Kalhatty in May, are you nuts? One question that pops into most minds. For riders who love Climbs things can't get better in terms of gradient as an option here in the south. I was a little skeptical of the climb with a 12-28 cassette as i've always rode the Flite 300 which has a perfect ratio for climbs 11-32. However, looks like the 12-28 is a good deal to tame Kalhatty. A meme that sums up the situation with travel plans:
I think there are many that could relate to this :). Anyway, the turnout held strong till the last hour so with all the excitement, as always, with hardly any sleep, Kiran, Putta and I started 3hrs earlier and we planned to stop at the checkpost for a nap till the gates opened. The second group (Opendro, Anantha and Chidambaram) had agreed to start much later after some early sleep. Putta, Kiran and I reached the CCD at Gundlupet by 3.45 and attempted to get some sleep but there were bugs that didn't allow much rest. While I sat in the chair at CCD and gazed upon the sky thinking about road bikeable routes around, the lights turned on and CCD was awake. Got myself an Espresso and waited for the other two warriors to wake up. Soon Putta was awake and we were joined by Opendro and team. We started after an hour and managed to find some great traffic at Bandipur exit. A traffic jam for about a km. It took more than half hour to clear this stretch due to extended checks at the checkpost. We were on our way to CCD Mavanalla/Masinagudi but didn't spot much wildlife. Soon we reached CCD and since we had breakfast in the car (chappatis and jam) during the traffic jam, we didn't have to stop for breakfast. All 6 started riding at a steady pace to the base. With the Garmins ticking and pedals clicking we started steady climb. It was a steady climb with Opendro as he had been unwell. It was a ride to take in the sheer beauty of the ghats. Traffic was relenting and most giving way to us and slowing down on seeing oncoming traffic. I got to do my part of informing drivers at the hairpin bends that they could make the turn by gesturing a go ahead or slow down. The relief that one gets right at the summit is indescribable. One by one the entire team was present and Opendro had carried the brevet pack (handle bar bag) with breakfast which we finshed and headed towards Kotagiri. Ooty city traffic was nasty with packed intersections but enough room for road bikes to squeeze through. Once we made it to Doddabetta we decided to turn back as Kotagiri was another 23kms and we had very little time to do 46kms and might end up not exiting the checkpost on time. We stopped for lunch at a hotel at Ooty. Post lunch we descended the ghats. Opendro and I were fully fueled and just raced downhill at some good speed in less than 30 mins.
I think there are many that could relate to this :). Anyway, the turnout held strong till the last hour so with all the excitement, as always, with hardly any sleep, Kiran, Putta and I started 3hrs earlier and we planned to stop at the checkpost for a nap till the gates opened. The second group (Opendro, Anantha and Chidambaram) had agreed to start much later after some early sleep. Putta, Kiran and I reached the CCD at Gundlupet by 3.45 and attempted to get some sleep but there were bugs that didn't allow much rest. While I sat in the chair at CCD and gazed upon the sky thinking about road bikeable routes around, the lights turned on and CCD was awake. Got myself an Espresso and waited for the other two warriors to wake up. Soon Putta was awake and we were joined by Opendro and team. We started after an hour and managed to find some great traffic at Bandipur exit. A traffic jam for about a km. It took more than half hour to clear this stretch due to extended checks at the checkpost. We were on our way to CCD Mavanalla/Masinagudi but didn't spot much wildlife. Soon we reached CCD and since we had breakfast in the car (chappatis and jam) during the traffic jam, we didn't have to stop for breakfast. All 6 started riding at a steady pace to the base. With the Garmins ticking and pedals clicking we started steady climb. It was a steady climb with Opendro as he had been unwell. It was a ride to take in the sheer beauty of the ghats. Traffic was relenting and most giving way to us and slowing down on seeing oncoming traffic. I got to do my part of informing drivers at the hairpin bends that they could make the turn by gesturing a go ahead or slow down. The relief that one gets right at the summit is indescribable. One by one the entire team was present and Opendro had carried the brevet pack (handle bar bag) with breakfast which we finshed and headed towards Kotagiri. Ooty city traffic was nasty with packed intersections but enough room for road bikes to squeeze through. Once we made it to Doddabetta we decided to turn back as Kotagiri was another 23kms and we had very little time to do 46kms and might end up not exiting the checkpost on time. We stopped for lunch at a hotel at Ooty. Post lunch we descended the ghats. Opendro and I were fully fueled and just raced downhill at some good speed in less than 30 mins.
This was probably the strongest turn up of CW team in any ride. Six super riders who tamed the Kalhatty :-P I bet, we will never get this number again.
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