Yercaud - Pollachi - Coonoor

Date: 22 June 2018 - 24 June 2018

Total distance: 625 Kilometers

Start Time: 6:45 am 22 June 2018

Return Time: 8:30 am 24 June 2018

With: Amar Chand, Lokesh Jain, Rajusundharam, Prasad S, Siddalinga Swamy - from Pollachi

Altitude Profile:

Koramangala - Salem - Yercaud - Tiruppur - Pollachi - Aliyar - Pollachi - Coimbatore - Coonoor

The weekend was free, I managed to add Friday to the weekend as I was able to put in some additional hours on the other days. The initial plan was to take a bus to Coimbatore and ride to Valparai, Ooty and Coorg. However, as I was able to add Friday to the ride days, I decided to ride to Coimbatore instead of taking the bus. The plan was to ride to Yercaud, then ride through the night to make it to Pollachi in the morning where I would join the others and continue the ride.

It was a busy week, I was tired and went to bed late on Thursday. I set the alarm for 4:30 am, which I missed and by the time I woke up I had missed the start time of 6:00 am. I woke up at 5:45 am, packed, loaded the cycle and was able to start at 6:45 am.

Missing the start time pinched me from the beginning when I ran into traffic from Koramangala. Knowing that it was a long ride, I stayed calm and rode carefully through traffic. The traffic eased a little after Electronic City which allowed me to ride quicker. The ride to the Karnataka border was quick, I had a nice rhythm going and crossed over into Tamil Nadu. The traffic increased, the wide roads did not slow me down and I was able to ride on the shoulder of the road. The pace went up further when I exited Hosur and the downhill's started. In a short while I was beginning to see restaurants and the temptation to stop to eat was increasing.

It was close to 9:00 am, however, with a stringent time budget for this ride the breakfast stop was planned at Krishnagiri. The next hour was the quickest hour, 33 kilometers covered in an hour and I was at Krishnagiri at 10:00 am. I stopped at Saravana Bhavan for breakfast. 20 minutes during which I ate Poori and Pongal and was back on the saddle.

When I started the ride after breakfast, there was a strong cross wind. The heat was beginning to rise making it difficult to ride. I was able to ride steadily and when I reached the 100 kilometer mark for the day it was 10:45 am with a ride time of 3 hours 23 minutes. A quick stop to take a screen shot of the time before resuming.

The ride after this was a struggle. The wind got stronger and the intensity of the Sun kept increasing. I was losing focus and was very tempted to turn back and ride back home. I had to distract myself and the sight of a couple of lakes took the focus off the time and I enjoyed the sight of water. I was feeling the pressure of having to ride quickly and the fact that I was unable to keep pace with the plan was making the ride more difficult than it was.

When I got back on the saddle, it was slow progress. The Sun and the wind were a constant menace and I was hoping for either a cloud cover or for the wind to abate to get relief on one front at least. The next 40 kilometers took me 2 hours, after the highs of the morning, now I was brought back to reality, that I was going to have a difficult time on the saddle.

I was 8-10 kilometers from the Thoppur downhill. I pushed myself to get to the downhill, knowing that I could make up a little for the time lost after half an hour was good enough to get me back on the saddle. I had taken refuge under a tree to protect me from the Sun for 10 minutes during which time I took stock of the time and the distance. It was at this point that I realised that my target of getting to the Yercaud base at 2:00 pm was very steep and I reset the target to 4:00 pm, which eased the pressure and I was able to continue the ride.

Half an hour later I was at the Thoppur downhill, I was able to speed downhill and with it the excitement level for the ride was back again. Although it was 12:40 pm and was close to lunch time, I rode on as I wanted to get as close to Salem before stopping for lunch. Stopping earlier would necessitate another stop before I stopped for the climb, so I pushed on. The road was mostly downhill, the wind was still strong, however, with the gradient being easy, the wind did not affect me a lot here. I pulled in at Saravana Bhavan at the Salem toll at 2:30 pm. It was beyond my usual lunch time and I was beginning to feel the effects of being low on nutrition. I ordered a mini-meal and a rose milk shake. I was able to drink the milk shake, however, I was unable to eat the food. The heat had played its role and me pushing beyond the usual time was having its effect. I forced myself to eat and was able to get half of the mini-meal in. Had another rose milk shake since the liquid's were going in easily.

The plan was to have a quick lunch, however, given the state that I was in, I took it easy and opted to rest a little and stay away from the Sun for a little while hoping that the body would recover. I had a 18 kilometer climb coming up shortly and I could not risk going in exhausted. I started from the restaurant at 3:15 pm.

In a short while I was at Salem town and I was welcomed by traffic. The roads were in bad shape on account of the flyover construction. Riding on bad roads in heavy traffic is so frustrating especially since we are always in a hurry, the honking was getting to me. I stayed calm and made a conscious effort not to instigate anyone and made it through to the Yercaud road. The traffic was still a lot, however the road was better and riding was easier. I made a stop at the bakery near the foothill, refilled water and bought a 500 ml Coke to keep me fuelled for the climb.

The climb started at 3:55 pm. Although I was behind my original plan, I had made it in time as per my revised plan. Now the plan was to get to the top by 6:00 pm and make it down before dark which would be around 7:00 pm. I settled into my rhythm and climbed steadily. The focus was on riding steadily and on minimising breaks, at the most take one break if required. It was a slow climb and by the time I had ridden 3 kilometers I was forced to take a break. I could see the rain in the distance a few warning droplets were sufficient for me to stop and pack my phone.

I resumed the ride quickly, the rain also arrived quickly. It was a steady drizzle, can't be called as rain. I guess it rained on top since the flow of water on the road kept increasing and was enough to make the surface greasy. I was dreading the downhill at this point, since the surface would be very slippery. Although the thought of the downhill was worrying, I was happy that it was drizzling since the temperature came down and it eased the climb a lot. Having pleasant weather during the climb makes a lot of difference as I do not have to run through my water quickly especially on this hill where I cannot refill for a further 10 kilometers at least.

I kept a steady pace which was not sufficient to meet my target time, however I was not ready to increase the pace as I feared that I might cramp. The fear of the cramp had set in as I had lost a lot of salt which was evident from the white patches on my apparel. The morning ride had taken a lot out of me and I was apprehensive of lasting the climb. I was preparing myself for a descend in fading light and in the dark on a greasy surface. Making it to the hair pin bends made me feel good and kept me going for a few more kilometers. I was tiring and the body was asking for a break. I pushed a little more and with 9 kilometers to get to the top I took a break. It was a 10 minute stop during which I drank a little Coke and resumed the ride.

Kept a steady pace, reached the estate section of the climb, was happy to have made it this far and I was not too far behind on the time front. The positives were adding up on the climb which kept me going mentally. 45 minutes later I was pulling up alongside the Yercaud lake. It was 6:15 pm, I was late by 15 minutes, which I thought was not too bad at the time. I clicked a picture, packed the phone and started the downhill at 6:20 pm.

To my surprise the road surface was not as wet as I had expected it to be. It was drying out and I was fortunate on the traffic front as well since there was very little traffic going downhill. It was mostly two wheelers and although I did get stuck behind one for a few turns, it was not too bad. I made it past the hair pins bends rather easily. There was a lot of oncoming traffic after this and with fading light they were driving/riding with high beam on their cars/bikes. It was blinding and made riding difficult/risky on the downhill. I was careful as I did not want to have a fall and took it easy on the curves and was very watchful. To my surprise I had not paid too much on the time front in spite of the difficulties on the downhill. I made it down at 7:00 pm.

Riding through Salem town was again on bad roads and heavy traffic. The excitement of the downhill was done and having a clear piece of road ahead would have helped to carry the momentum of the downhill, however, the traffic and the bad roads was a mood killer. I managed to keep calm on the city roads and asked around for directions since I did not want to unpack my phone and check the map. I was guided by the locals and made it onto the road towards Erode which is the Cochin highway. I stopped at a bakery to refill water, there was no rain threat, I unpacked the phone and checked the map and was happy to see that I was on the right track.

It was 7:30 pm, 257 kilometers done in a total time of 12 hours 45 minutes. I was on a 6 lane highway, although it was not lit, there was a lot of ambient light as I was passing through a lot of small towns at short distances. It was rolling terrain, the sight of a board stating Star Biriyani 22 kilometers ahead had me finalising the dinner place. The distance had been set and now it was about getting to the restaurant. There were signs of me tiring as I was slow on the climbs and was coasting on the downhill's. To make things a little more complicated, the wind which had taken a back seat, began to work up its pace. A strong cross wind started when I was close to the Vaigundham toll. Came across a Saravana Bhavan hotel at the toll, however with my mind set on having biriyani I laboured for a further 4 kilometers and stopped at Star Biriyani.

It was a little over 9:00 pm when I stopped for dinner. To my disappointment only mutton biriyani was available which was very spicy. In hind sight I guess the stop at Saravana Bhavan would have been better, as spicy food is not what I was looking for. It was a slow stop as again I had a problem with eating the food on account of it being spicy, however, in the interest of having to survive the night I forced myself to eat.

I restarted the ride at 10:00 pm. The target was to get to Pollachi by 6:00 am. 155 kilometers to be ridden in 8 hours. Not a difficult target if I could keep sleep at bay and make it through the wind tunnel section at a decent pace.

The ride after the dinner stop was a cakewalk till Bhavani. The wind had abated and the road was mostly downhill. I had to coast on most of this route and made it to the bridge across the Kaveri river before I expected. 28 kilometers after dinner completed in just over an hour was a perfect start. However, after the bridge, the wind was back and the gradient was up hill. I had a tractor for Company which was pushing me to ride harder than I would have wanted to, positive of this was that I could tick a few kilometers off.

My legs were getting weary when I had my run-in with dogs. The first time I was able to back off the speed and the dogs stayed at a distance, the second time I saw the dogs late and the shout which is usually to chase the dogs was a shout in panic instead as I thought that I was done for and was getting bitten for sure. Fortunately for me the dog backed off few meters from my leg and I could continue riding.

As the night wore on, I was running short of water and had to make a stop to refill. Before dinner I had a lot of options to stop as there were a lot of bakeries, now the shops were closed and I was getting worried if I would be able to refill water at a minimum. Getting something to eat was another concern. I was happy to see a shop open when I got past Perundurai and stopped to refill water and bought a Coke for the road. I ate a guava which I had carried from Bangalore and had kept in reserve for the road.

I got back after a 15 minute stop and although I had just stopped and eaten, I was not too happy and was still feeling the need to eat more. I tried to keep riding, however the thought of food kept growing and when I made it to the Vijayamangalam toll, just 9 kilometers from the earlier stop, I stopped again. This was a stop which could have been avoided if I had made proper use of the earlier stop. I ate a bun and two bars of Munch and sat for a while. I had ridden 63 kilometers in 3.5 hours after dinner. The fast start after dinner had been lost and I was behind time now. 90 kilometers to be ridden in 4.5 hours with the wind mill section and unknown interior roads ahead was a very difficult task. The mindset had changed to trying to get as close as possible to Pollachi.

I turned into the interior road at Vijayamangalam to get to Tiruppur. I had to stop frequently to check the route on the map. At Vijayamangalam town I was welcomed and escorted out of town by dogs, this was not going to be my last meeting with dogs during the night.

The road was good from Vijayamangalam to Uthukuli, it was a good ride except when I passed through a couple of villages where the dogs were at it again. The road condition deteriorated after Uthukuli, It was moderate and I passed a lot of villages. With every human settlement came the dog menace. I had to contend with dogs every 100-200 meters. Get past one gang and enter into the territory of another. It was frustrating, the barking and the fact that I had to slow down and re-build the momentum was getting to me. When I reached the Tiruppur vicinity, the dogs were very aggressive and no amount of shouting/ slowing down was getting them off my wheel. I stopped to pick up a stone and throw it at them, which also did not work and instead I had them barking at me for the next 200 meters as they followed me closely. By the time I reached Tiruppur I must have encountered at least 50-60 dogs.

Navigating in Tiruppur town was a problem with road work in progress. I had to ride around town a little to get back on track. It was 3:30 am when I reached the outskirts of Tiruppur town, 378 kilometers had been completed. However, the completed kilometers did not matter as I still had to ride 63 kilometers to get to Pollachi and I had 2.5 hours to do it. Knowing that I could not make it to Pollachi in the target time, I decided to take it easy. Further, I saw the message from Swamy saying that they would reach Pollachi after 8:00 am. I decided to slow down and take my mind off the target. I stopped at a closed shop and rested for half an hour.

I managed to catch a little sleep during this period. When I started from Tiruppur, the bakeries were beginning to open and I was tempted to stop again. Re-focused on the ride and made steady progress towards Palladam. I reached Palladam town at 5:00 am. The stretch from Palladam to Pollachi is known as the wind tunnel section as this section is known for its wind speeds and as proof a lot of wind mills have been installed in this section. I made the turn from Palladam towards Pollachi and within a kilometer I could see the lights of the wind mills as it was still dark. As I got closer the blades became visible and the sight of it rotating at speed was not a good sight. Not that I needed to see the blade rotating to gauge the speed since I could feel the wind and was thankful that it was a cross wind and not a head wind.

In some places the wind mills are right next to the road and the sound of the blades was giving me jitters. The ride was slow and I was looking ahead to see if the wind mills would cease, however the lights in the distance was confirmation that I still had a long way to go before I get past this section. Both sides of the road are lined with wind mills and they were all operational. With no end in sight for the wind mills all I had to do was to keep pedaling and hope that I can make it out of this section as soon as possible.

After about half an hour, roughly 12 kilometers later the wind changed to a favourable wind. I was more than happy and made use of the favourable wind to get past a few kilometers quickly before the wind changed again to slowing me down. At 5:00 am I had reached Sultanpeta, which is 407 kilometers completed in 23 hours. It was 5:00 am, day break time and with day break the wind speed reduced. I could see the wind mills clearly and although they had reduced they were still around. None of them were very close to the road and as such I could not hear their blades cutting through the wind.

When 24 hours were completed I had reached Periya Negamam. I had ridden 423 kilometers in 24 hours, more importantly I had fallen short of the target to get to Pollachi by 17 kilometers. If I had been able to manage my stops better, I could have possibly been closer to Pollachi. Still scope for improvement and need to work on the riding in wind a lot more.

As I exited Periya Negamam, there was a drizzle, I thought that I could manage without packing the phone, however with the drizzle getting heavier, I had to stop to pack the phone. There was a message from Swamy that their bus had been delayed and they would start from Coimbatore only by 7:30 am. I was on course to get to Pollachi by 7:30 am which meant a long waiting time for me.

I reached Pollachi at 7:45 am. Ride through the small roads and some places where road work is in progress got me onto the Coimbatore Valparai road. I stopped at a restaurant and had Poori and Pongal. I tried to be as slow as possible and still could take only 30 minutes at the restaurant. I started from the restaurant and rode out of town in search of a place to stop and rest, catch some sleep.

The road from Pollachi towards Valparai is very good and is mainly downhill. I had to ride 7 kilometers from town to find a closed shop and stopped to rest. It was almost 9:00 am when I stopped. I sat for about 20 minutes by which time the owners came by and asked what I was doing. I told them that I was waiting for my friends to come by. They gave an unconvincing look and went ahead. I lay down on the steps and before I knew it I had dozed off. It took me an hour to wake up, the first sight when I opened my eyes were the owners giving me the look as to what I was still doing there. I did not have an option but to get ready and move about 100 meters from the shop. I stopped under a tree and lubed the chain. While I was doing this a cyclist from Theni came by and enquired about the ride. I chatted with him about his ride and about riding to Valparai before he went on his way. I found a coconut farm and went in and sat by a coconut tree to rest. It was not a very good idea as the place was filled with ants and mosquitoes. I had to start riding again, 2 more kilometers when I found a bus stop. I received a call from Lokesh stating that they were 2 kilometers from Pollachi, I told him that I was 9 kilometers after Pollachi and that I was waiting for them. It took a further 30 minutes for them to arrive.

Amar, Lokesh, Raju, Prasad, Swamy and me, now this was a big group. We exchanged pleasantries and started the ride towards Valparai at 11:15 am. I was hungry by the time the guys arrived and was looking forward to a stop before the foothill to refill. I was sure that I would not be able to climb in my present state. It helped that the road was mostly downhill and I did not have to push too much.

We reached the foothill at 11:15 am, refilled water, ate pineapple, drank butter milk, bought a Pepsi and I ate a raw mango as well as I was very hungry and was looking at filling my stomach up. We would have to ride 13-14 kilometers to the first town where we had planned to stop for lunch.

Before we get to the town, we had to cross the check post at the foothill. We reached the check post at 12:00 pm and spent the next 1 hour 15 minutes requesting the Forest Officer for permission to ride to Valparai. The Forest Officer was very polite and patient with us in spite of our repeated requests. He kept his calm and told us that we are not permitted to ride to Valparai, we could load the cycles onto a vehicle, go to Valparai and ride around Valparai, however riding from the foothill to Valparai would not be allowed as it is a tiger reserve.

With no chance of riding to Valparai we had to get back on our saddles and ride back to Pollachi. We rode about 10 kilometers before stopping for lunch. It was 2:30 pm when we started after lunch. During lunch we had factored in the disappointment of not being allowed to climb to Valparai and now were looking forward to the Ooty climb.

We reached Pollachi, welcomed by traffic and as we rode towards Coimbatore, we were on concrete roads. Road work was still in progress in some sections, we had to take deviations from the concrete road and riding on the small road with lot of pebbles was not very comforting. I was worried about the tires and did not enjoy this section. There were dark clouds as we got close to Coimbatore, rain was imminent and I was hoping that the rain would hold out and we could get to Coimbatore dry. However, with 5 kilometers remaining to Coimbatore, there was a brief shower, water got into the shoes, traffic was heavy as we were close to town, in short riding was painful.

When we entered Coimbatore, it had stopped raining. The traffic got worse, it was a mad rush and riding was very difficult. We rode past a lake and saw the Sun ray's kissing the water from behind the clouds. It was a beautiful sight. A kilometer ahead we stopped at Annapoorna restaurant for refreshments while Prasad met his cousin.

It was 7:00 pm when we started from Coimbatore. Even when we reached the outskirts of town the traffic was still heavy. We had to ride about 28 kilometers to get to Mettupalayam where we had planned to stop for dinner. We were joined by Aravind for the climb to Ooty. When we got some breathing space we increased the pace and began to ride quickly as it was downhill. We had to watch out for rumble humps and keep away from the traffic.

We reached a section where road work was being undertaken, Raju and I were guided by the locals to the correct road, however, Amar and Lokesh who were ahead went on the wrong route. By the time they got back they synced up with Swamy, Prasad and Aravind. Raju and I were of the impression that Amar and Lokesh had ridden ahead and rode on trying to catch up with them. It was only on reaching Mettupalayam outskirts that we realised that we were ahead when we received a call asking us to wait. The rest of the group came by in 10 minutes, we headed in to town and stopped for dinner.

Almost 9:00 pm when we stopped for dinner. We had a long dinner stop, we were not worried on the time front, we were 50 kilometers from Ooty and were scheduled to reach Ooty at 4:00 am. We had time on hand and were wondering where we could ride additionally to make up for the time in hand. We had a nice dinner break, I bought a 500 ml Pepsi as fuel for the climb and we started from Mettupalayam at 10:15 pm.

The road starts to go up from Mettupalayam. It took a short while for the traffic to thin out which was heavy till Black Thunder Park, after this the road was empty. A couple of kilometers of straight climb during which we passed the forest check post and then the road begins to wind up.

It was almost 11:00 pm when we started the climb. A group comprising of 7 riders with Aravind constantly chatting was riding up the hill at a steady pace. I was feeling good and sleep was not a factor at this point. We made steady progress, we were watchful as well since there was road work in progress and there were make shift road humps where the road work had been done. This was at quite a few places in the initial part of the climb. We had climbed for almost an hour and had knocked off 16 kilometers from Mettupalayam. We were 19 kilometers from Coonoor when we came across a Police check post. We were crossing over to the Nilgiri district from the Coimbatore district and were surprised to see a check post. We had been informed that this route was open through the night and we could ride here. However, we were stopped and saw that even two-wheelers were not being allowed to go ahead. The guards told us that the road is closed and that we would have to return at 5:00 am when the road is opened for two-wheelers and cycles.

Raju got into his request mode and went to request the Officer to be let through, who was very aggressive and shot down the request immediately. We requested the guards if we could stay at the check post till 5:00 am which was also not allowed. Around this time we got to know that Prasad had a puncture and we got about fixing the puncture. We changed the tube, pumped the tire back up and hung around at the check post. I had lost interest in the ride and wanted to get to the top and we looked at the possibility of getting to the top by loading the cycles onto a truck. However, the guards told us that the cycles could be loaded and only 2 people would be allowed to go in the truck and the rest of us have to find another vehicle to take us to the top. This did not work for us since managing 7 cycles by 2 people would be difficult. The guards had stopped a truck as well for us, however, when we rejected the offer, they lost their patience and chased us from the check post and told us to come back at 5:00 am.

We rode downhill, back to the foot hill and requested a hotel staff to allow us to rest in the porch. The deal was fixed at Rs 200 for using the porch. We had a little over 2 hours to spend before we resumed the ride. We caught up with some sleep during this time. It was easy for me to go to sleep, however, I was woken up at 3:00 am when it became cold. I took out the jacket, got warm and tried to sleep again. It was not working, I was half awake and gave up trying to sleep. I took the opportunity to book the bus ticket from Ooty, I decided to cut the ride short as I would not have enough time to make it to Mysore. I opted to book the ticket on the 10:00 am bus since only Lokesh had booked on this bus whereas the rest of the group had booked on the 11:00 am bus. I did not want the loading of 5 cycles on a bus to become an issue and took the option of loading 2 cycles in the bus. 10:00 am was a tight target to get to Ooty and Lokesh and I had to look for alternate transport option if we could not make it to Ooty in time.

Everyone was woken up from their slumber, tea for everyone and I had Kajaya, a fried sweet before starting the ride at 4:00 am. The ride till the check post was going to be very difficult for me, I had switched off at the check post earlier thinking that we would be loading the cycles in a truck and was looking forward to catching up on sleep in a hotel in Ooty, instead I had to ride downhill and repeat the climb. The others rode quickly, I was lagging behind and wanted to stay in touch with the group. It was a measured effort as I did not want to push too hard, neither did I want to lose touch with the group. I was still wearing the jacket as I thought it will get colder as were got higher, on the contrary it was getting very hot and unzipping the jacket was not helping. There was a brief pause when Raju stopped to set his chain which was not shifting, I took the opportunity to remove the jacket and load it into the bag. Lokesh, Swamy and I were riding together here as the rest had ridden ahead by the time I packed.

In a short distance we saw that Prasad had stopped. He had another puncture. He was out of tubes as well. We had to fix the earlier tube and then replace it. It was dark, we decided to pump the tire up, ride to the check post and fix the puncture at the check post. The check post was not far off, Prasad rode quickly, we followed slowly. Got to the check post and saw that vehicles were being allowed. We got down to fixing the puncture. Small niggles like the valve getting stuck, unable to locate the puncture on the old and new tube were there to trouble us, however, we fixed the puncture and took turns pumping up the tire to the right pressure.

It was day break when we started from the check post and within a couple of kilometers we had to stop again, since Prasad had a puncture. That was it for Prasad, and it was decided to load his cycle to a vehicle and send him to Ooty. Unfortunately, it took a very long time to find a vehicle, almost an hour was lost. At this point, I had decided to join Prasad and go with him to the top as it was not sufficient time for Lokesh and me to make it to the top. As we were not getting a vehicle, I suggested to Swamy that we would have a better opportunity to find a vehicle at the check post and headed down to the check post. Our luck was the same at the check post as well, however the stalls were open and hot bhajji's were too difficult to resist. We were eating bhajji's when Raju came by and said that Prasad had got a vehicle. We packed some Bhajji's (fritters) for the others and headed up.

After the bhajji's had been eaten, we started the ride. Lokesh and I had set a cut-off time of 8:30 am for ourselves. We would have to stop at 8:30 am and load the cycles onto a vehicle if we wanted to make it to the bus in time. We were 17 kilometers from Coonoor, the clock had struck 7:00 am, giving us 90 minutes to get to Coonoor where we were confident that we would find transport to get to Ooty.

When the ride started, I found it difficult to keep up with the others. I had to get back to rhythm again, the stops and the frequent change in plans were not helping. Further, I had expected to get rolling terrain at some point in this climb, it was hard to take that it was a climb all the way and the wait for the gradient to ease up was futile. It took me a while to get myself to digest the fact that the ride would not ease up, there was going to be no sections where I could recover a little, it was going to be climbing all the way. The group had gotten fragmented by this time, Swamy was ahead followed by Amar, then Lokesh, then Raju, then me and Aravind behind me.

I slowly began to catch up and pass the riders in front of me. Lokesh was struggling with a cramp and was still pushing to get to Coonoor. The traffic was increasing and the roads were becoming narrower as we got higher. Riding was difficult as I was stuck on the steep lines in a curve due to the traffic. The focus was back on the ride and getting to Coonoor had taken precedence over tiredness and pain. I was shouting at myself and venting out my frustration to keep myself going. I caught up with Swamy just when we reached the estate section. I had a mixed reaction when I heard that he had seen an elephant, a little disappointed that I was not around to see it and at the same time I thought that the cops were justified to have stopped us at night from passing.

We reached the check post near Coonoor, still had 3 kilometers to get to the top, it was 8:15 am, we were cutting it close. The road got steeper and narrower and I was almost run over by a speeding bus in this section. The bus driver was ruthless and I had to get off the road to be safe. I was in the last kilometer to Coonoor when the clock ticked to 8:30 am. As I got closer to Coonoor, I could see another road winding further up and thought that I had to ride it, however, a passerby laid my fear to rest when he told me that Coonoor was right ahead. Indeed it was just 100 meters ahead. I reached town at 8:35 am along with Swamy and we got into a restaurant to have breakfast since the others were yet to arrive. I called Lokesh and got to know that he is only a kilometer out of town and placed the order for him as well. Amar and Lokesh came by 5 minutes apart. Food was ready and we had a quick breakfast. Aravind had gone back downhill as he was having a problem with his chain slipping, Raju came in just as I was enquiring with an auto for transport to Ooty.

Rs 600 for the auto, we loaded our cycle's into the auto and sat on either side of the driver. 9:00 am when we started from Coonoor. It was going to be an adventure ride to Ooty as we were hanging on in the auto. A steep turn on either side and one of us would be falling out of the auto. It was a slow ride out of town, the road continued to climb and we were wondering if Swamy and group had sufficient time to make it to Ooty. I was sleepy and was beginning to doze in the auto, which was risky considering that we were half out of the auto. After about 30 minutes, we still had a long distance to get to Ooty and I had resigned to the fact that we would not make it in time, there was a traffic jam as well which slowed us down further. I was sure that there would be a firing from the bus staff for delaying the bus. To my surprise, we were in Ooty in the next 15 minutes. I don't know how the driver had managed it, since I don't remember the drive as I was half asleep. We pulled up at the bus stand, the bus had already arrived and Prasad had already spoken to the staff for loading the cycles. We loaded our cycles, with no time to change my clothes, I sat in the bus in the same sweaty clothes. Lokesh managed a quick 2 minute change since his clothes were easily accessible. Not in my case and more than me, the rest of the passengers would have to bear with me for the rest of the journey.

The bus started at 10:10 am from Ooty and made it to Bangalore at 7:00 pm. We unloaded the cycles and rode home. I got home at 7:30 pm. It was a good ride, although I had to cut it short and we had a lot places where we were not allowed, we made the best of the places where we were allowed and the time in hand.