Journeys..& the Joie de Vivre!..: July 2011

[Some Cycling Memoirs]

Today's Tour de France Final stage ending in Paris.. Brings memories of attending the historic 2005 final, when Lance Armstrong won, a record 7th time, in consecutive years, ..and his last win there..

http://greenwich-times.blogspot.com/2005/07/viva-lance-viva-le-tour-de-france.html

Lance Armstrong and his Discovery Channel team doing the victory lap thru Avenue des Champs-Élysées . TdF, Paris, 2005.

Spectators waiting for the Champions to arrive, near Finishing point at Champs-Élysées Avenue.

Paris might be the Capital of Cycle racing, so to speak, but one place that comes first to mind when thinking of ordinary people riding their cycles, is Amsterdam- yet to see any other place where whole families, and people of all ages, sizes and shapes were seen using cycles, with young people zipping past, talking on their mobile phones, criss crossing tramways.. (Have seen old photos of Chinese cities teeming with cycles, but I don't have experience of China) Though the French might really love their 'Velo 's, to me,Amsterdam is the real "Velo-"city!. [http://greenwich-times.blogspot.com/2009/03/going-dutch-in-amsterdam-city-of-ring.html ]

Cycling and India brings many memories.. Some of those come flooding to mind vividly..

A Childhood 'Companion' to Wander in Abandon:

As a 10-yr old, when I used to sneak away from home,nicking brother's bike- or hiring one if I couldn't get it, cycling secretly to the beach and a river estuary, 10km away...

the cycle that gave the sense of freedom and expanded my horizon.. like nothing else could!.. roving the countryside.. pedalling to the top of hills and freewheeling down..

That was until, (apparently) becoming a Grown-Up kid.. when you enter a rat-race, to chase a secure Future! ;)

..And in later years, when my horizon expanded beyond those hills and the sea,
was re-discovering the thrill of cycling with friends.. and wheeled through some unforgettable moments-
Am riding through those moments again here:

Cycling from Bangalore to Nilambur/Kerala:

Via Mysore, Bandipur National Park and the Nilgiri Mountains

[Karnataka, TamilNadu, Kerala]

Trip Journal:

http://sites.google.com/site/there4iroam/travel-adventure/cycling-blr2kerala

Cycling to Sriharikotta from Sullurpet:

In Search of Flamingos , Through Pulicat Lake Bird Sanctuary

[Andhra Pradesh]

One memorable biking done near to Chennai, was on the coast ~90km to the north side of Chennai.. after crossing the border from Tamil Nadu into Andhra.

Cycled from Sullurpet (on the coastal NH5) to Sriharikota Space Station, about 20km one way. On a heavy Hercules bike hired from a village cycle shop.

In the last 9km stretch, it's a very unique, desolate, meditative landscape of salt marshes extending to the horizon, with just the straight causeway road, cutting through the Pulicat Lake Bird Sanctuary. Esp during winter season,in small patches, you could see lots of Big Migratory birds including Painted Storks, Pelicans, Herons etc around..and there are Flamingos as well!- which come from Rann of Kutch in Gujarat.

Trip Journal:

http://sites.google.com/site/there4iroam/nature-wildlife/birding-1/insearchofflamingos

Cycling to The Ruins of Hampi from Hospet /Bellari:

[Karnataka]

Cycling to Hampi ruins and around from Hospet town 15km away, in Bellari.

Had to weather a storm during that, biding time with 4-5 guys crouching and squatting under the overhang of a rock jutting out by the River Thungabhadra, after hastily leaving the bikes to the elements in a pile on a rock when the clouds burst. Sitting there, watched the water slowly turn muddy brown in half an hour.. and this was the scene, seen while crouching under the rock:

River Thungabhadra, after a cloudburst. @Hampi, outside ruins of Vittala Temple.

That was just outside the famous part-ruined Vittala Temple with its 'musical pillars'..We had just got outside the temple compound after exploring it when tapped.. The carved pillars, each with several slender columns, apparently produces Sapta Swara (The 7 Notes?) when tapped..

The Stone Chariot, Vittala Temple ruins, Hampi.

I never wrote the trip journal..Not Yet! ;)

..but here is some Newspaper Travel article about the place

( Hampi: Grandeur amidst ruins - with description of the 'musical' stone pillars:

http://www.hindu.com/fr/2006/07/14/stories/2006071402100600.htm )

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Cycling along the Tundra Landscape around a Glacier :
In Search of Moose, Musk Ox & Caribou/Reindeer

[Finse, Norway]

On Hardangervidda plateau, the highest and the largest plateau in Europe..

Was cycling along the tundra landscape, in biting freezing cold.. in search of wild Reindeer(Caribou)!, through the desolate and beautiful, stark landscapes of Hardangervidda National Park, the southernmost refuge of the Arctic Fox and Norway's largest herd of wild Reindeer..
But didn't get lucky ;).

Within Hardangervidda National Park, if you are lucky, you can see Reindeer, Musk Ox, and Moose (Eurasian Elk). But we were not in the right season to explore deeper/longer.

Tip of the Hardangerjøkulen glacier/ice-cap. From Finse

http://www.visitnorway.com/en/Articles/Theme/The-Mountains/Mountain-guide/Hardangervidda/

The Hardangervidda is a mountain plateau ("vidde" in Norwegian) in the Hardanger region of western Norway. It is the largest such plateau in Europe, with a cold year-round alpine climate and is the site of one of Norway's largest glaciers. Much of the plateau is protected as part of Hardangervidda National Park.

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More: For Cycling Freaks: :)

A Google Tech Talk video by a Google employee, Dylan Casey, an ex professional cyclist who was in the US Postal team with Lance Armstrong at grand Tours including Tour de France, talking about all that experience. Apparently this talk was at Google office as they are promoting Bike2Work ..:

Experience of Riding in the Tour de France.. and all things to do with cycling :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVcKzzB-eF0

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