I visited Bangalore on work for 3 days during mid May. After a long day that started with an early morning flight from Hyderabad to Bangalore and a tedious journey from Bangalore airport to office followed by several meetings, my colleague and I reached Lemon Tree Hotel at Whitefield to check in. At the hotel entrance, the sight of 2 new bi-cycles caught our attention. I asked the receptionist who those cycles are meant for and I was delighted with his answer that it was for us! We were not going to miss the opportunity.

We decided to wake up early and explore some nearby areas. I started the next 2 days with biking at 6AM. Coincidentally, we spent exactly 1 hour 10 minutes biking both the days. On day one, we covered 17.6 Km biking up to Varthur lake – it should have once been a beautiful lake but now one of the most polluted ones I have seen! On day two, we covered 15.8 Km riding through some scenic fields near Kodigehalli including some off road.

I plan to explore more of Bangalore during my future visits! Look forward to it!

Over a Friday lunch at work with my team-mates, we started discussing on the best way for the team to spend some time that Saturday with one of our colleagues from Bangalore. I suggested going for an early morning ride to Gandipet and was surprised at the enthusiasm shown by most of the team members. 9 people said yes and all of them turned up! They rented cycles from HBC and were all set by 5:45AM. I drove my car to HBC along with my wife and both our cycles. We all started riding from HBC around 5:50 and arrived at Gandipet around 7AM. After spending some time at Gandipet and clicking some pictures, we took a different route on return that included some off-road riding as well. We completed the ride around 9AM covering about 30 Km and wrapped up after a good breakfast.

Having covered Gandipet, we wanted to cover the next nearby lake the next weekend. This time 6 people turned up including a couple of new ones. We started a bit later in the morning but luckily we had pleasant weather. We covered Qutb Shahi Tombs and Golconda Fort on the way to Himayat Sagar. We ended the ride only by 10:30AM  covering 45 Km but the beautiful weather made it possible.

Across the 2 rides, we had 2 flats and a broken chain. Though everyone seemed to have enjoyed the rides, better cycles would have made it easier and more enjoyable. I hope the enthusiasm continues and we continue to ride as a team!