The draft kings and Mullayanagiri -- a Mystique !!!

About the Bikes 

Sometimes sanity takes over and this turned out to be one of the days where I managed to get back to the stock Kenda's and handed the 'famed' Vittoria Rubino back to the owner. The other repaired rubino [ due to a 3mm tear, only clocked 150 kms :-( ] was kept purely as a spare. Major also had fixed his torn front tyre and it held good throughout the trip. My flat fixing ordeal always was a concern throughout the trip. None of the spares were used this time. All 4 had a wonderful time with this trip. What? 4 riders? Who were the other two? My American rubie and the GIANT TCR3 from Taiwan. The fear of flat had made a dent in my confidence levels. So the puncture free ride was probably a dream ride. Looks like my Rubie didn't like the new shoes (Rubino) and was happy to chug along with the Kenda.

The goof-up.
I had agreed to meet major at "The Capitol" on Raj Bhavan Road. This I completely forgot and was waiting at Mekhri Circle which originally was the rendezvous point.

The Trip

With my earlier failed solo attempt ( can be considered as a recce) to tame the mullayanagiri, my calves were yearning to take on the challenge. But this time, I with me a superb companion Major srinivas. A strong rider with a great attitude. My last ride proved to be a recce as I knew the route, conditions and the points for a 'pitstop'. The restlessness took its toll on me as I had quite a lot of unfinished business to take care of so I can have an uninterrupted peaceful trip. Managed to do the last minute shopping for spare tubes and also got the regular patch kit with the omnipatches. I got delayed due to work at office and reached home only by about 9pm. When I called Major, he was skeptical whether it was the right time to start because ::

1. He was expecting a call before 9pm so we could "Start" at 9. But we managed a start with about a 40 minute delay.

2. The front tyre had a tear which had been fixed by Major. ( which I wasn't worried too much as i was better equipped this time. A spare Rubino + 2 spare tubes + the rugged omnipatches.)

3. Not much rest/sleep that day so even I had only a 4 hours sleep the night before. 

Left the choice to Major. After contemplating our options for stay, places of visit for about 2 mins, Major let out the golden words "Lets do it". So this probably was the quickest I ever got ready. 15 mins flat from a weary IT guy to an fully recharged roadie in the complete roadie attire. This time I had companion to trouble, to make fun of, to be made fun of, someone - I could have a conversation with to kill the solitude on the highway in utter darkness. Now that we started late, we maintained a steady average till Hassan turnoff at Nelamangala. The road is bad for about 3-4 kms from IISC till the Jalahalli turnoff. I thought he woudl get the same asklen headlights like the trip to yercaud but there was a secret weapon in his arsenal. A miners headlight. A neat design where the belts easily mounted on the helmet and you get to see where you move your head. They worked like focus lights and in the utter darkness of the NH-48 major had fun enlightening things with his "supernatural" power.The Ultrafire on my Rubie worked their magic just like the last time. Super bright and any vehicle in the opposite lane that was in high beam immediately showed respect the moment I switched to flash mode which was very bright and irritating. Heck, even the Hella's on my car didn't create this kind of effect. We drafted for a about 10 kms at 46kph+. The first stop was about 20 kms into the Hassan highway from Nelamangala. We had Banaca. What is that? You probably must've googled that by now.  Simply put it is ( Banana + Limca). After the energizer a little beyond Kunigal, we then caught up a loaded truck KA-19 22xx. He was going at an easy pace and we eased up to 40km+ to reach bellur cross. The roads till here are 4-laned. Beyond this it is a roadie's nighmare. A surprise awaited Major as we neared the Bellur cross for a break at CCD. We settled in quick and placed an order for a capuchino, a hot chocolate and a spinach corn sandwich. There, a boy who works as waiter recoganized and pipped " Saar neevu hoda vaara bandrallva ?" translates to  >> You came here the last weekend ... right? Major was sipping on capuchino and immediately stopped. He was dumbstruck as he slowly turned towards me and said "You rode to chikmagalur the last weekend? There was another lighning bolt when he heard that it was a solo trip. It was no more a secret. The failed attempt proved a recce so I was better equipped for this trip. The major concern, I was the lonely rider on the Blr-Mlr highway. Probably I reset the levels of 'madness' in adventure cycling. Read about my earlier attempt here :: Recce -Chikamagalur.

Our tummies topped up and happy we moved slowly and caught up with another truck for about 3-4 kms and soon I saw the distressing sign. "Toll Road Ends !! "  A roadie's nightmare. We continued to draft the truck and my first 18650 battery which was used during the last trip was almost depleted and I couldn't see clearly. Just at that thought I went over a pothole. What a shudder it was!!. I didn't want to take any risk and we let the truck go ahead and I changed the battery. What a mighty difference it made. Yet again we caught up with another truck and I stuck to the leftmost lane. If you've ever travelled to tiruvannamalai then you could probably fathom the condition of the roads.The patches were in a constant progression. So I decided to look at the truck's headlight which illuminated and follow it from the extreme left. There was smooth tarmac only in the centre of the road or between the patchwork and the edge of the road (I'd say about 15-20cms). Major held on to the right wheel of the truck and I gingerly stuck to the left.  It was about 4AM when we reached CR patna. ( Channarayapatna ) and we were on the lookout for Tea or coffee stalls. I didn't have any hopes of finding it this early. But there was a jaggery market where just outside the compound like the yeshwantpur yard we found a stall and many people had queued. Some questions were evident to follow. Where from.. where to.. why ... !! Anything feels divine to the tastebuds after an exhausting ride. Staying alert on a night ride is taxing on the brain and for the eyes.

The stop replenished our senses and we soon set off for Hassan. We were on a rolling terrain.. just like hosur krishnagiri but a little more greener and the road cuts thru small hills.  Tarmac conditions were very good and the Sun peeked ever so gently atop every hill we climbed. It was almost like the sun was saying " I see you!!" 

Turned right towards Belur road at Hassan. There is a Nandini parlour where I had a forced stop to have my craving for buttermilk satisfied. 

Major probably was wondering this guy must be nuts. Early morning and butter milk? What will he sip in the hot afternoon? Hot cuppa coffee or T ? But that was not enough. As major had his share of Badam Milk I returned the second pack of buttermilk and replaced it with badam milk. So 2 bottles of Badam milk and a butter milk to put a smile on my face like the picture of the happy cow on the bottle.

I kept pointing out to the places like they were the burial grounds Tutankhamun of some great prince places where I ended up having flat. We soon reached the Belur road. To describe it... It was a perfect place to hold a Team Time Trial. 40 kms of Bliss with just a few speedbreakers. All the right ingredients on that stretch of 38 kms. Lovely green fields on either sides. And towards the finish err.. i mean near belur you also get to see a mountain with windmills and a beautiful lake. right opposite to that a huge layout that looks setup for terraced farming. From Belur to chikmagalur the roads worsened and some places they were non-existent. My kenda's have come this far so another torture track I don't mind. Chances of a flat I really didn't bother. Soon we entered the town of Chikamagalur. A small lively place and we headed straight for the town canteen for breakfast or call it a brunch. Only when we reached we found that it was closed on saturday. Dejected we turned back to eat at another hotel. Food palace I think. 4 Idlis for me, poori and idly vada for Major. It was necessary if we were to climb mullayanagiri. After the breakfast we left for Mullayanagiri and the climb very gentle and enjoyable. Every cyclist who fancies an uphill climb MUST make this a part of his "Bucket List". The gradient is relenting unlike the Ooty/yercaud or even the Nandi for that matter. is not heavy on legs or heart or head. The humungous tall trees lined up on one side like giant pillars and the other side is a steep hill and plenty of tracks to trek to the summit. The hill has an eerie feel if you decide to climb at night..!! We took about an hour and 20 mins to climb which is actually a lot because we climbed at a very easy pace. I was about to get back to my friend who said "be careful as there are very steep hairpins.!!" But by the time we were near the last 2 kms mark I could see why.  Omni was running out of steam. Tempo travellers had to use the momentum to propel them forward. If they stop then only first gear would help and no chance of an upshift. For us Draft kings..the poori and idlis propelled the 60-70 kg mass with vengeance. Only 2 sqare cms' of rubber to hold onto for dear life. One side there is a deep valley and hardly any chance of a recovery if you fall. I stand corrected. The last two kms are the most treacherous and have to be taken cautiously. It is better to be safe than sorry!!!! 

Time to celebrate the feat by finishing the Gatorade and some victory snaps. Two places in this world where I simply love to be... a hilltop surrounded by the green carpet or a beach. I'd prefer to come back to this place again with no second thoughts..!! Totally worth the dreary night ride from Bangalore. 

The real adventure starts now that we've completed the climb. What else do we got to see in Chikmagalur? Head back to the town canteen as that was our city centre. By the time we reached the base it was about 1:30 and to our amazement, we saw that the canteen was open. A quick chat with owner and we got a route map (Strictly not to be scaled) ... ( I'm serious don't ignore me). Had a refreshing pepsi while Major had a luncheon. 

I simply didn't have the appetite for any more intake. Looking at the map we saw that Hirekolale lake was about 4 kms from the canteen. ( Again 4 kms as per the map). I had read about this lake and the picture looked good in Team BHP. Soon we left canteen and on our way to the lake. I must say one of the worst and horrible roads for 2 kms and the roadbikes did fantabulously fantastic. Then it was a patchy ride for about 6 kms to the lake. There was a pier and a water control tower which was more like a romantic spot because if you looked at the roof top all the names of the Lailas n their Majnus were scribbled. Major was so tired that he immediately went to sleep. I just gazed upon the lake and absorbed some beautiful sounds from a bird that was perched right atop the shelter where we rested. Spent a good 3 hours and about 5:30pm we started for chikmagalur. One of the best pics from my mobile camera ever captured is the town bus on the periphery of the lake with the dense tree cover behind the bus and mountains on the top. The amazing cover was the reflection of all of these on the lake. Thanks to Major for pointing it out in time. Sometimes beauty of simple things in life is missed by the busy and inquisitive mind hence can be relived only through pictures.

Soon it was time to return to Chikmagalur and the trouble was we still had 6 hours to go before we could board the bus back to bangalore. We booked a Mercedes Benz coach which was the only one at night. There were Rajahamsa's and Sarige's but we didn't want to take chances of causing damage on our bikes. Not knowing what to do we headed back to the town canteen and had coffee. Every time Major pulled out the map I went Not again. Not willing to take a room/lodge as it might turn out to be expensive affair for just 4 hours. Troubled my CKM friends I made during my earlier trip and spoke to Junaid who came up with an ingenious idea. Stay at CCD and sip a cold coffee till 10pm @ CCD. So off we went I quickly changed to my bermuda and t-shirt and settled in the couch. We were the only ones in the CCD and then came the next shocker. The outlet was to be open only till 8pm. But looking at the crowd that poured in after 7 we were happy to spend time till about 9:30. We left for the bus stand and saw our bus parked in the corner and the conductor looked like a shrewd character. He managed to take a test ride on Major's bike as we tried hard to convince him it was dangerous. He then agreed that the seat was higher and he can't. He was hardly 5'6".  That bugger managed to take 200 for the luggage.

Once our bikes were loaded in the spacious compartments and secured with the colorful tags from a nearby textile store, the wait began for the conductor to open the door and let us in. At about 11:30 we finally sat in the bus and I was surprised as to the legroom when compared to a volvo. Mercedes Benz is a lot more spacious than a Volvo but the fact remains the comfort of a Volvo is unparalleled.Reached Bangalore in 4 hours.  All I remember is closing my eyes and when I opened I see "Rajajinagar" in the sign boards.

Bikes off the bus and we soon reached cubbon park where we parted ways. As it is said an empty brain is a devil's workshop and Major already had ignited a spark with the next trip one. All is well that ends well... but here there are miles to ride before the end of this year..!!

Life-cycle at the Bus-stand

When was the last time you looked at the bustling people traffic and the various activities that go on. Major decided to explore something new. He saw a "topi wala" or the "seat catcher" just because he was wearing a cap and mostly swinging it around his index finger. With every bus that had a crowd waiting, he drops the cap on the window seat and offers it for willing passengers for a meagre fee. Major requested him for a seat to Mangalore and he gladly agreed and when he asked for how much he gave a gingerly smile as if it was social service. !! And then there was a couple (looked like farmers) where initially the farmer had the situation under control. The luggage ( sacks of something) were being loaded on the top of the bus. Half the luggage was loaded when the bus started and was about to reverse. A shriek from the lady got her husband back to senses and he quickly loaded the rest of the luggage in a jiffy. Major and I burst out laughing. This is called empowerment ...!!!

24 hrs 325kms
Total time on saddle -17hrs.

Photolog