Trek 4300 - One year later



It’s been a little more than a year since I got my 4300. I decided to post this review after drenching it in the rain over the last few days and thrashing it in slush and mud.

I may have done only about 3000 kms on it. Not much for a year of use but I’ve used it everyday over the last year to commute (barring 10 days in the Hyderabad summer). The motorbike and car have been resting at home and are being used only when the entire family has to go out.

My usage of the 4300 is not limited to the tarmac. I love hopping kerbs and riding on the sides of the roads where its free, rough, jagged and fun. I jump often (not bunny hopping) and tend to abuse the bike a little. So my experience is:

Frame: Nice geometry for all types of use. However, it is an MTB and performance on the road is certainly restricted as compared to a road bike but the high seating position gives a good view in traffic. The upright position is comfortable. The word that comes to my mind is "balanced". The frame itself is quite strong and I can vouch for it as I have done a maximum of 2 foot high drops numerous times.

Suspension: Lovely. Just lovely. Soaks up bumps very nicely when I hit hidden potholes in the rain and even better when I jump down kerbs. It’s set at the stiffest setting and does a good job balancing daily riding and jumping.

Ride: Smooth. I’ve understood that comparing an MTB and a road bike is like a Pajero and a Ferrari. The former is a lump built to be abused but can be used for road riding too although it will feel cumbersome. The latter is for the pure thrill of burning rubber on the tarmac. The 4300 mirrors the former perfectly. The sedate road traveling bike exhibits a totally different character on trails and bad riding conditions. One can feel the control and confidence especially on trails. Its hard to describe unless you’ve really thrashed this bike on a trail. The sound, the feel, the confidence, the grip all scream out on trails. This bike is not meant to be just ridden on roads because then you’ll never understand its heart. That said, it is perfectly suited to commuting for those like me who can’t afford a road bike, for now.

Quality: This is perhaps where I’m most happy to have bought a Trek or something similar. I have ridden quite a few times in the rain with the crank completely under water. I understand why a sealed bottom bracket is so important. The gears changed under water with some resistance. But the ride was superb. After all that soaking, there isn’t a creak coming from anywhere. The gears shift perfectly till date. The components have all held up just as they were on day one. The cables, derailleurs, shifters, tyres, rims, pedals, cassettes and suspensions are superb. Even the handlebar grips are good. No punctures till date. I ride with a tyre pressure of 60 psi.

Brakes: This is the one part of any transport vehicle that faces the most friction/violence/abuse. The brakes have just one purpose. To stop what it’s meant to. The brakes are reason I could touch a top speed of 51.7 km/hr. Because I knew I could stop in time if needed. They work very well even when wet. Disc brakes would be of help in hazardous terrain but these V-brakes are more than sufficient for now.

Issues: During delivery, the front brakes were slightly misaligned. I fixed this by completely removing the pads and re-adjusting them. On another occasion, the chain was touching the front derailleur in the 3-5 combination. This too was fixed by loosening the cage bolt and turning the derailleur a little. And that’s it. No issues till date.

The 4300 is a very dependable bike. The quality of components used is high and should ideally last for years unless badly abused. I have no gripes whatsoever and I do thank Rohan Kini at bumsonthesaddle.com for edging me towards buying it. No regrets till date. Touchwood.

Fear - The greatest motivator

It is fairly common these days to read about how self-motivated the successful people are. The prodigies and the self-made business tycoons inspire us with their stories. And the most common thread to all these people is the fact that they’re self motivated. A deep desire from within to push forth and be the best in whatever they want to be and do.

Yet, each and every one of us have different motivational factors. Some work better when they’re relaxed and some need pressure to perform. But perhaps it is fear that is the basis for all ambitions.

Taking a corporate office as an example, one sees the average performers move along in their work-grind out of the fear of being replaced. Competition and peer pressure forces them to look at what’s happening around and use those benchmarks to better themselves. The below average performers always look over their shoulder waiting for that pink slip. The fear of being laid off makes them stay awake and plod along.

But the star performers, that’s another story. These are people who’re so completely engrossed in the finality. They see the goal and visualize it coming closer. With a vengeance, each failure along the way is studied and granulated and improved upon resulting in a razor sharp focus. But yet again, it is fear that drives them. The fear of not bettering what they did today. The fear of becoming lackadaisical.

Every human being has that potential within themselves to be the best at something in their lives. Few of us ever get to know and be what we truly are good at. The majority of us give in to what comes our way and end up doing a “job”. The really lucky ones get to work on their hobbies and make a living out of it. For it is in this state of mind that one becomes a star, afraid yet motivated by the fear of the self.

Hotel Gautam @ Mahabaleshwar - Review

For a hill station that has so many visitors and tourists during the peak season, there are surprisingly few online reviews available on hotels and resorts at Mahabaleshwar, Maharashtra.

During the peak season, almost every single hotel and resort goes full barring perhaps the most expensive. We had to do an extensive search online and talk to friends and acquaintances for hotels to stay in based on our tastes and budgets.

Cutting the rant short, we searched on www.holidayiq.com and www.tripadvisor.in for reviews and of the few we found, we hit upon Hotel Gautam (www.hotelgautam.com) for its consistently good reviews. This was going to be a shot in the dark and we took it.

The booking was made by calling Mr. Deepak at Pune who was willing to listen and answer all queries. I troubled him quite a bit demanding all sorts of answers about room size, hotel location, refund policy in case of cancellations etc. Hotel Gautam does not give you a refund but instead holds the amount for you to visit any time within a year of booking. This didn’t seem too bad. Besides, I booked a poolside room first, then cancelled and booked a Super Deluxe room, again cancelled and booked a family room since it was 3 adults and a child. Each time, Mr. Deepak never complained and patiently accommodated my request.

We traveled on 7-Jun-09 from Hyderabad and reached Pune on 8-Jun-09 at 9.00 am. Went to a friend’s place to have breakfast and a rest for my daughter and continued to Mahabaleshwar by the MSRTC bus. The bus started at 11.15 am and reached Mahabaleshwar at exactly 3.15 pm after which we took a taxi to Hotel Gautam. With some trepidation, we entered the hotel:

Location

This is perhaps the second best reason to take a room here. On entering the hotel, you are treated to a fantastic view of the Koyna valley. The clouds lazily move along the mountain side for a good part of the day. The garden faces the valley and one can sit here and admire the valley for as long as one wishes (or until you checkout). The hotel is 2 kms from the market place and very close to Wilson Point.



Wilson Point is the highest point in Mahabaleshwar. The hotel is situated just around a kilometer from here. The walk is fantastic and you get treated to a cool/cold fast breeze at the top. If you’re up at 5.45 am, you get to see a most glorious sunrise.

The word "Serenity" would aptly describe the atmosphere of the hotel.

Rooms

We chose the Family room as we were 3 adults and a child. The family room has 2 double beds, 2 bathrooms, 2 single beds, one mini-refrigerator, an air conditioner and two LCD TVs with some important channels showing. The entrance is through either of two doors which is particularly useful if someone wants to leave or stay. One side can be locked and the key taken.

The standard utilities provided are towels, shampoo sachets and medimix soaps. The bedsheets were neat and devoid of stains. There were no bed bugs, mosquitoes, cockroaches or ants in the room which proved how well maintained it was.

The photos of the room are attached for a better view. And talking of room view and placement, you pay more for the a valley facing room but frankly, it does not matter. All the rooms are in the same compound. So you can save a bit by taking a pool facing room and just walking up into the garden to enjoy the valley. The valley facing rooms make sense if you really love to admire the view as soon as you wake up or if the torrential rains are forcing you to stay indoors. Mahabaleshwar is simply too romantic in the monsoons.




There is a nice garden with play items for children like slides, a swing etc. My daughter enjoyed playing for hours. Enough space is given and the toys are all on grass making it a comfortable play area too. There are games too such as Table Tennis and Badminton. The swimming pool had clean water and we found many people taking a dip and having fun.



NOTE: The rice cooker seen in the photo is not a hotel provided accessory. We took it along just in case my daughter wanted to eat plain boiled dal.

The other rooms are quite spacious too and come with one double bed and an extra single bed/diwan. Photos were taken by me courtesy permission of Hotel Gautam.

Service

This is where the hotel shines. The staff is always courteous. Right from the time we had to check in all the time till we checked out. Check-in was a polite no-nonsense affair and we were shown our rooms immediately. The room attendants do NOT wait or linger around for a tip from you. They do their job and keep moving.

We arrived at 3.30 pm at the hotel on 8-Jun-09 which was past lunch time. We were famished after the bus ride and requested some food at the front desk. The front desk is manned by Mr. Ramesh (also the Hotel Manager) and Mr. Suresh who very professional people. We were ushered into the restaurant and the manager and staff was serving us everything that was available. We asked for some rice, dal and curd and they served us without a moment wasted. Since we were close to snack time, we were also served snacks with tea/coffee with/without sugar.

The staff is responsive and carries out every request with a smile no matter what the time. Room service too is very quick. The staff did not bother us for anything. Snacks and tea were served in the garden when we asked for it as it was lovely to eat hot pakodas and sip a cup of hot tea while gazing at the lush mountains.

The most amazing level of service was extended to us after we actually checked out!

We booked a Neeta Volvo at 11.30 am on 13-Jun to take us back to Pune. Mr Ramesh had earlier quietly warned us against taking this bus because of the motion sickness experienced by people. We ignored his warning and booked it anyway.

The bus broke down at Susoor at 1.00 pm after traveling about 45 kms from Mahabaleshwar. We were stranded in the middle of nowhere with no other alternate transport and our train leaving from Pune at 4.30 pm. The bus driver called up his office and it was obvious that there was not going to be a replacement for another 1.5 hours. We were certainly going to miss the train.

In desperation, I called Mr. Ramesh and explained that we had just checked out and that the bus had broken down. He immediately barked a few orders to a taxi driver and made sure that the taxi reached us within an hour by 2.10 pm. He coordinated with us and the taxi driver and ensured that we got to Pune station on time. This was perhaps the most satisfying and justifying reason for staying at Hotel Gautam. Mr. Ramesh sent the taxi purely on the faith that we will still be at Susoor waiting for it. We could’ve left with the next bus itself and nothing could’ve been done.

The above paragraph is my way of thanking him and Hotel Gautam for the unequaled service extended to us before, during and after our stay at Hotel Gautam. Everyone is similarly helpful.

Food

Perhaps the most ridiculous level of pampering would be in this department. The food is pure vegetarian and is impossibly good. We stayed for 5 days, stuffed ourselves, couldn’t complain anywhere and left the hotel with a relief because it was becoming an eating fetish. Good Lord! The food’s so good with so much variety that one can’t even sample everything. Even the Chinese and Continental dishes were above average. Do not expect a Mainland China or a Ritz. But the non-Indian dishes were made with passion and affection.

The Indian dishes were all outstanding. Being south Indians, we didn’t find the sambar upto our benchmark but it was good all the same. North Indian dishes are something to die for over here. The two sample menus can be viewed below. We never once felt like going out and eating anything else. The spread here ensured that we sinned properly and gained weight.



When we checked out, we requested a simple parcel for the journey. We were given a royal parcel consisting of sandwiches, pickles and curd. The manager offered us more dishes but we had to deny it.

Value for money?

Without doubt, especially during the off season. Those staying in Pune and Mumbai are really lucky as they can just drive up here within a few hours.

The only thing lacking is a WiFi connection. But when you go to stay and unwind, perhaps it is best not to have any link with the workplace.

Competition

I would be hard pressed to state any competition to Hotel Gautam as this hotel offers a perfect blend of food, location and outstanding service. We did try Ramsukh resorts which incidentally have excellent reviews but the rates were more than double of hotel Gautam.

Among the other hotels we called during the booking period, we found Hotel Pratap Heritage very courteous. Same for Lake view resort. But after having seen this hotels, the location offered by Gautam was simply too good. For non-vegetarians, Hotel Brightland would be the best but the rates are much higher there.

A good samaritan

A refreshing experience it was at school today. Parked the car in an unobtrusive space to allow traffic to move. Following the traffic rules has its disadvantages too. Another chauffeur driven car came up and blocked us plumb with the chauffeur conveniently vanishing while we went to drop off the little one at school.

After due contemplation, I tried moving the bikes around to make some space to take my dinky little 800 out. Seeing me perspire, another man just came over and helped me move all the bikes around without being asked. He spent a good 5 minutes moving everything around just to give us space to take the car out.

t'was a reminder and a justification that people are still very nice and help out without being asked for it. God bless that man because I would've found it really hard to get the car out by myself. Humanity lives on!

Trillian

There are two applications that hang my system just to see me cry. And these two applications take up a large memory print and will act up mainly when I've gone half way through some number crunching in excel, thereby forcing me to close my existing applications, lose 2 hours of work and redo them.

The two applications are IE7/IE8 and yahoo messenger, each robbing my RAM of 72K and 52K respectively. Eliminating the first problem was easy. I don't use IE7. Its that simple. I use k-meleon (firefox engine). Nothing fancy, just decent browsing and a small 30K footprint.

The second is a bit tricky since we all use yahoo messenger for internal communication and I risk being an outlaw staying outside the boundaries of ymsngr. With all its fancy skins, themes, sounds, croaks, bells, whistles and more blah, the basic fun of chatting and communicating is lost among all those pachydermal worthless cosmetic features.

Having mopped the floor two weeks ago with my tears after losing some Form 16A data in MS Word due to ymsngr, I decided to search for a simpler application and stumbled upon Trillian (http://www.trillian-messenger.net/) which imports all your contacts from ICQ, AIM, Yahoo Messenger, MSN, and IRC. It also stores your chat histories if needed and takes up a miniscule 3.7K of RAM.

Not having had a system hang in 2 weeks (1 week actually since I was chilling out the last week), I'm going to attempt completing my Form 16As today.

I've ranted enough. If you're interested in a little more speed (especially you humans out there who do not have the new fangled 4 GB DDR3 RAM) due to a lower RAM footprint, I invite you to try Trillian. Its an 8 MB download and is worth the install.