Kodagu - Hills, Palace, Backwaters

Date: 20 April 2017 - 23 April 2017

Total distance:  452 Kilometers

Start Time: 9:45 am 20 April 2017

End Time:  11:45 pm 23 April 2017

With: -

Every year in April the Family Hockey Tournament is held in Coorg. I was waiting for the fixtures to be released so that I could plan my visit to Coorg, I was very keen to ride to Coorg and wanted to ride the MTB as I wanted to ride to Mandalpatti. Depending upon the time available I wanted to cover other locations as well in Coorg.

When the fixtures were released my match was scheduled for 20 April 2017. It was a Thursday and I got down to planning my ride. I decided to start the ride on Tuesday. Ride to Coorg on Tuesday with a visit to Harangi Back waters if possible, Mandalpatti on Wednesday, play the match on Thursday and Tadiyandamol on Friday and any other locations in Coorg before returning to Bangalore. However, I had to put my plan on hold since I was told to travel with other family members travelling from Bangalore. I was disappointed that I could not ride to Coorg and had to put the riding plans on hold.

I had to wait till Wednesday and got confirmation that I would be travelling alone  from Bangalore as none of the other family members from Bangalore could make it. I was very disappointed as I had cancelled my cycling plans and had ended up losing two days. I had to travel by bus as I did not have sufficient time to ride to Coorg and make it in time for the match. The plan had changed to travel by the night bus to Coorg on Wednesday, play the match on Thursday and return to Bangalore by the Thursday night bus. Cycling was completely out of the picture as I had to carry the hockey stick and playing apparel.

I had not booked the bus tickets and was pushing it as I had lost interest to go for the match. However, it struck me that I could take the cycle in the bus and then cycle around Coorg after the match. It was a late realisation, however it got me excited and I got about planning the trip. Getting to the match was going to be the only time when I would need to carry the hockey stick and playing apparel as I planned to hand it over to a relative who could carry it to Bangalore. The decision to take the cycle by bus was frozen, however I was apprehensive about whether they would take the cycle as luggage in the bus having faced issues in the past.

I did not want to book tickets, in the eventuality that they won't allow the cycle I had the option of returning home. I checked on the ticket status and saw that only 8 seats were booked which meant that the bus was almost empty. I dwindled with booking the ticket and finally decided to go ahead as the bus was empty and there would hardly be any luggage in the bus.

I packed my bags and secured the luggage onto the cycle and started from home at 9:45 pm. The bus was at 12:00 pm, however I wanted to get to the bus stand early so that I could request for the cycle to be loaded well in advance. Also, I was riding after a couple of weeks and expected the ride to be slow.

I reached the bus stand at 10:30 pm. Earlier than I had expected, with a rain threat around I did pedal rather quickly so as to avoid getting drenched. Took some time to unload the luggage from the cycle and then the wait for the bus began.

It was 11:30 pm when the bus came and as expected there were hardly any passengers. I went up to the conductor and told him that I had a cycle that needs to be taken as luggage. I was expecting a hue and cry and then some sweet talking and requesting to follow. I was surprised when he said that I will have to pay luggage fees and that I can load the cycle. I agreed and immediately brought the cycle from the place where I had parked it and loaded it. I had to pay Rs 200 as luggage fees of which Rs 60 was given as the official ticket. I was relieved and my Coorg trip was on.

Day 1: Madikeri - Napoklu - Madikeri:

Date: 20 April 2017

Total distance: 40 Kilometers

Start Time: 9:45 am

End Time:  19:20 pm

With: -

Altitude Profile:
Madikeri - Napoklu

Napoklu - Madikeri

I reached Madikeri at 5:00 am. I unloaded the cycle and other luggage and then pushed the cycle for about a kilometer and checked into Hilltown hotel. I set the alarm for 7:30 am and tried to catch as much sleep as possible. It took a while but I managed to doze off and woke up when the alarm rang. Freshened up and headed out for breakfast and then came back to the room and unpacked. Took out all the cycling related stuff and packed only the things that I needed for the match and then headed down to load the cycle. It was 9:45 am by the time I had loaded the cycle, although the match was scheduled for 12:00 pm, I wanted to have a relaxed ride and opted to leave early. Further, I did not know the road condition and gradient other than that it was a downhill from Madikeri and I expected at least a 10 kilometer downhill before the gradient begins to kick in.

I had to get to Napoklu which is 20 kilometers from Madikeri. It was bright and sunny, however it was not too hot with a slight breeze easing things. I started from the hotel and almost immediately had a short climb to negotiate. The climb was only half a kilometer, however by the time I made it to the top, I had a slight cramp in my abdomen. With a long downhill to look forward to I was not too worried with the cramp as I knew that I would recover by the time I get down from the hill.

I was surprised when the downhill lasted all of 4 kilometers. And what's more there was a climb, although a short one I was not very happy that I had to climb so soon. I took my time and rode slowly all the while keeping in mind that I should not be putting a lot of effort and rode in small gears. After the climb it was rolling terrain and I was using the downhill's to relax. The ride was slow, however I was enjoying every bit of it as it was green all around. I saw a lot of hoardings advertising the tournament and realised that I was taking more time than I had expected.

The clock was ticking towards 11:00 am and I still had about 5 kilometers to go. Just when I was thinking that I would have to start pedaling fast and put in an effort to make it in time, there was a slight change in the gradient with flat roads and more downhill's. I made it at 11:00 am to the ground and requested the security guards to look after the cycle and headed in.

I was surprised when I did not see any of my team members at the ground. A few calls and I was informed that the match had been postponed to 4:00 pm. Whatever little interest was there about the match evaporated when I heard that it was postponed to 4:00 pm. The only positive was that I got to watch a couple of good matches, however as the clock ticked away I was getting into sleep mode and did not want to play. It did tick me off a bit that I had not been informed about the rescheduling of the match. It would have resulted in me being able to catch up with more rest and also I did not have to worry about riding in the dark. The initial plan was to finish up with the match and leave the ground around 4:00 pm so that I can make it back to Madikeri by 6:00 pm, however now I would be able to start only at 6:00 pm.

The long wait for the team members to arrive was another disheartening thing that happened. Further, after coming to the ground there seemed to be an unwillingness to get ready to play. When we did play the match, the lethargy showed on the ground. Although we made a fight out of it, we still ended up losing 2-0. I was relieved that we had lost and that I did not have to go back to play another match. However the flip side of the game was that I had pulled my right hamstring as a result of a sub-standard ground and also taken a hit on my right ankle. I was struggling to run and barely made it to the end of the game. After the game, I handed over the playing apparel and secured the bag onto the cycle and said my good byes before starting from the ground at 6:00 pm.

I had about 45 minutes of daylight and wanted to make it as far as possible in daylight. The target was to get as close to Madikeri so that I would have some kind of ambient light available. The leg was hurting and every time I stood up to jog on the wheels it reminded me that the leg was not doing too well. Although I was hurting I was still enjoying the ride as it was rolling terrain and I was able to ride at a decent speed. I made the most of the rolling terrain and was fortunate to have daylight till the clock almost ticked to 7:00 pm. I managed to get to the climb to Madikeri after which the daylight deteriorated very quickly. It was a short 3.5 kilometer climb and although it was a gradual climb, the tiredness of having played a match was beginning to show. I was not calm and wanted to finish the climb quickly which left me looking for the top after every turn and leaving me frustrated that I was not covering distance quickly.

Just when I was beginning to think that I would have to stop for a break, I saw the buildings in Madikeri and pushed myself to keep going. I was relieved to enter the town. A quick ride through town and I was at the hotel. Hot water was available, I freshened up and as I got ready to head out for dinner it began to pour. I had to wait for about 30 minutes before I could head out and get dinner.

I had spoken to Gaurav and we had decided to trek at Tadiyandamol. I would cycle and he would come on his bike and we would meet at the foot hill. I was looking forward to some trail riding at Tadiyandamol. I had trekked the hill about 8 years back and remembered that of the 6 kilometer trek at least 4 could be covered on the cycle. I applied volini on the ankle and hoped that I would recover quickly from the hamstring pull although it did not look likely. I was not keen on cancelling and wanted to do the ride and trek even though there would be a little pain in the leg. I set the alarm for 5:00 am and hit the bed.

Day 2: Madikeri - Iguthappa Temple - Nalknad Palace - Tadiyandamol Peak - Madikeri:

Date: 21 April 2017

Total distance: 101 Kilometers

Start Time: 6:00 am

End Time:  18:15 pm

With: -

Altitude Profile:
Madikeri - Iguthappa Temple - Nalknad Palace - Tadiyandamol Peak - Madikeri

The game was done with and the exciting part of the tour was about to commence. I was hoping to make a quick recovery from the leg injury, however when I woke up my expectation was not met. The leg hurt pretty badly and was very sore from the previous day. The hamstring pull had gotten worse and the ankle pain made it very uncomfortable for me to wear shoes. I was determined not to cancel the day's plan and wanted to go ahead with it. It was more of a let's start and see what has to be done if it gets worse. I reminded myself that I should not be stretching the right leg as that would only make the hamstring pull worse, should try as much as possible to kept the leg in a slightly bent position so that I don't feel the pain. Cycling would not be an issue, however I did foresee trekking to be a problem especially getting down the hill.

I messaged Gaurav that I was starting the ride and left the hotel at 6:00 am. I had removed the carrier as I did not want any damage to the equipment on account of the vibration due to the off roading at Tadiyandamol. There was a light mist around when I started and I stopped at the Madikeri Fort for a quick pic. The fort now houses a museum and government offices.

I resumed the ride and it was the same route which I had ridden yesterday. The route was the same till Napoklu. Knowing the route helps a lot with the amount of effort that we have to put and also helps to quicken the ride. I reached Napoklu at 7:00 am. Just 60 minutes as compared to 75 minutes the previous day. The road from Napoklu was pretty flat and I was making quick time. Further, I had not received a reply from Gaurav and thought that he had not yet woken up and either he would not turn up or there would be a delay in his arrival. I had reached Kakkabe and saw the turn to Iguthappa Temple, this was not planned, however as I had made it early and had not visited the temple in a long time I took the opportunity to visit the temple.

The temple was about 3 kilometers from the turn. I had gone to this temple when I was a kid and had pleasant memories of the place especially of the food served at the temple. I went back expecting to see a rustic old temple which would have retained its old world charm, however, when I reached I saw a renovated temple and a cloth running all around the temple to provide shade to the devotees which hindered the view of the temple. I was disappointed with the temple which was more from the expectation that I had.

I made it back to Kakkabe and realised that I was behind schedule as I had to stop for breakfast. I stopped at a small hotel and had Parotta with Egg Roast. I called Gaurav and got to know that he is about to start from his house. I told him that I would be able to make it to the rendezvous point by 9:30 am and that he should time himself accordingly.

I started the ride after breakfast and reached the turn to Tadiyandamol pretty quickly. It was just 2 kilometers from the hotel and the road began to climb immediately. It was a gradual climb initially and just as I was getting to the steep part I saw a board which said Nalknad Palace. On all my previous visits to the place I had seen the palace from the outside as the gate was always locked and the gate keeper had gone out. I tried my luck this time and surprisingly the palace gate was open.

I did not want to miss the opportunity and went into the palace. It's not much of a palace and is more of a house. It used to be the hideout of the erstwhile king of Kodagu. The Madikeri Fort is the king's residence and the Nalknad Palace was used more as a hideout therefore not grand. It had been ignored for quite a while and the state of the wall paintings shows it, as most of them have been eroded. I could hear voices inside the Palace and knew that there were others in the Palace. When I entered the ground floor, I could hear the roof creaking which indicated that the people were on the first floor. I looked around on the ground floor and took the stairs to get to the first floor. When I did get to the first floor, I could still hear voices, however I could not see anyone around. I walked from one room to another and still no sign of people. It was an eerie feeling and I was ready to scoot if something jumped/came towards me. I walked into the corridor at the back of the first floor and looked gingerly across. I was relieved when I saw two men at the corner, one was the caretaker of the place and he was explaining about the palace to the visitor. I joined in and he took us down a hidden staircase to the ground floor and showed us the hiding place of the king which was a dark room as it had no windows and hence difficult to detect. The way I was ushered into the dark room was also an experience as I doubted the intention of the caretaker and feared being locked in a dark room. A little bit of confidence when the other visitor also joined me in the room and the caretaker explained about the room and beckoned for us to follow him. He took us to a small window from where we could see the entrance. The window has 24 holes/gap in it and it is said that the holes/gaps where used to place the gun and aim straight for the heart of the person walking in. In case he was an enemy he was doomed.

I came out of the palace, took a few quick snaps and was back on the cycle and started the climb. I had assumed that Gaurav would have reached the rendezvous point as I had stopped at the Palace and had taken time to see it. The gradient was very steep as I exited the palace and along with being steep the road was not in good condition. There were a lot of loose rocks and I was struggling for grip on these rocks. In many places I went off the road and had to stop and push the cycle as I was unable to restart pedaling on account of the steep gradient. It was tiring to say the least to make it up here and when I reached the place where I was supposed to meet Gaurav, I saw that a concrete road had come up and I could ride further. I made it up another slope and reached a junction where the road going up goes to Tadiyandamol and the road going down leads to the village. It was a gravel road from here, the trail starts from here and it is 3.75 kilometers from the peak.

It was 9:45 am, I was late by 15 minutes. However, there was no sign of Gaurav and I was wondering if he had ridden ahead. I called Gaurav, however he was not answering his phone. I was stuck, I did not know whether I had to ride ahead or wait. I decided to wait and enjoyed the view of the valley. The flip side of the wait was that I was gulping down water and was running out of my water supply. I was hoping that Gaurav would be carrying water. Sent messages and then frantically called him and finally he answered and his reply calmed my nerves a bit. He had not reached as yet and would be arriving in a short time. When Gaurav reached it was 10:15 am.

A few more snaps at the view point and we started the trail ride. Gaurav was off-roading on his bike and I was riding the cycle. At a few steep sections I had to get off and push. We had ridden about half a kilometer when I saw a forest gate. This is a new addition to the place and vehicles are not allowed beyond the gate. We requested for permission to take the cycle and were allowed to take the cycle as there were not many visitors.

It was trail riding after the gate, I would ride ahead and Gaurav had to walk. Some sections which were slippery or steep I had to get off to push, but largely the first 1.5 kilometers after the gate was riding uphill. After this the path got very rocky and very steep. It would make sense to carry the cycle if I would be able to ride down, however, carrying the cycle up and down the hill did not make sense and I told Gaurav that we should lock the cycle to a tree and proceed on foot. Gaurav volunteered to carry the cycle and within 100 meters realised that it was a futile exercise. We stopped, locked the cycle and took a break to have delicious Coorg oranges from Gaurav's estate.

We continued on foot and did come across sections where I could have ridden the cycle and although it was tempting to go back and carry the cycle, I abstained as it would take a lot of effort. We had crossed the trail, entered grasslands and were entering forest area where the route gets very steep and were happy that we did not get the cycle as it would have been very difficult to carry it through this section. When we got out of the forest area the route got steeper, disappointment was that the peak was covered in mist. The mist was so heavy that not only was the peak covered, it was also covering the valley. We were getting fleeting glimpses of the valley. We took a small break before continuing the trek to the peak. A little pushing and we made it to the top at 11:30 am.

There was mist all around. Even though it was April, there was mist and again I did not get to see the view from the top. We decided to wait for a while to see if the mist clears. We binged on a few more oranges and waited. As the clock ticked by the mist did not show any signs of clearing. It did clear a little but would cover the valley again. Before we realised we had spent an hour at the top and still there was no sign of the mist clearing. We knew that we had to get down and waiting further would be futile.

We started the descent and I made my slowest descent of Tadiyandamol. On my previous visits I would run down the slopes, however today I was struggling with the leg. Gaurav was still very energetic and as we made it through the forest area he climbed up another hill. He told me to join as well but I was tired and wanted to save up energy for the ride and could not go along. I walked to the place where we had parked the cycle and rested as Gaurav made it up to the peak, enjoyed the view and then came down. A little more rest and we started towards the forest gate which was 2 kilometers away.

Gaurav carried the cycle a little and stopped when the cycle could be ridden. The issue was that I have not ridden on steep descents with rocks and this was my first experience of steep declines. Gaurav was of the impression that I could make the cycle jump and I would speed down the slopes like they do in all the downhill MTB races, however on my first attempt I wanted to take it slow and without knowing the nuances of down hilling when I started the ride, I went about 10 yards before almost falling off the cycle. Even though I was holding onto the brakes the cycle was not stopping as it was a steep descent. I had to stop at every steep rock and carry the cycle down.

When we made it past the steep section, cycling became easier and I was able to ride the trail. A little bit of experience and I was able to get a hang of it and rode all the way till the forest gate and waited for Gaurav. We were out of water, however there was no water available in the shop at the gate, we had to make do with juice.

There was still a little bit of trail left and as I rode on the trail Gaurav followed on his bike. We were back at the view point and the trial/off-roading was done with. What was left was a steep decline on non-existent roads, which effectively meant that it would be more off-roading however this time it would be done at higher speeds.

I rode in front of Gaurav and as expected the cycle picked up speed within seconds on the descents and when the road went bad it was difficult to bring the speed down to manageable proportions. On a couple of occasions I was pretty close to falling off the cycle and barely managed to control the skid and stay on. These would have been high speed crashes and I was lucky to be riding. We reached the Nalknad Palace gate, as Gaurav had not seen the place we went in.

The caretaker identified me, as he was attending to another set of visitors, I became the guide for Gaurav. Took him around the palace and showed him the secret route and hideout. It was a quick visit and we were back on our bikes and riding out of the palace premises.

I had decided to ride on the Kadnur-Murnad-Madikeri route rather than the Napoklu route. Riding the Napoklu route would be too repetitive and wanted to try a new route. As Gaurav was also riding the same route we decided to have lunch together. The clock was ticking towards 3:00 pm and we were making our way past small towns, however all the shops were closed. I was running out of water as well, and Gaurav also did not have any water, he had given whatever he had to me. Gaurav was forced to ride the bike slowly as it was rolling terrain and I was riding the uphill's slowly. Rather I was pushing harder than I would have if he was not there, I was still managing to ride at only 8-10kmph. There was also a rain threat with dark clouds looming in the horizon and I did not fancy getting drenched before lunch as I would have to sit in the hotel in wet clothes. Reached Karada and saw a shop open and refilled on water. A couple of kilometers later we were at Kadanga and hotels were open, we stopped to have Parotta and Egg curry.

After lunch, I bid good-bye to Gaurav and he sped away on his bike. As I rode towards the Virajpet-Madikeri road, the road was in excellent condition and I was surrounded by greenery. It was a very pleasant ride. I made it to the Virajpet-Madikeri road and saw that it had rained in the area. I was riding just after the rain, weather was great and I was enjoying the ride. I passed by the Bethri bridge and noticed that the water level of the Kaveri river was pretty low.

I had expected a 8 kilometer climb to Madikeri and kept counting down the kilometers remaining for the climb to start. It was rolling terrain and the climb did not start where I had expected. The kilometers kept ticking away and Madikeri seemed to be quite a distance away. Finally the climb started with 3.5 kilometers remaining to Madikeri. It was a gradual climb and although I made tough work of it, I made it to the top and then to the hotel at 6:15 pm. I had reached an hour before expected and was happy for the additional rest time that I had as the next day was going to be more difficult.

I freshened up, slept for a while and then headed out for dinner. I saw a board stating authentic Coorg food and went to the restaurant and had food which was not even close to Coorg food. I came back to the room and planned the ride for the next day.

The plan was to check-out, leave the luggage at the hotel, ride to Mandalpatti, get back to the hotel to collect the luggage and then ride to Harangi back waters. Finish up by around 2:00 pm, have lunch and then start the ride to Mysore by 3:00 pm. I expected to reach Mysore by 8:00 pm and based on physical condition I would take a call to stop or to continue riding to Bangalore.

Day 3: Madikeri - Mandalpatti - Harangi Backwaters - Mandya:

Date: 22 April 2017

Total distance: 204 Kilometers

Start Time: 6:00 am

End Time:  22:00 pm

With: -

Altitude Profile:
Madikeri - Mandalpatti - Harangi Backwaters - Mandya

I had a good rest and had a little extra time to think about the trip. I was very tempted to extend the ride and ride to Talacauvery and to Kerala, however considering that the leg had not recovered I decided against and stuck to the plan of riding back to Bangalore. I had set the alarm for 4:30 am so that I could leave at 5:00 am. I overslept and woke up only at 5:15 am. Checking out took a little time and I was able to start only at 6:00 am.

It was going to be a long day as I had planned to ride all the way to Bangalore if possible and was looking at riding as quickly as possible so that I can get additional time at the places as well as leave a buffer to ride back to Bangalore. I had missed out on the ride to Mandalpatti on my previous visit in October 2016 and was ruing the missed opportunity as I could have used the day for another location if it had been done earlier. Anyways, I was riding today and did not want time to be a factor in deciding whether I can make it to Mandalpatti or not.

The initial 8 kilometers had 4 kilometers of steep climbs and 4 kilometers of steep descents. I was not worried about the climbs when I was going to Mandalpatti and it was the descents that were worrying as I had to climb it on the way back. I had a lot of jeeps ferrying tourists to Mandalpatti for company. I made it to a junction from where I was guided to take a left as it was a shorter route. Shorter routes are generally more steeper and when the climb started it was very steep. I had expected a tough climb and this was giving me a very tough time. I did not want to stop even though the speedometer was showing speeds of 4 kmph. I kept pushing myself to pedal and used every opportunity of a break in the gradient to get my breath and some energy back into the legs. The climb seemed to be never ending due to the slow progress, however I knew that I was making progress and kept going. When I got to the turn to Mandalpatti I was happy to have made it before expected. The flip side of reaching early was that the place was covered in mist and there was no view at all. I still had about 4 kilometers to ride and was hoping that the mist would clear by the time I get to Mandalpatti.

It was trail riding from here and having experienced a fair bit yesterday I was comfortable riding the trail today. Kept the cycle in the lower gears so that there is no load when I get to the climbs and riding the trail became easy as I was able to negotiate my way on the rocks as well. Visibility was very poor and I could barely see 10 feet ahead. The jeep headlights were visible only when they were within 10 feet and I was fortunate that no one ran over me. As I got closer to Mandalpatti the mist was getting thicker and I knew that I would not be able to see anything. I wanted to ride all the way in spite of the misty conditions and I did make it to the parking stand at 8:00 am. I had expected to get here only by 9:00 am. I was an hour early and rode inside. I was stopped by the forest guard's whistle and he did not allow me to take the cycle further. I had to park the cycle and walk to the view point.

I made a quick exit from the view point and restarted the ride. On the way back I stopped at a few locations to take pics. I had not stopped when I was going to Mandalpatti hoping that I would be able to take pics at the top of Mandalpatti, however as that was not possible I opted to stop on the way out. I made it back to the turn to Madikeri. It was 9:00 am and I was happy that I was doing well on the time front. Further there was a steep downhill of 4 kilometers coming up before I started the climb gain.

The downhill was scary to say the least with the cycle picking up speed very quickly. As it was a bumpy surface I was off the saddle most of the time and was a little apprehensive about riding at high speeds on this road. I made it to the base pretty quickly and then started the climb towards Madikeri. I did not realise how steep the climb was when I was descending it, now it was a struggle and it was very slow progress. I did not realise that I was very slow and was also on low energy levels as I had not had breakfast. I got to the turn to Abhi Falls and stopped for breakfast. It was 10:30 am and as I had vegetable pulav I realised that I had fallen behind schedule. I was supposed to leave Madikeri by 11:00 am, however I was going to reach Madikeri at 11:00 am and the earliest that I would be able to leave would be 11:30 am.

I had a quick breakfast and made my way to Madikeri. It was 11:00 am when I got to the hotel. I fixed the carrier onto the cycle and secured the luggage. Completed the check out formalities and started the ride towards Kushalnagar. It was 11:30 am when I started from Madikeri.

I had expected an easy ride from Madikeri to Kushalnagar. However, even though it was a downhill there were intermittent climbs which was taking a lot of time. I was feeling the effect of the days and also the previous day's activities. I was barely able to make the climbs. The target had changed to riding to Bangalore instead of Mysore which added to the pressure as I was not covering distance soon enough. The road was good and the surroundings were beautiful which was easing the pressure a bit. As I got closer to Kushalnagar, I saw a domesticated elephant being used by the forest department to carry grass. I rode past and stopped to click a few pics. However, the phone started to hang and in my effort to get the phone going I did not realise that the elephant was closing in and when I did look up, I made a quick exit when I saw that a spec in the horizon had changed to a behemoth.

I rode a little further and knew that I was close to the turn to Harangi Backwaters. I had seen that the turn comes before Gudde Hosur and I was close. There were roads leading into the forest and I did not want to overshoot the turn. Tried to look up the turn on google maps, however, as the phone was hanging I did not get the required help. I was frustrated with the phone and did have a thought of dropping the place if I had overshot the turn. I enquired at the next junction for the back water and was told to take the next left. I was happy that I had not missed the turn, and took the left which was just 100 meters away.

The road changed, it was  a small road and within a kilometer and a half from the main road I reached a forest gate. It was an unmanned gate and I was surprised. There had been a forest fire very recently and the effect was still evident with all the trees being charred black. I was surprised that there is an unmanned gate and people were being allowed to enter the forest. Another kilometer and I saw boards of home stays inside the forest. They have opened up the forest for public and I could not help but speculate that the forest fire would have been a result of the public entry into the forest.             I rode on towards the backwaters and as I got closer I got my first fleeting glance of the place and I couldn't wait to get to the place. I followed the road and within a short while I reached the end of the road.

What lay ahead was nothing short of paradise. I felt like I was in one of those foreign locations that they show in the movies. It was a breathtaking view. Vast grasslands, cattle grazing, water and surrounded by hills. It was just fantastic and I was blown away. There was a clear car track which has formed in the place which showed that the place has been visited a lot. In the distance I saw two buses parked and headed towards it. When I got there I saw that it was a group of Buddhist Monks who had come to the place and had set up a tent and were cooking and having lunch. A little wandering around the place and I noticed that camping was rampant in the place and alcohol bottles were broken all over. The place looked to be in pristine condition from a distance, however on closer look the human abuse was evident and I was ruing the decision to let people into such a beautiful place. These kind of places should never be opened to the public, especially since we do not know how to respect the place.

I saw the Harangi Dam in the distance and then started to ride back. The place had captivated me and I did not want to leave. I did feel like checking into one of the home stays and staying at the place for a day and just lazing around at the back water and watch the sunset from there. A few calm moments spent at the place and I realised that I would also be contributing to spoiling the place if I stayed back further.

I got back on the saddle and started the ride back. It was 2:30 pm and I had not had lunch. I wanted to get to Kushalnagar to have lunch. However, there was a rain threat and once again the thought of having lunch in wet clothes did not appeal to me. I rode as much as I could and when rain looked imminent I stopped at a hotel for lunch. I was about 2 kilometers from Kushalnagar. As I dug into a plate of Kori Roti the rain disappeared and the Sun was back. I enjoyed my lunch and quickly got going.

It was 3:15 pm when I started and when I made it to Kushalnagar I saw that it had rained. The road was wet and there was a lot of water getting thrown up from the wheels. I had escaped from the rain but not from the effects of the rain. There was no heat however the spray coming up from the wheels made me keep my mouth tightly sealed so as to avoid mud on my teeth. It was rolling terrain and the effects of the morning had been left behind and I was riding at a decent pace considering that I was riding a MTB.

It took some time for me to get to Periyapatna, however, from Periyapatna the pace picked up and I was beginning to get closer to Mysore quickly. It was around this time that I noticed that my right shoe lace was undone, however I did not want to stop as I was in a nice rhythm. The lace was not a problem as of now and I was making good time. I kept the momentum up and reached Hunsur by 5:15 pm.

I continued to ride and as I got closer to Bilikere I was almost out of water and I wanted to stop for Coconut Water as well. There were a lot of locations where I could have stopped, however there was only Coconut water or water and it would require me to make 2 stops. I wanted to minimise stops as I wanted to save time so that I could make it to Bangalore. I knew that I would be riding through the night if I have to make it to Bangalore, however I wanted to get past Mysore early as there would be a temptation to stop at Mysore. Further Mysore also had the temptation of loading the cycle onto the bus and getting back.

As I got closer to Bilikere I saw that there was a shop with Coconut Water and water. I stopped. A quick 15 minute stop to refill water and have coconut water and I was back on the saddle. I had planned to ride on the Mysore bypass as it would save me kilometers and also I would avoid Mysore altogether and therefore there would be no chance of being tempted to stop or board the bus. However, as it was a slightly remote route, I wanted to do it in daylight. When I started from the shop the Sun had gone down however there was still daylight. I rode as fast as I could to make it to Ilvala by 6:45 pm so that I could get onto the bypass in daylight. However, my efforts were in vain as the light faded fast and it had gotten dark when I reached the bypass junction.

I considered my options, and decided to ride on the bypass even though it was dark as it was still around 7:00 pm and not very late at night. Further, by opting to ride on the bypass I would be riding close to the river which would mean that I would not be doing any climbing. If I had ridden into Mysore there would have been some climbing to be done. Further the bypass is shorter and will get me to Srirangapatna faster. I mustered up a little courage and rode on the bypass. Just as expected it was downhill and surprisingly there was a lot of traffic on the route. I passed by KRS, Balamuri, Belagola Village, Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary before getting onto the highway. It took me 45 minutes on the bypass, however I enjoyed the ride even though it was dark.

Just as I was getting to the end of the bypass I was getting hungry. I planned to stop for a quick snack at Srirangapatna and then have dinner at Maddur. It was 7:45 pm when I reached Srirangapatna. I would reach Maddur only after 11:00 pm and having just a snack would be asking too much, so I opted to have dinner instead. I had a meal and started the ride at 8:20 pm.

I started the climb from Srirangapatna and noticed that I was beginning to struggle on the climbs a bit. I could ride on, however my thoughts were that I would be reaching Ramanagar after 1:00 am and was not feeling comfortable in case I face any issues at night. I was out of energy and the thought of having to fix a puncture at night with my energy drained was playing on my brain. I tried to tell myself that I was better off getting to Bangalore in the early hours rather than riding the next day when I would be riding in the heat. However, the body and mind had gone into a relaxed phase and I was getting into a lazy mode. I decided to stop at Mandya and ride early tomorrow so that I could get to Bangalore before 12 pm.

The climbs were completed and I made it Mandya rather easily. It was 10:00 pm when I got to Mandya and checked into Hari Priya hotel. As I freshened up I knew that I was 30 kilometers short and if I had reached the Coffee Day before Channapatna by 10:00 pm I would have ridden all the way to Bangalore. I hit the bed so that I could recharge my batteries.

Day 4: Mandya - Bangalore:

Date: 23 April 2017

Total distance: 108 Kilometers

Start Time: 5:15 am

End Time:  11:45 am

With: -

Altitude Profile:
Mandya - Bangalore

The nights rest was supposed to do me a world of good. However, I had gone backwards after the nights rest and was feeling stiff. I had to get the muscles going again especially with the hamstring pull which was making life difficult. The thighs were also hurting from all the climbing. I was not very happy that I had to ride and was looking at getting to Bangalore. The mindset was a letdown and did not allow me to enjoy the ride as I was looking at getting home.

A little bit of a delay in the check out formalities before I could get going. It was still dark and I was able to get going before it was day break. I got to Mandya and then rode on towards Channapatna. Mentally I wanted to get to Channapatna as quickly as possible as I knew that I can set smaller targets and riding would be easier even though it would involve climbing.

As I crossed Maddur and saw the restaurants on the Maddur-Channapatna road I was getting hungry. The sight of a hotel was enough to make me feel weak. I wanted to push on without having breakfast and hoped to get to Bangalore by 10:30 am, however with so many restaurants I was finding it hard to fight the temptation. I decided to have breakfast at Kamat near Ramanagar and the sight of the hotel was enough to make me weak and stop.

I enjoyed my Sunday morning breakfast at Kamat which was a Masala Dosa and two glasses of sugar cane juice. I took 45 minutes for the breakfast and although I could still eat another Dosa I resisted the temptation as cycling would become difficult if I filled myself up based on my past experience. I got out of the hotel and started the ride.

The Sun was out and the heat was a problem. Even with my goggles on I was feeling the brightness of the Sun. The ride from Kamat was more like a countdown. I counted down the kilometers first to Ramanagar, then to Rasta Cafe, then Bidadi, then Kumabalgodu, then Kengeri and then to the Sirsi Circle flyover.

I saw Vikas Ruparelia riding his new fixie near RajaRajeshwarinagar. He was headed to Ramanagar, I could only wave to him and could not stop to speak as I was tired. Mentally, I was looking to get home as quickly as possible.

The ride eased out after the Sirsi Circle flyover. The Mysore Road ride is becoming monotonous and I am struggling to ride on this route and finding it hard to motivate myself. I will need to take a break from this road for a while, which at the moment looks difficult.