To Live

	A cyclist’s nighmare. Heavy rains on August 14th converted almost all of Bangalore’s roads into open drains. I guess most of the thursday evening traffic towards other cities put off their plans for Friday morning. As a result, even at 6AM in the morning on Independence day, the roads were noisy, polluted and full of impatient drivers trying to get out of the city. We definitely had a tough time within Bangalore.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Independence day in all flavors and forms. There was everything available on the road. Small flags, large flags, wrist bands, caps, stickers. All types to suit every vehicle. I couldn’t understand whether people were buying these out of patriotism or whether it was just for the fun of it. The Ugly part: Indian flag outside the vehicle. Beer bottles inside. There were a few who went about throwing beer bottles on the road. Whatever has happened to the soul of this country…
	Bullets There was a group of about 30 bullets which zoomed past us at Ramanagara. The fellows were celebrating Independence day in their own way. Most of the pillion riders had an Indian flag. Couldn’t capture a proper photo of them as our speed was no match to theirs Later however, we caught them some 10kms laterwhere they had halted. Didn’t want to ruin their privacy and hence we just took a long shot.
A surprise Only I and Suraj started the cycling from Bangalore in the morning at 6:30AM. It seems that Suraj’s elder brother, Ravi also wanted to come along. However, due to many reasons, Ravi was left behind at Mysore. When we reached Chennapatna, I heard someone calling me from behind. I turned back and it was Ravi who had cycled to Chennapatna all the way from Mysore (80kms). We were just dumbstruck. His cycle was not even the large rimmed one. It was a mountain bike totally unsuited for highway cycling.
	Refuelling We just burned and burned glucose. I think, the total consumption of the day was 5000 kcals.
The mighty river River Kaveri in full flow. How beautiful it looks. If only I had a raft..
	The Path The road may have been wide enough but we were pushed to the edge to take this narrow white path. The ups and downs were unforgiving. There were humps, there were barriers. Yet, we persisted and after long, long hours, we reached. No one set a goal for us, we set it ourselves. There was no reason to do it. Yet we did. There was no reason to risk the high way. Yet we lived.