Day 1.
I chose this to be the first entry on the journal because it was the most recent one.
So I was on a roll after the Jog falls trip during October start and the daily cycling routines (read daily commuting to office) I had been following.
And two days after the Jog Falls trip, cyclingandmore guys put up the information for this ride. And I was in, all hands down. There was this one picture which attracted me like flies to a UV light deathtrap. :D
Caught up with Harsha on one of the short rides around Bangalore, paid off the fee (I hate that part) and got set for this trip.
Got Asala serviced before the trip, new brake shoes, rear tyre and stuff.
The scheduled evening, i.e. of Oct 22nd, rode down to Hockey Stadium, as usual, 3 hours well in advance of the scheduled assembling time. Smoking helps killing a lot of this extra time. Add some bird watching to it, the combination is a deadly one. :D
So I sat and smoked of a couple of cigarettes, couple of tea and coffees. And 2 hours down, Harsha arrives. We stand discussing the ride when another fellow cyclist rides in. This was Abhin. Then Vikrant comes in. Couple of more people ride in. Some get off from autos. Others walk.
All introduce themselves, shake hands, the usual stuff.. split into groups of 2-4 and talk the time away while the bikes are dis-assembled and packed into the canter.
Vikrant walks down to me and is like, "Hi, Vikrant." Pat comes the reply "I know". We met on the last trip :P
The volunteers this time were Yatish and Harsha II :D
Manohar (the bird watcher) came in. Got introduced. And then he left.
So once everyone settles down in the bus, we bid adieu to Harsha I and Vikrant and the Bus starts off. I meet Jose. He being a Mallu, I try to respond back in whatever way I can, using the tidbits of Malayalam I have learnt over the ages. And then all sleep on.
I woke up at 2 in the night, feeling the bus slow down. ( Or was it the blaring Malayalam songs playing from the dhaba, as Ajay wrote??) Well got down, gulped down another 2 cups of tea, couple of smokes, threatened Anand again (we are still waiting for the pictures) and got back into the bus for another slumber session.
At 4 in the morning we reached hotel at which we were supposed to freshen up and get set.
Harsha II came in, allotted rooms. Anand dunked into the bed for round 3 of doze (slumberhead). And I met the GE team. All set and rolled out to the clearing outside to help with assembling of the bikes (I was actively participating in the supervision of the bike re-assembly process and giving away cycling gyaan) :D
Once the bikes were assigned, the newbies (henceforth referred to as n00bs :D )started doing test rounds, trying to learn how to save oneself from being overrun by a truck.
After a sadistic cup of coffee and a whole lot to water in me, I picked up Asala. There she stood in the garden overlooking a valley in the back, the mist settling onto her, leaving tiny dew droplets all over her frame.
Got her handle screwed in, and we were ready to roll out.
Tried to get a picture with all the riders in it but to no avail. Everyone was so excited that they just rode off into the hills.
So took some pictures at the start with Yatish and the GE team. And then, rode off into a beautiful foggy morning...
As we started going up the first hill and I believe the only hill we encountered, the starting jitters started settling in. 2 punctures, 1 twisted derailleur.The GE team broke off into 2, 2 being held back due to the above mentioned problems while the other two took off like hawks in the sky, nowhere to be seen after a couple of minutes.
And so, it was myself and Asala again... The fog settling onto my glasses blurring everything.. Push push pedal pedal :D
And suddenly as I near the top of the hills I see a cyclist hooting and coming down wearing a white jersey/windcheater. And then, it was raining white dressed riders.
Asala was eating up the inclines like idlis for breakfast.. while the fog kept on condensing over my glasses. The most irritating thing to happen when you're trying to enjoy a ride :D
As we reached Medikeri, there was some confusion about the breakfast point, which was sorted out rather quickly by growling hungry stomachs. Gobbled up idlis and another crappy coffee (or was it tea??) and was getting ready to ride off, when news arrived that 2 riders had lost their way. Waited on them to come in and then Yatish wanted to de-brief us.. All I wanted to get back to riding. So, I pestered Yatish to brief the n00bs while we guys ride off.. and so we rode off.. The rest of the past was mostly plains /downhills.
We stopped by every other point of view which was available for every valley and took pictures. This time I went on a Picture clicking frenzy :D
And then I got bored of pictures. Slid the camera back and rode of.. Stopped by a couple of waterfalls, valleys, farms, whatifs and whatnots. But this was not as much fun as the Jog Falls trip. Most of the ride was just coffee plantations, and I got bored of the scenery.. The occasional paddy field stretches were soothing to ones eyes. So I turned on the headset and rode off.. Some time time Sushrut and his riding partner caught up with me :D . We headed down into Siddhapura, and Sushrut started getting cramps in the leg.. Low seat height I believe.
An elderly couple stopped by in their car seeing us cycle into Siddhapura. They were pretty happy to see a trio of guys with nothing to do on a weekend whiling away their time on roads they don't know. :D
Nearly skidded off road while maneuvering the first turn down Siddhapura with a skid. I know the comment now, "Be careful Sree Ram". :D Then onwards, it was smooth riding again.
Asala and me rode on taking pictures (a whole lot of em) and trying hard not to get swept by the canter. Stopped at some small township for tea and water refill. You should check out the excitement amongst the people. They would try to start a conversation in any possible language. Probably the first time they've seen a 120 kg guy cycling around in tight shorts :P
And so we went on.. all green paths, valleys, plantations and paddy fields.. And then it dawned upon me.. I had not seen anyone for sometime. I cycled on thinking I would catch up with Biju and Jose by lunch. Sometime later, I saw Jose waving at me from a hotel. Went in, had parota, chicken, boiled eggs.. AWESOME!! I could have slept off then and there. It started drizzling, and we went off into the rain.. I caught up with the vegetarians up ahead eating dosa or something some distance down. I continued to ride down and waited to others to catch up at Chelavara falls.. Jose came in riding fast, then Biju, then Harin, Sushrut and the others.
After another tea session we rode onto the falls. As we reached the narrow path which led to the falls, two tourist jeeps came in; business as usual. We chained our bikes and went to check out the falls. clicked a couple of pictures there. Sushruta tried to do a number on the tourist dames but for their husbands who were with them :D
And then we planned to go up the hiking trail with bikes in the tow. The incline kept rising and did not seem to end. Abhin went ahead scouting and came back with more bad news. The so called view point was no where to be seen for another 400 metres. We dragged, pulled, pushed, tangled and dragged the bikes all the way up that stony rock path to the top.
The fog had already settled in early, thanks to the rain and therefore no view was available from the view point. But I discovered something far more better- "Snickers tastes the same AWESOME HEAVENLINESS even at that height "
aND THEN WE RODE DOWN.... THE WHOLE 2-3 KMS OF ROCKY STRETCH. My first tryst with 'off-roading' and I loved every bit of it. Saw the canter for the first time in the whole day as we came down the hill. and then got to know that the bus had also come in. It was getting dark early and we had to stop due to safety concerns for the n00bs.
Got on bus and headed to Gonikoppal. Reached there by 2130 hrs and headed straight for dinner. The restaurant manager seemed like he had never seen so many customers coming in at the same time.
Ate heartily. Went back to room. Slept off.
Day 2.
I woke up to Biju and Jose shouting in my ears. Bought Asala out for re-assembly and headed. And I see Manohar there.. He had come in during the night for the second day of the trip.
As i walked back into the room, Biju asked,"why were you kicking the bike in the night?"
I was actually dreaming of riding in the Great Malnad challenge and finishing it. :D
Well, changed and went out. All were settling down to another breakfast of rava idlis and dosas. Had a tea and rode off.. This stretch was more of plains and a small township. Stopped by every tea shop for a cup :D
Jose and Biju joined in followed by Sushrut, Abhin and the others. We planned to do a picture at 100 kms point. Jose gave a couple of snaps in his animalistic personality (which looks more like a retarded raccoon though he was attempting a growl for the picture :D )
We continued on.... As we completed the 100 kms, we stopped by for the others to catch up. However, they didn't show up even after 30 minutes. We took the picture and then the camera died.
We rode on to complete the ride to the Bylakuppe tibetan Monastery without any issues.
Caught up with the rest of the guys, clicked pictures. Got to know some amazing folks :D
Got back on bus and rode back. And I got to know about one of the best Gatorade combination ever. "Gatorade and Sprite" ULTIMATE SUGAR RUSH!!!
By evening, all got Venkat to dance. He is an awesome choreographer :D
We came to know about the following moves:
- The handpump
- The road bike
- the tap
- The bulb
- the kite flying
- The cloth washer
- And the OH SO AWESOME "BEER DRINKER"
- and a lot more...
the ride back was fun. we reached back at Hockey stadium by 2130 or so. All said their goodbyes and rode off.
Dead tired, I headed back home, stopping by for sandwiches and a lemon tea.
End of trip.. :)
Until the next...
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