Yelläks /ˈyæl•eks/

While doing some work in the console, sometimes the Linux user comes across rather curious things especially error messages. While some error messages are very cryptic and confusing resulting in a few hours spend for research, some are funny and entertaining. Most of the times it happens due to misspellings or due to some important parameters which were forgotten. For example if you like to unpack the content of a .tar.gz file, but instead of typing

tar xfvz somefile.tar.gz

your mind wanders around and finally you execute

tar cfvz somefile.tar.gz

which creates a tar archive, the resulting error message will be:

~/tmp$ tar cfvz somefile.tar.gz
tar: Cowardly refusing to create an empty archive
Try `tar --help' or `tar --usage' for more information.
~/tmp$

Such a coward….

.

After my previous laptop broke, I was looking for a new one. After a not convincing chat session with Dell experts, I finally decided to go for a Sony laptop (VPCCB15FG/B).

How to install Debian Squeeze on Sony C-Series?

Step 1: Installing a minimal system

Unfortunately the kernel that is shipped with Squeeze, does not include the driver for the Ethernet card (the output of lspci including the kernel modules for the hardware is at the end of this post). Hence the “Smaller CDs” (Installing Debian GNU/Linux via the Internet) do not work. The “Small CDs” install a minimal but working Debian on the machine, so I went for this one. If the installer in one of the last steps allows you to select additional software such as Desktop System or different kind of servers, remove the selections from all entries. You will be left behind with a minimal system and a black console with a blinking cursor. If you are new to the terminal or console, simply follow the steps. If you are an advanced user, feel free to skip the elaborated texts.

Step 2: Activating the network adapter

Newer kernels include the driver that is necessary to access the Internet to download additional packets. So first you have to install several packages via the offline method. Selecting a mirror that is close should not a problem. The following packages and all its dependencies you need to select for installation: kernel-package, libncurses5-dev (if you want to use make menuconfig), and for later or if you want to use the provided .config file (refer to the end of this post) firmware-linux-nonfree and lzop. You also need the kernel sources form kernel.org. At the time of writing I used the most current version 3.0.4, so the .config file is for that version. After installing all packages via the apt-get offline method, perform the following steps:

• copy the kernel sources/patches to /usr/src/
• unpack the kernel sources: tar xfj linux-3.0.tar.bz2
• unpack patches that you downloaded eventually to patch the kernel to a more current version: bunzip patch-3.0.4.bz2
• create a link from linux to the newly created directory: ln -sv linux-3.0 linux
• unpack (bunzip2 config-3.0.4.bz), copy the file to /usr/src/linux and rename (mv config-3.0.4 .config) it to .config (Since the file starts with a ., it is not visible by the normal ls command. Do an ls -la instead.)
• cd /usr/src/linux
• Apply the patch, if necessary: patch -p1 < ../patch-3.0.4
• If you want to configure your own kernel, do a make menuconfig -j4 and make the necessary changes.
• Execute the following commands to compile the kernel:
  • export CONCURRENCY_LEVEL="4" (This will use all 2 cores and its Hyper-threading Technology to compile the kernel, so that the compilation takes something like 5 minutes.)
  • make-kpkg kernel-image --append-to-version -1 (The last number needs to change whenever you want to compile your kernel again, in case you forgot to select a driver or functionality)
• If you get an error, check if you installed firmware-linux-nonfree. Otherwise you can find the kernel in a .deb package format in /usr/src/
• Install the new kernel: dpkg -i /usr/src/linux-image-3.0.4-1_3.0.4-1-10.00.Custom_amd64.deb
• And reboot: init 6

Step 3: Installing the software

After the new kernel came up, you probably need to configure your network adapter in /etc/network/interfaces. Have a look at the example below and adapt it to your needs.


auto eth0
# for dhcp
# iface eth0 inet dhcp
# for static addresses
iface eth0 inet static
address 10.112.14.15
broadcast 255.255.255.255
netmask 255.255.255.0
gateway 10.112.14.1
# i do not want to have wake on lan and hence switch it off. Not mandatory to have it. ethtool needs to be installed separately
post-up /sbin/ethtool -s $IFACE wol d
post-down /sbin/ethtool -s $IFACE wol d

Restart the network: /etc/init.d/networking stop and immediately after that /etc/init.d/networking start.

Now you should be able to use tasksel or aptitude to select the necessary software comfortably.

Some Notes

The laptop has 2 graphics adapters: The integrated Intel HD3000 and ATI/AMD Radeon HD 6600M. Since I use Linux mainly to do work and not for fancy games, I intended to run only the power saving Intel graphics card. Compiz runs without any problems on the Intel adapter. Switching to the more powerful ATI card while the X-Server is not running, should be possible with vgaswitcheroo, but I have not tested it yet. Apart from that everything works without any problems.

In case, the kernel compilation is too complicated, you might want to consider Ubuntu instead. However in my experience Ubuntu with its bleeding edge software lacks stability. E.g. in my case Unity and its desktop crashed several times. Also Gparted crashed while it was repartitioning my hard drive. Fortunately nothing serious happened.

Files

lspci

• lspci -v for download

00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Sandy Bridge DRAM Controller (rev 09)
Kernel driver in use: agpgart-intel

00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Sandy Bridge PCI Express Root Port (rev 09) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])
Kernel driver in use: pcieport

00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Sandy Bridge Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 09) (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])
Kernel driver in use: i915

00:16.0 Communication controller: Intel Corporation Cougar Point HECI Controller #1 (rev 04)

00:1a.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation Cougar Point USB Enhanced Host Controller #2 (rev 04) (prog-if 20 [EHCI])
Kernel driver in use: ehci_hcd

00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation Cougar Point High Definition Audio Controller (rev 04)
Kernel driver in use: HDA Intel

00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Cougar Point PCI Express Root Port 1 (rev b4) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])
Kernel driver in use: pcieport

00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Cougar Point PCI Express Root Port 2 (rev b4) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])
Kernel driver in use: pcieport

00:1c.2 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Cougar Point PCI Express Root Port 3 (rev b4) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])
Kernel driver in use: pcieport

00:1c.3 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Cougar Point PCI Express Root Port 4 (rev b4) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])
Kernel driver in use: pcieport

00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation Cougar Point USB Enhanced Host Controller #1 (rev 04) (prog-if 20 [EHCI])
Kernel driver in use: ehci_hcd

00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation Cougar Point LPC Controller (rev 04)

00:1f.2 SATA controller: Intel Corporation Cougar Point 6 port SATA AHCI Controller (rev 04) (prog-if 01 [AHCI 1.0])
Kernel driver in use: ahci

00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation Cougar Point SMBus Controller (rev 04)
Kernel driver in use: i801_smbus

01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc NI Whistler [AMD Radeon HD 6600M Series] (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])
Kernel driver in use: radeon

02:00.0 Network controller: Atheros Communications Inc. AR9285 Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express) (rev 01)
Kernel driver in use: ath9k

03:00.0 SD Host controller: Ricoh Co Ltd Device e823 (rev 04)
Kernel driver in use: sdhci-pci

03:00.1 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd Device e232 (rev 04)

04:00.0 USB Controller: NEC Corporation uPD720200 USB 3.0 Host Controller (rev 04) (prog-if 30)
Kernel driver in use: xhci_hcd

05:00.0 Ethernet controller: Atheros Communications Device 1083 (rev c0)
Kernel driver in use: atl1c

lsusb

Bus 002 Device 003: ID 045e:0745 Microsoft Corp.
Bus 002 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 05ca:18c0 Ricoh Co., Ltd
Bus 001 Device 004: ID 0489:e00f Foxconn / Hon Hai
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub

kernel .config

This .config provides compiled-in modules for the entire hardware found in the laptop. It does not include many things that are compiled in the standard kernels such as IPv6 or other (in my case unused) protocols and file systems. Feel free to adapt this configuration file according to your needs.

.

So, my laptop broke and I was searching for a new one. I was interested in a Dell laptop and had a few questions especially regarding international warranty and the possibility to return the license of the preinstalled Windows 7. Since it is legally not very sound to sell something and after the completion of the purchase, you are informed about your rights and privileges, the Windows end user agreement contains the following paragraph even in bold:

By using the software, you accept these terms. If you do not accept them, do not use the software. Instead, contact the manufacturer or installer to determine their return policy for a refund or credit.

Wikipedia: Windows Refund

I asked the Dell chat experts about their return policy and an international warranty for the Vostro business line. The Dell Expert was aware of that particular paragraph of the license and the quote that was sent to me later, mentioned only a preinstalled Ubuntu 10.10. Also the international warranty was discussed and concluded that I have to transfer the tag that comes with the machine, to the new country before I am leaving the current country.

After that I contacted the Dell chat again, but this time it was the sales department for the main stream XPS line. And here is the protocol of that chat:

Session Started with Agent
Alex: warranty of xps 15z -> international? cost of laptop without preinstalled software
Agent: Welcome to Dell India Chat! My name is XXX and I will be your Dell.com Chat Expert. I can be reached at xxx@Dell.com or via phone at 1-800-425-xxxx Ext-yyyy How can I help you today?
Alex: Hey, I just have 2 small questions: 1) the warranty that comes with the xps 15z does it cover repairs world wide? meaning if i go to e.g. germany and something happens, will i be able to call the german support and get it repaired?
Agent: it is by default with 3 year complete cover
[This was nicely copied from the web page stating "3-year XPS Premier Service with 3-year CompleteCover" and did not answer the question at all.]
Alex: yes, but it says nowhere, if it is covered world wide
Agent: where you will get international warranty
Alex: at dell for instance?
Agent: but once you go to some other country , you will have to customer care to transfer the tag number
Alex: k, that is not a problem, is it?
Alex: is it possible to transfer the tag of the xps 15z to dell in germany?
Agent: you will have to contact customer care for this query
Alex: k, another/last question: how much will the price be reduced, if the xps does not come with any pre installed software. according to the license agreements, which i have to reject, the manufacturer has a policy in place to return the license. however a lot of work could be avoided, if the laptop does come with anything installed
Agent: please contact 1800-425-4026 / 080-2506-8026
[So he does not know. Customer care most probably will answer questions only after I became a customer.]
Agent: it will come bydefault with operating system , window 7
Alex: so the license says abnd i am citing from it: “by using the software, you accept these terms. if you do not accept them, do not use the software. instead, contact the manufacturer or installer to determine its return policy.” so that i am doing and asking for the return policy so that i know, if i get any difficulties, AFTER i spend almost Rs.70000
Agent: sir the os you will get along with the machine is the original version , even you will get the drivers for the same , and there is no option to buy the system without the os
Alex: that is fine. so i have the right to send it back as the license of windows 7 says. so i want to know, if you are aware of the return policy that dell MUST have in place (again according to the license cited above) and what is the procedure for that. if you never heasrd anything like that, then dell is clearly violating the license and i wont buy it form you
Alex: see, i want to know these things before i spend so much money. so that in the end, i have all the trouble
Agent: if any damage happens or if anything wrong happens you can make complaint against it , but there is no cahnce for such situation
[What is he telling here? I am slowly loosing my patience.]
Agent: all we give is the license version
Alex: k, it seems you are not getting it. i am not asking for a pirated version. ever heard about other operating systems apart from windows? i am citing from the license that comes with your genuine windows. clearly according to the license which is a legal statement, it is the responsibility of dell to have a return policy for that particular software in place. and i thought i am talking to an EXPERT who knows what you are selling. you are wasting my time. thanks for making it so clear that i will not buy from dell and i better invest in some other company. if you do not even know what you are selling, i do not even want to know, how the customer care people are AFTER i spend my money.
Session Ended

So in the end I did not buy from Dell.

.

The Hindu from 14/06/2011: Go green is the new fashion. In this view, this photo taken by K. Gopinathan is especially remarkable. A little plant pops out of the riders backpack. How will this little plant compensate for the pollution emitted by one of the worst (environmentally seen) bikes ever built namely Yamaha RX which he is riding? The caption “Green is precious, let’s spread the word around” is degraded to an empty and ridiculing phrase. In this sense: Cycling rules!

.

To save battery power and precious runtime of a laptop, it is advisable to switch off devices that are not in use. Such a device would be the built in WIFI or WLAN adapter, hence many laptops have a hardware kill switch. However in Linux most probably the WLAN adapter is not able to reconnect to any network after the kill switch has been activated (that means the adapter has been switched off) and deactivated (WLAN adapter switched on). Instead the user has to type in ifconfig wlan0 up as root in the terminal to get things back to work.

To avoid this inconvenience and to automate the process, udev is of great help. As already described in this post and more extensively for instance on this web page, udev is a daemon running in the background, which is able to run user programs, if something happens to the e.g. hardware of the laptop. That can be a simple event of plugging in the mouse into the USB port or (as in our case discussed here) the change of the state of the kill switch.

First, we have to get to know, how to grab the kill switch event. For that execute

udevadm monitor

as root. The output will look like

root@jitu:~# udevadm monitor
monitor will print the received events for:
UDEV - the event which udev sends out after rule processing
KERNEL - the kernel uevent

Then you turn the kill switch and more information will be printed:

root@jitu:/home/alefel# udevadm monitor
monitor will print the received events for:
UDEV - the event which udev sends out after rule processing
KERNEL - the kernel uevent

KERNEL[1307970746.488938] change /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1c.5/0000:0c:00.0/ieee80211/phy0/rfkill0 (rfkill)
UDEV [1307970748.257897] change /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1c.5/0000:0c:00.0/ieee80211/phy0/rfkill0 (rfkill)

This means that the KERNEL and UDEV detected a change at the device /devices/pci0000:00....../rfkill0. Copy this path and paste it as a parameter to this command to get to know, what actually changes here:

root@jitu:~# udevadm info -a -p /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1c.5/0000:0c:00.0/ieee80211/phy0/rfkill0

Many sections are printed on the screen each starting with “looking at device …”. The most important section is the very first one. Yours will look similar to this output:

looking at device '/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1c.5/0000:0c:00.0/ieee80211/phy0/rfkill0':
KERNEL=="rfkill0"
SUBSYSTEM=="rfkill"
DRIVER==""
ATTR{name}=="phy0"
ATTR{type}=="wlan"
ATTR{index}=="0"
ATTR{persistent}=="0"
ATTR{state}=="1"
ATTR{claim}=="0"
ATTR{soft}=="0"
ATTR{hard}=="0"

Important is the value of ATTR{state}. On my laptop the value is 1, if the kill switch is off (and the adapter is turned on) and 2, if the kill switch is activated. You might have different values here.

Now we have to let udev know, what should be done (or which program should be executed), if the state of the kill switch is changed. Since the switch is network related, I created new rules in 70-persistent-net.rules:

root@jitu:~# anyEditorYouLike /etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules

Add the 2 lines in this file:

SUBSYSTEM=="rfkill", ACTION=="change", ATTR{state}=="1", ATTR{type}=="wlan", RUN+="/sbin/start-stop-daemon --start --background --pidfile /var/run/network/bogus --startas /sbin/ifup -- --allow hotplug wlan0"
SUBSYSTEM=="rfkill", ACTION=="change", ATTR{state}=="2", ATTR{type}=="wlan", RUN+="/sbin/start-stop-daemon --start --background --pidfile /var/run/network/bogus --startas /sbin/ifdown -- --allow hotplug wlan0"

The purpose of the other ATTR values is basically to identify the device that will trigger the execution of the program. They can be found in the sections of udevadm info above. If these lines do not work, you can also try out these lines instead:

SUBSYSTEM=="rfkill", ACTION=="change", ATTR{state}=="1", ATTR{type}=="wlan", RUN+="/sbin/ifup --allow hotplug wlan0"
SUBSYSTEM=="rfkill", ACTION=="change", ATTR{state}=="2", ATTR{type}=="wlan", RUN+="/sbin/ifdown --allow hotplug wlan0"

If you turn the kill switch, the wifi interface (wlan0 in my case) is coming up or put down automatically. If not something went wrong. To support your debugging, stop the udev daemon and restart it in debugging mode:

root@jitu:~# /etc/init.dudev stop
Stopping the hotplug events dispatcher: udevd.
root@jitu:~# udevd --debug

Many lines of code will be spilled out. On top there should be a line

Jun 14 00:07:56 jitu udevd[24780]: reading '/etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules' as rules file

without an error. After all the initialization text has been thrown out, turn the kill switch and observe, what udev does:

Jun 14 00:08:04 jitu udevd[24780]: seq 3022 queued, 'change' 'rfkill'
Jun 14 00:08:04 jitu udevd[24780]: seq 3022 forked new worker [25359]
Jun 14 00:08:04 jitu udevd-work[25359]: seq 3022 running
Jun 14 00:08:04 jitu udevd-work[25359]: device 0xb975fc08 has devpath '/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1c.5/0000:0c:00.0/ieee80211/phy0/rfkill0'
Jun 14 00:08:04 jitu udevd-work[25359]: RUN '/sbin/ifup --allow hotplug wlan0' /etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules:18
Jun 14 00:08:04 jitu udevd-work[25359]: RUN 'socket:@/org/freedesktop/hal/udev_event' /lib/udev/rules.d/90-hal.rules:2
Jun 14 00:08:04 jitu udevd-work[25359]: '/sbin/ifup --allow hotplug wlan0' started
Jun 14 00:08:06 jitu udevd-work[25359]: '/sbin/ifup --allow hotplug wlan0' returned with exitcode 0
Jun 14 00:08:06 jitu udevd-work[25359]: passed 256 bytes to socket monitor 0xb975fc08
Jun 14 00:08:06 jitu udevd-work[25359]: passed -1 bytes to netlink monitor 0xb975fb28

If the exitcode of the executed program differs from 0, something went wrong. Try to understand the error message that is also printed out. If your rule is not executed at all, check the ATTR parameters in the rule file above.

Loading different settings depending on the SSID

For even more comfort, a network configuration should be loaded based on the SSID of the current access point. For that purpose wpa_supplicant supports ID tags for each network configuration in /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf.

Example files:
/etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf.

ctrl_interface=/var/run/wpa_supplicant
eapol_version=2
ap_scan=1

network={
ssid="home"
key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
proto=RSN
pairwise=TKIP
group=TKIP
psk=0123456789abcdef......
priority=10
id_str="home"
}

network={
ssid="AndroidAP"
key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
proto=RSN
psk=0123456789abcdef......
priority=7
id_str="AndroidAP"
}

/etc/network/interfaces

# The loopback network interface
auto lo
iface lo inet loopback

#-- WLAN interface
#auto wlan0
allow-hotplug wlan0
iface wlan0 inet manual
wpa-roam /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf
#wpa-debug-level 2

# no id_str given
iface default inet dhcp

#id_str="home"
iface home inet dhcp

#id_str="AndroidAP"
iface AndroidAP inet static
address 10.112.14.101
broadcast 255.255.255.255
netmask 255.255.255.0
gateway 10.112.14.1

Do not use tabs or any other white space character before iface. It will not work otherwise which took me some time to figure that out. So whenever the WLAN adapter connects to a access point with a matching SSID, the ID tag is given to wpa_action which configures the adapter according to the settings given in interfaces. This makes the manual reconfiguring of the network adapter and the restarting of the network every time obsolete.

.

Due to my annoying mouse and power cord untangling adventures I experienced every day when I shifted my laptop from my room to lab and vice versa, I bought a wireless mouse designed by Microsoft. By running over the pages of the Terms and Conditions that came with the mouse out of pure boredom, I tripped over this paragraph explaining, under what circumstances the warranty voids:

If a supernatural power decides to destroy my tiny wireless mouse, Microsoft ensured that they do not have to pay for it. It might be hard for a customer to prove that if the mouse breaks, it was not caused by God. A supernatural power should take care of Microsoft and put some brains into the legal department of that company. In any case: Congrats! Nice move, Tinysoft. Let’s hope, my mouse will remain insignificant enough.

.

Currently if an unaware person enters the campus of IISc, he/she might wondering, if he/she missed news about an election phase to be held in Karnataka. Almost everywhere, lamp posts, notice boards and streets are plastered with boardings trying to collect votes for the “clock”, “car” or “bicycle”. That the IISc is primarily a place of research and education and not a political stage does not count these days and the daily routine is disturbed by candidates and their followers barging into the offices and labs.

It is interesting to note, that if elections are going on for the Student Council, the prospective candidates are explicit forbidden to put up boards and posters or visit the labs and offices during daytime (prior to 6PM). Hangouts, if any, are only allowed at places of student’s interest such as the messes and hostels ONLY.

These imbalances of rights and duties among the Student Council and other institutions (such as the TMC) combined with an omnipresent lethargy of the students results in a lost of interest in the Student Council itself. Barely someone is standing for elections and many times candidates are elected unanimously. It seems that the Student Council is considered to be a disturbance within the IISc community and its power has been reduced to begging to the IISc authorities to e.g. get rid of the street dog menace, since almost daily people are bitten by dogs these days. Even after years almost nothing happened and if, it was never a permanent solution. But this is another topic…

.

The month end long cycle ride by the Bangalore Bikers Club (BBC) went from Bangalore to Horahalli on NH209 first. Since we started from IISc at around 5:15AM, we had to cross whole Bangalore including its traffic first. Since we could not make it in time to the starting point, it became our job to sweep, meaning catch up with the last riders which we did on NH209. The ride was fairly eventless apart from a spectacular stunt performed by Nirmal, who while watching a bird, slipped from the paved road into the mud at the side. He was so surprised that he applied the front brake and showed us a beautiful Salto Totale including his cycle at its best. From that point onwards we tried to convince him to give another performance by pointing out all kind of flying species. But to no avail. Fortunately nothing serious happened apart from a few scratches at his knee and shoulder.

In Horahalli we got lost on the search for the breakfast point. After some searching, many questions and many more fingers pointing into the wrong direction, we found Jayaram Breakfast Point hidden behind some houses in a inconspicuous, unpaved side road. After loading ourselves with idlis and a much better lemon rice, we took off towards Hunasanahalli. These roads and the ones continuing towards Anchetty are full of scenic speed breakers which can be fully enjoyed while puffing and steaming up the hills. The scenic view of these roads with only minimal traffic is simply awesome.

In Anchetty we had lunch and we got annoyed by a fellow who tried to drag us into his restaurant while we sat in one of his competitor’s. He was very intrusive and did not stop at all even while eating he told us how bad the food is. After indulging with not-so-bad-at-all dosai and rice we turned north towards Denkanikottai and mastered the climbs in between. Last time when I rode on that road, it was dark and the steep ascend could not be seen. But during daylight it can be a little bit frustrating.

[Show as slideshow]

In Denkanikottai a 13 year old boy (name forgotten) who rode along with us, wanted to take the bus back to Hosur or better Bangalore. It was already 4:30PM and nobody of us had a head light. All roads leading from Denkanikottai to Thally or Hosur are pitch black dark and nothing can be seen. Hence it would be dangerous to ride on these roads after nightfall. So we thought that we tell him to wait there till the bus comes and load the cycle on top of it. However even here the people were very intrusive, touched everything and shouted at us. In addition some of them were drunk making a big fuss seeing us at the bus stand. Like “hawks” (recited from Nirmal, our bird watcher) they started to follow us everywhere within the bus stand, so we had to relocate ourselves once in a while. Usually people are curious but silent observers. Sometimes somebody is brave enough to step forward and to ask a question like “Gear cycleaaaaAAAaaa?” But everything in a very polite way. It is the first time that I experience such an aggressive behavior. So we did not leave the boy alone and slowly he rode with us. On the way we met another cyclist and the boy continued to ride with him while we started speeding towards Hosur to reach the NH7 in daylight.

From Hosur the ride was not very spectacular and nothing worth mentioned happened and we reached IISc at 8:30PM.

Distance of the tour: 210km

GPX files

• Bangalore-Horahalli-Anchetti-Hosur-Bangalore_Simplified.gpx

.