Enduro3 - A stupefying Fiasco !!!

I feel that the adventure demon that possessed me has finally let go after what my body and mind went through on 25th and 26th. Thats it no more adventure races like these.. No more going to another state to even attempt any rubbish like this. Ladies and Gentlemen, please fasten your seatbelts as you are going to be rocked by the rest of the blog.(no no, not with that bout of excitement but by my rant of the Enduro3 at Pune).

 Initially the plan was to attempt the Brevet 600 along with the tusker, Kiran Kumar. But as usual the overhaul happened just in time when Opendro got us into the Facebook chat about this event called Enduro, which involves 145kms of cycling, river crossing (rope or swim), trekking, mountain bicycling, rappelling, kayaking. Naturally any sane adventure loving nut, would think of attempting such a thing. The website certainly managed to bait hundreds of teams and I with Opendro and Kiran were among the many fish up for the grabs. So we ditched the Brevet and Opendro registered us as a team and booked return tickets from KSRTC club class multi-axle volvo. Yet again this trip saw many firsts and here's a few ::


1. First travel by the multi-axle club class volvo.
2. First travel to another state and especially for a multifaceted adventure race.
3. First time night ride among the mountains on a proper dirt / gravel track. (Pure adrenaline rush).
4. First proper VADA PAV which was yumm...!!!
5. First night ride/downhill trail ride with the super good ultra-fire flashlights. 




And so the journey starts with a training the earlier weekend with Suma rao with a dose of rappelling. Rappelling = check. 
Next to ensure the bikes are fit, I take the bike to Opendro's house where with his help, restored the shine. Bike = Check. 
Swimming, kayaking, trekking - Will see as we go along = check. 
The website had a list of mandatory equipment per participant and a separate checklist as a team. Left our bikes at wheelsports Chamrajpet who helped us box the bikes to get it ready for transport. With the bags packed we met at KBS/Majestic and boarded the Bus to Pune. Mind loaded with thoughts I managed to get some sound sleep. But the happiest of the bunch was Opendro as he gets ~ 8 hrs of uninterrupted bliss..!! We checked in to hotel Shri Ganga near Wadgaon bridge and unpacked the boxes and assembled the bikes. We left hotel to explore Pune and headed towards Swargate and then stopped at Hotel Fountain in Shivajinagar carb load session. Nice hotel with great food with a place to park bikes. After spending about two hours we had to look for the briefing point at a place called Parvati. We were asked to assemble at police grounds the next day between 6-9am to register and collect the kit. On the way back to hotel we stopped to have pani puri Open skipped but Kiran and I feasted. A slowish ride to the hotel and we carried the bikes to the 2nd floor for final checks for tomorrow's race. Kiran and Opendro caught up some sleep while I was busy battling mosquitoes and managed to get probably a half hour sleep. We were ready by 5:30 and reached the venue and teams were trickling in. Thats when we met Sarva who was last time winner (I think runner up) in the Open mix category and this time secured 3rd place. There was transport option available about 4 - 5 kms from the flag off point to the base of singhagad. The participants have to climb till the start point which was about 1-2 kms from base. The road was treacherous trail was taxing and we could hear plenty wheelspins. The whole sight resembled a cyclocross section. Most of them stopping and pushing bikes. But us three mashed it till the first control point after which we lost steam and pushed the bikes or rode at 1x1 gear ratio. The gradient was quite tough. Towards the end of teh climb was the fort. Next challenge, carry your bikes and trek to the fort and reach teh viewpoint which was the rappelling point. Topped up water supplies and had some lime juice which was very refreshing. There was a wait period of about 1 hour after which Opendro managed to finish it in about 15 mins.

Once we exited the fort we saw no path to ride down, instead it was a treacherous trek route and we had to take our bikes along. Trust me, words do absolutely no justice to the toughness of carrying the bikes and hopping off the rocks without proper foothold. about 200 mts from the base Opendro had a flat and we got busy fixing the same. Thats when two organizers reached out to us enquiring if all is well. Took some pics flat fixing was done in about 10 mins. opendro fixing the flat tube and I installed the new tube with kiran filling air. All hands at work..!! We could see the next control and we left Got the card stamped. Next was about a 10-15 km ride on a broken tarmac. Then yet another passage control. Stam again and we turned off the main road to take the village road to climb a few hills to reach the next control point. Yet another stamp and we got to know we were 3rd and we ripped during the down hill (dirt/gravel road)at speeds over 30-35. The Trek 4300 truly proved its legacy. Get off the saddle, keep the hands in an angle with elbows streching outwards to absorb any shocks due to the terrain and you have a pure bliss of riding an MTB .. ever..!!! Being a roadie it is hard to comprehend that a whole new world of cycling can be so much fun. Its another story that the bike is an "unrideable" condition now but more on that later. A huge surprise was how the tusker (Kiran) was being helped by Opendro who was pushing his own bike and Tusker's on the uphills when we got off the saddle. With teh dusk we could feel some cool air finally, after braving the hot sun. The next task was to trek with the bikes for about 5-6 kms. Better said than done. The next control was hidden in the bushes atop a mountain and as we crossed the same I bonked and couldn't carry on more. So Opendro and Kiran stopped as I had a quick nap. By then we lost the team that was in front of us whom we kept as a guide. Then as we were trekking dowhill about 200mts we were lost and decided that we'll wait for daybreak (about 2.5hrs). We were near a village so asked for directions to Shirkoli and started riding the trail to reach the river crossing. Once there opendro swam the of about 100mts to complete the river crossing. He also did ask the organizer pointing to the safety vest "Is this mandatory?" to which we had a hearty laugh. Once done we had a 20km of trek which took almost 4 hours. We got to know it is on road after passing through the PC (passage  control) we went off road got down the mountain to climb another. By now you must be lost and thinking " up and down and up and down and repeat. Our state there was pretty much the same but the rolling terrain had us. Heat played the spoilsport and the terrain. As you feel excited going downhill you loose the steam as  soon as the uphill is in sight..!!  More depressing news await as we reached the kayaking point. It was cancelled and they took us via boat to the other side of the river. :-( Thats it we've had enough The last control we figured that we were 4th and saw no point in going forward as the last stage is 8kms of trekking with the bikes again. Returned to Pune via a tempo hired by Ravi Ranjan and team so we could also catch the night bus. Booked the room for 4 hours. Refreshed and ready for dinner we went back to the same hotel in shivajinagar. My condition was such that my shorts were hanging dearly and would've dropped if I jumped. We finished a sumptuous dinner by 10 and reached hotel to vacate. One last task remains, Boxing the bikes. This probably was done quickest about 20-25 mins for all three bikes. Gladly the bus waited for more passengers to board but we were the only 3. Slept peacefully to be woken only at Hotel Kamat in morning for breakfast. Idly vada puri kesari bath. Yeah that's not the menu but what I had for breakfast.
Back in bangalore as I write this blog i've taken a decision not to quit any race in future but be better prepared. In the open mix catergory i've seen guys on bicycles towing the lady member of their team. Hats off to their courage and strength in doing so..!! Though I can blame the organizers for a shabby work there's little that can be done at this point. But quite  a lot of learning from this adventure..!!