Epic Trail Ride: Episode 2 - Hesaraghatta

That was what this ride was called during the planning stage. I had missed the Episode 1 due to some other commitments, so, made sure i would not miss this one. Marked it on my calendar a week in advance and made sure that no other work clashes with this. Slept at a decent time on Friday and managed to wake up by four. I was still lying in the bed willing myself to get up when Pavan called up. I had requested him to give me a ring in the morning just in case. I had kept everything ready and in place the previous night itself, so was able to get ready even though was half asleep. Pavan, Karun and I had planned to meet up at silk board at 5AM. We had to cover close to 30 km to get to MS Palya -which was the starting location for the trail ride. We had given ourselves 2 hours to do this as we did not want to push ourselves. There was another reason as well: none of us knew the route, so the map consultation time also had to be taken into consideration.

We reached the MS Palya Circle by 6 45 AM, and found Sowgath and Jonathan waiting there. I had marked the starting location on my phone the previous night.. We were trying to find the starting location and ended up riding a loop and getting back to the Junction. Met up with Shankar, Karthik and Sumukh here.

Hesaraghatta is Shankar’s backyard and he was the one who had planned the ride and was going to be our guide. The Hesaraghatta trail head was about 17 km from the MS Palya Circle. The ride was very pleasant as there was hardly any traffic and the route was scenic too. Shankar on his MTB was leading the way and he was really putting us through our paces! I had it easier than the other as i was on my hybrid. Being the lone hybrid rider on a trail ride does have benefits at times. Soon reached the Hesaraghatta Lake where four more guys who had got their bikes in their cars for the ride were waiting.

The Riders

The Rides

The lake was inviting and we soon started down the trail. The trail is a loop around the lake. Shankar was leading the way and he put quite some distance between him and us. So he stopped and turned around to take pictures of us. By the time we had taken a few snaps we realized that one of the bikes had a flat. Got down to fix it and soon another rider realized that he too had a flat. I was boasting that even though my ride is a hybrid with slicker tires i hadn’t got flats, and at that exact time someone pointed out that there was a thorn sticking into my rear tire. Cursed myself for jinxing it and got down to fix the flat, with help from the two who had just gained experience in fixing flats.

Puncture Workshop

We rode out after fixing the flats and soon reached an grove of eucalyptus trees where we had fun riding in between the trees. This was followed by some serious trail riding. There were places where we couldn't ride and had to lift our cycles and cross them on foot.

We reached a junction of sorts, where three trails met. We chose one at random and went down that trail. Pavan and me went ahead of the others and after riding through some very thorny sections hit a dead end. Thankfully the others hadn’t come as far and turned back to the other trail without getting their legs badly scratched. The other trail lead us to the tarmac and here Pavan found that he had a flat. After getting Pavan’s bike back on its wheels, we were riding on the tarmac for a while when Shankar suddenly spotted a trail head and wanted to explore that. Five minutes down the trail we looked back and realized that only six of us were there and the others were missing. Jonathan had got a flat and the remaining six had stopped on the road itself. We tried searching for them but couldn’t find them, so called them and told to meet us the trail head and we started off on the tarmac again as Shankar realized that his rear wheel had developed a slow leak. Shankar knew of a Local bike store near the start of the trail, so we decided to ride there to get his bike fixed.

Hesaraghatta Lake

After reached the trail head, we wanted to try the trail on top of the lake. We were riding and this was when I suddenly developed some pain in my right knee. So, decided to take some rest and I headed out of the trail into the Hesarghatta town. Shankar told me the way to a bakery in the town. Headed over there and as rides need to have an ice cream break, went and bought myself an ice cream! Soon the other riders joined me and by now my mysterious knee pain was gone and i was able to ride again. It was 2 in the afternoon by now and we all were hungry. Riding in the heat is never fun and when you add hunger into the equation it just becomes that much worse. Karun got a flat and even after fixing it twice, there was a slow leak. He deiced to ride with the slow leak till we get to some food joint. It was past three when we got to some resort and we had to literally barge into the kitchen and ask for food. It was past their lunch hours and so all we could get were a few plates of Fried rice and some Onion pakoda and Kababs. Had a nice time chatting about everything under the sun and of course about bikes.

After the food had settled in our stomachs we got to work on Karun’s slow leak problem. We were not able to spot the leak at all, when Pavan came up with an ingenious way to detect flat on the move:

After putting the bike upside down we filled the saddle with water and used that water to detect the air bubbles escaping out of the slow leak. After fixing the flat we started out again. The others dispersed when we reached MS Palya. MS Palya is in the norhtern part of Bangalore and Pavan, Karun and I live in the extreme south part of Bangalore. So, had to ride across the city to reach home. The ride back was completely opposite to the riding we had done all day long. We had to contend with the Bangalore traffic at peak hours and also all the smoke and dust. It was 8 by the time we reached home. After the ride back through the city we decided to ask the guys to come to South Bangalore for the next trail ride. It was while riding in all the traffic when I was reminded of a quote I had read:

When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.  Here was a machine of precision and balance for the convenience of man.  And (unlike subsequent inventions for man's convenience) the more he used it, the fitter his body became.  Here, for once, was a product of man's brain that was entirely beneficial to those who used it, and of no harm or irritation to others.  Progress should have stopped when man invented the bicycle.  ~Elizabeth West, Hovel in the Hills

But of course I personally have to thank mankind for not stopping with the cycle and carrying on to develop the automobile and the aeroplane. If it hadn’t I for one wouldn’t have a job.

Longest Commute Ever - Bangalore to Chennai

Bangalore to Chennai - This is a trip almost all of us who live in or around Bangalore and Chennai would surely have done. So, you might be probably wondering as to why I am writing a post about this. Well there is a reason, pretty small reason I accept but still a reason. What is the reason you ask? Well here it is:

These two wheels are the reason why I am posting about something as mundane as a Bangalore Chennai trip.

Now, Let me start from the beginning.....

It was the Tuesday of the Pongal weekend and I hadn't booked tickets to go home to Chennai yet. Went to book the tickets, but as my luck would have it, the bus I always take to Chennai was full. And I was feeling a little cranky that particular day, so was scowling at the people who had booked ‘my’ seats and then strikes the idea!

So, within the next 10 seconds had decided that I am going to ride to Chennai. Took the next 3 days to put it some extra saddle time and prepare the ‘delicates’ for the upcoming suffering. I had decided to leave directly from office on Friday (13th January) and head to my relatives place in Krishnagiri. This was the first part of the journey. The next day the plan was to ride from Krishnagiri to Chennai.

So on the Friday, started from office at around 5:30. This was not one of the best decisions I made. My office is in Indira Nagar, and I had to cross most of Bangalore and the nightmare traffic. Cycles aren’t allowed on the Elevated Tollway (for good reasons) and the traffic was horrible almost all the way till Attibele (Tamil Nadu - Karnataka border). It took me most of the evening to get to Attibele. And thus, the first one and half hours of the ride was spent getting fumigated by all those exhausts. I somehow managed to reach Attibele by around 7. Took a 10 minute break (read: photo session) at the border tollgate.

 
The traffic condition was only marginally better till Hosur. Made a mistake in Hosur, should have taken the flyovers to cross the bus stand, but the slope deterred me and I ended up getting fumigated pretty badly again. Not only that, I have been in better off-road trails than that particular stretch of road.

It was only after Hosur that there was the thrill of riding out. It felt like being out of the city only after that. You might not have noticed it when coming by car or bus, but the stretch from Hosur to Krishnagiri is full of hills and none of them gentle. Thankfully, it has more downhill sections than uphill section. So, a few minutes of hard pedaling could be followed by a nice downhill cruise. And the entire thing gets repeated again and again. Even though it was generally downhill, the uphill gave a fair bit of workout for the legs.

The next stop was McDonald's on the NH4. By now had covered about 60km. Took a pretty long break of about 30 minutes.

 

A break has to include some ice cream! I sat there for a while with my legs stretched out and eating my ice cream and was getting the usual stares from people.

I want to make a point here. Why is it that we Indians curb our curiosity? I heard people talking about me amongst themselves (they do not bother lowering their voices too much, as they assume that I am a NRI and I do not know the local language). I heard discussion ranging from “where am I from” to “which exotic wildlife am I saving by riding my cycle” (seriously! can’t a guy ride his bike for the joy of riding? Why do most people assume that there is some greater purpose behind us riding?) . But, not one of them approached me and asked me a single question. It was not like I was sitting in a corner and scowling and growling at anyone who came too close. I did smile at the little kids who were eyeing my bike and the only effect my smile had was the little kids’ parents pulling them away from me faster. The only person who came over and spoke was a Russian! He and his girl were on a motorcycle trip from Goa. We had a 5 minute chat about our respective ride plans.

Mounted up by 8:45 and was on my way for the last leg of the journey. Some more steep climbs and 10km later, the road stopped moving that much in the Z-axis.
I managed to reach my aunt’s place in Krishnagiri by 10 that night.
 

Next day woke up early and managed to head out by 5:15. It was nice and chilly morning. There were quite a few climbs, but nothing as steep as the ones from Hosur. Still the uphill took a toll and had to take the breakfast break pretty early on. So, I stopped at the Vaniyambadi tollgate at about 7:30 and had bread and eggs for breakfast.

Heights of coincidence! I had just finished my breakfast and was getting ready to leave and my college mate and fellow biker, Hamza walks in! He was on his way to Coorg with his family. What’s the probability that we both stop at the same restaurant at the same time!

After Vaniyambadi, the road was much more level, so was able to maintain a constant pace of about 23kmph. I didn't want to push myself considering the fact that I still had about 200km to ride that day.

At about 80km from Krishnagiri there is this bridge. This is the half-way point of the trip - 170km from Bangalore and 170km to Chennai.

It was past 9 by the now and the highway was no longer empty. Riding a good looking bike in full cycling gear is like having a huge spotlight on you. One good thing is that, I get more respect on the road then motorcycles. I was pleasantly surprised to see that even the Buses and Lorries give me wide enough space. But the highlight of the attention that we cyclists get was when an AUDI A6 slowed down and the passenger was taking photos of me! (If that person every by chance reads this: can you mail me the pictures please)

I came to Ambur a little before 10. And people of Ambur, am sorry to tell this so openly, but please, at least rent some traffic sense! Your little town in knows by car drivers as an accident hot-spot. That I can at least try to understand you as the cars are driving at pretty high speeds across your town (even though they are on the highway). But come on people, I am a cyclist and I am riding at 25 kmph , and I was almost killed a few times, thanks to your amazing judgmental skills and traffic courtesy. I did not expect to have to go through this while cycling in the highway. Most of my rides in the middle of Bangalore at peak traffic condition increases my blood pressure lesser than what I went through riding on the highway across Ambur.

Managed to cross the death trap and rode on non-stop till the toll gate near Vellore.  There is a Cafe Coffee Day in a HP Petrol pump about 10 kilometers away from the toll gate. I stopped there at around 11 for an early lunch. Another round of ice cream and a few drinks. Stretched myself out on a couple of chairs and a well-deserved break for almost an hour there. Here finally some Indian people came over and asked me what I was doing. But, still it was only the younger generation guys who approached me. The Moms still pulled their children closer to them and away from me on seeing me. At a point of time I had to check myself to see if it looked like I had some communicable disease or something.

Started from CCD at around 11 45. After that was Vellore. It maybe that I was starting to tire out a little, but I really do not recall having to go over so many flyovers to cross Vellore, while going in car. I was even thinking that they had built new ones just to welcome me. One good thing about the day what that it was cloudy, and of course! The moment I thought about it, I jinxed it and at around 2 the sun came out and was keen on making up for being behind the clouds from the morning. Did not want to fight against the all-powerful sun, so took another break at 2:15. By now, I had run out of my primary water supply as well. So stopped at a road side shop and refilled the hydration pack with chilly water. Searched the sky for some cloud cover, but it didn't look promising, so decided to wait out the sun at the shop itself. The owner obliged my request for a chair and I was there till 3. I bought another bottle of cold water before leaving. This water was for another purpose. I kept pouring water on my head every now and then to keep myself cool.

The next stop  was just to take this photo.

Just 100km to go

Continued riding till Kanchipuram, but was forced to stop here due to exhaustion. The sun was taking its toll on me, so was feeling a little dehydrated. Mixed the electrolyte and drank quite a bit of it. Ate some energy bars to keep me going. I started after about 20 minutes of rest. Home was only about 70 kilometers from there.

The next stop was also forced, but for a very different reason. A few kilometers after Sriperumbudur, a cop pulled me over and wanted to know everything from who am I to what am I! Gave him my card which proclaims to me to be an Aerospace Engineer. He looked satisfied by that and advised me to switch on the lights soon. I told him that I intend to reach Chennai before it got dark. But my pace had come down by quite a bit by now, so it was dark by the time I reached the Thiruvallur junction. Chennai traffic had started by now and couldn’t keep the pedaling rhythm going. Had to slow down and stop for signals and other vehicles cutting in front of me.

It was almost 8 by the time I reached home. And boy, did I get a warm welcome at home. My mom was waiting for me with a rolling pin in hand. But I know the secret to appease my mom. I happy gorged down everything she put in front of me and even asked for extra servings.

So here are the final stats:

Total Ride:
Total Distance: 346.44km
Total Time: 16 hours 05 minutes 46 seconds
Average Speed (pace): 21.52 kmph

Day 1:
Distance: 91.75km
Time: 3 hours 44 minutes 12 seconds
Average Speed (pace): 24.6 kmph

Day 2:
Distance: 254.69km
Time: 12 hours 21 minutes 34 seconds
Average Speed (pace): 20.5 kmph


Ride: Schwinn Searcher Sport

I know the question that is running through most of your heads now (I promise am not a psychic). What was my condition after all this? Well... My back had started cursing me from before Kanchipuram itself, and my legs were pretty fine, I was hobbling around a bit that night but was back on my foot almost perfectly the next day. I had a little pain in my knee so was walking around like Jar Jar Binks the next day. After that was perfectly fine. Another thing, to appease my mom  I had to promise not to ride the entire next week. I somehow managed to choke and splutter that particular promise and my mom enforced that promise by confiscating the bike for entire week.

It's just a number - Century Ride

Its been almost three months since i started riding in Bangalore and so decided it was time i got down to do a century ride. I asked my colleagues if they would like to accompany me for the ride, but i guess the distance kinda put them off. So on the November 20th 2011 I started off from my place to Devanahalli Fort all by myself.

I had planned to start from HSR layout by 5 in the morning, but November mornings are just too cold and my blanket was feeling all the more warm for that. So after snoozing for about an hour and skipping warming up, I managed to my backsides on the saddle at about 5 30 (not that it wasn’t cold anymore) and started off. Thanks to skimping on the warming up, I had to ride slowly for the first 5-6km (till the Marathalli junction). Another reason for the slower pace could have been because my legs were still dreaming of the bed and blanket. After tat tried to speed up a little, and managed a more respectable speed till the Vathur junction.

Among the bikers in Bangalore, there is a very well knows road called “Sivas Road”. Its a road from the NH that goes towards Kolar to Devanhalli. Its generally used when bikers want to head towards Nandi Hills. I had read about this road in the Biking forums, and wanted to check it out. So from the Vathur Junction headed towards the NH. In the forums, I had seen a lot of posts on the forum asking for direction to the road, so i had marked the position on my phone before starting. But it turned out to be totally unnecessary, there was a BIG board that said Devanahalli that way. It was so big that even I would have had trouble missing it.

Rolling hills, greenery on both the sides, minimal traffic - No wonder it is popular with bikers. It was beautiful to ride through, especially in the morning. I guess we bikers are regulars on this particular stretch of road as there weren't as many staring people and kids shouting "cycle race cycle race!" like in the other roads. The road also passes very near the new Bangalore Airport. There is a small trail that leads the fence on the back of the Airport.

Finally Reached Devanahalli fort at about 9 (wasted too much time clicking pictures on the way).

It is an interesting place. Part of the Village is situated inside the actual fort. Surely worth a visit even if you are not biking there. I spent almost an hour at the fort, visiting temples and walking around the fort’s walls. There is also a shrine built at the place where Tipu Sultan was born (it is outside the fort). if you want to read up more about the fort: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devanahalli_Fort

Started back from the Fort and managed to keep up my planned avg speed of 20kmph through the return trip as well. Came back by the same way I had used in the morning. But, coming back with the sun shining right over my head did teach me to start earlier the next time at least.

Reached my room by one in the afternoon. Stopped in the near by super market and got an 1 Kg ice cream box. That and a cheesy burst pizza to celebrate the successful completion of my first Century.

Trip Details:
Location: HSR Layout to Devanahalli to HSR Layout (link: http://www.dailymile.com/routes/935970- ... ngaluru-in)
Total Distance: 111.33 kms
Total time: 5 hours 21 minutes (without breaks)
Avg Speed: 20.8 kmph