Meditation by Bike: The Epic SriLanka Tour

A notification popped up on Facebook mentioning about "The Epic SriLanka Bike Tour". For me this was the best way to put my life on hold and just disappear to a place where people don't know me, away from the busy schedule, away from the best buddies; to rejuvenate my thoughts, have a new start for the upcoming year and end 2017 year on a good note.

Bike touring is a spartan life with abundant freedom and I want to do it again, live every moment of it till it soaks in my soul. The experience of riding a multi-day bike tours brings in mixed feeling of riding slow, fast, giving all your energy, doing climbs (a lot of it), fear of being dropped from the group, trying to mix up with the other like-minded folks, getting tanned, riding alone, taking the suffering, and embracing the nature. It is difficult to put the emotions and feelings after riding this tour into words but I'll try to do it with this post. What happened while biking in SriLanka will always come up as a motivation for me and memories to cherish for the lifetime. I hope anyone reading this post will enjoy it.

Before flying, it was the feeling of intense trepidation as the tour approached. This tour had a total distance of 750 KM to be covered accompanied by some steep climbs, a foreign land to ride on with scorching sun on a few days and pouring rain on the rest. Touring never gets easier but my stamina always improves with each bike tour I ride. Pain and suffering on the tour are transient, the memories are perpetual. I travel by bicycle for everything other than arriving at the destination. I want to see the depth of serene nature which would unfold with each pedal stroke I make.

Day 0: Hyderabad to Colombo

On 15th of December, 2017, I found myself boarding a plane for a vacation. Oh, did I hear it right "vacation"? Yes, a vacation but a tough one. A vacation where I wanted to hear the birds chirping, trembling trees waiting for my bike to cross them, water puddles waiting to soak my shoes wet, rain shower trying to calm my mind, smiles of the strangers with whom I make eye contact while riding slow. Well, I got all of it in SriLanka, a country with rich culture, food cuisine, serene riding environment and strangers who helped at each stage. 

On reaching the Hyderabad airport, I was dumbstruck to see the courtesy of the staff who opened a dedicated counter for the folks going on the bike tour to make it easy and quick to drop bike bags as the luggage. I think it was a wise decision to speed up the regular queue. I didn't want the hassle of carrying my own bike, so ActionLanka was supposed to arrange a bike on rent for me. I really enjoy the food I get on the rides but felt a little disappointed as I had to eat vegetarian food on SriLankan airways. We were picked up by Peter (from ActionLanka), a person 54-year-old but with the stamina of a youngster. It took us an hour to reach the hotel at Colombo from the airport. Colombo has the highest concentration of people, so traffic was a bit of a problem. Everyone was so excited that Peter had to do the tour briefing on the bus itself.

After reaching to the hotel, I stepped out with Joe to try out the local delicacies like Prawn curry and Nasi Goreng, followed by String Hoppers and Egg Appam along with other fellow riders. The food was delicious and all the LKR I converted at the airport was spent on the lunch. 

Towards the evening, AK (our tour guide from ActionLanka) got the bike ("Specialized Diverge") I rented out. The bike looked promising, comfortable and much responsive than my bike "Specialized Roubaix" but it had thick tires which took some time to get used to. The team of ActionLanka is skilled and helped everyone assemble their bikes. Riding a new bike can sometimes take a toll for such long tours but Peter's personal bike which he gave to me for riding didn't disappoint me at any point in time. Bike for Joe was a bit of a problem due to size but the team was able to get a better bike for him which I'm sure he would have enjoyed riding through the tour.

I had a good time during my stay at Hotel Stewart (thanks to Anand who picked up such a nice hotel). In the night, I swung by Java coffee lounge for a nice Chicken Wrap as a dinner. Post dinner, everyone went for a stroll. SriLanka was already gearing up for the Christmas celebration with hotels decorated, live music playing and streets decorated with the lights. The locals were helpful from the time our gang landed in SriLanka. Joe was interested to go for a short ride to test his bike in the night itself. Well, everyone was too excited for the tour to begin. 

SriLanka has a lot of Buddhist influence. On the way back to the hotel, Joe and I visited a souvenir shop and the souvenirs were mesmerizing. I had already made up my mind what to buy but I guess I was a bit late to make that choice as the store made an announcement for the close and we had to leave. Looking at the quality of the roads, it felt that roads of Colombo (similar to any posh area of Hyderabad) are deceptive and it can't be so clean, no litter, people obeying traffic rules. I was amazed to see that the car driver wouldn't move as we were trying to cross the road. I guess something which Indians can learn.

Most of the times, cyclist riding schedule is not well synced up with the hotels but our tour planner ActionLanka and TBA did a great job to have things organized early morning. It was raining cats and dogs in the night with dark clouds all over the place. But of course, with dark clouds, there is always a silver lining. The sun which will soon be out in the morning to kick start our tour. 

The real adventure was just a day away. The next 10 days would be shambling meander across SriLanka.

Day 1: Colombo to Chilaw

78 KM ride. https://www.strava.com/activities/1315444035

This ride went in getting used to the rented bike. Before starting the ride, everyone was given the cue sheet to be followed and looks like I had more technical stuff to digest for understanding the cue sheet. For the first time, I came to know SO means straight on. Except for a few riders, I have never ridden with the others who came for the tour. So, this ride helped in understanding who can ride at my pace and make new friends. The route was picked by Krish from TBA who always likes the country roads rather than highways. The ride was along the coast and the scorching sun was out to increase the tanning for the riders. No matter which country I ride at, if it has dogs, they always bark at the cyclist. I don't know what fun they get doing that but looks like in SriLanka they enjoyed barking much more. I was a bit scared not to smash the bike into another rider due to dog chase.

On the way, we stopped at Negombo for coffee and tiramisu. Since no was interested in the milk portion of the tea/coffee (everyone likes black stuff), I just drank it like Punjabi's do :) A few miles were cutting through the fish market right next to the sea. Oh! the smell of the fish was charming. A bunch of riders riding slow got titled as photography group/team C. They were stopping a lot and to reduce heat, took a dip at a deserted beach. Beaches of SriLanka (similar to the roads) are very clean and litter free. Post the dip, Krish decided to ride without shoes and later the socks were seen on the pedals and Krish riding happily barefoot. We stopped at another place to refill water, enjoy the cold drink and some fried stuff to eat. The best part of bike tours is that you can eat the food of your choice as you will burn out the calories for the same on the ride. The last stretch was a gravel road and the Specialized Diverge was put to the real use. The bike responded well and helped in reducing the pain. Towards the last 3 KM, I saw Hemanth riding with one leg and pedal sticking on the cleat on his right leg. I wasn't sure what he was trying to achieve with that but later he mentioned that his cleat had some problem.

Soon we arrived at Carolina beach hotel and were served with the welcome drink. For me, that was the recovery from the ride. The ride was a bit slow per the standards of my regular riding during the preparation for the tour, still trying to figure out the root cause for it because with this pace, it was definitely going to hurt a lot in the upcoming days. When Dr. Pavan and Joe arrived, I had no doubts about the capabilities of their photography skills.

Day 2: Chilaw to Anuradhapura

139 KM ride. https://www.strava.com/activities/1316773242

Day 2 was the longest day of the tour accompanied by headwinds and blazing sun. The first 12 KM was the gravel road. The route was broken into a few sections with stops for water, breakfast, and lunch. All the riders got divided into teams based on the riding speed. Team A - speed guns, Team B - Trying to set the pace, Team C - Photography gang trying to enjoy the tour to the full extent. Our destination was Anuradhapura; is a beautiful place with Buddhist relics, a place where sampling from Bodhi tree was kept. Lucky enough to see the prayers from the Buddhism followers in the evening while exploring this UNESCO world heritage site after the ride was over. Some places were so peaceful that it just freshens up the mind.

By this day, our sleep schedule was set, lights off by 9:30 pm and wake up at 5 am. It feels very nice to get so many hours of sleep when your focus is just riding and nothing else. 

Day 3: Anuradhapura to Rideegama

121 KM ride. https://www.strava.com/activities/1318204656

The scenic beauty played an important role to ease the pain which started to kick in on day 3. We stopped a lot to try papaya juice with the lemon smash, curd with treacle (treacle is the coconut honey made in SriLanka). I had composed an epic picture of me with mountains on the front and me riding towards it. Kshitij did an amazing job to capture it well. Around 100 KM mark, Kshitij and I stopped, sat on the road to relax under a tree shade. Soon Peter came to rescue and helped us get lunch on the way post which we headed to the hotel. The ride to the hotel was gravel/dirt road for ~ 2 KM with the dogs chasing us. Kshitij put the map of walking and we were taking left, right, U-turn for last KM to reach the hotel instead of a straight path.

Day 4: Rideegama to Kandy

46 KM ride. https://www.strava.com/activities/1319201447

This is the ride which introduced me to the climbing sections on the tour. Luckily it was a short ride but with a long climb towards the end. I had already made up my mind to go slow on the climb and best way to do that was to ride a few KM with Joe. When we started the ride in the morning, we had a water puddle and most of the riders got through it without getting wet but there are always a few :)

The ride to the base was easy and quick; without realizing, riders hit the base of the climb. As the climb started, kids in the area were shouting in Sinhalese (the language spoken in SriLanka) which looked like words of encouragement to me. The climb got over and riders waited at the Petrol bunk on top of the hill. I guess it won't be possible to wait at a Petrol station in India. People were relaxing, sleeping, chatting after the climb. No one wanted to ride more to the hotel. Some of the riders (Adhip, Gokul, and Pratibha) were so motivated that they went down the hill to climb it again. Hats off to them. After the climb, Hemath was found in praying position that mountain has been easy for him to get a ranking on the climb. Well, of course, he was doing stretching exercise :)

Joe and I stopped at a couple of places sharing the raisins, groundnuts Joe got along with a few energy bars. It really helped me on the climb. I was sweating so much that any place I took a break at got the water droplets. Joe stopped at a place checking out raw coffee beans and I was shouting, is it something to eat? So hungry all the time. For me riding on this climb was just to get fancy pictures without struggling much. Guess we hadn't done enough that we had to do another kicker climb to reach the hotel top as well.

Kandy looks touristy. I went out to explore the place, got some cycle printed t-shirts followed by the visit to Temple of Tooth Relic though was not motivated enough to go inside. I saw a lake near our hotel in Kandy and was amazed to see it so clean, hats off the Sri Lankans who are able to maintain such a beauty.

Day 5: Kandy to Nuwara Eliya

95 KM ride. https://www.strava.com/activities/1320631179

The hardest day of the tour and ahh, thinking about it while writing this post is enough to bring back the pain. This ride was full of rain, fog, mountains, greenery, and waterfalls. The most scenic but still hard day of the tour. The rain was pouring throughout the ride; towards the end, it became difficult to stop for a break due to shiver I was getting from the cold rainwater and sweat. My raincoat was my phone, wallet, and shoe cover. I didn't care much about Jersey getting wet and soggy.

I was riding alone for quite sometime when I saw Gokul and Kshitij coming. It was great catching up with Gokul on the ride. He helped me click pictures which I was unable to do due to wet hands. We stopped at a waterfall at which Kshitij took a dip and a bike wash. To reach to the lunch place, there was a 5 KM uphill and I was stopping too frequently. Gokul convinced me to keep riding and engaged me in a discussion so that I stop thinking about the pain riding uphill. We had lunch at a small place at 60 KM mark. Now the beast starts. I filled my tummy with as much food as I could eat but that didn't last even for a few KM on the climb. I was so slow in the cycle that I was able to make eye contacts with the people from the village and the smile they gave made me forget the pain for that moment. My toe fingers were numb by now, body soaked in rain and I was completely drenched in water even after wearing shoe cover (guess I didn't pay them enough as water seeped in from below).

I wanted to take pictures but was unable to operate the phone neither through fingerprint nor through the passcode. I stopped a person passing by to see if he can let me wipe my phone and hand with his shirt so that I can use my phone at least to know the distance and check the map for the hotel location. The person would be thinking, who is this fool with two wheels on a hill under the rain shower?

The tea plantation was beautiful and one of the scenic vistas of SriLanka. This day, I didn't want to be swept, it was a challenge that I wanted to finish the tour completely on two wheels. My body gave up on the salts, had to forcefully drink water. Pretty soon, I was out of energy bars and the energy from the lunch didn't last long enough but I still had 12 KM to reach to the hotel. The total climb (I call it a beast) was ~ 34 KM and an HC category climb. On the way to the hotel, there is a Pedro tea estate which was supposed to be worth a visit but with so much hardship, I gave it a pass. Though I was struggling hard to finish the ride, I still managed to enjoy a bit by embracing nature. Joe who was riding slowly was unable to finish the ride along with a bunch of other riders but he did get good memories by fixing flat of our support bus. Looks like even support needs support :)

Later, I got to know that he shared lunch with a farmer (jackfruit curry he ate looked delicious), clicked a lot of pictures along with Pavan. The hotel we stayed at had a wooden roof and was reminiscent of the colonial buildings.

Day 6: Nuwara Eliya to Ella

58 KM ride. https://www.strava.com/activities/1321632497

Each grueling climb delivers a matching descent that you may spend at your own leisure, whether you’re the type to blow it all in one go for a quick shot of adrenaline, or canter relaxedly down, savoring each tree and flower and blade of grass and friendly wave. Today was that day.

My neck was hurting due to the climb on the yesterday's ride. Gokul was very helpful in making me do some exercises to reduce the pain. He is a very helpful person who makes most of my touring enjoyable. Descents are lovely as long as you are careful with the brakes and timing.

In the initial part of the ride, we crossed a beautiful temple "Seetha Amman". Per our expert photographer "Dr. Pavan", beauty is an understatement for this ride. A few folks stopped to take pictures of a fruit similar to Lichi "Rambutan"; looked interesting. The ride ended at a place called Ella; a delight for backpackers. In the evening, we met a chap from Germany (I guess) who was also touring SriLanka on his bicycle. All the riders chilled at Chill Cafe where we had our sumptuous dinner meal.

Day 7: Ella to Udawalawe

103 KM ride. https://www.strava.com/activities/1322671459

Today was a lovely pace for a century ride. All credits to the tail winds. It was a relief from the suffering till date. Pace was so high that I missed the main entrance of the Udawalawe National Park. The ride had to be finished by 2 pm to accomplish our safari plan and it's so cool that I did it by 11:30 am. Tailwind on the road was a bliss. When we hit the road from Ella, we soon saw the majestic Ella Gap followed by Ravana falls. Though there were a lot of monkeys around the falls; it was the spot for taking pictures.

Despite the pain on the ride, when I saw the Udawalawe reservoir, the view made me forget all the pain I have been going through for last 6 days. It was an so nice to be around that reservoir for the photographs. There were two Elephants (a little sad that they have to be out in sun behind the electric fence), one was named "Rambo" I think. The weather has been glorious and the miles passed unnoticed as if it's you who is stationary and the world is rotating beneath your wheels. This is because my legs have hardened and learnt how to take all the pain without asking my mind to handle it. By hasty close of another day, I have ridden another century. Momentum won't let me stop.

We reached Udawalawe; the third biggest national park in SL. As planned, I was all set for the evening safari at the national park. This was my first experience of a Safari and I loved it. After a lot of nuisance created by the 6 of us in our Jeep, the forest officer came and sat with us. We took different route than the other folks to get better experience of spotting the creatures of the park. Joe was sharing his knowledge of safaris. I saw a lot of unique creatures like star turtle, elephant charging, a lot of birds, pelicans, monitor lizard, etc. It was a bliss to see the peacock with the feathers spread. But for our friends, Joe and Gokul, safari seemed so monotonous that they slept on the back seat snoring.

Day 8: Udawalawe to Mirissa

102 KM ride. https://www.strava.com/activities/1323754225

Dr. Pavan was complaining about the route that why is it undulating. It was very quick of AK (tour guide) to joke that riders should also have a flat stomach and not undulating. The route was full of continuous climbs every 2-3 KM. 

Kshitij, Joe and me started riding a bit fast to end the ride at Mirissa. The way Joe cruises his bike through the city traffic is something to be learnt from. He is faster than me on such roads driving his bike like his Land Cruiser. By end of this ride, we reached the southernmost tip of SriLanka where we checked in at Handegadara Colonial Villa. This villa got destroyed by Tsunami disaster and was reconstructed. While other riders were busy packing bikes, I quickly jumped into the swimming pool without glasses and I hurt my hands by smashing into the boundary of the pool. Post ride, swimming pool is the best place for recovery especially if water is a bit cold. The ice-cream while chilling at the pool was like Wow feeling.

Mirissa to Galle (no cycling)

After ending the biking tour, all of us went to the celebration dinner at the Galle Fort but our bunch got a few minutes late and missed the sunset. We picked a different restaurant as the one booked didn't have enough space for all of us. A few vegan folks went to a different place leaving the hard-core non-vegetarians at Canon Bar & Grills where we were the only ones. The restaurant was exploited for the seafood by the bunch of hungry chaps after riding 750 km with a live Kitchen and the chef made it special. Chef had to literally tell that this food is for the outside folks and not us as we didn't see what was coming our way, we just ate what came out of the Kitchen. Post the drinks, the dance floor was all set by Pavan, Kshitij, and Joe. Later Hemanth joined them as well. A night to remember.

The team of ActionLanka was amazing and unique. I really loved the way Peter kicked off the tour, the directions were given by AK (our tour guide), water top up by Amitha and later joined by Prasad who was called by Peter as he was leaving. It was his first road bike tour and I would say life changing one for him. All credits to Dr. Pavan and his photo breaks.

Day 9: At Mirissa

After all the riding fun, it was time for Whale Watching. It was a marvelous experience for me and totally worth the ticket fee. I had a rare chance to see Orcas (killer whales) and Blue whales together in the ocean. The food served on the boat was amazing.

Post whale watching activity, we came back to the villa for lunch where fish, prawns, and crab were waiting for us. The lunch was mouth watering.

After the meal, I grabbed an hour of sleep post which we went out to explore Mirissa beach. We found the place at Zephyr shack; though sitting on the chair was also painful as the body was so used to the saddle. I waited for the sunset but again, missed it due to cloud cover.

Overall, SriLanka was a great host for me and food throughout my stay never disappointed me; not to forget various EGB drink stops. People here are very helpful especially when they see you struggling. Kids come out of the house to check out the riders in funny clothing. Even though I couldn't understand Sinhalese language which one of the kid was speaking, I offered him food to eat and the smile he gave explained all the feelings of his heart. I felt much better on this tour as my stamina has improved. I was able to manage it without any saddle sores and with a good pace. Throughout the tour, people were a fan of drinking black tea and coffee. It was a bit awkward for me to ask for milk and sugar among the other bunch of riders riding along.

The touring color and flavor were added by Dr. Pavan through his amazing phone and photography skills. It was an amazing getaway for me. You get to know more about people, learn things which they are good at and of course, I learned a lot more on how to live life and enjoy because you will cherish these moments throughout your lifetime. I will always look forward to such tours in future. During the 10 day expedition, I had a chance to experience many new things and never let the somewhat changeable weather let me down. Being invited by strangers on soaking wet days is what makes this country welcoming for me.

As it turns out, it was one hell of a trip with the taste of sweat, the pride of finishing the tour and the sheer determination, enthusiasm, and an open mind. My love for cycling has grown profoundly; including capabilities of myself and support from my fellow riders. Most of the tours, you get a lot of time alone to speak to yourself, enjoy the silence and being lost in the remote location where you just see the happy faces of strangers you don't know of.

Riding through SriLanka was an epic experience - an experience I'm sure will resonate with many who have cycled there.

WoW - Women on Wheels

Today was not just another "Sunday", it was a "Wow" (Women on Wheels) Sunday. On the eve of International Women Day, Hyderabad Bicycling Club organized a ride to encourage women into cycling and inculcate this activity in their healthier lifestyle. 

As rightly said by Susan B. Anthony, US women's rights activist - “The bicycle has done more for the emancipation of women than anything else in the world”. The world is slowly seeing a chink of hope in cycling era to see women not just participating but competing.

It took me an eternity but I cajoled my best friend "Hardeep" to partake in this event. First time of everything is exciting, so was this. I wanted this to be enthralling for her as this was her first official event participation. I had the same thoughts running through my mind as if it was going to be my first ride. As I pulled her into cycling, it was my job to get her out of her perpetual darkness of skipping these events for more than a year.

The ride distance was 30 k.m. which may sound like a big number to a neophyte but to make this event imperishable for her, I thought it would be best to take care of all minute details for her ride. She got her bike serviced, bought a bunch of cycling accessories to make her ride comfortable. I promised her that I will take care of the nutrition during the ride so that she stays hydrated (I hope she liked the eatables debouching from my jersey pocket) and of course, later doesn't complain about dehydration 😉. Emboldened by my words before starting the ride, during the ride, and at the stop we took, she did put a great effort to ride the longest distance she has ridden so far. You should have seen the grin on her face when she finished the ride, it was adorable (you can still see it in the picture on the right). I am really happy that I got another cyclist to the cycling community. 

This is the event which I believe have added another dimension to my friendship with Hardeep. I became cognizant of the fact that speed and distance covered on such events don't matter much but what did matter is the profundity of our friendship. 

A tour of the old city and the street food carts

A foodie's bicycle ride to the old city of Hyderabad always intrigues me. We embarked towards Charminar at 6 a.m. in the morning from “The Bike Affair” (TBA). The foodie rides are sporadic, so the riders prefer not to miss them, even if they have to get up early in the morning over a weekend.

It was nice and balmy when we started our ride. My mind had started dreaming and imagining a voracious group of cyclists with flaunting jerseys and twinkling lights, standing agape at “Govind ki Bandi” - a popular street food cart serving delicious south Indian snacks (butter idly, dosa, and masala vada). A myriad of tea cups filled to the brim with “Irani Chai”, served with “Osmania biscuits” at “Nimrah Hotel”. These cookies are so soft and tender that it melts in your mouth within seconds, pacifying your taste buds.

All the food joints are in close proximity to Charminar - a monument and mosque located in Hyderabad, India. This particular ride is so famous in Hyderabad that TBA doesn’t need to tout to decoy the riders to join. Moreover, this is an aberration for riders from their routine training rides that they do, giving a nice view of the monument soaring in the center of a crowded place.

I have heard a lot that the food you eat on the ride is earned, and is priceless. To earn an extra plate on reaching Charminar, I and Parmender took a detour (we were faster than our group, and were pushing hard on the pedals), and went for climbing the monster - the “Whisper Valley” hill. This hill, with an average gradient of 6% scares people even on motorbikes, but it was a refresher for me since I had stopped taking this route after doing “The Tour of Nilgiris”. We pedaled for around 29 k.m. to reach the old city. I could see people staring at us (It’s an aberration for them to see so many cyclists on a single day). The thing I abhor most about visiting the old city is that the attitude of most of the people is gibberish. They will try to speed their bikes/cars on seeing the cyclists, and then suddenly stop in front of you, pass comments and abuse you.

“Govind ki Bandi” is one of those places where you have to wait for a long time before your order is put up on the hot flat iron plate for preparation, and served to you. To avoid the rush, I and Parmender took the turn immediately towards the cart rather than visiting Charminar first (of course we couldn’t get our picture clicked with Charminar, and bicycle but I was more interested in the food). Unlike other carts in a milieu, Govind (owner of the cart) takes care of the hygiene in the food he serves by using some of the fine quality ingredients for the preparation. Also, he is putting meticulous effort by serving the food on a banana leaf, and not using plastic cover for the take-away’s.

There you go, the “dosa” batter was spread on the iron plate, a quarter butter slice (that’s a lot for one dosa) was squeezed on the top with a couple of tomatoes, spices, and a special item that looked like a paste of onions mixed with a lot of Indian spices. Within minutes, the mouth watering, enthralling “dosa” was waiting for the riders debilitated by hunger. By the time our group reached this place, we were eagerly waiting for the butter fried “Idly”. I saw the melancholy faces of the tired riders turned into the smiling one’s after seeing the dripping butter (Their stomach’s will not remain empty for long, as the “masala vada’s” were also on it’s way). Stupefied by the taste of “dosa”, “idly” and “masala vada”, now it was the time to head to Nimrah Hotel where the “Irani Chai” with the “Osmania Biscuits” awaited us. I am not a big fan of tea, but the taste of the “Irani Chai” left me stunned. It’s an irony that the taste of street food is much better than a sumptuous feast at any hotel.

It was time to head back, with Sun God shining bright, more weight to carry (hope you counted what all we ate), and heavy traffic which barely seemed to move. Lucky enough to be able to briskly pass through the traffic hurdles by transgressing traffic signals and squeezing between cars (advantages of being a cyclist!), I and Parmender pushed hard, got separated from the group to reach home early, and not get tanned by sunlight.

I look forward to more of these rides with TBA.

** Photos by Dharma Teja

Tour of Nilgiris - India's toughest cycling tour

After so much of decision making, training and going for late registration after seeing my co-riders register, I finally headed on the tour believed to be India's toughest cycling tour - Tour of Nilgiris.

Before the tour began, we had a pre tour briefing at Shangri La Hotel, Bengaluru. It was mixed feelings of adventure, excitement and fear of not being able to complete it. They claimed that it is mostly downhill, but everyone knew the reality on the way. I did a lot of cycling accessories shopping with Gautham (my training partner who called me each morning to ride and I did come most of the times :P)

Every time I asked him if he had booked the ticket,  his reply would be that he was waiting for Gokul. I was almost certain that he would ditch before the tour but luckily he came and rode. All my rides with him and Gokul helped me a lot in TFN. Riding on such tours is enthralling and you tend to do it over and over again. Here is my reminiscence, saga of the whole tour, things I did, places I rode, and the experiences I had. I will take you through the journey which I experienced over 8 days at one of the best cycling tours - TFN (Tour of Nilgiris).

Day 1: BreakAway - Bangalore to Mysore
176KM | 1210M+ | 1378M-
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/451035294

The only route of the whole tour which was flat and didn't have climbs. The day started with flag off from Shangri La with discussion with my friend Krish that we will ride the tour together (and we did for the first day, later Krish was nowhere to be seen). We rode from the hotel, where we were staying a night before, till Shangri La. The best part of the ride was the nice breakfast, which I couldn't eat due to excitement of the ride. We went for geotagging of bikes and I got to know that my bike doesn't deserve a tag (may be they would have thought that I knew all routes or I would not get lost). All the thoughts rushing through my mind at that time were thrown into turmoil.

I had discussions with other fellow riders and finally the picture clicks began. Time came to start the ride – the only day when I was in the first row during flag off. We were led to NICE road to Kannapura by the volunteers. TFN is the only time when cyclists are allowed on the NICE road in Bangalore. The air was warm and balmy, the highway was parched without any tree cover but all that doesn’t matter when you are high on energy.  The ride had just begun and we had the first crash, where a person riding in my close proximity hit a bus. Damn….That was scary and demotivated us a bit. He was attended by volunteers soon and we started again. It was too hot that day but I kept pacing. We reached the support stations and were introduced to Sukeli (a snack made from Banana, our savior for the rest of the tour). I kept moving with Krish and finally the first CS began. I put in decent effort (but most of my energy was spent in the initial 100 k.m. before the CS). Post CS I was hungry and somehow reached the support station before lunch time. I didn't realize that we had to wait for lunch and saw Gautham talking about Mutton Biryani, and I started. I didn't hear the latter part that the food joint for biryani was 23 k.m. away. Thinking about food, I didn't refill my water bottle and was soon out of water. Somehow, I managed to eat the dry honey-oatmeal bar and rode on a bad patch of road for 5-6 k.m. to reach the lunch place. Krish stayed with me for the entire 23 k.m. and we finally had a nice lunch. It was the hottest ride of the tour. Post lunch, we took rest and rushed to the hotel.

I noticed that riders started cleaning their bikes immediately after the ride was over. You know how lazy I was on the tour that I didn't clean my bike during the whole tour. I was keen in the next few days to go where the scenery would be beautiful -- we would be riding through forest area, country roads -- and much more fun awaiting us.

The bums were already sore but wait, it's just 176 k.m. we have ridden so far. The pain, fatigue is not additive for each day of ride but gets multiplied increasing the intensity of it..

Post dinner, results of CS were announced, a roster of names with ranking was put up on the wall, and riders were looking at it as if exam results were out. They were more interested in the ranking of other riders (usual story of all exams). By this time, I knew I was just gonna enjoy the tour and won’t pace on the CS segments.

Day 2: To coffee country - Mysore to Madikeri

120KM | 1453M+ | 1213M-

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/452113743

Krish’s responsibility was to wake up first and get ready for the ride without rousing me and Raushan. This was a relatively easy day, and it started showing what to expect over the next few days towards the last k.m. which had climbs. Coorg is a beautiful place, and on the bike you get to enjoy every bit of nature which can never happen in a car. We started seeing lots of coffee plantations on the way, and few school kids cheering for us and offering us food. All such activities makes riding fun and you forget all the pain you experience on the ride.

This day I started stopping every 20 k.m. for coconut water on the road-side in the forest stretch. There wasn't a lot I observed on the road except orange peels, and it looked as if people only ate oranges in Madikeri. It got hot when we were about to finish the ride. Best part of TFN routes is that there is always a downhill to reach the hotel, but that may be for only a couple of kilometres.

Day 3: Roller Coaster - Madikeri to Sultan Bathery

147 KM | 1964M+ | 2069M-

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/452113802

That scenic view in the morning full of fog, mountains, greenery. I thought that it would be great to ride today (pain was already playing its role) but this turned out to be the most irritating ride of the whole tour where you can't maintain the rhythm in the ride. That's why it is named "Roller Coaster".

The ride started this time with initial few k.m. with Gokul but he pushed the pace later. I kept riding at my steady pace, enjoying the ups and downs. The whole route was full of tree plantations and you can see a lot of tea/coffee estates. This ride was the entry to "God's own country - Kerala".  Best part of this ride was the smooth roads and less traffic. We crossed the wildlife sanctuary "Tholpetty" where we got to try unniappams with a cup of hot black tea.

Day 4: Sultan Bathery to Ooty
103KM | 2788M+ | 1230M-
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/453089348

Finally the day why riders come to TFN was here "The Monster Kalahatti".

Volunteers had rightly said "Will there be pain? is not the question. How will you take the suffering? is the question". This is the toughest ride of the whole tour and riders mostly come to experience pain on this day. To encourage riders, the ride was relatively short (only 103 k.m.), that too with optional sweep section of 10 k.m. after finishing Kalahatti, but was it that easy? On this very day, cyclists would be found soaring in the mountains leading to Doddabeta (small town near Ooty) which was our destination.

One of the best things that volunteers did was to ask riders if we wanted warm clothing which we could pick up from the support station after climbing the hill. They knew it was going to be cold up there, which is what makes TFN unique and one of the best tours in India. Before climbing, we rode through Mudhumalai wildlife sanctuary. Ride of around 18 k.m. was a group ride, where riders in groups of 10-15 were escorted by vehicles through the forest. I hope I don't need to explain the reason (WILDLIFE), and yes I saw few wild elephants and deer on the way. We were instructed not to stop in the jungle. Lucky enough my pump collided with the tyre and I had to stop to fix it. Thanks to Arul who stopped to give me company. When the ride through the forest was about to end, the climbs started. This is to show what to expect from Kalahatti. At one point, I felt that the road was neither going down nor the base of the climb was approaching, where there was food at the support station. I stopped to take rest for a few mins and immediately the forest patrolling car came and told me to continue riding as I can't stop even though the forest was almost over. After a lot of struggle, I reached the place where the monster was waiting for us. I had my lunch, relaxed for a long time before starting, and kept enough time so that in case I ended up walking, I shouldn't be swept.

Kalhatti - insane climb with 36 hairpin  curves (you can see the  image on the right), avg. gradient of ~ 10%, and up to 15% in a few sections, making it nearly impossible for a rider to keep up on his bike. I started the climb with easy pace, and just after 2 hairpin curves I couldn't ride. I started walking along with Venky and Army Brigadier and I could hear a timid voice from my heart “C’mon you can ride that up, it is just a matter of 12 more kilometers”.. I had walked just a few meters when I saw Anand shouting from behind to get on the bike. I just ignored him and soon Gaurav crossed us, putting all his energy and motivating us to ride. Though the climb was getting tough with each step, it couldn’t stop the smiles on the riders’ bleak faces. I stopped and lowered my saddle height a bit so that I would be able to ride easily in case I had to stop, as I was on cleats and was finding it difficult to put my feet down on the incline. After seeing both of them, I got on to the saddle and rode a decent distance. I was pushing my limits and trying not to stop. My eyes were continuously monitoring the cyclocomputer, and the distance was not at all moving. My walking and riding speed was almost the same, but I was happier riding, as I had to spend more energy walking up. Hairpin curves kept reducing, and I stopped at a lot of them to take pictures (of course rest) and enjoy nature and the view of Ooty. I was appreciating the markers of TFN who spent time thinking what to write after every few meters to encourage riders, and they knew what most riders would be doing at that distance. Words of each marker slogan were gleaming in the sunlight. I was offered water by volunteers on the way up, a life saver for me, as I have finished my bottles in the initial 4 k.m.

Finally came the "Hail Hitler", the toughest section of the whole climb, where even motorized vehicles find it difficult to drive. The section looks like a real monster with a never ending climb (though it was only for 1 k.m. I think). The moment I took the turn, my bicycle just stopped and was not moving. I thought of walking up that stretch but that in itself was very tough. I was unable to even pull myself up on that section. I spurned any form of  help and I did not want to get swept either. Hats off to my fellow riders who rode on that section. And finally after all that struggle, I was so happy to see the board saying 1/36 hairpin curve, and I rushed towards the end point. I loved the way they wrote 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 metre left, and you did it. I just gave my bicycle to the volunteers after the climb, ate food, and headed to the hotel in Ooty.

Day 6: Gravity Sucks - Ooty to Palakkad
157KM | 1075M+ | 3417M-
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/453850599

For those of you who are thinking if I don't know counting or I missed mentioning about a day - Day 5 was a rest day for riders at Ooty and we just enjoyed the weather. I am very fond of chocolates, and reached a chocolate factory ambling to get some. I never thought that the hotel window would be opened by a monkey who would take away my chocolates, energy bars, and enerzal :(

Anyway, after the photoshoot on the rest day, we woke up and came to the flag off point for today's ride. Our tour director Badri starts the day by saying "Focus your mind on the road otherwise your brain will be". Theoretically, this is the easiest ride, if you see the elevation drop, but prevention is better than cure. Whatever we rode uphill will help us now as it's mostly downhill. With that long distance and downhill descent, you hardly get a chance to pedal. The pain in the palms because of braking continuously was excruciating due to steep descent.. For me, this was one of the best rides because of 154 KM downhill, and you can actually look around and click pictures, as climbing is mainly focused on riding and pain. We travelled from Kerala to Tamil Nadu, and now we were heading back to Kerala. Divya gave a jersey and asked us to stop near Coimbatore for a short campaign/awareness regarding cancer. I was either very slow or too fast that this time I missed the place and couldn't join the group. The people waiting for us tried calling me but I guess that was too late and I didn't want to stop with that speed. I carried on and reached before my Hyderabad gang.

One thing which I still recollect is the expression on Venkat's face to go to the bar and have Beer after the ride. Interestingly, I managed with a glass of water, soft drink or juice most of the times :)

Day 7: Breathtaking and breathless - Palakkad to Valparai
108KM | 2169M+ | 1170M-
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/454898306

Tour was towards the ending stage but wait, who said that climbs are over. We got another 30 k.m. of climbing today on Valparai ghat area with 40 hairpins this time. But the numbers started with 1 this time :P

I would say this climb was much more easier than Kalahatti, since this was more gradual and not brutal as the earlier one. Best part was that you can ride on it and don't have to walk. Most of the riders took this one easy. Before the climb started, I got a bottle of honey, took bananas, and mixed it. My god, that was an amazing food combo before the climb and helped a lot. I started with Raushan, who for the first time during the tour, rode with me for few k.m. and again got back. He was rarely seen on the ride, and we could meet him after the ride ended but the discussions over dinner were quite good. Valparai climbs provide you a stunning view of aliyar dam with a lot of monkeys on the way. You can see in the photo how beautiful the road is (though it's going up and up, but with each curve it adds to the serenity of the hill and dam). We stopped at a local place for food, and that was finger licking. What a fish curry that guy served us, I just forgot all my pain and kept eating. I was lucky enough to grab the last piece of fish curry, after which only curry was left for other riders.

I stopped at a lot of places on the way to enjoy the ride in the lush green tea and coffee estates and breathtaking vistas, and got a chance to speak to local people, telling them about my tour, and the discussions carried on for quite some time.

I moved ahead and finished the ride. Gautam went to stay in another hotel, and we took his room as Raushan and I were given 6 sharing room today, which was the only part I didn't like, but thanks to Gautam who saved us.

Day 8: Mostly Downhill - Valparai to Pollachi
74KM | 980M+ | 1866M-
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/454898223

And finally the last day of the tour "Mostly Downhill". Look at the smile on my face (in the image on the left). That's what I aim for whenever I go on such tours. So the downhill started and we were given the same set of instructions of being cautious during the descent. But people were happy to end the tour, and a lot of them crashed resulting in injuries and broken bones. I hope they recover fast and get back to riding, especially my friend Krish.

This ride was a cake-walk where, for the first time, I drafted behind Lord Venky for the last 10 k.m. He is such a strong rider and I found it quite difficult to continue chasing him. Sorry Gokul that I ditched you on the way :P

We concluded the tour at Pollachi (Tamil Nadu). Yeah I rode that many miles which my cateye shows in the image. Wonderful experience so far, and loved the resort with a nice river on the side and food being served to hungry riders. We met riders for the last time, as some were leaving from Pollachi itself. We socialized a bit and started packing our bicycles.

Only event in India for cycling where I saw international riders as well.

Champions Dinner/Cool-off party
Post tour we had a party in Bangalore where we got to meet the riders in the actual clothing and how they look in real life since on tour you recognize the riders either by helmet or by jersey.

And here, I got the title of a successful TFN finisher. I hope to do this tour again with more stamina and have a decent ranking in the race segment, apart from enjoying the tour. The experience of the last 8 days was a composite reminiscence of what each rider had gone through - pain, smile, endurance, appreciating nature - and I attribute this success to the team behind Tour of Nilgiris.