Absconding Paranoid

It's been a week already! The saddle soreness and numb palms from the 300 km brevet ride are still bothering me a bit, but the memories are still fresh :) On 22-Jul-2017, I reached the start point of the brevet at around 4 AM (It was well before start time of 6 AM) by riding around 5 km to Balanagar and getting a lift from Vikranth. We thought of getting the bike check done and brevet card stamped at around 4:30 AM as we were told to reach the start point 1:30 hours before the start time. However, instead of the volunteers, we were warmly welcomed by a bunch of mosquitoes as soon as we got out of the car. We tried to sleep a bit, which, of course, did not happen. Slowly fellow riders Franklin, Prem, PV Sivaram, Pavan etc., arrived. Vishu and Rajeev too arrived, and we slowly got into chit-chatting and getting off the bikes from cars. Franklin had an issue with the rear tube and he had to change it even before we got to the bike check. Later on the festive atmosphere kicked in as ...

Two years after my first brevet, I was in a phase which I couldn't even remotely dream of a few years ago. Conquering brevets in 2015 and after that, riding and running a bit became my favourite morning routine. Recently I started eying a full marathon and started training for that. Last Saturday, the super randonneur medal from 2015 season (along with a 200 km brevet medal from February 2016) finally reached me in the medal ceremony. It was nice to catch up with fellow riders. A few of them asked me if I was doing the infamous Heaven and Hell ride this time. I said I did not give it a thought yet. I was wondering if the brevet would come in the way of marathon training, but a fellow rider reminded me of need to stick to riding in order to run better. Four days passed by and I found myself renewing my AIR BIB number and registering for the brevet without any planning. My only thought was - "What better way can I spend the coming weekend? :)" Planned to leave early f...

Peace... Chaos! Chaos... Peace! Look around you... The chaos seems to be peacefully surrounding you. Look at you... The peace seems to be in chaos. Look closely... The peace seems to volatile. Waiting to fade away at the slightest turbulence. The chaos seems to be waiting to settle down. Look at the people around you... Many of them won't be able to make your peace stronger. Few of them would share the peace, but leave with their share sooner or later... and might or might not come back often. Very few of them pour in their peace to make you believe in it. Sometimes, you might feel alone in chaos amidst a bunch of familiar faces. Sometimes, you might feel the peace in you relaxing in the rocking chair when you are alone. Look deep within...the absconding paranoid finds the nest to rest. The peace might be chaotic... but the chaos would also be peaceful. They co-exist like the 2 faces of a coin... chasing each other at every toss. Now look at batman... He might ...

Good times Good old times Good pals Good old pals Roads Smooth roads Ghastly roads The beats The variations in them Feels lively all over again Navigating the dirt roads Vrooming up the ghat roads Watching the waterfalls Feeling the thundering sound Getting excited about a tiger that could sneak up on you on a morning walk Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Its the road trip!!! A sense of freedom is breaking the dawn We were dancing in our seats without giving a damn The lost glory was retold by the old songs collection The moments were nothing short of perfection The chips kept rolling The nights kept waiting We kept laughing But didn't stop playing Good times Good old times Good pals Good old pals From darkness to light From daylight to twilight The milestones kept whizzing by The headbanging continues From naps to snaps Like a flowing river on versatile terrains The road is our domain! Once again, let's be insane! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! ...

It is deep, inspiring, simple. It can pull you up. It can push you down. It can lift up your spirits. It can crush down your hopes. It can add life to the lifeless. It can make life lifeless. It is gentle, yet can be ruthless. It can be small, but reminds you that small could be big It never leaves you, it surrounds you like the air It can be just a feeling, but can make you feel a lot different things It can brim up in the emotions, or wipe them out. It is deep, inspiring, simple. Expressing something simple can become a challenge. But protecting it can mean everything. It is deep, inspiring, simple. It makes us repeat things. It makes us forget things. It makes us remember things. Sometimes again and again Sometimes all over again! Because it appeals like nothing else. It is love!!

Simple yet magical... The skies full of bright stars The moon gazing across distant shadows The fragrant flowers mesmerising nomadic strangers The fireflies dancing to unknown tunes Simple yet magical... The night mirages surfacing on roads The glow in the eyes of kids when elders come home The slumber slowing down the ever energetic kids The lullabies aiding the slumber to kick in and take over Simple yet magical... The smiles endorsing the faces of asleep babies The memories flashing before closing the eyes Powerful words resounding in the head The random dreams engulfing the night Simple, yet magical!

It all started in a weird way. I was browsing facebook happily and one fine day, I happened to notice the ‘Bhongir fort ride’ titled event on my feed, scheduled for 21st Feb 2016, when a good rider friend of mine RSVPed for the ride. I recalled the past couple of visits to the fort and thought that it could be a very rejuvenating century ride, thoroughly enjoyable at this time of the year. A few days later, I came to know that this was not a century ride, but a 200 km brevet! It got me thinking…. I was initially not intending to do a brevet (not this early at least) after becoming an SR. But the idea of seeing the fort hill up-close didn’t let me back off. To add fuel, I figured out that my parents wouldn’t worry about it either (I had a tough time convincing them for the last couple of brevets) Two options: Either ride leisurely without going through all the registrations and stuff, probably volunteering. Or go ahead and do it the ‘highway’ way ;) In the meanwhile, the TBA folks orga...

I initially thought of writing this post as a generic one, but considering the extreme experiences, I felt that it would be better to limit this to my personal experiences. Old habits die hard. As with the previous brevets, ended up with not-so-fruitful plans to sleep sound the night before the big day – 5 th -September-2015, as the much awaited, dreaded event - Hyderabad 600 km brevet ride “Into the wild” kept eating up the brain cells with unwanted thoughts, excitement and what not! The ride not just lived up to the name, but went way beyond it!! I rode to Raushan’s place at around 2:00 PM and we both started in his car after ensuring that all the mandatory items were in place. We reached the starting point -  St. Martin’s Engineering College at around 3:10 PM . After getting the bikes checked and going through the formalities, we greeted the fellow riders, well-wishers and volunteers and happily posed for all the photographers. Just before we started, we ...

After a few stretching sessions and photo shoots, the organizers flagged off the ride at 5:30 AM. I had to skip the mid-night movie in order to get some sleep. I started off later than I expected and after going 1-2 km, I figured out that I forgot my reflective vest, which was one of the mandatory items for the ride. Had to go back and fetch it. Finally after arriving at the start point, HBC Bike Station, we greeted each other and joined the stretching sessions and all. After the ride started, we slowly headed to the next check point, which is almost 67 km from the start point. We rode as if it was a 100-120 km ride, giving it all, as we were a bit concerned about reaching the check-points in time. For any other ride, we would be going at our own pace. But for the brevets, we rode in small groups, with people who ride in similar pace. And the reason for pushing initially is, we had to tackle a lot of head wind and inclines. To add to our misery, even the sun was shining brighter. We a...

Close to the city of Paithan, in a small village called Sauviragram, which lay along the banks of the great river Godavari, lived a woman named Ilaa. Being cotton farmers, her family was well to do, but not among the richest in their area. It was the harvest season, and cotton had to be picked from the plants. The wholesalers and traders from Paithan would be arriving in just a few weeks, carrying gold and goods for barter. They would exchange what they carried for the cotton that the farmers grew. The bales of cotton had to be ready in time! Work was at its peak! But Ilaa was not to be found in the fields. She wasn't working. Instead, she was sitting by the banks of the great river Godavari. 'I am sick of this!' she grunted loudly. * * * She had enough with the voices in the back of her head shouting louder and louder. She was not just like any other girl since childhood. She did not want to follow the crowd and lead a mechanical life, dep...

When do the most creative ideas and the most daring thoughts knock the door of the brain? Before sleep? Bathroom? Sitting idle? Am not gonna answer that! :P But I happened to experience a hair raising thought just a while back. Thinking about how I ended up choosing to go for the dreamy distance of 300 km ride. All this while my legs are still begging for a bit of mercy as they got exhausted big time from the 200 km ride only a couple of days ago. The tan-lines are still fresh. My palms became rough and numb. No wonder though, as the ride itself is labelled ‘Heaven and Hell’ officially! But my mind still feels happy that I am a randonneur now. My mind is now racing to find all the memories and stick them together… to tell the tale! It all started when casual commuting on bicycle (hereby referred as bike) came to a stand-still and re-entered my life, after the bike got back to me, in running condition! One fine day the words – “We can go for long rid...

It's hard to see.... those who know the pain of being rejected but it makes them strong! for a part of them know, that stopping won't take them anywhere... and trying more will make a difference! It's hard to see.... those who get mocked at.... but it keeps them going... to see the world of destination... and it makes them realize the power of determination! It's hard to see... those who fail to smile even once... but they battle hard.. to win against the feeling of loneliness It's hard to see... those who get treated like a stranger... but they know best, the value of friendship It's hard to see... those who keep waiting for the loved ones... but they know best, the value of true company It's hard to see... those who walk with guilt.... but they can explain best, the happiness of being forgiven It's hard to see... those who long to experience a moment but they know best, how to pile up memories! It's h...

Fresh air to breathe… Fresh sceneries to view.... Fresh activities to tone the body... Fresh music to occupy the mind and shake the head in sync with the tunes The emotional self is satisfied The physical self is gratified We sometimes get surprised by our ownselves... How we tackled a situation so awesomely! And we find ourselves a bit cool! :) How we realize that there's nothing more thrilling than taking full control of our own self!! Finding our new selves constantly in the quest of life, when we are lost in the chaos more often than not! We are the company of our past   and future selves. Instead of mourning the past, refresh the current self with new aspirations, and welcome the future self! Re-read the old scribblings… and prepare to be awed by the thoughts that kept lingering... that kept pushing... constantly to the new beginning with new perspectives! A smile is all we need to embrace the uncertainties!! :)

Another Sunday lazing around... another futile attempt at siesta... My mind lingers at all sorts of thoughts rather than focusing on the much needed precious sleep. That's when the usual thing happens... my mind clings to philosophical thoughts and observations. I realize that the frequency of my blog posts has drastically fallen. But that's fine I suppose, considering the fact that I am pretty much tied up with friends or family almost every weekend and sometimes on weekdays as well! Anyway, coming back to the thoughts.. A random concept looked like this: "A loner thinks - 'Its a rather strange world... The one I love doesn't love me. The one who loves me doesn't get accepted by me. And to deviate my mind, I turn on the TV and there comes the ad - mee toothpaste lo uppu undha?   This is it!! I have had enough rest. Now there is only one goal for me! I am gonna hunt down that so called creative concept designer for that bloody ad!!" And one mor...

When you feel high... why does your performance increase ten fold? It is because there is no pressure! And no pressure means freedom!! :) Freedom from fear... freedom from pain and grief. Freedom from anxiety...freedom from the essence of loss. Freedom from responsibilities. That's when you smile! That is why kids smile more often!! They are able to see the beauty around them clearly with no obstacles. And probably they are glad they had the opportunity.. That is why happy men have become a rare breed! ;) Because overcoming fears and accepting reality gracefully is not something everyone can do :) Now don't strain yourself, trying to categorize, to which breed I belong.. I am after all, being human! :D

The hole so deep, so cold, so harsh.... takes its toll on just about everyone who falls into it! Its not easy to climb out of it. This is what it looks like to those inside it. But to those outside it, it looks puzzling. Because all they see is a bunch of crowd sitting and looking helplessly out of the hole, hoping someone would help them to come out of it. The outsiders just wonder why don't these people lend a hand to each other and come out of the hole. But this is no ordinary hole…. its the hole of loneliness!

There comes a moment... When all the dormant hopes ... swim across the seas of pain and agony... and make it to the shore of dreams... To play with the waves of smiles... To feel the beats of love... roaring when the tides of memories hit the rocks of life And brilliantly carve the story of happiness.... Lasting long enough ... for someone special to visit... and embrace the moment... together... to celebrate the precious time... silently watching the etched stories... for what seemed like eternity and add the words... 'happily ever after!'

Kid: Dad, why do people cry? Father: Because they are sad Kid: Why are they sad? Father: Well.. depends on various reasons... Sometimes the situations force them to make a choice, that they do not wish to make... Sometimes because they are too greedy... Sometimes they tend to be too choosy.... The higher the expectations, the higher the hopes, the deeper the attachments, the chances of being happy or becoming sad grow accordingly If things are as they are, the way they are expected, peace and happiness intertwine with life. If things go beyond control, and end up in a way you never expect them to be, you are bound to become sad. Kid: So you mean to say that its easy to become sad? Father: Nope... its easier to become happy! :)

After a tiresome trek up and down the hill, every muscle seems to beg for a timeout. But the soul doesn't seem to be satisfied with the visual treat yet. The mind lingers to the breath-taking pictures and tends to imagine the scenic-beauties beyond the ghats. And then, amidst the fray, when he feels disappointed with himself, his eyes fall upon an old person peacefully heading to the destination he sought after, even while his meager posture looks barely standing. After a few minutes, he recalls a story he read many years back at school. He lets out a smile, that seems content. He calls out the old man and offers him the bun and water he has been saving for the journey all along. The old man was very alert and instantly turned his way. He gestured as if he is happy to see someone else str i ding the same path, but refusin g the offer. Still musing at the old man's gesture, he goes back to his childhood days thinking how his thinking patter...