Welcome to VR

Generally I do not write blogs about gadgets or stuffs I have bought. I do make an un-boxing video. Even if that was the rage five years ago, I am still fascinated by un-boxing video.
With this new gadget I bought, I sure did make an un-boxing video but what amazed me so much with it was, the possibilities. This is truly one of the most affordable , mass market gadget that's going to push the technology to the next level. Its Virtual Reality. It has its ups and down. The Downs' coming up first..
In this day and age we see almost every one scratching away at a mobile device in their hands like as if there is no tomorrow. If not a rare moment occurring in front of them is being viewed on a small screen rather that soaking it all up in fullness on the spot.  No one wants to speak to the person sitting next to them in a train or a bus, they are more than happy to stay in their own world staring at a five inch screen. Thankfully there are few sane pubs that offer no Wi-fi and encourage people to socialise in reality, but not on Facebook. I still don't understand, what it means "accepting Friend Request" on face book. In real life, has anyone ever come over and asked, "Will you please accept my request to be friends with you?" Obviously not, then why does it seem so normal doing it electronically. Are we really "Friends" : "Friends" in the virtual world, or is everyone being too nosy about others lives, because theirs own is too boring to be lived. People are zoning out of reality and me having a eleven month old daughter am concerned about the world my little girl is growing up into. This little gadget that I have bought it taking this zoning out to the next level. Seriously to the next level. A good pair of headsets and this VR headset is all you need to take two out of the five essential senses away from this world. Sight and hearing. The person sitting right next might be having a stroke and the one wearing the VR is living or is enthralled in another world.
Now that the downs have been served up in Dollops, On the plus side. This VR world can take you places where ever you want to, or at least limited to all the media that is available to you . You want to be in the middle of the thick Amzonian jungle, and hear the sounds, yes you can do that with few clicks. Inside the space station, touring all the modules ( my all time, personal favourite) Yes you can!
The possibilities are awesome. My wife normally gives out about me letting the boy in me getting the better of me and I indulge myself in such gadgets. But this one, she has nothing to say one she tried on the set. It was just WOW! after WOW! . I did take the device to work to give a demo. A mate of mine who generally despises me at the tech stuff I buy was instantly sold within few seconds of trying it on. Other younger friends of mine were more than surprised. All of them walk away after trying this headset with just one thought. "Unbelievable".
 The response time of the image that one sees every time one moves the head is very quick. You look one way and the cross hairs that lets one select is right there. Movies can be played in true cinema style. A large screen in front and empty seats all around. The exit signs and the stairs leading to it all clearly visible. If you were in a couch , I sure do not find a reason why not believe that you in an empty cinema hall. A great pair of head sets sure does add to the complete experience.
This new platform has a great future of being an educational tool. Google has already capitalised on that potential at classroom level with its Google cardboard. Students can virtual be at places to look at the wonders of the world, bottom of the ice caves or be right next to a great white shark. Visual aids that are memorable and powerful  which no blackboard or projectors can replicate.
I am not that much into gaming, but I tried a couple and immersive it sure is. You get to sit right next to the characters while looking up at a gunship that has just been shot down. Gamers paradise!
Samsung has also got an app in there to just browse the internet, so YouTube galore. Every video clip can not be in cinematic mode. The true advantage of this application is that one can lie down and reorient the screen to be where ever you want it to be. So I generally have it on the ceiling while I lay down and watch with supreme comfort . I cannot think of any other place where the such a large screen is at that position for all that visual experience.
Occulus who pioneered the VR concept, has a tie up with Samsung and hence such top quality technology is made available on every Samsung S6 and beyond phones. The Occulus app store allows you to shop for movies and games. This does mean a natural product line extension to
apps that are sold in millions. 360 degree videos, photographs, movies, games is going to become main stream in a couple of years. Go Pro the market leader in action cameras have a 360 degree camera lined up for release this year which means the action footage is going to be complete. This will change the whole market for VR. Nokia, Samsung, HTC and many others have go such 360 degrees camera's lined up. Now it has just become a matter of time, when VR will be a part of normal day to day life, just like how scratching on a screen all day long to stay engaged, or a "Friend Request" on a website is normal. The truth is , it horrifies me and amazes me wondering about the future at the same time.
Mixed feelings really

Here is a video clip of the up-boxing of VR headset.

"Grand Fun Do" - Cycling at Granfundo Westport

The past year, I have taken up a new sport along with my running. Cycling, has struck a chord with me. After my Dublin to Sligo charity cycle on a borrowed bike, I bought a good pair of wheels for myself at a dear price. In the past year and a four months I have put in more than one thousand four hundred kilometres on it and counting.

Few other mates joined me for the early morning spins. Really early morning, half four. We regularly did fifty kilometres every week. I would additionally do another fifty on weekends by myself. This kept going on for few months, until the day one of them suggested we take part in a sportive event. All of us agreed and quickly signed up. That also meant, training up. It was 122 km route along the scenic routes on Connemara, Co Mayo, West coast of Ireland. The excitement was building up, so much so that I bought a go pro camera to capture the event. I had a few practice spins with the camera beforehand. Editing the footage with metadata overlay and colour correcting was all new skills I had to learn.

Alan and I had a few serious spins to get to the 100 km mark, just so to check if we really had it in us. I noticed that I was depleted by the seventy kilometre mark and I needed food to top up. Bought some extra gear like overshoes and full length trousers just to be prepared for the worst of the weather.

It was March the 11th and the logistics were all sorted. We rented one car to throw in two bicycles and booked a B&B at Westport. Alan drove his car with two bicycles in it. So the four of us set off on a busy Friday evening. It took us over four hours to get there. The first port of call was the Castle court hotel where we had to register and pick up our race packs. First aid kit and reflective blanket was mandatory along with the usual extra bits and bob one needs for a sportive like this.

We checked in at the B&B, we had requested for an early breakfast since the race starts at eight. Three of us went to grab a bite and a pint. Now that the energy levels are all topped up a good night’s sleep is all that was required.

Race Day:

Water bottles topped up, and the tyres pumped to 110 psi, cycling gear on, Jersey pockets filled with energy gels and finally the race number pinned to the back of the Jersey we were all set. Had porridge and cereal for breakfast and off we went to the briefing area at castle court. Seven hundred cyclists out of which 277 for the the longer route.

The entrants for the longer route had an early start at eight AM. The event manager was clear and concise about the course. The weather was mild at thirteen degrees and less than 25 kmph winds. Just what we wanted. We started with a rolling start off from Castle court. Few camera poses and three kilometres down the line was the official start line.

Everyone were trying to find the pace they are comfortable in.

Alan and I stuck together for most of the route. Our pace matched and we kept it steady. Meanwhile we kept jumping groups until we found a bunch of cyclists who matched our pace. Never have I taken part in a sportive such as these and I was not sure how things would fall in pace. I was well aware that cycling in a group is the most efficient way of cycling. A cyclists third behind the lead cyclists spends thirty percent lesser energy to propel forward. On the course it felt natural that such groups kept forming. Cyclists who could not keep up, dropped behind, but those who could maintain stayed in such tight groups, often just six inches behind the wheel of another. I sure does sound we are drafting on some ones hard work as the lead. For over ninety kilometres Alan and I was part of such a group. Couple of times, I did shoot to the front and took the lead for over ten kilometres, just to show that I am contributing to the group as well. It turned out not to be a good idea, since I drained lot quicker and soon I was looking for energy.  Alan kept telling me, "don't go to the front of the group Badri, stay behind" . 

There is some level of grossness to cycling in such groups. Every often one needs to spit or clear the nose, no one had time to stop, so it all has to be on the go. Some just spit on their own jerseys some try their best to avoid the ones behind. But nothing much can be done. Second, is on a wet section, the tyre wash is in your face. The dirt and grime from the tarmac is on your face into your mouth if open. Yuck!! In Spite of all this, there is no time to even think about it. Just keep pedalling ahead, keep up the pace. 

The event was well organized. We had clear markings along the route to watch out for deviations. At corners where caution had to be exercised, race marshals were present with red flags, with clear verbal warnings as what laid ahead.  There were markings on the road as to the road condition and bends that came up. There was a camera crew in an Audi, and couple of motor cycles zipping by two and fro to keeping a good vigil on the cyclists. 

Close to the ninety kilometre mark where I had already passed two food station, i was craving for food. My water was low, so that is the point where Alan went by with the group. I topped up the bottle and had a banana costing me seven minutes. From that point onwards I was by myself most of the way. I did meet a fellow veteran racer on a steel bike. He must be sixty plus and he was keeping up the pace on his heavy bike. That is when you find new respect for the sport and the commitment of the participants. The route was simply too scenic to be missed. I did take some time to not worry about pace, but lift my head up and absorb the beautiful hills of the west coast. The road alongside the Kellymoore abbey was smooth as chess board. The lake on the left, the Abbey by the right with the backdrop of the gorgeous hills with the smooth tarmac ahead was bliss. It was a great feeling, to be putting out the watts with other fellow cyclists at that moment. 

My wife and I had been to these places on the same route before on a day trip. But at that point, I was not in a position to refresh all those memories.  We cycled around the lake where we once went on a two hour cruise. And we were on the return leg that is when the last challenge was waiting for us. It was a steep climb for three kilometres. That was the point when I was at the largest cog on the gears and willing to be as slow as I can to keep the balance. It was tough and standing up to cycle did no good. My heart rate only climbed as the elevation did. I could go as low as seven kmph which is slower than even my running speed. All I had was to get to the top of the hill. Really SLOW and steady was the mode. 

Once past the hill, the best part of the hill, the downhill; that's what I thought. I was wrong, the other side had really bad patches of roads with some acute corners. The Marshals had warned us to be extremely cautious. I could not get gravity to take at me at full speed there. Every Time I braked, tears almost rolled off my eyes (exaggerating). All that momentum lost.

At the hundred kilometre mark was the final food stop. Here there were tents set up and hot beverages served. I had to fight the temptation and make a flying pass at the stop just stopping for a mere thirty seconds to grab few Jaffa cakes from the volunteer. 

Energy levels were low and I had run out of the last gel at the climb of that nasty hill kilometres behind me. There was no groups now to draft behind to conserve energy. All I had, I had to give. The weather at this point was bright and roads kept getting better. We hit the wide N roads and I could hardly see anyone neither in front of me nor behind. The road looked familiar as this was the one we took on the way out. I just put my head down and kept at it. Then a sign which more than boosted by spirit showed up. "10 kilometres to the finish line". My Garmin concurred, the end was near.

Finally one cyclist caught up and I drafted him for a few kilometres and then he did the same with me. The volunteers as I approached showed up more often with red flags, cheering us along shouting out how close the finish line is. Music to my years. The final left corner and there it was. I was so overjoyed, that I let go of the handle bars and did that the pro's do at the finish line. Felt really good. A pretty girl was handing out the medal and I remember telling her “You have no idea how much this one means to me”.

Clasping the medal, i rode on the last few feet, hung up the bike on the stand and got on both my feet. It left like my legs were made of Jelly, wobbling around I looked for Alan's bike. He was at the message tent. He got in 15 minutes ahead of me. Grabbed at least five croissant and a cup of soup and some bananas. Fed myself and waited for Mihir to come in. 

After half hour of feeding myself, I headed back to the B&B. Took a shower and then I was on the bed and I was out within seconds. I slept for an hour and woke up to feel my legs fully functional again. 

The lads came later on. That evening we all headed out to celebrate the race. Had a few pints and good Indian food at "the Everest" restaurant. The food was amazing and all we had to talk about was the race. Analyse and dissect every moment each one had on the race. What worked for them, what did not? As we had our dinner, we checked for the results on the phone. I was the 74th  position out of the 270 odd cyclists which I think is respectable. I was able to complete the route in four hours forty six minutes. Alan was 49^th, Mihir 111^th and Lee 264^th .

Lee did have a tough time, but that was purely due to lack of training. But I have so much respect for the man for not giving up. He kept it going and made sure he was on the saddle at the finish line.

We rested up well that evening, and the Sunday morning, it was time to pack the bags, check out and hit the road. As we started driving towards Dublin we noticed many cyclists as part of a club cycling together. I had so much of respect for them and I respect myself more than I had known for partaking in such an awesome event. Thoughts about the next event popped up then,  and by the time I am writing this, I have already signed up for the next sportive and training has been planned. 

Here is my short video diary

The race route