1. Subaru Outback and bicyles: On March 8th, I rode up to NCAR (National Center for Atmospheric Research), about 600 feet above Boulder. Got the first flat of the year:) And a human being of the second kind in a Subaru Outback, with a road bike on top, turned around, came up to me and offered his/her/its floor pump:) I am pretty sure it is the spirit of Outback. We Outback-drivers are nice fellows, you know…
  2. A scary ride on Fool’s Day: On April 1st, went out riding with Subbu, Scott and Carol. Scott is Subbu’s friend and Subbu is my friend from the Computervision, Poona days. And Carol is my friend…. She was riding her new Fuji Finest. On US-36, I got a flat and had to stop. Seeing me stop, she tried to stop as well. She unclipped her right foot and then… leaned to her left! Fell flat on to the road. For a moment was really scared because US36 is a 60mph high way and very busy. Fortunately, there were no cars in the vicinity and she got up. It was truly scary.
  3. A dream coming partially true… riding Route 66: I was visiting Carol in Albuquerque during the weekend of April 7th. It rained the whole day and only towards the end of the day the sun came out. So out I went. Rode up to Tramway from Carol’s house and went south. Then without realizing it, I turned left on to the famous Route 66 and rode up to Tijeras. Turned out to be a nice ride. For me, the greatest thing was a dream, that of riding Route 66, came true. I have wanted to do this ever since reading ‘Grapes of Wrath’.
  4. A light-second is not that far...: The next day, Carol and I rode the Riverside Trail in Albuquerque. This is a nice, flaaaaat, trail that is about 16 miles long. While returning, we were joined by Steve, who is about 55 years old. Steve and I got along well and chatted about electromagnetics and physics (he is more of a maverick who dabbles in everything from civil engineering to parabolic reflector antennas). His goal of life: complete the equivalent of a light-second, 186000 miles, of bicycle riding! And, he has already completed over 150,000 miles!!!! I was impressed. But I guess it is going to be a hard one to emulate: for I will have to ride 7000 miles on the average for the next 25 years to get there!
  5. Flagstaff on compact!!! On 04/21, I rode up Flagstaff road on the Look 555. This is the first time ever I rode up any major climb (other than Jamestown) on the 555. I was ecstatic! Hey, I am improving!