click a shot of the Brahminy kite. Also a few Grey Herons… till date I had not been successful in going close to these. We spent some time driving around the dam area. It was purely blissful to explore this area. This area still remains virgin territory inspite of being close to Bangalore. I wish it stays that way!

It was lunch time by then and Sudhir had brought bread, jam, cakes, fruits, etc and we munched on them. It was time to explore the place more. We travelled around the place. I was never short of amazement. I had never seen this place before and was basking in its beauty.

On the way to Savanadurga state forest, we stopped at a place to spot the Kingfisher. We did, but weren’t successful in clicking. Instead we got a few good shots of the pond herons. Till date, I have missed the kingfisher narrowly several times. This too added to that count.

While driving on the NICE road, we spotted a black shouldered kite. It was my first sighting of this bird. Took a few distant shots of it. Hopped back into the vehicle and drove back towards HSR and reached the place by around 4 pm. The roads were good all throughout (except when we went off-road.. ).

It was a day well spent. I didnt see many birds, but did learn a lot. Sudhir is awesome and has a ton of ideas and tips. I felt I was a better ‘bird’ photographer after this trip.

I will add a few more snaps from this trip in a few days. Been busy a bit and have a ton of snaps to process.

Links:

Please read Sudhir’s trip report at this link. It also has images that Vidya and Jayaram clicked too.