600km ride on a day-old bike!

This is the story of my attempt at a 600km Brevet. That's 600km by cycle in a 40 hour period, including all stops. It was a daunting ride but I was drawn by the lure of a Super Randonneur medal (I would only need to complete a 200km brevet, with two left in the schedule). I started planning to do the 600 soon after my completion of the 400. The plan was this - 2 weeks before the actual ride, I was to do approximately 150kms of the final route. Then, one week before the ride I was to take a bus to Vellore and do the last 250kms of the route.



It was all fine as a plan, until my 150km ride two weeks before the brevet. I was joined by Sreeram and Murali and we did great time to Sathanur and back to Harohalli. It was a sunny, hot day and Murali, who had been on the climb to Jigani before, decided to take Kanakapura Road back. He warned us to take it easy saying the climbs were killer and there would be no shade. True to his word, the climbs were killer and we suffered in the heat. To add to the pain, the road to Anekal was unpaved and took its toll on my butt and hands. We were reduced to a crawl as my left knee developed an ache. By the time we got to Anekal, I had made up mind to abandon my brevet attempt. I could not figure out how to avoid the misery I had just experienced on the day of the brevet and I didn't want to take on 450km feeling like this. I told my riding buddies that I wasn't doing the brevet and I skipped the practice ride the week before the brevet.

As fate would have it, the brevet organizers made some last minute changes to the route and took out the unpaved section. Then, Vasu pushed the Kona distributor to ship out my road bike that I had ordered two brevets ago and it was finally going to arrive in time for the 600. In the light of these, my attempt was back on. I had built up a good rapport with the bunch that I had done the last two brevets with and having them along was good incentive.

I usually find it hard to sleep the night before the brevet because of all the excitement amidst the preparation. For this one, I tried something different and prepared in full on Thursday - two nights before the brevet. Sure enough, I slept very little that night. Maybe 4.5 hours. Picked up my bike and spare tube on Friday but didn't have much else to do. Managed to hit the bed at 10:30pm and sleep till 4:30am. Left from home in my car around 5AM, picked up Manjula from the ORR near her place and arrived at the IISc Gymkhana with about 10 minutes for the start.

Had an uneventful start with Chiddu, managed to lock on to the wheel of Mustafa who knew the route to Kanakapura Road unlike clueless me. There were some frustrating moments on Kanakapura Road where we riders were stuck behind a slow moving bus with no way to get past. After that though, we made generally good time till Kanakapura. Took a breakfast break (idli, vada & chikki) at Kanakapura with Mustafa and Nirmal, Vishal and Mohit joined as we ate. I was done soon and joined Mohit to Sathanur. On the way there we saw Aman, Chiddu and Parameshwar returning. It looked like Aman had a flat. Got our brevet card stamped at the Sathanur control, also caught up with with Rajanikanth and Sohan. By the time we got back to Aman, he had fixed his flat and was ready to continue. I was enjoying riding my new bike on these good roads and made good time. Saw Vasu heading to Sathanur on this stretch. Apparently, he had only started at 6:50AM. I was sure he would catch up to us, bid him goodbye and continued on. Stopped for a 10 minute break after Kanakapura to see if the others would catch up but they didn't and I guessed they had stopped to eat at Kanakapura. Proceeded to Harohalli battling the strong winds. I refilled my water bottles in preparation for the climb and started from Harohalli when I saw Rajanikanth ride in. He was going to take a tea/coffee break. I told him that I expected to be very slow on this section so I would start now and let them catch up with me.

Sure enough, Mohit, Aman, Rajanikanth and Sohan caught up with me after a little while, as I took another water/chikki break. From here on, I stuck with Sohan and we soon came to the turnoff for Anekal, which now sported a brand new paved surface (!). We carried on towards Jigani on the spotty surface, taking one long break at a bakery where we waited for some of the riders behind us. When they didn't show up after 20 mins or so, we carried on. When we reached Jigani and took the turn towards Anekal, we realized Nirmal had shot ahead without turning. Sohan sent him a text message and we continued towards Anekal. Nirmal did catch up with us after a little while. On the outskirts of Anekal, we ran into Manjula, who had abandoned the ride by now and was in her car. She had a flight to catch Sunday night and had only meant to ride part of the brevet. After a quick chat, we continued through Anekal to Attibele. The roads were good but the strong side winds were pushing us about. Got to Attibele and got ATM slips for the control. Ran into Vasu, who had arrived here 30 minutes before us, superhuman bicyclist that he was ;) Realized at this point that my light for the night was depleted of battery as it had switched itself on in my handlebar bag and had been on for many hours :(

After what seemed like a long break for food (masala dosa, curd rice) at Attibele, we got on the highway to Vellore. The stretch to Krishnagiri was expected to be the easiest stretch of the whole brevet, but alas that was not to be. The strong headwinds meant we had to pedal hard even on the downslope sections. I ran into Vasu sitting by the road, leaning into this bike. Stopped to inquire if all was well, only to find that he was in deep slumber. Again, bid him goodbye and continued on. Toiled till the Cafe Coffee Day complex at Shoolagiri where all the riders were on a break. I gave up on my rear view mirror which kept sliding loose and removed it, thankfully Vasu was able to fit it in his bag. Saw a wonderful sunset here and Nirmal pointed out Venus and Jupiter which were easily visible. Thankfully, the winds seemed to have died down by the time we started from here. Made good time till the turnoff for the road to Vellore. We stopped for a water/food break. Everyone feasted on hot omlettes and eggs at this point and refilled bottles. Got back on the road, refreshed and ready with a plan. The plan was to reach Motel Brindavan at Ambur by 12:30AM and break there till 1:30AM before proceeding to the next control at Katpadi. Sohan called ahead and told the bike-friendly owner about our arrival, so he would have food ready.

The road to Vellore made for better bicycling, with low traffic, no winds and smooth surface. We appeared to be making pretty good time. Stopped quickly for Vasu to change his batteries and also got a helmet light from him, since my primary light was just about dead. Vasu started a pace line with Aman and Nirmal. I tagged along for a bit but then fell back. Sometime before Vaniyambadi, saw Vasu and Aman off to the side of the road and pulled over to realize that Nirmal had taken a fall. He was lying on the road nursing two bleeding elbows. One looked particularly nasty. Luckily, Sohan had packed a first aid kit and was able to clean and dress Nirmal's wounds. Nirmal insisted on completing the ride, however the rest of us overruled him and advised him to take rest at Motel Brindavan and return in the morning. But how could we get him there? After wasting some time trying to flag down a vehicle, we decided to ride to the Vaniyambadi toll booth where our luck might be better. Thankfully, even before the toll booth we found an auto stand where an auto was available. We put Nirmal in the auto and continued pedaling towards Ambur.

When passing Mufasa's Diner in Vaniyambadi, I noticed Chiddu and Parameshwar's bikes outside. By the time we got to Ambur, we were hungry and tired and eager to find Motel Brindavan. Unfortunately, the Motel was still a ways off. Nearly 10km away, to be exact. So, after about 30 mins we landed at Motel Brindavan. The time - approx 1:30AM. It was great to get some hot food at that hour (sambar rice with appalam). I attempted to get some sleep, but it was tough as the body had cooled down and the floor was cold. On Rajani's suggestion, I spread some newspaper on the floor and lay out. I guess I passed out from exhaustion, woke up 30 minutes later and wanted to leave. Found myself shivering in the cold. After waiting a while for the others to join us, I left with Sohan intending to slowly warm myself up. Soon, Rajani and the others joined us. Near Pallikonda we saw three bikes outside a roadside hotel. Guessed it was Vasu, Chiddu and Parameshwar. Rajanikanth made a quick call to tell Chiddu we had just passed him. As we got close to Vellore, the directions confused us and we got off the highway a little too early. This meant we found ourselves having to carry the bikes across some train tracks. In the end it was all good, because it snapped us out of our sleep. By the time we got to the turnoff for Katpadi, Chiddu and others also caught up with us. And so it happened that all of us arrived at the control at the same time - around 4:30AM. After getting our ATM slips and water refills, we stopped at a tea shop to get warmed up.

Chiddu warned us that most of the distance to the next control at Mulbagal was uphill. About 5AM, we were all starting to get on the road again when Parameshwar noticed that he had a flat. He didn't have a spare tube or a pump. Vasu gave him his spare tube and left, Rajani offered his pump but Parameshwar got one from Aman. Everyone had left soon - Aman and I waited to make sure that he was going to be fine. Unfortunately, he didn't seem that experienced a fixing flats. To add to it, we found soon that Aman's pump was not going to cut it, it didn't work with Presta valves. I made a call to Rajani hoping he hadn't gone very far. He turned around grudgingly, as there was no other option. To leave Parameshwar here without a pump would very likely mean the end of his brevet attempt, as Presta pumps were not going to be available locally. Sohan was waiting for Rajani to return. In all, by the time we left Parameshwar with a pump to inflate his new tube, it was past 5:30AM. A 30 minute delay for the 4 of us, which was to prove expensive.

As we biked on, Rajani found it tough to go on and wanted to stop for a sleep break. Rajani and Aman slept on the sidewalk by the road, Sohan and I just relaxed for a bit. Parameshwar passed us here, dropping off Rajani's pump. Soon, we started from our stop with Rajani and Aman going ahead. Sohan and I rode together expecting to catch up with the other two. However, unknown to us, they had decided to turn it on and go ahead without any stops. The stop by the road was the last we would see any rider till near the finish. We made our way to Gudiyattam, making a few stops to check the GPS and make sure we were on course. When we didn't find the others, we decided to make a breakfast stop.

Had one of the best breakfasts you could ask for, that too at a bargain price - 4 idlis and one vada for Rs. 10. As we kept going, we found our progress slow. The road was a slow uphill track and the surface was not smooth so we couldn't really increase our speed. I did enjoy riding this road though, with clean surroundings and big trees providing ample shade. Took a 15 minute break at one point because I felt sleep was threatening to overwhelm. Sohan went ahead and I planned to catch up. All the shade soon disappeared as we hit the big climbs to Palamner, out in the sun. It was a story similar to the previous day, killer climbs in the sun with no water available although there were hordes of monkeys here. Somehow toiled it up the climbs, conserving my water. Just as I ran out of water, I found a small roadside shop where I refilled my bottles. The shopkeeper told me Sohan was just a little ahead and also said the "ghat section" was done. Thanking my stars, I went ahead and caught up with Sohan before Palamner. At Palamner, just stopped briefly to eat a banana and find the road to Mulbagal. It was going to be a race against time to make it to the next control in Mulbagal on time.

Palamner was the self-proclaimed "milk capital of south india" (news to me) and there were plenty of milk trucks going back and forth on the Mulbagal road, making riding on this road quite unpleasant. Sohan needed a bathroom break and I watched his bike while he was gone. The sun was beating down mercilessly by now and the going was slow. I got pushed off the highway quite a few times by heavy traffic. We stopped for a tender coconut break and I remember being amazed at the amount of fluid my body was sucking in. I was easily able to drink two coconuts without feeling the need to pee! Faced with failure to make the next control on time, this was easily the most challenging section of the entire brevet - at least for Sohan and me. We discussed things like - would we try to complete the ride after missing the control, are we taking the bus back or do we rest and ride back et al. We made it late to the ATM at Mulbagal and reported in to the brevet organizer who advised us to complete our ride as he may be able to give us an exception for having stopped to help Nirmal who had crashed in the night.

This totally unexpected gift gave us a shot of adrenaline and we got on the road right away, hoping to make it to the next control on time. The road was excellent too, for about 10 kms, after which it disintegrated into the usual spotty roads. Still, we made good time to Srinivasapura. Stopped for a small lunch of eggs and salad en route. Really wanted an ice cream by the time I got to Srinivasapura but, unable to find one, I settled for a Maaza. Refilled our water bottles and got going to Chintamani. I don't remember too much about this stretch. I think we took a 10 minute break by the road when we got really sleepy. The route through Chintamani was horrendous with a lot of traffic and no paved surface. By the time we turned on to the road to Chikbalapur, the sun was setting in glorious style and I could see Nandi Hills in the distance. In spite of my NightRider lights, I managed to miss a few ruts and potholes - apologized repeatedly to my new bike and promised to get it looked at when we were done.

Made it to Chikbalapur without much incident, got our ATM slips and started to Hebbal. Started to look for some place to grab a quick bite but was only seeing "bar and restaurant" types. Finally, found a place to grab rava idli and tea (my second time!). Got back on the road but not before yelling at yet another person attempting to fiddle with my bicycle. This was a recurring theme over this brevet starting with one person at Kanakapura who attempted to ride my bicycle (to check "how smooth it felt") while I was eating breakfast.

Once we made it to the highway, the going was smooth. I found a good rhythm and thanked the Gods for the smooth surface. Sohan locked on to my tail and we made great time to Devanahalli. We slowed down just a bit before the airport turn off and Sohan reported that he was in pain and had to stop to spray some Volini. Felt bad for him but at the same time I kept pushing him since we wanted to finish on time. Sometime before Yelahanka we saw another bike light in the distance. Upon drawing closer, found Ashutosh biking in a daze. Apparently, he had been biking alone for a while and had dozed off. Urged him to keep up with us and kept going. The traffic picked up as we got closer to Hebbal but we rode like madmen, attempting to make the end on time. As luck would have it, my light gave out and I had to stop to wear Vasu's headlamp. Cursing my luck, I caught up with the other two. Sohan had mentioned that he didn't know the turn at Hebbal so I waited a little to make sure Sohan and Ashutosh were on my tail and took the turn to ORR. The turn to New BEL Road couldn't come soon enough here. We kept expecting the next turn to be the one but of course it wasn't. When the right turn did arrive, there was so much traffic that we couldn't do our best time. Ultimately I pulled in to the IISc gate, Sohan soon afterwards. Saw the others (Aman, Rajani, Mohit) heading to Pizza Hut. We hadn't stopped anywhere since Chikbalapur. Spent some time catching our breaths. The brevet organizers were non-committal on our completion, understandably. It was not really in their hands. However, we were informed two days later that our exception had been granted and that we were now official finishers of the 600k BRM.

New bike and a brevet attempt

I picked up my new bike today. It's a 2012 Kona Honky Inc. I had spent a lot of time researching bikes before pulling the trigger on this purchase, it was special-ordered 6 weeks back. I rode it back home from the store (BOTS) and the ride was everything I had expected, super smooth and stable. I think I will enjoy my first road bike.



Tomorrow is the 600k Brevet and I have been busy preparing for it. I'm taking the new bike because it is just feels so much better. More about the bike and brevet next week :)

Toddler conversations

Here's a conversation between Anjali and Siddharth that happened the other day.

A (pointing to tank mounted at the entrance to Iblur army camp): Look Siddharth, can you see the tank?

S: Yeah! Hey, why it's not shooting?

A: It's chumma (just) there, it doesn't really work.

S: Then they should put some new batteries in it!

I had a hearty laugh and made a mental note to myself that I should blog it. So here it is :)

We've had many such moments for a few years now but now that Siddharth is growing up (3 next week!) I think we'll soon be missing these toddler conversations. Enjoying it while it lasts!

My first trip report from a cycle ride

It was also my longest attempt yet, the 400k BRM on 28th January. In December, I had completed the 300k BRM, only just finishing in the stipulated time. Naturally, I had my doubts about finishing the longer 400km ride in time.

The route for the 400k BRM

Luckily, I joined a group of cycling buddies (Chiddu, Rajanikanth, Sohan & Vasu) for a 200k prep ride the weekend before the brevet and this helped boost confidence, massively. We covered part of the BRM route (see http://j.mp/wB6EUR) and rode through the night too. I gathered enough confidence to register for the 400k BRM after this ride. I was able to keep up with the road bikes until we reached the highway, when they left me in the dust. Vasu is one of those guys who is very methodical about training and he was able to give me many pointers on how I could improve my average on Brevet day. 1 - he urged me to lean on my handlebars whenever possible as this would reduce wind resistance and increase my speed. 2 - he ordered me to strip away all unnecessary parts on my well-equipped bike, in order to drop weight and increase my speed.

The week before the brevet. L->R Sohan, Vasu, Rajanikanth, Chiddu

The week of the brevet was spent wondering if I was really going to remove stuff bolted on my bike. I pondered renting a bike, or borrowing one. However, I decided to stick with my bike to avoid the risk of being stuck with a bike that turned out to be uncomfortable for me. So, a day before the brevet, I removed the following from my bike - fenders, kick stand, horn, pannier rack, pannier, BikeGlow unit, iPhone mount, Klean Kanteen & cage. I had never seen it look so lean! I still had to carry some gear and I decided to use my Hydrapak for this.

These are the things I carried in my Hydrapak, apart from the water - two pb&j sandwiches, a bag of dry fruits (bananas & jack fruit), a bag of my own nut mix (almonds, m&ms, raisins), 3 energy bars, 4 sachets of Gatorade, a second cycling jersey (for the cold), two lights (needed two because one wouldn't last through the night), my high-viz jacket. On the bike was a mini-pump and a saddle bag with my mini-tool, spare tube and patch kit.

On the morning of the ride, I drove my car to the start. I picked up Manjula at BTM Layout and we both arrived at IISc about 10 minutes before 6AM. By the time I got set up and the brevet start formalities finished, it was 6:08. Started with Sohan, soon caught up with the first group of riders. Having done the route before was tremendously helpful and I just raced through the many turns here. On Madhure Temple Road, saw Sreepathi at a secret control and got my brevet card stamped. On Vasu's advice, I wanted to finish my first 100km within 6 hours so I kept going as fast as I could. I knew that the road bikes would catch up with me once we reached good roads so did not really wait for anyone. I reached Madhure in good time and took a 15 min break for breakfast. The road through the town here had become unbikeable within the last week and I almost fell down (feet in PowerGrips as I came to a sudden stop). Saw Sohan and Manjula stop just as I was leaving from the small hotel, said I would see them down the route and went ahead. (Learnt later that Chiddu and one more rider had passed me here). I was making good time and reached Dobaspet just after 9:30AM. The sun was still behind clouds and riding was very pleasant. On the road to Koratagere though, it got hot pretty fast. By 10:30AM I was feeling the heat and gulping lots of water.

Yours truly, looking fresh at Koratagere

Made it to Koratagere at 11:30AM, meaning I had covered the first 100kms in 5:30. I was pretty happy with myself and took a 15 minute break at a shop we discovered the previous week. Had some of the local jeera drink, replenished my water and got some masala peanuts (proved helpful in the night). I saw Manjula ride past and followed her, caught up with her at the ATM which was the brevet control at Koratagere. We rode together for a little while but the sun got to me and I fell behind. The road to Madhugiri was awful and the going was slow. I stopped for a tender coconut break and soon got going slowly.

Madhugiri Fort

The fort at Madhugiri looked fantastic, saw lots of visitors too. Made a mental note to bring the kids in a few years and found the road to Sira. The road did not get much better all the way to Sira. Got very hungry near 2PM as I was passing by Badavanahalli and stopped at the first place on the road that seemed to have food. The food was basic - sambar rice and buttermilk but it was good and served the part. Having regained some energy, started cycling towards Sira again. Manjula called to see where I was, she said she was about 3km ahead. The butt and hands were taking a battering now and I couldn't wait to get back to the highway.

Arriving at the outskirts of Sira, I asked for the way to Hiriyur and rode to the highway. Soon after getting on the highway, I had to stop for another tender coconut. A boy here was very curious about my bike and was fiddling with every lever on my bike despite my appeals to him. Then he started pestering me for a ride. I decided to get out of there quickly. Manjula later told me that she called out to me as she approached here and I didn't pay attention. I guess I just rode away fast without looking back, I apologized to her later. Also, I think I took a different route through Sira because Manjula was ahead of me previously.

Made good time past Hiriyur and to the exit for Chellakere. I had mentally noted that this located was approximately 200km from the start and was happy to reach here by 5:30PM which meant I had covered the first 200km in 11:30. Stopped here for another meal and refilled my water. The person at the shop told me that two other riders had gone past a short while ago. Made phone calls to my wife and mother and let them know that I was doing well and expected to finish in time. After a 20-25 min stop here, started towards Chellakere.

I found the road to Chellakere to be of very good quality and pleasing to the eye. Was happy to be cycling along. A motorcycle rider pulled up and chatted with me while riding. I told him the whole route and he was genuinely surprised that I was taking a turn at Eraballi. He wanted to know if I had been to Eraballi before, I replied in the negative and showed him my cue-sheet explaining that the route was chosen by the organizers. He wished me well and went ahead. Soon after, I came to the turn at Eraballi where I was bombarded with more questions. Answered them as much as I could (I don't know Kannada), took my photos and then proceeded to get outfitted for the night as it was dusk now. The road to Ayamangala was of decent quality but it got very dark fast and it was quite uninhabited with only the occasional vehicle passing by. Another motorcycle rider kept me company for a while, asking the usual questions. I was quite surprised when he asked me if I was in college or working. I guess the helmet hid my greying hair :) He left me after a bit, advising me to visit a local temple before I turned back. It was pitch dark and I looked up at the sky hoping to get a good view of the stars but it was still too early for that. I remember spotting only one bright object in the sky and thinking that it was probably Venus.

My lean mean cycle at the Eraballi turn

Arrived at Ayamangala, took the requisite photo (for the unmanned control) and then returned to the highway. I kept alert for the turnoff at Hiriyur. There was an ATM control in Hiriyur. Unfortunately, this one was a ways off the highway. Asked a local cyclist if he would help me locate the SBI ATM. He was happy to show me. Unfortunately, both the SBI ATMS he took me to were closed at this hour. Asked around for other ATMS and finally found a Vijaya Bank ATM. It was a bit of a wait for my turn here. On the way back, was ready to eat again but didn't see any appetizing joint. When I saw a "Haryana Jalebi" shop manned by a Punjabi, I stopped for a quick break. Got 6 Jalebis for Rs. 10. When I got them, I planned to eat half and pocket the rest for later. However, they were yummy and the turbaned shopkeeper made good conversation so I ended up eating them all. He wanted to know if he could join my cycling club. I told him he certainly could and that made him happy. I bid him goodbye and continued on.

After this I started to lose track of time. I must have pedaled for an hour or so after Hiriyur when my butt started complaining and I could not remain seated for any length of time. This, in spite of me regularly changing my positions and standing up often. I think around 10:30PM or so I stopped for a break by the highway. There was a shop with a bed available, and I couldn't resist. Refilled my water bladder and just relaxed for 15 minutes or so. Then I saw Mohit go by, called out to him and he stopped. He was followed by Rajanikanth and Manjula. Asked them where Chiddu was and was told he was far ahead. Listening to the three of them calculate time till the finish, I realized that an in-time finish was not going to be a cakewalk. Until then, I had planned to take a 2 hour break to catch up with sleep. However, at this point I abandoned that plan.

I joined Mohit with Manjula and Rajanikanth following and we had pedaled for a while when Vijay joined us. Somewhere before the Sira toll gate, we stopped for a break. (Thanks Vijay for the banana!) A breathless Vasu caught up with us here. He had pedaled non-stop from Hiriyur! Vijay, Mohit and I (being hybrid and MTB riders) decided to start ahead of the group here and started together. After a while we had lost Vijay. Learnt later that he had a puncture. My rear was getting bothered again and I told Mohit that I wanted to take a break at the Sira toll booth. Just before the toll booth though, we found bicycle lights off the side of the road. Saw two riders getting their gear on. Shouted out to them and told them that we'd stop ahead and went on. The riders turned out to be Chiddu and Parameshwar and they had just started after a sleep break! I'd planned on it but Chiddu had executed it.

Mohit latched onto the duo of Chiddu and Parameshwar and I took my planned break at the toll plaza. Saw Manjula and Rajanikanth pass by and followed them. Caught up with them at a break further down to see that Mohit had joined them too. We stopped for a tea and it was my first tea in living memory. I was never a tea or coffee drinker but had one just to keep alert. It only worked for a limited time though and I was soon quite drowsy. I had to battle sleep all the way past Tumkur. I kept taking quick breaks to get away from the monotony of pedaling on the highway. At some point I hit upon the bright idea of eating the masala peanuts acquired earlier in the day. These were spicy and caused me to be alert for a while. Standing up and attacking the climbs also helped. All the pedaling until the waking hours at Nelamangala was a blur. I would catch up with the other three when they stopped, then slowly fall behind, only to catch up again. Daylight helped me stay awake and I managed to follow my 3 buddies to Yeshwantpur at a good clip.

The city was waking up and traffic was already pretty ugly. It was time to HTFU and finish this brevet ride, which we did. The four of us arrived together with about 1 hour and 25 minutes to spare (of the 27 hours allowed). I was quite happy with the finish and we were all happy to be finished. Vasu finished soon after, after making excellent time into Bangalore. He deserves a special mention for taking the time out to help other riders on the way (Vijay with his puncture, Sohan with water etc.). Chiddu had finished nearly an hour and half before us and was probably home already. After putting away our gear, we wolfed down a hearty breakfast at a local joint. As we returned back to IISc, Sohan rode in with another impressive last-minute finish! Was happy for him, he had prepared and ridden hard. I found out later that he covered 20kms more than the rest of us, having gotten lost.

Recovery for me wasn't as bad as the previous brevet. By the 3rd day, I felt quite normal except for a niggling pain in the right shoulder. I was quite happy with the way I had prepared and packed for the ride. The Hydrapak 3L bladder really helped me carry enough water to avoid frequent water breaks and also have enough water through the night when no shops were open. My biggest training task for future brevets is to avoid a sore butt on the saddle. Let's see how well I do with that.

Cycling, lots of it.

After a half-year hiatus, I'm back. I have been cycling more than ever since I moved to Bangalore. I log most of my rides at DailyMile.com and you can see my year-end report for proof that I have become a riding-machine :D

Of late, I have taken up randonneuring, which is long distance cycling. The events are called brevets. Like a marathon finish, an on-time finish in a brevet is considered an achievement. Actually it is the only thing you can achieve in any brevet because there are no positions i.e. first place, second place do not matter. Only a finish within allowed time matters. Finishers can opt for a medal from the Audax Club in Paris.

Last June, I completed a 200km brevet (BRM in short) along with 4 other members of my local cycling club. It was a wonderful feeling and such an achievement for a person like me who, just a year ago struggled at a 70km ride. Having never really won any medals in life, I opted to order the 200k BRM medal. That ride was the last of the brevet season in 2011. I was back to my regular rides, not giving much though to brevets until the 2012 season started.

I missed the first ride in November. I think I was out of town, I wasn't very motivated either. Then, in December, I got a message saying that the medal for June ride had arrived. I rode to BOTS to pick it up.



It was a thing of beauty. It was also good to see the other riders from that day, who had arrived to receive their medal. Many of them were also attempting the 300k BRM that was to happen the following weekend. My spark was back, I wanted to do it. I registered on the spot, making sure that I would at least give it a go.

I had already been riding regularly so I was pretty confident of completing a 300km ride. However, I was not sure if I would finish it in the allowed 20 hours. Too much time has passed since the event for me to do a proper ride report. The short version is that, after finding myself down and out halfway through that ride, I managed a last minute finish at the 20 hour mark. Thanks in no small part to fellow rider Sohan Sintre who motivated and rode with me for the last 100+ kms. I was elated to have finished in time, of course. I had also learnt some valuable lessons about riding in a brevet. The question was - Was I ready to step the game up higher? Did I want to attempt the 400k BRM in January?

The answer - yes, and that story is coming up tomorrow.

The fruits of Kutrallam (Tamil)

Here's a look at some of the unique fruits available at Kutrallam (Courtallam) at this time of the year. Wonderful weather there at this time of the year, but a bit too crowded at all the falls. Hope to go there in a few weeks.

Sometimes you find things..

.. that you wish you'd never learnt about. Like the chips shop just down the road that makes the freshest, crispiest, potato chips that I've ever tasted. I've been telling myself "resist!" all day, but I'm afraid it hasn't been working out too well. Maybe I should just give in and enjoy without the guilt.