Stage 5: Ride to Yelagiri, 14 Hairpin Bends, 14 Great Tamil Poets and Pacelines

The day of rest at Hogenakal was a well deserved break from the saddle. Many of the fellow riders decided to go for the loop ride of about 68 kms while many relaxed those tired legs staying put in the hotel. I and VDHehe took a day off. It was day for me to explore my iPhone and play endless amount of Pool and Stick Cricket. The bike needed some basic servicing in terms of a change of rear wheel tubes. I had picked up a slow puncture which thankfully did not show up the day en route to Hogenakal. I seriously wouldn't have wanted one after all the trouble I had to go through in Stage 2, I said to myself.

The rest day was spent cleaning the bike. VDHehe spent the day sorting his laundry. Later on, some of us were discussing about bike mechanics, I test rode the FUJI folding bike which Fizzy was supposed to ride and shared our experiences of how to climb hills. All attempts were made to enable a few guys like Pradeep Menon on hybrids to shift to a road bike. It was XMAS day, of course, and everyone was merry in their own ways. My roadie mates were all gone before dawn to catch some fish and have them cooked to their liking. They went on a short bike ride and rule was no lycra or helmet. I so wish I had joined them. Later in the evening, I and my roadie mates relaxed with couple of bottles of British Empire and then the usual expert commentary on everything from how to ride in the drops and what to do in a pace line. Evening was spent dressing up in the most coloured costume. Suresh lived up to his reputation of digging colours that even Picasso would be proud of. 

It would be a long 138 kms ride to Yelagiri and usual 1300 meters of climb. It would start off with a short 3 kms long climb which we had descended a few days ago riding into Hogenakal. I was looking forward to that short but steady climb with an average of 5% gradient. All roadies kind of started of scattered at the front, back and middle. I, VDHehe and Sapkesh were the last of the lot to leave the hotel. The Yelagiri, our destination for the day, is a fabled climb about 11 kms in length which boasts of 14 hairpin bends. I figured later from my fellow riders that the 14 hairpins have been named after 14 great poets of Tamil literacy. 

The initial 3 kms long climb from Hogenakal was a good way to remove all the lactic that had accumulated during the rest day. Within a few kilometers of start I was alone all by myself with Vaibhav taking it easy. He was excited about having the GPS TACX file fixed on his Garmin. Sapeksh also took it easy. I passed one and all over the next few kilometers and had soon reached the check post that marked the ghat section. For a kilometer or so I tailed Vankatadiri who I believe was busy filming the proceedings and surroundings on his head mounted camera. I kind of take a short detour and thankfully figure and turn back before it became another tour of the unknown.

I turn back and come across Vaibhav. Prob Gyan, the man with sunglasses and two of us ride for short distance. I try to tempt Prob to try out a few sprints and all out bursts. He was in his own self grinding some decent at low tempo effort. I and VDHehe drop him in couple of kilometers and we soon find ourselves taking turns to pull each other. VDHehe takes charge of the pace and we reach the first support station. We quickly refill out water bottles and as usual the support team is happy to spoil us with cakes of all varieties and bananas. We stop by to take some photos. Sanjay and Anjali as always were one of the first to arrive (and to leave) at the pit stop closely followed by Muthu. In no time, Sanjay and Anjali disappear with their customary 10 mins stop while we loiter around. Muthu and Prob also disappear into the horizon. Finally, I'm back with my roadie team.

Looking at the headwind and the flatness of the tarmac I, VDHehe, Venkat and Jothi soon form pace line allowing each of us 2 mins to come in the front and do some pulling. Throughout the pull, my thoughts were in Sri Lanka and the effort that each of the Mamils put to tackle those headwind and crosswinds whilst riding to Jaffna. It was a challenge to negotiate the winds across the peninsula that literally brought us to standstill on many occasion. It was painful. Only thing I wanted to ensure was when the pull is over by the lead rider, he had to be given a few seconds to gather and fall back at the tail of the pace line. I remember making that mistake of keeping the pace high and my brother shouting from the back asking me of slow down to allow the puller to fall back and rest for a few seconds. I did the same with Vaibhav. VDHehe was in a killing mood and he did some great pulls. It was his moment.

I think it was the 1st time we actually rode as a unit and the discipline was evident. The end result was 14 kilometers of pace line averaging around 34 kmph and that too in headwind. We soon catch up with Muthu and the machines from Pune. We join them for a long distance but slowly break away. We never saw Siva for a long time. I would have guessed him to be right in the front really going after the trucks for an effortless draft. Effortless is an understatement in his case. He can go and go on drafting for 50 kms. If there is anything he does well other descending, it has got to be his ability to draft. Those GU gels are his poison and he would go like a rocket. 

Now, tell me do I stand like Giant robot in the photo above ? I think I do after the comment one of my good friends posted on my FB page. Come on, Giant Robot ! I loved that serial as a kid. VDHehe was having his Jens Voigt moment. I take his wheel for some distance only to fall back and ride with the rest of the roadies. I wanted to take a moment of rest before the climbs which was barely 20 odd kms away. I join SAP roadies - Jothi, Venkat and Amol and Siva for the rest of the journey to Yelagiri.

I was feeling hungry and so were all of us. More than food, I would have loved to have a bottle of coke. Amol also joins us or rather I should say I join them for lunch after I experience Jens Voigt moment by Vaibhav. He disappeared ! We decide to stop at Jolarpet for a light snack. The boys go for a full course meal while I decide to eat a tiny portion and some eggs. I have my coke and then the journey begins. We soon reach the base of Yelagiri for the final pit stop and some refreshment. As always Bala Sir waves at us and was ever so happy to pour that glass full of nicely freshly made salted lemon juice. I decided to continue my journey as I wanted to be done for the day.

Venkat follows me and both of us slowly start out for that steady 11 kms long climb. It was an easy climb with hair pins coming at regular interval to give that well deserved break. Soon, Venkat falls back and I'm on my own. I pass Amol who makes a steady attempt at climbing. Once again I come across an army of monkeys and the fear of that monkey bite keeps me nervous. The final few kilometers I start thinking about VDHehe who had long ago left us at Jolarpet. I had actually expected him to reach the hotel and arrange for those beers. I look at my Garmin and figure I have barely 2 kilometers left for the summit and the poet counts now stands at 10 or 12. I find Sanjay and Anjali slowly cranking up the last kilometers and in no time find VDHehe. I was surprised to see VDHehe and catch up with him because he had disappeared quite some time ago. We both then join together for the close of the day. I was actually surprised to see him as I had then guessed him to be at the hotel. But the truth be told I was gunning for him and was in many way chasing him.

We lose of patience again to find the hotel which again the locals suggest is just 'one' kilometer away. VDHehe feels his Garmin is drunk and I think I'm now brain dead. We pass the tour truck at least few times again and again but fail to see it. Venkat joins us in the hunt for the hotel. At a junction, we decided enough is enough and that ask for direction. To our embarrassment, we were just a few blocks away. Once inside the Hotel Silent Water, all that was annoying is soon turned into excitement. We get the best accommodation of the tour and soon settle in for some Aloo Paratta and Chicken 65. I enjoy my bottle of coke meanwhile and rest go for a game of badminton and massage. 

Stage 5 is done and dusted with mind trying everything to ignore the thought of century mile ride the enxt day to Kallakurichi.

Stage 3 and 4 - Roadie Furry to Hogenakal

The tour was just beginning to warm up and we are into Day 3 of the ToT. The previous evening we were all invited for dinner at a local private resort and did I eat well (?). Those kothu parottas and mutton biryani made many of us to help ourselves to several servings and licking fingers. It sort of reminded me of Sri Lanka during the Mamil tours. We would devour endless numbers of dosas served with egg on top and then those diced chicken parottas. It was yummy indeed and the ones in TN were no less yummier either. I think I do not want to see parottas for another 6 months and I'm sure my ToT mates would agree. 

Photo Credit: ToT 2013 & Nagesh

I slept well the previous night having put in a great effort to get my ass up Yercaud. It was a cold misty foggy morning with wind making it very chilly. We were briefed about the ride by Vaz and it was supposed to be a nice long descend followed by long rolling terrain for most part of the day and then great descend into Hogenakal. But the headwind made the ride very hard to negotiate. We did come across 2 long climbs of fairly long distance. The elevation profile did not speak of anything more than cumulative ascend of 700 meters for the day. The chill in the morning was way too much for me. The wind made it even worse. I was shivering down to my bones. I decided to stuff my jersey with some newspaper to create some insulation against the cold. 

We do not decend the way we came up but take another route which was equally scenic and brilliant. Confident from my previous two attempts at descending, we start our journey. The descend was long and fast one. It is kind of scary when you see all these monkeys spread everywhere from the tree tops to the middle of the road. I always had this weird fear that one of them would pounce on me and I'm gonna get a real bite. Thankfully, they would just sit by the roadside or on tree tops but some still had the audacity to stay put in the middle of the road. I wanted to take my phone out and take some photos of the hills but too scared that the phone might end up in their hand. Once I and Ancy had gone to Nandi Hills close to Bangalore on an official plus vacation trip. One monkey ripped off a packet of Lays Waffers from her hand. Since then, these little Hanumans make me nervous. Oh yes, they do have giant canines.

Photo Credit: ToT 2013 & Nagesh

Siva, as always, is hard to catch up on the downward slopes. I tried to tail him but chickened out. I'm followed by Sapeksh and Vaibhav but soon the gap widens. I get behind a bus which just wouldn't let me pass. Sapeksh sees the right moment at the hairpin to pass the bus but I'm caught behind. It takes me a little while to pass it. Tackling those hairpins were not as tiresome as it were during the Kolli Hills descend. 70 odd ones to negotiate. We soon hit the base and all of us stop by for others to catch up and of course the customer sugary cup of coffee. That one at the base had enough sugar to give me enough supply of glycogen to survive the rest of the day. Soon, the newspapers are long folded up and the temperature rises. I must however say that we did not really experience harsh heat throughout the tour. It was fairly warm but tolerable. It was dry heat unlike how it is in Bombay where it comes with high humidity and sweat factor.

Photo Credit: ToT 2013 & Nagesh

Soon the group breaks up and all the roadies form a little team of their own. We pass some local town and some pristine villages. More or less, all take it easy thinking about the long day ahead of us. During the course of the day, we encounter some harsh barren land with horizon visible all 360 degrees. The headwind was tolerable but at times it was confusing. Headwind would soon turn into tailwind and then crosswinds. The bike swayed all over the place. VDHehe was in his element throughout this day. He was very strong on those flats. I was more than happy to sit at the back of his wheel and let him do all the hard work.

We do come across some small hills and poor road but not as bad that it would bring out the Bombay boy in me. No cuss words ! We had to negotiate two climbs of fairly large distance and elevation. I manage to cut through all of them as I soon begin to realize yet again why I like to climb. I'm surely not a fast climber but I somehow like to sit there and grind my way up. I enjoyed those two climbs as it had everything from headwind to tailwinds and to crosswinds. I break away from the peloton of 7-8 riders every time the elevation profile smiles up. I was more than happy to do so. 

The rest of the day goes without much of an incident. The villagers would spead out their farm produce on the highway for the vehicles to pass over them. An ingenious way to get the end result without having to pay for it. We stopped by to get some rest as we inch closer and closer to Hogenakal. I leave my bike against a giant tree looking at a bore well to freshen up. I see two little kids using all their energy to extract some water. I too wanted to get some. It was embarrassing to say the least that no matter how much I tried my pumping, no water would flow through. 'Ah ! these city folks' I pondered. 

We were all waiting for the long descend into hogenakal. It was time to wrap up the day and look for some beers. The 'British Empire' lager helped us recover so much so that we now have a whatsapp group by the name. We stop by a large sculpted image of Ayyanar for well deserved break and of course some dry fruits energy. I decided to lookout for some of these sculptors to make my own book of Ayyanars. I always wanted to stop by and take some photos but, damn it, if I do so, then I lose the wheels of other roadies. Why can't they just take it easy once in a while. For god sake, we just climbed 2800 meters over the past two days !

Photo Credit: ToT 2013 & Nagesh

These things are so colorful and expressive. Nearly all had very big eyes and those typical of handlebar moustache. I somehow cannot recollect seeing any female Ayyanars. Do they even exist ? I guess these village protectors are also sometimes called 'Chami'. I think there is no 'Swa' in Tamil hence it is pronounced as 'Chami". They had so much anger that it felt as if they are gonna burn every ass that comes it way. The effort gone into making them exuberant is worth every appreciation in the world. My facebook update was something like this - 'That's the anger I had on my face on every single climb today'. I was loving it today.

Soon, we approached the final descend. We all had a go at it. It was long descend with very wide roads and great view of the surrounding landscape. Some riders stopped at the highest point to shoot videos of roadies coming down. I gave my all to look at 'pro' as possible. Haha ! Sapeksh could have very well applied for a job with a local circus company. He was shooting a video on his mobile with only a hand to tackle the fast descend. Crazy ! But the video came out very well so I'm not complaining.

We reach Hotel Tamil Nadu at around 4:00 pm and soon settle down to take rest. Later in the evening, Siva, Amol, Venkat, Jothi, VDHehe and I decide to go for a little stroll around the town. Hogenakal is known to have a great waterfall with little or no drastic human intervention. It did have a fair amount of tourist walking around with their belly nicely oiled and so proudly lifted. It showed every sign of prosperity that the new Indian middle class is now known for. We had some fried fish in the middle of an all-out attack by mosquitoes. The town sounded of prayers at dawn and dusk which is very typical of Tamil Nadu. Singers yell and scream the names of their beloved god as if apocalypse is just few meters away from them. VDhehe found it amusing and at times irritating but the South Indian in me loved it. 

Day 4 was a rest day for many of us. My knees were perfectly alright but a day of rest would have made it even better. Some guys go for a local loop ride whilst others go the water fall. I think I missed it and now I regret not going after looking at all the photos coming out now that the tour is over. Sometimes its good to forget the aero position and gradients and blend in with folks who come out for that extra bit of fun that comes outside of high cadence ride. I spend my Day 4 doing some minor maintenance work on my bike and some usual chit chat. ToT is going strong.

Stage 2: Lonely ride, Descending kolli and Ascending Yercaud, 136 kms

Ha ! the devil that kolli hill was the previous day was settled with one of my best attempts at descending. Descends have never been my strength but I was determined not to be bogged down by the disappointment the previous day. I woke up with a positive frame of mind to use all my skills and experience. I was determined to tackle the rest of the tour. I wanted to get the Day 1 Monkey off my back as soon as possible. The previous evening, Vaz gave us a brief idea of what lies ahead of us on Stage 2. Little did he give us any hint that we are in for some shocker of a climb the following day. I never ever imagined that ToT will soon be one of the toughest tour I have ever done. It would soon prove to be harder than of all TfNs I have done over the past 5 years. I had to use all my experience of Mamil tour's in Sri Lanka.

The knee pain had subsided very much and I was feeling perfectly alright. We had a hearty breakfast following which everyone assembled for the flag off. The ride started off with hard climb of about 2 kms with gradients frequently hitting the high 7-9%. I was one of the last few riders to leave the hotel.  VDHehe decided not to descend the hills that day for reasons only he knows. It would have been one of his first attempts at descending anything other than the local slopes in Bombay. He decides to take the float while I decide to descend. I wanted it badly largely because I had a bad day the day before. I quickly pass many riders and find myself alone. I tackle all 70 hairpins with ease and also give my best attempt to cut corners. Whilst descending I make every attempt to keep my fingers off the brake levers and use them at right places at the right time and well before the turns. I loved every moment of it. I felt confident. I tackle gravel with ease keeping the bike steady and but keeping my body a little loose and not stiff like I usually do. 

I was one of the first riders to hit the base. I soon find Trainer VDHehe waiting for his bike to come in one of the support vehicles. Soon Muthu arrives with another rider whose name I cannot figure. He had his sun glasses on even in pitch darkness. I had my share of shouts and yells for a sprint race with him just to make it exciting. He was a strong rider though. On a lighter note, I thought he descended well throughout as he kept tailing me all the way from the summit right till the base. He later mentioned it was his first attempts at descending and that tailing me was fun. I'm sure it was because I thought I gave my best ever that day. As I hit the base I had a big smile on my face for all the confidence I had negotiating those curves at crazy speed. I wait with VDHehe but he suggests that I continue with my ride and not wait for the bike to arrive. I continued.

At about 50 kms into the ride I pass nearly all who had passed me while I was waiting with Trainer. I pass the spot where we had stopped for a drink the previous day. I passed Sanjay and Anjali and later Muthu. We greet each other at the 1st pit stop. I ride with Sanjay and Anjali for a while tailing them and some times them tailing me. Anjali for me was a top class rider. On the 3rd and last day I rode with them for quite a while. She could just sit there and pedal. Between 50 - 60th kilometer, I thought I saw heaven. I had to stop to take some photos (attached them below). It looked so surreal with the sun light breaking through the cloud cover and Kolli Hills in the background looking stunning. My thoughts kept pondering why despite all talks of illiteracy and apparently un-civilized non-modern way of life in these villages people remain keep their surrounding so free of rubbish and waste. I have never seen roads so kept clean and village boundaries  so pristine and well maintained. 

My knees were feeling brilliant and worries I had the previous day was long gone. I continue my ride for another 10 kms. Soon I'm to figure if knees were an issue the previous day, then going ahead for the rest of the tour, it will be my poor map reading skills. It was so simple to understand but it did throw some surprises. I screamed all kind of fancy words and showered them on everyone right from ToT mechanic, to support staff to tour director. I kept asking what on earth would have happened had they mark the roads for turns. I start my extra-mile a day journey which will become a routine. 

Keeping a firm face and nearly talking to myself I cheer all the kids I pass in tiny villages and take encouragement from them. It intrigued me as everyone wanted to know whether it is was a race. That kept asking 'race aa?'. I would just nod back with a smile. In no time I find a batch of school kids on roadster. They join me for good one kilometer yelling, cheering and shouting in excitement. I let them pull me for a kilometer and we form a good peloton of 10-12 cyclists. I smiled at their happiness and excitement. I wanted to join them in their happiness. Life is so simple. We city folks so adore their lifestyle as they adore our's. Nothing satisfies us and our selfishness is endless. I say bye to their cheers and continue my journey.

At that point I kept convincing myself with the reasons why I left financial market as an analyst. I do not regret that decision to leave the stock indices behind for good and selfishness that controls it. I started thinking about my new life as a teacher and limited market participant as an investor and advisor to some very personal clients. I have found a balance in life. The bank balance do multiply as it did before but now I get to sleep. No one calls me in the middle of night from the Gulf to ask for stock tips. I'm never worried about my client portfolio tanking. My worries are now shared well between me and my investor clients. With this thought I was convinced life is beautiful. It is now 68 kms and I take this magnificent piece of earthly art.

I soon complete the village road and hit the national highway. The village sound disappeared and now I was surrounded by fast moving vehicles. I'm 75 kms into my ride inching closer and closer to Yercaud. Then, there it is ! A slow puncture ! I quickly get off the saddle with a little worry because my frame pump was not that good. I knew I was way ahead of others and it will be some time before support arrives. I quickly change the tube and slowly start pumping air. The pump has spoiled the presta valve several times before so I was little apprehensive of getting the right PSI with force. I decided to wait for help while I chew on my packet of dry fruits. I knew Muthu is behind and so is Sanjay and Anjali and that help will soon arrive.

Waiting for about 30 odd mins I finally see Sanjay and Anjali. I ask them for the pump but sadly they say negative. Sanjay was kind enough to give the valve adaptor which he suggests I use at the local tyre puncture shop. I find one at close distance and ask for pump. The mechanic there look confused. He could fix only motor flats. I wait for 10 mins and then Ayyanar shows up in the form of two riders returning from a 200 BRM. Venkatesh Duraiswamy, one of the BRM riders, stop by seeing me in the repair shop. They were not part of the ToT. They stopped to help me. They even take the pain of filling air in my tube. We greet each other. I thank them for their help.

Now, good 45 mins have gone and finally I'm back on the saddle. I continue my journey and now have to look for a place called Ayodhyapattinam. The ride briefing spoke of a fork junction and then a right turn. Never in my thought I would have guessed that right turn to be an ordinary one typical of a village road so hidden. I missed it. I continue riding on the highway expecting the right turn to show up but it never did. I sense trouble as Salem appeared getting closer and closer.  I remembered from the briefing that we are not to go anywhere close to Salem but to stay on that highway. I figure at the restaurant that I'm 40 odd kms from Salem. I tell myself reaching Salem would have meant me packing my bike and heading home. I was angry.

I stop at a local restaurant by the roadside and ask for directions. I figured I'm good 5 kms off the right turn which I was supposed to take. Now, I got to ride 5 kms back with madness of a headwind still not knowing where the turn is. 10 kms added to my day. A local villager shows me the road but I'm unconvinced. It cannot be that kind of road. I wait the fork junction for 10-15 mins for someone to turn up. No one did. I take the gamble and continue as the villager suggested. I soon find Siva, Jothi, Sapeksh, Venkat all on my tail. I get a sense of relief. It is now more than an hour of ridiculous waits and wrongful direction. 

I had kind of lost all interest in the day ahead. I wanted to finish the day. Finally, VDHehe and me reach the foot hill of Yercaud. Bhaskar and Sapeksh is ahead of us. I started my climb with them. I see the sign board put up by Team Mongrels inviting ToT for a stop over. I feel good on the climb, as always and soon pass VDHehe, Sapeksh and Bhaskar. I'm nearly 10 kms in the climb with my mind tired. I soon pass Mr. Sunglasses and after a while I get yelled over by some guys saying "pambu'. It meant snake ! I was so tired and disinterested with the ride that I did not see the snake. I turn my head to see and there it is ! A snake all coiled up and in attacking position.

I was totally disinterested and continued. The climbing continues and I finally reach the pit stop set up by Team Mongrel. I have paneer sandwich and water. I ask them about the distance left. I get told 11 kms. I exchange my greetings and continue after 10 mins break. The shocker of a climb is yet to come. Its shame no one bothered to take a photo of that 2 kms long zig zag monster of a climb. I could manage only a few meters and then I find myself to have almost zero cadence. I put my foot down. I decide to walk the distance. I could see Muthu following me. He too tries his best to climb but falls off his saddle. He walks a fair distance. The entire kilometer or two long climb at minimum gradient of 10% or more and at a fair distance at over and above 15-16%. I have never climbed that gradient before. I do not regret putting my foot down.

Once the hard part was done, more correctly, walked, we get back on the saddle for the rest of the climb. Muthu and I chase each other for 7 odd kms to Hotel Tamil Nadu which was by the lake side. We ask for directions and get told kilometer to eternity. During the course of the tour, I make a decision to go and check the state's school books on distance. Any attempt to ask for distance and direction gets a standard reply. It is 'one kilometer' and that 'one' kilometer is indefinite and infinite. It is now around 5 pm. We have finally reached the hotel. I see Sanjay and Anjali very close to the hotel eating or drinking something. I wave my hand and continue. I'm closely followed by Muthu. Destination is reached.

Stage 2 is 140 kms long (128 kms as per the ride docket) with 1833 meters of climb which is good 450 meters more than what was planned for the stage. Thanks to my detour and all the to's & fro's I did to find my way. Stage 3 is all fun and roadie fury ! Guess what ? I sleep tight and about my knee pain (?). Well, it is all gone.

The link to Stage 2 ride - http://www.strava.com/activities/102774659

The link to Stage 1 ride - http://www.strava.com/activities/102774660

ToT Stage 1: The Flag off, Elaneer, Knee Pain, Kolli Hills and 132 kms

The tour is about to begin. The hard work over the past 3 months will finally come out with its verdict – Am I fit enough to be riding the ToT ? Two days prior to the tour all felt good and healthy. The legs had over 12 metric centuries to boast of and some very hard ones going up the Kharghar Hills.

Everything fell apart in the evening 3 days prior to the departure date when I nearly slipped and hit my knee on the sofa. I have my cats – Dupli & Dukli to thank for that. At that point I figured what they meant by the phrase “billi ne rasta kat diya”. I tried to avoid stepping on Dupli, the adorable cat, but in doing so I end up with my left knee hitting the sofa arm rest. Over the next two days the pain get worse as I feared it might come to haunt me over the next 10 days or so. I sent a text message to Trainer VDHehe telling him about the exuberating pain in my left knee. He suggested that I buy the crepe band. I did so and thankfully the pain subsided by the day of departure.

Tour of Tamil Nadu is now go on the 22^nd of December. All the riders assembled for the flagging off ceremony which was done by the district collector. 

We were all set to start the tour. The day’s goodie bag included dry fruits of every kind, Gatorade, cereal energy bars and Enerzal powder. I started off the tour with just a sweet pain which slowly vanished as the legs got warmer and the mind very busy with all the chit chats and greets.  ToT surprised us by giving us high quality hydration water pack, puncture kit, frame pump and head lights sponsored by Fuji and Pro-Bikers of Chennai.

We leave the hotel at 8:00 am. Surprisingly, it did not feel hot at all which indeed was my prime concern for the tour. I had experienced the Jaffna heat early this year and kind of expected the same. Oh boy, did it burn ? Initially, it was I and Trainer who would be ride buddies but quickly the peloton fell apart and I found myself all by myself. I rode along River Cauvery and went past some very beautiful villages and those typical conical shaped temples of Tamil Nadu.

 It amused me endlessly to see those very angry deities armed with all kind of weapons at every village or farm boundary wall. They had so much anger in their protruding eyes and tongue hanging out as if the great goddess kali have possessed them, I figure later through some of my friends that they are called Ayyanars. I would come across many over the next few days. From my friends, I also figure that they are meant to be protector of villages and their ever-so-precious wealth in the form of farm produce.

In no time, I started passing all the MTBers and for some reasons I find VDHehe missing in all the action. I continue riding along the river only to find myself right in the front. One interesting thing about the ToT was the organizer’s firm belief in not marking roads with paint, unlike TfN. I tried to fall back and join the rest as I did not want to get lost on the 1^st day itself. Ironically, I get tagged later as the ‘rider who rode 5-10 kms extra daily’. The ride docket had all information on the ride distance, elevation profile shown in percentages to show how much of the climbs have been covered and also the turns we need to take. I tied to make sense of the ride docket. 

Finally, I catch up with Venkat and Jothi who were the lead riders. I join them as the 3^rd rider but vary of doing any pace lines with them as I did not know their riding skills and abilities. How would I have guessed at that point that they would soon be my rider partners for the rest of the tour ? I am known to be a poor starter during a tour like TfN or ToT. Soon, it became apparent that all roadies have now formed the pack and we all assembled on the bridge that took us to the other side of Cauvery. We stop to take photos.

I find VDHehe show up with Muthu, Siva  and the rest. The pace slowly picks up and it now becomes apparent that there will be some fast riding. The pain in my knee is now showing signs of a come back. I drop my chain to easier gears as I did not want to aggravate it with fast pace ride.

Distance crumbles under our pedal strokes. We hit a bad patch of road and it continues for good 10 odd kms. My knee start showing unease and the pain is back. I continue riding but start worrying as we get closer and closer to our destination – Kolli Hills. I figure from the ride docket that it will be 22 kms long climb with an average gradient of 4.3% and 70 hair pins. The bounces off the road begin to hurt. We stop at a village looking for some coconut water – called ‘elaneer’ in local language. We ride a kilometer or more looking for some. We have taken a kilometer long detour. It is now around 2pm and everyone starts asking for food. I start asking for elaneer on the pretext of taking some rest for my knee.

We stop by a village. The view of the mountain ahead of us was just too beautiful to ignore. We stop by to take some photos. 

As we were about to start, VDHehe shows up finally. He had a flat and that kept him way behind us. We take turns to motivate each other to bring us to the base of Kolli Hills. By this time, I knew I will have a tough climb ahead of me. My knee was hurting a lot. The Chennai boys stop by to eat dosas and are soon joined by one and all. I and VDHehe decide not to eat and eat bananas and drink lemon water. The salted lemon juice was a relief to have.

I was one of the first to leave the base to hit the summit. I start my journey along with Bhaskar. The first 10 kms go without any incident and surprisingly the pain vanishes. 70 odd hairpin bend works as a mind game. I continue my climb with a good pace and I soon find myself climbing at ease. 12 kms are gone and I look down to see how much I have climbed. The garmin shows about 900 odd meters. Feeling confident and the eagerness to finish the day, I get out of my saddle to tackle some tough gradient over 8-9% and hairpins which were at very close proximity. I think it should not have been done.

Within another 1-2 kms into the climb following the out of the saddle sprint, I suddenly sense a sharp pain under my left knee cap as if someone has thrusted a blunted object. I nearly fall off my bike as I could not pedal anymore and the pace drops. I naturally un-cleat my left shoes first and this time I could not do it as my left knee was completely wrecked. I un-cleat my right shoes and come off the bike. I was worried all of a sudden. No way, I wanted to the tour to go bad for me on day one itself. I wait for a few minutes too find Bhaskar coming up and then Trainer VDHehe.

Both of them pass me and I could hear VDHehe shouting at me for stopping. I tell him about the pain but he yells back saying if I continue waiting there I might very well wait in the same spot for the rest of the evening. I gather some courage and sit on the saddle. I somehow pedal for a kilometer and look at my garmin. I see I have 5-6 kms more to go. I hear grunts and scream by VDHehe in the distance. I then find him stopping and I ask him what the matter is. He just nods and continues to climb. Seeing him stop, I too get tempted to stop, which I did. I feel thirsty but I have no water. I forgot to refill my water bottle at the base. Ayyanar, the village protector is not happy with me. Everything is falling apart.

Bhaskar sensing I need help stops and offers me some water. I tell him about the pain. Being a physio himself, he helps me with the cramp which started appearing around my left knee. He makes me do some stretch which really worked. I now look at both of them for inspiration. I hear VDhehe grunting again. I start the climb and start talking to myself. My garmin now shows 10 kms to destiny and 2 odd kms to the summit. I gather some strength and reach the summit. On the summit I’m greeted by long 2-3 kms long descent and the around 2 kms long climb with average gradient of over 8%. I just wanted to finish my day, gulps my saliva, abuses Ayyanar and spins my way up. I felt very glad that I have made it up and more glad that VDHehe pulled me up. His grunts pulled me up. Bhaskar’s offer of water pulled me up.

I felt proud that Trainer has dropped me on the climb. He gave me 9 mins on the climb. I find him at the entrance of the hotel. I hug him and wish him on his great climb. The lad who started riding a decent bike just 6 months ago set the best time on HC climb. He had tears in his eyes. He breaks down. I would tell him to sit and watch me climb Kharghar. I would tell him to watch me climb NH8 and Godbhunder. He would get dropped in matter of seconds in Bombay. I felt he couldn’t climb.

Not now though. He delivered where it mattered the most. I knew at that very moment that Trainer has come of age and he is no longer the guy who would cut short his ride on the NH8 every time we rode together with other Bombay lads. He couldn’t keep pace with us on his BSA. We would disappear into the horizon and turn back to catch up with him. He would turn back earlier. He nailed the Kolli Hills and left his mark there. It is now on record that he gave me 9 mins on a HC climb.

The facebook update that evening read something like this on my wall – ‘Dandekar Vaibhav leaves his mark on Kolli Hills. He is the man’. Good work there my friend. And how does it go for me after that ? I have the best tour of my life. The knee pain will eventually go away and I’m on my way up. No gradient mattered to me anymore. I cracked one and all.

ToT is ON.

Tour of Tamil Nadu 2013, Embarking to Trichy on Day 0.

Facebook ! what is life without "FB" these days, a place where you are most likely to meet friends (and some wanna-be's) who have long gone from our lives as we add another year to our life. The status message on my FB page on the 21st December 2013 read something like this - "Good night folks ! When some of you guys wake up to go to work on a Saturday morning tomorrow I'm gonna be sitting in Trichy assembling my bike for the Tour of Tamil Nadu, 1000 kms + in 8 days. Have a great weekend !" I was excited.

I waited at the airport for my training buddy, henceforth he will be referred to as Trainer, Vaibhav Dandekar. It was hard 6 months of training which included close to 3 full months of trainer miles owing to monsoon in Bombay and then very unsystematic intervals and endurance workout. Trainer VDHehe worked dedicatedly on the trainer program which I had used for the UWCI race in Sri Lanka. I followed it for a month and then had to abandon it due to whole lot of travel which included a trip to Kerala and Bhutan. After the 1st month - October, I decided to work more on the endurance than speed and intervals as ToT was never meant to be a race and more of an endurance ride of more than 100 kms almost everyday. 

We had limited place to train in Bombay for many reasons - some just obvious. I loved the NH8 but detested going there through the Western Express Highway. I never came back home happy every time I took my bike there but nevertheless those long rides did do some good in terms of fun. Trainer and I would go to Kharghar Hills despite the odds of having very poor road there. Over the 3 months prior to the tour, I rode 100 kms on every given occasion. In no time, i was getting closer and closer to the 10,000 kms of mileage I had planned for the calender year. The apprehension were always there knowing fully that I have gotten closer to 10k kms but fell shy by a small margin. I may be the only one of all my cycling friends who never ever had 10k kms to my credit. My brother have had 10,000 miles, forget kilometers, for the past 4 year. Trainer and I had the miles to talk of but never the elevation profile. The less is said of 'so-called climbs' here, the better. It is an embarrassment to even talk about it. I have 2 - very short 1.5 kms long climb on the JVLR close to my house which averages around 3.5% gradient. I would sit and climb it. JVLR has been my hill training and I for one will always look at it with roadie love for climbs. I trained on it again, again and again.

The time is 6:00 am on the 21st and we have an early morning flight to catch to Trichy via Chennai. I meet trainer at the airport and there we are standing in queue with our over sized luggage. We check-in with small hiccup. Trainer had an expensive bottle of degreaser. He had to leave it at the airport for his wife to pick it up.

We sit in the aircraft with our Iphones glued to the ears. He tried to drop me with AC/DC and I repeatedly tried (also succeeded) to drop him with Pink Floyd and Metallica. Trainer was pretty amused to see my Iphone casing which I had so loving purchased to secure my device. It was disgraceful so to say that I had a Samsung cover for an Iphone. So much for my dislike for Samsung and that oh-so-ugly whistling ring tone it comes with. We reach Trichy airport on time and then prepare to collect our bikes. Co-incidentally we meet Sapeksh who flew in from Delhi but took the same flight as we did from Chennai. We see another bike case and knew someone has come over for the ToT. We immediately greet each other and that friendship will soon become strong that 3 of us along with other three riders Bangalore soon form a team that will bond together for the rest of the tour. 

On reaching Hotel Tamil Nadu, our host at most of the places we will soon visit, we meet Vasanth (Vaz) and the rest of the gang from ToT core team. We meet Suresh who provided all the help needed for bike maintenance. Suresh is gem of person we met on the tour though I knew who he was. I figure he happens to be a bike dealer and fellow biker. I have had him as friends on FB initially but later removed him and nearly everyone from my friends list as I want to purge many I do not know or have met personally. There are too many waiting to be friends just because we all enjoy the saddle and soreness on the bum. I made him a follower initially but now very happy to add him as friends again. He was great to talk with and very soft spoken person. Good to have good friends again.

Trainer and I get to our rooms after a hearty meal which included Pepper Chicken and Egg Fried Rice. We quickly set up our bikes for the tour and then go down to meet our fellow riders. I would be BSing if I say I was confident of this tour. There was never any kind of updates on the recce or any information on the tour. Both of us were very apprehensive till we go to meet Vaz. We were very surprised to see efficiency with which they were sorting all the logistics, rider cards and all other goodies which would later be distributed to us. I was very happy to see the rider dockets prepared with so much relevant and useful information that the first hint of apprehension was beginning to disappear. 

We were feeling more and more confident of the tour and felt very good about it. Later in the evening we are briefed of what lies ahead of us for the next 8 days - the day profile on elevation and destination. On the seeing the ride info it still did not sync in that this tour is going to be 'the best' biking tour I have ever done in India. It did not throw any surprises at that point in time. It is only later that we figure that we are in for some tuff days ahead and some ridiculously beautiful places in Tamil Nadu. It was just surreal. Vaz was a delight to hear with his ever-so calm way of presenting the day ahead to us. His words never at any one moment had any word of caution or doubt. He gave us very good description of the route right from distance, what to watch out for and the elevation profile. Elevation part was a little discrete on every briefing but when the moment came to experience the gradient, it was filled by surprises and awe. The tour was tuff and we had no sense of it till we started the day.

It is now the 22nd of December and 6:00am in the morning. The alarm rings and there we go again. The Tour of Tamil Nadu is about to begin. We have breakfast, the bikes comes out of our rooms and we all assemble. The thought process now go into nostalgia as I gather the happenings of the days and moment. Let the wheels roll and ToT is all go.

Scaling the Eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu - ToT 2013 Part One

The year 2013 started off with a single intention of riding the magical number of 10,000 kms on the saddle. As many would know I have been riding a bicycle for over 5 years now. The two-wheeled mechanical object which is often referred to as BSO in the cycling community here in India (no, mine is not an BSO) has been truly inspiring and soothing to the mind but the magical mileage have always eluded me. The year, so far, has been good. As I seek the words to draft this prose I figure I am just 750 kms away from that ambition and I have got 15 days to achieve it.

It was a big move on my part to not ride the TfN 2012 for the 5th time in a row. I would call it a big move as I would have been the only cyclist to have ridden all 5 editions and that too in a row. The tour has gone on from being a very amateurish event to a cycling tour that includes some serious gradients, great people and some hard competitive sections. My mind was prepared to finish 2012 on a high with my first 10,000 kms but it was not to be. I finished it with 9111 kms. Yet so close, yet so far once again. 

2013 it is and another year with targets and achievements. Mind was fresh from the fact that I had a new job at the Bombay Stock Exchange. Life felt a little more secured with the new job sending my bank balance in blue and of course the thought of seeing my beloved 1200 with new armory. 'How and what do I do to get to 10,000 kms ?' - the question kept cropping up in my mind and then there it is - the ANSWER.  The answer came from the MAMILs. I figure as I look back into my biking days I have done 8 biking tours across South of India, Pune and Sri Lanka. All of these tours have been a learning curve from every biking perspective. The tour took me to Sri Lanka on 3 occasions - twice to mountains of Hatton and the fabled Nuwera Eliya. It is fabled because the mountains of Nuwera Eliya talks of the monkey god who went about burning the golden abode of the demon king Ravana. It felt fabled because it felt like those crazy boulder rock mountains of Avatar.

Sometime during the middle days of January 2013, I get a message from my brother on facebook asking about my interests to participate in UWCT Sri Lanka Asian Bicycle Championship. The heart was feeling the excitement of starting the year 2013 with a bang. 10,000 kms will be achieved this around. However, the first reaction to his suggestion was certainly not that of shock nor did it send a shiver down my spine. I just felt nothing because to feel anything, you got to have a sense of reality and at that point in time, the sense of reality did not make any appearance in my head, in my thoughts. I readily agreed not fully realizing what I have agreed to do. Next thing I know it I have a 3 month training program that required from some deep painful time on the saddle. I decided to give it my 100%. It would have been 3 days stage race with 125 odd kms road race followed by 25 odd kms Time Trial and then 50 odd kms Crit in Colombo.

Nights were spent thinking about what lies ahead of me in the morning the next day. Studiously, all the workouts were followed and in no time I could sense my intensity, heart and of course the speed,  increasing. The initial training was on those fat 32C tyres that came with my ADDICT CX bike. I took the wild decision to continue training on it for full 2 months as I felt the rolling resistance coming off the road coupled with the headwind and determination would get me closer and closer to the magical 40 kmph. Then came the big move – I shifted to 23C amidst fear that whether I would succeed in reaching that 40 kmph benchmark. The legs did not disappoint. 11 kms TT was ridden at 41 kmph. 11 kms may be too short but any distance longer than that would have sent me straight in KEM hospital’s ICU ward. I ride in Mumbai, another fabled city. I felt satisfied and ready for the tour.

Then came the biggest shocker of all. The UCWT race stands postponed indefinitely and eventually canceled. Disappointed ? Oh hell yeah but sad ? Certainly a big NO. MAMIL tour of Jaffna was in store and it did happen. 

Been Thinking...

Here I am after over 2 years back on the blogging arena. The interest and the passion for writing kept going for a toss as the life took new steps and new challenges. Challenges that are sometime heartening and sometimes the exact opposite. The first of the steps taken was to read some of the few comments that my readers left behind on my old blogs. One of which asked me whether I plan to restrict myself to just cycling related blogs. Now, here is the new challenge, a smaller one though, facing me now at this moment. Damn ! just when I thought I have enough tasks to worry about but hey why not ?

Well ! To answer that question - Do I plan to restrict myself to just cycling related blog ? The answer could be "yes" but with a fair bit of hesitation. For now and for a change, let me reflect on the past 2 years that I have lived away from the blog-world and alike. The two years or so since the great disappearance a lot has changed. The big one is that I am now not one but two. Yeah ! I got married with a lovely woman from my homeland a.k.a from Kerala, the God's Own Country. The God's Own Country gave me my partner-in-crime for the years to come and of course for what is left of my life to live. The big move I have done is return to my motherland.

Oh ! Homeland and motherland, you must be wondering.

No need to run for the dictionary as these words mean the same but have it own distinct place in my books because the former is my place of origin and the latter is my place of belonging. Confused, again ?

The past two years were spent corrupting those honest but devilish aam-admi-farmers-with-devilish-horns to part with their hard earned money into this new world order of manipulative-but-admired stock market. Two years were spent traveling across the South of India to some tiny villages which boasted of having stock exchange terminals with broadband connectivity which allowed them ownership of some top company. Let us not talk about the blackberrys and other smart phones carrying bullock cart mounted farmers from these villages who boasted of technology to do with everything but not water. I loved it for the convenience part (the city devil is smiling inside me) because I could report back to my higher-ups back in Cochin but at the same time felt a sense of sadness. The sound of rattling bells on the goat neck and the smell of burning cow dung and the smoke were soon becoming an over-admired folklore item, like in thousand or so "India-the shinning village" travel literature novels in Central London big book shops.

The big move was a difficult choice. The homeland and motherland factor question was indeed a difficult one but in the end the latter won. It has been 4 months since I have moved back. The 4 months have been the longest I have spent in my city since the even bigger move to London in 2003. The last 9 years have brought me back to the city of dreams (or is it "city that never sleeps", never mind) several times but only for few days which was just not enough to catch up on the senti-memory part or the custom of standing and eating the customary vada-pav backed chit-chats. But all is well that ends well and I am here to make and take the best of what is left of this once shocking but much-loved and admired city - The CITY of BOMBAY.... errr Mumbai, else I have been warned by my wife as I write it here ! These nationalistic souls.... !!!

For the meanwhile, the crank is ready and the cleated shoes awaits for the year ahead...