Thattekere

Date: 5 September 2015

Total distance: 87 Kilometers

Start Time: 5:30 am

Return Time: 12:45pm

With: Madhusudhan (Maddi)

Altitude Profile:

Koramangala – Bannerghatta - Thattekere

Thattekere – Jigani – Koramangala

I wanted to resume riding after the Mysore ride, did a few short distance rides within Bangalore. The hockey matches were on and I have a match on Sunday, so did not want to do a very long ride the day before. Checked out for any location in the 50 kilometer radius from Bangalore and hit upon Thattekere near Bannerghatta. The reviews and the photos looked good, however the catch is that the lake is located within Bannerghatta Forest limit and as such public are not allowed. It is also said to be an elephant corridor and therefore risky for public. Have decided to do the ride and if we are lucky we can make it to the lake if not we will be about 2 kilometers from the lake, which from a ride perspective is not bad. Moreover, the road from Bannerghatta to Thattekere looks tempting.

I put out the ride date in the cycling group to check if anyone was free and would join; only Maddi was free and said that he would come. So it was the same duo, we had done the Manchanabele ride earlier, now we were headed to another lake. I informed Maddi that we would leave by 5:00 am so that we can reach Thattekere by 7:30 am. Although the distance is only 40 kilometers, we were dependent on Google maps since both of us had not been to the place and searching for the place would take some time.

I was up at 4:00 am and this time got ready on time and was ready at 5:00 am. Maddi had to pick up Sushanth’s cycle from Sushanth’s place and we had decided to meet at Udupi Gardens junction at 5:30 am. However, since I was ready by 5:00 am decided to meet up with Maddi at Sushanth’s place. By the time Maddi got the cycle and we started it was already 5:30 am. We made slow progress towards Bannerghatta and reached Bannerghatta at 6:45 am.

Both of us were not tired and did not want to stop, so we continued pedaling. From this point on, we were at the mercy of Google maps. Also, the road was not in good condition and the overnight rains had made it slushy. We rode for about 4 kilometers towards Jigani when we had to take a right to go towards Thattekere. Thattekere was 21 kilometers from this turn, and the road was not in good condition. I missed the turn on a couple of occasions, the first time did not affect since the road connected to the Thattekere route, however on the second occasion we had to back track a bit. Also, these were interior roads and since it was not tarred, it was like trail biking. We were not too happy riding through this stretch since a lot of the villages have been replaced with townships and plots. Once we were back on the road, within a few kilometers we entered the Madeshwara Forest Reserve, from here the road was in good condition except at a few locations were there were pot holes, actually craters in the road, which due to the rain was filled with water and the vehicles passing through here were having a ball splashing the water.

The gradient of the road was mostly sloping downwards from the time we entered the forest reserve. It did have a few uphills, however it was mostly down and there was a small ghat section as well, for about 1 kilometer. I was excited that we were going to have to do the climb on the way back, however, Maddi was not excited at all, and rather he did not enjoy the downhill as well, since he was thinking of doing the climb on the way back.

We were making very slow progress, with Maddi making frequent enquiries about how much further we had to go. Finally, I spotted the gate where we had to enter the Forest. I was hoping that this would be open and that we could enter without having to think that we were breaking the law. The gate was closed; saw a small gap where we could take the cycle through. Even though we knew that it was not right we still took the chance and went through. Rode the trail for about half a kilometer and came across another gate. Now I was a bit anxious and was hoping that the forest guard would not come and tell us to leave. We squeezed under the gate and we had three routes in front of us. Stood there, confused as to which route to take till we saw a villager on his bike coming there, when we enquired he said that we had to go straight and told us that the lake has been fenced and that we would have to careful when we cross the fence since they were solar powered fences to keep the animals out. He also, warned us from entering the water saying that there are crocodiles in the lake. We thanked him and rode a further 200 meters when we saw the lake. We parked the cycles just outside the fence and crossed over.

It was still cloudy and the Sun was hiding behind them, so it was cool and the lake appeared very serene and calm. Lots of birds were in the vicinity; I am not a bird expert and cannot name the birds although we did spot birds of various colours. The one that I could identify was the forest pigeon and Maddi identified the kingfisher. We had only phone cameras and could not capture any of these birds, I did manage to click the kingfisher, but then kindly excuse the clarity. It’s the best that I could manage.

When entering the fence we did not lock the cycles. When we ventured around the lake, I had this at the back of my mind always due to which I was very restless to get back. I did not want to sit at the banks of the lake since we could not see the cycles from there. Maddi wanted to spend more time at the lake, however, I hurried him back to the cycles’ and we crossed the fence and made it back to the road after crossing the closed gates. I was relieved that we had made it back without being caught by a forest official. Clicked a couple of snaps of the gate and then sat in a bus shelter opposite the gate and ate a few laddoos as breakfast.

We started the return journey at 9:00 am knowing very well that the return was going to take longer than the onward journey since we had to negotiate the uphill climbs till we got to Jigani. Even though the uphill section was only for about 5 kilometers the climb was steep and Maddi struggled through this section. He got off the cycle and pushed it a couple of times, but was giving it his all. Made it through the climbs and cooled off in the shade of a shop just after.

The Sun was out and as the heat increased, our energy was getting sapped. We made slow progress again, first to Jigani, then to Bommanahalli and then Electronic City. Maddi opted to ride to HSR layout through Hos road since it was just 5 kilometers from his place. I joined in on the ride to his place and ensured that he got home safely, just kidding, knew he would make it, went in to check out the route. Got to HSR layout and then further 4 kilometers, I was home at 12:30 pm.

I liked the place and would prefer that the place does not get publicised which will lead to tourists and the place getting spoilt. It is one of the untouched beauties near Bangalore. Also, from a ride perspective, if we keep the road condition aside, it is a road which gives a very good work out and being just 20 kilometers from Bangalore is ideally located. I will probably try the route from the Harohalli side sometime in future.

Ride details:

From	To	Distance	Ride Time (hrs)	Total Time (hrs)	Departure Time	Arrival Time
Koramangala	Bannerghatta	24	1.50	1.75	5:00	6:45
Bannerghatta	Thattekere	21	1.50	1.50	6:45	8:15
Thattekere	Jigani	18	1.50	2.75	8:15	11:00
Jigani	Koramangala	24	1.50	1.50	11:00	12:30
		87	6.00	6.75