bicycling (etc.) in the SanFrancisco BayArea -- part2 ...

Continuing from my earlier blog post (Bicycling (etc.) in the SanFrancisco BayArea -- part1 ... ) -- 

Having acquired 2 nice bicycles (on Sat), I was eager to get some cycling done the next day (Sun).  To add to those 2 cycles, I had also borrowed a cycle from my cousin, earlier in the week -- it was a MTB, from Specialized.

I had 3 colleagues from work with me on the trip, one of whom was interested in doing cycling.  So on Sunday afternoon, we all headed towards Half Moon Bay, with 2 cycles -- the Cannondale (which I planned to ride), and the Specialized (which seemed appropriate for my colleague, who was not a regular cyclist).

From the 101FW, after we got on to 92, and crossed the 280FW, we saw some bike route signs, and a bit later, there we saw an open area where some cars were parked.  This was near the Crystal Springs Reservoir.  The two of us who planned to bike, stopped off there, while the other two proceeded to Half Moon Bay.

This was the Chen-Valia meeting point.

It was close to 1500hrs, when my colleague (D :)) and I started riding north, following one of the bike route signs, but a bit further, we reached a dead end.  There was a gated off area, so probably there was a bike route further down, but it was closed now.  So we turned around and got back to where we had parked.  I was wondering which direction to head to, from there, when couple of bikers rode by; I flagged them down, and asked them for bike routes.  They suggested going towards Kings Mountain Road, which they said was provided a good climb, and asked us to follow them for a bit, to get an idea of which way it was.  So we tagged along, and finally they gave us more directions as to which way it we needed to ride.  

It was Canada Road that we were riding on at that time.

Since my colleague D was not a regular rider, he was quite slow, and I was stopping from time to time, to let him catch up.  The cyclists from whom we had taken direction, had gone ahead.  Meanwhile, at one point, I noticed that one of the brake pads of my front brake, was touching the rim.  I tried to figure out what it was, but couldn't.  It was causing some drag, which was annoying, but I could continue riding.

Riding on Canada Road was very nice.  Not much traffic, and there were quite a few cyclists riding in the opposite direction, who I figured were returning from their rides.  There were vehicles parked at couple of spots along the side of the road where there was good amount space for parking.  So overall, this road seemed very suitable for cycling (hence the lot of cyclists there :)).

Around 1630hrs, we reached Woodside.  At Robert's Market, we picked up some water.  

The ride upto this point (ignoring the initial bit where we went north for a bit), was this route (with elevation profile).

As D and I took a break, I saw another cyclist.  I went over and talked to him -- he said he and his friend had cycled till here, via El Camino, from somewhere around Mountain View, IIRC; quite a distance.  I asked him if he was familiar with routes in this area, and he said he wasn't

Back where D was sitting around, I saw a beautiful Rivendale bike; looked like a nice tourer-commuter.  Took some pics of the bike (which I don't have handy at the moment; will post later), and when the owner (a musician from the Santa Cruz area) returned, had a chat with him about his bike as well as bike routes in the area.

Based on all the discussions, I figured I would stick to the plan of going to Kings Mountain Road.  I took stock of the route ahead, from Google maps.  Based on that, I told D to ride back the way we came, while I would proceed to Kings Mountain Road.  The supposed climb there would be tough for my colleague, and with just ~90mins of daytime remaining, I figured it was not safe to be going further at the slow pace D was making.  So around 1700hrs, we left from Woodside -- D riding back the way we came, while I went towards Kings Mountain Road, on HW84.

Within ~15mins, I was at Kings Mountain Road, and soon the climb started.  It was a tough climb, and I realised that asking D to turn back earlier had been the right decision.  I laboured up the road, having a take regular breaks.  One nice thing was that one one break (fairly close to the top of the climb), I figured out why one of the front the brake pads was touching the rim; it was a straightforward tweak, and got that sorted out.

I reached the intersection of HW35 at 1800hrs, when light was starting to drop.  (Part of the reason was also the fairly dense vegetation there, blocking direct sunlight).  This section of the ride, was this route (with elevation profile).

At this point, I was debating which way to head from here -- whether to go back the way I had come, or take HW35, towards HW92.  I met another biker there; had a chat with him, and he warned me of the fast traffic on HW35 (which I was aware of already).  Also on my mind was the recent unfortunate cycling accident on HW35, in which Joy Covey (first CFO of Amazon) had died.

I finally decided to ride on HW35.  As I rode along, I did_not see much traffic.  The road was nice, with lot of trees around, so it was a real nice road for cycling.  It would have been better had it been a bit earlier in the day.  With more light, I would have gotten a better view of the vegetation around.  The route was enjoyable regardless.  It was all downhill, and so was 
quite relaxed.  I made sure I was braking a lot, to make sure I did_not pick up much speed.  This section of the ride was this route (with elevation profile).

About two-thirds of the way along that route, as the wooded area cleared up, the view on either side was quite something -- on the right, below, was the Crystal Springs reservoir, while on the left, was the Pacific ocean at a distance, with some hills, clouds and the setting sun in the distance providing a beautiful mix.

At the end of that route, around 1900hrs, I touched HW92.  It was starting to get dark, and the traffic on HW92 was quite a bit, so I did_not feel safe trying to ride on the shoulder; not even knowing if there was enough of a shoulder all along.  So I synced up with the two colleagues heading back from Half Moon Bay, to pick me up.  We then covered the short distance to get to Chen-Valia meeting point, where we had parked the other car, where D was waiting for us.  From there, we headed back to out hotel in Santa Clara, bring to end a nice day of riding.

So got to ride for ~4hrs on some very nice and scenic routes.  Would have liked to ride couple of more hours, but given that I was quite new to cycling in these parts, and planning the route was taking up some time, it was still a very fruitful day.

Will cover the next weekend's rides, in my next blog post.  Till then, happy and safe cycling!

bicycling (etc.) in the SanFrancisco BayArea -- part1 ...

On a recent trip to the SanFrancisco BayArea, I dabbled with cycling.  When I went there, I wasn't sure how much I would dabble; as it turned out, I dabbled a bit, to the extent that I surprised myself.

I was getting 5 weekends there, and initial plan was that I would be visiting friends outside California on 3 of those weekends.  So I would get just 2 weekends in the SF-BayArea, so I was really not sure how much time I could give to cycling.

But due to various reasons (or maybe subconsciously, I was leaning towards cycling), 2 of the trips ourside California could not happen; and the one that happened was the last weekend.  So I had 4 straight weekends in the SF-BayArea.  And boy, did I capitalise on that! ;P

I landed there on a Friday (how convenient! ;)), so the very first weekend (on Sunday), I went to SFO with a friend.  As we walked around there, sightseeing, I kept ducking in and out of bike stores, to see what was available on rent.  While there were nice options -- ~$30 per day, to $16 per day, if renting for a week or so -- the bikes were not quite the type / level that I wanted.  I am a fairly serious biker, afterall.  So, what was I looking for.  Well, nothing too fancy / exotic.  A steel frame bike, with or without drop bars.  Or if not that, then a Aluminium frame bike, with a steel fork.

Towards the end of the day, as we were returning to where we had parked (near the cafe which my friend's mom runs -- 901 Columbus Cafe, at the corner of Columbus and Lombard), I saw this bike store -- just 1/2 a block from the cafe -- Columbus Cyclery, at 801 Columbus.  I ducked in and got talking to one of the chaps there (John) -- told him what I was looking for, and he showed me couple of bikes.  One was a Specialized bike -- Aluminium frame, with steel fork, I believe.  I really liked it, but it was bit small for me.  John btw, seemed really nice and straightforward, so I felt good chatting with him about my biking etc. in India.  I suppose based on that, he could tell that I was a regular cyclist, and was quite clear on what I wanted.  So at one point, he suggested I take a look at the bike he rode.  We went out, and he showed me his orange frame Cannondale CAD M300 bike.  A used one, fairly old.  But very well maintained.  (I later checked on the net -- these are from the mid to late 1990s, from what I could tell, maybe some are from early 2000s too.  It was considered an MTB, back then.  I would call it a hybrid now, just that it had 26" wheels.)  It was an Aluminium frame with a steel fork.  I took a test ride, and it felt quite good.  He pointed out that it was Made in USA. :)  He said he would sell it for $400, and would also replace the seat, and one of the derailleurs, and the brakes.  The stem was an old style one, and he said he might also be able to put in a different one (still old style, but one that would extend out a bit further), to see if I felt more comfortable on that.  Btw, I felt a big difference between John and the chaps at the other bike stores.  John seemed genuinely excited about cycling.  So it was a pleasure interacting with him.

I told him that I would decide during the week and get back to him, and told him not to sell the bike to anyone else, till he heard from me.  He was fine.  He said he would also buy the bike back for $200 in a few weeks, if I wanted to sell it back to him, when I was returning to India. :)

During the week, I spent some time looking for used bike sale ads on Craigslist, and saw some ads for Surlys etc.  I contacted one of the sellers towards the end of the week, and said I would schedule to meet him on the weekend.  He was near SFO, so I figured I would checkout his bike, and if that did_not workout, I could just swing by John's shop and pick up his bike.

Come weekend (Sat), I headed to SFO, but not before I checked out a used bike store in Mountain View; they also make their own bikes.  They had some really old bikes -- Motobecane etc., from the 80s maybe, if not earlier, but not what I was looking for.

So I continued to SFO.  Once I was there, the meeting with the guy selling the Surly did_not happen.  Btw, he told me he was someone who picked up bikes etc. in auctions, and then sell them off, so he had some other bikes too; and was also flexible on the price.  He said he could show me one other Surly bike too.  So I was really hoping to meet him, but for whatever reason, he could_not come, and that fizzled out.

Meanwhile I had swung by Columbus Cyclery, and met John.  I told him I would confirm within ~30mins if the other meeting was happening, and if not, I would buy his bike.  Once the other meeting was cancelled, I let John know, and we met at the store a bit later.  He had already replaced the derailleurs and brakes.  He got the other stem, and put a new seat, and I took a test ride, and all looked good.  About then, I saw another guy (found out later his name was Ron) standing out side the bike store with a road bike, that looked nice.  While John and I were finalising on John's bike, Ron was there, and I got talking to him about his bike -- a Trek 1200 Aluminium frame with steel frok.  Ron had put various components on it, and built it himself.  And I'm not sure if I am remembering this right, but I think the gears were Shimano Tiagra on the front, and Shimano 105 on the back.  I recall thinking those were some really good components.  The Trek 1200 again, John pointed out, was Made in USA. :)

While chatting with Ron, he said he would sell the bike for $150.  I immediately got interested.  I told John to take a look at the bike, and tell me what he thought.  He looked it over and said it was a real good deal for $150.  He said the front wheel was not that good, but he added that it was a good deal even without a front wheel! :)

After I came back from a final test ride on John's bike, Ron said that one of the other chaps at the bike store had just told him he would buy the bike for $175.  I was wondering if these guys were running a scam on my, and I voiced that to John and Ron.  I decided to take a test ride on the Trek -- did that, and it too felt pretty good.  It was a bit small for me, but it was such a nice bike, and a good deal, that I decided it was too good to let go.

In the end, I went with my gut -- the guys seemed straightforward, and I decided to buy the 2nd bike too. :)  I told Ron that I would buy him beer, and that he should sell me the bike for $150.  Ron agreed, and that was that -- I picked 2 Aluminium frame + steel fork bikes, both Made in USA, for $550.  Both the bikes have such classic looks / lines, that it felt real nice having them. :)

I bought Ron and John couple of beers at my friend's mom cafe :), where we sat and chatted for a bit.  I got John and Ron's email ids too, and then after they helped me load the cycles in my car trunk, we said goodbye, and parted ways.

So, I was now the proud owner of 2 nice bikes.  And it was now upto me to put those bikes to good use.  Well, I was fairly certain that it was mostly the Cannondale that I would ride.  The Trek -- well, one of my friends could ride it.

In the next part, I'll write about my cycle rides, and other cycling related stuff that I did in the SF-BayArea.  Meanwhile, here is a pic of me with the two bikes, from a later ride -- 

Till the next time... happy & safe cycling!

nice ride today on the outskirts of BLR (Varthur-Gunjur-Sarjapur-Chandapura) ...

I had a nice ride today; the route was Kadubeesanahalli-Varthur-Gunjur-Nerige-Kamanhalli-Sarjapur-Chandapura-SilkBoard (leaving out the start end sections which were within the city). The google maps link --

https://www.google.co.in/maps/ms?msid=200753379097903741302.0004e3109d3d8f1f7a6c6&msa=0&ll=12.816823,77.717543&spn=0.044608,0.034847

It was quite sunny in the morning; this weather started yesterday. Before that, for quite a few days, it was cloudy, most of the day. Had some chores to take care of, so by the time I was ready for the ride (which also included doing stretches etc.), it was 1545hrs. Just ~10mins before that, I checked outside and it was still sunny, so put the dark visor on the frame; but just as I was stepping out, I saw it was very cloudy! Changed the visor to the non tinted one, and left. I was taking my Surly LHT today.

Once outside, I realised the sun was playing it's usual hide-n-seek that it does around my apartment complex -- while the side that is seen from my house might be sunny, once I get out and move towards the other side, it's cloudy; and vice versa. Same was the case today. Outside, and on the outer ring road (ORR) side, it was quite sunny. Anyway, not so bad that I needed the dark visor; continued with the non-tinted one.

Once on the ORR, I started at a mild pace, to give myself time to warm up, and also get a sense for the traffic. (I try to do this always.) Moreso the latter, because I feel the traffic has a mind of it's own; some days are just manic. Better to get a feel for the prevailing conditions, rather than go with set ideas.

It was a bit manic today at that time, so tried to be a bit more more watchful; yet, I did see myself getting caught up in the manic-ness, at times.

Got to Kadubesanahalli, and took the road towards Varthur. I find this a good way to get towards Varthur. Ofcourse, if the idea is to then ride towards Gunjur, then that means not getting to ride the beautiful Varthur lake stretch -- which is a shame -- but it also means avoiding the traffic on the Marathahalli / Varthur road stretch.

Also, the Kadubesanahalli-Varthur stretch is quite scenic overall, going through some village areas, and green sections. On the down side, the road is quite bad in a stretch or two. The 1.75" tyres I am currently using, feel ok on those stretches; I would be a bit worried on 1.5" tyres. Had been on this road just a few days back, but still saw myself getting taken in by the scenic-ness. Maybe I was not quite present, the last time. Was pleasantly surprised!

Got to Varthur, and as I turned right (bit of a right-V turn) towards Gunjur, I also made a mental note that there was a road that continued on the other side from where I came; something to check on google maps and perhaps explore on a subsequent ride. (After I got home and was online, I did check that route; does seem like something to explore. It hits the same road (except, further north) that I eventually took today, to get to Sarjapur.)

So, I was now on the Varthur-Gunjur road -- it is a fairly green stretch, but I suppose I've been on that stretch so many times now, that familiarity has perhaps started breeding some contempt. Also, since it's a state highway (SH35), there is a bit of traffic on that route, so that probably dulls the beauty a bit. And it has fairly straight stretches, so that too plays a part.

Got to Gunjur, and took the left towards Nerige. Discovered this stretch a few weeks back, and liked it a lot. Has really nice green stretches, with some village areas. Fairly straight stretches, but the greenery / countryside really makes up for it. One thing -- I did have a government public transport bus go past me at a very high speed; bit unnerving, as the road is a bit narrow. But all in all, a very nice section.

Just before the road reaches Kamanahalli (where it hits the Hoskote-Sarjapur road), it becomes a gravel road. Maybe a km or so. Again, the 1.75" tyres felt ok. With 1.5" tyres, I might consider getting of the bike a walking some sections.

Once I reached the intersection at Kamanahalli, I checked the time. It was ~1650hrs. So I decided to take the right and go towards Sarjapur. If I had an extra hour, I would have continued towards Chikka Tirupati, and then taken the next right towards Sarjapur. But I didn't have the time, and I anyway had done that stretch last week.

So, I started towards Sarjapur. The road is a bit narrow, and has some traffic -- it is the Hoskote-Sarjapur road. So when regular buses and heavy trucks come, things do get a bit squeezed. But I just hold my place on the road, with some margin on the left, and give my usual hand signals to indicate I need some space on the right as well. For the most part, the buses / trucks were slowing down, and also moving away from me, giving me the space; was nice. Ofcourse, one still needs to be prepared for the odd one, who insists on squeezing you to the left, if not off the road (it didn't come to the latter today).

One nice thing that happened was that after some initial buses/trucks, I did not see any heavy vehicles on this road. Plus, the road had some nice rolls, as well as turns, and the scenery/greenery around was quite good too; some tree lined sections too. For the speed junkies (not me!), there was also a nice down stretch -- except, there were some turns on that stretch, so one needs to make sure one is able to control the speed to take the turns. But all in all, this turned out to be a really nice section; one of the most beautiful ones I've done so far, around Sarjapur. The dark clouds in some distance were adding to the beauty.

Got to Sarjapur road; was not sure where exactly I would hit it. Turns out it was just past the circle where one roads goes off towards Attibele. So as I turned right towards Dommasandra, I went past that circle (Attibele road was to the left).

Before I left from home, I had noted on google maps that there was a road that forked off the Sarjapur road, before Dommasandra (coming from Sarjapur side), that went and hit the Dommasandra-Chandapura road. I had planned on trying that road today, for getting to Chandapura, instead of going all the way to Dommasandra, and then heading to Chandapura. (Btw, I had done the Dommasandra-Chandapura road a long time back.)

Once I got to the fork (checked the google maps on my phone, plus asked one of the local folks), I saw that it seemed like a dirt road, but I decided to try the new road as planned. (There was a bakery at that junction; has a quick Slice there.)

As I got on the new road - Kada Agrahara road -- I saw couple of city-type folks on scooters, and could tell that there was some 'development' down the road. The road also felt surfaced, though covered with some dry dirt. A bit down the road, I came a apartment block, beyond which, I would see the road becoming quite narrow, and heading into a village type area.

Continued on; the road was surfaced for an initial part, and then it became a dirt road. But as I rode on the road, looking at the sides, it seemed like there was some road widening / surfacing that was in the works. Though the road seemed like a dirt road, it did seem to have a level surface.

Again, there was nice greenery on both sides, and this was turning out to be another good section; fairly smooth village roads through nice green sections. A really nice variety of sections so far on the ride today!

Another pleasant suprise was waiting for me a bit down the road. I came to this village, and saw a big white bird, that I have never seen before. (Once I'm done typing up this blog, I'll come back and post links to the pics.) One of the villagers said the bird was called 'Kodi'. (A quick search on google is_not giving any matches; so the name 'Kodi' is some local term, I guess. Maybe someone can id it from the pics.) Took some pics, chatted briefly with couple of the villagers, and took off. It was getting a bit dark, due to the dark clouds above. I wanted to get to regular roads before it got dark (or started raining heavily).

I little bit further, I saw the road getting narrow, and it was also was no longer levelled as it had been so far. Checked with one of the villagers if this was still the road towards the Dommasandra-Chandapura road, and he confirmed that it was; the main road was just a km away, he said.

I continued and came to a section which was well surrounded by trees; it was a markedly different from the greenery that I had been riding through till then. Just as I was coming out of that section, I heard what sounded like some announcement on a loudspeaker. Heard it again a bit later, and as I rode on, it got clearer; sounded like something sports related. A bit further, I saw a ground and some kids in school uniforms, and a little further, I could see vehicles parked near the gate. As I approached the gate, I saw the school's name -- "Head Start Academy". Seemed like a school where kids from upper middle class homes go.

Just a bit beyond that school, I reached the main road, and turned left towards Chandapura. The dark clouds were looming, so I was wondering if I might get caught in a heavy shower.

I rode towards Chandapura -- while I had been on this road a long time back, I could_not really recall much of it. This section again was really nice -- some nice turning sections, and nice greenery around. There was a lake too along one stretch, and all in all, today's ride was turning out to be a really good one. Nice variety of roads -- rolling, turning, dirt roads, with good greenery, farmlands and tree lined sections.

Just before getting to Hosur road, there is an underpass, with a railway line above. I recalled this from the last time I was on this road. Went through that, and soon after, I reached the Chandapura junction on Hosur road.


Got on the Hosur road, turning right to head back towards Bangalore. Again, had been on this road a few days back, when I had gone to Sarjapur and then to Attibele. I usually stick to the service road, and that is what I did today too. I do like some of the stretches on this road, and there are some ups and downs. But other than that, it's just covering the kms, getting back to Bangalore. Took a break near at a bakery at tghe Bommasandra junction, as it had started raining slightly; was not sure if it would get heavy. The rain did_not pick up. After couple of flavoured milk drinks, and some cycling chit chat with curious folks around, I got back on the road. It was coming to 1900hrs, and I dropped the tentative plan of heading towards Jigani (from Bommasandra). Checked with a friend who stays around Arakere, if he was home; I would head that way then, from Singasandra / Manipal County side. But while I was looking forward to riding in those parts, it was getting dark. My friend anyway was not home, so I just continued towards SilkBoard. Got there about 1930hrs. And with that, the core ride was done. rest was just riding in the city, getting back home.

Did about 75kms; the Kadubeeshanahalli to Chandapura section, was around 30kms.

Montra (TI Cycles, India) has come out with a bunch of MTBs ...

Montra (TI Cycles, India), has come out with a bunch of MTBs recently -- there is the sub Rs20K Rock series (Rock, Rock1 & Rock1Plus), plus the 3series (3.2D) and 4series (4.2HD).

Currently, just the Rock1 seems to be listed on their website, though few days back, the 3.2D and 4.2HD were also listed.  I suppose it's still early days, and they are yet to sort out their website.

All these models were released in the last few months.  I've seen all of them at RR Cycles, Madivala (Bangalore) store.  A friend of mine picked up the Rock1Plus few weeks back, on my recommendation. :)  The 3series and 4series bike look quite good too -- their pricing is yet to be sorted out, from what I was told.

While I've not done a head to head comparison between these bikes, and the ones from foreign brands, from a quick look at some specs (like derailleurs), the bikes seem to be significantly cheaper that similar bikes from foreign brands -- which should not be surprising, since these India made bikes would be exempt from some of the duties (which were increased couple of years back) on imported bikes.  (Ofcourse, other than the frame building, and assembly, most of the other components would still be imported, and would entail the duty on parts.)

So, after enduring a lot of heartache for the past ~2yrs due to the increased duties on imported bikes, urban Indian bikers -- atleast the entry to mid level ones -- can now take some heart I suppose, in the fact that they again have some good MTBs to consider, in the sub Rs20K and sub Rs35K range.  (The latter, based on my anticipated pricing of the 3.2D and 4.2HD bikes.)

And also curious to see what non MTB models Montra comes out with in the (near) future.  Maybe a steel bike too, who knows? :)

-{db}.