Melukote (300 Kilometer Brevet)

Date: 18 August 2018

Total distance: 306 Kilometers

Start Time: 5:30 am

Return Time: 20:10 pm

With: Various riders

Altitude Profile:

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

The Melukote 300 BRM was being repeated. I had ridden this route in March 2018. Although it was going to be a repeat, I opted to ride since I wanted to keep my chances of doing a 3rd SR for the 2017-18 season open.

I was looking forward to a relaxed and easy ride. Further, with the rains having filled up the reservoir's in Karnataka, I was keen on seeing the Wellesley bridge in Srirangapatna since there was news that the bridge was almost submerged.

Synced up with Rohit Bidkar and headed to the start point. We made in just in time and by the time we completed the start formalities, the ride was flagged off after a route briefing. Although the plan was to ride slowly, I was riding with the group and the speed was fairly high.

The ride till Nelamangala was moderately paced, with wind taking a back seat it was an enjoyable ride. When I turned at Nelamangala and got onto the Hassan highway there was a slight head wind. I chatted with Chandra Shekar Murthy while riding and then with Vivek Ramachandran. We were close to Solur when both of them rode ahead and I looked back and realised that neither Swamy nor Rohit were behind. I continued riding and decided to wait when I stop for breakfast after the first control point.

Few more kilometers and I saw Raghu coming out from Sri Annapoorneshwari restaurant. He was done with breakfast and was getting ready to hammer down the remaining kilometers. I managed to catch a couple of words with him before he flew into the horizon. He was closely followed by Rajesh Nayak and the two of them disappeared before I could complete the next kilometer.

A quick look at the phone and the average speed hovering around 24 kmph mark was surprising. It had been a surprisingly quick ride and I had gotten through 70 kilometers rather easily. I had passed the Shark Food Court and saw a few riders had stopped for breakfast. Although I was hungry by this point, I continued riding as I was sure that I could make it to the first control point without stopping for a break.

The intensity of the wind was picking up and was one of the factors that kept me going as I wanted to get past the highway before the wind would make riding very difficult. I caught up with Col Sivaram, a strong rider from Hyderabad who has been posted in Bangalore and was riding his second brevet in Bangalore. We chatted while we knocked off the next few kilometers by which time the wind had begun to hamper our progress and we had to get our heads down and ride about 15 kilometers to make it to the control point. Watching Col Sivaram braving the conditions and riding strongly was inspiring and kept me going and helped me stay positive rather than getting to think about the negatives due to the wind.

The last few kilometers to the control point was rather difficult as it was very windy and hunger had caught up and made life a little difficult. The sight of the Bellur Cross toll was an energy booster as there was just 2 kilometers remaining to the control point. We reached the control point at 10:00 am. Manish Mahendra and Pawan Kumar (organisers) were coming out of Coffee Day. We took the pic and resumed the ride just as the organisers started towards Melukote. We rode a kilometer and at the junction where we turn towards Nagamangala I stopped for breakfast. Col. Sivaram continued riding.

I ordered a masala dosa and vada and filled up water, bought a pepsi and called Rohit to check where he was. He was roughly 15 kilometers behind, I expected him to get to the junction by the time I was done with breakfast. It took 30 minutes for me to get done with breakfast and was ready to start. Rohit had not reached as yet, as I planned to take a few snaps on the way I was sure that he would catch up while I took the photo breaks and started the ride.

I restarted at 10:30 am. It was a relatively slow start and this was down to the strong cross wind. The road condition was good and the trees lining the roads made this a relaxing ride for the eyes, however, the legs were bearing the brunt of the strong wind. The ride was laced with intermittent views of water bodies which is always a good sight. I reached Nagamangala town after which there is a steady increase in the gradient which slowed the ride down further. I was happy to see that the road work had been completed and I was riding on smooth roads which offset the gradient a little as the rolling resistance is not much on fresh tarmac.

I was on the lookout for the view of the Melukote temple and knew that although the gradient would increase the sight of the temple would put me at ease mentally. It was beginning to get difficult as it took quite a while for me to catch a glimpse of the temple. I stopped at the lake overlooking the temple, took a pic and then started the ride to get to the control point. I was under 10 kilometers from the control point, reached the Junction where we turn towards Melukote, resisted the temptation to stop for sugarcane juice and continued riding. The gradient increases steadily from here before closing out with a short half a kilometer climb before the control point. Ran into a head wind and cross wind as we circled round to get to the hill and also caught a glimpse of Col. Sivaram riding ahead.

As I got closer to the control point, I noticed that I had not seen any riders passing by and assumed that I was at least an hour behind since they would have made it past the junction before I turned. I caught up with Col Sivaram when he had stopped to enquire for directions. We were within the last kilometer and went past the lake and a quick climb later we were at the Control Point. It was 12:45 pm when we reached.

We were welcomed by Manish and Pawan. I was surprised to see Raghu still at the control point along with Rajesh. It was even more surprising to hear that only 2 riders had reached the control point. It was disappointing to hear that Raghu had been slowed down since he had broken a spoke on his front wheel and had lost time trying to fix it. It had been a while I guess since Raghu has done a ride without having any issues and wish his luck turns on the future rides. Rajesh had begun to cramp and had to slow down as well. We were served superb Puliyogare from Subbanna's hotel and Curd Rice. There was a whole lot of refreshments available as well. I refilled on water and stocked up on a banana, one perk and one packet of chikki for the road and was ready to start.

Col. Sivaram, Rajesh Nayak and I started from the control point at 1:15 pm. I sped downhill and with the benefit of a tail wind I was able to get off to a fast start. I passed a lot of riders on their way to the control point before I reached the junction and then headed straight towards Srirangapatna. There was road work in progress here and the road was in pretty bad condition in patches. Since I was on a MTB I did not have any complaints and was able to get through this section relatively quickly.

The ride eased up after getting past the bad road section. The view of agricultural fields and canals with the Kunti Betta in the back ground kept the mind busy admiring the scenery rather than delving on the dark clouds hanging above which were threatening to open up any minute. It was tempting to stop near Pandavapura town when I saw good guava's being sold, however as I was stocked up on refreshments and was not carrying a bag, I opted against stopping.

I wanted to take a look at the Kaveri river at Srirangapatna and since I had time on hand a small deviation of a kilometer from the route was possible. I got onto the Mysore highway and sped towards the bridge. Police personnel were stationed near the bridge and stopping near the bridge was restricted. I managed a quick stop and was astonished by the amount of water flowing under the bridge. Easy to say that it the max that I have seen in the past 25 years. I rode across the bridge and took the turn to circle back on the bridge. This time I would get to see the Wellesley bridge, the stone bridge built by Dewan Poornaiah which has withstood the test of time. This was an amazing sight, the water was flowing just under the Wellesley bridge. A little more water and the bridge would be submerged. This had become a tourist attraction, all the vehicles passing by the bridge were making a stop to see the awesome sight. To add to this, I saw vendors selling snacks on the bridge, classic case of making hay while the sun is shining.

A quick stop for pics and I was back riding towards the control point. Just as I pulled up near the control point, Col Sivaram and Rajesh Nayak also reached the control point. We took the pic and started towards Bangalore without wasting time. It was 2:45 pm, 120 kilometers remaining and had 10 hours 45 minutes in hand to do it. Time was not a constraint, however, I did not take it easy as it was favorable conditions to ride in, a tail wind which was making life easy on the saddle. I wanted to make max use of the conditions while it lasted and kept riding as quickly as possible.

Having ridden on Mysore road a lot, it was relatively easy to ride. Remained alert to the traffic threat and remained watchful. Since I was carrying the banana, chocolate and chikki, I did not have to stop for food. However, the only stop required was for water when I run out of it. The dark cloud hanging above the head was further motivation to keep pedaling in the hope that I could avoid the rain.

The traffic was not heavy till I got to the outskirts of Bangalore which allowed me to ride steadily through Mandya, Maddur, Channapatna and Ramanagar. I made a stop just before Ramanagar town to refill water and then set my sights of getting to Kengeri before nightfall. It was a steep target and I managed to cross Bidadi before nightfall. The traffic began to become a hindrance from Decathlon Mysore Road and the ride automatically slowed down. There were sufficient traffic breaks which allowed the body to recover and not feel the strain of having ridden over 250 kilometers.

The traffic scene did not improve and it was slow riding till I got onto the Sirsi Circle flyover. Hunger pangs were beginning to bite as I neared the city and I pretty much needed to refuel when I got into the city. However, since I was under 10 kilometers from the finish, I continued riding. A few stops at traffic signals and a long wait to cross the road near Kanteerava stadium, I had reached the finish point. It was 8:10 pm, a quick pic and I headed to Konark restaurant to have a masala dosa and juice.

Just as I finished eating, Pawan and Manish arrived and we completed the end control formalities. It was a well organised ride and the Puliyogare was fantastic at the Mid-control. I bid good bye to Pawan and Manish and headed back home.