Its been like one long dream and back to reality now. Il put up some pics in the following posts.

1AM. The clocks ticking and am still in office stuck with a bug. It was Fri Night (or Sat Morn u can say) and we were supposed to leave to BR Hills at 3AM. I was looking at my watch every few minutes and wondering if I’l be able to fix the bug by atleast 2AM. I still had to pack by bag, pick up Avinash and go to Anjali's (anjali_ar ) house, 10 kms away, by 3AM.

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For the list of birds and mammals spotted, read 

anjali_ar

My first “TREK” wasn’t an adventure in the pristine Western Ghats, nor was it a climb to any of the hills. Neither did my “TREK” involve walking long distance. My first “TREK” was just 4kms from home!! Though it took me quite a bit of research and burnt a huge hole in my pockets, I’m in absolute love with my first “TREK”. Well my first “TREK” is nothing more than a sleek and sexy, bicycle!!!

The TREK 3700, the base version of the TREK cycles, the same brand Lance Armstrong uses, has been part of my life since July 19^th, 2007. Consider her as my new girl friend and have enjoyed every minute of RIDING her ;) With an all aluminum body, she is so light that I carry her up and down from my 2^nd floor house every morning with minimum effort!!!

A bloating ponch, a need to exercise regularly and a desire for new adventures were enough reasons for me to buy a bicycle. But what really inspired me into buying one was Lance Armstrong’s book ‘It’s not about the bike: My Journey Back to Life’. A truly inspiring book and must read for everyone. With Nisarg, my close friend, back to Bangalore after his camera trap project at Bandipur, I once for all decided that it was time to own a cycle.

Nisarg and I went to a couple of shops in Jayanagar to check out the best models in town. After a bit of research and suggestions from friends, I had to make a choice between Hero Thunder and firefox Target. Couldn’t really make up my mind cos, though the firefox was way superior compared to the Thunder, it was a bit expensive. While researching further on the net, I just happened to google for ‘Lance Armstrong posters in Bangalore’. The first hit guided me to Rohan Kini’s blog( rohan_kini).  From here got to know that he had just started dealing with firefox and TREK cycles under the name BumsOnTheSaddle ( http://bumsonthesaddle.com/ )!!! A strange coincidence, he happens to be my RV CompSci senior!!!! A bit of googling and I get to know he works at ThoughtWorks and got his number from a friend of mine working in the same company. Immediately gave him a call and wanted a suggestion on what cycle to go for. He asks me to visit his shop sometime in the evening so that I could test ride a few cycles before making my final decision. The same evening, Nisarg and I went to his shop, and that was the first time I had a look at the TREK 3700. It was love at first sight. J  Metallic grey in color, and bare without a mud-guard, she stood a class apart from the rest of the cycles! A quick test ride and I could easily differentiate it from the rest. The brakes, the gears, the seat, the front suspension, everything was absolutely perfect and unmatched by any other brand. What more, TREK is the same brand that Lance Arsmtrong used. Without any hesitation I decided this was the one for me. Don’t ask me how much I paid for it!!!! Had a tough time answering my friend when they heard the cost..! Im sure it’s worth every single rupee I’v paid!!!

Living in the 2^nd floor, I can never risk parking the cycle inside the gate. So I decided to keep her safe in my room, appreciating her beauty every morning when I wake up!!!

Having ridden about 50 kms since the two weeks I’v bought, neither my bums nor my legs have complained!! The seat and the gears have been very comfortable J Plan to ride atleast 50 kms a week.