Writing

I enjoy reading, and tend to write reviews of books I've read. I also have a blog (who doesn't?).

Sports

Like most Indians, I grew up crazy about cricket. My father loved it too, so it was easy to get hooked. I've watched some dramatic—and, yes, I confess, some rather tedious—play at Bangalore's KSCA stadium. In the US I've followed baseball as the next best thing, but I find it coarse, lacking cricket's subtlety, and thus only a tepid substitute.

To a first approximation, I enjoy playing all sports that involve linear objects hitting spherical ones (cricket, tennis, racketball, etc.). But these invariably involve scheduling with anywhere from one to twenty-one other people, which is beyond my organizational abilities.

While I was still seeking out something I could “play” regularly, a rental bicycle in San Francisco taught me that Lance Armstrong was wrong: sometimes it could be about the bike. Because I was already addicted to watching road racing, I bought my first road bike, a Specialized Sequoia, which was electrifying.

In April 2005 I went a step further, buying a Bike Friday Pocket Rocket Pro: a folding road-bike that fits in a regulation airline suitcase. The Bike Friday is an odd and, admittedly, awkward looking contrivance, though it's all the better at fooling people into not taking it seriously.

Though I don't have the ideal physique for it, my real thrill is steep uphill rides. I've tackled some of the climbs in the northern Berkshires of Massachusetts (including Mt. Greylock), the Muur van Geraardsbergen, the Col du Porte in the Chartreuse range above Grenoble and, in the single most delightful day of my life, the legendary L'Alpe d'Huez in the French Alps. I dream of the Izoard, Tourmalet, Stelvio, Angliru....and yes, I admit, Mt. Washington, NH (though I'd be glad to not be eliminated).

Gear heads will want to know, so here are some Bike Friday specs. All steel, naturally. The wheels are 20". I currently run 20x1.25 Schwalbe Stelvio's; I encountered my first flat at the end of 1528 miles, which is shockingly good. The components were all Shimano 105. I ordered the bicycle with a 53/39T; through the magic of arithmetic (a.k.a., gearing) I don't have to pedal abnormally despite the wheel size. (Older Bike Friday's, which use a regular rear cassette, have to go as high as 72T in the front, which is a pain to pack. My rear cassette is Shimano's Capreo, whose smallest sprocket is a miniscule 9!) Because I tend to mash too much, in April 2006 I replaced the front with a 50/34T compact chainring by FSA. I am indeed pedaling at a higher cadence now. With either configuration, the ride is fine at cruising velocity, but a bit shakier at very low and very high speeds. I feel some flex when climbing. Write me if you have questions.

It changes your relationship. When you see your advisor in spandex every day, it's hard to take him as seriously.
—Jay McCarthy, overheard

Travel

I'd like to visit many of the UNESCO World Heritage sites. Most of the ones I've visited are stellar, though a few have been disappointments: clearly testament more to their country's political clout than to their intrinsic value.

Other places I would like to visit someday: Çatalhöyük on the Anatolian peninsula, Antarctica, The Ice Hotel in Jukkasjärvi, the Lightning Field of New Mexico, the Jules Verne Hotel in Florida, and the Cafe Engel in Helsinki.

My folding road bike lets me encounter new places on their own terms. The bicycle is a beautiful device for exploring: fast enough to get places while slow enough to experience them. I've ridden it in five US states and in six countries.

I'd like to see Olympus Mons up close in person.

Revolution

If you're bored, a revolution could be just the thing to perk you up! The good folks at the Republic of Texas would be happy to oblige—though they were a touch more charming when they ran the operation out of www.flash.net/~robertk/ instead of their own .com address. (And shouldn't that be .tx anyway?)

People

Some people are not electrically neutral.

uniquely lara has an oustanding and growing collection of art, while my dear childhood friend Al has some wonderful nature photographs (sorry about the annoying splash-screen).