http://www.shreekumar.in me and my passions... Wed, 04 Aug 2010 13:59:24 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Picture these together: a trike (tri-cycle) and a long journey. A journey from the southern most tip of India to the Himalayas in the north. To this mix, add a 52 year old Indian farmer with limited means. This is Govind Bhat's journey; he also blogs about his efforts. [caption width="250" ... http://www.shreekumar.in/?p=513 Cycling has taken a backseat for the past couple of months. Exercising for my back, and waiting for it to heal are more important. Life without some activities can get boring. So I am participating in Google's online coding competition, CodeJam. For those of you in the know, the qualifying round ... http://www.shreekumar.in/?p=505 While in the kitchen, I like to use traditional recipes. These typically take more time and effort, but the results are typically worth the extra trouble. Cooking is a great stress buster. The more detailed the recipe, the more the fun! My aunt (ಚಿಕ್ಕಮ್ಮ - wife of my father's younger brother ... http://www.shreekumar.in/?p=484 Nothing in the kitchen, I promise. What else then ? First thing : MTB riders rejoice - we are planning a race for MTBs right here in our backyard ! The first round of meetings for this has happened already. Ride-a-cycle Foundation will be involved, and so will CAM. The ... http://www.shreekumar.in/?p=479 I had written in my last post that I hoped to ride 500 kms in a day, perhaps after training. Secretly, I believed that this was possible without specific training. As always, there was no way I could prove myself wrong without trying! I backed myself to scale the 500 km ... http://www.shreekumar.in/?p=474 For many years, I've had this idea of riding for a full day. The recent talk about B2C1D (Bangalore to Chennai in 1 Day) only helped rekindle this desire. The basic idea for me was simple : ride for one whole day. 24 hours, all breaks inclusive. And then see ... http://www.shreekumar.in/?p=459 My current bike, the Kona Sutra (2009 model), is a couple of months old now. I have ridden it for over a thousand kilometers on a variety of terrain : highways, broken roads, and muddy, sandy and rocky trails I also use the bike almost everyday for commute. This ... http://www.shreekumar.in/?p=400 Very few of my friends have heard of it. In a genealogical sense, 3-4 generations separate me and my relatives living there! Never mind those facts; Kanjarpane(ಕಂಜರ್ಪಣೆ) remains my native place. I had a desire to visit Kanjarpane during the christmas vacation. On the fourth of January, I reached Subrahmanya at ... http://www.shreekumar.in/?p=402 I'd like to wish all my dear readers a happy and happening 2010. My two-week long vacation ended a few days back. My bike aged by over a thousand kilometers on a variety of terrain: road, off-road, no-road, downhill. I found enough time to visit many of my relatives, including ... http://www.shreekumar.in/?p=397 That's my new bike! I have been riding the Kona Sutra for a couple of weeks now. Purchased from BOTS. The Sutra has a steel frame and weighs approximately 14 kilograms. It is equipped with Avid BB7 disk brakes, strong Mavic rims, and bar-end shifters (front: friction, rear: index/friction). For the ... http://www.shreekumar.in/?p=368