7.20.10 - Biking in Bangalore

So this weekend I had some choices to make; I was invited by a friend of a friend to go to Mysore with her as she had to visit her family anyways and would have liked the company. But as I was contemplating this, a few of my friends in Bangalore decided they were going to go on a biking trip to the surrounding countryside for a day. I thought that going to Mysore would have been great, especially with someone who knows the city. But then again, biking in Bangalore would be something that I could never do on my own, and might not have the opportunity to do again. So I decided to go with the bike trip, and I was far from dissappointed!
We began the morning a little later than planned, as one of the group had a flat tire to begin with. But once we were on our way it was wonderful, weaving our way through Bangalore traffic, trying not to get hit by an autorickshaw till we made it to the outer limits of the city and then on into the country side. It was a perfect day for a bike ride, sunny but not too hot (I even applied sunscreen although I was worried I wouldn't get a tan), breezy but not too windy. Even the cows seemed to stay out of the way as we were riding through the streets. Our destination was a little over 30 km out, we were going to the site of an old man-made lake, designed by a famous Indian engineer to supply water to Bangalore. A few of the guys went on ahead and made it in really good time, but most of us took our time, stopping for coconut waters and to climb trees and enjoy the view. By the time we got to our destination, it was in the afternoon and we were hungry! We stopped at a roadside store and had the best rice dish I have had thus far in India, which is probably due to the fact that I have yet to be this hungry! We hung around for a while, resting. One of the group wanted to catch the bus back, but we waited and waited to no avail...the bus going in the right direction never came. So we decided to head back with the whole group as it was getting later and there were some ominous dark clouds forming above us, planning to stop at a bus stop on the way if we saw one.
Soon after we started back, it began to rain. Then one of our members had a little accident on the slippery pavement, so we made it to a bar to stop and clean off his cuts, and while we were there we decided it would be prudent to have a beer. After 30+ km on bike, our butts were severely sore...it gave me a very new appreciation for the butts of professional bikers. Serious Lance Armstrong, how do you do it??? We were all in so much pain it was hard to focus on getting home. After the beers though we felt refreshed and the cuts were cleaned and bandaids applied, and we headed back on the road. It had stopped raining for the time being, and I had developed a theory that the faster I rode, the less time I would have to spend on the bike seat, thus decreasing my discomfort exponentially. So I went on ahead of the group with one other rider. We were making really good time, not stopping for breaks, speeding through the back roads, around herds of goats and cows, past rice fields and getting closer and closer to the city. And then the real rain came. We took shelter at a bus stop for a few minutes, which rapidly became full of people who were also trying to get out of the rain. A quick scan of the horizon revealed that this was not like the passing shower of earlier in the afternoon...the entire sky was full of black clouds, with no clear sky in sight. There was no thunder or lightning, just a constant downpour. We decided that we were not going to be able to wait it out, we might as well just continue so we could keep warm by exercising instead of shivering in the bus stop. So on we went, and in no time at all we were soaked, head to toe, with a nice spray of dirt up our backs from our muddy tires. By the time we got back to Bangalore, it was dark, raining, and we looked like two wet rats, blown in by the storm. The restaurant we went into to get some warm food was packed...everyone stared at us, but we were so grateful to sit down for a tea and some food that we didn't care.
Today I am still sore, but recovering. I am taking yoga classes this week, so we did a lot of streching last night I think that really helped. The instructor asked me where I got the huge scrape on my arm and I had to tell him that I got it while climbing a tree. He had a good laugh at my expense, as did the other women in my class! I'll go for class again tonight, and I'm really excited out it. The instructor was just doing some introductory work with me and the other beginners, but every now and again he'd throw in some fancy, advanced move and be like, "okay, now you try", and then he would laugh at us. He made it look so easy, it was almost believable that we would suddenly be able to manipulate our bodies that way. Alas, it is not as easy as it looks. That is the thing I don't appreciate about experts...they make it look so effortless, that you don't realize how difficult it is, until you try and realize what a failure you are!
Sitting here in the cafe, I have been listening for a few hours now to horrible American 1990's dance music. I think it's time for me to be done here...until next time!