Home on Sauvik Biswas

I, along with the others in the group, had to wake up by 5:30 AM, freshen up, have breakfast and leave.

If waking up early in extreme cold was a problem, imagine the amount of pains I had to endure when I had to go for a pee at midnight!

Karthik came and woke us up at 7:00 AM.

Indiahike’s vehicles—a tempo traveller and two cabs—were waiting opposite to Dehradun Railway Station.

A visit to Tapkeshwar temple # I had decided to take the day off from travelling in order to recuperate for the upcoming trek.

It was still raining in Mussoorie, although the weather was not that bad as the last day.

It had rained all night.

Speedrun from Harsil # I had booked a spot for Har-ki-Doon trek that started on 15th.

Slight hiccup and a late departure # The owner of Hotel Govind Palace in Uttarkashi mentioned of a vehicle that left for Harsil everyday before sunrise.

From New Tehri to Uttarkashi # New Tehri was more or less characterised by offices and a large reservoir—the end of which has the reknowned Tehri dam.

Morning view from my Joshimath hotel’s balcony.

Last night, while I was on phone with Mogit, I felt the building shake.

I must admit that the cold made me a lot lazier.

Until last night, I had not decided my next destination.

A hike to Neer Garh waterfall # Three more people came to fill the void left by the German lady and the South African guy.

Towards Haridwar # I woke up quite late—9:00 AM to be precise.

Commotion of Bangalore to the Silence of Jolly Grant # One of the toughest things to do is to actually escape Bangalore on any day that is not a Sunday or a public holiday—something that I have experienced innumerable times and have become well accustomed…

I was invited by my bandmates Korak and Shounak to join their gang from IISc for this trek.

There was nothing else to do in Udupi.

From Mangalore to Udupi # The Saturday following Diwali was Bhai-Duj.

This time for our trip (it has almost become an annual ritual), we took an overnight bus from Bangalore to Mangalore.

Sumeet Singh Manglotra, a colleague of mine had recently obtained a road bike and was getting into long distance rides.

A few months ago, Korak introduced us to a new guitarist, Shounak, and a new bassist, Sricharan.

The last show that I had played was about four years ago.

Update: I got my refund.

Update: Decathlon took back the shoes and I got a replacement.

This book has changed the way I look at food.

About two or three weeks ago, I started having pain in my lower back.

The challenge of decluttering # The first post of this year was a radical one for me.

I had made a conscious decision to not put anything too big on my credit card this month.

After a small test ride a few weeks ago, I decided to take my new old bicycle for a longer ride.

A new groupset # Installing the new drivetrain was loads of fun.

Don’t buy cheap Chinese crank puller!

If you want the short version, here it is.

About a month ago, I had worked for three days to come up with a proof of concept for a project collaboration platform aimed at a small company - typically less than 40 people).

Some background # A few weeks ago, I was fooling around with Flask framework.

Inventory: Deore T610 Trekking V-brakes # Two weeks ago, I had received a pair of Deore T610 brakes.

26th January was a holiday.

A few months ago, I had asked Mogit if we can up with a simple collaboration system similar to Basecamp.

Replacing some worn-out brake shoes # The brake shoes on my hybrid bicycle had worn off.

It took me some time to assimilate my thoughts after last year’s physically and mentally taxing adventure.

Today, I woke up with a sore throat.

One final luggage drop, one final briefing, one final climb # We were asked to get ready for breakfast and drop our luggage by 7:00 am.

A constant uphill # Palakkad heat was uncomfortable even at 7 O’Clock in the morning.

A deadly descend # After three days at Hotel Accord, I was already sick of the food.

Before the round trip # I woke up quite early and felt rejuvenated after the much needed rest day.

The official photoshoot and the red jerseys # There was an official photoshoot in the morning.

A late start # Kalpetta was fully covered with dense fog.

Flag-off and the importance of being safe # We started at around 7 today.

Re-check and Flag Off # I had to leave at 4:00 am in the morning in order to make it to Taj Yeshwantpur in time to drop off my luggage.