It was nearly a year and half ago when it first happened. But to set the context, the narration should begin at a point in time two and half years ago.
It was then that I managed to score a century. Alas it was not in cricket but what the scale showed when I stood on a weighing machine. I joined Talwalkars and within 5 months I was feeling light, both at heart and on weighing scale; lighter by nearly 14 Kgs at 87. Then came the usual drop in enthusiasm and determination levels helped further by project pressure and all was lost... err... gained, to be more precise, over the next year or so.
That's when it first bit me. I had to do something about my weight. My brother-in-law had bought a new Hero Honda bike. He had a bicycle (of a make called Hamilton Firefly unknown to me) which he used in his junior college days and since then was standing in parking lot with dust and rust all over. I decided to get it and start some sort of physical exercise. So got the punctures done and brought it down to my place in Padmavati. No surprises here!!! It stayed there in the parking lot for couple months. When I shifted to a place in Erandwane in Oct last year, it was promptly loaded in the truck and transferred with rest of the stuff.
Around this same time Vindya was bitten by the bug too. He was doing a very exhaustive research on the kind of bike he wanted to buy for himself. Day in and day out, he would tell us all sorts of things and write all sorts of stuff on his blog about it. The problem he faces is that his parents are not at all keen to let him have his way in this particular regards. (Well, so far they have succeeded, but they are not able to stop him thinking about it as is apparent from some of the recent sketches he has drawn. :-) )
October was also the start of Inter IT Cricket season and our team started practicing at the Law College grounds every morning. That gave me an idea. Being in Erandwane, the Law college ground was now easily manageable on a cycle. So got the bike serviced and got a new broader seat fitted to it. The first day I rode the cycle to grounds, I did not need to go through warm-up routine and was bowling at considerably slower speeds. :-) I did share this info with Vindy though, just to add to his frustration. But as always, the stint did not last long and within a week's time it was back to good old ways. The bike was again catching up with all the dust and rust it had lost during servicing.
Finally, when I was just about close to touching the golden mark of 100, I joined
Talwalkars again in the month of Feb this year. Coupled with cricket practice in the mornings, gym in the eve and matches over the weekends, I managed to get my self to a healthy 88Kgs within 3 months. But due to some injuries and illnesses, I again became an irregular visitor to the gym. My problem is when my workout at the gym stops, my mouth starts. Within next three months I was again at 94Kgs. :-) So finally came a day in mid august when I was free of all injuries and illnesses and started the Gym workout regularly again.
That’s when the Bicycle-Bug bit me the second time. On 5th Sep I noticed that I was losing weight but not fast enough. I decided that I need to do something else as well and I noticed the cycle. :-)
So on Saturday, I took the bike to the repair shop again. It turned out that the rear tyre was all cracked up and needed replacement.
The rubber brake studs had also become hard and needed replacement as well. I told the shop guy to get it all plus servicing and cleaning done by end of the day. When I went to get the cycle, I couldn't locate it at first. The repair guy had done a great job cleaning the bike, just to remind me that the original colour of the bike was red. I checked that all was well with bike and paid the bill of Rs 250/- and got the bike home.
Come Sunday morning and I was alone at home. So decided to test my riding skills. I knew about a cycle track on the road which runs along the Mutha river and connects Rajaram Bridge with Mhatre Bridge. The sun was shining and off I went on the track. Well it was really cool to drive along the specially made cycle track and exciting as well when I needed to duck under the branches of the trees or negotiate the pedestrians walking on it. It was nearly a 3+ KM ride till Rajaram Bridge and back.
In the evening it was raining hard and I did not know what to do with the time I had. With time, the rain died down to a slight drizzle and Swapna was away at the hospital. So I thought it to be a good idea to get soaked in the rain on a bicycle. When I started from my place, the rain had completely stopped. The roads were wet with water puddles all around and temperatures at a very pleasant level. Riding on, leaving Deenanath Hospital behind, I came to the main road. A turn to the right took me over the Mhatre Bridge. Just at the end of the bridge, I overtook two camels just to realise that my height sitting upright on the cycle nearly matched that of the camels'. :-) No sooner than I started thinking about where to head next, I knew it has to be Vindy's place. I couldn't just let go a chance like this. So on I went, turning left on Shastri Road deliberately riding through the water puddles which invoked some school-time memories. Finally I stopped in front of Vindy's house. His car was not to be seen in the parking and guessed that he might not be at home. So called him up only to find out that he had just reached our Baner office Gym. Damn!!! I told him I was standing next to his house and just thought of catching up with him. And then made a special mention that, "NO I am not on my bullet but on a bicycle". Man, I could smell burning smoke from Baner right in Navi Peth :-)
After that, I rode along the Shastri road and negotiating some signals found myself on Tilak road. My next stop was famous "Tilak", a snack center famous for its Tea. A quick hot cuppa tea and I was off again through small lanes. Crossed the Shastri road and headed towards the bridge adjacent to Garware College. There was some crowd at the bridge for "Visarjan". I crossed the bridge looking at the river-side road which I use daily to go to office. I realized that there are steps at the Garware end of the bridge which take one down to that road. Amazing!!! Once there, up went the cycle on my shoulder and I was carrying it down the steps. Took this road to "Erandwane Gaothan", successfully negotiated the steep gradient and the narrow lane at the end of the road and was back at my place all soaked up not due to rains but sweat.
I hope this time around it's not a short stint and hope that venom from the bug bite lasts forever. Only time will tell!!!
It was then that I managed to score a century. Alas it was not in cricket but what the scale showed when I stood on a weighing machine. I joined Talwalkars and within 5 months I was feeling light, both at heart and on weighing scale; lighter by nearly 14 Kgs at 87. Then came the usual drop in enthusiasm and determination levels helped further by project pressure and all was lost... err... gained, to be more precise, over the next year or so.
That's when it first bit me. I had to do something about my weight. My brother-in-law had bought a new Hero Honda bike. He had a bicycle (of a make called Hamilton Firefly unknown to me) which he used in his junior college days and since then was standing in parking lot with dust and rust all over. I decided to get it and start some sort of physical exercise. So got the punctures done and brought it down to my place in Padmavati. No surprises here!!! It stayed there in the parking lot for couple months. When I shifted to a place in Erandwane in Oct last year, it was promptly loaded in the truck and transferred with rest of the stuff.
Around this same time Vindya was bitten by the bug too. He was doing a very exhaustive research on the kind of bike he wanted to buy for himself. Day in and day out, he would tell us all sorts of things and write all sorts of stuff on his blog about it. The problem he faces is that his parents are not at all keen to let him have his way in this particular regards. (Well, so far they have succeeded, but they are not able to stop him thinking about it as is apparent from some of the recent sketches he has drawn. :-) )
October was also the start of Inter IT Cricket season and our team started practicing at the Law College grounds every morning. That gave me an idea. Being in Erandwane, the Law college ground was now easily manageable on a cycle. So got the bike serviced and got a new broader seat fitted to it. The first day I rode the cycle to grounds, I did not need to go through warm-up routine and was bowling at considerably slower speeds. :-) I did share this info with Vindy though, just to add to his frustration. But as always, the stint did not last long and within a week's time it was back to good old ways. The bike was again catching up with all the dust and rust it had lost during servicing.
Finally, when I was just about close to touching the golden mark of 100, I joined
Talwalkars again in the month of Feb this year. Coupled with cricket practice in the mornings, gym in the eve and matches over the weekends, I managed to get my self to a healthy 88Kgs within 3 months. But due to some injuries and illnesses, I again became an irregular visitor to the gym. My problem is when my workout at the gym stops, my mouth starts. Within next three months I was again at 94Kgs. :-) So finally came a day in mid august when I was free of all injuries and illnesses and started the Gym workout regularly again.That’s when the Bicycle-Bug bit me the second time. On 5th Sep I noticed that I was losing weight but not fast enough. I decided that I need to do something else as well and I noticed the cycle. :-)
So on Saturday, I took the bike to the repair shop again. It turned out that the rear tyre was all cracked up and needed replacement.
The rubber brake studs had also become hard and needed replacement as well. I told the shop guy to get it all plus servicing and cleaning done by end of the day. When I went to get the cycle, I couldn't locate it at first. The repair guy had done a great job cleaning the bike, just to remind me that the original colour of the bike was red. I checked that all was well with bike and paid the bill of Rs 250/- and got the bike home.Come Sunday morning and I was alone at home. So decided to test my riding skills. I knew about a cycle track on the road which runs along the Mutha river and connects Rajaram Bridge with Mhatre Bridge. The sun was shining and off I went on the track. Well it was really cool to drive along the specially made cycle track and exciting as well when I needed to duck under the branches of the trees or negotiate the pedestrians walking on it. It was nearly a 3+ KM ride till Rajaram Bridge and back.
In the evening it was raining hard and I did not know what to do with the time I had. With time, the rain died down to a slight drizzle and Swapna was away at the hospital. So I thought it to be a good idea to get soaked in the rain on a bicycle. When I started from my place, the rain had completely stopped. The roads were wet with water puddles all around and temperatures at a very pleasant level. Riding on, leaving Deenanath Hospital behind, I came to the main road. A turn to the right took me over the Mhatre Bridge. Just at the end of the bridge, I overtook two camels just to realise that my height sitting upright on the cycle nearly matched that of the camels'. :-) No sooner than I started thinking about where to head next, I knew it has to be Vindy's place. I couldn't just let go a chance like this. So on I went, turning left on Shastri Road deliberately riding through the water puddles which invoked some school-time memories. Finally I stopped in front of Vindy's house. His car was not to be seen in the parking and guessed that he might not be at home. So called him up only to find out that he had just reached our Baner office Gym. Damn!!! I told him I was standing next to his house and just thought of catching up with him. And then made a special mention that, "NO I am not on my bullet but on a bicycle". Man, I could smell burning smoke from Baner right in Navi Peth :-)After that, I rode along the Shastri road and negotiating some signals found myself on Tilak road. My next stop was famous "Tilak", a snack center famous for its Tea. A quick hot cuppa tea and I was off again through small lanes. Crossed the Shastri road and headed towards the bridge adjacent to Garware College. There was some crowd at the bridge for "Visarjan". I crossed the bridge looking at the river-side road which I use daily to go to office. I realized that there are steps at the Garware end of the bridge which take one down to that road. Amazing!!! Once there, up went the cycle on my shoulder and I was carrying it down the steps. Took this road to "Erandwane Gaothan", successfully negotiated the steep gradient and the narrow lane at the end of the road and was back at my place all soaked up not due to rains but sweat.
I hope this time around it's not a short stint and hope that venom from the bug bite lasts forever. Only time will tell!!!
:))... U bugger! I was running at a pace that could burn say 300cals and after your call I ripped the treadmill to speeds and endedn burning over 400!!! Good man.. keep biking .. lemme see when do I get on that bandwagon :P
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