Kalhatty love - Part 2

With the first team excursion on 6th May 2016done and dusted, we discussed on the possibility of 'when next' during the return drive. Kalhatty is a climbers delight. The urge to repeat started a couple of days after the body and mind had switched back to Bengaluru mode. Checked the feasibility of one more resource joining the ride, the plan was confirmed by mid week. Now the painful process of wait starts and there wasn't much planning to do nor packing as it was just the two of us so logistics wasn't an issue . More good news awaited as I got the confirmation from Putta that we could start by thursday night thereby getting a chance to drive to and fro with least disruption from the crazy traffic on the Bangalore - Mysore highway. Come thursday, we started by midnight and the first pitstop was at Cafe Coffee day after Maddur and an uneventful drive till Gundlupet CCD. We stopped for a nap for about an hour and started for the Bandipur checkpost. There was a long line of trucks and cars waiting for gates to open at 6. Then the madness starts and cars trying to overtake trucks with the incessant honking. I pity the truck drivers as most are helpless due to the heavy loads they carry, narrow roads and usually oblige one's request to overtake with just a honk from cars trying to pass. The Mudumalai checkpost had a considerable line of waiting traffic. However, not as bad as the one we experienced the earlier trip (a weekend). Like a moth that is amused by the light source, we roadie scum are quite similar when it comes to hill climbs and Kalhatty in particular stands out. We park at CCD, order a double Espresso and finish it off with bread butter and orange marmalade. I thought it was perfect considering an all night ride and caffeine should help stay awake for the entirety of the climb. But the beauty of nilgiris is rather experience best than put in words. Right at the first couple of kms, the heart rate shot upto the 180's and stayed there for a good bit and slowing down to try and reduce. There are no flat sections for recovery at kalhatty which made matters worse. Yet I wanted to attempt a non-stop so continued the climb. I was so tempted to stop for a masala tea at 4kms to the summit. Yet spurred on with a few thoughts and the music that kept me good company for the last few kms to maintain tempo. The bread butter and jam vanished in thin air. I waited to Putta sipping sprite and considered riding down to accompany him. Rode down and he was just a few hundred mts away. Reached the climb and the customary photoshoot started. As the Viper (Polygon Helios 500) cooled Putta too chilled at the summit. Since our only task planned was complete we decided not to enter ooty and just ride to the nearby lake Sandynulla. The winding road are road bikeable towards Gudalur. We stopped for a couple of photos by the lake and continued to ride on to find nature's balcony. Found it 2kms on a left curve right opposite to a small church. Unlike the ride on 6th May, this ride was a hard one and surprisingly the cadence computer did record and the stats are uploaded to Garmin and Strava. 
Garmin activity https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1166601375 ::
Finishing the Kalhatty  :: https://youtu.be/741OA2-jTrA

A good amount of wildlife was spotted with this trip and the list includes:
Birds,
Peacock
Robin
Kingfisher
Myna

Barking deer
Wild boar
Indian Bison
Herd of Deer
Herd of elephants

Waiting for gates to open by 6AM - Bandipur

 

Enroute Thepekadu

 

Gate timings

 



 Lovely roads to Thepekadu

Kalhatty Backdrop



A Selfie with Lord Gans

Putta finishing the climb

At Sandynulla lake 2kms from the gudalur - ooty- kalhatty junction

 

The road on the right is the Gudalur - ooty highway



Basking in Natures Balcony a mighty relief from the climb

The Pro-Lite chakra :)

 

A Harley meet at CCD Masinagudi



 

Bangalore-to-Trichy - A-jolly-weekender

A sabbatical from the 'fun' rides most of this year, I couldn't decline the irresistible offer for a weekend ride. This starts with a casual meet at Wheelsports Marathahalli. The most important component for this ride to become a reality would be the 'license' to ride from the home ministries. With both my leave and license (partially approved), Shyam and I waited for Kiran's confirmation.

Thursday - The anxiety attack as usual prior to the ride. However, this time I did manage to get twice as many hours sleep than usual. Next, the bike. Due to a nasty crash during the Nandi race, the rear derailleur had gotten entangled in the rear wheel and the hanger was broken. This had been ordered by Happy Earth Enterprises but this would take a few weeks before this bike can be brought to a riding condition. Wheel at one store, frame at another, my bike wouldn't see the tarmac anytime soon. Over the last couple of years I've had my eyes on a carbon candy that caught my attention at Wheelsports Chamrajpet. Seriously considering an upgrade wasn't really on my mind until the candy was built up with Tiagra 10speed groupset and then shifted to the Marathahalli store. Every day that I visited, I was tempted just take that bike out for a spin. I finally gave in and asked Kiran (Tusker) to transfer the 105 from the Flite 300 to the Flite 750. Only then did we realize that the right shifter was not shifting down and to add fuel to the fire, the rd cage too was bent as the pulley was hitting the cage when extending. Not so good signs. Also the right shifter wasn't shifting at all. A superb stroke of luck when we found that there was a brand new right shifter available that was then installed. Next, a shiny silver 105 rear derailleur was installed. So effectively it was a brand new bike with only an old left shifter and stem :D. The chain too had to be replaced as it had gotten twisted in the crash.

Friday - The excitement continues as this is one of the rides on my list and somehow didn't see the light of the day. This turned out to be just the opportunity. The right wrist ache continues since the crash but on the brighter side, there are no fractures/dislocations which has been confirmed with an X-Ray. A maiden voyage for Shyam's  'Tusky' (XUV 500) and my Flite 750. We started a lot later than the agreed time. Met at silkboard and we drove to A2B from where we had breakfast and then started the ride. We hired a driver (Yogesh) so the support car could be with us for the duration of the trip. The plan was to catch up with the car every 20-30kms. After a heavy breakfast at A2B, we started for Krishnagiri. The heat was a killer and occasional headwinds didn't assist either. The miles rolled by on this super wide and a descending highway. Next milestone was Dharmapuri. A rolling terrain till Dharmapuri toll. We tried to paceline for a bit and then it turned into a cat and mouse game.  Shyam rode strong but he did feel the relentless heat. By the time we reached Thoppur ghat, Shyam was exhausted from the heat and opted to take the car. Tusker and I waited at the tool and once Shyam reached, we started to descend the ghat. It was a quick descent and then Kiran rode strong and was soon a few hundred mts away from me and maintained the pace. The cadence was high and but can't say the same for energy levels. We had one rider down and we were descending to the Salem Flats. Despite the heat, Tusker and I rode with high cadence and I suppose we hit the average of atleast 35kph. There were no cyclocomp to measure as mine was a new bike, Tusker was riding shyam's wheelset and the spoke magnet wasn't swapped from the wheel and Shyam was about 10-15kms ahead and waiting for us at Saravana Bhavan. The lunch was sumptuous and we then continued to ride at a steady pace to reach the Day1 rest stop which was  Hotel Estancia just before the 5 roads junction. The dilemma now was whether to continue riding to Yercaud directly or to rest at hotel for a while and then ride by 4 in the evening. I'm mighty glad that we chose the latter. You may be wondering why.

1. Heat has been a killer on the highway and on the climb it is only amplified.
2. My drivetrain had a mind of its own. Automatic transmission as if saying 'No Hill assist'.

Checking in to the hotel had its own share of problems (from a rider's perspective). An overcast sky, a swimming pool visible from the room and the mind is easily switches to the nirvana mode. However, I was most eager to test the 750 on the climb and remained adamant to ride to Yercad. Shyam had a rendezvous with his school friends so the ride to Trichy remained the critical task on his wishlist. So considering the heat exhaustion it was decided that he'll be in the support car while Tusker and I started the climb after filling water and enerzal at the base of the climb. Shyam offered his phone to be used as cyclocomp and what a lovely surprise that turned out to be. I stopped momentarily at the  start of the climb as he fired up its sensors and every 100mts or so it voiced out the distance/time elapsed/elevation gain. A superb touch to keep the motivation going. A grave mistake turned out to be the selection of cassette, Since my rear wheel was awaiting replacement of broken spokes, I had left the wheel with the cassette. The spare Ultegra cassette however it was a 12-23. This wasn't a big issue as much as the auto shift mechanism. The crank was 34-50T (compact) and  I had a hard time keeping the chain at 30 - 23 and it kept shifting to 19 and then i had to upshift to 21 which was stable. The moment I shift to 23, I hear the chain rub on the FD and after a few 10's of meters, it auto shifts to 19 :(. Very very frustrating when i'm happily settling into a rhythm of climbing. Despite these niggles, I managed a 1hr 30 mins timed from base to the last hairpin bend, closely followed by tusker with 1hr 35 mins. I'd love to do the climb again with the right ratios to keep the cadence high but that's a deal for another day. Time to rejoice for the accomplishments of Day 1. It was about 6pm and getting darker. We then decided to head to the hotel for the much needed shower and a sumptuous dinner. Day 2 was yet another exciting day for me as we head from Salem to Namakkal (60kms) and then turn off the NH7 onto Trichy (80kms). The highway ride was good till about 9 after which the heat started getting intense. We stopped at Namakkal for a dose of glucose and some Bovonto :). I must say I never was a fan of Bovonto until this ride. That pretty much propelled me all the way to Trichy with no other food stops except one for a Tea break. The roads got pretty bad so the support car did turn around to wait and pick me up. The roads for about 10kms were broken. Well I'd rather say, there weren't any. Perfect for the XUV "The Tusky" but not the KHS 750. So I gave in and we relaxed for the next 20kms. I was too tempted to ride as the tarmac got better. So we stopped again and started riding. Next stop, Trichy. The familiar sights and sounds of toll gate and traffic soon we entered Trichy crossing the Cauvery bridge. Very patchy with nasty gaps in bridge sections. We stopped for a couple of photos and then headed straight to the School where Shyam studied. Yet another lovely place and soon we rode into the campus where there was a cricket match in progress. Many kids surrounded us with bewilderment and soon the questions followed. How, what when where and the big question WHY!! As we answered them Shyam's classmates too were wide eyed about this accomplishment. Shyam had set out to finish what was planned and what an end to a great trip. I couldn't sleep but Tusker switched to slumber very quick :D. Shyam was awake so we decided to head out for a walk. The hotel (Hotel Breeze) we stayed was adjacent to the main bus stand. A short stroll and we walked into a mall soon the snacks followed. Jigarthanda. Looks like Tusker might've heard our order and he soon asked where we were. With the sound of some calorie load, he soon joined us. Shyam had to leave as he had a reunion planned. We then decided to return the same night so we reached hotel had dinner and then started by 11pm. It was a good thing the bikes weren't mounted as it rained almost constantly till Krishnagiri.

The photolog continues

Thanks to master shivraj for getting the bike ready quick for the maiden ride

At Mcdonalds near Shoolagiri (Start of our ride)

Right after krishnagiri

Former Mr.Salem

 After descending the Thoppur Ghat section

Tuskie and Bikes geting rest

Super before reaching the hotel

Hotel Estacia and the bikes

Yercaud range and the pool view from room

Yercaud lake

Dinner at Estancia 

Tusker's Ride

Shyam's ride

Day 2 - Independence Day ride to Trichy

Enroute Trichy (on the Namakkal - Trichy highway)

 An adamant rider continues 

The cauvery bridge at Trichy 

All three bikes packed inside the XUV

Awaiting the return to Bangalore

Yelagiri yorker..!!

Start of an adventure/endurance rides. Ever since Major (Srinivas) got posted to the north, I wondered if I could ever get a 'brave-heart' companion. The initial idea was to ride till krishnagiri and back then it wavered between A2B/CCD and Krishnagiri. We all know how random the plans can get changed. As the hour approached only two contenders remained, Harsha (the Ironman) and I. Chickening out seems to be the trend and so did this trip see its fair share.

My goal was to head out for an endurance ride regardless anyone participating. Harsha, the strong rider that he is, agreed to give me company and decided to ride through the night. The 'drop pin' destination on the maps
shifted from Krishnagiri to Yelagiri. The general public goes T.G.I.F to me it was T.G.I.S (Thank God It's Saturday). Shift ended at 2pm and the idea was to meet at silk board by 10pm. Started to prepare the bike and post late lunch (at 4pm) hit the bed to catch some sleep. Started from home at about 9.40 and reached Silkboard as planned and Harsha was already waiting. A quick chat revealed that he ended up with stitches on his head a few days earlier due to a fall from the trainer. I doubted if this would hamper his performance but he went on to prove otherwise :-D. We started at a steady pace and reached Attibele in no time with my expert guidance on the road conditions as it is my regular training. The aero bars looked enticing and Harsha seemed a little uncomfortable using them as the tiniest adjustments to the elbow can have drastic effects on steering. After Attibele, it was time to look forward to the next milestone, CCD (Cafe Coffee Day) at shoolagiri. What followed next was a steady downhill and with CCD in sight, the speedometer showed spike in the speed. I had a cappuccino while Nagraj gorged on Cold coffee. This was a short break to help us decide on the breaks ahead.

YUMMY .. Coolant for tummy..!!

 

Bikes getting a short rest before the long night ride.

  

  From shoolagiri onwards we saw quite a few places where there was about half a km traffic pile up due to the roadworks. Was it a problem for us.... Absolutely not...!! Being on bikes we just zigzaged our way thru the trucks and buses and soon reached krishnagiri. Another confusion prevailed as to which direction was chennai highway. Harsha pulled out his phone to check on gmaps and indicated we had to continue straight but i was adamant and mentioned that it was to the left and yelagiri is on the Chennai highway. Since co-ordinates were accurate the orientation was where the confusion began. We turned left onto the Chennai highway. It was about 1am and Harsha wanted to top up on omelettes but decided against knowing that i'm a vegan so we with a meagre stock of figs and nutribars. 

The Lone (apart from photographer) Highway Rider..

  
About 20kms short of Yelagiri turnoff, we stopped at a small shop on the other side of the road and as soon as we entered two dogs went berserk. I managed to remove the helmet and called them as if they were pets and both quieted down. Tummy trouble for Harsha so off he went to shed some load before the climbs that lay ahead in the morning. We could've reached Yelagiri by about 4.30 had we continued in the same pace. Instead we started after nearly 40mins of break and stopped yet again for another dose of Tea and biscuits. We overshot the target and stopped at a junction then looking into the darkness something didn't feel right. More dogs..!! 3D surround sound with Dolby Effects..!! Checking the maps we found we overshot the turnoff by just ~2kms. About 8 kms away was another major turn that would lead us to the Salem-Tirupattur highway and we planned to take that road instead. We managed to cross this junction where there was a flyover being constructed and took a u-turn. It is very easy to miss this turn towards Salem-Thirupattur highway as it bears no resemblance to the color of the route marked on the map (like that of a main road) against the real deal. We were happy to see a 10std kid on a hero honda who's dad was a cop and had come to the chennai highway to see him off to Krishnagiri. Mighty glad that he accompanied us all the way to the salem-tirupattur highway. Harsha checked on the google maps just to be extra cautious. We thanked Prabhakar as we were at the base of Yelagiri. We reached in the best possible time to start the climb on a cool morning. The view of the towns below was fantastic and for the initial 3-4 kms taking it easy and continuing at a leisurely pace and at about 9th km I went full throttle as one of the cyclist who was returning mentioned that it was just another km to the summit. Maintained a higher cadence and reached the summit and was ready to capture pics of Harsha finishing who joined me shortly. Here he is in a grand finish.. Bragging rights granted.. Been there done that..!!

 At the summit .. huffing and puffing..!!

Great food but not so good/polite staff

 Photographer getting photographed ...

System in 'Standby mode'

Harsha remebering dialogue from English Vinglish ... I miss two things about India my mummy and Idly !!! 

Tasty puris with great sambar and aloo curry.

The most efficient machines on the planet that brought us to Yelagiri.

More of landscape capture from my X6.

Wallpaper material

Inner peace.... Inner peace... Inner..... 

Harsha finally getting a hang of the Aero bars..

We headed to the lake but managed to run into the security guard who asked us to leave the cycles outside and didn't agree to let us in with the cycles. A little to tired to try and convince him we managed to get a peek of the small lake from another route and it wouldn't have been any worthy to buy a ticket to check it out. Caught Hotel Surabhi in its morning yawn. The only item on the menu was plain dosa. I went for the ghee roast while Harsha lit up on the sound of Omelete. So omelet's and dosa's and you returned? Nope.. we wanted to wait for pongal and Puri to satisfy the carbs starved bodies :-D. Round 2, Puris and omelete. Round 3 coffee and we were finally full. Harsha did mention that this was the heaviest breakfast. I couldn't say that I had just enough to get back on saddle and coast downhill 12kms :-). We decided to stop every possible photogenic spot and clicked away to glory. After about half hour we decided it was time to hit the highway and soon we reached a junction just before Jolarpet town either to turn right to heads towards Nemily and then continue on the Chennai Bangalore highway or head straight into tirupattur and then on to bargur. The Bargur option seemed like a shortcut. This would've cut a km or two but was not worth it. The roads were a real mess and harsha tried hard to use the aero bars. Trying to find a smooth line on a road as broken and patchy as a teenagers freckled face made it no easy task. The return route was supposed to have been shorter and instead turned out to be 8km longer. In just over 2hrs we managed to reach the Chennai highway and a huge sigh of relief. An uneventful ride till krishnagiri and then we turned into Hosur road. It was about 10AM and we stopped below the flyover to get some rest. Harsha tried hard to brainwash me to hitchhike or take bus back to Bangalore or till Hosur at-least and then continue riding. However, I was wide awake and this wasn't helping him get me think alike. When a rider has rode for miles, rest/food stops become a priority and sleep being the topmost. Every minute of attempted nap proves to be such a relief. One of the best feelings is when you don't have to worry about a time station/control unlike a brevet and one could doze off. My hands on experiment with Harsha's bike had fruitful results with the aero bar tests. The aero bars were soothing for the back and the bike avg just shot up to some intriguing numbers. It was when i looked at my companion when i realized how much effort he had to put in while i was so relaxed. Thanks to Harsha for letting me try his bike. The fit seemed to be nearly perfect so the ride was super comfy. Harsha's bike was lighter in-spite of the aero bars. There goes another hole in the pocket with the next planned upgrade. Home ministry ain't gonna be happy with this decision. With enough rest at Krishnagiri, we started to gaze lazily at the climbs which lay ahead and 'sufferfest' truly was the only word right from the start of any climb from that point on. I hate to admit it but halfway through the climb i see some truck that is going at my pace 10kph :-D.. why not hitchhike..!! But the ride had to be finished with no form of motorized transport as we were 'ONLY' 80kms to Bangalore. Two bikes stopped Harsha for some reason and he didn't understand what they said and when they tried to stop me it looked like they wanted a test ride but i declined saying you need special shoes to ride such bike. Not sure how it got translated in their heads. They were making hand gestures that they are going to stop somewhere ahead and wait for us to pass by. Frustrated by this incident we saw those guys once more overtaking us about 10kms into the ride again and didn't see them anymore. Next stop CCD ofcourse ... again!! A couple of Mocachillos later Harsha managed a half hr sleep and we were off. 15-18kms into riding and another stop to drink the malt sold in pots which normally sell buttermilk. I didn't want to try that and was interested only in buttermilk which was out of stock unsurprisingly. We continued to climb then finally switching to a rolling terrain. From Hosur town it was a stupendous ride. You might expect the cloud cover or sudden burst from clouds or even taking a bus or a truck ... but no !! There was some VIP visit and the entire road was cleared of traffic. A smooth rolling all the way from Hosur till Attibele and only after we entered karnataka did we manage to see the convoy of pilot cars, SUV's jeeps and ambulances. Familiar territory, attibele to home. It was about 4pm when we were riding towards Chandapura and here's where there's a twist in the tale. Of the 3 lanes, the middle and the right were occupied by overtaking trucks and a private bus switched to the left most lane and honked continuously. I, knowing this was another crazed driver, moved to the extreme left (white line) and so did Harsha but the bus drive a lot closer than expected and this was downright scary. However, Harsha stood by the driver's side of the bus and warned him and then rode to the front of the bus. The driver then tries to scare Harsha by nearly running him over and finally managed to wedge him against the barricade(dividing the highway and service lane) leaving no room for him to move ahead. The bus then disappears into the service lane of Chandapura flyover. This was the limit and Harsha now determined to teach him a lesson rode hard to find a traffic police while I rode to the top of Chandapura flyover, I managed to see the bus and took a couple of pics. Had I rode back to catch a better picture of the bus/driver he would've fleed in hurry. He managed to overtake me at the end of the flyover and little did he know about the trouble he's going to get into. Harsha in the meanwhile managed to stop the bus in its tracks. Driver refuses to get down and only when he gets angry did the driver get down. Head right into Hebbagodi police station and another ordeal with the cops and driver. Short story - driver and the bus fleet owner have some political backing but our man Harsha is no less either. Finally they manage to let him off for a fine of INR.500. So it all boils down to life's worth - 500Rs. Initially the driver denies he was the one driving the bus and it could've been someone else. When he got to know about the photo evidence, that's it started to stink for him. Then the conductor gave in and said it was a honest mistake. How could a 'nearly run over' situation be an honest mistake when it was clearly intentional? This went on for about 3 hrs. After transferring pics to Harsha's mobile, I continued home as Harsha. It takes courage to even get to the cops or stop a bus. I admire Harsha's courage and standing his ground to make his point. What could've been a better solution to such an instance? Is it worth filing a case and running about the police station/court? Or was it an option to get the DL cancelled (temporarily if that option was even available)? I leave you thinking at this point and suggest you to feel free to post comments.... To any cyclist.. exercise caution on highways.. Better to be safe than sorry.. This doesn't mean you abandon the bike but just put more efforts on riding safe...

Trip Statistics:
Total Distance: 320kms
Elevation profile looks like below (Click for a bigger picture). 

Fuel: Coffee, Tea, biscuits, Figs, Puri, omelet's, Tender coconuts, Rice malt (roadside vendor from an earthen pot), Banana's, muskmelon double dose :-D, aerated drinks (unaccounted for).
Total riding time :: 20hrs (Avg 15kph)