We started from Bangalore at around 9.15 am, a good two hours behind schedule. All was well as we could still make it to the destination by the check in time; only now we would have to face the Saturday office hour rush. This is the route we took: Old Madras Road – Sarjapur Outer Ring Road – Agara Lake – Silk Board Junction -  Jayanagar – Banashankari Bus Stand – METRO – Kanakpura-NICE Junction – NH 209 – Harohally – Left towards Sathnur – Halaguru – Arrive at the destination towards left. ~120 km in 3 hrs, including at least one short stop.

The traffic and roads let us breathe easy only past the Kanakpura-NICE Junction on NH 209. The cool and cloudy weather helped to make it a great drive, at least for as long as we were on NH 209. There were characteristic, yellow road signages at regular intervals indicating the remaining distance and route to the Cauvery Fishing Camp; they were just not there where we needed them the most, though. Past the Kanakpura village and some distance ahead, we luckily spotted the left turn we were supposed to take. We were now off the NH 209 and entered the village areas (Sathnur). The Airtel network gave up on us here.

For a long distance, we drove on a secluded road, driving across what seemed like a hill,  until we entered yet another village. There were too many bifurcations here and had to stop to ask the locals. After some more distance, we started spotting the river running parallel to the road and we were instantly excited. We noticed a lot of people camping/picnicking at several spots along the river bank. They must have come down for a leisure day trip by the river and the hills. We were stopped by two men collecting entrance fee to the fishing camp (Rs 50.) . We found that quite strange as the JLR folks had not informed us about it, none of the blogs we’d read had mentioned it, and there was no official board indicating it was some kind of toll/fee. We paid up and drove off. Just a few meters ahead, we arrived at the destination on the left, at around 12.30 pm.

The Welcome at JLR

We had booked our stay at Jungle Lodges and Resorts. After the due check-in formalities at the office,  we were, as per the program, taken to the dining area to be served the welcome drink. The guy escorting us asked a lady to prepare “the juice” for us — umm, lemon juice if you will.

As we had handbags to carry and apparently the log hut assigned to us was at some distance, a jeep ride was arranged to deliver us. It was a short, bumpy ride through the jungle. We suddenly felt like having been transported to a place in the middle of a jungle, amidst nature, hills, and rivers. Our log hut was right next to the main dining area, a stilted enclosure with thatched rooftop. As we quickly scanned the surroundings, to one side of our log hut was a hammock under the shade of a tree and right in front of the log hut was the river at a hop-skip-jump distance.

The stilted log hut looked quite comfortable – bed, bath, and AC. No television, no room service. Two chairs and a table in the log hut balcony. We felt content with the whole set up; could not have asked for more! We were already dreading the ride back the next day.

Day 1

We quickly freshened up and headed towards the river. The mud sloped down from the log hut to the river. In the rainy season, the river reportedly swells up and the water level rises up the slope. Guess, thats why the log huts were stilted. The other bank of the river was lined with trees and hills in the background.

The calm and serene water instantly compelled us to relax and just be. The river was dotted with numerous small and big rocks. We could hear the river gurgling at the far end. The clean and pleasant air embraced us with open arms. I literally locked all the thinking, planning, worrying of the real world in the last room in some remote corner of my mind. This was the moment I had yearned for so long.

As we took a stroll after lunch, we noticed the other log huts, around eight of them; each was provisioned with a hammock and overlooked the river. There were also some swings made of wooden planks and tied to tall trees using thick, long ropes. They were fun. Further away from the river were tented cottages. Though the roof and front portion was tented, the rear was made of brick and cement. Might try the tents the next time we come here.

We rested and napped before it was time for evening tea and snacks. This was to be followed by coracle ride and kayaking. The kayaking was unguided and came at an extra cost. Since neither of us knows how to swim, we chose the coracle option. The guy who gave us the ride filled us in quite a bit about the tourist season and the history and geography of the place.

We had heard a lot about crocs in this side of the river and were a little on our edges, until this guy actually spotted one that was camouflaging on the rocks in the middle of the river. As we got closer, thankfully, the croc went back to the water and we moved away and completed our round of the river. So much for adventure!

Later in the evening, the resort folks had arranged for seating and barbecue by the river. But the arrangements were spoiled by the rains and they had to move everything inside the dining hall.

The rain compelled us to stay indoors after the snacks. Not sure if it was the awesome weather or the lack of worries, but we were hungry soon after, as it continued to pour heavily outside. Luckily, it wasnt long before someone came to inform us that dinner was ready. We gorged on the warm rotis, rice, curries. Both the meals had been okay so far, not outstanding but not too bad either. There was a lot of variety for vegetarians and one or two options for the non-vegetarians.

Day 2

A guided trekking trip in the morning was part of the package. We got a personalized wake-up call on the door at 6:30 am. The guy also served us morning tea. The night had been peaceful and we had slept like babies. As we barely managed to open our eyes, we decided to drop the trekking. We had come here to relax! So we savored the tea in the balcony and took on the morning freshness and felt saintly, letting the hours pass by unknowingly.

The peace was disrupted, yet again by the gurgles from within. So we dressed and headed for breakfast. This meal was sumptuous – hot, off-the-tava dosas, paranthas, omelettes! Just couldnt decide when to stop eating.

We took a final walk along the river and this time headed a wee bit far, on our own exploration of the area. Spent some time at a great spot we found and then wandered around a bit, mindlessly. It was hard to let go but our watches constantly reminded us that we had to check out of our log hut soon. We headed back but promised to come back some time again.

Tips for You

Carry these:

• Snacks (chips, biscuits, and the likes), in case you feel like munching on something between the meals.
• Mosquito repellent.
• Cap, sunscreen lotion.
• Waterproof shoes/sandals.
• Optional: Music, books, games.

Retain the Rs. 50 entrance fee receipt; there will be a group of people to verify it on your way out.

‘Outback Adventures‘ at Bheemeshwari organizes several water activities like Burma Loops, Parallel Walking, and Zip Line. The JLR also offer spa and massage services.

Over the course of three large studies, the most recent of which was published last month in The American Journal of Sports Medicine, the researchers found almost no correlation at all between wearing the proper running shoes and avoiding injury. Injury rates were high among all the runners, but they were highest among the soldiers who had received shoes designed specifically for their foot types. If anything, wearing the “right” shoes for their particular foot shape had increased trainees’ chances of being hurt.

via Phys Ed: Do Certain Types of Sneakers Prevent Injuries? – Well Blog – NYTimes.com.

What was also special about today was that we were biking together after nearly 4 months. So it was back to good old days, setting routes, cutting our way through residential colonies, and dodging the trucks and autorickshaws on the main roads.

We had decided to go to Bellandur lake and come back via Sarjapur Outer Ring road. So we cut across the Old Airport road, reached Wind Tunnel road and took the army defence area to reach the Bellandur lake. Once past the Wind Tunnel road, we were away from the city traffic. The entire stretch from Wind Tunnel road to the Bellandur lake is also a very good candidate for morning runs. We wish to come here some day for a long run.

We reached our usual spot around the Bellandur lake near a temple, where we usually stop for some clicks and mid-way rest. Here we decided to give a short visit to Manoj and Pooja at the Sun City. That was going to increase our initial planned time by at least half hour and distance by 5-7 km. The weather was good, so we decided to go for it.

We clicked some pictures. The lake is fast disappearing, being consumed by the water hyacinth. Both the sides of the road running along the lake have been barricaded by high-rise nets.

We reached Sun City. It was a good, short, quick meetup/catch up with the friends. And then we headed back, straight on the Sarjapur Outer Ring road, from Sun City to the K.R.Puram railway station. We had to make a stop at Reliance Fresh on the way to pick some cold drink and a sports bar. It had well been over an hour of ride already and it was important to replenish our energy reserves. It was a good thing that we had had some toasts before starting for the ride.

This time we did not push ourselves a lot, took it easy, rode leisurely. So it was not so taxing as some of the other rides in the past, where we just concentrated on building a good average. This time, we also did some stretch exercises after reaching home.

Great weather, great ride, good fun.

This post struck me as especially relevant as it covered an embarrassing aspect of running that most runners avoid talking about, and I am particularly affected by a variation of it – runner’s trots. Or, the need for “taking a dump” in the middle of a run.

Vanessa has some real detailed data on what runners should be aware of. I actually haven’t seen such data anywhere, and therefore feel really lucky to have spotted this info.

A sample info:

Keep in mind that food has a travel time:

• From the moment you swallow to your stomach = 15-20 minutes
• From the moment you feel full to elimination = 4-6 hrs
• From the moment you swallow to elimination = 12-24 hrs

If you run, you are a runner. It doesn’t matter how fast or how far. It doesn’t matter if today is your first day or if you’ve been running for twenty years. There is no test to pass, no license to earn, no membership card to get. You just run.

( Source )

Another article on the topic by John.

…

I AM A RUNNER because my runs have names. I do tempo runs and threshold runs and fartlek runs. I do long, slow runs and track workouts. My runs are defined, even if my abs are not.

I AM A RUNNER because my shoes are training equipment, not a fashion statement. The best shoe for me is the one that makes me a better runner. I choose the shoe that goes with my running mechanics, not my running outfit.

I AM A RUNNER because …

From an article on Bangalore Mirror:

After plastic, paper and clothes, it is the turn of the humble cycle to be recycled in a bid to empower poor and needy children.

Two Bangaloreans have been collecting unused and/or old cycles from across the city and repairing them before donating them to needy children.

The duo — Pradeep V V, a co-founder of Mapunity.in, and Mayank Rungta, a software professional with Juniper Network India Pvt Ltd, set up the Ride A Cycle Foundation after reading of a similar initiative elsewhere. Pradeep says, “Last year, I came across a story about a doctor couple in Mumbai who would go around the city collecting old cycles and repairing them before distributing them among the needy. Their project is called the Bicycle Project.

More info about Pradeep and Mayank’s initiative can be found at Cycle Recycle blog. In December, they provided the first set of recycled cycles to students of two NGOs.

You can see the complete description of Sunday’s ride to Bellandur Lake on dailymile.com here.

Before Sandip and I started riding cycles this Feb and before we even got our cycles, we had started dreaming and marking out all the roads and areas where we wanted to come on our bikes. Its amazing that within a month, we have covered a lot of those places and many more we hadnt dreamt about! We’ve ridden in the evenings/late nights, gone to have puchkas for an evening snack, burgers @ Bistro for dinner, IVCDS [idli-vada-chutney-dosa-sambhar] breakfast at Madurai Idly shop on 80 ft road .

The GGI initiative helped us venture out to M.G.Road and Cubbon Park. That was our first longest trip, totalling ~25 km. We had not been to Cubbon Park in the last 4 years we have been in Bangalore but were glad we finally went there biking. The most recent dream-come-true was our ride to Bellandur – could not imagine it would happen so soon.

Our next big leap should be to BOTS @Jayanagar, from where we got our bikes.

(What is Critical Mass?)

Official Announcement for the February event on 27th.

It’s time again to celebrate the joy of cycling. This month we are taking some history lessons with cycling.

Let’s ride towards one of the less famous towers of Kempegowda in Gavipuram Guttahalli. The tower is on a small hillock overlooking the Kembambudhi lake. If on time, we can view a beautiful sunset and move on the the Gavi Gangadhareshwara Cave temple.

Both the tower and the temple were built by Kempe Gowda referred to as the founding father of Bangalore.

We will be ending the ride at the VV Puram – Food Street and indulge in some carb loading.

Really want to attend this. Have to get the final route map though, to make sure we don’t kill ourselves riding all over Bangalore in the middle of the afternoon. Google maps seems to suggest this car route. Distance from Cubbon park seems to be about 6-7 km.

View Larger Map

Now I am quite sure I fall into at least one or more of these categories:

The Nighttime Feeder

You eat very few calories all day long, then you gorge at dinner and late into the night.

“Eating little throughout the day and loading up at night is similar to filling up your gas tank after you’ve arrived at your destination,” says Dolins. Yet it’s a common pattern for a good number of runners. For many, it’s an oversight; the absence of an eating plan throughout the day leaves them starving by late afternoon, resulting in an evening binge.

That is me alright.

The Junk-Food Fiend

You eat whatever you want because you believe running will keep you fit and trim.

Sure, there are runners who live blissfully ignorant of their nutritional blunders, but then there is the Junk-Food Fiend. Painfully aware of his poor food choices, but unable or unwilling to change, he has convinced himself that he can get away with eating anything and everything.

Hmm. That also seems to be me alright.

Just discovered this article on Sheldon Brown’s website. It explains a lot about why experienced cyclists pedal a lot differently (not just faster) from newbie cyclists (or normal urban cyclists).

High or Low?

“Higher” gears put more resistance on the pedals. If you select a gear that is too high for the conditions, it will force you into a slower cadence. Pedaling slower than your ideal cadence is wasteful of energy. You also run a higher risk of muscle strains and joint damage, particularly to the knees and hips.

“Lower” gears make the pedals easy to turn, so it becomes easier to spin to a fast cadence. Pedaling faster than your ideal cadence can allow you to generate an extra burst of speed, but you will tire yourself out too soon if you try to maintain an excessively fast cadence.

The Perfect Bicycle

If you had a perfect bicycle, with an infinite number of gears, you would always be pedaling at the same cadence, with the same amount of resistance to the pedals. Of course, the bike would go slower uphill, and faster downhill, but your legs would not know the difference.

Inexperienced cyclists often pedal at a cadence that is too slow, (too high a gear.) They sometimes think that this is better exercise, because they have to push harder on the pedals. This is an illusion.

Read the rest of the article for a complete explanation. So it seems the idea is not to shift gears till you find the right resistance that you are comfortable with. This is the mistake I keep doing. The idea is to move the gears so that I can put in the safe effort to keep the pedals moving at the same speed – a faster speed than what I am doing currently.

Time to fix that broken cadence kit on my bike.