What’s coming?

Detailed report on a trail near sukhna.

Pictures of the road and the trail.

“The Road”-- 2 ways to reach the road I mentioned in the previous post!!

 

OK, so here is how you reach that new “road”, and break your speed records and possibly also your bones if you are not careful. I am assuming that you are at the visitor’s entrance of Sukhna, if not don’t loose heart, just check out the maps and the info below to get the idea on how to reach “the road” from where ever in this world you are!!

 

1)

Now, “E” marks the main entrance of the lake for the visitors, and the “G” of Golf Club marks the entrance for the Golf Club (duh!!), all this is to put the map in perspective, now what you are interested in is the road where the arrows are, at the END of this road take a left to chandi path, basically you have to reach the end of Chandi Path (marked in blue) and take a right.

2)

Continuing straight you will pass through many parking lots on the left for, well, parking your vehicle and climbing the stairs to access the walk way along sukhna, you will also do that but later and you will not park, continue on this road till there is a y-intersection, one road will go straight and the other will go right (see the green T like spot on the map above, you will reach from the left side here).

3)

Here you are going to face a moral dilemma, you will have 2 options, decide yours:-

A) Option RED  From the y-intersection, take the road on the right and things are simple for some time here, no other road connects to this road, just follow the road, you will face a left and then the obvious signs of passing through a village with cows and buffalos tied in front of the houses, in the map the village houses can be seen with white tops, then with a smooth left you will reach another y-intersection (on the top-right of the map above, just before the green and red paths meet) with one road (the left one) blocked with a barricade, so you know where to go (right if you are still wondering).

B) Option GREEN 1 From the y-intersection (green mark on map above), just continue straight, you will pass a CGA board on the right and an entrance followed by a green fenced golf putting ground. Just go on, the putting ground on right will end, don’t worry, continue till the end of the road, it will be very obvious, there will be a dirt path after that. Here there will be a parking lot on the left, and you will be able to spot the stairs, get spectacles if you can’t, climb the stairs, yes, with the cycle of course (if you have it, if you don’t, I don’t know why are you going to “the road”) and you will be on the walk way and in front of you there will be Sukhna Lake. On the map, where the break occurs in the green path and it moves up with a couple of parallel lines, is the depiction of stairs(smart, ain’t it?). After the stairs turn right, and WALK the cycle, this is important, cycling on this path is not allowed. You will pass a bridge like structure and face a barricade, jump it and go on straight. 

B.2) Option GREEN 2 You can do another thing at the stairs, don’t climb them, just go on straight to the dirt track and continue towards the left side, there will be a ramp, you can reach the walk way this way, no difference, just your choice. After that just follow the route in Option GREEN 1

WARNING Watch out for dogs when you reach the dirt path near the stairs, more so if you go for option 2, I have been chased twice and barked furiously at once in this section, and the chases were dangerous, I had nowhere to go on that dirt path.See “How to save yourself from attack” at the end of the post)

 

4)

OK, now you will be on a road with trees on the left and open ground on the right, just go on straight, see the black line on the map, there will be board welcoming you soon after the barricade, just go on and after a bit of cycling you will see there are elevated sections of road, just 2 or 3 disconnected sections on the right, check for a dirt path to access those sections, see the red line on the map, that's approximately where the sections are, choose your section, explore a bit and have fun.

 

The condition of this road has deteriorated quite a bit after my last post, there are more potholes and more rocks and more shit to watch out for. I will do another reality check tomorrow and get some pictures to post.

You will also need to watch out for living things, this road has become an integral part of the life of the villagers, you will be able to spot children and other human beings walking around along with cows and buffalos, just ensure you don’t bump into them, it will be really bad.

How to save yourself from an attack

Remember 2 things, if you see a dog barking, try to check where is he (or she) looking, if its looking at  you, look down, don’t look into the eyes, never, and don’t make sudden movements, just calmly walk away in the opposite direction and when at safe distance, continue on your path, don’t cross that part again, I have saved my self from a buffalo attack this way!! Secondly, if you are chased, don’t panic and try to run or cycle, the dog will catch up, so do this (and only when you are being chased and matters are serious) when the dog is just about to attack, shout in the most idiotic way you can, make a odd sound which will scare it away, it works, but do this only in emergency, when no one is around who can help you and matters are serious, if someone is around try to get help.

 

Images courtesy of Google^TM

Krishangarh Mayhem!

Just south-west of Sukhna Lake is Krishangarh Village, and whats special about this village is that there is a brand new road (incomplete and with zero maintenance ever since the small part was completed), the stretch is not connected to anything and is always empty, though a small stretch, it has a decent incline which makes it a good venue for speed. I have managed around 43kmph on my Trek here without taking any kind of risk. I know I can breach 50 here.
But as there is zero maintenance, you would like to watch out for stones and bricks and cow/bull shit which may become your direct passport to the hospital.
If you want to ride it easy pass the village and cycle along further to the hilly roads. I have never been there on my cycle but it will be great for sure.
As far as speed is concerned, my speed record in the city is 44.3kmph, just a wee-bit lower than the speed limit on cars on the smaller roads, will I be challaned if I am caught doing 45+ on a a cycle?
But never ride fast on the roads, that is illegal (you cross the speed limit for 2 wheelers) and extremely dangerous, and life is more important than speed records, so ensure you never go fast on a road where cars ply, or even on side roads for cycles, people walk there and you may hurt someone. Also if you fall, at that speed and with the road beneath you, you will get hurt seriously, so ride safe.

The start of a journey!

It is said -
"When you want something from the heart, the universe comes forward to help you."
Something just like that has happened to me. My childhood friend just shifted to the next house.
And the best part is he shares my vision and idea, at least in the biking department. I was looking for the right guy with whom to go on a tour and here he is.
We are planning a small one day tour to a nearby fort on our cycles, after the exams.

Back on track

New logo, new template and a new enthusiasm.
I have a lot to tell you, my experience(s) with my new Trek, trails around Chandigarh and the Project Biking.
New posts on that soon.

Trek 3700

It had been weeks since I had been persuading dad to get me a loaded bike, Firefox or Hercules. The problem was not that he was worried about the bike and its sky high cost, he seemed to be more skeptical about me riding it blazing fast in city traffic and hurting myself, but I managed to ensure it to dad that I will adhere to the "speed limit", strictly. And guess what, I got a Trek! Yes I actually got a Trek bike, the base model, which I got costed as much as the second highest bike Firefox has on its list.

www.trekbikes.com

The news and the problem

There is a good news, I am getting a new bike, maybe Firefox, lets see.

I am researching if it has any problems.

But the concept of biking itself has a problem, it is the way it is took in India. I am brainstorming and finding more information on the issue, soon a post on that.

Its a sport, a passion and you save the earth too!

Its cool, when you can say you went 300 km on your bicycle on a 5 day tour to the hills.

And I really don't know why it has not caught up in Chandigarh, when we have so many wonderful places surrounding us. For a reality check on biking in India, check out Bangalore, the silicon valley of India is also the biking capital of India, well, nearly.

You think biking (read cycling) is down-standard, then better check these sites out to come to terms with reality.

bangalorepedals.blogspot.com

www.bumsonthesaddle.com

cross-country-ride.blogspot.com

You want to see techies who can't stop biking? Head here

www.shreekumar.in

www.vinaypawar.com

Its not just commuting, though switching to bicycles for commuting is the next best thing, its more about the feel of it, you just can't beat the feel of being on your own with your bike and traveling through mountains and hills and exploring, nothing else even comes close.

You can feel the breeze on your face, you can sense the immenseness of nature and if you get some friends along, its magnified fun!

Chandigarh Pedals
Project Biking ~ One for the Biking Spirit

utkarsh_rstg@yahoo.co.in

P.S.- Bike here does not refer to the fuel guzzling motorcycles, it refers to the ones where YOU are the fuel, Bicycles.

Links above do not affiliate this blog, nor does this blog affiliate those, till I can contact the owners. This blog is inspired from the content on the blogs above and the name is derived from "bangalorepedals" blog.

Views here are just flowing thoughts and the truth I know of, if you think any part of it is against your views or against what you view as truth, do leave a comment or mail me.