Melukote (300 Kilometer Brevet)

Date: 17 March 2018

Total distance: 311 Kilometers

Start Time: 5:30 am 17 March 2018

Return Time: 10:00 pm 17 March 2018

With: Rohit Bidkar

Altitude Profile:

Kanteerava Stadium - Bellur Cross - Melukote - Srirangapatna - Ramanagar - Kanteerava Stadium

Two weeks had flown since the Mangaluru 600 and I was looking for opportunities to ride. I was happy to see that a new route was announced for the 300 km brevet by Bangalore Randonneurs. The ride was to Melukote, a temple town in Mandya district with a couple of beautiful sightseeing options. The plan is to ride and to be able to visit these places if possible. As I have been to Melukote earlier, there is an enthusiasm to ride to the Kalyani and the Raya Gopura as these will add only 5 additional kilometers to the route.

I replaced the chain on the road bike and it was ready to be ridden, however, after washing the MTB I was tempted to try this ride on the MTB. The more I looked at the MTB, the stronger the feeling to ride it. I prepped the cycle for the ride even though I cannot use a couple of gears as they are worn out.

The concerns for the ride are the heat and wind. Since the ride starts at 5:30 am, the plan will be to make optimum use of the time from 5:30 am to 10:30 am and ride at least 100 kilometers in this time frame before the heat and wind become a factor. Keeping the same distance parameter of 100 kilometers from 5:30 pm till 10:30 pm since the Sun will not be a factor. That leaves me with 100 kilometers to be ridden in 7 hours from 10:30 am to 5:30 pm. 7 hour window will hopefully be sufficient for visiting Melukote as well. Hopefully I will be able to execute and don't have any issues during the ride.

I set the alarm for 4:00 am. I was up when the alarm went off and took 45 minutes to get ready. Headed out to the start point where a lot of riders had assembled and few more were streaming in. It was a big turnout for a 300 with 32 riders starting.

The ride was flagged off at 5:30 am and I made a slow start. I took time to start Strava, set the music on the Ipod. I was not in a hurry and was very relaxed. Rohit Bidkar synced up with me and we rode together. As soon as I had all the things sorted I began to increase the pace. We passed a few riders in the city and made it to Yeswanthpur. The previous nights rain had left the road damp. The weather was pleasant and it was good conditions to ride in. We reached the Peenya flyover in 30 minutes and that was an indication that even though the start was slow that time had been made up.

As the clock edged over 6:15 am, the day was being lit up albeit slowly with a heavy cloud cover, however the visibility improved and riding became easier. As it is a familiar route, riding on it was also relatively easy and we made quick progress and got to the Nelamangala turn. 30 kilometers done in just over an hour, 10% of the ride had been completed and it seemed like the ride was just getting started.

The delayed sun rise and the cloud cover was very helpful. There was minimal wind as well which helped to keep us fresh and we were pushing longer than we would have if not for these conditions. Pretty soon we started seeing all the eating joints crop up and the thought of stopping for breakfast was taking roots in the mind. Checked with Rohit and he said that we could have breakfast after we get to the first control point. Since, the stop time was fixed as after the control point, I focused on the ride and got going. I did not realise that our ride speed was hovering above the 25 kmph mark and we were making good distance. I was looking at the restaurants on the route and was thinking that this road is soon going to become like Mysore Road. New restaurants have opened and many are under construction. A few familiar sights like the Shiva Ganga hills, the Yadiyur temple and the various places where I have stopped to rest on previous brevet rides and tours were bringing back memories of those rides.

I was enjoying the ride and felt the need for food when I checked the distance covered. We had done 100 kilometers in 3 hours 36 minutes and I was surprised to see that we had touched 100 kilometers. It was just over 9:00 am and I had expected to get here only by 10:00 am. The next 5 kilometers to the Coffee Day was a little slow as I was hungry. The sight of Coffee Day was a relief as a stop for food was coming up shortly. We made a quick stop at Coffee Day for the selfie and then rode about half a kilometer before stopping for breakfast.

We stopped at a small eatery. I had a masala dosa which was huge going by the standard masala dosa's that we get now. I was struggling to finish it, however, I filled myself so that I could sustain the ride till Melukote. We filled up our bottles and small dose of Jeera Soda before we got back on the saddle.

The ride from Bellur Cross was in rolling terrain. Based on the Mangaluru ride, I will have to term this as gentle rolling terrain. It was good to be off the national highway and onto the state highway. There were trees close to the road and although the agricultural fields were barren, it still was a good view. The road condition was not great, but I was not complaining as I was on the MTB. There was the occasional bus/truck which would zip past us or push us off the road, but all part of the experience. We were lucky to get away unscathed and were still enjoying the ride. There were a couple of water bodies which had water in them, which showed that the area had sufficient rains in the previous year and were probably looking good to sustain the summer months. It was tempting to stop at one of these, however, with the plan to ride in Melukote, I avoided the temptation.   

We had passed a lot of sugarcane juice and coconut water vendors as soon as we started from Bellur Cross. As it was just after breakfast, I hadn't stopped, however an hour later, when we wanted to have either Sugarcane Juice or Coconut water, there was none available.

The ride slows down and becomes mentally taxing when we are looking for something and it is not available. With the fall in pace, Melukote was looking very far off. Just then we came across a lake which had the Melukote temple in the backdrop and stopped for a quick break. It helped to take the mind off the refreshments and enjoy nature.

We were just a couple of kilometers from the turn to Melukote. When we reached the turn we got our supply of sugarcane juice. One cup to re-energise and another to appease the mind. Rolling terrain continued and a small climb in the last half a kilometer brought us to the control point. The organisers had not reached as yet, we called to inform them that we had reached. As they were on the way, it gave the perfect opportunity to finish the Melukote visit. I asked Rohit if he would join, but he was not too keen and wanted to save energy for the return.

I started off from the control point and passed a host of schools/colleges before reaching the town which was a kilometer and a half away. The temple was on top of a hill and I knew that I could not make it to the temple as I had not carried the lock and leaving an unlocked cycle at the base did not seem safe. I opted instead to visit the main Kalyani, the twin Kalyani's and the Raya Gopura. I was allowed to take the cycle into the Raya Gopura premises and it was a surprise that I enjoyed. Although I had to carry the cycle up a flight of stairs, it was worth the effort.

The return from Melukote to the control point was quick as it was downhill. A lot of riders had reached the control point. Just as I parked the cycle and was getting into the bus stop where the refreshments stall was set up, I saw a familiar face, it was my college classmate Vijay and I was surprised to see him cycling. It was good to see him and we chatted a bit about college while having Pongal which was provided by the organisers.

Refilled water, spoke to Mohan Sir about the Mangaluru ride and his experience of the Mysuru 200 BRM, stocked up on oranges and started from the control point at 1:05 pm. Rohit and I started and within half a kilometer, I stopped again at a lake and we took a few more pics.

The return started when we started from the lake. The gradient map had shown that the ride from Melukote to Mandya is a general downward gradient and I had expected it to be easy. However, the road was not in very good shape and there was a lot of loss in speed due to the vibrations. Further, the afternoon heat had to be contended with, which made me run through a bottle of water in no time.

After we crossed Pandavapura, the road condition improved and also there were trees lining the roads which provided ample shade. The canals were full and the fields were green. I was surprised to see water in the canals in March and was happy for the farmers on one side and concerned about water availability in Bangalore during May. While I enjoyed the sight, the thought of getting to Mysuru road was not very appealing as the ride will not be enjoyable after that. As we got closer to the highway the traffic increased and with it came the inevitable honking. We made it to the highway and found a Canara Bank ATM. It was 2:30 pm.

As I had run through my water supply quickly, we made a stop to refill water. I soaked my scarf in the water and got ready to ride again. The next 10 kilometers would have a few steep gradients and I was looking forward to doing this without struggling too much.

However, as the mind frame had changed and I was not excited to be on Mysuru Road, as soon as I hit the gradient, I was struggling. It was a slow and painful ride for the next 10 kilometers before getting a few steep downhill's which allowed the legs to recover. As we closed in on Mandya, I was hungry. Rohit also wanted to stop for fruits, as soon as we entered Mandya Rohit spotted a water melon vendor and I filled myself up. I had two plates to fill myself up so that I could keep hunger at bay.

When we restarted, it was 3:50 pm. We had 9.5 hours to ride 100 kilometers. It was an easy task and knowing that I was safe on the time front put me in a very relaxed mind frame. I did not ride hard when we restarted. It was a relaxed ride and we were still doing 20 kmph which was above the required average. The ride from Mandya to Maddur was not exciting and I was trying to get through the kilometers. The heat was beginning to relent and it was a small relief that the Sun was taking a back seat.

We passed Maddur and were nearing Channapatna. I still hadn't stopped for coconut water during the ride and I gave into the temptation to have coconut water even though it was not required. I stopped and had a coconut water and enjoyed the malai. We re-started and rode for a couple of kilometers and stopped again to re-fill water. Since we were doing well on the time front, we had a relaxed break and took 30 minutes to re-start the ride.

It was 5:40 pm when we restarted. It was still sunny, however, within 10 minutes, there was cloud cover and the Sun had disappeared. I was still in a relaxed mode and only when I felt the chill in the air, I realised that rain was imminent and felt a little pinch for having taken it easy. Although, I knew that rain was imminent, I was hoping for a miracle in which I would avoid the rain. Miracles don't happen often and in 10 kilometers, there was a drizzle. A quick stop to pack the phone and wear the reflective vests and we started to ride.

The drizzle got heavier as we got closer to Ramanagar, however it was not heavy rain. Visibility was not bad and it was still easy riding. I tried to increase the pace as I wanted to make it out of the rain. There was a head wind, but as we got closer to Ramanagar the road's were drenched and I was a little puzzled that we had not caught the rain as yet in spite of it being a head wind. When we rode out of Ramanagar, Rohit said that he was hungry and wanted to stop for food. Food is not an issue on Mysuru Road and we saw a hoarding of De Paratzza Cafe which was 2 kilometers ahead. Rode quickly to it and reached at 7:00 pm.

We decided to have a meal which would comprised of two paratha's and jeera rice. Although it sounded heavy, I was fine with having a heavy meal as we had only 40 kilometers to cover. As we were having dinner, I was still thinking about the rain and the wind direction and was wondering if I had got it wrong with respect to the direction of the wind, just then it began to pour heavily. It was very heavy and in a sense I was relieved that we were indoors having food and had the option to wait out the rain although I knew that it was a futile exercise since we were going to get drenched when we rode from the water being splashed on us from passing vehicles.

We were done with dinner at 7:35 pm and waited for 20 minutes for the fury of the rain to abate. We started from the cafe at 8:00 pm. It was a heavy drizzle, similar to when we had stopped the ride. Surprisingly, the traffic was not heavy and I was not getting splashed with water. During the dinner break, we got to know that it was not raining in Bangalore which meant that the closer we got to Bangalore, we would be getting into drier area. I upped the pace of the ride in the hope to make it past the wet roads as soon as possible.

It helped that when we started we had to climb a little as it allowed the body to warm up quickly. The rolling terrain that followed allowed to ride quickly and as we got past Bidadi and then to Decathlon on Mysuru Road, we began to see dry roads. That was a signal to relax again and I was happy to get past the rain. The water swishing in the shoes made me feel a little queasy but knowing that I was just 20 kilometers from the finish made me feel better as I did not have to ride too long with wet socks/shoes.

We rode into Bangalore traffic and rode carefully to avoid getting into any squabbles right at the end of the ride. A little climbing, a few traffic signals later we were at Kanteerava stadium at 10:00 pm.

Mohan Sir was waiting for us and congratulated us on completing the ride. We shared our ride experience and I was happy to have finished the ride in 16.5 hours. It is the first time that I have tried to combine sightseeing in a brevet ride and it was a good experience. The ride had a very fast 100 km, my fastest hundred on an MTB in which I did the first 100 kilometers in 3 hours 36 minutes, which was followed by an enjoyable next 100 kilometers with beautiful lakes and the beautiful town of Melukote followed by a relaxed 100 kilometer to finish the ride.