Savandurga

Date: 13 September 2015

Total distance: 147 Kilometers (97 kilometers cycled and 50 kilometers by auto)

Start Time: 5:00 am

Return Time: 8:00 pm

With: Priya, Rakshith (Cycling & Trek), Pavan (joined for the trek)

Altitude Profile:

From the time that I got to know that Savandurga is just 15 kilometers away from Manchanabele, I have wanted to go there. Moreover, this place has the added incentive of a short trek which will test/improve the fitness levels just that bit more.

I had planned to do this ride on Saturday; however, last minute engagements forced me to postpone the ride to Sunday. I informed Satya and Pavan about the ride/trek and they were keen on doing the trek at Savandurga but not the ride. Satya backed out on Thursday, however, Pavan said that he would ride, but he would ride a bike and not a cycle and would join for the trek. Priya also said that she would join along with her friend. We had to rent a cycle for Priya, tried at Track & Trail, but it was closed on Friday as well as Saturday, tried ProCycle, however as it was last minute enquiry, they did not have any cycles to rent. I wanted to rent cycles from these places since we would get serviced cycles with everything checked and in working condition. Since cycles were not available, checked with Mayank and he had a cycle, and told me to collect it on Saturday night. By the time I got the cycle it was already 9:00 pm and the cycle was pretty dirty. Priya and I quickly washed it, filled air and then packed the bags for the ride. However, the front brakes are not working on the cycle, looks like the brake pads are worn out and Priya will have to manage with the rear brakes only. We plan to start at 5:00 am, reach Savandurga by 9:00 am and spend a couple of hours trekking. Am hoping that the rains stay away and that we can all make it through the ride, climb and ride without any issues.

As planned, Priya and I were up at 4:00 am and we were ready by 5:00 am as well. However, Rakshith made it to our place only at 5:20 am. Not too bad, as it was only a 20 minute delay. Weather was cool and it was still dark. We pedaled slowly, did not want to push them hard right at the beginning since I was concerned that it would affect the trek and the return journey. We reached the Nayandahalli flyover and it was sun rise time. Stopped and clicked a couple of pictures of the sky, checked with Priya and Rakshith if they were ok to continue and since they were not tired, we decided to continue pedaling.

Soon we were near the Rajarajeshwari Dental College where we turn off the highway and get onto the Big Banyan Tree road. We crossed the railway gate stopped for a while to take stock of everyone’s condition before proceeding. Priya and Rakshith were not tired and said that they did not need rest. We quickly took in some fluids and were back pedaling towards Big Banyan Tree.

The uphill section had started and the average speed dropped and Priya and Rakshith were beginning to tire. The speed was so slow that we were getting overtaken by a kid who had a pillion rider on his cycle. Priya managed to drag herself to Big Banyan Tree where we took a break. It was 7:30 am. Sat near the Big Banyan Tree compound and gulped down Electral and ate few biscuits.

The temperature was still cool and the ride to Manchanable was good. Whenever, I had ridden to Manchanable, I never realized that the hill that overlooks Manchanabele was the Savandurga hill. This time the realization struck that the hill was Savandurga and that was our destination. Although it looked very close, we had to ride all around to get to the other side of the hill. We still had about 20 kilometers to reach Savandurga. Noticed a snail crossing the road and realised that our pace was also similar to that of the snail.

The sight of the Manchananbele reservoir was refreshing, breathtaking to say the least. As soon as we made the turn to get the first sight of the reservoir, the blue water just captivates you. We stopped at Manchanabele, to rest and clicked a few pictures. It was 8:20 am when we reached; we rested for 10 minutes before resuming at 8:30 am. We had only 14 kilometers left and looked like we would get there in an hour.

The positive when we started from Manchanabele was that there was a kilometer long downhill which we zipped through. However, after that, we had to climb uphill as well as the road was bad. The climb was very steep and Priya could not handle the gradient, she got off the bike and started to push. Rakshith joined the club in a short while. We came across a couple of cyclists on this route who were also headed to Savandurga. They were fixing a puncture on their road bike. The road surface was not good enough for a road bike. We came across a board which said that we were in the Savandurga Forest Limits, however since the road was bad, even though the forest was filled with greenery (unfortunately no animals) the ride was not enjoyable.

Pavan caught up with us when we still had 8 kilometers to go. He was riding a bullet and I told him to go ahead since the cycling pace was very slow. We met up with him when we joined the Ramangara – Magadi road where we stopped for breakfast which was Thatte idli with spicy chutney.

We resumed the ride and within a kilometer, we saw a signboard which said that we had to take a right turn and it was just 3.5 kilometers to Savandurga. Even though it was just 3.5 kilometers, there was no road here. It was like trial biking and Priya and Rakshith were finding it very difficult to ride on the uphill, which they ended up pushing.

With all the stop start, pushing, riding, we finally made it to Savandurga at 10:45 am. We had taken over 2 hours, including a 30 minute breakfast stop to ride the 14 kilometers from Manchanabele. It was a very slow ride and now that the sun was out, it was very hot. Rakshith, said that he could not join for the trek since he had to get back home. Priya and I, parked and locked the cycles and were ready to start the trek along with Pavan at 11:00 am.

The first thing that hit me when I saw the hill was that it is just one huge rock, just plain rock, which heads up to the sky. Priya was having second thoughts about climbing; however, she mustered the energy to give it a try. We started the trek and immediately realized that it was not going to be easy. It was a very steep climb and the rock surface was slippery and did not offer too much grip. We dragged each other as we nimbly trekked up the hill. There are plenty of vendors at short intervals selling juice and water. We kept taking 25 to 30 steps before we stopped to rest. Every time we thought that we had reached the peak, there was a further climb to be done. At every stop, we took in the breathtaking view, blue sky, in which white clouds were placed like cotton and they were looking down on green hills and the blue Arkavathy River. When we started the climb, we were facing Mysore road and so had the view of the Arkavathy River and Wonderla. As we reached the first false peak and then turned to make our way higher, we were facing Tumkur and got to see the Shivaganga hill. It truly stands out as one huge Shiv Ling. Just ahead of us there was a family of 4, early fifties father, early forties mother and a pair of cute twins probably eight to ten years of age. The kids were climbing the hill rather quickly and every time they were finding it difficult, they had words of encouragement from their father, one of which was that few years back he had run up this hill. Those words hit us as well; we were struggling to walk up a hill when a person had run up the hill in his late forties. We managed to reach the next false peak and then realised that we had to go further. We did not have the energy for it and by this time Priya was struggling with a head ache as well. We searched for a place with shade; found it under a few huge rocks and crashed there for some much wanted rest.

We started the descent at 12:30 pm. The descent was simpler and quicker than the ascent. I had expected the descent to be difficult since it would be a steep descent with less grip. However, we managed to do it in 45 minutes. At the foothill, we binged on Coconut water to quench our thirst and hunger. We were all set to start the return journey at 1:30 pm. Pavan got onto his Bullet and we started when we were done with the good byes.

The ride till the main road was quick since it was mainly downhill. The minute we hit the main road, Priya had hit the wall and could not ride any of the uphills. I did not want to discourage her by telling her that she was riding very slow, allowed her to ride at her pace, however, she was getting off the cycle and pushing it up every uphill incline. This was taking a lot of time and as it was very hot, it was tiring her as well. Opted to do the Ramangara route even though it was longer, as this would give easier access to alternative modes in case of any issues with person or with the cycle. Fortunately for us, there were two long downhill stretches and we finally managed to reach Ramanagara at 4:00 PM.

We quickly looked out for a restaurant and found Hotel Ramgad just down the road. Ordered juice, curd rice and washed up before we gobbled down the juice and the curd rice. Priya was still very tired, however she said that she would be able to ride. We decided to rest till 5:00 PM before we start so that the temperature would have cooled off by then.

However, when we started at 5:00 PM the Sun was still blazing, which relented in 15 minutes and the temperature eased off, but Priya was still struggling and we were making extremely slow progress. We still had approximately 50 kilometers to go and we were travelling at 5 kilometers per hour. It was evident that she had given up and was just not able to take the ride anymore.

We had just reached Rasta Cafe, 7 kilometers from Bidadi. I rode on ahead to the Coffee Day and then waited for a luggage vehicle which could take us back to Bangalore. Few vehicles passed which were either full or were speeding so I could not signal to them. Fortunately a luggage auto came by and saw me and was considerate enough to stop. I requested if he could take us and the cycles in his vehicle and drop us to Bangalore. He agreed to drop us off at Nayandahalli flyover, which would cover almost 35 kilometers of the distance. Was very happy and agreed to it and immediately loaded the cycles onto the auto and Priya and I also got into the back. Saw Priya smile after a long time, the last time she had smiled was during the descent from the hill. She was mighty relieved that we had found transport and that we did not have to pedal back. When we reached Nayandahalli flyover, it was raining and the driver offered that he would take us to Koramangala. We readily agreed. We reached home at 8:00 PM which at one point was looking extremely unlikely.

Was relieved to be back home and am hoping that Priya will be fine and not come down with fever tomorrow. This is the first time that I have had to cancel a ride mid way but I guess it was better for me to cancel it rather than make her cycle all the way and then have her fall ill or injure herself badly.