ibike

brilliant idea. can i have one.

2010-12-28T04:34:00.001-08:00

http://www.good.is/post/superb-idea-bike-lane-that-travels-with-you/

on the way to work

2010-12-27T21:58:00.000-08:00

on my bike, a bit of winter, a bit of rain and a lot of fun. as i hit the road i realised in a while it's drizzling thought of taking a U-Turn back home and picking up my car. getting wet in the winters is generally not the best idea specially when you are on your way to work.
somehow my instinct didn't let me go back. next half an hour was a mix of drizzle and rain. thanks to my new jacket which is a bit water resistant. reached office on time with mud on me and my bike and the new jacket no more so new.
definitely i was happy that i didn't take a u-turn. this was a good way to come to work.

love you...

2010-12-05T11:28:00.000-08:00

saw this pretty picture from http://lovelybike.blogspot.com

via on Pinterest

Meet the eco-friendly pedal pushers

2010-08-22T02:39:00.001-07:00

http://www.livemint.com/2010/08/20182321/Meet-the-ecofriendly-pedal-pu.html?h=B

The incredible 'bendy bicycle': British designer, 21, invents a bike you can FOLD around a lamp post

2010-08-01T13:18:00.000-07:00

saw this brilliant piece of innovation, thought it's worth sharing with every one. to read more click the link below for the entire article.

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 5:18 PM on 8th July 2010

an insight on how the bike stations at delhi metro work

2010-07-28T06:53:00.000-07:00

nitanshun@gmail.com: i am wondering when will i travel to work on bike

19:20 delhi metro is the biggest culprit here

me: Why

19:21 nitanshun@gmail.com: their cycles are in shambles

the parking stand is a mafia stand

and the caretaker only comes by 10 in the morning

i cant be reaching office at 11

19:22 me: Haha

nitanshun@gmail.com: and the guys fucks off at 6

me: Ya man

hello monsoon

2010-07-20T04:02:00.000-07:00

woke up halfheartedly, could see the grey sky from my bedroom window. the sound of rain drops falling on the window AC was like music to my ears. no reason to leave the bed and go to work. had no options but to fight my wish and get out of bed, finally got up at around eight for a cup of strong tea. still trying to find reasons to go to work.

stupid me what better a day could be than this to bike to work. this was a soul stirring sensation, and soon i was dressed up in my shorts and t-shirt. my bag packed with a change and a towel.

soon i am on the road, in the drizzle, inside the traffic and on top gear of excitement. in next 5 mins i have enough mud on myself to look unfit to enter a corporate park. next 30minutes was bliss. the rain had seized leaving behind chaos. a city full of people scared of 2 inches of water. traffic jams in the city because of their hydrophobia. good for me half the road was for myself to wade through the water where others won't enter. could feel the syrupy mud being sprayed on my back (as my bike does not have mud-guards). didn't want to reach office so soon. for a change, wish it was a bit further, wish the ride was a bit longer...

chuni lal sharma

2010-07-14T08:19:00.000-07:00

Just a while back I met Chunni Lal Sharma. He was on his way back from work. What work? He is a carpenter, his job is to make make sense out of wood. Not that wood is a non sense but Chunni Lal's skill is to make usefull stuff with wood.

Why I met him was because he is a fellow biker. He was pedalling back from work on his Hero Goldline or was is Atlas Goldline. A native of Chapra, Bihar migrated six years back to Gurgaon. Looking for odd jobs everyday. Has a smile when he meets another biker sweating back from work.

Goodbye Chunni Lal. Fir milenge.

ride to work on a summer day

2010-04-25T01:18:00.000-07:00

one question which had been asked to me often on my way to work.

how do you manage to pedal to work on a hot summer day?

the question has two parts to it
firstly. it's so hot and sunny, don't you feel sick while pedalling?
secondly. inbetween the lines it says don't you stink after that?

well, most of it is manageable. it's about how you plan your daily voyage.

while riding to work i wear one of the tshirts made with dryfit fabric by nike, other sports brands have there own version for the same. these are perforated fabrics, which let air pass through them eventually acting like a desert cooler, where i think our own sweat acts like a coolant. where shorts or detachable cargoes, i even wear jeans. more importantly one should make sure that she/he carries along a change for the upper part of the body.

we generally find it hot even in the morning on a summer day as our car acts like a green house and traps inside all the heat, on top of that the wind screen will be blocking the wind (thats it's job so let it do it well). now when we ride our bike we can feel the breeze and the sun is not so high and hot in the morning either. wind will be passing through the pores of the fabric and keep our body cool. make sure you wear your sunglasses, they look good and act really good.

carry a small towel even a 6"x6" will do, it can be easily tucked inside the laptop bag (as in my case). now this little towel does the wonder.

once in office rush to the loo > carry you spare t-shirt or shirt > take off the sweaty one > wet the towel > dab your torso with the wet towel > leaves you fresh and odour free > spray some deo if you have or just let it be > don't forget to wear the fresh clothes > make sure you wash the towel once again and may pack it inside a polythene bag.

try it out, it's really easy to ride to work without feeling guilty about making life miserable for people who sit next to you.

crossing my own fear

2009-10-31T07:48:00.000-07:00

had been a long while since i had been on a long ride, had been postponing things for a while for all sorts of odd reasons. today around noon i realised i had not much to do for the next few hours.

what else should be my agenda than picking up my bike, the tools, some spare tubes, the pump, loads of water and something to munch. around 1:30 i set my foot on the pedal and started off. had been planning to go to Manger for a while but i was not sure whether i will be able to do the steep uphill climb once i go down the hill. though its not that steep still i always think i may not succeed (i think i will go breathless while attempting). but i was dying to kill my fear to go uphill. and decided to ride to such a place where i need to go uphill on my way and down hill while coming back. in such a case i won't get stuck once i am downhill. one such place i had driven down a couple of years back. the place called aravali retreat, as the name suggests they are the low lying hills near delhi known as the aravalis. the ride took me through some villages, some farms (those real farms where people use tractors to plough the fields and one can see lush green crops around), i am not getting into the detail of the route one can check it by clicking on the link below.

after riding for almost 20kms i was finally standing at the foot of the small hill. a hill on which if i manage to ride up it will be a smooth ride back. i was not sure whether i will be able to climb it in a go. but what i was sure of was that i will make sure i climb it up even if i have to take a hundred stops. slowly and steadily i reached the base simultaneously i lowered my gears. i didn't mind how slow the process will be but i had to climb it on my bike. the start was not bad but by the time i was half way through i realised i was falling short on my breath and i could hear my heart pumping at an extremely fast rate. the only way i calculate my the point when i need to stop and relax is when i feel the need to open my mouth to take gush of air into my lungs. the time had come i parked my bike on the side took a sip from my bottle shot some pictures from my camera.

took me some 10mins to get back to normal and again i set atop my bike. slowly and very slowly i kept on riding till again i had to take a break, had to take a sip of water, had to take lungs full of air, in around 2mins or so i was back on my pedal to do the last bit of climb. probably the total climb was around 75-80mtrs, but at that point of time it was the highest climb for me. i realised today i did not only climbed over the little hill but along with it my own big fear.

once over there everything was looking easy did a short off-road ride to a nearby Dargah of Baba Bilasiyan. sat there for a few minutes chatted up with the local kids, who where amused to see my silly bike with gears and a sillier me wearing a helmet for biking. it was fun to see there reactions. soon i set back on the downhill ride after hydrating myself and taking loads of clean unpolluted air in my chest. another hour to go but no more up hills and no more should i be care if they come my way.

i realised today i did not only crossed the little hill but along with it crossed my own big fear.

http://sportstracker.nokia.com/nts/workoutdetail/index.do?id=1754923

critical what??? mass???

2009-08-29T11:29:00.000-07:00

till a few year back i used to get impatient every friday afternoon thinking about plans for the evening, always had a handfull of options - movies, beer, an expensive dinner, a road side dinner, long drives and very long drives.
well things have changed a bit. and certain things haven't changed much. yesterday was again one of those friday afternoons and i was already impatient. it was the last friday of the month and i had to be there. had to reach central delhi by 6 o'clock. vijay chowk to be precise.

where is vijay chowk?
the big chowk outside rashtrapati bhawan.

to do what?
to attend the critical mass

what?
the critical mass.

come again?
the critical mass.

what's critical mass?
on the last friday of every month, around six in the evening. a group of bikers come together and pedal through the busy, traffic laden city streets.

but why?
well to let the people know that there are bikers who do exist. and they are a part of the street as much as anybody else. still you can check out wikipedia, wiki knows it more than i do.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_Mass

so?
ya, i made it reached almost on time. to find out people doing a warm up session. some new faces mixed with the old ones. few faces who where just names till yesterday.
a nice round of polite conversations.
learnt from the seniors how to take help of patience and believe in the mission to make it happen.
and finally we started. all of us trying to make two parallel rows to ride along. nicely and slowly took two rounds of india gate circle. it was amazing to wade through the forever flowing traffic. the honking. the screeching. and what not.
i almost had a fight with a car driver who jumped the red light more or less hitting me. well nothing such happened, i never got hurt neither did i fight with him. but that's the point people don't bother to see things around them while they drive specially smaller vehicles.
after two good rounds of india gate we took on to kasturba gandhi marg. not much of traffic till we reach CP outer circle. did a full parikrama of the outer circle before entering the inner one. the road as expected was heavy on traffic, but i'm sure there would be loads of driver who must be feeling jealous to see us easily making way through the traffic as they stood waiting for the others to move. barring the pollution levels being very high riding in CP was fun. after completing the inner circle we took on to baba kharak singh marg. our initial plan was to go back all the way back to vijay chowk with the rest of the group which we could not do as my friends had to give back the bikes to patel chowk metro station from where they where hired.
now we are standing and waving good bye to those who are on there way back to vijay chowk to finish the 12th delhi critical mass.

it's time for us to pat our own back and celebrate success and look forward to next months last friday for the 13th delhi critical mass. once again we all will be at vijay chowk at 6 o'clock on 25th september.

kanandale in kerala

2009-08-20T00:14:00.000-07:00

did a driving trip to kerala, managed to take my cannondale along. most of the time it snugged in the back of my car, but once in allepy (alapuzzha) i spent around 4-5 days only on my bike. a small town. the National Highway - 47 piercing right through the town which runs all the way to kanyakumari. the town maybe small but mostly busy with people on the main streets, not only streets one can find canals and water bodies taking a lot of traffic in and out of the town. though the traffic is by no means maddening just that there are people around giving the place a fine character. it was and excellent place to ride the bike. a couple of times i rode to the nearby villages through paddy fields, coconut trees, lakes and ponds. not just coconut trees the place houses few beautiful churches and pretty old buildings. well my kanandale (cannondale) had a great time in those excursions.

my cannondale Q5

2009-07-08T03:10:00.000-07:00

here we stand

2008-10-31T11:24:00.000-07:00

once again we rushed our way through the peak hour traffic to gather at vijay chowk. at around 6:30 PM we kick started our second critical mass ride in delhi. the ride was pleasant, the weather is also i guess great for bike rides. not too hot, not too cold. the total ride was around 13kms. we missed some of the friends who couldn't make to the ride. still i'm sure we will keep on increasing in numbers just that we need to keep our patience.
more importantly what i know is - that this is not the first Critical Mass Ride in delhi nor is this the last one. riders will keep on changing but the ride will keep going on.

&amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/india/new-delhi/415560489742"&amp;amp;gt;critical mass 2, 30th oct&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;br/&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/find-ride/india/new-delhi"&amp;amp;gt;Find more Bike Rides in New Delhi, India&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;

a short trip with ups and downs

2008-10-21T20:42:00.000-07:00

as a self proclaimed biker the time had come for me to stop doing the talk talk and try do a ride. and specially after last weeks ride with the bikesonroad i realised how slow and unfit i am. my daily rides to office is not sufficient to keep pace with the world. finally this saturday morning i decided to ride on the gurgaon-faridabad highway. i still remember what the road used to be 5-6years back, now we call it a highway it was no more than a village road i would say. anyways now in it's new avtaar it looks tempting to drive or ride and hence i started. the first uphill coming my way shook my spirit a bit but then i decided to make it till teri at any cost. as once you cross teri the road is flat and for me that won't be an issue as going uphill. also i really wanted to have fun on the downhill on my way just after crossing village ghata. all my dreams where shattered once i reached the slope after ghata...

there was a massive traffic jam early in the morning.

people where stuch there i don't know since when some of them where taking u-turns and back to gurgaon. similar thoughts cam in my mind. but yet again the the realisation of being. of being on a bike enlightened me. and i started seeing the gaps betwen the truck & the tavera. between the alto & the indica. between the qualis & baleno. and here was I the smoothly gliding through the unseen passages and in around a minute through with the jam.

by the time i crossed the jam, i started having other plans for the route to be tracked. took a left turn towards aya nagar from teri (instead going straight for faridabad) and pedalled past the village coming my way. though these villages are not more of small rural pockets inbetween the larger cityscape. and very much a part of the texture we see in google earth of delhi and it's neighbourhood. they seamlessly blend into the fabric of our urban landscapes. giving it a nice relief, watch it in google earth looks pretty fine. as i was riding through the narrow lanes of the villages never realised when did i cross the border and enter delhi. nothing to worry it's not one of the problematic borders.

took a short break for a photo session. and again i kept riding via khullar karms to m.g. road.

as about to reach the main road i met bandharv ram the mobile industrialist who goes from place to place on his bike and and repairs those folding beds we get. and once we over use the beds for whatever reason we need bandharv ram to fix it. well thats another story to be touched upon on another occasion.

waving goodbye to bandharv ram i touched the m. g. road and the sensation of maddening traffic could be felt in the air, a deep breath would be filling your lungs with the smoke and dust of the passing traffic. traffic created by the lesser known creatures of the world who work on saturdays (hahaha atleast this weekend i hope i'm not working).

middle of the road one can see the grand construction of delhi metro on it's way to connect gurgaon with the main stream. and on the left side can be seen the leftovers of the once flourishing m.g. road retail sector, which had been demolished or shut down a couple of years back. though some sparks of life can be seen as some shops have re opened and doing business.

as i pedaled towards gurgaon, got used to the traffic. and kept my all time lazy pace. a bit before aya nagar crossing saw this small roadside shrine, which i had otherwise always overlooked. didn't get down just took a couple of shots sitting in my bike and carried on, the woman there was probably expecting some shoot charges and looked a bit dissapointed at my early leave.

in the next few minutes i'm in gurgaon and on my regular commuting area. another short photo session

trying to make my bike well traveled mountain bike. prefered to follow the longer route home with a bit more of uphills, somehow this time it didn't tire me at all and soon i was home downloading the pictures on to my machine. and here i am finally writting down the trail.

&amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/india/gurgaon/478472492002"&amp;amp;gt;11/10/2008 Route&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;br/&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/find-ride/india/gurgaon"&amp;amp;gt;Find more Bike Rides in Gurgaon, India&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;

trail to bhondsi

2008-10-11T00:33:00.000-07:00

this morning around 7 of us did a ride to a nearby village of Bhondsi. We all are from gurgaon and the trail started from sohna road. most of the guys were regulars and seemed to be fit enough except for me. we pedaled upto the village temple next to a pond, where we could see ducks and peacocks. took a short break there. had a photo session. and off we started back did a short detour to take a full round of the pond. the road was excellent for biking. most of it had trees around and almost negligible traffic. on our way back we stopped at a chaiwala after a short dirt road. i had to get down and push my bike through. chai accompanied by matthi and parle glucose biscuits. back on track in while we hit the sohna road and soon we where back home. the entire trail was around 25kms or so.

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/india/gurgaon/478472492002"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;11/10/2008 Route&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br/&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/find-ride/india/gurgaon"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Find more Bike Rides in Gurgaon, India&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

Bhaskar Naidu

2008-10-10T00:33:00.001-07:00

As i was pedalling my way to work. now that i am immune to the staring eyes looking at me and my strida, some of them surprised others finding it just funny. that doesn't concern me any more. as i hit the lonely patch of road taking me towards Qutab Plaza though not so lonely at peak office hours. i could hear a bike (motorbike) approaching me at a very slow pace, i guess the mobike was slowing down very cautiosly as it approached. very much like a stalker. sounds funny now, but it really raised a few questions at that point of time. i could hear the motorbike rolling next to me just a couple of yard behind. surely he must be working hard to keep pace with me. it's not so easy to ride a motorbike at such slow speed as i was riding. finally after a gap of around a half a minute i looked back encouraging him to start riding next to me. finally this man a bit younger than me riding a hero honda broke the ice by saying "hello". well that was it for the next couple of kilometres he kept on riding at the ultra slow pace next to me. asking me all about my bike, the cost, the effort it takes to ride, where i got it from or did i build it myself. normally i prefer my share of peace during my rides. but none the less this guys enquisitiveness i didn't mind. although i guess by now i was more intrigued by motorcyclist trying to keep pace with a biker. after a while he told that he is the tennis coach in DLF Country Club and how happy was he to see someone riding a bike. somewhere being a sportsman for him he could connect to a biker (a biker without a cause). for a while we rode together without further sharing a word. till we came to a point where we had to take different turns. and as he bade goodbye by telling me that he is "bhaskar naidu".

this episode surely made my belief stronger that there are loads of people who look upto bikers, somewhere in their mind they understand the goodness of biking. just that they themself have to choose some other mode of transport. hopefully one day i see Bhaskar Naidu on the road riding his own bike, where i go and bug him with my questions.

easy riding

2008-10-08T00:29:00.000-07:00

few things we can remember for great riding experience

EAT before you are HUNGRY.
DRINK before you are THIRSTY.
RELAX before you are TIRED.

my red strida

2008-10-03T12:37:00.000-07:00

back home

2008-10-03T09:54:00.000-07:00

after a days work, biking back home comes across as the most pleasant breaks. absolute stress buster. i am lucky to have an office so close to home though i don't know for how long. it's around 4.92kms and takes me 14-16 mins to reach. today i was all geared up to take some pictures on my way back. the street lights had just been lit. i was somewhere between the day and the evening. a beautiful time to stop by the roadside. and watch the cars passing by, everybody in rush to beat the traffic.

probably nothing is as beautiful as going back home. soon i'll be home. till then let me enjoy the road. the road to home...

The 10 Trail Rider’s Moves You Need To Master

2008-10-03T00:43:00.000-07:00

read something interesting, the credit goes to someone else for taking the pain to write, i'm doing a copy paste job for the same. do read it, surely it will make our rides simpler and pleasurable.

1 LOOKING AHEAD: Learning to look ahead is the most important trail riding skill you can develop. It is a skill you should continually hone, and by that we mean working on it 24-7. When driving on a freeway (either as the driver or passenger), practice looking far enough ahead so you see brake lights go on way in advance and anticipate slowing down without having to slam the brakes. It’s the same thing on the trail. Look ahead for trouble and the best line before you arrive there.
Instead of sighting down the front wheel at the ground right in front of it, look 30 or more feet ahead. Keep surveying up ahead and pick the fastest line while avoiding bad ruts and mud holes. Watch other riders ahead of you and read the severity of the terrain by noting how they react.

2 CLIPPING IN
Clipping into a pedal needs to become second nature, and you need to be able to clip in without looking down. Beginners should read “Clip In With Confidence” (MBA, October 2007), and more experienced riders can work on “feeling” their way to the pedal rather than looking for it.

3 RIDING 80
Use an 80-revolutions-per-minute pedal cadence. Wear a watch, ride easy terrain, and count how many times the right knee comes up. The knee should come up at least 20 times over a 15-second period. Multiplying 4 by 20 equals 80, which is the most efficient cadence you can use to turn the cranks over. Keep track of it and you will eventually memorize the feel. Now ride with a 60 cadence (knee comes up once a second) and a 100 rpm pedaling cadence (knee comes up 25 times in 15 seconds). Once you memorize the feel for the varying cadences, use the gears to keep the legs moving at 80 rpm. That pace is the perfect compromise between muscle force and aerobic power. If you do it right, it’s possible to pedal an 80 rpm cadence almost indefinitely.

4 USING THE FRONT BRAKE
Always use the front brake. When decreasing speed, body weight shifts forward, and this improves the grip of the front tire and “lightens” the rear tire. Because of this, most of the stopping power is in the front.
If using the front brake doesn’t feel comfortable, ride easy terrain at a slower speed and only use the front brake when slowing. You’ll find that the more upright the bike and the straighter the bar, the harder the front brake can be applied.
When beginning a turn, it is necessary to back off lever pressure. After enough experience, you will learn the feel for how hard to brake the front wheel and go right up to the point of it skidding out to the side. That is when you will have the ability to brake down
anything.

5 BREATHING
When you breathe, you have more power. Get into a rhythm to make breathing a seamless part of your cycling. Key breathing to the consistent rocking of the body, spinning feet, or the clinking of a necklace on your chest (a trick Ryder Hesjedal used while racing mountain bikes).
Focus on a stronger exhale, because it automatically forces a deeper inhale. The opposite of a good breathing rhythm is holding your breath when the going gets tough. Make a conscious effort to exhale when hitting a sudden climb, jump, or series of bad bumps.

6 STAYING LOOSE
When you stay loose, you keep your center of gravity lower and your weight better positioned to respond to the trail. Don’t tighten up. Allow the bike to move around and do its job. Staying loose uses less energy, and you will feel better after a long ride.

7 POWER SHIFTING
Ideally, you can use all cog combinations with the chain railed on the middle ring. Reserve the five smallest cogs for when your chain is in the largest chainring and use only the five largest cogs when you are in the granny gear.
When starting a climb, you should be using skill number one and looking ahead to see what you are getting into. Decide right then and there if it’s a granny climb. Switch early, before foot pressure becomes too great to make a clean granny shift.

8 BUNNY HOPPING
In two linked motions, compress into the bike by bending the knees and elbows and then rebound by pushing off the ground and lifting up on the bar. Your bike will spring off the ground! Using clipless pedals, it’s possible to use the feet to gain height and control flight. Practice until you can approach a curb at a moderate speed and easily hop over it.
When you can bunny hop, you become a better bike handler. It becomes easier to shift back on the bike and lift the front wheel without thought. You ride lighter on the pedals and float over holes and rocks. Your body will feel more like a spring and will help the suspension absorb hard impacts.

9 CLIMBING EFFICIENTLY
It’s best to stay seated on most climbs. When standing, it’s easier to lose traction and harder to steer and direct the bike. Use out-of-the-saddle spurts only to get back on top of a gear or to claw over sudden obstacles.
Steep climbs require that you shift your weight onto the saddle’s nose to keep the front down while still driving the rear tire into the ground. Fall into a breathing and pedaling rhythm. When shifting up while seated and building pedaling tempo, slide back on the saddle to maximize leg torque.
If you are confused about the correct saddle height, read the Garage Files (MBA, March 2008) explaining how to determine your saddle height.

10 KEEPING THE ELBOWS OUT
Try bench pressing while bringing your elbows close together. You’ll find out quickly in this position that you lose force and control. Same goes for holding the handlebar of your bike. Keep those elbows up! Not only does this position give superior strength and control, it also keeps your chest open and makes it easier to fill your lungs with air.
Wide elbows keep the body comfortably bent over for better aerodynamics. Plus, the head stays in line with the fork, weighting the front tire so it can be stuck harder into turns.

the beginning

2008-09-21T10:52:00.000-07:00

i can still remember the moment when i did my first bike ride. it was my father’s bike. and my father was holding it from the back to make sure i don't have to worry about balancing it.

i was so happy to be able to pedal the bike as my father held it from behind.

i'm sure that's the way a kid feels when he is able to walk for the first time. and as any kid would do i turned towards my father to see his face at this moment of pride. he wasn't there, he was not holding the bike anymore, he was standing almost a hundred meters away next to my mother watching there son's maiden ride. it didn't take me a second to fall on ground, not just that i fell on the soft ground, but that very moment i fell in love with the bike. for around next 12 years i rode my fathers avon slr. the very same bike, which taught me the lesson to trust yourself than depending on others to achieve your goals. that was when i was eight years old. and since then i had a lot to learn from my bike(s). the avon was followed by an atlas concorde and an atlas rebel. but all of them had something to teach me.

life moves on, along with it people move on to a more complicated life and lifestyle so did i. then came the scooters and the cars and my concorde rested somewhere in our backyard getting rusted. it still did not lose the blue metallic sheen. still an object of delight. though it became like a piece of furniture lying in a corner. till one day i see my neighbours son riding a blue bike. my mom just gave it away, without even asking me. had a cold war with her for the next few days. tried forgetting but failed. all i could manage was to suppress my emotions. days went by and years since my last bike ride. but my bright blue bike always stayed in my heart. the bike which had been my best friend for years. i remember how girls used to turn to have a look at my bright blue bike (and often i thought i am the head turner). how can i forget the scorching summer afternoons, even the dogs couldn't be seen on the roads, but there i was with my bright blue bike. the word wanderlust came into my dictionary much later, but surely i grew in me with those days when i used to wander all alone on the roads in faridabad, i had seen more of the town than most of my friends they where too busy with cricket and football. i got branded as a loner, i guess nobody ever noticed my companion "my bright blue bike"