Embrocation Cycling Journal @ BOTS

22 days ago | Rohan Kini: blog@BumsOnTheSaddle.com - Home

Not many in India would have heard about the Embrocation Cycling Journal, a fantastic journal on cycling.

The content and photography is simply brilliant ! Top Notch.

And its all thanks to Darren Reid, a pro racer who is currently based out of Bangalore, helping us to take biking and racing up a notch here (catch him racing at the Bangalore Bicycle Championships )

The Magazine costs Rs. 800 (courier is on BOTS, if you want it delivered to your doorstep)

More details about the Journal

The Main Site – www.embrocationmagazine.com
Blog – www.embrocation.blogspot.com
Twitter – @embrocationcycl

We are working hard to get all these awesome biking goodies to India. If you have something that would benefit bikers in the country and think BumsOnTheSaddle could help out, do reach out – admin@bumsonthesaddle.com

Race 7 - Race to Nandi, @Bangalore Bicycle Championships

23 days ago | Rohan Kini: blog@BumsOnTheSaddle.com - Home

BBCh 7 | 15 Aug 2010 | 0700 hrs | Race to Nandi | ~40km Road race

Quick info

Race Route

• From start point, continue on Bellary Road for 17.89 km till you hit Nandi Hills turnoff
• Take left, continue for 9.83 km till you hit a dead end (Idly Point)
• Take a left, continue for 3.88 km till you hit the circle
• Take a right climb up to Nandi hill top (7.57 km climb). The race ends at the arch. Please do not crowd the entrance.

Total race distance: 40km

What are you waiting for, go ahead and REGISTER NOW

Race Support

Due to shortage of volunteers, we will have minimal support on the course. Support will be provided at designated support stations. You will be on your own between the support stations. Please be as self sufficient as possible (tool kit, puncture, water, electral etc). The volunteer team will do their best, but there is no guarantee of support.

Do check out the bicycling notebook for a checklist for longer rides

Very important – Please do appreciate the work the volunteers do, the only reason they are supporting us and not racing is because they love biking as much as you do, and they understand that without volunteerism there can be no race. Think about this and register as volunteers for the future races.

Interested in helping out as a volunteer ? REGISTER NOW

Keep in mind

Helmet and Gloves are mandatory. No excuses.

• Bellary Road is an extremely busy road with a lot of high speed traffic. All participants should stay on the extreme left of the road and ride in a single file
• There are no major intersections in the race course. We advise participants to follow all traffic rules and exercise caution at these points.
• There is ample parking on both sides on the service road in case you want to get your cars. Please be aware that there is no security, you will be leaving the car at your own risk. It may be safer to park somewhere near Columbia Asia and ride up to the start point
• The race will begin at 7:00 am sharp. If you don’t make it to the start point by 7:00, don’t worry, we will still “enter” you, but the clock will start ticking at 7:00 am.
• The road is not closed for this event. Participants should expect to encounter traffic at various stages and should apply the same precautions that they would normally apply.
• Check the Riders page on site to see if your name is mentioned and note down your jersey number (if not, please do send us an email – admin@bangalorebicyclechampionships.com)
• Rules and Regulations page
• We fund the races primarily thru the Vitamin M concept
• F.A.Q

These races are very community oriented. If you would like to contribute back – we are in dire need of posters, wallpapers, photos, writeups about these races and volunteers.

We think its a great idea to get your family and friends to the races, this way we have more ppl to cheer for you and also many photographers at the venue.

Important links

• Register for the race
• getting your bicycle race ready
• Inspiration

combat Pollution on your commute

26 days ago | Rohan Kini: blog@BumsOnTheSaddle.com - Home

Bicycle commutes are fantastic

• Environment friendly, no pollution
• Save on commute time
• Combine exercise with your commute
• Arrive at work refreshed and all charged up
• Save oodles of money !

There are a couple of things we can do to make our commute more enjoyable (tons of info on this on the biking notebook)

One of the biggest issues in cities is pollution.

Bangalore, for example, is extremely polluted. Some of us who have been commuting on bicycles regularly over the years can literally feel the effect of pollution.

One of the main reasons why we at BumsOnTheSaddle are constantly experimenting with good anti-pollution gear.

Totobobo (one of the brands we recommend) has recently come out with a new mask called the super cool. Ideal for bikers. Its light weight and does not cover the face/nose. Prevents your riding glasses from fogging up too.

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Its essential. If you commute, get a good filter ! You deserve it.

Related Links

• Earlier post on the totobobo masks
• An even earlier post on Clair masks in India
• The Biking notebook – a ton of info on bicycling in India
• The Official Totobobo site
• 1World2Wheels

Totobobo masks

26 days ago | Rohan Kini: blog@BumsOnTheSaddle.com - Home

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The Big picture - Tour de France

about 1 month ago | Rohan Kini: blog@BumsOnTheSaddle.com - Home

Enjoy some fantastic shots of the Tour (Part 1, Part 2)

The Big picture has snapped up the high’s and low’s of one of the toughest cycling races in the world, perfectly.

Brilliant !

Get a Helmet

2 months ago | Rohan Kini: blog@BumsOnTheSaddle.com - Home

Do you know how much more painful this would be on your scalp than a cheapie 1500 buck helmet ? And its not even a scary-helmet picture. The ones which are all smashed up.

Get a Helmet. Today !

A helmet is the most important accessory to pick up with a new bike, along with a good lock and a nice tail light. The other accessories can all wait.

A good list of accessories to pick up with a new bike on the all awesome biking notebook

Race 5 - Bangalore Bicycle Championships

2 months ago | Rohan Kini: blog@BumsOnTheSaddle.com - Home

BBCh 5 | 20th June 2010 | 0730 hrs | Rajankunte | ~62km Road race

REGISTER NOW

Race Details

Date: 20th June 2010 (coming Sunday)
Time: 0730 hrs IST SHARP
Category: Road race
Distance: 62 km ( there is an option to race only 31km if you like )
Location: Rajankunte

To try and get more folks into the racing mode, whenever possible, we will try and keep an option to do a smaller leg of the race. If you are unsure about doing the full race distance you can still give this a shot.

Come by. Soak in the awesome atmosphere. Get to meet some fantastic people (bikers are always nice). And give something new a shot !

What are you waiting for, go ahead and REGISTER NOW

Important stuff

Helmet and Gloves are mandatory. No excuses.

• Directions to start point
• Check the Riders page on site to see if your name is mentioned and note down your jersey number (if not, please do send us an email – admin@bangalorebicyclechampionships.com)
• Rules and Regulations page
• We fund the races primarily thru the Vitamin M concept
• F.A.Q

We have positioned 4 sharp shooters at various places on the track to shoot you with their hi fi DSLRs. So, please put your best foot forward :)

These races are very community oriented. If you would like to contribute back – we are in dire need of posters, wallpapers, photos, writeups about these races and volunteers.

We think its a great idea to get your family and friends to the races, this way we have more ppl to cheer for you and also many photographers at the venue.

Bangalore Duathlon 13 July 2010

2 months ago | Rohan Kini: blog@BumsOnTheSaddle.com - Home

Cycling and Running are something close to our hearts at BumsOnTheSaddle. Definitely happy to partner with RFL (our running counterparts) to help make the Duathlon in Bangalore happen.

Like they mentioned on their site – “The Duathlon serves an important purpose. It will get the running and cycling communities together.“

And we are all for it.

Oh yeah, Abhinandan would also be conducting a warmup and recovery session. Please do keep an eye out for him at the venue. You could ask some of the organizers about this. The warmup session would be 10 sets of Suryanamaskar followed by Oxygenics – a system of pranic breathing coupled with rhythmic stretching. The recovery session will also involve Oxygenics. A small contribution from BOTS to make sure everyone is totally ready for the action.

We heard about a couple of hard core Ironman athletes converging on Bangalore to take part in this event and whoop some ass. Should be loads of fun !

Important Links

• Runners For Life – we, at BOTS, totally identify with what they are doing in the running space. If its anything to do with running these are the go-to guys
• BOTS – The go-to guys for any kind of bicycling advice and some of the best bike setup in the country ;)

• The official Page to the Duathlon – has detailed info about the event.

• Duathlon Transitions
• Getting your bicycle Race Ready

• More biking events in Bangalore
• Bangalore Bicycle Championships
• Bangalore Bikers Club The Bicycling community on Bangalore

Biking in Bangalore this month

2 months ago | Rohan Kini: blog@BumsOnTheSaddle.com - Home

Are you a biker in Bangalore ? June is definitely a good month for you, with a ton of events

• Movie nite at BumsOnTheSaddle (showcasing Bicycle Dreams) and the KYNKYNY racing team talking about their experience racing at the Tour of Friendship
• The Times Cycle to Work Event and the 60km professional race

These two events were held on the 5th of June. The race was good, with quite a big turn out. We got a chance to check out the Indian team in action. Pretty awesome to see local bikers riding hard in the pelotons.

• The Duathlon on 13th June
• The Bangalore Bicycle Championships on 20th June
• Critical Mass on 26th June

Thats one event every weekend for the rest of the month.

Apart from these there are a lot of rides happening (check out on the ride calendar) and loads of biking conversations on the Bangalore Community groups

Join in on the fun !

Movie nite - Bicycle Dreams

4 months ago | Rohan Kini: blog@BumsOnTheSaddle.com - Home

We have been meaning to showcase Bicycle dreams to the biking community in Bangalore for ages. Finally have the DVD with us (thanks to Raghu)

Movie nite details

Venue: BOTS terrace ( link to map and directions )
Time: 6:45pm
Date: 1 May 2010

Everyone pray that it does not rain too hard that evening ! Else its going to be a washout.

Bicycle Dreams links

• Official Website
• Facebook page
• on Twitter

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Critical Mass Weekend (24 Apr)

4 months ago | Rohan Kini: blog@BumsOnTheSaddle.com - Home

Time to get your advocacy hat spandex on

Critical Mass Bangalore
Critical Mass Pune

Bangalore Bicycle Championships - Race 3

4 months ago | Rohan Kini: blog@BumsOnTheSaddle.com - Home

click for a bigger image or download a pdf version to print out

We are racing at Nandi Hills, not to the top though. whew !

Race Details

Date: 18 April 2010 (coming Sunday)
Time: 0700 hrs IST SHARP
Category: Road race
Distance: 50km ( there is an option to race only 35km if you like )

What are you waiting for, go ahead and REGISTER NOW

Yellow jerseys at the Bangalore Bicycle Championships

4 months ago | Rohan Kini: blog@BumsOnTheSaddle.com - Home

Less than a year ago we had a chance to ride with a biker who rode a heavy dual suspension (umm kinda, we all know that having a heavy spring in the rear does not really qualify for a full sus right !!) on one of those grueling long rides to Bheemeshwari.

While most of us rode our fancy uberlight speed machines, our man rode all the way and back on his dualie, phew! Grit and determination. We saw great racing potential in him, and he didn’t disappoint any of us.

He would eventually go on to win the first race at the Bangalore Bicycle Championships.

He’s none other than Gaurav ‘rocket singh’ Dwivedi.

Gaurav Racing to fourth place at the second race at the BBCh

After the race this is what Georg, winner of the championships in 2009, had to say about Gaurav

We are proud to say that the Bangalore Bicycle Championships (a.k.a BBCh) has been instrumental in the formation of some kickass racing teams and Gaurav rides for one such team, Spectrum racing.

Spectrum Racing at the races – Manjula, Siva, Arvind, Ravi and Gaurav

What next ? Well, Gaurav has been invited by KNKYNY racing (another local team) to ride along with them in the Tour of Friendship, a 5 day stage race in Thailand this May. The whole team is currently being trained by Australian pro rider – Darren Reid.

A bunch of us caught up with Gaurav and quizzed him on a couple of things. Here is what he had to say

Wow. Thats super exciting. Thank you Gaurav. We wish you the very best for the next season of racing at the oh-so-exciting Bangalore Bicycle Championships and also at the Tour of Friendship.

the BBCh Race Marshals Team

Keep an eye on

• The Tour of Friendship
• Bangalore Bicycle Championships
• Bangalore Bikers Club

connect with us on Facebook

• BumsOnTheSaddle
• Bangalore Bicycle Championships on Facebook
• Spectrum Racing

and twitter

• @bumsonthesaddle
• @bngbikersclub

new detailed map to the race

5 months ago | Rohan Kini: blog@BumsOnTheSaddle.com - Home

a new detailed map to the race start

Bangalore Bicycle Championships - Race 2

5 months ago | Rohan Kini: blog@BumsOnTheSaddle.com - Home

Racing bicycles does keep you happy. Check out that smile :)

Raceday is just around the corner and we have a kick ass trail all ready to be burnt up.

Race Details

Date: 21st March 2010
Time: 0700 hrs IST (volunteers meet at 6:30am)
Category: Off road Trail ride
Distance: 22km (5.5km loop x 4 laps)

What are you waiting for, go ahead and REGISTER NOW

This race onwards, we will have a small handout which will have all the details (driving directions, checklist, map etc) about the race. Makes it much simpler to keep a printout with you on race day rather than scrambling for driving instruction. Please try and use waste paper to take this printout.

If you have ideas on how to make this better, please do let us know.

download the handout

Bicycle racks for your Car

6 months ago | Rohan Kini: blog@BumsOnTheSaddle.com - Home

download the brochure or contact kynkynyracing@gmail.com for more details about the rack.

Other companies which deal with Car racks in India

• Thule
• Firefox bikes

Bangalore Bicycle Championships 2009 Winners

6 months ago | Rohan Kini: blog@BumsOnTheSaddle.com - Home

Winners of the 2009 Season – Manjula (womens) and Georg (mens)

shot by SignaOne

We started the 2010 season of the Bangalore Bicycle Championships with a kick-ass Individual Time Trial

The Race was awesome with some phenomenal turn out. Good to see a sea change from last year – better bikes, better timings and lot of people who seem to have taken bicycle racing a tad more seriously.

We are definitely heading down the right path.

Rolling Trophies

One of the highlights were the BBCh Rolling Trophies which were handed over to last year Winners – Georg and Manjula.

Congratulations guys. Enjoy it over this season and showcase it for all its worth !

Thanks to Mr 69 (a.k.a Vivek) for spending a lot of time in making this trophy happen. We gave him some old sprockets and he turned them into magical trophies at his playground at KYNKYNY. An avid biker, a very good friend and also a manager of a wonderful racing team – kynkyny racing. Fantastic Job dude !

The Yellow winners Jersey along with the rolling trophy at the race

We have a ton of pics of the first race of the season here, here, here and here

Thanks to all the photographers who woke up early in the morning to capture this event !

as usual, there are quite a few threads on our super awesome BangaloreBikersClub about the prev race and also discussions about the next race.

So join up !

Race 1, Bangalore Bicycle Championships 2010 - Individual Time Trial

6 months ago | Rohan Kini: blog@BumsOnTheSaddle.com - Home

Route Map for the Time Trial on the 21st (click for a bigger map)

Race Details

Date: 21st February 2010
Time: 0700 hrs IST (volunteers meet at 6:30am at the Bangalore University West Gate)
Category: Individual Time Trial
Distance: 12km (6km loop x 2)
Driving directions: directions on this thread on the BangaloreBikersClub

Register now

What is an Individual Time Trial ?

“An individual time trial is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock” – wikipedia

They forgot to add its loads of fun !

More details on the Race

There are various threads on the awesome BangaloreBikersClub covering various facets of the upcoming race. Feel free to jump into any of these threads and contribute.

You could also get a lot of info about the upcoming race on the official BBCh site.

Aid

All riders must carry all items that they think they would require on the race. There will be aid station(s) providing banana/electrolyte/water refills and an emergency medical kit for cuts and bruises.

Please do try and be self sufficient.

Registration

Apart from your name, email-id and participation level (racer/volunteer) you will need to enter a Jersey number while registering. If you dont have one, we will give you one.

Since the Jersey number assignment is not automated it will take some time for your name to appear in the Riders list so don’t worry.

Register Now

Preparation

Read the FAQ, Rules and Safety information

Please remember to check your emails on Saturday for route details and driving directions.

Spread the word

These events are great fun and a great place to meet up with fellow cyclists (newbies, gurus and everyone in between). Let your friends know and don’t worry if you ain’t got the fancy jerseys and shorts – the torn jeans and faded tees are just fine as long as you get your helmet, gloves and a bike that you can ride :)

Ride Safe. And a fantastic racing season to all of you.

Bicycle Racing in 2010 @ Bangalore Bicycle Championships

6 months ago | Rohan Kini: blog@BumsOnTheSaddle.com - Home

The first race of 2010 at the Bangalore Bicycle Championships is just around the corner.

How ready are you this time around ?

2009 was fantastic, with some hardcore racing. We had some superb volunteering, fantastic coordinating and many many brilliant rides.

Memorable indeed (check out some of the moments. You have more ? Share them with all of us)

The bikers were exposed to all kinds of racing – Time Trials, Road races, Trail rides, Criteriums and even some kiddie races.

2010 promised to be a whole new wheel game.

• Bikers have been riding hard, commuting hard and training hard. We are sure to experience some strong riding at the front.
• Quite a few teams have been formed and bikers are training along with their teams. We are definitely looking at some team events during the year.
• More hardcore racing, guaranteed to take your riding to the next level.
• and much much more

As usual, its a lot of hard, exciting and satisfying work behind the scenes to deliver race after perfect race. If this excites you and you think you would like to make a difference in this space – ping us. There is always a need for yet another awesome biker who is willing to help out !

Train Hard. Race Harder. Life is too short to be a wimp

CPR and First Aid for Bicyclists

6 months ago | Rohan Kini: blog@BumsOnTheSaddle.com - Home

Have you ever

• wondered what first aid to carry with you on a long ride?
• administered first-aid to a fallen bicyclist?
• seen bollywood movies where the hero beats the chest of his sweet-heart and brings her back to consciousness (lol) ? And wondered if that is really needed ?
• why an army doctor and an ardent bicyclist carried a sanitary napkin with him on a trip to Muthathi ?

Get the answers !

When: Saturday, February 20th
When: 6PM
Where: At BumsOnTheSaddle, the terrace

Dr.Major Srinivas, an army major and a doctor will be giving us a CPR and First Aid session in case a friend needs it. He would also be talking to us on how to take care of ourselves should we ever have a fall.

The best part, in the true BBC spirit of gaining critical mass for bicycling, this session is free. Yay. Oh and its a B.Y.O.B event

Thanks to Yogesh and Dr Major Srinivas for making this happen !

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