Kodaikanal-Munnar-Kochi

Date: 26 January 2017 - 31 January 2017

Total distance: 925 Kilometers

Start Time: 4:30 am 26 January 2017

End Time:  18:00 pm 31 January 2017

With: Rajkumar Khot

Rajkumar is an avid cyclist and a traveler too. We had been planning to go on cycle tours for long however we had not been able to freeze on dates. I had a near miss for the Coorg - South Canara trip in the last week of December, however there was a plan to ride to Kodaikanal and locations nearby in mid/end January.

A window of opportunity opened up in end January and we started to plan the ride. The locations that we wanted to cover were Kodaikanal, Valparai, Munnar, Kochi and Trivandrum. It was only when we started looking up the distances that we found that we were a little over ambitious and that we would not be able to cover all the locations. We decided to drop Valparai from the list and placed Trivandrum on the tentative list depending on our physical condition and time remaining. The tentative plan was drawn up as follows:

Day	From	To	Distance	Ride Time (hrs)	Total Time (hrs)	Departure Time	Arrival Time
1	Koramangala	Karur	292	15	18	4:00	22:00
2	Karur	Kodaikanal	171	9	12	5:00	17:00
3	Kodaikanal	Munnar	163	9	12	6:00	18:00
4	Munnar	Kochi	130	8	10	6:00	16:00
5	Kochi	Trivandrum	200	10	12	6:00	18:00
			955

We planned to load the cycles onto the bus and return to Bangalore. We did not book the return tickets as the destination was not fixed as yet. I purchased a carrier from RR cycles and fixed it onto the seat post of the road cycle. This was the first time that I am using a carrier on a cycle tour and I am alien to securing the luggage onto the carrier. I tied a loose knot and although the luggage was looking clumsy it was sufficient to hold it, however the cycle felt very heavy. I went to bed knowing that Rajkumar would show me how to secure the luggage and that I had to make it only till the meeting point which was set as the Silk Board junction.

Bangalore to Karur:

Date: 26 January 2017

Total distance: 289 Kilometers

Start Time: 4:30 am

End Time:  7:30 pm

With: Rajkumar Khot

Altitude Profile:
Koramangala – Dharmapuri - Karur

I hardly slept the previous night and kept waking up every two hours to check the time. I finally got out of bed at 3:00 am and got ready, checked with Rajkumar on his status and started from home at 3:45 am and rode to Silk Board Junction. I got there at 4:00 am and 10 minutes later Rajkumar came by and on first look he said that my luggage was not secured properly and immediately got down to fixing the luggage. The carrier was shifted lower near the base of the seat post and the luggage was secured with a tight knot using a tire tube. It was 4:30 am when we started the ride.

As the luggage was fixed securely, I did not feel the weight. It did take a little time to get accustomed to jogging on the wheels, other than that there was no difference with the weight on the carrier. The ride through Bangalore was slow and the speed picked up after Electronic City when we got rolling terrain. The weather was pleasant and it was perfect conditions for riding as there was very little wind. It was a delayed day break and it was almost 7:00 am when we had day break. The Sun never made an appearance and this remained through the day as we had a heavy cloud cover. We got past Hosur, a small break and then we sped towards Krishnagiri.

About 10 kilometers before Krishnagiri, we met a fellow cyclist who was riding to Madurai and had started his ride from Bangalore at 2:00 am. Spoke to him for a while and then set off towards Krishnagiri. We reached Krishnagiri at 8:00 am where we stopped at Ananda Bhavan for breakfast. The restaurant was crowded and the service was extremely poor. We took an hour to have breakfast as the food took forever to arrive. I met Vinod, an ex-colleague from Grant Thornton and also another aged gentleman who thought that we are foreigners who were touring India and the surprise on his face when we said that we are Indians was priceless.

Just as we exited Krishnagiri, there was a beautiful lake nestled in between hills and the highway. We could see the lake as we passed by, however as the target for the day was to get to Karur which is almost 300 kilometers away we could not make any stops. Just admired the view as we rode and made brisk progress. We rode steadily without riding too hard and before we knew it we had reached Dharmapuri and then got to the Thoppur Ghat. We stopped just before the downhill section for coconut water. We started again and as I picked up speed on the downhill, I ran into a traffic jam which was caused by a road roller, made my way past and ran into another traffic jam, this time caused by an accident where a lorry had toppled over and it had probably just occurred since emergency services where at the site and they were trying to retrieve the driver from the vehicle. I did not want to stop and see any gruesome accident scene as it would stick in the mind and we had just started the journey. We rode a little after the Thoppur ghat and stopped for a break. It was 11:50 am when we stopped for a break and a small 10 minute break invariably stretched and it was 12:15 pm when we restarted.

When we did restart the ride it was a slow ride from here as hunger was beginning to catch up with us. I was riding ahead and in a while when I turned back Rajkumar was not in sight. I rode slowly and waited for him to catch up, however, he did not come by. Alarm bells were ringing fearing that he had suffered a puncture or had a mechanical issue. I stopped and called him, he answered and told that he had stopped at a bakery as he was very hungry. I was relieved that it was not a mechanical issue and waited for him to catch up as I did not want to ride back. When Rajkumar came by, we rode towards Salem. As the Sun was hiding behind the clouds we were enjoying the ride and the heat was not a topic of discussion even at 1:00 pm in the afternoon. We got to the Salem toll and stopped at Saravana Bhavan for lunch. South Indian meals was served and although the quantity seemed less, it was just the right amount.

Now that the hunger was taken care off we restarted the ride. We had a little under 100 kilometers to get to Karur. As we rode round Salem the wind speed had picked up. Although it was a general downward gradient the wind was slowing us down and the effort quotient increased. We were surrounded by hills,  however the view was not sufficient to help us recover. We were beginning to tire and effects of the days ride were showing. As we got to Namakkal, the kilometer stones were showing faulty distances to Karur and it was beginning to play on my mind even though the difference was just a few kilometers. The flyovers were taking a toll and I was hungry again and needed to refill quickly. Riding on the Namakkal by-pass did not do us any favours on the food front as there was hardly any food/water shops and I did consider riding back into town to get food. However, in a couple of kilometers we were out of the by-pass and came across a bakery. Egg puffs and badam milk was what the doctor had ordered and I was able to resume riding.

It was 5:30 pm and we had 43 kilometers to get to Karur. The break had rejuvenated us and we were ready to ride again. The light was fading and so was the wind which helped to increase the speed of the ride. We came across a very fertile area where the Banana plantation was thriving. We were surprised that the area was green and cultivation was thriving since we had been riding across parched lands after Krishnagiri. We realised that the area was fertile as the ground water was good in the area and got the answer about the ground water level when we crossed the bridge across the Kaveri river. Although the river was dry and it was a disappointing sight to see such a huge river bed dry, the area around was still good enough for cultivation.

As the light dipped and it got dark our pace increased and every kilometer that we ticked off it seemed to be serving as energy boosters and we kept pedaling at a quicker rate. We made it to the outskirts of Karur and got off the highway to get into town. Things slowed down as soon as we got off the highway and it did take a while to search for a hotel. The night was still young and we did get a good budget room at Arasi Lodge and importantly hot water was available.

We checked in, freshened up, washed our clothes and headed out for dinner. A walk around town before heading back to the restaurant at Arasi lodge. A quick dinner and we headed back to the room. We checked on buses from Trivandrum to book our return tickets, however we did not get tickets from Trivandrum, we had to drop the location from the plan and opted to stop the ride at Kochi. The return tickets were booked for 30 January 2017 from Kochi. We planned to start the ride at 6:00 am tomorrow and with a 50 kilometer climb to finish the ride it was going to be a long day. I needed sufficient rest and it did not take long for me to sleep. Even though there was no Sun through the day, having cycled 289 kilometers did tire me and I was apprehensive about how the body would shape up for the ride tomorrow.

Karur to Kodaikanal:

Date: 27 January 2017

Total distance: 176 Kilometers

Start Time: 6:30 am

End Time:  9:15 pm

With: Rajkumar Khot

Altitude Profile:
Karur - Palani - Kodaikanal

I had a good sleep and was up as soon as I heard the alarm at 5:00 am. We got ready and it was time to get the luggage back onto the cycles. We completed the check out formality and loaded the accessories onto the cycle and the bags were secured onto the carrier. It was 6:30 am when we rode out of town.

Karur is a big town and we realised it on our way out . We had taken small by lanes the previous day and had missed the central area. In a way it was good that we had missed the central area as we got a nice room for just Rs 650. It might not have been a possibility in the central area. We hit the highway and started our ride towards Palani. We had to ride towards Madurai and about 60 kilometers into the days ride we had to take a right to go towards Palani. I had expected an easy ride on the highway and things to heat up when we turn towards Palani, however, the ride on the highway was a gradual upward gradient which resulted in the ride speed being on the slower side. It was another cloudy day and we were happy that the Sun had taken refuge behind the clouds and rarely made an appearance.

The road was surrounded by hills, however the cloud cover was so thick that we could not see the hills in the horizon clearly. The pace of the ride was slow as we were climbing. I had expected a downhill gradient and starting off slow was not what I wanted since I knew that I needed a lot of time for the Kodaikanal climb. As the clock ticked towards 8:30 am we had covered about 35 kilometers and the hunger pangs were beginning to bite. There were no hotels in sight, although there were hoardings of hotels they were 20 kilometers off. Fortunately for us there was a tea stall which was selling Vada as well. We stopped and filled ourselves up on Uddin Vada, Masala Vada and Tea. We wanted to have fruits as well, however as we had filled our stomachs up for the time being we were ready to go for another hour at least before stopping to eat again.

The break had served its purpose, the speed of the ride was up and we made quick progress. We had to ride about 25 kilometers to get to Vedasandur where we turn towards Palani and get off the highway to Madurai. Empty roads and hills continued and before we knew it we had reached Vedasandur. I continued on the highway as there was no sign post indicating the direction to Palani. I assumed that there would be a sign board indicating the direction to Palani on the highway. I rode about 2 kilometers before checking on Google maps and realised that we had to ride into town and then take the turn to Palani, we had overshot the turn. However, Google maps did show a side road which leads to the Palani road. Followed the route on Google maps and in a couple of kilometers we were back on route, the road had changed from a six lane highway to a two lane road, however the road was lined with trees on both sides and was looking beautiful. There were a lot of pilgrims walking on foot towards Palani. We came across a small village and stopped to buy bananas, rode a little out of the village and stopped for a break and ate the bananas.

We had just under 50 kilometers to get to Palani. It was 10:15 am, we were on schedule to start the Kodai climb at 1:00 pm which would give us sufficient time to make it to the top and enjoy the route as well. The ride continued on beautiful roads lined with trees and filled with pilgrims. We made it to Oddanchatram, another big town and as we passed through the town we were unable to resist the temptation to purchase delicious guavas being sold by the fruit vendors. It had begun to drizzle as well and I tried putting the rain cover over the luggage however I was not able to as the luggage was tied to the carrier and the rain cover should have been fixed before tieing it to the carrier. I managed to cover half the bag with the rain cover, something is better than nothing. Rajkumar purchased guavas and as we searched for a place out of town to eat the fruit we came across more fruit stalls and stopped to purchase mangoes and cucumber. We started the ride after the purchase and had decided to stop a little ahead to dig into the fruits. We were at a railway crossing and as we had just started pedaling the pace was slow. When I made my way across the track, the gap in the track was wider than usual and as my speed was slow, the wheel got stuck in the gap, I could not control the cycle and fell. I got up quickly and realised that I had taken a hit on my left knee, it was not much of a concern and quickly picked up the cycle and pushed it across the track. The wheels were jammed, I unlocked both the brakes and started riding, I noticed a marked wobble in the front wheel and realised that the wheel was bent. Moreover it was rubbing against the brake pads and riding was difficult. I stopped and checked the back wheel, there was no problem, locked the brake for the back wheel and hopped on to the cycle knowing that we had hit a road block. We stopped about 200 meters from the spot to eat the fruits and also assess the condition of the cycle.

The wheel got stuck between the tracks and as there was weight at the back the wheel had got bent. Rajkumar did suggest that we can work on it at the track and try to fix the problem, I was of the opinion that we should ride to Palani and try and get the problem fixed. A little bit of rest and a few fruits later we decided to give it a try ourselves. We headed back to the railway track, used the brake pads as a tuning fork to check for the bend and every time we identified the bend we unhooked the wheel and used the gap in the track to bend it back. The problem that we faced was that the bend was quite a lot and every time we tried to rectify the problem, as we were using a crude method we ended up bending the wheel in different locations. We spent about 45 minutes at the railway track trying to fix the problem, I even suggested that we should load the cycles to a vehicle and get to Palani to rectify the problem. However, Rajkumar was adamant on trying to fix the problem and after 45 minutes we began to see the efforts bear fruit. The wheel was beginning to rotate better and the rubbing against the brakes had been reduced to scraping against the brakes. We fixed the wheel back, the back brake was locked in, however the front brake had to be in the unlocked position. I tried riding and the wheel scraping the front brake pad was not much of a hindrance and also I was able to bring the cycle to a stop with the brakes in the present position. We decided to ride to Palani and check for a permanent fix to the problem.

As I rode the confidence increased and also there was not much reduction on the speed front. I told Rajkumar that we need not stop at Palani and that we should continue riding as the cycle seemed to be working fine. I hoped that I could make it to Kodai and in case the problem worsened then I would take a bus to Coimbatore and get a replacement wheel and continue the ride. Since we had planned to ride around Kodai tomorrow, getting a replacement from Coimbatore was an option which was available. I would miss the ride around Kodai, however I would be able to ride to Munnar and Kochi. 

This was a contingency plan and I hoped that I would not have to use it.

I started slowly and as the confidence grew, I picked up the pace. We had lost a lot of time due to the fall and had fallen behind schedule. It was 2:00 pm when we got to Palani. We did not stop for lunch at Palani, I was doubtful about whether I can climb immediately after eating and wanted to stop for lunch. We came across a hotel and stopped and enquired for lunch, we were told that lunch was not available.

We continued riding and came across the first view of the hills as we crossed a bridge and stopped to take a few pics. As I tried to rest the cycle against the bridge wall I was not able to balance the weight and just as I brought the cycle under control I had placed my hand near the cyclo computer which got stuck in the gloves. I did not realise it and when I took my hand off the handle the cyclo computer got unhooked and fell over the bridge. Fortunately there was no water flowing below the bridge and I headed down to search for the cyclo computer. Spent about 5 minutes and was not able to find it and decided to give up the search. Rajkumar was not in a mood to give up easily and went down to search again. In spite of my  persistent dialogue to let it go, he stuck at it and managed to find it. It was not damaged in spite of the fall and I fixed it back onto the cycle. Rajkumar was all excited and climbed onto the bridge wall and lifted his cycle up as well to take pics. I was less adventurous knowing that I was not having a good day, had a fall and almost lost the cyclo computer, so did not risk lifting my cycle.

A few kilometers ahead we reached a small village just before the climb to Kodai begins. There were a few small hotels and lunch was available. We stopped and feasted on delicious meals and omlette. On another day I would have eaten more, however knowing that I had a 50 kilometer climb coming up I had to stop myself from over eating. We refilled on water and within a couple of kilometers the climb started.

It was 3:00 pm, the Sun had still not made an appearance and it seemed more like it was a 5:00 pm start. I told Rajkumar that I am a slow climber and that he should not wait for me and should ride ahead. However, the climb was not as steep as I had expected and I was able to maintain a steady pace and not fall behind too much. As we climbed up we came across breathtaking views of the valley. Our first stop was when we saw the Palar Dam. Although we knew that we would get better view of the dam as we climbed, we opted to stop as day light was at a premium and also rain threat was looming large. We did a little bit of tomfoolery when we got onto the parapet wall near the curve to take pics. Not very risky, however knowing the day that I was having I was a little shaky and wanted to get to the top without having any further issues.

We restarted the ride and as we got higher it began to drizzle. When we were climbing the drizzle was getting heavier and there was not much that we could do to prevent the water from getting into the bag. The rain was light and was not something that warranted us to stop. We continued riding and we came across a JCB stationed across the road trying to retrieve a pickup truck which had fallen into the valley. We were stopped and told to wait, the rain got heavier when we were waiting, we packed our phones into a plastic packet and when a small window opened when the JCB work was halted to consider their options for bringing the truck up we crossed over and resumed riding. The rain ceased within a few kilometers and the phones were taken out of the bag to take more pics.

We had seen a board stating that we were at 690 msl at the start of the climb. We had ridden about 15 kilometers when the rain got heavy and fortunately for us we came across a store just at the turn and stopped to wait out the rain. As we ate boiled black channa dal at the store I noticed a board which said that we were at 1000 msl which confirmed that it was a gradual climb and not very steep. The rain continued to come down and we ate Aloo bonda and then sipped on hot tea during which time the crowd began to swell at the store. As the crowd began to move around they invariable brushed against the cycle and my cycle took another fall. Fortunately there was no damage, I had another close shave when I spilt about half of the tea from the glass in order to save the cycle from another fall. I was relieved that the rain stopped and that we could start from the store.

The climb continued and as we got higher we began getting above the clouds which were hovering over the valley. We made a few stops to click pics. By now we knew that we would not be making it to Kodaikanal before dark and tried to make the most of the dry spell and the availability of day light to take pics of the valley and the clouds. We also had a gut feeling that the climb would not be all the way to the top and that we would get a break at some point, however as we did not know when that would come we climbed conservatively as we did not want to get into the red.

The further we climbed, we were getting into the clouds and with clouds followed rains. We were already drenched, however the temperature was coming down as we got higher which resulted in us trying to keep the body temperature up. We came across a beautiful view of a 4 level waterfall. It had begun to rain and we could not take a pic and kept riding and waiting for the rain to stop. However with every passing kilometer, the daylight was fading and although the rain had abated, the valley was covered with mist and valley view was covered. I was out of fuel as the lunch and the snacks had been expended by now and I needed to refuel quickly. We still had about 25 kilometers remaining and the climb was not showing signs of ending. Rajkumar rode ahead and I was unable to keep pace. The mountain was getting covered in mist and a passing biker alerted me to the fact that it was very misty and visibility was poor. I stopped to switch on the front and back lights to enhance my visibility for traffic. I climbed a couple of kilometers when it started pouring and also it had become dark. I had just about reached a small town and Rajkumar was waiting inside the store with his cycle parked inside. The lady at the store was not allowing my cycle inside, however with a little convincing the cycle was parked inside. I was drenched and as soon as I got into the store the heat in the store started drying me out. There was smoke emanating all over me as the clothes began to dry. The lady was shutting shop, however she was helpful enough to make bread omlette for us and also served us ginger coffee. The food and drink was a life saver and I was good to go for a couple of hours.

It was 7:15 pm when we restarted the ride, we had 22 kilometers to go and the rain had abated. We had further good news coming up, we had a downhill section immediately after the restart. The downhill was for approximately 8 kilometers and we rode carefully in the dark and when the climb started I was slow. I was struggling to keep pace with Rajkumar who was riding like he had just started the ride. We reached Perumal Malai which is 12 kilometers from Kodai. Rajkumar was waiting and chatting with the cops at the check post and enquiring about the route to Munnar. We spoke to the cops for a few minutes and resumed the ride.

There was a small downhill before the climb started again. The traffic was heavy and the road was not in good condition. Moreover the cobblestone sections increased here and the bumpy ride was not enjoyable at all. We made it to the Kodai entrance gate together and came across the Silver Cascade Water Fall. We stopped to take a couple of pics which served as a rest stop as well.

We had 7 kilometers remaining to Kodai, I was not in very good shape and was feeling the effects of the climb. I was slow to restart and Rajkumar would ride ahead and wait for me at the end of every kilometer. The last few kilometers were painfully slow, when I made it to the top it was 9:15 pm. I was very happy that I had managed to climb to the top and not suffered from cramps, tiredness had set in, however the joy of having reached the top was offsetting the tiredness.

We came across an agent who was setting up tourists at hotels, we were taken to a hotel within our budget and given a good room. The only hitch was that there was no fan and the air was moist as well, which meant drying the clothes would be near impossible. Also, hot water was available only in the mornings. We checked in and immediately got down to assessing the damage to the clothes, as we opened the bag, our fear was confirmed that water had entered the bag and the clothes had gotten wet. We were able to salvage a few dry clothes and spread out the remaining in the hope that they would dry. I was exhausted and ended up taking a bath in freezing water in the hope that the muscles would recover faster from a cold bath. We headed out for dinner post 10 pm and planned the ride for the next day. We had a day to spend at Kodai and we decided to ride back on the same route towards the water fall which was approximately 25 kilometers off, then get back to Kodai and ride around Kodai to explore the other locations around.

We got back after 11:00 pm and it did not take long before we had hit the bed and dozed off.

Exploring Kodaikanal:

Date: 28 January 2017

Total distance: 52 Kilometers

Start Time: 9:00 am

End Time:  3:00 pm

With: Rajkumar Khot

Altitude Profile:
Kodaikanal

I forgot to switch off the alarm that I had set for weekends and I did wake up at 2:30 am. However I promptly went back to sleep after switching off the alarm. The next time I woke up it was 7:00 am and a look outside showed that the Sun was out. We woke up and slowly began to get ready. It was a relaxed day of riding and since the distance to be covered was less we took it easy, a mistake in hind sight as starting early would have given us the preferred dry weather.

It was 8:45 am when we started from the hotel. We had not had breakfast and we decided to have it at Perumal Malai which is a 12 kilometer downhill from the hotel. Even though it was sunny it was still cold and as we made our way down we could see that the Hill was coming to life as the Sun light began streaming in from behind the clouds and lit up the hill.

We stopped at Classic Hotel at Perumal Malai and had Idli/Parotta and Lemon Tea. We had to evade the hotel staff's request to ride the cycle and then restarted the ride at 9:30 am. I realised that the Strava recording had been accidentally stopped and had not recorded the distance of 10 kilometers which we had ridden till now. When we restarted the weather was clear for the first couple of kilometers and just as we started the 8 kilometer climb the weather began to change. It became misty and the valley also got covered in the mist. Visibility dropped and we could barely see 10 feet in front of us. The climb took time as the previous 2 days of riding was beginning to show. We took just over an hour to get to the place where we get to see the waterfall, however by then we had accepted the fact that the weather will not clear and we might not be able to see anything. Just as we had feared when we reached all that we could see was white mist and worse was that it had begun to drizzle.

We waited for a few minutes and then pedaled back to the same shop where we had stopped the previous day. It had begun to pour just as we got to the shop and we were happy to get into the shop. We had Ginger Coffee and Murukku as we waited for the rain to abate. The waiting bit was fine, however it began to sink in that we might not have sufficient time to visit the other locations in Kodai if the rain continued.

It was around 11:30 am when we restarted the ride. It had stopped raining and we had a downhill section of 8 kilometers ahead of us. It was going to be an easy ride for the next 20 minutes, and we hoped that the cloud cover would have cleared. However, to our disappointment the cloud cover remained and worse it began to rain again. It started as a small drizzle before changing to a downpour. I stopped at an abandoned fruit stall and signaled to Rajkumar to stop as well. We spent about 15 minutes waiting for the rain to stop. When it did reduce to a drizzle we were back on the saddle. We rode into Perumal Malai and then made our way towards the Silver Cascade waterfall. We stopped at a small water fall before the Kodai gate, however it began to rain again and we had to resume riding. We took shelter under the Kodai gate and when it stopped raining we headed to the Silver Cascade Water fall. It was 1:15 pm and we spent about 15 minutes there. It was very crowded and the rains had not been a deterrent to the tourists.

We were drenched, however the climbing had got the body temperature up and we were not feeling cold. Also, the jacket that I was wearing is a fleece jacket on the inside and as it was dry it was keeping me warm. We got back on the cycles and headed into town. Rajkumar wanted to visit the City View Point and we took a deviation to visit the place, however the road was in bad condition and I was not too keen to visit the place thinking that I would get to see Kodai from the view point and I did not fancy seeing buildings on a hill. We got back on the road to Kodai and we must have ridden a couple of kilometers when I realised that the view point might have been of the valley on the other side and we might have seen Theni town from there. The realisation came by late and we could not turn back. We rode towards the Kodai lake. When we reached the lake we rode around the lake. Every time we stopped to take a pic it would become misty or would start raining and getting drenched was becoming irritating.

We completed the ride around the lake and headed to a restaurant near the lake for lunch. Just as we stopped for lunch there was a huge downpour again. That was the last straw as far as riding was concerned. I did not want to ride again in the rain and we decided to check for taxi's to take us around the places in Kodai after lunch. We enjoyed the South Indian Meal and then rode back to the hotel to park our cycles. Without spending too much time at the hotel we quickly headed back out. A kilometer walk during which time we negotiated with a few agents/drivers to take us around town and finally managed to strike a deal with a driver to take us around for Rs 1,200. However, we had to wait for 30 minutes before we could start the ride. When we did start, it was a fleeting visit to the Upper Lake View, Moir's Peak, Pillar Rocks, Suicide Point, 500 Year Old Tree, Coakers Walk, City View. In all the places we were welcomed by mist and we could barely see anything other than at Pillar Rock where we enjoyed the view. The other constant during our visit to the places other than the mist was that there was no rainfall. We could have ridden our cycles around instead of taking the taxi, however, considering the wet weather in the morning, the possibility of no rains in the afternoon was bleak.

Another development during the taxi ride was that we could speak to the forest officials about the route to be taken for the next day. We had planned to ride through the forest from Kodai to Munnar, the route was 110 kilometers and would pass through dense forests. However, the guard at the forest check post denied permission outright and said that the route has been closed for public for the past 40 days and that there was no way that we would be allowed to pass. We left disappointed and wondered whether we should risk taking the route and try our luck tomorrow in case the guard is changed. However, on a second thought we opted out of it since we would not get anything to eat along the route and also riding/pushing (since the road is not in good condition for about 15 kilometers) would be a difficult task if the rains continued. We decided to get down to Theni and then ride up to Munnar even though it was approximately 170 kilometers. After another round of discussion we decided to start at 6:00 am so that we can make it to Munnar in daylight.

Kodaikanal to Munnar:

Date: 29 January 2017

Total distance: 176 Kilometers

Start Time: 7:15 am

End Time:  9:00 pm

With: Rajkumar Khot

Altitude Profile:
Kodaikanal to Munnar

We had planned to start riding at 6:00 am. However, when we did wake up it was cold, damp and dark. It had rained through the night and had stopped raining about an hour back. We did not move from the bed and eventually when we did wake up it was 5:45 am. We got ready and assumed that the weather would have cleared as it had rained continuously. However, when we stepped out at 7:15 am it was still damp, cold and misty. We had to get to Perumal Malai and then head down on the Madurai Road.

I struggled in the cold weather and did not enjoy the bumpy ride on the cobble stones as braking was difficult. We went past the Silver Cascade water fall and as we headed towards the Perumal Malai junction there was a slight drizzle, I had that sinking feeling that this was going to be one of those days. We made it to the Perumal Malai junction and as we commenced the downhill towards Madurai we could see the Sun coming out and lighting up the valley in the distance. I was relieved and knew that the further we got down we would be getting into the Sun and away from wet weather at least until we start the Munnar climb.

The road which was bumpy with a lot of cobblestone sections became wider with fewer cobblestone sections and we were passing through forest terrain. After the initial downhill we came across rolling terrain which slowed things down. There was a rattling noise in Rajkumar's cycle and on closer look we saw that the carrier rack was broken. It was bad news, Rajkumar could carry the back pack on his back, however, doing  a grueling climb to Munnar would be very difficult with weight on the back. We had to get the carrier fixed and that would happen only after getting down the hill. We tied the carrier to the seat post with rope hoping that it would hold. Just as we made it past the rolling terrain we came across a group of bikers who had stopped at a view point. We stopped as well to take pics and resumed riding.

We must have made it about 3-4 kilometers down when Rajkumar shouted out to me. The carrier had broken completely at the joint and the rope had not done its job. With no option remaining, we packed the carrier into Rajkumar's back pack and he carried the luggage on his back. We were heading downhill and as such there was no problem if we could get the carrier welded before we started the climb to Munnar.

We restarted the ride and had left the clouds behind and entered the Sun zone. We came across beautiful views of the valley, almost dry waterfalls, green valley and also the Manjalar dam. We kept stopping every few kilometers to admire the view and also take pics. We were making a lot of stops and were running the risk of starting the Munnar climb late. We realised this only after we got past the Manjalar Dam and made a conscious decision to cut down on breaks for snaps and head down.

It did not take long to get to the end of the climb and as we started the ride towards Theni we started looking out for welding shops and hotels for breakfast. We passed by a few hotels however I did not stop as I was on the lookout for welding shops. We took the turn towards Theni and within a kilometer we had stopped at a hotel for breakfast. It was 10:30 am. We had taken 3.5 hours to ride 52 kilometers of downhill which was very slow. However, what was more worrying was that we still had 50 kilometers to ride before we started the climb and we still had to get the carrier welded. We ate idli vada/ pongal and refilled on water and enquired about welding shops.

We were told that we had ridden past a welding shop and that we should go back about a kilometer as the shop was open. We rode back and I was happy that we had found a welding shop. However, we were told that the carrier was made of aluminum and that only steel welding is done at the shop. We were told that we should go to Theni and check and would be lucky if we get an aluminum welding shop since it was a Sunday and generally all shops are closed on Sunday. Rajkumar was in a hurry after this and before I realised what was happening he had opened a 200 meter gap. I had to pedal at over 30kmph to keep the gap constant. We were ticking off the kilometers quickly and when we reached Periyakulam town Rajkumar stopped at a welding shop. I caught up and we got the same reply, aluminum welding not done here. We rode further into town and at another shop it was the same reply. I told Rajkumar that we had to get to Theni as stopping before was going to be futile. The speed was down to the mid twenties here and as we hit the outskirts of Theni, we got to another shop where only steel welding was done. However, we were guided to an aluminum welding shop across the road. When we reached, although the shop was open, the person who welds was not at the shop. We were told to call the person and tell him to come to the shop. I called and the person said that he was not in town and will not be able to come. However, the locals at the shop called the person again and requested him to send a person since we were travelers from Bangalore and needed urgent help. We were told to wait for 10 minutes and that a person would come and then the barrage of questions started regarding the cycles and the trip. When they dispersed after 10 minutes, another person came by and said that we should ride into town and check for a shop since the person who we were waiting for would not come. He said that he had been waiting for 90 minutes and the person had not come. We took his advice and rode into town. A couple more enquiries and finally we landed up at a gas welding shop and got the carrier welded. Finally the welding was done, we had our doubts about the weld holding up on a permanent basis, however it looked like it was sufficient for this trip.

It was 1:15 pm when we started from Theni and within a few kilometers from town we had to take a right turn and ride towards Bodinayakanur. As we got closer to Bodinayakanur we could see a hill in the distance and the road climbing up the hill was visible. I guessed that it would be the hill that we have to climb and as it did not look like Munnar was on top of this hill, I assumed that we would have a downhill within a few kilometers of the climb before we start the main climb to Munnar. We crossed Bodinayakanur and as we got closer to the hill we realised that there would not be any further options for lunch and that we need to refill before we started the climb. We came across a resort and stopped to have Roti's and Curd Rice.

We restarted and within a kilometer we had to take a left and start the climb. It was 3:00 pm and we had 65 kilometers to get to Munnar. We had expected the distance remaining to be about 50 kilometers. 65 kilometers was more than expected and it looked very far off. Going by the Kodai climb, it looked like 11:00 pm was the expected arrival time at Munnar, I did not want to think about Munnar and wanted to enjoy the climb and took it a kilometer at a time. The climb was a gradual climb and the road was wide with minimal traffic. As we got higher we could see windmills in the distance and also the Bodinayakanur/Theni towns. We chatted as we rode up which took our mind off the gradient. The kilometers which had been coming down quickly in the afternoon, was now being reduced like a trickle. When we were doing the Kodai climb, the rain/cold was a problem, now the Sun was the problem. It was very hot and we were getting cooked. Chatting and the beautiful landscape were driving us forward. What I had thought was a small climb seemed to be never ending. I saw the town at the peak from the time we started the climb and figured out that we were in for a 25 kilometer climb at least before getting to any sort of downhill. There would be no break until we reached the peak and it looked like the town at the top, Bodimettu was the last town in Tamil Nadu before we crossed over to Kerala.

We had targeted doing 10 kilometers an hour. In the first hour of riding we kept the pace, however as we got higher the photo breaks increased and the pace fell a bit. We still had daylight and even though the gradient increased in some sections we were able to keep going. As we got closer to the peak we were able to increase the speed and made it to the peak at 5:15 pm. We crossed over into Kerala and immediately hit a small downhill followed by rolling terrain. We made a quick stop to refill on water and bought fruits before resuming riding. We got our first sighting of tea estates which had draped the hills. We stopped for a photo break as it was 5:45 pm and we did not know how much day light we had remaining.

We rode into Poopara town and started the climb again towards Munnar. We still had over 30 kilometers remaining. I was running low on energy and was riding very slow. The gradient was very steep when we entered the tea estates and I was struggling to make it up. Rajkumar had ridden ahead and was about 200 meters ahead. I kept pushing on the pedals and knew that I needed a food break. With no town in sight, my only source of energy which was nearby were the fruits that we had bought which was with Rajkumar. I needed to catch up, however the gradient and my dipping energy was only slowing me down. Got past the climb and got into a rolling terrain as we approached Anayirankal Dam, Rajkumar had stopped to take pics and as I closed in I was happy to see that he had stopped. I ate an orange and knew that it was not sufficient to get me to Munnar as we still had 25 kilometers remaining. I needed a few biscuits at least to keep me going if not for a proper snack.

We restarted the ride and I continued my slow progress. It was like my battery was being charged by Sunlight and with the dipping Sun I was losing energy. We lost daylight and I made a stop to fix my lights and continue riding. A kilometer ahead we came across Periakanal town. Rajkumar had stopped near a store. There were no restaurants here, we bought bun and biscuits and ate them. It was 7:00 pm and Munnar was still 22 kilometers away.

Our plan was to ride to Kochi the next day and we had already booked the bus tickets. However, we wanted to see the places around Munnar which meant that we had to extend our ride by a day. We did not have any second thoughts about extending the ride. We sat outside the store at Periakanal and cancelled the tickets and checked on ticket availability for Tuesday night. As it was available in abundance we decided that we could book the tickets after getting to Munnar.

It was 7:30 pm when we started the ride from Periakanal. It was dark, the rest and snacks had served its purpose. My pace was up and as we rode into the night it looked like we had made it to the top of the hill. However, every time we thought that we had peaked the road found a way to keep climbing. We heard the loud sound of a waterfall and as we passed we planned that we should visit the place tomorrow so that we could enjoy the view. We could see the lights in the valley below and got the feeling that we were very high up in the hills and although we could not see the view guessed that it would be beautiful. Rajkumar's lights had run out of steam and was very dim, we rode together so that visibility is enhanced. We hit a downhill section and although the progress was not fast as it was dark, the rest for the legs was welcome. We reached Devikulam which is 7 kilometers before Munnar and as we climbed out of town we knew that we were almost done. In a couple of kilometers we could see Munnar town and the road was downhill to Munnar.

It was 9:00 pm when we got into Munnar town. We came across agents calling out to us for rooms. However, we decided not to stop as we wanted to look around for rooms ourselves so that we can save on the agent's commission. However, when we did stop at hotels they were charging in excess of Rs 2k per night. It was out of our budget and we did not know where the budget hotels are located. We got back to where the agents were and looked around for them, however, they had all disappeared and we were left to find the rooms ourselves. We were running out of patience and it was getting a little worrying when even the hotels away from the main road were quoting Rs 3k for the room. Just when we were considering the expensive options we came across a home stay where the rate was Rs 900 per day and we were happy with the room. Although the place was small, the room was big enough to accommodate the cycles as well.

We freshened up, in cold water, as hot water was available only in the mornings, then headed into town at 10:15 pm to have dinner. All the restaurants were closed, however they had street food counters which were open, called as Night Shop, since these counters come up only at night and remain open till 12:00 am. We had parotta, kadala curry and omlette before heading back to the room.

We booked tickets from Kochi to Bangalore and planned to ride to Kanan Devan Hills, Mattupetty Dam and back to the Waterfall which we could not see in the dark tomorrow and decided that we would start around 9:00 am so we could catch a good night's sleep.

Exploring Munnar:

Date: 30 January 2017

Total distance: 100 Kilometers

Start Time: 9:30 am

End Time:  6:15 pm

With: Rajkumar Khot

Altitude Profile:
Munnar

It was supposed to be a relaxed day of riding and we took our time to wake up. Then the wait for hot water commenced. It took 3 reminders before we got luke warm water. Although we wanted hot water it was better than cold water. Third day in succession when hot water was not available, however I was getting used to the cold water and also Munnar was not freezing like Kodai. We got ready and headed out on our cycles and stopped in town for breakfast. Puttu and kadala curry gave us a taste of Kerala cuisine and hot lemon tea was perfect breakfast.

We started the ride at 9:30 am and headed towards Kanan Devan Hills. As Munnar town is a high altitude valley we began climbing almost immediately. The start was slow as we made slow progress out of town and when we got out of town the view of cloud kissed hills around us was glorious. It rejuvenated us and we began pedaling with renewed fervour. We made it past the Eravikulam Wildlife Reserve and within a couple of kilometers we were overlooking the Kanan Devan hills. We were surrounded by tea estates and the hills looked like they had been draped in a green carpet. Few estates had workers cutting tea leaves and we saw them using tools to cut tea leaves rather than the traditional hand-picking method of the leaves. We kept making stops every time we got a view of the valley or the hills covered in tea plantations and kept thinking about how lovely life would be in the hills. Although a disclaimer followed pretty quickly that city dwellers like us would get bored in a place like this within a week's time.

We kept riding and were surprised by the number of tourists even on a week day. We realised that the route we are riding is the Valparai route and that we would have been riding this had we kept Valparai on the itinerary. As we got higher it was getting colder and we were happy that we had worn our jackets. We made it to the top and then started the descent. I did not fancy riding up again and did not want to go too far on the descent. We rode a few kilometers and stopped when we had a clear view of the valley on this side of the hill. We stopped to take pics and then started the ride back to Munnar.

The ride back to Munnar was very easy as it was downhill all the way. We had not realised that we had ridden uphill all the way and had expected to take at least an hour and a half for the return. However we were back in Munnar at 11:30 am and stopped at a restaurant to eat idli/vada before heading to Matupetty Dam.

It was 12:00 pm when we started and as is the norm, if we are at Munnar we have to climb up to get out of town, we started the climb. Rolling terrain followed with a lot of places of tourist interest like tea factory, rose garden, spice market, elephant park which did not appeal to us. We went past these places which were crowded and headed straight for Matupetty Dam. Rolling terrain continued and we were riding at a pretty fast pace. We reached the Matupetty Dam and I was surprised that traffic was allowed on the dam. We stopped at the dam which was nestled amidst hills.

As we got close to Matupetty dam we had seen sign boards for Echo Point which is 6 kilometers from the dam. We decided to ride to Echo point as we had time on hand. We rode around the periphery of the Matupetty reservoir and realised that the reservoir is huge. As we went past the Boat house we realised that the road leads to Top Station. Top station is the entrance to Kerala and we would have come by this route if we had been allowed entry into the forest at Kodai. We saw sign boards which said that there is a view point at Top Station and also that trekking was allowed at Top Station. It was disappointing to see that trekking is allowed from the Kerala side, however entry is not allowed from Tamil Nadu. Anyway, we had enjoyed the ride from Kodai to Munnar through Theni, so no hard feelings. We rode about 6 kilometers before getting to Echo Point. There was nothing at this place other than people shouting and expecting to hear the echo which was non-existent.

We turned back and started the ride back to Munnar. As it was rolling terrain the speed was high. From the time we had ridden into Kodai we had seen vendors selling carrots. I had been tempted to taste the carrot and had not been able to do it in Kodai. Got the opportunity near the Elephant park where we picked up 3 carrots for Rs 10. I was hungry and the carrot served as the perfect starter before lunch. We could see the elephants at the park and headed back into town. A brief stop near the rose garden and then we got back to town and stopped for lunch. As we ate meals we noticed that we were the only people in Munnar wearing jackets. It was sunny and people were wearing sleeveless and shorts whereas we were dressed in jacket and gloves.

It was 3:30 pm when we started from the restaurant. A brief stop at the home stay to pick-up lights as we expected to return after dark. We started the ride and I was expecting a difficult ride to and from the location as I had struggled the previous night in this section. However, to my surprise the route was not as difficult as I had expected. It did have a fair amount of climbing to be done, however, as there was no time pressure, no rain, sufficient day light I was relaxed and was able to ride well. We made it past the Harrison's tea estate and then made it to the Lockhart Gap where we had thought that we are at a very high elevation the previous night. We were high up, however the view was hazy and we could not see the valley clearly.

We stopped for a couple of minutes at Lockhart Gap and then sped downhill towards the waterfall. We reached the waterfall in 5 minutes and took a lengthy break. The water was not as much as we had expected and the view was not as good as the Kannan Devan Hills, however, with nothing to do for the rest of the day we took a lengthy break. There was a hawker selling pineapple, raw mango, bhel puri and we gave him good business. We realised that we have to get going when he starting packing his shop at 5:30 pm. An early close, I guess it is a direct result of the reduced water flow at the water fall.

We got back on the saddle and now that we had an idea of the gradient till Munnar riding was so much easier as we knew where we could push ourselves and where we had to sit back. We rode quickly on the climbs and sped on the downhill's and made it back to the home stay at 6:15 pm.

It was an early close to the day and we freshened up, took a break during which we discussed about the ride plan for tomorrow. We knew that we had to get to Kochi, however, as it was only 130 kilometers to be ridden in which most of it was downhill we knew that it would be an easy ride and that we had sufficient time. So we began to check if we could go to any other place on the way. A suggestion was Idukki Dam which would result in the last day's ride being about 170 kilometers. We checked all the route options and estimated the elevation gain and finally decided to drop the idea of any additional locations and ride straight to Kochi. We thought that we would be pushing ourselves a bit too much if we tried riding an additional 40 kilometers and dropped the idea. We had had a good trip till now and did not want to have any issues on the last day and end up missing the bus. We decided to start at 8:00 am, have breakfast and then set off towards Kochi.

Munnar to Kochi:

Date: 31 January 2017

Total distance: 131 Kilometers

Start Time: 10:00 am

End Time:  6:00 pm

With: Rajkumar Khot

Altitude Profile:
Munnar to Kochi

We woke up at 7:00 am and then the wait for hot water started. We kept reminding the staff for water and finally got luke warm water at around 8:00 am. We knew that we would miss the start time, however, knowing that the ride was going to be an easy one and that we had sufficient time we were not worried. We got ready, packed and started loading the luggage onto the cycle. Everything was fine till here, however, Rajkumar's carrier broke again. A little additional weight to tie the luggage and the welding that was done 2 days back gave way. Rajkumar had to wear the bag on his back, however, when packing the carrier into the bag the zip of the back pack broke. He tried to fix it and tried all possible ways to get it working and stopped only when the zip broke and came off the bag. We bought safety pins and used them to close the bag. We finally started from the home stay at 9:00 am and headed straight to the hotel for breakfast. We were late for breakfast and did not get puttu, kadala curry. However, there was appam and we had a plate each. It was 10:00 am when we started the ride from Munnar.

The ride was different from the previous days since the downhill started almost immediately. However, there was a lot of traffic and we were able to ride only at moderate speeds. Rajkumar was taking it easy as he had the bag on his back. The view was almost non-existent or rather we had seen better views yesterday and as such today it did not appeal to us as much. We made just one stop to take a pic which was within a few kilometers from Munnar.

After this stop it was riding downhill and in rolling terrain. It was a crowded road and looked like there is a lot of vehicular movement between Kochi and Munnar. There were times when I had to stay behind traffic without being able to overtake them. We made it to Adimali and a little beyond when we stopped for Coconut Water.

When we resumed, we could feel the dry air of the coastal region even though we were still 100 kilometers from the coast. The heat also magnified and had it not been for the downhill we would have been sapped by now. The road continued downhill through forests although it seemed like we were passing through a city/town due to the traffic and also the number of hotels/resorts/spice shops which were present every few kilometers. I had begun to increase the speed a bit when a bee got stuck between my goggles and my helmet strap just above my right ear and stung me. I could hear the buzzing of the bee when I stopped and as I took off the helmet I could feel the pain of the sting. The pain kept increasing and when Rajkumar came by we tried to see if he could see the sting. It was not visible and we continued. The pain was increasing and so was the swelling and I was getting a little concerned, however knowing that it was only one sting I told myself to not think about it and continue riding. It took about 30 minutes for the pain and swelling to subside by which time we had made our way to Valara waterfall.

Not that it was much of a fall, however we could only conclude that the place would be beautiful if we had come during monsoon. A little ahead and we passed by a dried up waterfall and as the road continued downhill we kept making good time. We reached Neriamangalam bridge and saw the Periyar river. There was a lot of water and I was surprised with the amount of water. It is a narrow bridge and was difficult for two way traffic at the same time. Patient people would wait at the end of the bridge and allow traffic to pass, however there were a few impatient people who tried to cross the bridge at the same time and created traffic jams. However, they were more than willing to back up their vehicles and clear the chaos rather than get into arguments on who has to back up. When we passed the Neriamangalam bridge we were done with the downhill and from here it was rolling terrain.

We reached Kothamangalam and it was almost 1:00 pm. I checked with Rajkumar on lunch and he said he was good for a further 15-20 kilometers. We rode on as we were not hungry, however within a few kilometers the heat was beginning to sap our energy and our pace was dropping. We had about 10 kilometers to get to Muvattupuzha when we began looking for restaurants. We could not find any and it took about 6 kilometers to find one. It was 2:00 pm when we stopped and we ordered meals and lime juice. The service was quick and we ate quickly. However, we did not leave as soon as we were done eating, we sat around in the restaurant and had another lime juice as we had only 40 kilometers remaining and we had over 4 hours to do it. We sat under a fan and rested and restarted the ride at 3:30 pm.

We got to Muvattupuzha town and saw that there are multiple route options to get to Kochi. We did not want to ride any additional kilometers and kept checking on google maps for directions and the shortest route. We made our way out of town and encountered faulty/confusing kilometer stones. We would ride about 3 kilometers and the distance remaining to Kochi would remain stationery. As we got closer there were multiple boards showing different distances to Kochi. It was a little frustrating as we could not calculate the time required to reach the destination and were left wondering how much longer we needed to pedal. We finally made it to the city outskirts and then relied on google maps again to get to the KSRTC bus stand. It was 6:00 pm and we looked out for hotels in the vicinity of the bus stand so that we could freshen up before getting onto the bus. A little bit of riding around before we got a hotel where we had to pay Rs 400 for a couple of hours.

We freshened up, packed our bags and left them at the hotel reception and headed out for dinner. A quick dinner and we were back at the hotel. We had 30 minutes to kill and sat at the hotel reception before heading to the bus stand. We pushed our cycles to the bus stand and the critical part of the trip was coming up.....loading the cycles onto the bus. We parked at the entrance and Rajkumar went in to speak to the driver/conductor for loading the cycles. They refused to load the cycle and after a bit of haggling finally agreed to load the cycles on the condition that we pay the luggage charges. They billed us Rs 290 per cycle and Rajkumar quickly loaded the cycles into the bus and used the back packs as cushioning for the cycles. We got into the bus and were able to reflect back on the trip.

I was relaxed after getting into the bus. Till the cycles were loaded I was a little worried since I had run into issues in Ooty while loading the cycle. It was similar here, however, all's well that ends well. The cycles had been loaded and we were on our way back to Bangalore. We discussed about the trip and the cycles and future rides.

Trip Summary:

It was a wonderful trip in which we had ridden over beautiful hills and also seen wonderful landscapes. We did have issues with the cycle along the way however, we were able to fix them for the time being and were able to complete the trip. We were flexible with the plan and that helped to make this into a cycle trip where we could enjoy at the destination as well rather than only to get to the place and leave the next day. We had ridden on all six days and although we would have preferred lesser rain in Kodai, riding in the rain also was an experience which I will cherish. All in all the trip went well and it has helped create a whole lot of unforgettable memories and will spur me onto more cycle trips.

Day	From	To	Distance	Ride Time (hrs)	Total Time (hrs)	Avg Speed	Elevation Gain (mtrs)
1	Bangalore	Karur	289	11.75	15.00	24.60	800
2	Karur	Kodaikanal	176	10.75	14.75	16.37	2,534
3	Kodaikanal	Kodaikanal	53	4.00	6.25	13.25	1,247
4	Kodaikanal	Munnar	176	10.00	14.25	17.60	2,698
5	Munnar	Munnar	100	6.75	8.75	14.81	1,602
6	Munnar	Kochi	131	6.00	8.00	21.83	545
	Total		925	49.25	67.00	18.78	9,426