Thimappana Betta & Kanva Reservoir

Date: 9 December 2017

Total distance: 171 Kilometers

Start Time: 4:10 am

Return Time:  15:15 pm

With: -

Altitude Profile:
Koramangala - Thimappana Betta - Kanva Reservoir - Thimappana Betta - Koramangala

Just a week to go for the 1,000 km brevet and I had not done any kind of preparation for the ride. I had not ridden the cycle for a week after the 600km brevet. Although I did go jogging on a couple of days there was no time spent on the saddle. I looked up locations close by as I did not want to do a very long ride, the plan was to do a relaxed ride so that I don't have to spend too much time on recovery.

I saw a bikers blog on Thimappana Betta and decided to ride to it as it was just 60 kilometers away. As Kanva reservoir was within 10 kilometers of  Thimappana Betta, decided that if I was not too tired then I would ride to the reservoir as well before returning. I opted to start early so that I could get back early and set the alarm for 3:00 am. I had decided to ride the MTB as the interior roads were not good and also there was the possibility of riding on the hill which would be risky with the road bike.

I woke up a few minutes after the alarm rang and got ready. I had not charged the iPod nor the lights. I was not worried about the lights as I would be riding the first hour within the city and the next hour I guessed that I would not require lights as Mysore Road will have a lot of traffic which would supply me with the required light. I took a little time to get ready and was out of the house at 4:10 am.

Riding in Bangalore has become very difficult with road work in progress almost everywhere. The roads are best suited to the MTB. I was taking the MTB on a long ride after 8 months and it did feel different and slower than the road bike. Usually my road bike and MTB speeds are the same, however today the MTB ride was on the slower side. It was probably because I have not yet fully recovered from the 600km brevet ride. The ride out of Bangalore took an hour and when I got out of town the usual hustling by traffic for space started and I was pushed off the road on a couple of occasions.

Only when I got out of Bangalore I felt that I had erred in not carrying my jacket. It was cold and I was finding it difficult to increase the body heat as I had entered the downhill section on Mysore Road and was almost freezing. I was happy every time I spotted a climb as it gave me a chance to warm up. However, the climbs were small and before I knew it I was cold again and struggling to concentrate on the road. I did not miss the lights as I had a lot of traffic for company and the road was clearly visible.

I was waiting for daybreak and was expecting it to get hotter as the Sun would come out. I had reached the outskirts of Ramanagar at day break and when I reached Ramanagar I went to Janardhan hotel to have breakfast. The restaurant was not open as it was only 6:30 am. The restaurant is famous for ghee Mysore Pak and I was disappointed that I could not eat it. I decided to ride to Thimappana Betta and Kanva Reservoir and then return for breakfast.

I was only 10 kilometers from Thimappana Betta. The road began to climb as soon as I got onto the interior road and with the increase in gradient there was dense mist as well. I was worried about the mist and wanted it to clear quickly. If the mist remained then I would not be able to see the view at Thimappana Betta and the whole point of going to this location would be lost.

I hoped that that the mist would clear and kept riding. Kept checking on Google maps for the route and although I did miss the turn I was able to back track quickly. I stopped at a provision store and purchased a couple of biscuit packets just in case I have to wait for the mist to clear. The mist was getting thicker as I got closer to the hill and I had resigned to the fact that the mist would not clear and that I would have to wait for a while at the hill.

I saw a sign board saying 1.5 kilometers to the hill and took the turn. After the initial 200 meters the road is steep and keeps climbing. I missed the right turn to the hill as there is no sign board and continued climbing for a further half a kilometer. I saw a villager and enquired about the route and he told me to back track and guided me to the turn. I rode back and when I took the turn the climb got steeper. It is a short climb but a steep one. As I was on the MTB I had sufficient gears to make it to the top comfortably and I continued to ride to the top.

I could not ride on the stone surface as it was very steep and had to push a little to make it to the top. I saw the hill cloaked with a white blanket and could not see anything else. I parked the cycle against the water tank and then sat down to wait for the mist to clear. It was 7:30 am and I had a lot of time on hand so was not worried. I opened the biscuit packet and browsed the internet as I munched on biscuits. Fellow travelers came and left, but I sat and waited. After an hour the mist was still as thick as it was an hour ago and the Sun was still hiding behind the clouds. It looked like it would take at least another hour for the mist to clear. I decided to ride to Kanva Reservoir and return to the hill if the mist had cleared.

The ride from the hill to Kanva Reservoir was quick as it was largely downhill. Although I had expected to see the reservoir earlier, the mist impeded the view and I could see the water only when I got close. I rode up the bank of the reservoir and got my first glimpse of the reservoir. It was not full and being shrouded in mist it was not a clear view.

A few minutes spent before getting back on the saddle and circling round the reservoir. As I got to main entrance (which was locked) the Sun was beginning to peep and the mist began to clear. The view began to improve and I tried to do a little trail riding near the reservoir. It was a very small trail and I hit the water within 20-30 meters of the start of the trail.

I got back on the road and saw that I was only 6 kilometers from the highway. I decided to ride to the highway and then have breakfast at Kamat Lokaruchi and then go to the hill. It took some time to get to the highway as the road is not good. When I did get to the highway it hardly took any time to get to the restaurant as it was only 4 kilometers away. I ordered Akki Roti, Pongal and Sugarcane Juice. I had a relaxed breakfast and started from the restaurant at 10:30 am.

As I knew the route to the hill I expected it to be a quick ride. Further I was not too far away, just 15 kilometers, however with the Sun out and the heat increasing, I was struggling to increase the pace. When I entered the interior road and the climb began I was finding it more difficult than the early morning ride. The heat was having an effect, I slowed down and rode at a steady pace rather than trying to ride fast and hurting the legs.

Got to the turn to the hill and then the steep climb. I managed to climb to the top and after pushing on the stone surface I was at the top of the hill. As the gradient had eased off, I rode on the stone surface. The mist had cleared, however it still was a hazy view and not clear. I searched for a place to park the cycle and click photos. Not fixing the stand made it an exercise to find indentation in the rock to be able to rest the pedal and make the cycle stand. Finally managed to find a place and quickly took a few photos. There was a lone traveler on the hill and I requested him to click a couple of my pics as well.

After the photos were done, I did a little hill riding and when I was done I started the return ride. With rolling terrain to get back to the highway I rode quickly and was at Ramanagar at 12:00 pm. I had to ride 50 kilometers and did not want to stop for lunch. I decided to take a call at 1:00 pm about stopping for lunch.

The ride from Ramanagar was not as slow as I had expected and the freshly laid tarmac went a long way in contributing to the increase in the speed. I made it to Bidadi rather quickly considering the slow pace at which I had been riding on the interior roads. I kept small distance markers and kept knocking them off and arrived at Kengeri around 1:30 pm. I was not hungry and wanted to ride back home. I was low on water, however I thought that I could manage.

The traffic was increasing as I was approaching the city and the honking increased. I was getting worked up at the honking and knew that I was tired and was in an irritable state which was partly due to the fact that I had not eaten. When I made it to the satellite bus stand on Mysore Road I was welcomed by a traffic jam. The traffic jam was a result of road work and stretched for almost 2 kilometers. I stopped at a sugar cane juice vendor stall and drank 2 cups of sugar cane juice while I waited for the traffic to clear. I was rejuvenated but the traffic was a killer and I was desperate to get out of the traffic. I rode/pushed on the foot path and made my way out of traffic and opted to ride towards Gandhi Bazaar and then towards home. The decision paid off as I was in relatively less traffic, however after reaching Christ University I was back in traffic. I literally crawled home as Koramangala was also jammed with traffic and I was relieved to get home at 3:15 pm.