Finding my wheels
Wow, I had a terrific bike ride today. As I approached the literal high point of the day - the water tower in Jubilee Hills that overlooks Durgam Cheruvu - it occurred to me that mountain biking is a relative of backcountry skiing. Both occupy the middle ground between moving on foot (or snowshoes) and being motorized (scooter/motorcycle or snowmobile). They're at the balance point between wanting to really SEE what's around you and wanting to cover ground. Pedaling - hard! - up a dirt path to reach a "summit" and then coasting back down - it's a great way to spend a day. I get mountain biking.
So here's where I went today (or see the full, annotated GPS track) :
I've uploaded a ton of pictures; I'll just put my favorites into this posting.
This may be my favorite picture of the trip so far.
I stopped to admire the scenery (a small lake, Hakimpet Kunta) close to these three; as I turned to go, the little girl started giggling like crazy (probably at my helmet). The oldest woman invited me to watch for a while, and eventually I got this picture. If you think the little girl's smile is big here, you should have seen it when I showed her the image on the camera.
This little sculpture is in the courtyard at a funky, upscale shop called Earth Bazaar.
I took a bunch of shots of these buffalo and birds near the high point at "GrandView".
I was amazed I could get this close to this guy before he spooked.
I rather like the mixed message here.
And finally - what is this?!?
Hi Jerry..i am Harish, a resident of Hyderabad, i was searching for an Hyderabad map and thats when i came across your blog. I was fascinated by this bike trip of yours and also to see places which I never knew about before. In particular the water tank which gives a lovely Hawk eye view of the city. I would love to go there some time, so is it possible for you to help me get there? Can you you pin-point the location of that water tank, if possible, in the Google map pic that you have posted here. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI've tagged the location on this picture:
ReplyDeletehttp://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/6SUzngux8HObLNQTbGf1Hg?feat=directlink
I recently moved to a new server for my web pages, and lost all of my GPS track from Hyderabad. :-( I hope to recover some of them eventually, but not any time soon, I fear.
Thanks for the quick reply. I did try and figure out the location with the help of Google Earth, was close enough. Was going through your blog entries on 2007 and every image that i come across brings a wow! out of me. Dint know that i was missing out on so much of greenery that exists here. Enjoyed all the pics that you have posted.
ReplyDeleteI was planning to buy a GPS for myself, as I have got a bicycle and would love to go around on it..but something less expensive..could you suggest me some model?
ReplyDeleteI haven't kept up on GPS units since I bought mine...
ReplyDeleteIf i may ask, what GPS do you own?And how good was it when you used it in Hyderabad?
ReplyDeleteHope I am not bothering you much with all these questions.
I lost my first GPS halfway thru my trip (while hiking in Wyoming, not India...); it was a largish Garmin unit, I can't recall the model. I replaced it with a Garmin eTrex Legend HCx. They're similar in user interface; my current Legend HCx is somewhat smaller than my first unit and has excellent battery life (at least when using lithium batteries, which I use in all my outdoor gear).
ReplyDeleteAll I used my GPS for is recording tracks; for navigation, I still prefer paper maps and/or dead reckoning, especially in a place like Hyderabad where downloadable maps are (were?) non-existent. My current GPS is probably overkill for that.
But you don't need a GPS to explore Hyderabad - just hop on that bike and get out there!
I was planning to buy a GPS, not just cycling but to use it when driving in and out of Hyderabad. But i will have to agree with you on the GPS maps issue, havent really heard of many and not sure how accurate the available maps are. Anyways, thanks for the replies.
ReplyDelete