Stage 6: 100 miler, Great Descend,Hunt for Food and Final Draft

It is now Day 6 and long ride awaits to Kallakurichi. The ride map spoke of 10 kms long descend from Yelagiri which we climbed the previous day and then a detour from Jolarpet which was mostly long false flat ride for most part of the distance. It would be the tour's first 100 miler. The legs were begging for mercy but the mind wanted more. So far, we have already covered 526 kms, climbed 5500 meters and burned over 17,000 calories in smoke. The previous evening was fun filled with everyone taking it easy with games, beers and food. The stay at Silent Water was great with brilliant ambiance and endless slaps and whips to scare those monstrous mosquitoes away. The cries by few after getting a massage from the masseur made it even more hilarious. God bless those malnourished Mumbai mosquitoes, I thought. 

As usual my roadie mates assembled in our room for endless supply of British Empire. The facebook updates continued all evening with everyone posting their photos and me celebrating a pain free climb. It was not a nasty climb and those 14 hair pins were good to negotiate.  I wanted to descend without any incident (which I did) and the tour has so far been incident free. The next day long distance kept playing in my mind but I did not want to think too much into it. I soon hit the sack for some well deserved sleep.

The alarm finally rings. VDHehe as usual was the first to wake up. I slowly get out of my bed and there goes the first news for the day. VDHehe has decided not to ride as he wanted to attend to some office work. I did not want to hear that and that too on a day that will see us do the 100 miler. In an endurance tour, the motivation that spreads around with constant encouragement coming from every rider is a great morale booster. So far, my ride partner has been a great source of encouragement. All riders soon assemble down for breakfast which included dosas as usual  and other South Indian spread. I and rest of the roadies - Venkat, Siva and Jothi decide to take it easy for the day. We join Gayatri and Ulhas for a chatty ride. 

The descend was mostly done alone but the plan was to assemble at the base and then ride all the way. The body language of everyone showed they wanted to take it easy.  I was more than happy to oblige. I was one of the first to reach the base and Siva as always was already waiting for us. We soon approach the town of Jolarpet. I have always believed, despite my views of Mumbai traffic and poor road, that my home city have some really disciplined drivers. I have ridden in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka but my experience have always been that of despise. Bangalore have all the rowdy drivers in the world, Kerala have a collection of mobile molesters and Tamil Nadu have brain dead people on motorcycles. I have never felt threatened riding in Bombay let alone rowdy behavior. The BEST drivers are an exception but, hey, the driver who sit behind the steering wheel of these buses are known to have smaller brains. 

Siva nearly avoided a near head on collision with a motor biker who just decided to take sudden turn to the right. It was so common to see motor bikers to just cut lanes all of a sudden and most would not care to see if anything is coming their way. I nearly missed crashing into the motorbike. All happened so fast that nearly all missed piling up into each other by seconds. I kept thinking then that I will go back to figure what  the statistics is for motorbike fatalities for the state. The abuses in different languages continued for the next 500 meters.

It was decided that Gayatri will be the pace setter and that all roadies shall stick to her wheels. I had a chatty ride with Ulhas who was sharing his experience of bike tour to Ladakh. We discussed everything from PBCH, BRMs and Ladakh. After listening to his stories, I was convinced that Manali-Leh-Khardungla will figure in my bike tour plan. I intend to ride it in 2015. The chit chat continued till the first pit stop. It became clear by this time that we will just tackle the day at ease. The beautiful villages continued to pass one by one and for the first time, frankly, I was looking around.

This particular Chammi caught my attention for the sheer size of it and facial expression. It had all the look of someone who will burn every ass that comes it way. It had reddish jawline which was painted red as if to signify blood. I had to stop and take photos. The aggression that these sculptures had fascinated me endlessly. Meanwhile, Gayatri continued her work in the front. We soon hit a patch of road which was poorly laid. The tour so far took us through some beautiful villages and pristine road conditions. We passed though some interiors roads passing villages after villages and those long queue of children who would shout 'race'. The joy on their face was priceless.  By this time, our group expanded and we were at least 10-12 riders all working together.  

We soon hit the main road and a short climb. As usual I was happy to see those gradients as I was getting bored of those flats and bouncy tarmac. I caught up with Bhaskar who was having his Jens Voigt moment in the front. VDHehe would have loved chasing him. It is always a great encouragement when you have someone in the front of you on a climb. It sort of becomes a chase and the mind game starts. Catching up and chasing Bhaskar was fun and I soon pass him. In no time, we reach the second pit stop and we are greeted by the smiling face of Bala Sir. I was happy to find a cot made of coir to sit and relax.

VDHehe soon joins us in the second support vehicle. It was not hot in terms of temperature but the sun was bright. Those salted lemon juice was a great relief. We had some cakes and bananas which was delicious as always. We are soon joined by Ulhas and Gayatri followed by Siva who was giving them good company. Another 10 minutes was spent talking about the villages we passed. Gayatri has so far done a good job setting very good pace and taking every effort to contribute as a cyclist determined to work together on a long day.

Photo Credit: ToT 2013

Photo Credit: ToT 2013

We soon depart the 2nd pit stop and once again take a detour as per plan to hit village roads. And thus started the pain. The road conditions were very poor and there was no shoulders. We wanted to stop by somewhere for tea or may be lunch. We kept hoping that a town would soon appear as per the ride docket but it was always a great disappointment. Everyone wanted food and that craving for food kind of backfired in my case. I felt if you start a day knowing that there will not be any food then you will kind of prepare yourself for it psychologically. However, in this case, food was the word that kept flowing from everyone's mouth. Those marked villages on the docket turned out to be very small town with barely any souls, let alone chances of getting any food.

Siva was loosing his patience and desperation on everyone's face became more and more evident. I was bored of those dry fruits and energy cereal bars. Soon, we find Vaz who was chasing the front riders. I say a few cuss words on him but with a smiling face. The never-ending one kilometer directives from villagers continued. We manage to survive that torture of village road (but not the village) and soon hit the state highway. We finally found a roadside stall where they served chicken biryani. Soon, all the rider park their bike and dig into whatever that was being served. I was little shy of eating there after looking at the place and hygiene but the grumbling stomach did not shy away from eating.

I eat plain biryani rice with egg omelette as there was no chicken left. Other like me starving to hell ate those over-oiled parattas and egg omelette. We were barely 30 kms away from Kallakurichi. On a longish day something as short as 30 kms appears like 100 kms. By this time, the mind games had already begun and all of us wanted to be done with the day. Siva and Bhaskar wasted no time and decide to hit the road. Siva once again showed why he is the best at drafting trucks. I did not want to join them instead I join Venkat, Sapeksh, Jothi, Ulhas and Gayatri. I would keep lapping my Garmin every 10 kms as the display would show distances being covered in meters and numbers would change fast. It worked for me mentally looking at it. I would look (and compare) at the balance kilometers with my ride in Bombay in terms of distance. I would  think about balance kilometers as some landmark point on the Eastern Express Highway in Bombay.

Thankfully, we come across those huge farm vehicles on the highway. I soon break away from Venkat, Jothi and the Joshis who will later join me as we approach the town of Kallakurichi. I draft those farm vehicles and I see kilometers being accumulated as we get closer and closer to the town. This drafting helps me get closer and closer to Siva and Bhaskar. The traffic on the road increased which kind of made me happy as it meant we were getting closer and closer to the town. I join Bhaskar for the rest of the journey thinking that I have caught up with him twice so far during the day. We stop by just 2 kms from the town for some fresh coconut water. At the town we were surprised to see a good hotel with decently large room. I go to my room and I find myself standing in front of the mirror admiring the sun tan. It was a great day which had loads of surprises, cuss words, desperation for food and finally coconut water which was a rarity so far in the tour. 

Day 6 is closed with 161 kms in the legs and 7 hours on the saddle. The day clearly went to Gayatri who kept all the men gelled together as a unit and ever-so-charming Ulhas who kept entertaining us. Tour of Tamil Nadu is now 687 kms and we have another 300 kms left. Day 7 will be the best day. The day I felt possessed by my brother's spirit tackling an epic climb of Kalrayan Hills and a brilliant descend.