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FAT TWIN BREVET: KGF 200 - ROCKY BHAI RIDE

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Sometimes meeting the legends and talking to them can inspire and motivate common people to do something meaningful in life. This happened to us a fortnight ago when we met the legend in cycling community Lt. Col. Bharat Pannu. The simple words “kar lo, ho jayega” and “ Goal without a time frame is no goal” hit our minds so much that we were convinced to foray into the journey of fat tandem in our next brevet. Just after a week of meeting him, Bangalore Randounners (BR) announced the KGF 200 Brevet- Rocky Bhai Ride. It was supposed to be a challenging route with a scenic trail passing by Hosakote, Malur, Bangarpet, KGF, Nachipakkam, Berigai, Sarjapur and ending at Konark Kanteerava stadium. As a warning note, the organisers had made it clear that the route includes stretches of bad roads and heavy in city traffic. As per the note from organisers " KGF is a challenging BRM which requires both physcal and mental strength, good navigation skills, patience. Riders will be rewarded wit

Tale of Fat wheels

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                                                                                                   FAT BIKES   For a non cyclist, a fat bike would be a jargon, so let me first start with explaining what a fat bike is. I bet after reading the description of a fat bike, any person would definitely love to catch a glimpse of it. The naming of a fat bike comes from its tire width. While a normal bike's tire width ranges from 1-2 inches, a fat bike's tire width could be anywhere between 3.8-5 inches. This means that these bikes offer more rolling resistance on roads compared to its contemporaries. Fat bikes were originally used as snow bikes but with subsequent years it gained popularity and people started using it in urban roads as well. Despite the difficulty level of riding a fat bike on roads, the sheer pleasure of maneuvering it on roads, only a fat biker can appreciate.   MY INTRODUCTION TO FATBIKE   Now coming to the point how did my love for fat w

Revisiting the golden old days ....

The other day I saw a video on FB posted by a dear friend Charan. It picturised Charan with his kiddo on a cycle while he was dropping her at school. Such a cute video it was !! I wonder how many kids in today's age would avail these serene happiness. But Charan being unique in his own ways...Somehow, this video created nostalgia as it reminded me of my childhood times when papa used to drop me on his bicycle to school when we were late and could not walk till school. Walking back from school to home, the 1 km distance, roughly 30 mins of walk were the most enjoyable moments of my childhood. Walking casually with my brother while introspecting everything on the way... Is it not possible to relive those again...  90s was an era of happiness and the people of those generation would certainly agree to this point. It was an era devoid of video games & mobile phones, big CRT TV, tapes & cassettes, VCRs, land lines, no internet. In every home, though taking lunch together w

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Quoting Ernest Hemingway “ It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best” Moving amidst nature, with the cool breeze hitting my legs, as I pedal through the roads unseen… nothing provides me more eternal pleasure. The landscape, terrain and the alluring altitude, in addition to the lush green forage, provides a perfect heavenly experience.  Apart from the joy derived from cycling its the ticks and techniques of riding various types of bikes is what has attracted me over times and and subsequently expanded into my passion of collection of 8 bikes which includes road bike, fat bike, tandem, folding bike, penny farthing, unicycle, chopper and a recumbent trike, all of which are unique in their own kind. The first on the list is a FANTOM FAT BIKE with a huge 4" tyre which literally can conquer any rugged terrain. Due to the weight of the bike, uphill requires a lot of effort but that compensates with the high speed rolling during downhills. This is the b

Penny Farthing !!

Penny Farthing is actually the fore father of the modern day bicycle with a bigger front wheel and a smaller rear wheel.  Penny farthings date from the early days of bicycling and reached their peak of popularity in the 1880s. They were called penny-farthing because they reminded people of two British coins, the penny and the farthing.   The initial days penny farthing had a much larger front wheel which required the rider to board on the seat via the rear step, but subsequently it got modified with relatively smaller wheels.   Someday, I stumbled over a photo of this rare bike on internet, which was displayed on a shop in Kerela and instantly it was added to my next bucket list. Finally  I caught a glimpse of the Penny Farthing at 22bikes.in, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, my home town. Apparently, Mr. Ajay Nanda (the owner) had kept it as his personal collection but I managed to convince him and get it delivered to Bangalore in September 2017. Pennies require special skills to ride and m