Mysore

Date: 15 August 2015

Total distance: 301 Kilometers

Start Time: 3:00 am

Return Time: 11:00 pm

With: -

Altitude Profile:

Koramangala – Kanakpura – Malavalli - Mysore

Mysore – Mandya – Ramanagar – Koramangala

I dwindled with the thought of going to Shiva Ganga hills or Savandurga and doing a combination of cycling and trekking. However, came across the Bangalore brevets and read about the ride to Vellore being 400 kilometers and then the ride to Mysore being 300 kilometers within 24 hours. The maximum distance that I have cycled in a day is the 238 kilometers that I covered from Bangalore to Kadur on Day 1 of the Goa ride. The desire to better this mark was fueled by reading about the Bangalore Brevet rides. Very tempted to do the Vellore ride, however, opting for the Mysore ride. I will attempt the 300 kilometer ride before trying the 400 kilometer one. Two routes are available to go to Mysore, one through Kanakpura and the other through Mandya. Here again I am opting to do this as a loop, i.e., to go to Mysore by the Kanakpura road and then return by the Mandya route. The decision is influenced by the gradient on the routes, Kanakpura road will have a steeper climb than the Mandya route, so opting for the easier return journey. It still seems difficult, because I have had to cut down on the break time in all the segments and am a little worried that if the legs tire out I might not have sufficient rest to recover. The advantage of the Mandya route is that all the towns are developed and as such finding a place to stay on this highway will not be a difficult proposition. In case of any contingencies, will stop and then continue on the next day. The only issue will be that 15 August being a holiday, and right in the midst of the tourist season, getting a room might be a little difficult.

To Mysore:

Start Time: 3:00 am

End Time: 12:30 pm

From: Koramangala

To: Mysore Palace

Distance: 152 kilometers

I had kept the alarm for 2:00 am; however, I woke up at 1:30 am itself. The biological clock was all tuned for the ride. I packed the backpack, with almost the same things that I had planned to carry for the South India journey so that I could get used to the weight. I took the customary photo that I take just before leaving.

The early morning ride to get out of the city was scary because of street dogs. I got my first taste when about 5 dogs threatened to chase when I was near the Udupi gardens petrol bunk at BTM layout. I don’t ride fast when I see these dogs; I slow the cycle down to a crawl. What I have noticed is that the dogs only bark in these situations and do not chase. Got through it and hoped that there would not be any more of these.  Was in for a shocker when I got under the Kanakpura Road metro, where there were close to 15 dogs and as soon as they saw me all of them stood up and the barking started and one came running towards me as well. Did not panic, slowed down and rode as slowly as possible without looking at the dogs at any point. I was mighty relieved that I made it out safely. From here on the ride is mainly downwards although the head winds were slowing me down it was still not making the ride difficult. The Kathmandu lights were showing their utility, the road was pitch dark, and since there was almost no traffic on the road, it was just darkness all around with me and a light focused on the road. The occasional rustling in the bushes or the sound of bats would send a tingling sensation down the spine, but it was all part of the excitement. The excitement was high which led me to pedal at a very fast cadence. I tried to calm myself down on a couple of occasions; however, the excitement got the better of me. I had planned to reach Kanakpura by 6:00 am but due to the frantic pedaling I had reached by 5:30 am itself. Continued riding and as I was approaching Sathanur the thighs started cramping. Standing and pedaling was out and the pace automatically came down. I had done just 60 kilometers of the ride and my legs were giving problems. I did not want to call off the ride and decided to rest the legs. Stopped, stretched the legs, clicked a few snaps and then just sat for about 15 minutes. I had carried only glucose and water and did not have any salt based drink to ease the cramps.

I got back on the cycle and started pedaling. The legs felt better and I was able to keep up the pace, although every time I tried to increase the speed it would remind me that they are not in great shape. The ride to Nandi when I came down with severe cramps helped me here, because I was able to nurse the legs and ride on. Crossed Sathanur and then Halaguru where I stopped for a quick breakfast. A plate of idli’s which to my surprise served 4 Thatte idli’s instead of the usual 2 that we get in a plate. Managed to eat only 3 of them and then left from there in 15 minutes.

The Sun was out and the wind made its presence felt here. It’s the monsoon season and the South Westerly winds were coming head on. Moreover, the downhills were done and from here the climb had started, legs hurting but the thought that I had was that the return journey would be good since I would be having a tail wind then. In spite of the odds being stacked against me, I managed to reach Malavalli at 8:30 am and the site of a medical store was great. Headed straight to it and asked for electral. He asked whether I want the sachet or the readymade one. Readymade! Is that available? Great I will take that, give me four. This was a savior as I realized later during the ride. They helped the legs recover and I was off towards Mysore, however, I had to negotiate the climbs towards Bannur and from there to Mysore.

The Road from Bannur to Mysore is being widened and had stretches where the work is in progress. Roughly about 7 kilometers where the road is metaled and not yet tarred, which made the road very dusty. Riding these stretches was difficult and was taking its toll. The numbers of breaks were increasing. I stopped three times to rest before I could catch my first glimpse of the Chamundi hills. On one such stop had a few inquisitive boys who saw the ‘geared’ cycle and wanted to be photographed with it. When I started from there, they wanted to race on their cycles against me, but I was in no mood to oblige them. Also, I crossed the Bannur Bridge where I could see the Kaveri river flow silently below me. The river was beautiful and I don’t remember when I last saw the river so clean and blue. Generally, during the monsoon’s the water is dirty and brown due to the heavy flow, this was a change, but not a good one, because it shows a lack of water in the rainy season.

Made it to Mysore and was overjoyed that I had made it and was glad that I did not give up at the first sign of trouble. Knew that the return journey would be easier due to the tail wind and silently hoped that the wind would be there when I returned. Made it to Thandi sadak in Mysore, clicked a quick snap near my sister’s house and then headed to the Mysore Palace. It was 12:30 pm when I reached the Mysore Palace gate. Lots of bikers were already there and were getting their snaps clicked. Headed in to take my own pic, but just when I reached the gate was chased by the security guy and was told to remove the cycle from the path. I quickly managed to get a few snaps clicked, just for the album.

The odometer showed that the distance covered was 153 kilometers. I had the return journey left and I wanted to start as quickly as possible since I wanted to make the most of the wind. The plan was to reach Mysore by 12:00 pm, have lunch and leave by 1:30 pm. However, I reached only by 12:30 and by the time I was at the restaurant (Hotel Siddhartha) it was already 1:00 pm. Had a quick lunch, was done by 1:15 pm and then went to a medical store to refill on ORS. Bought 5 packs in which I gulped one down as I rode towards the outskirts of Mysore.

From Mysore:

Start Time: 2:00 pm

End Time: 11:00 pm

From: Columbia Asia Hospital, Mysore

To: Koramangala

Distance: 149 kilometers (includes 8 kilometers within Mysore)

I was at the Columbia Asia Hospital signal at 2:00 pm and the odometer was at 160 kilometers. It was boiling hot, but now it was going to be mainly downhill till Srirangapatna. Rolling slopes and the ride was good especially with the wind behind me. The Mysore road is a heavy traffic road and as a cyclist am forced to stick to the extreme left, if the other vehicles had their way they would prefer me being off the road than on it. On quite a few occasions they were trying to push me off the road, and I was being abused for staying on the road. Reached Srirangapatna and was graced with the beautiful Kaveri River again. It was a refreshing site and with the temperature being very hot, the thought did cross my mind that I should just jump off the bridge into the inviting water.

The target was to get to Mandya which was 25 kilometers away by 4 pm. After crossing Srirangapatna, was greeted by huge uphill climbs which sapped the energy since it was being done in a lot of heat, the winds were there but the effect was being offset by the gradient. Stopped right at the top of a climb at 3:30 PM and took a break for 15 minutes. I was still 8 kilometers away from Mandya. Batteries recharged when I started the ride the surprise which was waiting for me was that I had completed the uphill section and what was ahead was mainly steep downhills where I was touching speeds in excess of 50 kilometers per hour. This helped in making up a lot of time and not only was I at Mandya but I had gone past Mandya at 4 PM.

The Sun had gone behind the clouds by now, the ride was becoming pleasurable and I made another stop for Coconut water and ORS at 4:30 PM. With the temperature dropping and the stop I was able to maintain a decent pace and crossed Maddur and was riding towards Channapatna, Ramanagar.

After crossing Maddur, as I was riding towards Channapatna, I had made good time, but was feeling hungry. Had thought of stopping at 5:30PM for another break and refill on ORS but this time I was hungry and wanted solids. Coffee day was 10 kilometers away and decided to stop there for Egg wraps.

After the break, noticed that the wind had picked up and left Coffee Day so that I could make hay when the sun is shining. Made it relatively easily to Channapatna and as I left Channapatna could see rain clouds building up and had a few spots of rain as well. I stopped immediately and put the phone, cap, glasses into the bag and put the rain cover onto the bag and resumed cycling. Crossed the 240 kilometer mark for the day just after Channapatna, was happy that I had crossed the previous best for a day and was entering into a new zone, was going after the 300 kilometer mark.

Within 5 kilometers of leaving Channapatna, noticed that the road was wet and was happy that the rain had passed. However I was wrong as within a few kilometers it started raining. I was not drenched and so decided to stop when I saw a group of people had parked their bikes under a tree and had taken shelter in a shop. I thought it would be better to ride after the rain stopped since the water was getting into my eye which was affecting vision a bit.

Waited for almost 40 minutes at the shop for the rain to subside, but it did not show any signs of abating. The crowd was only increasing at the shop; I was done waiting and got onto the saddle to resume cycling. I had planned to reach home at 11:00 PM and was disappointed that the rain had spoilt the plans and that it would be almost 12:00 PM to get back since I would be climbing back to Bangalore.

Within a few minutes of restarting I got to know that stopping for the rain to stop was a mistake. There were huge puddles on the road and all the traffic passing by was splashing the water onto me, Couple of occasions when a truck and bus passed by me I was given a shower. Crossed Ramanagar within a few minutes of restarting and made it to Bidadi. There was not a single drop of rain at Bidadi and I could finally stop and take the spare light out of the bag. My front light was out of charge and the spare light although not as powerful, was sufficient to let anyone coming from the opposite direction that there is a vehicle in the opposite side. Not that it mattered because the Bangalore Mysore road has a divider all the way till Kengeri. The reason that I had opted for the Mysore Road for the return journey was that the climb to enter Bangalore is not as steep as the Kanakpura road and also that the highway is well lit so vision would not be affected. However, I realized that the highway is not well lit due to lights, but is lit by the headlights of vehicles.

The rest at the shop served me well and also the fact that I was closing in on home, reduced temperature had given me additional energy. I did not need to stop anymore and rode all the way from Bidadi to Koramangala without taking anymore rest stops. The pace was good and I crossed Kengeri and entered the city around 10:15 PM and rode through the city to make it home. I was concerned that the total distance might just fall short of 300 kilometers and had decided that in case that happens then I would ride around in Koramangala to cross the 300 mark. However, when I got into Koramangala, my fear was put to rest that the distance would be just over 300 kilometers. I was just a kilometer from home when the odometer showed 300 and I was very excited to have completed the distance.

I reached home; clothes were still wet from the rain, did the stretching exercises before a hot shower, the volini routine and dinner. Reflecting back on the journey it was an amazing ride and was very satisfied that I could complete it. Few things that I learnt in the ride:

1. Whenever starting a long ride do not ride high gear ratios at the beginning since this increases the pressure on the thighs and the chances of running into trouble increases
2. Keep the emotions in check and do not get overly excited about the ride since this directly translates into putting a lot of effort right from the beginning
3. Realised that my feet positioning on the pedal was not right when I stood up and jogged on the wheels. I was not using the front of the feet which resulted in a lot of pressure on the thighs. Made the change as I was entering Mysore which resulted in distributing the pressure between the thighs and the calves.
4. Do not stop if it rains because if the rain does not drench you, the vehicles next to you will do it.

Time and speed details about the ride:

From	To	Distance (kms)	Total Time (hrs)	Ride Time (hrs)	Avg Speed (Km/hr)
Koramangala	Kanakapura	56	2.50	2.50	22
Kanakapura	Malavalli	49	3.00	2.25	22
Malavalli	Mysore	47	4.00	3.25	14
Mysore	Mandya	42	2.50	2.25	19
Mandya	Ramanagar	59	3.00	2.25	26
Ramanagar	Koramangala	48	4.00	3.00	16
		301	19.00	15.50	19