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}.