After a lovely evening meal with a friend at a pretty new and pretty place called
La Traviata, which looked like an Italian/Japanese themed restaurant/cafe/bar, with two polka dotted statues - one of cow and one of calf stationed outside the restaurant (rather unusual pieces for a themed restaurant!), I decided to check out Kormangla on my bike! B-)
The weather was pleasant. I had a lot of time in my bucket, was wearing comfortable clothes and had the basic cycling gears on - helmet, gloves and pollution mask. Boy I was almost set for the ride, only thing being, it was unplanned. But that didn't bother me much since I'm up for cycling and exploring any time provided the sun is hiding in some other part of the world! So Kormangla was on my mind. But Domlur isn't far I thought. So is Indiranagar. I can reach the place and U-turn back home in no time I thought! One of my college friends recently shifted to Indiranagar. I thought I will check her place and come back. The plan was made within few seconds inside my head covered with (I'm writing the spelling as my friend pronounced it :P) "Between" helmet! :'D :'D :'D
Three signal's - the last one being the very famous Sony signal didn't take much long since today was national holiday! (No prizes for guessing the day.) Then started the not-at-all lit but super smooth - Inner Ring Road. The ride on this road, after the next signal, was as smooth as sliding down the slide smeared with butter! O man! It was the sexiest ride I ever had in Bangalore! Can't explain the pleasure! Uffff!!!! Smooooootthhhh.....! I thought to myself how lucky I am that my unplanned event got planned on a holiday since there was no traffic at all! The roads were clear all throughout my ride! Where ever I went, I faced no traffic. I got completely zoned out and got tuned-into my perpetual cycling motion! I could no longer check out the place. I was so blissfully tuned into cycling. 100Ft. road had always fascinated me for the up-class outlets, top-class restaurants and long stretch of road outlined by huge trees on both sides. I stopped aside to call my friend when I started on that road. But unfortunately first and then fortunately now, the call didn't get through. For one number, the lady spoke something in Telugu, while the other number wasn't available. So I hung up and started riding again.
I rode till the end of the 100Ft. road and on the way I crossed this place called TOIT which my friend had talked about earlier this evening. There were pretty girls in mini skirts standing outside and I heard the music, being played inside, in full Doppler effect. I couldn't notice the place for long since I was riding with a decent speed but my side vision will tell you a lot more about the place. It looked pretty huge and crowded too. I could almost guess the interiors from the outside décor. But that's not the point here. When I crossed that place, there was a firm assertion inside my head, of one of my basic personality traits - I do not open up easily. I need time to develop, (in one of my friends' term - ) evolve and take in what comes before me. There is a lot beneath which I choose not to write about since otherwise this stupid write up would bulge unnecessarily. I moved on and reached the end of the straight road with a signal there and the metro railway line, running over our heads, bending towards right. But some anonymous group of neurons asked me to take left. I had no idea where I was heading. I looked at one SUV taking a U-turn and I, for a second thought I should head back. But then came back the jumping idea of exploration when I saw the board saying - Old Madras Road. :D
I laughed with excitement. No. The scene wasn't as stupid as it is in movies where the actor smiles and laughs on his own and nobody cares. I had an advantage - I had a mask on. So I heartily laughed with excitement and nobody noticed me! :D :P The next board indicated Ulsoor. I had been there more than twice. So I thought it to be safe to go there. Then came the Y-shaped left-right diversions with a petrol pump at the center but no board or signs anywhere near.
I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference. ;)
Well I really did take the road on which there were no vehicles but only a few people walking with some luggage. I slowed down and asked -
MG road? The man said after furrowing his brows,
keep going straight ahead. I turned back and asked
How far is it from here? to which he replied
2-3 minutes. But it definitely wasn't 2-3 minutes. I confirmed the route again at the next signal and went ahead. The familiar places started appearing along with a wave of an unusual content in my brain promising safety (now that's my funny brain - promising safety in some part of Bangalore at night, only reason being - I had been there before!). The metro line appeared. I saw the board saying - Trinity. I knew I was nearing MG Road. I started riding with confidence. The greater familiarity of MG road made me happier. Since, firstly it made me feel safe again (my funny brain again!) and secondly I had always thought of riding to MG Road on my bike! And there I was! For a fraction of second my increasingly-aspiring mind thought of heading ahead and taking the route where the magnificent Indian flag post stands with dignity, the place where I was overwhelmed by amazement when my friend drove me there one night. But it was already past 9 or 9.30. Didn't check the time then. And I needed to head back on time. So I pushed the flag plan to some other unplanned day.
Crossed Brigade road. Crossed the signal. Was very thirsty. Thought of taking a small break at Bombay restaurant but dropped the idea. Went ahead. After some signal on the way a two wheeler, honking in a continuity, came and hit my leg. I was already pissed at the way that dude was honking and when he hit my leg, I stopped my bike immediately and turned back and shouted
What's wrong with you!. The dude riding that two wheeler looked like a kid and his friend at back was also a kid I guess. All I could notice in my anger was - the rider was wearing a kajal and the pillion rider was checking me out! Since his honking was the first thing I had noticed, I continued
Ek toh itni zor se horn baja rahe ho!, to which this kid in front replied something I cared not to listen to and continued with my words
theek se chala nahi sakte!. This happened just after the signal. Since they had faulted, I got the advantage to shout out loud in the middle of the road. But we moved on just after a could-have-been-potential fight when I said
idiot in the end. I am rarely aggressive on outside but my conditioned mind made me do what I did.
Well, the anger didn't last long and I was back on my excitement track. :D St. John's signal was what I decided to take but the end-moment dilemma made me take left from the Forum mall signal and again my funny brain started it's funny theories saying -
it's good to take the road from where you started! :'D I sometimes wonder at these strange statements my brain makes at odd times! Again, this is not to be discussed here. My next was a halt for exactly five minutes, starting at 21:48, to have my favourite watermelon juice
without sugar, at the juice shop near Woodland showroom and start riding again at 21:53. And boy do people check me out
‽ They keep staring at my bike, helmet and my...you can guess what...! Sometimes it makes me feel like a professional cyclist, roaming around and exploring the beauty of the city. Anyway. I crossed the famous Sony signal again took the Flipkart road, crossed the Jakksandra signal, passed La Traviata (without noticing the polka dotted cow and calf!), took the Sarjapur road and then was blinded by high beams of vehicles! Every bloody vehicle was on high beam. I couldn't see even an inch of the road since there were no vehicles following me. There were vehicles only on the other side of the divider. I slowed down until a vehicle passed me by on my lane and my eyes checked the road as further down as my vision could get under the lights of that vehicle.
Soon I was at the 27th main and it looked like a dead street at start with no lights anywhere! Further down I found some activity and was relieved to see people walking near the open shops. I returned back to the garage to park my bike and went home running to have water. Cold water.
This was my unplanned ride of around 120 minutes giving birth to this rather long and verbosely written stupid write-up.
Now comes the checklist.
To buy:
- A better pollution mask
- Head light for my bike
- A blinker at the rear end for greater self-visibility at nights
- Anti-glare glasses for night riding
- More professional-looking cycling outfits (I'm all excited ;D)
- A good camera to click along the way!
To do:
- ✓Cycle to MG road
- ✓Cycle at night in Bangalore
- Cycle to flag post some night
- Cycle on Nice road
- Cycle when it's drizzling
- To write long write-ups after all these rides! ;)
It took longer to write about the ride than the ride itself! It's nearing 2.00 am now. Another day has already started. (I tricked the Blogger to publish this on the same day I rode. ;))
Good day.
Addendum: Later at night after my ride, this guy I went out with earlier in the eve, made me feel pretty by saying that he likes me.
