Saturday, May 31

Bongs.Farts.Chainsaws.


Harbinger of the rain is clear in the sky… 
come the cool winds and the occasional dark clouds. However, I had to rush to Bangalore for a tryst with a stunning bike shop…

Bike shop?  
Humbug! The name-board kept me guessing. 
But then there is always the number: 124/2 …











Shower the frames…. 
It’s a good idea to shower before the start of any game. Clean, refreshed and enjoyable, the bike maintenance starts here.   








Graffiti on the walls may speak different language:
BA in Philosophy,
B.Tech in Chemical Engineering,
MA in Arts and ....
Doctor in cycling.
Combine all and you get the meaning of some of these art work on the walls of this shop...





"I believe in Park Tool …. "
These men are at it. They keep the most impressive array of Park Tool collection. 
A fine tool-board smiles at me!
This is the best working environment one can have…

Park Tool Deluxe Double-Arm Repair Stand can be costly… (Guess what's the cost... 50K?) but they have it.
And a Shop Inflator to put air into rubber. 

Never seen one anywhere else...
Great, really great  !!






Hello!
It is bike, bike and all about bike …
they have it on the walls, 
on the roof and on the floor. 
The idea is to drive it into head !


The Chainsaws are cruel , but Ya! I’ll tell them to use it to hang couple of those carbon frames.  



Hello BONGS! … call it BANGS, BLOWS, THUDS, CRASHES, KNOCKS, CLANGS, DONGS, BONKS ….  
It makes a noise always. 
Don’t worry: the chain and the wheel come down with a noise… 
you crash with a BONGS !!

A FART ??… It is a difficult person, detestable person, or someone of small stature or limited mental capacity. (**There is an element of noise too in this!). 























Finally : "Amen" ... A Prophet on a Cycle !!  
I saw this somewhere… don’t remember where. 



All my pride of having a worthy collection of Bike posters were shattered on the walls of this bike store… 
they have the greatest collection of bike story on their walls.  





Life is Arabica is served with love … 
Sorry, your bike shop may not draw a cyclist in your coffee… 
but they'll draw cycle with a broad smile and a brown brew, deep in your heart !!
What is so important about Arabica and cycling ?
I wouldn’t know.
Why Should I?
Ya...Coffee doesn't ask silly questions!!
World over, it is Coffee before a ride, Coffee after a ride... Coffee, Coffee !! 











A longue as good as a ride … 
it is soothing to feel at home here. The soft flow of water from a font, a set of sofas and you are welcome to recline for all the crazy bike-thoughts.




Getting it all wired up on a trainer … 
fixing couple of gadgets… 
call it bike fitting. But boys, you got to know the game ! 
It is an awesome experience NOT to feel the bike when biking. To forget all about your bike,… and see the world around, and suddenly coming to your destination... “Oh! Is the ride all over so soon!” you ask. 
A fit bike gives the rider ultimate comfort. 
Believe me, not the gadgets, not the $500 wheels  but it’s all about bike fit!!

Something I love about Surly is this statement, 
"There is No New Black"... 

It's like telling, "You cannot get the "new" black go further than your old blaaaack!"
 "Surly is good Baby !!"


Wow !!




"Good Bye Bike fitting !"

***

Post Scripts: 

Dear Friends, 

To keep Chromoly 4130 riding in Kerala rain, read 

Edward de Bono + Robert Penn. 



Acknowledgement and Courtesy:
Nikhil,
Pavan
and Riyaz.


"Pavan, you never told me how you picked up that wonderful name for you dazzling bike shop...
and, Sorry, I couldn't do a great lens work with my tiny Samsung phone 

***

Tuesday, May 20

In the beginning was the ride ...


  

“Ever bike? Now that's something that makes life worth living!...Oh, to just grip your handlebars and lay down to it, and go ripping and tearing through streets and road, over railroad tracks and bridges, threading crowds, avoiding collisions, at twenty miles or more an hour, and wondering all the time when you're going to smash up.Well, now, that's something! And then go home again after three hours of it...   and then to think that tomorrow I can do it all over again!"(Jack London) 






 







"I feel that I am entitled to my share of lightheartedness and there is nothing wrong with enjoying one's self simply, like a boy " 
(Leo Tolstoy)




The ride was over and the enchanting  VISMAYA beaconed us for a memorable day of fellowship and fun.



"The journey of life is like a man riding a bicycle. We know he got on the bicycle and started to move. We know that at some point he will stop and get off. We know that if he stops moving and does not get off he will fall off " (William G. Golding)



"After your first day of cycling, one dream is inevitable. A memory of motion lingers in the muscles of your legs, and round and round they seem to go : You ride through Dreamland on wonderful dream- bicycles that change and grow" ( H. G. Wells) 





"When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought of anything but the ride you are taking" 
(Sir.Arthur Conan Doyle)


"As a kid I had a dream - I wanted to own bicycle. When I got the bike I must have been the happiest boy in Liverpool, maybe the world. I live for that bike. Most kids left their bike in the backyard at night. Not me. I insisted on taking mine indoors and the fist night I even kept it in my bed." 
(John Lennon)







Question : "Who said bicycle isn't girl's best friend ?"
Answer : Marilyn Monroe ( for she said , "Diamonds are girls best friends"!) 

"Life is like a ten speed cycle. Most of us have gears we never use"
(Charles M Schulz)








"When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realised that the Lord doesn't work that way so I stole one and asked Him to forgive me." (Emo Philip)



" I'm lazy. But it's the lazy people who invented the wheel and the bicycle because they didn't like walking or carrying things..." 

(Lech Walesa)


After a long spin, when this pool welcomes you, Cycling takes a new meaning of relaxation !






Who says you can come to Vismaya only on a cycle? Manju and family is at VISMAYA in their Speed Lounge! 

Some says cycling is all but two wheels and a chain...
At Happy Bikers, we explore cycling beyond wheels !

Guess what Ocean is thinking ? She is all messed up with the million scents of culinary at the dining tables, the sound of children playing around and the cycle-talks echoing the corridors of  Vismaya. 


The still-life watercolor of Vismaya is mesmerizing... 
and after a hot day of cycling, it is a cool take to calmness. 


"Hello Kutten, turn left at the water side and drive straight to reach VISMAYA"















"There is beauty in silence and there is silence in beauty and you can find both in a bicycle!” (Mehmet Murat ildan, 
The Turkish play writer, novelist and thinker)



"The bicycle is a former child's toy that has now been elevated to icon status because, presumably, it can move the human form from pillar to post without damage to the environment" 
(Brock Yates)

In the beginning was the ride,
 and life followed it...
But the day has ended, 
 and the sun gone down, 
  but the joy of cycling and 
the delight at Vismaya lives on in our lives ... 
God Bless Happy Bikers !!



****
We are "Happy Bikers" and is a group of cyclists who discovered   cycling beyond wheels and chains.



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