Daytrip to the west of Pune

Nari has written a detailed trip report, so I won't. The trip was useful to figure out if the bike and I liked each other, and what my present level of fitness is. My findings:

1. The bike is quite cool to ride for long distances, except for two sticking points: Firstly, the lack of a carrier on which to strap my cycling and photography gear, which meant I had to haul the backpack, leading to back pain later. Secondly, the stiff seat made for painful cycling after about 40km. I switched cycles with Nari for a bit, and found that although his Ranger Swing was heavier and unwield-ier, it was much more comfortable.
2. My fitness level is worse than a guy who watches golf on television.

Nari in his sleeves-ripped-off tee

The first thing to give way in the cycle was the front mudguard, which just fell off after about 20km. Since there was no water on the road anyplace, the lack of a mudguard was not much of a problem:

Storks

Nari gets sugarcane. I think I need a walking cane.