Itinerant: Bike Ride 2 (western ghats)

I had done a solo ride in Jun in my bullet and this time since I had three more people with me, I got little adventurous and planned a route that covers all the major ghats as follows:
Bangalore-Bisle Ghat-Kukke-Dharmasthala-Charmadi Ghats-Kudremukha-Sringeri-Agume Ghats-Kollur-Hulikal Ghats-BaleHonnuru-KemmannuGundi-Bangalore.

Doing the above will perhaps would leave us only a few more ghats to try in Karnataka and it all appeared fine when we started on a bundh day afternoon and cruised peacefully to Hassan for the night stay.

Day 2 started from Hassan and after breakfast at picturesque Ossor Restaurant 5kms before Sakaleshapura, we veered off the Bangalore-Mangalore Highway near Donigala/Manjirabad fort towards Bisle. We were in a great place, lush greenery insterspersed with paddy fields but with bad roads. We took a break when we were about to enter Bisle forest. We realized that one of the tires of a bullet had gone flat. All the four of us were relatively new to biking, atleast Bullets and the inexperience cost us 3.5hrs to repair the same. Then came the treachorous Bisle Ghats where there are no roads of any sort. But it was a great ride in the middle of thick jungle, numerous water falls and without any sight of civilization. Reached Kukke 5hrs behind schedule had a good darshan, rushed to Dharmasthala and retired for the day.

Day 3 started with a refreshing drive through beautiful Charmadi ghats and great "neer dose" at a small, non descript shop at Kottigehara. Suddenly we decided to visit Horanadu temple too. After a mix of good and bad roads, reached Horanadu exactly at lunch time and then proceeded to Sringeri via beautiful Kudremukha forests. There was only one problem though. We had reached Sringeri around 5PM and it was too early to retire, the next stop according to the original plan was to go towards Agumbe, but we were not sure about acommodation there, so we decided to go to Tirthahalli and reached it around 8:30PM. Now Tirthahalli is decently big place, but has hardly has any basic stay options. So we decided to drive further down to Shimoga at 9PM.

This night drive from Tirthahalli to Shimoga turned out to be the high light of the whole ride. The roads are butter smooth and passes thru jungles and the famous Mandagadde bird sanctuary. Four of us were never more disciplined as we followed one another and each one of us taking the turn at the front. It was a wonderful journey as if we were on a mission of sorts.

Day 4 we decided to visit Kemmannugundi. Its another great place. Thought the roads are not well maintained, it was still worth going over there. After spending some time checking out the grand grass lands around this place, we headed back to Bangalore. Close to 1200kms in 3.5 days.

Some photos here.

Running Kaveri Trail Marathon 2012

Running Kaveri Trail Marathon 2012

"Run, don't stop, just 50mtrs, you can do it" - scores of people were cheering and I could finally see the finish line, after running nearly for one hour and twenty six minutes. Momentum took me forward, I crossed the finish line, got garlanded with the finisher's medal, sipped liberal doses of electral and finally the fact that I've completed Kaveri Trail Marathon 10K, sunk in.


I've run 10K several times in the last 9-10 months and with better timings. This one was special as for the first time I participated in a race of any kind. I missed running Auroville 10K as my son fell sick few hours before we were to leave, then I missed Contour's Women's day 10K as I chose to go to a farm house with a friend. Never thought running in the noisy TCS 10K as I didn't find much fun running around Bangalore CBD.

I thought I missed KTM too. I was getting severe pain in my limbs and the doc said "you have what we call shin splint syndrome with chronic compartments" and warned that I'll have to stop running if I've to eliminate the pain completely. And when I protested, said that I need to "manage" my runs, do a lot of cross training, do strengthening exercises and what not. I said yes to everything and he did approve my participation.

And I was on my way to Mysore on my Bullet (Classic Chrome 500). Though I need to be careful with food on the previous night of the run, I happily had two Masala Dosas in GTR Vidyranyapuram Mysore - which I reckon makes the world's best Masala Dosa. Got up at 5:30AM on the race day and went to Young Island resort in Srirangapatna from where the race was being organized.

Soon, we were taken to the starting point at Ranganathittu. There were about 900+ runners, music, DJs and all made for a great festive environment.

KTM has a great trail. Canal on one side and lush green paddy and sugarcane fields on the other. Running here gives an experience that is very different from running inside the cities.

The race was kicked-off. The width of the trail is just a couple of meters and we all rushed in with excitement. I had a simple strategy. Or I thought so. I was to run the first 5kms at 7min/km and the next 5kms at 8min/km. Was hoping a 1:15 in the best case (my personal best being 1:18).

Only after about 3 kms, runners spread out depending on their pace. I thought I was doing fine after covering 3kms in about 22mins, though a minute later compared to my routine runs around JP Nagar mini forest.

However, my breathing starts becoming heavier and I'd now start walking to catch breath. Lack of training starts showing up now. Big time. My goal at the beginning of the year was to run about 100kms a month. For the first few months I managed it, but too many travels and some non-running injuries means that I've run only about 50kms in the months of Jul and Aug put together. After walking for one or two minutes, I start running again but now unable to run even for 4-5 minutes at a stretch though I reduce the pace.

I now started stopping at every aid station that came my way. Drinking too much liquid is also a problem as I had figured out. Restricted myself to electral with some additional sugar and water.




One hour passed and I had not completed even 7kms (will normally do 7.5kms in one hour). It became hot and I became more determined and picked up some pace. I crossed 7km mark at 1:03 and 8th at 1:11. I have been training with Runner's High and the chief coach Santhosh was right there cheering every runner. He told me that the tough part is over and asked me to simply run. There were more folks cheering along the way and I ran the last 2kms non-stop to make the finish line at 1:27:10 (in my watch, still awaiting the official timing and certificate).


Later in the evening, I did some analysis:
- I've run 1st 3kms in 22mins
- Last 3kms in 24mins and
- the mid 4kms in whopping 41mins and this was the killer.

Many people ask me why I run? (as opposed to say yoga, cycling or swimming). I'm not sure about the specific reasons. But running gives me a great solitude and it allows me to be close to the nature. Its always a battle in the mind and I've learn some significant life lessons by running. But like several other decisions I've made in my life, I do not have a specific answer. I just enjoy it.

Frankly I've started getting bored with 10K. I had set a target of being in a position to run 21K by Dec'2012. It looks tough as of now. The immediate target is to run faster and come closer to 1hour mark for 10K before starting to focus on 21K. But I do plan to run 21K in KTM 2013.

I sincerely thank my coaches in Runner's High for their help, support and above all a passion to run that easily rubs on. I've been bugging a few close friends about my running and they are offering invaluable help, support and encouragement - a big thanks to them too.

All photos courtesy Runners For Life - organizers of KTM. More KTM pics here.

Reading List for Sep-12

Helping: How to Offer, Give and Receive Help
Helping is a fundamental human activity, but it can also be a frustrating one. All too often our sincere offers of help are resented, resisted, or refused—and we often react the same way when people try to help us. In this seminal book on the topic—named one of the top five leadership books of 2009 by strategy+business magazine—Edgar Schein analyzes the social and psychological dynamics common to all types of helping relationships, explains why help is often not helpful, and shows what any would-be helpers must do to ensure that their assistance is both welcomed and genuinely useful. Using examples from many types of relationships—doctors and patients, consultants and clients, husbands and wives—Schein offers specific techniques and illuminating examples that help us determine what type of help to offer and how best to offer it in any situation. These techniques not only apply to all kinds of one-on-one helping in personal and professional relationships, teaching, social work, and medicine but also can be usefully applied to teamwork and to organizational leadership.


Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High 
The first edition of Crucial Conversations exploded onto the scene and revolutionized the way millions of people communicate when stakes are high. This new edition gives you the tools to:

• Prepare for high-stakes situations
• Transform anger and hurt feelings into powerful dialogue
• Make it safe to talk about almost anything
• Be persuasive, not abrasive

Crucial Confrontations
Re-read. Behind the problems that routinely plague organizations and families, you'll find individuals who are either unwilling or unable to deal with failed promises. Others have broken rules, missed deadlines, failed to live up to commitments, or just plain behaved badly--and nobody steps up to the issue. Or they do, but do a lousy job and create a whole new set of problems. Accountability suffers and new problems spring up. New research demonstrates that these disappointments aren't just irritating, they're costly--sapping organizational performance by twenty to fifty percent and accounting for up to ninety percent of divorces. Discover skills to resolve touchy, controversial, and complex issues at work and at home.