BSA Hercules Duathlon 09

I participated and somehow managed to complete my first ever Duathlon yesterday. BSA Hercules Duathlon 09 also happens to be India's first event of it's kind.
There were two categories in the event, 2.5k run + 10k cycling + 2.5k run and 5k run + 20k cycling + 5k run. I participated in the latter and timed a not so satisfying 2:48:23.

Why I say not so satisfying, is because, a better timing was possible with my current level of fitenss but I did few sure shot avoidable mistakes:

1. Had a very very heavy breakfast in the morning, I could almost feel the stuff jumping around in my tummy while I was running.
2. Took lot's of water in the morning as I normally do, and didn't have have enough time gap between the water intake and the event. Reason: I woke up late, Lazy me :(
3. My bicycle brakes were not in order, once pressed they were sticking a bit to the rim of the wheel thereby slowing the pace. Overlooked the problem and that made the ride tough over long distance.
4. I had checked pressure in the wheels on friday evening, the tyres were a bit flat on sunday morning (Is there a small leak ??).
[caption id="attachment_80" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="First 5k lap of Duathlon"][/caption]
Few things beyond my control also contributed to my bad timing, there was a little bit of pain in my left knee at the start of race. Probably that was because of my 10k+ ride to drop my MTB at the track and trail store(koramangala) the previous evening. Guess i should have done it on Friday itself and took proper rest on the pre-race day.

Otherwise the event was just superbly managed. Bought back fond memories of school days when I used to ride to school 5-6 kms each way. Also bought back memories of a cycle expedition which we (Swodeep, Rajshekhar, Kamesh and me) had taken to Akhandalamani temple from Swodeep's native. That was right after the 10th CBSE exams, may be this is the longest distance I have cycled after that.

Will get a certificate and medal for this effort :)

Cycling was part of daily life right since class 5th till I completed graduation. Sometimes it was mundane and had to be done and sometimes it meant freedom to go to places one wanted to go in a small town like Puri. One could actually cover the periphery of the whole town on a cycle in less than an hour!! Adolescent years, one always longed for a bike of own. Probably it seemed macho!! Of course sometime around class 10th time, cycling became glamorous with Aamir competing and winning the cycle race in movie 'Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar'. The determination and struggle of Aamir, the under dog, made it very desirable to have a cycle. Then who doesn't love a story of under dog beating the fancied...

Life seems to have turned a full circle, there is now a desire to ride a cycle to all places possible, motor bike looks boring. Wish I could go round B'lore in less than an hour. Have been thinking of going to Office on my MTB for sometime now, but somehow not able to gather the courage to do the nearly 20 km ride each way. Hopefully someday I'll get rid of this fear and just do it, at least few times a week.

At the duathlon event i was bowled over by this Bianchi Spillo quarzo gent, Rakesh of Track and Trail Koramangala was kind enough to give me his Bianchi for a test ride and I just loved it. Technology involved in making a bike has evolved considerably since our school days, and am complete novice. But I have read few blogs and analysis on this hybrid bicycle and it seems to be worth it's price tag of 31,000/-. You read the price tag right!! Need to save for it :)