Anchetty - Hogenakkal - Yercaud

Date: 2 June 2018

Total distance: 483 Kilometers

Start Time: 5:15 am 2 June 20188

Return Time: 8:00 pm 3 June 2018

With: Mohan Subramanyam, Parthasarathi Mahakud, Raju Sundharam

Altitude Profile:

Koramangala - Harohalli - Anchetty - Hogenakkal - Mecheri - Salem - Yercaud - Salem - Krishnagiri - Koramangala

Mohan Sir planned for a weekend ride and plotted a tough route. The route comprised of rolling terrain followed by the climb to Yercaud and Yelagiri before getting back to Bangalore. The ride on the highway had been minimized and we would be riding on interior roads which made this ride very interesting. The total distance was 600 kilometers and the plan was to complete the ride in 40 hours. The start time was set as 5:00 am on Saturday and finish by 9:00 pm on Sunday.

Four of us assembled at Silk Board junction at 5:00 am. Mohan Sir, Parthasarathi and I were riding MTB's and Raju was riding a road bike. The start was slightly delayed and we started at 5:15 am from Silk Board.

The ride through the city was uneventful. We made slow progress and got onto the Kanakpura Road and rode steadily. We were close to Harohalli when I heard a hissing sound. That familiar sound which says that there is a puncture, and I sure hoped that it was not my tube which was punctured. Unfortunately it was my tire which was punctured, moreover, I could see that the tire had a small cut. I got off the cycle and pushed it to the top of the slope and set things out to replace the tube. It took 20 minutes to replace the tube and get going again. A puncture right at the start of the ride was not what we needed considering that it was a difficult ride and time was precious.

We reached Harohalli at 7:15 am. It was early for breakfast, however, considering that we might not get anything until we get to Anchetty we opted to stop for breakfast. A plate of Thatte Idli and Vada and we were back on the road at 7:30 am.

Rolling terrain starts when we got onto the Maralawadi road. I had lubed the chain, however, the crank was making a lot of noise, presumably from the ride in yesterday's rain. The sound was amplified since we were on deserted roads and it was irritating to say the least to have the noise. At the next 2 minute stop, I oiled the crank, although it took some time for the noise to disappear, oiling the crank worked.

We enjoyed the green surrounding and the empty roads and chatted about various rides that had been done and the upcoming rides as well. The terrain had steep descents followed by steep ascents which caught us out on many occasions and we were fidgeting with the shifters to get to the right gear. Knowing the route till the turn to Thally helped as things went smooth till there. After that there were many places where there were turns and in spite of checking the map we went off route. Fortunately for us, we were able to enquire with the locals and reach Hunasanahalli, albeit through a shorter route. Mohan Sir reminded us that this is exactly how it is when riding in LEL, the only difference being that we will not find people to enquire with and getting back on track is extremely difficult.

Just before reaching Hunasanahalli, there is a downhill and we sped through the downhill. The downhill continued after reaching Hunasanahalli and we enjoyed the landscape as we were coasting most of the time towards Anchetty. When we reached Anchetty we saw a crowded town for the first time after taking the turn from Harohalli. It felt like we had entered a city after having ridden in calm surroundings for 4 hours. We stopped at Anchetty to refill water and have banana's. We were 40 kilometers from Hogenakkal and it would take a couple of hours at least to get there even though the road was mostly downhill. It was 11:30 am when we started from Anchetty.

I had forgotten about the road from Anchetty to Hogenakkal and had expected an easy ride. However, the first 20 kilometers from Anchetty is rolling terrain, a short descent followed by a climb as well. The road surface is not very good which makes it difficult to carry the speed. It was on the climb that we realised that Mohan Sir had left his LEL water bottle at Anchetty. A memorabilia which had been left behind.

As we rode further, there was road work in progress, the top surface had been removed and we had to ride through dusty roads. The focus had changed to seeing the road rather than enjoying the scenery and I was looking at getting away from this section as soon as possible. With the ride slowing down, the clock ticked towards lunch time and the energy levels were dipping. We stopped at a town 20 kilometers from Hogenakkal and had boiled eggs, vada, bonda and refilled water.

When we restarted, we hit the downhill within a short distance. Although the road surface was patchy and it was a single lane road, it was time to enjoy the wind on my face. I sped downhill and was disappointed to see a tractor ahead. I wanted to get past the tractor as quickly as possible to enjoy the downhill and did not want to sit behind. When I saw the opportunity to overtake I pedaled hard and when I mid-way through the tractor he swerved right leaving me no room as it was a single lane road. Further, it was a ditch next to the road and not gravel at the same level. I had no option but to get off the road and go straight into the ditch. I tried to control the cycle, however, being on slightly higher speed levels, there was no room off the road as well. I opted to jump from the cycle, in the hope that I would be able to land safely and avoid injury. It was wishful thinking, I landed on uneven ground, the leg twisted and I fell heavily. Fortunately, only the left leg was grazed, guess the clothing had done its job, the full length cycling shorts was torn near the knee, but had left me with only bruises from the knee to the ankle.

I got back on my feet and picked up the cycle. Surprise...surprise, the cycle had gotten away unscathed. I was happy that my ride was not over. Washed the wound and hopped back on the cycle and sped downhill again. I passed by Biligundla and this time I was able to see the river in between the hills, I had missed this on my previous ride. The downhill gets over at Biligundla, from here it is almost flat roads and we ride next to the river, however the road surface is very bad. So bad, that the rubber from Raju's front tire was ripped. His tire was left with a gash and he had to ride carefully and hope that he would get away without a puncture. We were 4 kilometers from Hogenakkal, roads from Hogenakkal towards Mecheri were good, if he could make it till Hogenakkal, then the risk of punctures would reduce exponentially and we crossed our fingers and hoped that he would make it through.        

We stopped near the river for a quick photo shoot. Spent some time watching the river flow silently and then got back on the saddle and rode slowly towards Hogenakkal. When we reached Hogenakkal town we stopped for lunch and ate meals.

It was 3:00 pm when we started from Hogenakkal. We had enjoyed the ride in the morning under a huge cloud cover. Now the cloud cover had reduced and the Sun was making its presence felt. We started the ride, happy to be on good roads which were lined with trees. The road surface being good helped as it eased the ride on a slight uphill gradient. We were heading towards a small climb, the beautiful ride was going to get a little more difficult. The climb started and within a kilometer of the climb, the view was too tempting not to stop and click a pic. Quick pic and back on the saddle, rode another kilometer and stopped again for another pic. The green surroundings was encapsulating and it was too difficult not to stop and admire the view and recharge the eyes and the mind.

We made it past the climb and got onto rolling terrain. A small hiccup when Raju's chain got stuck in between the crank and the frame and a few anxious moments spent before Mohan Sir expertly got the chain loose and we were back on the road. We were out of water and stopped when we reached the Hogenakkal check post and refilled on water and drank juice. The stops were beginning to stretch a little and we were falling behind on the time front.

We had ridden 160 kilometers in 11.25 hours. Ideally should have been closer to 200 kilometers since we still had two hills to climb. We started at 4:30 pm and made quick progress to Pennagaram and took the right towards Mecheri. The road was beautiful, lined with trees and it was a pleasure to be riding on this road. The cloud cover was back and this time it was dark clouds looming over our heads. Rain was imminent, however, the skies ahead were clear and it gave hope that we can ride out of the rain and can escape getting wet. I was dreading getting wet, since it would remind me of the wounds in the leg.

The ride oscillated between enjoying the ride and looking up anxiously at the sky and see if we had made it out of the dark cloud area. The wind direction kept changing and it was difficult to predict the direction in which the clouds would move. We went past villages and were in rolling terrain. We made it past the tree cover and came into open area where we were greeted with a beautiful view of the valley. A downhill followed and when we reached the end of the downhill I was excited that we had made it past the cloud cover and thought that we had avoided the rain.

Just when I was happy that I had missed the rain, the clouds opened up and it was a downpour. We stopped to pack the phone and got back on the road. It was a heavy downpour and the road had a lot of water. The shoes were wet in a matter of seconds and I was carrying a lot of water in the shoes. The wound which had taken a back seat till then, came to the forefront and every pedal stroke I was reminded of the fall with the water biting into the wound.

The rain abated after sometime and we were witness to a sound and light show. The thunder and lightning were breathtaking and on a couple of occasions the lighting was pretty close to us. The sky being lit up followed by the thunder was awesome and at the same time I was hoping that we would not be struck by lightning.

We rode in and out of rain till we got to Mecheri. We ran out of daylight as we reached Mecheri and out of energy as well. We stopped and ate snacks and refilled water before restarting from Mecheri. The rain was back when we restarted. Riding in the rain was proving to be difficult, however, Mohan Sir was setting the pace and made it easy to sit behind him. He was flying and if not for a brief halt at a railway gate, we would have made it to the Salem toll by 8:00 pm. We reached just after 8:00 pm and stopped at Saravana Bhavan for dinner.

Vivek Ramachandran was at Salem and he treated us to a delicious dinner at Saravan Bhavan. Vivek is from Salem, works in Bangalore and is an avid cyclist. He had publicised our ride among the Salem cyclists and told us a little about Salem and its association with movies.

We bid good bye to Vivek after dinner and started the ride at 9:00 pm. We reached Salem quickly and stopped before the foot hill to refill water and bought a Coca Cola for the climb. We reached the foot hill at 10:15 am. The climb started, a 18 kilometer climb. We were behind on the time front and we needed to make it to the top and get back down by 1:00 am to be in with a chance to ride to Yelagiri. We needed to get to the top in 2 hours which was a difficult ask given the rolling terrain that we had been through earlier in the day.

We started the climb steadily and made good progress. The weather was pleasant, the expected rain did  not arrive and I was thankful for the dry spell. The clothes which were drying out were now getting drenched in sweat. We made decent progress and had done 5 kilometers when we took out first break. Before we knew it 15 minutes had passed. The break had stretched a little too long.

We got back on the saddle and got going. The gradient does not let up and it remains constant. We rode steadily, the pace remained constant and we did not push the pace. Riding the MTB I had a lot of gear options and knowing that I was not using the lowest combination helped me mentally to keep going. Just having a few gears in reserve makes things easier as I knew that I would be able to make it through even if the climb got steeper. The target was to get to the hair pin bends and just as we neared the hair pin bends, it gave a boost and we increased the pace a little. We made it to the 7th hair pin bend and stopped for another break.

15 minutes again had passed and the Coca Cola was also over. I would have to make it to the base of the climb if I needed any refilling on the water or food front. When we restarted Mohan and Partha went quickly, however, Raju was a little slow. I tried to push him to keep going, however, he was out of energy and needed to replenish his energy reserves. I did not have any food with me and riding became very slow. At one point, things were pretty desperate for Raju as he was feeling pretty weak and was saved when he stopped a passing car and got half a packet of biscuits from them. With his energy replenished, we made it to the 17th hair pin bend where Mohan Sir and Partha were waiting for us, presumably for a very long time.

We started quickly and made quick progress through the other hair pin bends. When I saw the GRT resort gate pushed a little more and made it to the gate. We stopped at the gate and decided not to ride further. The clock had ticked to 1:15 am when we reached the top. It was a slow climb, although we had not ridden slowly, the breaks that we took slowed us down and probably also resulted in the dip in energy levels as well.

We started the descent at 1:30 am. Empty roads and the lights gave good visibility which was sufficient to do a pretty quick descent. Partha and I raced to the foothill in 30 minutes. It was 2:00 am when we reached the foot hill. Mohan Sir and Raju came by in a short while and we headed to a bakery at the foot hill to refill on water and catch up on some rest.

The water break turned to a rest break and before we knew it everyone was asleep. It was 3:30 am when we restarted. We had to ride roughly 300 kilometers which meant that we would get back to Bangalore only by 11:00 pm. It was difficult and we decided to take a call on riding to Yelagiri when we get to Dharmapuri.

We rode out and had made it just past Salem when we stopped at Coffee Day to freshen up. The freshening up stop changed to a sleep stop and we lost another hour here. It was 5:00 am when we started and that was the end of the Yelagiri climb. We would not be able to ride to Yelagiri and get back to Bangalore before mid-night. We decided to ride back to Bangalore and not ride to Yelagiri.

It was just 200 kilometers remaining, now that Yelagiri was done away with. Known route made things easier and I pushed the pace to get to Thoppur for breakfast. It was sun rise time in a short while and watching a beautiful sun rise I lost track of Mohan Sir and Raju. Partha was behind and I assumed that Mohan Sir and Raju were a short distance behind. On my previous rides in this section I have always had a head wind, however I was riding a couple of hours earlier than on my previous rides and we did not have a head wind.

Not having a head wind was good as we made it easily to Thoppur at 6:45 am.. I stopped just before the climb to Thoppur to wait for Mohan Sir and Raju, there was no sight of them. Took out the phone from the bag and saw that there was a missed call from Mohan Sir. Called back and got to know that Raju had a puncture and that they had fixed it and were on their way. We sat on the parapet wall near the Thoppur climb, Mohan Sir and Raju came by 7:15 am and we resumed the ride.

We got past the Thoppur climb relatively easily, and rode to Sai Sangeet hotel which is 4 kilometers after the climb and stopped for breakfast. Had a delicious dosa and pongal, refilled on water and resumed the ride at 8:30 am.

150 kilometers to get to Bangalore, relatively easy terrain, however, today the weather was completely different from the previous day. The Sun was out and it felt more like 11:30 am even though it was just 8:30 am. There was very little wind, but the heat was very high, within a few kilometers of the restart I was soaked in sweat and was running through my water rather quickly. The next 30 kilometers took 2 hours, getting through the Dharmapuri by-pass took longer than expected, when we got past this section we stopped for a juice break.

The Sun was cranking up the heat level, 2 fresh lime soda's did not help to cool, a lengthy 45 minute break was taken or rather the time was racing and we did not realise that we had spent 45 minutes at the place. We got back on the saddle and started the ride.

We were 30 kilometers from Krishnagiri, it was 10:15 am, a 6pm arrival in Bangalore was on the cards. The plan of an early evening finish seemed possible if we could increase the pace of the ride a little. However, the Sun was unrelenting and we were wilting under the heat. The view of the Then Pennai river came as a sight for sore eyes. I stopped for a pic and restarted the ride.

When I caught up with Partha, he asked to check on the air pressure in his rear tire. The tire was sitting very low. It was a puncture. Mohan Sir and Raju had gone ahead. We informed them that we would fix the puncture and asked them to wait up ahead. Changing the tube in the energy sapping heat was very tiring. I was unable to bend my knee and sitting on the ground was rather painful. We were done with the back wheel and saw that the air pressure was low in the front tire as well. With very low energy reserves, we decided that we would pump air to the tire rather than changing the tube, and get to Krishnagiri. If the air did not hold then we would change the tube at Krishnagiri. We were just 8 kilometers from Krishnagiri, we rode 4 kilometers and saw that Mohan Sir and Raju had stopped near a house and were resting under a tree. We stopped and rested for a few minutes before resuming the ride.

A 15 minute ride got us to Saravana Bhavan restaurant at Krishnagiri. We freshened up and ordered veg meals. The re-energising factor at Saravana Bhavan was the air conditioner. It was a welcome relief from the heat and it got us so comfortable that we ate a kulfi after the meal just to extend the time inside the restaurant.

It was 1:30 pm when we woke up to the fact that we still had 100 kilometers to ride. The next 50 kilometers would involve a lot of climbing and we were in for a difficult afternoon considering the heat. Fortunately, when we stepped out of the restaurant, there was a cloud build up. The weather conditions changed, although it was Sunny, we got a lot of stretches where the Sun hid behind the clouds giving us respite from the heat. Although there was respite from heat, the cloud cover made rain imminent and it was a question of 'when' rather than 'if' the rain would arrive. We predicted that we would probably get drenched near Hosur.

Our prediction was off by 20 kilometers when the skies opened up 20 kilometers ahead near Shoolagiri. We were riding into the rain, we could see the rain lashing ahead and we were still in the dry area. It was confusing at this point since I did not know whether I have to ride slowly and wait for the rain to pass or ride through the rain quickly and get past it. Ended up doing neither and rode through the rain at a gentle pace and got drenched. The rain stopped, we were drying out when it began to rain again. It was a cat and mouse game with the rain till we crossed the border and got into Karnataka. The rain had abated and we stopped at a bakery for refreshments.

We were rather relaxed when we got to the bakery, only 30 kilometers remaining, the clock had just struck 5:30 pm. As the clock ticked by the relaxed mood changed to an anxious mood when we saw the cloud build up. In a matter of few minutes, there was a heavy downpour. It was so heavy that riding in it seemed risky and we decided to wait for the rain to abate. In 10 minutes, there was a river flowing along with the road. The short stop got extended to 45 minutes and we were able to start only at 6:15 pm from the bakery.

It was still raining, however the intensity of the rain had reduced. We had to ride a few kilometers to get out of the rain. When we looked ahead, there were clear skies, a look behind and dark clouds were looming. It felt like we were dragging the rain clouds with us. We were racing with the clouds and it looked like we would make it through before the next bout of rain. We reached Electronic City and disbanded here as staying together further up the road would be difficult in Bangalore traffic. It took almost 45 minutes to get home from Electronic city on account of the traffic which was heavy for a Sunday evening.

Ride Summary:

The route was beautiful and being off the highway on the first day made it a perfect route for cycling. However, this felt like a jinxed ride on account of the number of issues that we had. One puncture and a fall for me, Raju's tire getting shredded, chain getting stuck, one puncture, Partha having one puncture. The route was difficult to complete without having any issues, with the number of stoppages that we had it was very difficult to complete it and we had to drop Yelagiri from the route.

The Yercaud climb was a learning experience again and it shows how different a climb can be depending on the time when we start it. I enjoyed the Hogenakkal to Mecheri route just as much as I had done 6 months ago since the road surface is in good condition. Overall a very good ride if we keep the punctures/fall aside.