Challakere (400 Kilometer Brevet)

Date: 12 November 2016

Total distance: 410 Kilometers

Start Time: 5:30 am

Return Time:  4:30 am

With: Rajkumar Khot

Altitude Profile:
Lavelle Road – Challakere – Lavelle Road

The 200BRM was done and the 400 BRM followed almost immediately. I was familiar with the route except for the stretch from Hiriyur to Challakere. Having done the route earlier gave me the confidence that I could complete this brevet, however I did not want to take it for granted having had bad experiences in the past with that kind of attitude. I checked with Rajkumar if he would be doing the ride and he was not sure. When I did see his name on the list I was pleased that I would have a ride partner.

The brevet day came by quickly and before long I was reattaching the rider number and other accessories onto the cycle to get it ready. The broken spokes had been replaced and the tire was working fine and no cause for worry. The alarm had been set for 3:30 am, however I was up at 2:00 am and in spite of all my efforts to get back to sleep I could not. I got ready and waited for Rajkumar to come by so that we could get to the start point. Rajkumar came at 4:40 am and  we reached the start point at 5:05 am. We were the first to arrive and the start formalities were completed. The rider traffic picked up at 5:15 am and the organisers completed all the start formalities and flagged off the ride at 5:30 am.

It was a relaxed start and before we knew it we were at Yeshwantpur. The pace picked up here and the riders began accelerating from here. The speeds were in excess of 30 kmph and as the weather was cool we were able to sustain the pace for a longer time. The climbs towards Dabbaspet averaged the speed, however it was still pretty quick. It was not long before the gap had opened up and Rajkumar and I were riding by ourselves. We were left wondering if the riders in front were riding very fast or we were slow in spite of the average speed hovering around the 25 kmph mark.

Swamy and his troupe of Go Green riders caught up with us and we rode together till Tumkur. As the pace was good and we were not hungry Rajkumar and I rode on towards the first Control Point whereas the Go Green boys stopped at the entrance of Tumkur for breakfast. We made our way out of Tumkur and were riding towards the VRL checkpoint when we were passed by a pickup truck with a road cycle loaded at the back. Divya Tate was inside the pickup, the pioneer of randonneuring in India and she stopped when she saw us and enquired about the ride and wished us luck. We rode on and before long we had reached the VRL checkpoint which was the first checkpoint.

It was 8:50 am, a little bit of a discussion about whether we should stop for breakfast before deciding to stop since we not sure about food options further up the road. The consideration was not hunger but the food options available further up the road. A few riders had already arrived and a few more arrived soon after we reached. Opted for a light breakfast as I did not want the food to weigh me down. I was planning to reach the mid-point control by around 1pm and had thought that the lunch break would be at the mid-point, it was not until Vikas asked me about the distance to Hiriyur and the time that it would take that I realised that reaching the mid-point by 1pm would be a very difficult ask and Hiriyur was a more likely place for lunch. We had breakfast, some rest and we were ready to go at 9:30 am.

Within a few minutes of starting we caught up with the Go Green boys. We rode together till they stopped to fill water. We got to Sira and just as we reached the Sira Coffee Day we stopped to have Coconut Water.

The pace of the ride was fast and we were making good time. With the downhills outnumbering the climbs we were on course to reach Hiriyur around 12:15 pm. We were discussing about lunch and we decided that we did not have to stop at Hiriyur and could ride to the mid-point for lunch. We were on course to get to Challakere at 2:00 pm and just when things were going well I heard a 'twang'. I knew I had lost a spoke, I did not want to stop the ride as the pace was good. I asked Rajkumar to check if there was a wobble in the back wheel, he confirmed that there was no wobble and that the wheel was fine. A couple of kilometers more and another 'twang'. This time I stopped and confirmed my fear that I had broken a spoke. I could see only one break and I tried rotating the wheel, it was stuck and would not budge unless a lot of force was applied. I decided to continue riding, Rajkumar said that we would check for a cycle shop and get him to tighten a few other spokes around so that the wheel would move freely without touching the brake pads which would enable me to continue riding. The effort quotient multiplied from here and the next 5 kilometers seemed like a 20 kilometer effort and the problem was only worsening. I called out to Rajkumar signaling to stop and a quick check and I asked him to loosen the brake pads which would give me some leeway. The problem seemed to cease just a bit and I was back on the saddle. It was a slow ride and the loss of speed every time the wheel touched the brake pads was hitting me hard. We reached Hiriyur and we frantically searched for a cycle shop and we managed to call a cycle shop person with the help of a mechanic who has his shop next to the cycle shop. A closer look at the wheel and we got to know that 2 spokes were broken. The guy arrived and said that he could not do anything about it since spokes were not available with him and any request to tighten the other spokes fell on deaf ears. As the wheel was rubbing against the brake pads I decided to remove the brake pad and ride on. Rajkumar was not convinced, however he removed the brake pad and we were ready to leave. I had to be careful from here on since I did not have the back brake and sudden braking was off since I would be thrown off the saddle. The concentration level had to be higher from here.

It was 1:00 pm when we started from Hiriyur and we had 40 kilometers to reach Challakere. This part of the route was supposed to be scenic, however it was anything but scenic which resulted in the gradient of the road getting noticed more than it had to be. The road was a continuous series of long climbs and descents and coupled with head wind and the Sun belting down it was not a very enjoyable ride. The speed of the ride had reduced due to the wheel and also since hunger was catching up with us. We were about 6 kilometers from Challakere when we saw Rushit and TimTim returning, they told us about the check point and as we rode on we were contemplating about whether they had rested at the mid-point and had a thought that there might not be any food available at the mid-point which could have resulted in them returning early. It was a scary thought as we did not have sufficient energy to get back to Hiriyur and the look-out was on for places to eat and every passing Dhaba was a tension reliever that food was not too far away. About 1 kilometer from the mid-point, Satish Addanki passed by  and when we reached the checkpoint at 3:00 pm, Ashutosh Bellur was resting. We were welcomed by Lokesh and Pavan and he told us our check in time was 2:55pm, we were not concerned about the check in time, the news that was music to our ears was that there was rice bhath. We quickly got down to eating and gulped down juice and refilled on water and lay down for a few minutes.

Strava reflected that the ride time for 204 kilometers was 8 hours 23 minutes, an average speed of 25 kmph and total time of 9 hours 30 minutes to complete 200 kilometers. I was happy that I had recorded my personal best for 200KM, however the thought did linger that it could have been faster if not for the wheel giving up. I was very disappointed with the spokes since I had got the wheel fixed just over a week back. The wheel failure on the 200 BRM was not bad, however another failure on the 400 BRM made me feel jinxed. I had ridden 190 kilometers of the 200 BRM with broken spokes and now I had ridden 50 kilometers and had a further 205 kilometers to go on the 400 BRM. There was no point thinking about it and I decided not to think about it and hoped that the wheel would hold for the remaining part of the ride.

We started from Challakere at 3:30 pm and within 5 kilometers of the restart we had passed all the riders who were riding towards Challakere. All the riders were slated to arrive at Challakere within 11 hours which was a very good time. It showed that the first half of the ride was on the easier side. The return would involve climbing up and would be slower. The intensity of the Sun had decreased and the wind had ceased resulting in us picking up our speed. A look around to see if we had missed any scenic locations and we confirmed that we had not missed anything. It was barren land and a lot of wilted agricultural fields although it did not look as bad as earlier since the Sun was hiding behind the clouds now. We reached Hiriyur at 5:15 pm and a stop for Coconut Water before we got going again at 5:30 pm.

We rode about 5 kilometers towards Sira when we saw Satish Addanki ahead of us. He had started from Challakere about 30 minutes before us and was riding slowly towards Sira. We caught up spoke to him and the group of two had become a group of three riders. Rajkumar was in the zone and was riding very quickly. I was trying hard to keep pace with him and was doing a fairly decent job. I was feeling hungry and the glucose levels were down. We still had about 5 kilometers to get to the Coffee Day at Sira, the next check point. We stopped to wait for Satish to reach. It was still 7:00 pm and was not exactly dinner time. The currency problem created in the country had left us short on the cash front and I wanted to parcel dinner from Coffee Day since debit cards are accepted at Coffee Day. Rajkumar was not too keen and said that we had sufficient cash to have dinner at Kamat restaurant which was further up the road. I had to ride 10 kilometers and with nothing in the tank, I wanted to have at least a little bit at Coffee Day so that I could continue riding. Satish caught up with us and we rode on to Coffee Day and when we reached, Pavan and Lokesh were there. We got the brevet cards signed and ordered refreshments. Since we would be stopping again in a few kilometers I only wanted to get my glucose level up and had a slice of pastry. We refilled on water and left from Coffee Day at 8:00 pm.

I was back to riding at speed and within the next 15 minutes we were at Kamat. Rajkumar was not very hungry and wanted to ride to Tumkur, I told him that I had not refueled enough to get me to Tumkur and would prefer to stop. Further, Tumkur would take a further 2 and a half hours and we would run the risk of reaching after closure time of the hotels. Kamat hotel it was going to be and we rode into the hotel. Meals and lime juice was ordered and we got about eating our meal. The effect of the Coffee Day stop was evident as none of us could finish our quota of rice. We stepped out and sat on the Sofa set and tried to catch a quick nap. I was just about beginning to get to sleep when the phone rang and that was the end of my nap. It was 9:30 pm when we started from Kamat restaurant. We had to ride 125 kilometers and we had 11 hours to do it. We were comfortably placed on the time front and knew that we would make it well within time.

We had 45 kilometers to get to Tumkur of which the first 25 kilometers from Sira to Tumkur involves a lot of climbing and the pace was slow. Rajkumar had sped away, I took a little time to warm up and then was up to pace. Satish was pacing himself and was on the slower side. Although we were a group of 3 riders, we were riding individually since there was a gap of half a kilometer between each of us. The climbs were taking its toll and the pace was coming down gradually. We took a break after having done 23 kilometers and a nice 15 minutes later we started our ride towards Tumkur with the next stop coming at the Tumkur toll where we would stop for tea. It was rolling terrain and we made quick progress towards Tumkur. It was the same formation, Rajkumar was ahead by about 200 meters, and Satish was about 200 meters behind me. With about 8 kilometers to go for Tumkur, Satish had found his mojo, he caught up with me and enquired about the distance left for the Tumkur toll and blitzed past me. He was desperate for tea and wanted to get there as soon as possible. I picked up my speed and rode about 100 meters behind Rajkumar and Satish. We reached Tumkur and made our way past town. The flyovers in town were very irritating and every flyover looked like the last one only to leave us disappointed that there was more left. I was riding quickly and after having done about 4 kilometers through Tumkur I thought that I had crossed the city, however the flyovers kept coming thick and fast and I could not recollect having ridden on all the flyovers in the morning. The Toll just did not seem to arrive and when it did arrive I was at my wits end and pretty desperate to see the Toll Gate since I had run out of water and was desperate for a refill. Satish was even more desperate and when we crossed the toll we were welcomed by closed shops. It was huge let down as I was desperate for water. Fortunately for us there was one shop which was open and we could not see it earlier since there was no electricity. We had tea and refilled on water and sat to rest. My back was aching and I wanted to rest my back, took up a place on the ground without being conscious of the crowd coming to the store and looking at me. Resting the back was more important since I still had 63 kilometers to go.

15 minutes later we were back on the saddle. I was tired and sleepy and found the going tough from here. I made very slow progress towards Dabbaspet, I had lost interest in the ride and was riding just to get back home. I took just under an hour to ride the 12 kilometers from the toll to Dabbaspet. I was able to make up for the lost time in the rolling terrain that followed and with about 10 kilometers left to Nelamangala we stopped for another break. 15 minutes later we were back on the saddle.

The rolling terrain continued and we made it to Nelamangala and did not stop at the toll. It was too quick for a break and we rode on. As soon as we got onto the flyover from Nelamangala towards Peenya, Satish sped away and it was just Rajkumar and me riding slowly and making the best use of the downhill sections when they were available. Both of us were hungry and it showed the effect on the speed. I was going through my water supply very soon and was fortunate that Rajkumar had not used up his water and was able to refill from him. We got to Peenya and a short stop for water and then we rode towards Airlines hotel. The ride was slow on the climbs and was almost a crawl till Yeshwanthpur. Yeshwantpur was the mental barrier and as soon as we got past the Yeshwanthpur Metro we accelerated and picked up the speed. Surprisingly we caught up with Satish near Sankey Tank, he had missed the road and had to back track, we rode together and reached Airlines Hotel at 4:30 am.

The organisers had not yet arrived and Rajkumar and I decided to wait since we did not want to come back to return the brevet card. We waited for about 30 minutes when Jins arrived and submitted the Brevet Card. We chatted for some time and in the next 30 minutes the Go Green boys arrived. We spoke about the ride and then bid our goodbyes and then embarked on the most difficult ride, the ride back home. I got back home at 6:30 am, freshened up and then hit the sack.

Ride Details:

From	To	Distance	Ride Time (hrs)	Total Time (hrs)	Departure Time	Arrival Time	Avg Speed
Lavelle Road	Tumkur	84	3.50	3.50	5:30	8:50	24.00
Tumkur	Hiriyur	80	3.00	3.50	8:50	12:30	26.67
Hiriyur	Challakere	40	2.00	2.50	12:30	14:55	20.00
Challakere	Hiriyur	40	1.75	2.50	14:55	17:30	22.86
Hiriyur	Sira	40	1.75	2.00	17:30	19:30	22.86
Sira	Tumkur	63	3.50	5.00	19:30	1:30	18.00
Tumkur	Lavelle Road	63	3.00	4.00	1:30	4:30	21.00
		410	18.50	23.00			22.16