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.