Osman Sagar

Another 50km day today; I completed the loop that I had intended to do yesterday, though not without the usual backtracking and detours. GPS track and photos.

I took a different route through the bustee (the word that seems to most accurately describe the dense, urban, largely poor areas I often ride through) by Mithla Nagar that shaved off a good chunk of the down and up, and I got to the Qutub Shahi tombs practically without breaking a sweat. Then the long ride west, until I reached the place that confounded me yesterday. The map clearly shows the road continuing west to the intersection with Osman Sagar Road, but it's a complete fiction. I wound around and eventually found myself headed due west on what I could see on the GPS would have been a continuation of the road that dead-ended. Yea!

But I was still a bit confused, my map doesn't go out quite this far, and I wound up heading back in toward Hyderabad on Osman Sagar Road (though I thought it was something else). I passed this lovely temple...



...and soon saw Golconda in front of me - ruh-roh, better turn around. I eventually saw a sign for Gandipet and knew I was headed the right way. Whew!

Shortly before reaching Osman Sagar an enormous bird flew directly over me and landed in a yard a short distance ahead. When I got there, I discovered it was a peacock.





Nice bird!

I soon rounded a corner, climbed a short hill and found myself looking at Osman Sagar (also known as Gandipet, though I think that's actually the name of a small town just east of it).



The water level is a lot higher this year than it was in 2005 when, when Gordon took Pete Coppenrath and I to Ocean Park and then around various places, including Osman Sagar. I stopped at a small park and walked around a bit.



They go to great lengths to keep you from getting near the water; the shoreline is fenced with barbed wire. There are also abundant signs; I wonder if this is actually true?



Getting back on the bike, I continued southeast along the shore of Osman Sagar.





This is the first body of water I've seen in India that looked even remotely appealing for swimming. I'll bet sailing on this lake would be great.

Eventually I wound up back on Chevella Road, heading for Golconda. As I approached what I think is Kali Mandir temple, there appeared to be what we would call a country fair in progress - lots of people sort of camped out, with barbecue in progress, and even some rides.



Upon reconnecting with Osman Sagar Road I turned west and threaded by way home through Golconda. I got this picture that I'll be adding to my Guns posting.



Finally, my last picture was taken in response to Katy's wondering if the rats are really as big as Ditz (our smaller cat). Warning - if photos of dead rats offend or upset you, stop reading now. This fellow is a pretty typical size, but I've seen much larger. The one-liter Nalgene bottle is there for scale. Here it comes.

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