When the Tristate 600KM brevet registrations announced by IISc Randonneurs, I did it immediately. The registration is online and brilliant brains of Bangalore Brevets team made it easy.
The details can be found here:
https://sites.google.com/site/iiscrando/2014-season/feb-2014-tristate-600-brm
After riding many brevets, now riding it becomes a casual affair. I did not bother too much to prepare anything till Friday evening. However basic checks are must and did it. Adjusted the air pressure of the tires, recharged the cells, and fixed the handle bar bag & saddle bag. Ensured that the bike is in good condition.
Wanted to catch up good amount of sleep, went to bed early. Unfortunately when I got a break in my sleep, it was 2am, and didn’t get sleep anymore, rolled over till 4am. Got up at 4am, had oats, coffee & banana. Watched some TV serial to kill the time.
Started from home around 6am, rode leisurely to the start point which is just 6km from my home.
Vijay was there at start point with 2 other riders. Slowly other riders started pouring in. Got the brevet card and cuesheet, had a look at the control points. Suddenly noticed a change in the control point. When asked, Vijay told us that the Mulbagal route is too dangerous due to heavy traffic and it has been changed through Punganur.
Kalpesh gave us the waiver form and started shouting - "First control is Photo Control". Checked the cuesheet for any other changes. Started the ride at sharp 7am. All riders started off briskly, however I was riding watchfully as I have still not got used to riding with cleats within city area. Arun from Cochin was following me as he wasn’t much familiar with Bangalore roads. I guided him till Merida circle from where I accelerated.
Rode nonstop till Kanakapura, that is 62km where I stopped for breakfast at Udupi Sagar. The guy on the counter was very courteous and quickly served idly vada sambar & coffee. Took off from there with renewed energy, overtook 4 to 5 riders including Yuvaraj & Silvester. Jetriders group (Ashok, Sohan, Sunil, Vignesh, Sourav, Abhilash, Rafi) were nowhere in the scene. While I was about to reach Sathanur, they were returning. Reached first control Sathanur at around 10:25AM. Took the snaps. Meanwhile Yuvaraj and Silvester reached. I asked them to help each other, had tender coconut and returned. Found jetriders having breakfast at Kanakapur. Sunil called me. I continued without stopping as I wanted to finish the Jigani climb as early as possible. It is also true that I cannot match their pace.
Reached Harohalli. While buying bananas, jetriders overtook me and vanished. This time sun was blazing during the Harohalli - Jigani climb. I took it easy. After few climbs found Abhilash & Rafi taking rest in a small shop. Abhilash called me & I too stopped to buy cold water. Then Sohan joined us. I left them behind and continued, telling them that they can catch me anytime.
Meanwhile my bike started giving trouble. All the way from Kanakapura till Jigani climb, the chain was slipping frequently. I was worried if I can finish this ride.
This is when it happened. I pedaled hard on a flat surface to cover next steep climb as much as possible.. The speed dropped drastically while climbing; as usual I shifted to the lower gear. However the chain did not shift and I was unable to pedal. Since I was cleated, I thought I may fall. Somehow I managed to keep the bike in motion by resorting to half pedaling. In the process I could uncleat and miraculously escaped from the imminent fall.
Crossed the Jigani area and entered Anekal road, found a Darshini and had lunch. Found Sohan vanishing within seconds. The lunch was not good, could eat only half. I reached Attibele control point around 4:15PM. I had cups of icecream to cool down. Next stretch is Athibele to Krishnagiri, one that I love the most, due to downhill. Hit the highway very hard. Now I was feeling sleepy. Though I had decided next stop is Vaniyambadi, I started searching for tea shop.
Stopped at a tea shop. The shop owner was not very responsive; he was dealing with another customer and not even bothered to prepare the tea, even after asking him several times. I was not interested to argue and immediately took off without having tea.
Entered Krishnagiri around 7:15PM, found Saravan Bhavan, had idly and tea. Tea was fantastic. Left Krishnagiri around 7:30 to 7:45PM towards Vaniyambadi. Somewhere in between Abhilash and Rafi overtook me. I told Abhilash that I will be stopping at Mufasa's for dinner. He too was planning the same. I told them to ride ahead. Pedaled as hard as possible, still could not match them. Reached Vaniyambadi toll gate at 10PM and went straight to Mufasas. All jetriders had finished their dinner and about to leave. Sohan adviced me what to eat - rice, sambar, paratha, curd and kulfi. Abhilash & Rafi were having their dinner. Finished dinner & topped it with an awesome tea. Dinner was very good. Filled my bottles here. Abhilash and Rafi went ahead. Left the place at 11PM.
As I over ate, I started riding with comfortable pace and did not want to rush. Got into rhythm after few kilometers. The night was cool and calm. The half moon was out now and was pale. After riding some 20 more kms, I found that I was unable to shift the front gears. I thought I was riding on the 2nd gear and rode almost 10kms and stopped at a petrol bunk with bright sodium light. Found that I was riding with 1-7 combination’ almost cross chaining. Rotated the pedals by keeping the bicycle on its stand & adjusted the derailleur, which fixed the issue. I never faced the problem again. Next I stopped at Pallikonda toll gate and found the cue sheet is missing. Meanwhile Abhilash and Rafi too reached. From there I rode with them till the next control. When we reached Katpadi control around 3AM, all those jet riders were returning.
We quickly got the ATM slips and tried to catch them up. Suddenly Abhilash and Rafi disappeared and I rode alone. I decided to take a break at CCD (Cafe Coffee Day) near Pallikonda toll gate. On the way I saw Abhilash, Rafi and other 2 riders checking something. As I was riding on the service road, I waved at them and continued. Then from nowhere Ashok appeared and disappeared, while passing he said he will be there at CCD. I reached CCD around 3:45AM, tried to find out best place to sleep. Slouched on a chair. Felt uncomfortable. Told Ashok that I will take 10 minutes powernap on the parapet outside. Stretched and slept flat on my back. When I got up it was 4:35AM. It was really a powerful nap, which helped me throughout next day. Went inside and ordered for spinach/corn sandwich and cappuccino. The sandwich wasn't great. Enjoyed the coffee. By this time Ashok, Sohan, Sunil & Rafi were awake and ordered some food.
At 5AM, I told Ashok that I am going ahead & started my ride alone expecting others would overtake me anytime. Reached Gudiyattam and at the fork found the road was dug up towards Palamner. I had to walk with my bike for 100 meters. From there rode non-stop 20km. While riding on this stretch I saw a lazy dog on the road, thought he is harmless. I crossed him and rode around 50 meters, suddenly I saw him chasing me silently and he was very close. I got a shock of my life and accelerated till he gave up. Finally I stopped at a small shop at the start point of Palamner climb. As I was dozing there, I saw Ashok, Vignesh, Sourav, Abhilash & Rafi crossing in a blink of eye. I did not have time to call them. Within a minute Sohan and Sunil reached and joined me for the breakfast. Sohan told us that it is his regular breakfast point whenever he does the tristate brevet.
I happily paid the bill for all 3 of us. It was just Rs. 36 :-). Sohan told, they have increased the price :-) Meanwhile I took the snap of the cuesheet from Sunil for safer side.
From here onwards I decided to tag along with Sohan & Sunil. Luckily they were riding at a casual pace. It was an awesome experience to ride the Palamner climb. We had completed the climb before the sun was up. The road was smooth and very nice to ride. Here we saw monkeys everywhere, they were harmless, but not afraid. On the way we saw Abhilash & Rafi taking rest. After the climb we glided till Palamner juction. Here we met Ashok, Sourav and Vignesh again. We turned towards Punganur road and stopped for watermelon break. Shared a mouthwatering sweet watermelon here. This time Ashok, Sourav and Vignesh were gone and we never saw them again.
The road towards Punganur still had small climbs, but the most troubling part was that the road was very rough. The vibrations from the uneven road was directly passed to the saddle which made sitting on the saddle unbearable. Till then I was riding without any issues, suddenly found the riding is really painful. However I ensured not to lose Sohan and Sunil from my site and always followed them. This road has a lot of trees which was providing the shade on and off that helped us. We reached Punganur around 11:15AM, took the snaps as the ATM did not have the slips. Came out of the town and had Miranda. Sunil offered us the salted peenuts. Those were yummy and helped from additional Gatorade consumption.
We continued from here, the next target was Srinivaspur, 45KMs away. The sun was out with full strength now and draining us physically and mentally. As we entered from Andhra to Karnataka, found the roads are in bad shape. We stopped at a shop near the border and had cake & buttermilk. The bad stretch of roads is about a km or two. Rode 10 more kms and reached Punganoor cross, where we had tender coconut. We reached Srinivaspur between 1:30 to 1:45PM. The roads were blocked to welcome CM. We had to walk our bike on the wrong side of the road and then rode till market junction. Cops stopped us from going further. We took left and found a small eatery. We had lunch there.
When we started again the time was around 3PM, the barricades have been taken off, and the roads were clear. Heard the slogan shouting at the nearby venue. We came out of Srinivaspur easily and reached Chintamani around 4PM. Though this place is small, it is too crowded, We crawled & weaved between people and vehicle and stopped for icecream. Here people drive everywhere, crazy. True to its name, one should be chintamani(worried man) here. Relieved to come out from Chintamani. Yeah..No more Chinta..
Riding towards Sidlaghatta was awesome, able to generate good pace. However the evening sun was directly hitting the eyes. I started feeling sleepy due to direct sunlight. I told Sohan that I need a tea at Sidlaghatta which was 14kms away. I planned to stop and wash my face, but I didn't. I did not want to miss the ride with Sohan and Sunil. Once I knew the reason for the sleep, I adjusted my riding posture and helmet (that is without visor) to block sunlight and managed to ride comfortably.
We reached Sidlaghatta around 5PM. We wanted to have a quick tea. The fellow took 15 minutes to prepare the colored water.
Riding towards Chikkaballapur is little risky as a lot of heavy vehicles runs on this 2 lane road. We managed to cover the distance quickly and stopped near wonderful marigold field to take some snaps. The sun was just vanishing, the evening looked beautiful. Started again and reached Chikkaballapur control around 6:10PM. While Sohan and Sunil were talking on the phone I crossed the road to come back to Bangalore, as I take a lot of time due to cleats.
Riding from Chikkaballapur to Bangalore is different experience. Here the tall and long flyovers act as the climbs. When you are tired riding after 550kms, you feel difficult to ride on them. However group energy always motivates you. With Sohan and Sunil in company I did not feel much of these flyovers. I was tired after riding 20kms. When Sunil told "Let us go to McDonalds", I agreed immediately and was happy. It is on the other side, took some risk to cross the road. Had aloo tikki, while Sunil and Sohan had coke. Sohan and Sunil crossed the road quickly and vanished. I struggled with cleats, but accelerated once I crossed the road. I rode very hard to catch them, but I could see them a km ahead. I decided to ride on the service road at the last stretch of airport road, but this was a bad idea. Struggled to ride in between the crazy traffic near Columbia Asia hospital.
Under the Bhadrappa layout flyover (near Big Bazzar Hebbal), one drunkard jumped to the road, he just brushed me, I swerved and luckily avoided the fall,. While I gave all my energy to ride hard, he gave it to his throat. From there onwards I rode carefully on the half dug new BEL road and reached the control point by 9:13PM. I am not sure what would have my ride time, had I rode alone. Certainly the group energy has helped me a lot. Thanks Sohan and Sunil for your wonderful company. By this ride I have completed my SR (Super Randonneur) for this season. But this is not the end, rides will continue.
At the end of the ride I lost one and half kgs of weight and increased my appetite. Calorie worries still continues but other way around.
The details can be found here:
https://sites.google.com/site/iiscrando/2014-season/feb-2014-tristate-600-brm
After riding many brevets, now riding it becomes a casual affair. I did not bother too much to prepare anything till Friday evening. However basic checks are must and did it. Adjusted the air pressure of the tires, recharged the cells, and fixed the handle bar bag & saddle bag. Ensured that the bike is in good condition.
Wanted to catch up good amount of sleep, went to bed early. Unfortunately when I got a break in my sleep, it was 2am, and didn’t get sleep anymore, rolled over till 4am. Got up at 4am, had oats, coffee & banana. Watched some TV serial to kill the time.
Started from home around 6am, rode leisurely to the start point which is just 6km from my home.
Vijay was there at start point with 2 other riders. Slowly other riders started pouring in. Got the brevet card and cuesheet, had a look at the control points. Suddenly noticed a change in the control point. When asked, Vijay told us that the Mulbagal route is too dangerous due to heavy traffic and it has been changed through Punganur.
Kalpesh gave us the waiver form and started shouting - "First control is Photo Control". Checked the cuesheet for any other changes. Started the ride at sharp 7am. All riders started off briskly, however I was riding watchfully as I have still not got used to riding with cleats within city area. Arun from Cochin was following me as he wasn’t much familiar with Bangalore roads. I guided him till Merida circle from where I accelerated.
Rode nonstop till Kanakapura, that is 62km where I stopped for breakfast at Udupi Sagar. The guy on the counter was very courteous and quickly served idly vada sambar & coffee. Took off from there with renewed energy, overtook 4 to 5 riders including Yuvaraj & Silvester. Jetriders group (Ashok, Sohan, Sunil, Vignesh, Sourav, Abhilash, Rafi) were nowhere in the scene. While I was about to reach Sathanur, they were returning. Reached first control Sathanur at around 10:25AM. Took the snaps. Meanwhile Yuvaraj and Silvester reached. I asked them to help each other, had tender coconut and returned. Found jetriders having breakfast at Kanakapur. Sunil called me. I continued without stopping as I wanted to finish the Jigani climb as early as possible. It is also true that I cannot match their pace.
Reached Harohalli. While buying bananas, jetriders overtook me and vanished. This time sun was blazing during the Harohalli - Jigani climb. I took it easy. After few climbs found Abhilash & Rafi taking rest in a small shop. Abhilash called me & I too stopped to buy cold water. Then Sohan joined us. I left them behind and continued, telling them that they can catch me anytime.
Meanwhile my bike started giving trouble. All the way from Kanakapura till Jigani climb, the chain was slipping frequently. I was worried if I can finish this ride.
This is when it happened. I pedaled hard on a flat surface to cover next steep climb as much as possible.. The speed dropped drastically while climbing; as usual I shifted to the lower gear. However the chain did not shift and I was unable to pedal. Since I was cleated, I thought I may fall. Somehow I managed to keep the bike in motion by resorting to half pedaling. In the process I could uncleat and miraculously escaped from the imminent fall.
Crossed the Jigani area and entered Anekal road, found a Darshini and had lunch. Found Sohan vanishing within seconds. The lunch was not good, could eat only half. I reached Attibele control point around 4:15PM. I had cups of icecream to cool down. Next stretch is Athibele to Krishnagiri, one that I love the most, due to downhill. Hit the highway very hard. Now I was feeling sleepy. Though I had decided next stop is Vaniyambadi, I started searching for tea shop.
Stopped at a tea shop. The shop owner was not very responsive; he was dealing with another customer and not even bothered to prepare the tea, even after asking him several times. I was not interested to argue and immediately took off without having tea.
Entered Krishnagiri around 7:15PM, found Saravan Bhavan, had idly and tea. Tea was fantastic. Left Krishnagiri around 7:30 to 7:45PM towards Vaniyambadi. Somewhere in between Abhilash and Rafi overtook me. I told Abhilash that I will be stopping at Mufasa's for dinner. He too was planning the same. I told them to ride ahead. Pedaled as hard as possible, still could not match them. Reached Vaniyambadi toll gate at 10PM and went straight to Mufasas. All jetriders had finished their dinner and about to leave. Sohan adviced me what to eat - rice, sambar, paratha, curd and kulfi. Abhilash & Rafi were having their dinner. Finished dinner & topped it with an awesome tea. Dinner was very good. Filled my bottles here. Abhilash and Rafi went ahead. Left the place at 11PM.
As I over ate, I started riding with comfortable pace and did not want to rush. Got into rhythm after few kilometers. The night was cool and calm. The half moon was out now and was pale. After riding some 20 more kms, I found that I was unable to shift the front gears. I thought I was riding on the 2nd gear and rode almost 10kms and stopped at a petrol bunk with bright sodium light. Found that I was riding with 1-7 combination’ almost cross chaining. Rotated the pedals by keeping the bicycle on its stand & adjusted the derailleur, which fixed the issue. I never faced the problem again. Next I stopped at Pallikonda toll gate and found the cue sheet is missing. Meanwhile Abhilash and Rafi too reached. From there I rode with them till the next control. When we reached Katpadi control around 3AM, all those jet riders were returning.
We quickly got the ATM slips and tried to catch them up. Suddenly Abhilash and Rafi disappeared and I rode alone. I decided to take a break at CCD (Cafe Coffee Day) near Pallikonda toll gate. On the way I saw Abhilash, Rafi and other 2 riders checking something. As I was riding on the service road, I waved at them and continued. Then from nowhere Ashok appeared and disappeared, while passing he said he will be there at CCD. I reached CCD around 3:45AM, tried to find out best place to sleep. Slouched on a chair. Felt uncomfortable. Told Ashok that I will take 10 minutes powernap on the parapet outside. Stretched and slept flat on my back. When I got up it was 4:35AM. It was really a powerful nap, which helped me throughout next day. Went inside and ordered for spinach/corn sandwich and cappuccino. The sandwich wasn't great. Enjoyed the coffee. By this time Ashok, Sohan, Sunil & Rafi were awake and ordered some food.
At 5AM, I told Ashok that I am going ahead & started my ride alone expecting others would overtake me anytime. Reached Gudiyattam and at the fork found the road was dug up towards Palamner. I had to walk with my bike for 100 meters. From there rode non-stop 20km. While riding on this stretch I saw a lazy dog on the road, thought he is harmless. I crossed him and rode around 50 meters, suddenly I saw him chasing me silently and he was very close. I got a shock of my life and accelerated till he gave up. Finally I stopped at a small shop at the start point of Palamner climb. As I was dozing there, I saw Ashok, Vignesh, Sourav, Abhilash & Rafi crossing in a blink of eye. I did not have time to call them. Within a minute Sohan and Sunil reached and joined me for the breakfast. Sohan told us that it is his regular breakfast point whenever he does the tristate brevet.
I happily paid the bill for all 3 of us. It was just Rs. 36 :-). Sohan told, they have increased the price :-) Meanwhile I took the snap of the cuesheet from Sunil for safer side.
From here onwards I decided to tag along with Sohan & Sunil. Luckily they were riding at a casual pace. It was an awesome experience to ride the Palamner climb. We had completed the climb before the sun was up. The road was smooth and very nice to ride. Here we saw monkeys everywhere, they were harmless, but not afraid. On the way we saw Abhilash & Rafi taking rest. After the climb we glided till Palamner juction. Here we met Ashok, Sourav and Vignesh again. We turned towards Punganur road and stopped for watermelon break. Shared a mouthwatering sweet watermelon here. This time Ashok, Sourav and Vignesh were gone and we never saw them again.
The road towards Punganur still had small climbs, but the most troubling part was that the road was very rough. The vibrations from the uneven road was directly passed to the saddle which made sitting on the saddle unbearable. Till then I was riding without any issues, suddenly found the riding is really painful. However I ensured not to lose Sohan and Sunil from my site and always followed them. This road has a lot of trees which was providing the shade on and off that helped us. We reached Punganur around 11:15AM, took the snaps as the ATM did not have the slips. Came out of the town and had Miranda. Sunil offered us the salted peenuts. Those were yummy and helped from additional Gatorade consumption.
We continued from here, the next target was Srinivaspur, 45KMs away. The sun was out with full strength now and draining us physically and mentally. As we entered from Andhra to Karnataka, found the roads are in bad shape. We stopped at a shop near the border and had cake & buttermilk. The bad stretch of roads is about a km or two. Rode 10 more kms and reached Punganoor cross, where we had tender coconut. We reached Srinivaspur between 1:30 to 1:45PM. The roads were blocked to welcome CM. We had to walk our bike on the wrong side of the road and then rode till market junction. Cops stopped us from going further. We took left and found a small eatery. We had lunch there.
When we started again the time was around 3PM, the barricades have been taken off, and the roads were clear. Heard the slogan shouting at the nearby venue. We came out of Srinivaspur easily and reached Chintamani around 4PM. Though this place is small, it is too crowded, We crawled & weaved between people and vehicle and stopped for icecream. Here people drive everywhere, crazy. True to its name, one should be chintamani(worried man) here. Relieved to come out from Chintamani. Yeah..No more Chinta..
Riding towards Sidlaghatta was awesome, able to generate good pace. However the evening sun was directly hitting the eyes. I started feeling sleepy due to direct sunlight. I told Sohan that I need a tea at Sidlaghatta which was 14kms away. I planned to stop and wash my face, but I didn't. I did not want to miss the ride with Sohan and Sunil. Once I knew the reason for the sleep, I adjusted my riding posture and helmet (that is without visor) to block sunlight and managed to ride comfortably.
We reached Sidlaghatta around 5PM. We wanted to have a quick tea. The fellow took 15 minutes to prepare the colored water.
Riding towards Chikkaballapur is little risky as a lot of heavy vehicles runs on this 2 lane road. We managed to cover the distance quickly and stopped near wonderful marigold field to take some snaps. The sun was just vanishing, the evening looked beautiful. Started again and reached Chikkaballapur control around 6:10PM. While Sohan and Sunil were talking on the phone I crossed the road to come back to Bangalore, as I take a lot of time due to cleats.
Riding from Chikkaballapur to Bangalore is different experience. Here the tall and long flyovers act as the climbs. When you are tired riding after 550kms, you feel difficult to ride on them. However group energy always motivates you. With Sohan and Sunil in company I did not feel much of these flyovers. I was tired after riding 20kms. When Sunil told "Let us go to McDonalds", I agreed immediately and was happy. It is on the other side, took some risk to cross the road. Had aloo tikki, while Sunil and Sohan had coke. Sohan and Sunil crossed the road quickly and vanished. I struggled with cleats, but accelerated once I crossed the road. I rode very hard to catch them, but I could see them a km ahead. I decided to ride on the service road at the last stretch of airport road, but this was a bad idea. Struggled to ride in between the crazy traffic near Columbia Asia hospital.
Under the Bhadrappa layout flyover (near Big Bazzar Hebbal), one drunkard jumped to the road, he just brushed me, I swerved and luckily avoided the fall,. While I gave all my energy to ride hard, he gave it to his throat. From there onwards I rode carefully on the half dug new BEL road and reached the control point by 9:13PM. I am not sure what would have my ride time, had I rode alone. Certainly the group energy has helped me a lot. Thanks Sohan and Sunil for your wonderful company. By this ride I have completed my SR (Super Randonneur) for this season. But this is not the end, rides will continue.
At the end of the ride I lost one and half kgs of weight and increased my appetite. Calorie worries still continues but other way around.
Not just the ride .... but looks like uv also put great efforts to come up with the post .... ( posted by Jayaprakash E at 00:42 ) :)
ReplyDeleteNice one, enjoyed reading how ppl keep appearing and disappearing :D
Congos SR :)
Thanks Rahul. Loved your comments :-)
DeleteCongrats JP
ReplyDeleteThanks Lakshmisha
DeleteYour ride report is like your ride :) super steady and consistent, very much cleated :) after reading it :)
ReplyDeleteAnother awesome ride...best part of this ride was each food stop/ice cream shops (regular for the 3rd time and 4th time some in some) that we stop they remember us saying "Sir last year too you were here, nice to see again" :)
Thanks Sohan. I still wonder how yu guys generate do much pace. Cleats have helped me to ride with you guys.
DeleteThanks for sharing. It is very inspiring.
ReplyDelete