Bilikal Betta - Maralawadi - Thally

Date: 12 May 2018

Total distance: 160 Kilometers

Start Time: 4:00 am

Return Time: 1:00 pm

With: -

Altitude Profile:

Koramangala - Kanakpura - Bilikal Betta - Maralawadi - Thally - Anekal - Koramangala

I had seen a lot of youtube videos of bikers riding to Bilikal Betta. The things in favour of this place were that it was only 70 kilometers from Bangalore and that there was a trail of 4 kilometers. The problem with the place was that it was inside a forest reserve and I was not sure whether cycles would be allowed inside the place. I decided to take the chance and ride to the place and try my luck. Since, there was a risk of not being allowed to the destination, I decided to ride back via Thally rather than through Kanakpura Road as that would keep the enthusiasm going for the ride rather than delving on the disappointment of not being able to go to Bilikal Betta.

12 May is the Karnataka Assembly elections. I had to complete the voting and then ride or get back from the ride in time to vote. Thought about the two alternatives and decided to ride first and get back in time to cast my vote. The plan was simple, start at 4:00 am and get back by 3:00 pm. I had 11 hours to ride about 170 kilometers including seeing the place as well. It seemed doable. The choice of cycle for the ride was a no brainer as it had to be the MTB given that it is a trail inside Bilikal forest.

I woke up at 3:15 am, got ready, prepped the cycle and I was off at 4:00 am. I don't know if it was the previous days rain or the thought that I had to get back in time to vote which made me feel uncomfortable about the ride. It was more to do with the time pressure as I prefer doing these rides in a relaxed mode and also having flexibility to extend the ride hours. In today's case, I was feeling the time pressure from the beginning and also the flexibility was not in extending the ride time, it was with altering the route and shortening it in case there were delays.

I persisted with the ride and kept pushing myself to get out of the city. It was a comfortable ride today since the light was working well and visibility was not an issue. Neither did I face any dog issues in the city. It was smooth sailing in the city and the pace increased when I hit the downhill before Kaggalipura.

The downhill segment woke me up from my slumber and I was riding at a good pace. I was making good time which eased the time pressure, which resulted in me enjoying the ride. Kaggalipura to Harohalli was quick and the ride to Kanakpura from Harohalli was a breeze. It was 6:20 am when I reached Kanakpura. The famous Vasu hotel was open and although it was tempting to stop and have something to eat I rode on as I was carrying bananas to minimise on food stops.

The ride was bound to slow down from Kanakpura as I did not know the route and had to make constant stops to check the route on the phone. It was the first time that I was using a route created on strava and I was getting used to using this feature. I was not used to this feature and was using both Strava and Google Maps for directions.

The route after exiting Kanakpura was through small villages and there was agricultural land with the Bilikal hill forming the backdrop. I had slowed down on two counts, one being that I had to stop intermittently for directions and second being that there was a elevation gain, although small, it was enough to bring my speed down. Not knowing what to expect ahead, I was saving the legs a little.

The first forest gate is just 8 kilometers from Kanakpura. There was no guard at the gate, I was happy that I had entered the forest and there was no one to stop me. However, I was still on tarmac and not on a trail. The trail was still 4 kilometers away and there was another forest gate at the start of the trail which I had to get past.

The climb was a gradual one. As it was just over 7:00 am and with the previous night's rain, the weather was pleasant and I was able to ride easily on the gentle slopes. I did not have to get down to the lowest gear ring except on a couple of occasions when the gradient was steep. There was a stream right beside the road, which did not have a lot of water, however, even with reduced water it was making sufficient noise for me to be aware of its existence. I could hear peacocks and saw a lot of birds flying around, however, there was no evidence of any other animals, least of all elephants. There were a  lot of boards indicating that I was in animal territory and kept me hopeful of spotting something.

I exited the forest fence and reached the village on the hill. Passed by a temple and rode further and saw the forest gate up ahead. It was closed and there were two guards at the gate as well. I had that sinking feeling when I saw the guards at the gate. I decided to try my luck and rode up to the gate and was promptly told that I would not be allowed on the cycle. Two-wheelers and cars are allowed on weekends, however cycles are not allowed. I asked if I could walk up, to which they agreed, however they said that I would have to wait till 9:00 am when the temple priest would come and that I could go up with him. It was 7:15 am and waiting for 2 hours followed by a 4 kilometer trek to the top and then walking back would put the ride in jeopardy. Further, it was not guaranteed that the priest would turn up at 9:00 am. I requested the guards again, however, they said that it was too early and that the risk of running into elephants was still high and that it would not be possible to allow me through. I did not buy into their logic that I could 'somehow' escape if I was on a two wheeler, but it would not be possible on a cycle. My contention was that I would not be able to ride uphill in case of encountering an elephant and that I would have to ride downhill, in which case my speed would be similar if not faster than that of the two wheelers. The guards were not convinced and I was left to wait. Each minute seemed more like 10 minutes and I was losing hope. I waited for 10 minutes and thought that it would be a futile exercise so decided to start the ride. I bid good bye to the guards and was reminded to come on motorised transport next time.

The ride after the restart was easy as it was downhill. I made intermittent stops to click pics, restart strava, changing the shades on the glasses and finally made it to the first forest gate. From here, it was back to being a slightly slow ride as I was checking for directions on the map as the route was an interior route rather than riding back to Kanakpura - Harohalli and then to Maralawadi. In spite, the stops to check the route, I missed the route a little or rather opted against the route shown on the map since the road was a gravel road and opted instead to ride ahead on tarmac and take the next turn.

I was passing through small villages and the people seemed oblivious that it was voting day and were going about their day to day activities like any other day. The clock was ticking towards 8:00 am and I was getting hungry. I ate a banana and kept going. It was an easy ride and I was enjoying the view of the hills in the horizon and agricultural fields around me with sericulture being the main activity around here. I reached Maralawadi and got the first feel of the elections when I saw people crowding around near the election centers and the talk was about what proof they have to carry to be able to vote.

I rode past Maralawadi town and headed straight to the Maralawadi Dam. Although I had been here two weeks ago, I could not resist the temptation for a photo opp and made a quick stop.

I was onto a new route from here. I knew that it would be rolling, however did not expect that it would be a slightly difficult ride. With Bilikal Betta not working out I had revised the finish time to 12:30 pm. I was 20 kilometers from Thally and although it is rolling expected to be able to ride this in about an hour max. The first 10 kilometers was more like a gradual climb. It took time to get past this and coupled with checking the route every now and then it became slower than expected. There are a lot of alternative routes and taking a wrong turn is very easy in this area. The view around was beautiful and the rains have made the place green and I was happy that the vegetation around was not dry.

I laboured my way past the 10 kilometers and had to take a left towards Thally. The road became smaller here and there were steep climbs and descents to start with. The ride got slower and the kilometers were coming down painfully slowly. The good thing was that there was minimal to nil traffic and I could take the line that I wanted. A big positive about this interior route was that there was minimal traffic and I was not passed by a single heavy vehicle on this route, cars very rarely and it was mostly two wheelers on this route.

I reached a turn towards Thally and things eased out after this. First I came across a beautiful lake which was a refreshing sight to a tiring mind. There were lush green paddy fields on one side and the lake on the other side.

Rode a little from here and I was taken downhill to Thally town. It was an easy entry and I made my way past town and stopped to refill on water and have a jeera soda. I stopped at another lake at Thally town and ate a banana to take care of the hunger.

It was 10:30 am when I started from Thally. I was 50 kilometers from home. Although the gradient had eased out it was still a gradual uphill ride. I was unable to pedal fast and settled into a speed just below 20kmph. The ride till Gummalapura which is the last town in Tamil Nadu was on the slower side. As soon as I crossed the border, the gradual downhill started and I was back on speed. I sped towards Anekal, where I saw the election melee and was reminded that I still had to go and vote, a thought which had taken a back seat when I was enjoying the scenery in and around Thally.

The ride from Anekal to Chandapura was relatively easy and quick since it was a wide road and was predominantly downhill. Once at Chandapura, I was back on Hosur road, which is familiar territory and I was able to ride back home although it was on the slower side since I was struggling with tired legs.