Velo Kerala - Day1 - Ernakulam to allepey !!!

Ever since I began cycling, the dream of riding the green routes in God's own country always remained a far fetched desire. The leaves from last December were still pending and now seemed to be the perfect time to utilize them. Tempting as it may seem the decision was quickly made for a week's vacation. The accommodation was booked in Ernakulam 5 days initially. This had to be shortened due to conflict with the TCS 10K.

The surge of excitement kept me on my toes till the 27th. I managed to finish the TCS 10 run under 55 mins and was contempt with the achievement. Return Tickets booked in KSRTC Airavata Club Class Mercedes coach. The boarding point was Shantinagar BS at evening 7.30. After a quick check with Ajith Jagadish ( another cyclist that I met earlier on a ride to mysore) and he confirmed his readiness for the trip. Such was his attitude about this trip that he wasn't interested in knowing the routes or destination. Just wanted to get the bums on the saddle and ride till the legs beg for mercy. That's a great spirit and certainly is a mind over matter as one gets to face the challenges during the unplanned trip. Little did we realize that there was so much more in store for us than what we had on minds. 

The excitement begins as soon as we meet at Apple istore at Raghavendra swamy mutt 5th block. A km into riding, I quickly lose sight of Ajith. Dang, he rode like a stung bee. After a couple of attempts to reach him on the phone caught up near cosmopolitan club and then we continued against traffic on the one way all the way to Ashoka pillar and then towards inner roads that leads to shantinagar bus stand. This was a quick huffy puffy ride and my T shirt was wet in no time.Only once we stopped I understood the scale of Ajith's luggage. He almost had a caravan on his back rather than a 'backpack'. As we waited for our bus we caught up on the daily lives and the BBCh races. As usual my X6 gets to show its carl zeiss magic hence out it comes from my pocket and I'm clicking away to glory. Then we see the Mercedes Benz coach that we're supposed to board and soon load our bikes and not without the fuss from the conductor who asks us to remove the pedals. We tell him that the wheels will be removed and then we'll mount them vertically. As the passengers had boarded the conductor reluctantly agreen to just push the bikes in and do we did and I secured the bikes against the side rails in the luggage compartment. Luggage cost = 330 as per ticket for two bikes. Thats all ??  Absolutely not. You've got to grease the hands of the conductor else he simply doesn't allow your bike. Add another 70 and he's satisified and I got my change for Rs.500 only at the destination. He was happy to pocket Rs.170 if not bothered. 

Here's how the bikes were loaded ::

 After confirming the PNR number we got seated and had a relaxed drive till the dinner stop at McDees on Hosur road just beyond hosur. The service at the hotel was delayed hence we were the last passengers to board the bus when one gentleman started yelling about the delay. I happily chose to ignore him as my tummy was happy and it was time to settle in to sleep like a baby as per the advertisement outside the bus :-). However Ajith had some nice rebuttals ready and after a few comments the angry businessman mallu finallys shut up and we got moving. Fast forward 9 hours @ Vytilla. We soon near vytilla junction and then head to the KSRTC Inter state bus stand. Reached the bus stand at 6 AM and we could smell the wet earth from early morning shower.  Soon it was time to get the bikes out. I headed out to collect change while Ajith managed to reassemble the bikes to riding condition again. Just had to remove the disk brake spacer and put the front wheel back on my 4300D while Ajith's bike was a simpler task of fixing the front wheels back again. Soon we consulted the GPS on Ajith's mobile and we had to reach Panampily nagar and as per GPS it was a good 4 kms away. As it looked like it might rain again, he stopped to pull out a secret weapon to protect his luggage, a secret/hidden waterproofing for his "caravan".

After about 15 mins of riding we reached panampilly nagar and started looking for the BSNL stay. A few mins of confusing directions from the caretaker we managed to locate it and secured our bikes against some pipes. It was like a duplex villa but with rooms on the inside called suites. 

The Goof Up # 1 The one booked for us was Suite 2 and we happily entered Suite #1. Once we had freshened up, we quickly switched over to Suite#2.

We then loaded our bags into Suite #2 and started a ride towards Allepey/Alapuzhzha, our first of the Trifector destinations on this vacation. Having done the extensive homework on mapping routes and checking with google street view for the road and weather conditions, he route for Day1 ran along the coast as depicted in the pic below 

The road conditions were top notch. Hmm I should use more biker friendly terms. So let me rephrase... The roads throughout were road bike friendly except 10 kms (there is a right and an immediate left about 200mts away at kanamaly) which is
super MTB friendly.

The road bike friendly streches:

The MTB friendly 10km stretch:

The humidity levels were high and we were sweating however, due to the green cover and quite a generous amount of shades time an again the hot rising from the tarmac was being cooled and was a pleasant experience. The early morning showers also were a boon in keeping the heat under control. We managed to stop at a couple of places to sip on limca/Mirinda. One tip to whoever manages to read this blog is to avoid coke/limca/thums up etc. Mirinda is probably the only drink that can be trusted. Limca and coke taste very different. To me it felt as if a mechanic had refilled the bottle. There was an aroma of grease. you might want to blame the shop for improper storage but I had similar experience in two different stalls. Halfway through the trip my urge to sit by the beach was at an all time high and soon we found ourselves at thyckkal beach. The gadgetry instinct kicked in and I started clicking pics of my bike and trying my photography skills. Soon the instagram monster arrived with his Asus Transformer prime and managed to capture video of me riding the trek by the beach onto the waves. This feat had to be repeated a few times. Why why??

1. The first time Ajith tried to capture he missed it some how. 
2. The second time he had forgotten to set it in video mode. 
3. I had lost momentum once and was riding in the lowest gear :-)

The Instagram monster :

Thyckkal Beach

My Trek by the beach along a boat.

 Experiment with new methods/modes of capture

All in all it similar to the "ride-in-beach" just like the drive in beach in Muzhappilangad and hardly any crowd when we entered but soon we could see considerable groups of people entering the waters. Though I had my trusty Nokia X6 working its magic via carl zeiss and capturing the natural colours it was no match for the Asus Transformer Prime. The video was HD and of stunning clarity. After the harsh ride on the 10km stretch the rear wheel on Ajith's Trek had a bend and the brake levers were swaying when on the move. So we tried to fiddle with the brake settings without much luck. Soon it was good enough to be on the move but with the bend still conspicuous, we decided that it will be sorted out once we were back in the room in Cochin. Nibbling on the energy bar equivalents that Ajith managed to source from abroad, we managed to reach Allepey at  3pm. Once the batteries are near-empty, a cyclists eye then assumes that it is a hawk eye and looking out for prey which then was visible to us as Al-Firdouse restaurant. Unfortunately only meals was available and nothing else and fortunately, atleast that was available :-). It was after a long time that i ended up eating Kerala rice which resembles the idly rice locally available however a new luncheon experience is never an unwelcome to a bleary cyclist. I finished my meal as quick as a woodpecker drills. Ajith on the other hand took it nice and easy which gave me more time to realize that we in fact were at Allepey or Alappuzha. We had next hour and a half at our disposal to explore the backwaters and soon we hit a small trail alongside a channel that was covered in weed. We followed the trail for about half a km after which we hit the main road which was narrow but the water was clear of weed and we hoped that we could see houseboats soon.In about 15-20 mins of riding we were at a T-Junction and our cameras were probably just bobbing in the pouches ready to swing in to action.

Action >>  Camera  >> Click, Click,  

Crossed a small bridge to ride alongside the mini-channel.

 

Off the trail and on tarmac to reach marine expressways.

WOW. So many houseboats, ferry boats, mini boats containing goods for for transit, Canoes boats resembling shikharas of the north. I was amazed and dumbstruck by just looking at the sheer number of houseboats. Wild thoughts prevailed. I recalled the 'boating' experiments of my schooldays when I used to make paper boats of which i knew only two kinds. The really standard and the knife boat (Had a protruding extension at the base of the boat). The spark to try something new was probably missing and that might explain why i didn't build houseboats that ride the rainwaters :-). Would've been a rocking houseboat at that. Soon Ajith parked his bike by a tree and we started clicking pictures of each houseboat that passed. We stood by another small boat that was used to carry some kind of a fruit that resembled mango but learnt that it was poisonous and had medicinal value. Maybe the reader can shed some light as to what that fruit is..!!

And now some houseboats... (courtesy - My Nokia X6)

This one come to park for a short while.

On the way to the market

Something like Shikara but a lot smaller

As we didn't want to miss the sunset, it was a fast paced ride avg 28kph all the way to the Alappuzha beach. The sight of the ocean is a perfect finish for the day's ride. Or was it? As we pushed our bikes on the beach sands, a thought struck us why not try riding. Ajith managed to ride for about 30mts before stopping. Then I tried but only to stop at 10 mts :-) and it was so much fun watching the wheels getting sucked by sand. Then we pushed the bikes nearer to the shore. My trek had a stand while ajith made a "Sand stand".

The bicycle 'limits'

Love this pic

At this point you'd be expecting a wrap up and end of excitement for Day 1 and head back to the room. And.... you are absolutely...... Wrong.!!! Ajith captured many pics of the sunset. After clicking he kept the Asus transformer on the handlebar over the bag. Then.. disaster, a big wave went right through the wheels of his bike as his bike was parked against one of the pillars of the pier. The tablet fell in water and what a shocker I could do nothing to rescue it as i was farther from his bike. Ajith rushed quickly and picked the tablet which was being dragged into the ocean by the waves. The next half hour was spent trying to drain the tablet off any water that has entered via the ports. There was trouble switching it off. With a dismal note we left the beach. We hit the MCR ( Main coast road) which was an NH and soon found a truck to draft which went good for about 10kms. then we stopped for dinner and had some tasty dosa. It was a quiet dinner as I was exhausted drafting the truck at an avg of 45+kph. On a roadbike it would've been a different ballgame but on an MTB there was lot more confidence just because of the disc brakes. After dinner we managed to hitchhike on a tempo traveller for the next 30kms to panampilly nagar junction. We headed to the room to catch some sleep as we had an early start for tomorrow's big adventure. How would tomorrow be like? More riding in the highly humid conditions ? More drafting? Hitchhiking? tender coconuts?

Wait for the Day 2 report..!!

Brevet 300 - "Test" ride on Mars -- FREE!!!

To pen down the experience, mind had to be stable for thoughts to pour in. However the body and mind were in not happy to co-ordinate for the job. So here goes my experience the Brevet 300 eight days later.


The pre-tour excitement - This always looms hours or even days before the start. So much so that I was just back from a trip to Goa the day before (1400kms drive and 164kms of cycling). There was hardly any participation from Team Cleated Warriors. Kiran (tusker) was probably the only one who would have represented. Since I had returned to bangalore only a day in advance I gave it a shot and tried to contact the organizer to fancy my chances of riding, though the registrations had closed by 14th Dec 2011. I did the next best thing, put it up on Facebook. Kiran had registered but not confirmed his ride. Once my participation was confirmed, we then decided the spares to carry for the 20hour ride.

The Judgement Day - The start/control point was MG road Metro station. Opens at 6 and closes by 7am. I delayed my start as I was to wait for Kiran who was supposed to have been there by 6:30. Sometimes I'd be the late lateef delaying by 5-10 mins however Kiran beat me to that part by reaching the start point just 10 minutes before the close of the first control. Opendro was there to give us company till KR puram and from then on it was just Kiran and I the last two to leave the start point. I had read the draft and cuesheet once and didn't remember the  "road status update". It was almost a race against time to reach the next control which was at Malur. Since we started only by about 7 we had just 1 hr 50 minutes to reach the first control at Malur and get the receipt from the ATM. As soon as we turned off the NH-4 right towards Malur we entered an unknown territory and the mystery would only unfold after the first control. Road conditions were just like an SH should be. Headwinds soon proved to test our patience but braving the winds soon enough we were at the control where we overshot the target by about 100 mts. Traced back and got the receipt a good 20 mins ahead. What happened next could be quoted as "terrible surprise". We knew from the cue sheet handed to us at the start that some stretches were 'bad'. Soon we were in an MTB terrain.

Flashback >> Reminded me of the NH-7 (former number NH7 but now known as NH44 due to the new naming convention) 2 years ago when the stretch between dharmapuri all the way to trichy was battered. One had to be on this toes to take the smoothest line. I loved it in a way as my passion towards driving was at its peak. But it took its toll on the body and mind as one didn't have much of a relaxed drive. With the NH 44 now in place it reminded me of the movie CARS (route 66) where the NH bypasses towns and it becomes just another highway. Drive through the towns/villages, amongst the backdrop of paddy fields and mango plantations, all of these would be missed. As it is said "Kuch paane ke liye kuch khona padta hai". (Translated >> To gain something, something else has to be lost).

Fast forward >> Anyway back to the roadie world there aint' much of greenery to look around but an almost barren landscape and a constant struggle in the mind to find just that 2 Square cms of rubber to stay flat and not run over gravel also giving way to the speeding maniacal local 'private bus' drivers. Glad that there aren't any volvos plying this route else a cyclist would get a chance to draft even if he didn't intend to do so and get severely 'dust tanned' ;-). Kiran and I maintained a steady pace of just over 20kph. Expectations were high as the eye kept a lookout for a smooth patch but the never ending battered roads continued for about 70kms. Usually I capture pics without informing or requesting for a pose, so it looks natural. However,with this trip the photograpic section of my brain was reserved to cater to the getting the bike through the bad roads. About 20 kms before venkatagiri kota, here on mentioned as v.kota there were almost a 7in layer of hay/some dried crop for vehicles to run over which was ok for us cyclists as there was just enough space to squeeze by. However looked like some KSRTC Sarige buses  6 of them, didn't show any signs of slowing down and just sped past at ~80 and the tiny particles were stirred up looking like a mini tornado. Thanks to Decathlon's Btwin goggles eyes  stayed safe bu the rest of the body was covered in the hay dust. A few kilometers before V.kota, a few local school boys joined us and mentioned that the roads from v.kota are good. They had the usual set of questions,

Raceaa ??
Yellinda ?? (Where from??)
Yellige?? (Where to??)

These boys kept us company till a km before v.kota and then took the interior roads via the paddy/millet fields. I was skeptical about the 'good' roads from v.kota as the boys talked about earlier. Soon we cross the town and the roads got a lot more smoother and definitely roadbikeable. All that 70km sufferfest paid off as we took the uphills and soon enough the ghats. Complete downhill and whattay fun!! Got some time to cover miles on the makhkhan road without pedaling. As the greadient got sharper we hit the hairpin bends and found someone with a fomas who was busy fixing a flat.

 

 

Spent a good 20 minutes by lending the topeak pump and we parted ways. Kiran's idea to finish by 12 looked doable. We reached pernampattu and took receipts again and started for Vaniyambadi. This turned out to be the best stretch on the route so far. Both sides lined with coconut trees. There was no speeding as I wanted this to be a relaxed ride. We reached vaniyambadi and soon joined the Blr-Chennai NH48. Next stop Tollbooth which was 6 kms from the turnoff.

Mufasa's diner at vaniyambadi tollbooth >> Thought of ordering a parota but then settled for curd rice which was very good. Then a butter milk that served like a coolant. More cyclists poured in as we were prepared to start for Krishnagiri. I for one, like to set short term milestones which keeps me motivated rather than drooling over the total kms to cover. There's a small party that kicks off in my head with every milestone reached. Met Chidu who was in top gear and raced ahead to reach by about 10. Speed wasn't my concern and soon for the trip to bangalore we had Rajanikanth puttabudhdhi for company who was on his TREK with a fascinating color. Here's his bike. 

The Fancy Trek 3700

It looked like bike straight out of a paintbook from a 5 yr old which begged to differ. A salute to the guys who attempt the Brevet on an MTB. We had a nice chatty ride till krishnagiri (50kms). Having company certainly helps as most of the miles just vanishes with the pep talk. Stopped at Vasavi bhavan at krishnagiri and had a mango drink. Kiran initially had trouble with the dealextreme lights which got fixed and we maintained 15kph at the ascent by Shoolagiri. Overtaking trucks at that speed was fun. All three of us stopped at the Bangalore toll plaza for a coffee/tea break and it did prove to be a refresher. Buns n Tea provided the energy required to propel us to the finish line. It was a sleazy and uneventful ride all the way to silkboard from there. Every Brevet that I've participated, at some point in the journey, this question surfaces Why am I doing this ?? Riding a motorbike within a city for about 60 km in itself was a big deal and now on a bicycle I cover hundreds. The most simplest answer  ....

I'm free when I'm on my roadbike...!!!

 

Vasavi Bhavan @ Krishnagiri...

Blr-Yercaud on the most efficient machine !!!

As saying goes, one gets to "See" and feel the world in a different outlook when traveling by bike. This trip certainly was filled some ups and downs like the rolling terrain to Salem. Looked like a busy weekend for the Cleated Warriors so none of them for company. Major Srinivas agreed give me company. My initial plans were to do Yercaud with another group of 3 agreed who had planned to start by thursday evening but went to pondicherry the same morning instead. Major agreed to leave on friday night and the first good news was we could pack the luggage and keep it in the Vivek's car (Vivek is a friend of Major). That was a big relief and we could rely on this car in case something were to go wrong. After all the preparations we synced up at silkboard and handed the bags over to Vivek and set off to Yercaud. Took it nice and easy till E-city phase 2 and then drafted a truck till Bommasandra flyover when the headlights on Major's bike took a fall. With the traffic maintaining good speeds and the headlight right in the middle of the highway we lost all hopes of retrieving it in one piece. But to our astonishment, a containter truck stopped right before the the flashlight and gurading it till Major could retrieve it. The chances of this happening was second to none. One of the most bike friendly truckers. We waved a joyous thank you to the Driver who acknowledged the same. Then we taped the headlight to the handlebar which will ensure double protection. As we crossed Bommasandra, rain gods started played tricks with us. It started to drizzle and we soon stopped and put on the rain jacket thinking there may be some downpour. 2-3 kms later we realize the drizzle was gone and we were soaked in sweat ;-). A small drizzle were happy tears from mother nature, "Welcome to TN cyclists !!". This was the first  ride with the new Ultrafire lights and boy o boy they were a delight. We tried to draft a trailer but he planned to stop after we managed to draft for a couple of kms to refuel. We then continued our journey and stopped for burger at Mc Dee's. Had a sip of coffee and soon we left for Krishnagiri. We covered the initial 68 kms in 2 hours, so a sub 3hr century looked promising. My rotten bit of luck played the spoilsport and at the top of the ghats where there is a downhill for 3 kms I encountered the first flat. Great not a problem, with all the tools required to fix a flat available we soon fixed it and "Click" that's the sound of my shoes cleated onto the pedals :-). Within 20 metres, Tussshhh... tick tick tick... "Click". Uncleated and checked rear tyre again. Damn.. what did I do wrong ? Had another spare tube which I managed to change it in 10 minutes. The tyre levers from icetoolz are hopeless but the rest of the options are awesome. With Major's help we managed to pump it up to 100 and managed to reach the base of the ghats and Tusshh..!!! Yet another one. I felt disappointed at the performance of my bike, but quickly consoled myself 2250 kms without a flat on this Kenda kontender and without tyre liners was quite good. This was bound to happen at some point. We frantically tried to reach Vivek and he was supposed to have started from Bangalore an hour after we started. But he wasn't responding to the calls to his mobile. Since the cars and trucks were reaching speeds of over 80as they exited the ghats, we had to move to a safe location. I walked with the bike for another 250 mts and found a gated farm with lights on. Major thought he could get some rest inside the compound as there was a park bench by the house. The canine truly was on high alert. So Major parked his bike by the gate and lied down outside the compound to relax while I began to fix the flat. Strange part, the suspect "punctured" tube held up well when pumped up off the rim. Installed the new hopelessly short valved Btwin tubes purchased from Decathlon and Major suggested that we should reduce the pressure. So 70-80 PSI was pumped for a 125 rated 26c tyre. I, quite literally was talking to my bike in my head, please don't do this not now not anymore. The sub-3hr century was already messed up and I didn't want to return without doing the Yercaud climb. Hoping the tyres won't give way we managed to get just about 15kms in 25 mins of riding and then tussh.. Luckily we spotted a shop with some nice place for resting and the tubelights on!! There also was a broom to tidy up the place before resting. What a nice gesture by the shop/building owner. Major soon was busy tidying up for a nice rest. He soon dozed off after trying to call for the "support" car. It was 4:35AM and my mechanic role kicked in instantly disassembled the rear wheel and removed the tyre off the rim. This time there was a puncture. The glueless patches worked their magic yet again. After fixing the tube it was time for a deep dive inspection of the rims and the tyre. The tyre showed a gaping hole ~ 2mm. At first I wondered if this was the cause of all the flats encountered !!  Taking my chance against the only spare tube that I had, I cut it open and made a patch about 3x2cm and wedged it between the damaged section of tyre and the tube. Still no word from Vivek and we already started planning our return trip either by a KPN volvo or a KSRTC. Major suggested that we could carry the bikes in passenger compartment in train. I was surprised and asked if it was allowed. If we ended up taking the train then we'd take the wheels off and carry the frame separately. Being a member of the "Cleated Warriors" I remember one of my friends maintaining a low pressure on a high pressure rated tyre. You must be thinking the difference must be in 10 or 20PSI but no. My friend rode 140PSI rated tyres on 60 or 80 PSI :-). I'm happy and suprised to announce that it worked wonders. After applying this DIY mini patch and the setting the pressure at 70 PSI I waited for Major to wake up. Till then I kept gazing at the passing buses and trucks and reminded me of my childhood days. Sitting on a park bench in Erode with my Grandfather and getting excited looking at the colourful buses. ( Back in those days I was bored looking at the all RED bangalore buses). Some of the best combinations were the ones with yellow roof and shiny silver like sheetmetal. Black with white stripes and white coloured rims were equally good :-). 

Soon it was daybreak and I could see the dark blue skies and the familiar sounds of rooster waking up the village by the highway. Major woke up in an hour and started feeling cold. So we set out soon to find a coffee stop just a mile ahead and had biscuits and hot coffee. In 20 mins we left for Dharmapuri. I thought the straight stretches of highway where one can see for about a km was before Dharmapuri but this was clarified once we crossed Dharmapuri. For about 6-7 kms it is a straight monotonous stretch where the visibility is at its best. We started maintaining a steady pace on gentle slopes 20-25kph. However the headwinds picked up and we were reduced to maintain 17kph. So what do we do to cover the distance ?? DRAFT. Yep.. we did draft a container truck for a few kms till gained speed and dropped us. I caught up with another truck but there was a delay in Major going full throttle to catch up. Soon the distance increased and I planned to back off. The decision was either both of us draft, else we'd stay close and ride together. The entry to thoppur ghats was promising and I suggested that we have tender coconuts at the ghats out of experience. I used to do regular trips to Trichy. This was really good and we had two each and started to descend. At the base of the ghat there is a hotel beside the petrol bunk BP where we stopped for to recharge. After a nice round of idlis and tea we started for Salem which was~40kms away. There is a gentle uphill after which we managed to catch a container truck registered RJ and we drafted all the way to Salem. 35kms of drafting at avg pace of 48kmph. Max speed touched was about 60kmph. Most of the times the truck was at a pace which we could maintian the draft.As soon as we entered Salem city all bikers and cars that whizzed past had their eyes on us wondering why are they doing what they are doing !!!


Soon we reached the Yercaud turnoff and about a 2-3 kms later guess who shows up? Vivek whom we had tried to reach throughout the night. After a quick chat we stopped at a known hotel for a lime juice and then it was 7 kms to base of Yercaud. Vivek, parked the car at the base and assembled his bike. We started the climb. Major had done this earlier so was aware of this route. He warned that there is only elevation ALL the time. I managed to divide the distance in such an manner that I compare it with the office commute(30 kms one way). The same tragic logic I applied for the 23kms of the climb. with 20 hairpin bends. Be not fooled gentlemen. There are more than that which are unmarked. Every corner would feel like a hairpin because of the elevation profile. Inspired by the lance armstrong's video of 2003 (Lance Armstrong Climbs Luz Ardiden 2003) he constantly is on the hood and off the saddle. That was more adrenaline I could muster to stay off the saddle. After every 50 mts of being off the saddle I would drop to the biggest chainring and ride at 8-9kmph. I aimed at a non-stop ride and the only time I stopped (3 secs) was when I fell but held on to the side cemented wall. I pedaled a little too much but wanted to fallback and maintain left side of the road and Major who was leading but the rear wheel of major was overlapping half of my front wheel so if i turn the handlebar I was sure Major also would bear the brunt of my action. So instead I turned slightly right while the bike was leaning left that imbalance prompted my fall (a controlled fall). No injuries but this was inevitable a cleated fall sooner or later. There was a bus full of schoolkids who were ahead (directly above me) on the parallel road, and a few kids screamed but later they'd stopped and we waved hi-byes and continued our quest of conquering the climber's haven. I've officially completed the formalities of being a cleated roadie scum. The 20 hairpin bends don't sound bad. But the continous elevation gain is certainly going to drive one nuts and the mind will eventually give way and force you to take a break. The last 4kms were the worst pounding which my body took. The heights of exhaustion were such that Major literally started grabbing plants and eating them !!! Initially i thought it was probably some medicine but later realized he ATE them !! There also was a group in an ikon who had stopped to enjoy the view and major did check if they had some for a quick bite and they were glad to give us some chips. We nibbled on them gingerly for 1 km and soon our water supplies were out and now with only 3 kms to yercaud the going got tougher. At the 2 km I almost gave up when Major also slowed down to 7-8kph and i tailed him real close and soon we saw the 20/20 hairpin bend. After this one gets to see the GRT trails resort and then it is straigh thru to the town/city/station. The yercaud lake looked beautiful. What was even more better was the last 5 kms there is a drastic weather change. The mist welcomed us and cooled our bodies. Gluteus Maximus was begging for mercy towards the last few kms!!  The only thought once at the top was to head to some hotel as we'd turned to gluttons !! Soon found out from a local that there was Saravana Bhavan nearby and we headed right to that place for lunch.Started with a curd rice and that wasn't enough Soon another curd rice and lemon rice followed. We sat outside and after this long relaxed wait Vivek soon joined us after half hour. This climb certainly is no childs play. Nandi is a cupcake now after conquering this climb. One has to have a disciplined approach to do the climb. Standing and pounding a lot only makes matters worse. Major and I initially did that mistake. We then pounded only at the hairpin bends and then switching to lower gear to maintain momentum. Since I wanted to attempt the climb non-stop I didn't use the camera. Moreover, considering my experience to photography (using mobile) on the move I couldn't even attempt to get the camera out due to the sheer amounts of concentration that is required. A watchful eye is required to understand if there is any vehicle approaching downhill and especially the moronic Motor-bikers who rip the roads. I know it is fun biking uphill/downhill but not the cost of other innocent lives..!! The downthill was constantly on the hood and the brakes. There are two nice spots for photography one is a tree/bamboo covered road and this 50-60 mts stretch is truly a wonderful place to relax and take snaps. There are a lot of monkeys around so be cautious. Maybe Major and I suffered the climbs because we rode all the way from Bangalore and that being a 10hrs on the saddle. Hope I get to take on this famed Nemesis again in a better shape the next time. I thank Vivek in being our support car and helping us get back home in comfort after such an ordeal. What next ??


As I pen down my travelogue by this blog I am looking at the pic below and thinking of ways to repair the same.

1. Carry something to munch on like nuts dates etc. 
2. Have enough water/gatorade/enerzal.
3. The tyres should be pumped up to the recommended pressure.
4.Exercise extreme caution while being overtaken or while overtaking (unlikely).


Stats :: Total odo read 248.5kms (ride from blr to yercaud climb and back downhill.
Fuel :: 4lts of water - 4 enerzal packs, 1Mcdees burger, 4 Tender coconuts, 3plate idlis, 2 Curd rice +1 lemon rice yumm.
Kalhatti calling.. :-) Enough words and let some of the meagre pics that I managed to capture tell the rest of story.
https://picasaweb.google.com/108786458769812949648/September32011Yercaud

Koti-Lingeshwara :: Divinity Quantified..!!!!!!!!

Trip to Koti-lingeshwara (Divinity quantified…!!!!!)
Date::18-Jan-2010

The entire Sunday (17th) Jan went by just getting the car checked as there was a radiator leak. Unfortunately the radiator repair guy “in shift” and was expected to be present only early next day. Came back to the garage with hope from the mechanic that he would try and fix the radiator. ( put a smile on my face so I don’t have to visit him again tomorrow for another wasted weekend.)


Now to the main part .. oh yes.. the trip..
How ?? Now that the car had to be tested, I just couldn’t just make rounds for a couple of kms and say “AAL EEZ WELL!!!!! So Koti-Lingeshwara, here we come.

Who ? My mother, brother and I. Brother had college late morning so distance mappings had to be done and I also was worried about the road conditions. I had been there once on bike with my friend but the roads were horrid after the right at the level crossing just beyond Hosakote on the way to Bangarpet. Wondering about the alternatives and covering this notorious stretch, we started by 5:30am.



Route
Kavalbyrasandra >> Outer Ring Road >> Old Madras Road >> towards Kolar/Hosakote >> Right at the first level crossing >> Bangarpet >> Kammasandra >> Kotilingeshwara.
Hand on heart, I feared the worst and headed for the highway. For the next couple of kms the roads were giving a good fight to my car’s handling ability and my driving skills. Then voila!!!! the road turned out as smooth as Makkhan. Newly laid tarmac was an absolute treat. I was seriously considering reaching Mulbagal and taking an alternate route from there though, it is a longer detour. But I’m glad I didn’t. So we reached Kotilingeshwara at 7:00am. As per google search results a couple of websites mentioned the distance to be within 70kms. But what was the final Odometer reading ?? 200Kms.


Why Koti-lingeshwara? My mother’s request to see the temple.
Quickspecs on Kotilingeshwara - As on 2008 there are about 87 lakh lingas. You could do a Linga Pratishtapana for Rs.3,500. (Installing a linga within the premises. Please pardon my technical jargon.) Now a trick with the count of the linga.





In the picture to the right, each linga contains smaller lingas embedded on the main structure, so each one counts.














This is the big statue of Nandi facing the giant linga.














Goddess Santhoshi's shrine inside second partition of the main temple.












This is the big nandi facing the giant linga.











Started for bangalore by 9:30AM and reached home within 11:30AM. Stopped on the way to shop for vegetables. Was a little tired so relaxed for a while and watched a telugu movie Oye. ( remake of A walk to remember) and slipped into a deep slumber. A nice place for a half a day out!!!!