The work schedule gets more hectic, very few hours in a day to pursue interests. I managed to register on the last day of the close of registrations to this brevet and the idea was to ride with one of the great Brevet riders, Sohan. One great rider with many jewels to his crown but this will be documented in another blog. Surprises to be saved for a later, greater blog. The thought of riding an all nighter during summer was exciting. Usually i'd keep my eyes off any brevet during summer as i don't want look like a penguin post such rides. This was one of the first of its kind where the start was at 8pm and ends at 9.30 the next morning. One of the goals for me on this ride was eat well hydrate in a timely m and ride easy.13.5hrs as the target didn't seem to be a far cry for a rider who's not new to randonneuring.
Whats a ride without a sudden dose of adrenalin. 3-4hrs before the ride i get a message that there are mechanical issues with sohan's bike so i'm a little disappointed and ready to drop the plan. As he got busy trying to figure out a solution to the problem, i suggested that he try riding the MTB. A crazy idea nevertheless. Whats crazy about riding an MTB you wonder .. Well, the secret is, it isn't the right frame size. (21.5" and the fit for me was 19.5"). Keen on not wasting anymore valuable time we quickly prepped the bikes and headed for the start point. The beauty of a brevet is that it is never cancelled due to 'bad' weather. Rain or shine you waterproof yourself as much as possible and set off. We reached the start point and finished formalities by 8.50pm. Many had already started and we saw a few on their way. It had drizzled some parts of the city. Looked like weather gods were happy with the turnout for this event. Sohan and I started about 50 mins late and rode with a steady pace till we hit mysore road and then the chatty ride with intermittent breaks ensured mind and tummy both were happy. We reached the control at u-turn point at 2am. Pulpy orange really did refresh my senses and i soon was ready for the return leg. Being a Saturday night, there was hardly any traffic and for some stretches, it was empty with only a moonlit night and the flashlights working their magic illuminating the highway. The weather stayed cool and i settled into a rhythm and was humming different numbers that i would've otherwise listened on my mp3 player had i brought it along. We managed to finish the ride by 8.36AM.
The list of finishers >> https://brevetmgr.appspot.com/brevet/may2014-mandya/results
Whats a ride without a sudden dose of adrenalin. 3-4hrs before the ride i get a message that there are mechanical issues with sohan's bike so i'm a little disappointed and ready to drop the plan. As he got busy trying to figure out a solution to the problem, i suggested that he try riding the MTB. A crazy idea nevertheless. Whats crazy about riding an MTB you wonder .. Well, the secret is, it isn't the right frame size. (21.5" and the fit for me was 19.5"). Keen on not wasting anymore valuable time we quickly prepped the bikes and headed for the start point. The beauty of a brevet is that it is never cancelled due to 'bad' weather. Rain or shine you waterproof yourself as much as possible and set off. We reached the start point and finished formalities by 8.50pm. Many had already started and we saw a few on their way. It had drizzled some parts of the city. Looked like weather gods were happy with the turnout for this event. Sohan and I started about 50 mins late and rode with a steady pace till we hit mysore road and then the chatty ride with intermittent breaks ensured mind and tummy both were happy. We reached the control at u-turn point at 2am. Pulpy orange really did refresh my senses and i soon was ready for the return leg. Being a Saturday night, there was hardly any traffic and for some stretches, it was empty with only a moonlit night and the flashlights working their magic illuminating the highway. The weather stayed cool and i settled into a rhythm and was humming different numbers that i would've otherwise listened on my mp3 player had i brought it along. We managed to finish the ride by 8.36AM.
The list of finishers >> https://brevetmgr.appspot.com/brevet/may2014-mandya/results
Post ride an idly vada treat awaited at udupi garden. So the tummy that was tucking in slowly popped right out :D
