Bhailog, agar 110kph half-our ride on the Khandala-Panvel stretch of NH-4 nahi experience kiya toh kya kiya ??!?!?!?.
As I embarked upon my first long distance bike ride from Pune to Mumbai, I had little idea that all my apprehension and anxiety of how I would make it was futile ! A smooth as silk NH-4, a lovely Honda Unicorn in its peak form ('tachometered' at 3000 kms) and little luggage (my shoulder-bag which actually gave support to my back while it rested completely on the a-bit-higher pillion seat), the ride was a piece of cake !
I started at around 6:30 am on a clear April Sunday morning. With little traffic on the road, my throttle wouldn't listen to my anxieties. Off it went and I was cruising at around 80 kph for the first hour. At around 8:15 am I made my first - and only - halt at the tiger point. It offers one of the most breathtaking views of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and the NH4 toghether with its flyovers and tunnels - all in one view !!!
With the morning sun making its presence felt with its teasingly warm rays of light, and a gush of fresh air having its lovely soothing effect on me, I set out on the speediest drives I have had till date on my bike. The around-70km Khandala Ghat-Panvel stretch is one of the best routes to push the throttle as hard as you please. A Pulsar 150 guy joined me at about this time and he was the one who got me to push the throttle hard. He aws like speed-locked at 90-100 kph... like a robotic machine... neither slowing down nor accelerating further. I maintained the 100-110 kph speed band for the better part of my 40 minute journey till Panvel. God I loved it to overtake the Pulsar guy at 110 !!! Just curious to know what must have gone through his mind. Was it, "Wow ! Too much dude !"... "Hohoooo... sahi ja rahela hai baap !!!" or "Iski khisak gayi hai... 'jayega' saala" or what ??? We continued our duel right till we reached Dadar !
Anyway, the ride had its share of "Oops !" moments. I was negotiating a mild curve down the road at no less than 80 kph when suddenly, a couple of speed breakers came into sight. There wasn't a sign-board to warn of it. Without my disk-brakes, I wouldn't have made it in time !!!
I reached my ex-college hostel (VJTI) at around 9:30 am - just in time to have a hearty breakfast with my ol' buddies :D.
All said and done, guys, Unicorn rocks !!!
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Book Review - "Surely you're joking Mr. Feynman"
What would happen if a Radio fixer, A Painter, A Safe-cracker, A Percussionist, A Theoretical Physicist at Princeton and a Nobel Laureate in Physics come together in one body and soul ? Simple. You get Richard P. Feynman.
Richard Feynman is one of the most intriguing characters you would ever come across - An intellectual genius (as you would very well expect of a Nobel Laureate) packed into someone who, in any and every aspect of life is essentially "just another one of us" types. Sounds ironical, doesn't it ? hehe... read on....
Hilarious, Mischievous, Adventurous, Inquisitive, Simple and Ingenious are a few words that somewhat describe - more or less aptly - this autobiographical account of Richard Feynman's life. The book gives you your share of "Wow !"s and "Whoa !"s for Feynman's intellect, amply mixed with 'crazy' hilarity, a wonderful sense of humour (both in his real life as well as the writing style of the book itself) and laughter that you just can't get enough of.
It won't let you put it down as you steer through Feynman's life - right from his days as the little boy "who fixes radios just by thinking", right thru his days when he cracked the safe that mattered more than any other safe in the world then (the one that housed the top secrets of US nuclear bomb project), and thru his days when he got a playmate model (gasp !) to pose for him as he painted her profile.
The biggest single fact that makes one and all like this book is Feynman's marked departure from a stereotypical image of a reclusive genius one expects in a highly intellectual scientist ! The reader can relate to the character that Feynman personifies very easily.
A MUST read book for High School guys (Std. 10th - 12th) and a highly recommended read for people of all (other) ages. You just cannot miss it !
Richard Feynman is one of the most intriguing characters you would ever come across - An intellectual genius (as you would very well expect of a Nobel Laureate) packed into someone who, in any and every aspect of life is essentially "just another one of us" types. Sounds ironical, doesn't it ? hehe... read on....
Hilarious, Mischievous, Adventurous, Inquisitive, Simple and Ingenious are a few words that somewhat describe - more or less aptly - this autobiographical account of Richard Feynman's life. The book gives you your share of "Wow !"s and "Whoa !"s for Feynman's intellect, amply mixed with 'crazy' hilarity, a wonderful sense of humour (both in his real life as well as the writing style of the book itself) and laughter that you just can't get enough of.
It won't let you put it down as you steer through Feynman's life - right from his days as the little boy "who fixes radios just by thinking", right thru his days when he cracked the safe that mattered more than any other safe in the world then (the one that housed the top secrets of US nuclear bomb project), and thru his days when he got a playmate model (gasp !) to pose for him as he painted her profile.
The biggest single fact that makes one and all like this book is Feynman's marked departure from a stereotypical image of a reclusive genius one expects in a highly intellectual scientist ! The reader can relate to the character that Feynman personifies very easily.
A MUST read book for High School guys (Std. 10th - 12th) and a highly recommended read for people of all (other) ages. You just cannot miss it !
Book Review - My Journey Back To Life
The legendary consecutive seven-time Tour-De-France winner, Lance Armstrong, has done a commendable job in penning down this inspirational and thought-inciting autobiography ! And truly, as the book cover claims, "Its not about the bike" :)
Lance gives us a vivid picture of his childhood - of his brash, uncultured and aggressive (typically Texan) nature - and takes us through his early cycling days. One cannot fail to notice the impact of Lance's mom on his life in those days (and later).
Soon, in his teens when he is on the peak of his career, he takes us to the main theme of the book - Testicular Cancer - right from the night of 2nd Oct. 1996 when he was diagnosed, till his recovery and return to bike racing in 1999. The most striking thing about the ordeal is the way Lance changes as a human being - the way he sees at life, at everything in life !
A must-be book in your personal collection, go buy your copy ! :)
Lance gives us a vivid picture of his childhood - of his brash, uncultured and aggressive (typically Texan) nature - and takes us through his early cycling days. One cannot fail to notice the impact of Lance's mom on his life in those days (and later).
Soon, in his teens when he is on the peak of his career, he takes us to the main theme of the book - Testicular Cancer - right from the night of 2nd Oct. 1996 when he was diagnosed, till his recovery and return to bike racing in 1999. The most striking thing about the ordeal is the way Lance changes as a human being - the way he sees at life, at everything in life !
A must-be book in your personal collection, go buy your copy ! :)
Well Said...
If you do the things you need to do when you need to do them, you can do things you want to do when you want to do them.
-- Anon.
The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.
-- George Bernard Shaw
-- Anon.
The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.
-- George Bernard Shaw