Twin Hills (600 Kilometer Brevet)

Date: 1 December 2017 - 3 December 2017

Total distance: 603 Kilometers

Start Time: 4:00 pm 1 December 2017

Return Time:  5:10 am 3 December 2017

With: Rajkumar Khot, Ruban Raju

Altitude Profile:
Kanteerava Stadium – Krishnagiri - Yercaud - Krishnagiri - Yelagiri - Krishnagiri - Kanteerava Stadium

I played a couple of hockey matches during the previous weekend and that left me drained. I could barely recover from the effects of the game which had left my hamstring muscles in bad shape. By the time I could recover the 600KM ride was on me and I had to risk getting onto the saddle without having ridden during the previous 2 weeks. Further, the weather turned just before the start of the ride. Cyclone Ockhi had hit the Tamil Nadu Coast and was on its way towards Lakshadweep Islands. It has been raining through the day and has me worried as I am dreading riding in the rain for the entire distance and having to do it with head/cross winds which is also a huge possibility considering that the cyclone is moving from the east coast to the west coast.

Time flew and I was not keen on riding because of the weather and started off unwillingly from home when Rajkumar came at 3:15 pm. I had purchased a new saddle bag, a 9 litre Trek N Ride bag which I fixed onto the cycle. The saddle bag had the mini saddle bag (which had the lubricant, tool kit, puncture kit, tire levers), one set of cycling clothes, skull cap, woolen gloves, fleece jacket, spare tubes. I was using this as a practice for the 1,000 km ride and although I felt I would not be using most of the things in the saddle bag wanted to fill it up to see how it feels while riding.

We reached the control point at 3:45 pm and things happened very fast as it was a small group of riders and we were done with the start formalities in 5 minutes. A few minutes of socialising with the other riders and it was time to start.

The ride was flagged off at 4:00 pm and we rode through the wet and traffic filled roads of Bangalore. It started raining when we were near Electronic City. Rajkumar stopped to pull on his rain jacket. As I was not carrying any rain gear I waited for Rajkumar to catch up before continuing. I had worn overshoes which was the only accessory for preventing water, however I knew that it would not hold for too long and as expected an hour of riding in the rain is what it took before water began to enter the shoes. Although water did get in, it was not as much as if I had not worn the overshoes and I was happy that I had worn it.

Just as we were getting to the border Ruban caught up with us. the 3 of us were riding ahead of the others and had managed to open a small gap in the Bangalore traffic. We reached the Karnataka border and as we slowed down for the climb in Hosur the 3 riders from Calicut caught up and over took us. I checked the time and we had taken just under 2 hours to get past Hosur which is the usual time that I take on this route given the traffic situation, however considering the rain we were doing pretty well on the time front.

As soon as we got past Hosur the pace which was hovering around the 20-22 kmph mark increased to the high 20's as the downhill section started. The clock had ticked past 6 pm and it had become dark. The rain was hovering between heavy and a drizzle. In some sections it stopped raining as well, however riding on wet roads with a constant spray gave the feeling that we were riding in the rain. There was a lot of traffic and I was able to use their lights rather than using the lights on the cycle. I had planned to get to Krishnagiri at least without using lights so that I could save them for the Yercaud climb and tomorrow night.

We got past Shoolagiri and were riding quickly towards Krishnagiri. We were on course to arrive at Krishnagiri at 7:30 pm. The plan to save the lights back fired and I went into a pot hole at high speed. I did not fall off the cycle but then the sound of hitting the pot hole was loud and it felt like the cycle had taken a big hit. A few meters and I could feel the wobble at the back and I stopped to confirm my fear, the back tire was punctured. I was worried that I had done more damage and that the wheel was possibly bent, however there was no wobble and the wheel was rotating fine. I was worried that I had to change the tube in rain, however Rajkumar immediately swung into action and dismantled the wheel and removed the tube. I had packed the spare tubes towards the bottom of the saddle bag and had to remove all the clothes from the bag before getting the tube out. By the time I handed over the tube to Rajkumar, the clothes were slightly wet and I packed them back in the bag.

Rajkumar fitted the tube and inflated the tire. Ran into a roadblock when the wheel was not sitting back in the frame. Lost 10 minutes until we figured out that the spring was stuck and had to refit the spring and the wheel was back in place. It took 30 minutes but we were back on the road. I had feared that my ride was over when I went into the pothole, however 30 minutes later I was back on the saddle and was riding quick.

We took 30 minutes to arrive at Krishnagiri. It was raining heavily and we were drenched. We stopped at Saravana Bhavan for dinner. We did not bother about being drenched and walked into the hotel and sat down at a table. Only then did we notice that we had left a trail of water behind us and that the hotel staff were not happy about it and wanted us to leave our shoes outside. However, we were not worried about it, we just wanted to have food and then leave and the dirty looks from the staff did not matter. We had 2 plates of Parotta and a little Mushroom biriyani. Each of us parceled a Mushroom Biriyani for later at night and then walked out of the hotel leaving a trail of water behind us again.

We started off from the hotel at 9:00 pm. We had taken 45 minutes for dinner although I would have preferred taking only 30 minutes for it. However, it was not a panic situation as we were not in the red on the time front and had sufficient buffer. The target was to get to Thoppur Ghat safely and then we could increase the pace again as the road heads downhill. So riding the next 50 kilometers at a reduced pace would not hurt us.

Although we did have a buffer to ride at a reduced pace, we were forced to reduce the pace automatically as the road was in bad shape. There were a lot of small pebbles on the side of the road and being cyclists we have to ride on the left shoulder and did not have the luxury of riding on the clean part of the road. As it was dark, we did not know whether the pebble build up was due to the rain or due to the road being in bad condition. There were a lot of potholes on the left and as I was concentrating hard in this section I managed to avoid the potholes, however it was not possible to avoid the pebbles and I was hoping that I would not end up with another puncture.

We crossed the CCD at Dharmapuri at 11:15 pm. The Calicut cyclists had stopped at CCD. We rode ahead and made a brief stop just before the ghat when the Calicut cyclists overtook us and went ahead. We restarted the ride and made a quick descent and contemplated making a stop for tea. We decided to ride ahead and stop near Salem which was 40 kilometers ahead. We rode quickly as it was mainly downhill gradient and were enjoying a dry spell. The clothes were beginning to dry out when the rain came back with a bang. It began to rain heavily and we were drenched in no time. We continued riding as stopping was not an option. We stopped before the Salem toll at a bakery to refill on water and had coffee and biscuits. We waited for a while for the rain to subside, however with no signs of the rain abating we got back on the saddle and resumed riding.

It was 1:00 am when we started off from the bakery and rode quickly to Salem. Rode through the water logged roads in the city and surprisingly had a lot of traffic for the time and turned to the Yercaud road. We passed by a couple of patrol vehicles and I was worried that we would be stopped from climbing in the dark. We rode past them and I was happy that we were not stopped. We made a 10 minute stop before starting the climb.

It was 2:10 am when we started the climb and it was drizzling. Rajkumar was in his climbing mood and made a very quick start. Ruban and I followed. The pace dropped a little after the initial kilometer, however Rajkumar kept accelerating whenever possible. I was able to sustain the pace and was keeping up with Rajkumar and Ruban. We had done about 4 kilometers when Ruban stopped and said that he wanted a break. We stopped for about 5 minutes before resuming the climb.

The weather was alternating between rain and mist and I was enjoying the climb although it was dark. The view of the valley which was lit up was beautiful, the only thing that I missed was the lights at the GRT resort. During last year's brevet, the GRT resort served as a marker for the end of the climb and the lights kept me going, however this time although I did not need the marker, it felt like something was missing on the climb. We kept churning the pedals and made it to the hair pin bends. The countdown of the hair pin bends started and we had made it to the 7th of 20 hair pin bends when Ruban stopped. I called out to Rajkumar who was ahead to stop, however he did not hear me and rode ahead. I stopped and waited and tried to get Ruban going, however he was adamant to rest even though it was raining. I was worried that the more time we rest, we would get cold and riding would become difficult. When we restarted the ride, we made it past a few more hair pin bends and Ruban stopped again. He was sleepy and wanted to sleep. Every minute that we rested we were getting drenched and I was getting cold. When we restarted Ruban was recharged and was riding well and we were pushing to make it to the top. The last 5 kilometers of the climb was eventful when we had 3 dogs chasing us. Initially I could only hear the barking and then when they came out of the dark I was worried as we were climbing and there was very little energy left in the legs to make a dash for it. I shouted loudly at them and tried to chase them, however they kept us constant company and kept barking at us. I ignored them and continued riding and made it to the GRT resort. I had just started the descent to the lake when Rajkumar came by. He had started the descent to the base of the hill and said that he would wait at the base. Ruban and I rode towards the control point and made it to the control point at 4:45 am. The Calicut riders had just reached the control point. They had been delayed by 2 punctures and a fall which had resulted in a slow climb as they had started almost 30 minutes before us.

I started the descent immediately as I wanted to catch up with Rajkumar. I had just made it to the GRT resort when I heard a hissing noise and although I knew what it was I did not want it to be. It was a puncture and I was very disappointed. I stopped and as it was a well lit area started on removing the tube. I borrowed the tire levers and pump from Ruban and replaced the tube and got going. It took about 20-25 minutes to get going.

It was dark and as visibility was low I had to ride very slowly and making a high speed descent was not possible. I was still in the hair pin bends section and had to brake hard to keep the speed down. I felt a jerk and a wobble. I stopped the cycle and saw that the rear tire was flat again. I had done only 3 kilometers from the previous flat location and the rear wheel was flat again. I was frustrated but had to get started on replacing the tube. This time I borrowed a new tube from Ruban and replaced the tube. I removed the tire liners and checked if there was a pin/nail/thorn wedged in the tire. However, there wasn't anything and it was a pinch flat again. I pumped the tire up and just before putting the tire back noticed that there was a dent in the rim and the tire was also slightly damaged at the dent. Realised that the dent was the issue and Ruban noticed that it was the braking that was creating the punctures and he recommended that I don't use the rear brakes and should use only the front. Took 20-25 minutes before restarting, I unlocked the rear brake and began to use only the front brakes. It took some time to get used to it, however, I inadvertently used the rear brake on a couple of occasions and got away with it. It was day break and as the light situation improved I was able to ride faster and also brake better as I could see the road ahead. I reached the base and just as I got past the check post I looked for Rajkumar, as I had overshot the check post I braked hard and used the rear brake as well to bring the cycle to a stop and immediately there was a hissing sound again. The rear tire was punctured again. It was 6:15 am, I was very disheartened that I had to replace the tube again and was losing interest in the ride.  I tried to remove the wheel from the rim but could not budge it, asked Ruban for his help and when he removed the wheel I replaced the tube and inflated the tire. I was done with the tubes that I had and did not have any spares left. Ruban had just one left which he wanted to keep as reserve if anything went wrong with his cycle. I was left with the hope that nothing should go wrong after this. The only thing that I had in my favour was that the issue had been detected and I had to remember that the rear brake could not be used for the rest of the ride.

We ate the mushroom biriyani which we had packed. It had gone bad. Threw the Biriyani, ate a chicki and then started from the base of the hill. I rode slowly to Salem and out of the city and increased the speed after exiting the city. In a few kilometers we passed Arvind and then the riders from Calicut and had only Rajkumar ahead of us. I knew that I still had time on hand and was not running into time issues. The ride from Salem to Dharmapuri was going fine and we were making good time. The rain had abated but my feet were hurting. The pedal was piercing only one spot on the right leg and I tried to ease the pain by changing the feet position on the pedal. If things were not getting difficult, the wind picked up and it was a head wind which made pedaling very difficult. As we got closer to Thoppur the wind increased further which made getting to the control point difficult. The rain had abated when we started from the foothill, the clothes were dry, but the wind was holding us up. I did not want to fight against the elements and concentrated on keeping the pedals turning at the max that I could without putting too much of an effort. I wanted to save the legs for the climb up the Thoppur Ghat.

We managed to get into the hills and with the wind being blocked by the hills we reached the start of the Thoppur climb. Ruban made a stop to recover before we started the climb. We got back on the saddle and continued riding. We were almost done with the climb when Ruban saw a coconut water vendor and stopped to have coconut water. When we restarted we were joined by Galin and Sarath from Calicut and the 4 of us rode the 5 kilometers remaining to the control point together.

We reached the control point at 10:00 am and were welcomed by Mohan Sir and Silvester Rajpaul. Rajkumar was there as well, he had reached the control point at 9:30 am. It was the same time at which I had reached the control point in the previous year and I knew that I could complete the ride and wanted to make a quick exit from the control point. However, by the time I freshened up, had breakfast and started from the control point it was 10:45 am. We had ridden a few kilometers and we realised that the lubricant had been washed off the chain and that we had to apply lubricant. We stopped and I unpacked the saddle bag and took out the lubricant and all of us applied a round of lubricant.

It was 11:00 am when we restarted and it took a while for the lubricant to settle in. Once the lubricant was in, the ride was smooth and noiseless. The road was good and the only problem was the feet were hurting and pedaling was difficult. I tried changing the feet position and pedaled with the toes more than the feet. I was at a stage where I would take any position where I did not feel the pain. I knew that the feet had become cold due to the water and as I was wearing overshoes I had not removed the shoes at the control point. I decided that the next time we stop I would get the shoes off to see the damage.

We were about 25 kilometers from Krishnagiri when Ruban wanted to stop for Coffee. We saw a shop and stopped. After placing the order, I removed my shoes and saw that the underside of the feet were discoloured and had a crumpled look. The pedals were hurting since the feet had become soft. There was no Sun to heat the feet, I kept the feet out in the hope that it would recover a little. We had coffee and then started after 15 minutes.

We made short work of the remaining distance to Krishnagiri and reached Krishnagiri at 1:30 pm. We passed by Saravana Bhavan and decided to ride ahead and search for a Dhaba to have roti/sabzi rather than meals. We turned onto the Chennai highway and the search for a dhaba started. The more we rode we could not find any dhaba and we were getting concerned. We stopped and enquired and were told that there is a dhaba about a kilometer ahead. When we reached it was not a dhaba, but a restaurant. With no alternative, we opted for it rather than riding ahead and not finding anything. It was 2:00 pm when we stopped for lunch, we had meals and omlette. The change in the feet position on the pedals had resulted in my right knee beginning to hurt. I was happy that we were taking a break for lunch and hoped that I would recover a little. I knew that a full recovery would not be possible and that I would be riding the rest of the ride in pain but had to push through without thinking about it.

We rested a while after lunch and restarted when we saw the Calicut riders pass us. It was 3:00 pm when we restarted. The Calicut riders had stopped a few kilometers ahead and we went past them. Few more kilometers and Mohan Sir passed us. After crossing Bargur we got into rolling terrain, the climbs were slow and the descents were allowing us to make up time. We made it to Natrampalli and then slowed a little towards Vaniyambadi although it was downhill. We stopped at the toll and took the photo and as there was a confusion about the control point, when we reached the Vaniyambadi junction I stopped again and took a photo of the turn to Yelagiri. Rajkumar waited, however Ruban had ridden ahead. Rajkumar and I stopped ahead for bananas and to refill on water.

We had a few bananas each and then started the ride. Bad roads welcomed us and we had to navigate through bad roads for 10 kilometers. There was a lot of traffic as well which did not allow us to ride in the good parts and we were forced into a couple of potholes. I was relieved when we made it to the turn to Yelagiri. The road is very good from here, we had 14 kilometers to get to the top of which we chopped off 2 kilometers very quickly and then the climb began.

It was 5:45 pm when we started the climb. I was slow to start and kept a steady pace on the climb. We had done a couple of kilometers of the climb when it got dark. I switched on the lights and kept the pace steady. Counted down the hair pin bends and wanted to make it to at least the 9th hair pin bend of 14 before taking a break if needed. Just before I reached the 9th hair pin bend I could see Ruban's tail light in the distance. We were roughly 2 minutes behind. Although I had considered taking a break, the tail lights got me going and I did not stop. I made the turn and saw that I could see the tail lights, however, knowing that Ruban was a couple of minutes ahead I kept pedaling. The ride from the 9th to the 10th hair pin bend is long and when I reached the 10th hair pin bend I had caught up with Ruban. Few more minutes of pedaling had brought me close to the top and I had less than a kilometer remaining. Ruban had ridden ahead, Rajkumar was riding with me. I stopped to have a couple of sips of water, Rajkumar rode ahead and when I resumed I had Rajkumar's tail light to hold onto. The final kilometer took a while but I made it to the top and then rode to the control point where Mohan Sir and Silvester were waiting for us. It was 7:00 pm when we made it to the top. We ate fruits, sweets and savouries and drank juice before restarting from the control point.

This was going to be the most difficult part of the ride for me as I could use only one brake and had to be careful not to build momentum so that I could slow down to be able to turn. I knew that if I made it down the hill then I would get back to Bangalore and be able to complete this ride. I started carefully and kept the speed down. Every time the speed increased I immediately braked and brought it down to manageable levels. As we descended the other riders were making their way to the top. It was a slow descent and although it was frustrating as I enjoy high speed descents, I had to play it safe this time and prioritised completing the ride rather than enjoying the 12 kilometer downhill.

I was happy to make it downhill without any damage. Reached the base and then negotiated the 10 kilometer bad road stretch and made it to the highway. We rode a further kilometer before stopping for dinner at Sai Akshayam restaurant. It was a long dinner break and we took an hour for dinner. It was 9:30 pm when we restarted and were passed by Arvind and knew that the Calicut riders also would have gone ahead.

We rode quick and caught up with Arvind and told him to stick with the group. However as we increased the pace, he said that he would prefer riding at his pace and that we were riding quick for him. We picked up the pace a little more and before long we had caught up and overtaken the Calicut riders. I remember struggling from Vaniyambadi to Bangalore on the same ride in the previous year, however, this year we were riding very quickly. A pleasant change as compared to the previous year, and what felt like an eternal climb in the previous year was more of rolling terrain and I was making good time on the downhill's. We got past Natrampalli and Ruban said that I was slowing down and that we should increase the speed. I told him to ride in front and set the pace. Ruban immediately increased the pace and Rajkumar and I followed. We were in racing mode and were riding very fast. Before long we had crossed Bargur and just as we closed in on Krishnagiri we were showing signs of tiring. We stopped for Coffee and relaxed for a bit before resuming.

The ride to Krishnagiri after the break was quick, although we did not reach the earlier speed we were riding in the 20-23 kmph range. I was trying to save my legs for the climb from Krishnagiri to Hosur and was expecting a slow ride in this section. We got past Krishnagiri and just as we passed the toll Mohan Sir came by and stopped ahead. We stopped and refilled on water and ate a banana and chatted a little. It was 12:45 pm when we restarted the ride. 80 kilometers remaining and we had 7 hours 15 minutes to do it. I was relaxed on the time front and expected the next 40 kilometers to take 4 hours (including a break) on account of the climbing. We got on top of a flyover and I took a couple of sips of water and when I looked ahead Rajkumar and Ruban had opened up a 300 meter gap. I had missed the acceleration and was left dumbstruck by the increase in pace. I increased my speed, but could not catch up. Rather the gap kept opening up and by the time I was done with the 3 kilometer ghat it looked more like a 500 meter gap.

Rajkumar was ahead and was riding very quickly. Ruban was beginning to fall behind and that gave me a little push. I began to increase my speed and I used the downhill's to good effect and began to catch up. I caught up with Ruban and then rode hard and caught up with Rajkumar just before we reached Shoolagiri. I wanted to keep riding hard but was beginning to feel the pain in the legs and even though I knew that stopping was a bad idea I stopped for a 5 minute break since my pace had dropped significantly.

I sat down in front of a closed shop and shut my eyes thinking that Rajkumar and Ruban would call me in 5 minutes to get going. When I opened my eyes 30 minutes had passed and I saw that Rajkumar and Ruban had also slept. I got up and woke them up and told them to get going. The half an hour stop had woken me up but had made me cold. Within a kilometer of restarting I was feeling very cold and wanted to wear my jacket. I stopped and took the jacket out of the saddle bag. By the time I was done with wearing it, Rajkumar and Ruban had ridden ahead.

Their tail lights were not visible and as I did not have a marker, I did not ride fast. I rode steadily and at a pace with which I was comfortable without pushing too hard. Made it past the Sanamavu Ghat and then to Hosur with relative ease and just as I got out of Hosur, saw that Rajkumar and Ruban were waiting.

It was 3:30 am and we were almost done with the ride. We had 35 kilometers to do of which the next 20 kilometers was rolling terrain and would be easy. I took it easy and did not push too hard. In the next 15 minutes we were across the border into Karnataka and then made our way across the flyovers and got to Electronic City. From here it was like we were in the city with traffic  for company, took a further 20 minutes to get past the Silk Board flyover and then we were onto the bad roads in Bangalore. We made our way slowly past the bad roads and the small climbs within the city and reached Kanteerava Stadium at 5:10 am.

Mohan Sir came by in a few minutes and we submitted the brevet cards and had a few refreshments. We tried to wait for the other riders to arrive, however no one arrived by 6:15 am. We were dozing off at Kanteerava stadium and feeling the bite of the cold as well. We decided to ride back rather than catch a cold. We said good bye to Mohan Sir and then headed back home.

The ride from Kanteerava stadium back home was very difficult and it was done very slowly. The feet were hurting very badly and pedaling was very difficult. Used the toes to keep the pedals going and made it back home. The cycle was in very bad shape and needed a wash and service. More than the cycle I needed a wash desperately. Hot water on the feet felt very good and then keeping the feet under the blanket made it feel better. It took almost a day for the feet to come back to normal. It was a very good experience about the effects which rain and cold weather can have on the body and how much effort is required to keep riding if we do not have the proper gear.