Kolar Gold Fields - Kuppam - Krishnagiri

Date: 3 June 2017

Total distance: 256 Kilometers

Start Time: 5:00 am

Return Time:  8:15 pm

With: -

Altitude Profile:
Koramangala – Kolar Gold Fields - Kuppam - Krishnagiri - Koramangala

I had to cancel the ride the previous week due to the rains in Bangalore. A week had passed by and I was itching to go for a ride. The plan started with going for a 2 day ride and as the week progressed due to the uncertainty on the work front I had to settle on a day ride. I had a few options on the location front. The only thing that I did not want to do was combine a ride and trek this weekend. That ruled out the locations on Tumkur Road and tilted the balance in favour of Kolar Gold Fields (KGF).

The plan was to ride to KGF which is about 100 kilometers one way. I had a couple of return options, try the interior route through Malur or ride back on the Old Madras Road, ride to Mulabagal before getting back on the Old Madras Road or ride to Krishnagiri and return on Hosur Road.  A lot of options available, so I kept the return open and would decide after getting to KGF. The rains had stopped and the temperature was up, so wanted to leave early to beat the heat, however I knew that I would be riding in the heat on the return and was prepared for a difficult return.

It was Friday and although I had the day off from work, I was lethargic and had a slow day. I hadn't decided whether to ride the road bike or the MTB even at 11:00 pm. It was almost 12:00 am when I decided to ride the road bike, it was late and I decided to wake up by 3:00 am and get the cycle ready rather than doing it now and losing some more sleep time as it was already late.

The alarm went off at 3 am. I did the most obvious thing, switched it off and went back to bed. It was 4 am when I woke up. The plan was to leave at 4:00 am, I had missed the time, got up and tried to get ready as quickly as possible. I had to dust the cycle a bit since I had not used it for some time. Then pumped air into the tires and was ready to start the ride.

It was 4:45 am and I headed out. I made it about 100 meters when I realised that I had not worn my goggles. I did consider riding without them, however fearing a hostile Sun I opted to return as a 10 minute delay was better than taxing the eyes through the ride. I got back, wore the goggles and headed out. It was 5:00 am, I stepped out and ran into a friend who was returning from office. Spoke to him and finally started the ride at 5:10 am.

It was day break and the light was improving slowly. I had to use the lights a little in the dark areas, however, was passing mostly through well lit streets of Bangalore and made it to Old Madras Road. Made it past the KR Puram hanging bridge and got into my stride and settled into my usual speed. As I got closer to Hoskote I was beginning to struggle and pedaling was becoming difficult. I was surprised that I was struggling so early during the ride. A look at the back tire and it did look like it had lost air, I stopped to confirm it. The rear tire was close to flat and I guessed that it was a pinch flat and needed to change the tube. Saw a bus stand about 50 meters away and rode to it.

I took off all the accessories from the cycle, removed the wheel and opened the valve cover to let out the air. I saw that I had not closed the valve in the first place. In my hurry to get going in the morning after pumping air I had left the valve open. Although I wanted to change the tube, seeing that the valve was open I decided to pump air and ride further. In case the tire loses air again then I would change the tube.

There was half a thought to cancel the ride and return home as this was the second delay. However, I decided to ride on as it was still early and the clock had just ticked past 6:15 am. I had barely started when a fellow cyclist whizzed past me. Even before I could think of catching up, he had disappeared. He was very quick and looked like one of the professional riders in the Bangalore circuit.

I began to ride at a consistent pace and as I got comfortable I began to increase the speed. I was reflecting on the difference in the speeds in the ride today as against the ride to Palamaner when I had ridden in head winds. I had a tail wind today and was easily riding over 30 kmph whereas a year back I was struggling to keep the speed at 20 kmph. The Sun was up and at 6:45 am it looked more like it was 8:30 am. The distance was being covered with ease and I was making good time. I had budgeted that it would take about 5 hours to get to KGF, however it looked like I could make it in 4 hours.

It was 7:50 am when I made it to Kolar. I had made up for the slow start as I had covered 67 kilometers in 3 hours of which 45 kilometers after the break near Hoskote had been done at an average speed of 30 kmph. I realised the advantage of the wind direction during this short period. However, the wind which had been my ally till Kolar turned into my foe when I took the turn towards KGF.

I took the right at Kolar to head towards KGF. KGF is 30 kilometers from Kolar and the road was lined with trees on both sides. The Sun was bright and was piercing the eyes even though I had worn goggles and it was only 8:00 am. Going by the intensity of the Sun, I was in for a long and difficult day. If the Sun was making things difficult, it was joined by the wind to add to the difficulty level. I ran straight into a head wind when I made the turn and had to contend with an increase in the gradient as well. As it was still early in the day I was able to push at a moderate speed and made it to Bangarpet. I stopped at Bangarpet which is 16 kilometers from KGF for breakfast. A half an hour stop for breakfast where I had Pongal and refilled on water.

I got back on the saddle and made it through the bad roads in Bangarpet town and made it to the BEML township. Rode through the wide roads inside the township and then went past the BEML factory. As I made it past the township I began to see the mines in the distance. The old name boards of the Gold Mines were visible and as I got closer the excitement level was increasing.

I had expected to go into a vacated town and was expecting to see dilapidated bungalows. Contrary to my expectation, I was in a crowded town where human life is flourishing. I made it past the town centre and rode slowly around a mine site. I went past the labourers colony and made it to the mine entrance. I got to see vacated factories with rusted equipment. A few people around who were transporting the rusted equipment. I rode around the mine site. The hard soil had begun to change to soft sandy soil when I was stopped from going further. I was told that I was not allowed to be there and had to return. I took a few pics of the exterior of the mine site and started to ride back to town.

It was 10:10 am when I was back to KGF town. I had time on hand and considered the return options. I could ride back the same route, or ride to Mulbagal-Kolar, or do the Kuppam-Krishnagiri route. Checked the distances for each route and saw that the Kuppam-Krishnagiri route is longer by 50 kilometers. The chances of riding the Kuppam-Krishnagiri route in future looked bleak, therefore I opted for this route. Moreover, the Krishnagiri to Hosur route would be a good workout in terms of elevation gain.

Although the route was longer, I had expected the ride from KGF to Kuppam and then to Krishnagiri to be easy since the elevation drops. However, within a few kilometers I knew that I was in for a difficult ride as the wind was not letting up. Although it was not very windy, it was enough to make me pedal continuously and did not allow me to coast. The speed dropped drastically when I coasted. The plan was simple, get to Krishnagiri by 1:00pm, have lunch and start the return by 2:00pm and get home by 6:30 pm.

Kuppam is 32 kilometers from KGF. The roads were good, lined with trees and filled with yellow butterflies. I was enjoying the view but not the wind. I passed through small villages and did have the option to ride on internal roads to get back to Bangalore and shorten the ride, however I was keen on doing the Kuppam Krishnagiri route and avoided the short cuts. The ride was going well till I got to the Karnataka border. Stopped for a couple of pics before crossing the border.

The energy reserves began to deplete after crossing the border. The breakfast that I had was not sufficient to keep me going till lunch and I wanted to refill on coconut water or juice. As it was an interior route I did not come across any vendors. I was left to fill up on water and suppress the hunger. With depleted energy reserves the wind became even more of a factor and was playing on my mind continuously. I was constantly on the lookout for kilometer stones and was counting down the distance to Kuppam. Although it was a downhill gradient it was slow progress and the climbs were becoming difficult. As I got closer to Kuppam I was considering if I should make a stop for lunch at Kuppam as I was feeling weak. However, considering that a lunch stop would delay things, I decided to make a stop for juice which would allow me to push for another hour.

I reached the Kuppam bypass and stopped at a bakery. I had coconut water, a jeera soda and refilled on water. I checked the rear tire pressure and it had dropped a little but nothing to worry about. I got back on the saddle and started the ride. It was 12:00 pm and I was 36 kilometers from Krishnagiri. The 1:00 pm arrival at Krishnagiri was difficult, although I still nursed hopes that I could make it as I would get a downhill ghat.

A couple of kilometers from Kuppam and it was becoming increasingly difficult to pedal. Although the roads were in good condition the wind and Sun had made life very difficult. I had a saddle sore as well which was making life miserable. I had a lot of truck traffic for company and I was able to make a little progress by trying to catch up and overtake the trucks. Although I never over took any of the trucks, just the activity of trying to do it helped me to knock off a few kilometers quickly. I was making my way towards the Tamil Nadu border when I realised that the rear tire was again sitting low. I stopped and checked the pressure and confirmed that the air pressure was low. Further, there were visible signs of wear on the tire wall. Although I wanted to change the tube, I thought over it and decided to pump air and ride to Krishnagiri before I do anything. It was a slow puncture and had held almost 100 kilometers, so decided to pump air to save time and effort on changing the tube. The previous time I had pumped the air to 7 bar, however this time I was barely able to get it to 6 bar which showed that I was tiring and needed to make a stop for food.

After pumping the air into the tube, the ride improved a bit and fortunately for me I hit the downhill ghat. Although I wanted it to be at least 5 kilometers, it was only a 2 kilometer drop and I crossed over into Tamil Nadu. Faulty kilometer stones were irritating which showed that I had 18 kilometers remaining and a couple of kilometers later the reading was at 21 kilometers. Got my head down and kept churning the pedal and made slow progress in rolling terrain. Wanted to keep moving forward rather than making a stop. However, the rate at which my energy reserves were being depleted was faster than the rate at which the kilometers were coming down. I still had over 10 kilometers to get to Krishnagiri, I reached Varattanapalli and the sight of a sugar cane juice vendor was too tempting for me to ignore. I stopped and gulped down 2 cups of sugar cane juice. It was 1:15 pm and I thought that I had done enough to keep pushing for another hour at least.

I got back on and continued riding with no distinct increase in the pace. In a short while I had joined the Chennai - Krishnagiri highway and a few more minutes I was on the Krishnagiri - Bangalore highway. I decided to ride out of Krishnagiri and stop for lunch after riding about 10 kilometers so that it would make things easy after lunch. Further, I had expected a favourable cross wind on the road to Hosur, however I was in for a shock when the wind was still hampering my progress. It was very frustrating to see that the wind was still slowing me down, further as I would be riding in the same direction for the next 70 kilometers there was no chance of the wind assisting me for the rest of the day.

I was back to familiar territory however the sugar cane juice effect had been expended and I was looking to make the stop for lunch. I coaxed my mind to push as much as possible, however as the thought of food kept growing in my mind and with the pace falling I was forced to stop earlier than I wanted to. I could not resist the temptation to stop when I saw Saravana Bhavan hotel. I stopped the cycle, took out the accessories and headed into the hotel. I ordered a curd rice and grape juice. I drank the grape juice like I was gulping water and it was over in a matter of seconds. Before I could start eating the rice, I had a couple of inquisitive onlookers touching the cycle and making it fall, had to head out to get it up. The Sun was at its peak and I wanted to make this stop a long one so that I could benefit from the cooler temperature for the climb. I headed back in and as I was thinking and hoping for cooler temperature, my temperature began to shoot up as I bit into a chilly. A couple of swigs of water made it worse. Had to eat more rice to bring things under control and an urgent order for lime juice to calm things. Tried to stay in the cool environs of the hotel, however I could not push it beyond 40 minutes as the familiar thought of starting early will give me a buffer for later came back to push me to an early start.

It was 3:00 pm when I started the ride. I had ridden the route couple of weeks back and had done it at a relaxed pace. I wanted to ride quicker this time, however the conditions were difficult and I realised that it was better to have rain and wind rather than the Sun and wind. I laboured through the climb and made slow progress. The kilometers were being reduced in a trickle. My efforts to ride quickly were being hampered by the saddle sore which was getting worse. As the clock ticked towards 4:00 pm I was struggling in the heat and stopped to take a break. I had ridden 13 kilometers in an hour and was struggling to push the pace. I found an empty bus stand and stopped for a break. I noticed that the moon had risen even though it was only 4:00 pm. Strange days when the Sun and Moon are up together.

I continued after the break. I could see the gradient of the road and being able to see that it was a climb made it more difficult than it actually was. Made slow progress till Shoolagiri and picked up the pace a little only for it to go down again as I was hungry and low on energy. I was out of water as well which forced me to make a stop. I stopped just before Hosur at a bakery and refilled on water and food. It was 6:00 pm when I started the ride. As soon as I got to Hosur I knew that the ride eases out after this and was happy to get into rolling terrain. I was surprised that I was able to carry speed in spite of the wind and was surprised with the speed on the climbs. It was like a new ride altogether since I had struggled before this and now things had eased out.

I crossed the border and got into Karnataka. The road eased out and I counted down the flyovers and the climbs and made it to Electronic City quickly. I was lucky with the traffic signals from here as I got a green without having to wait and made it back quickly to Koramangala. It was a good work out and making it back without giving up was a good boost. Further the experience of riding almost 200 kilometers in a head/cross wind will hopefully benefit me in future.