SR 5 - Super Randonneur in 5 days

Date: 1 November 2018 - 5 November 2018

Total distance: 1,500 Kilometers

The 2017-18 season had ended and the 2018-19 season was onto us. Time had flown and the previous years Super Randonneur (SR) in a month did not seem like it was done a year ago. Getting around to doing it in a month was a difficult task a year ago. When the idea of doing the SR series in 5 days was floated, I thought that it would be a mere discussion and would not see the light of the day. However, given that Bangalore Randonneurs keeps surprising us, the SR in 5 days was going to be a reality. The calendar for the new season was announced and the dates for the SR in 5 days were announced. It was going to be the first ride of the season, a humongous task for the organisers to start with the SR5 and get things in order for pulling off 4 rides back to back.

The SR 5 comprised of 4 rides, that is the 600 kilometer, 400 kilometer, 300 kilometer and 200 kilometer rides done back to back making it a 1,500 kilometer ride for those attempting the 4 rides. The route, date, timing had been decided and published.

Distance (Kms)	Route	Date	Start time	End Time	Date	Time (Hrs)	Elevation (Mtrs)*
600	Ranebennur	1 Nov 18	6:00 am	10:00 pm	2 Nov 18	40.00	5,870
	Rest Time					6.00	-
400	Devarayanadurga - Lepakshi	3 Nov 18	4:00 am	7:00 am	4 Nov 18	27.00	3,764
	Rest Time					-	-
300	Horsley Hills	4 Nov 18	7:00 am	3:00 am	5 Nov 18	20.00	2,959
	Rest Time					3.00	-
200	Chintamani	5 Nov 18	6:00 am	7:30 pm	5 Nov 18	13.50	1,387
	Total					109.50	13,980

* Source: Strava

26 riders had registered for the SR 5 series with riders coming from as far as Mysuru, Chennai and Kochi to attempt the SR5. It was going to be a good ride with a lot of familiar faces.

Having done the rides in the previous year I was confident that it could be done. The strategy for the ride was to "ride quick enough to get sufficient rest, but slow enough to not expend too much energy". On first look the only worrying aspect was that the 400 kilometer and 300 kilometer rides did not have a break in between them, however, I had planned to get through the 400 kilometer ride in 24 hours which would give a 3 hour break and that would be sufficient. I did not book a room near the start point since I thought that I would get sufficient time to get back home, freshen up, rest and get back to the start point in time. Further, the ploy to not book a room was to be able to push myself to ride a little quicker so that I would have a sufficient buffer.

There were a few road blocks in the preparation for the ride. I had a bout of illness which kept me off the saddle for a couple of weeks and also the delay in sourcing the cassette for the road bike kept me on tenterhooks about the ride. With a week remaining for the ride it was evident that the component would not arrive and that I would have to make do with the old cassette which was slipping on a couple of gears. Rode the cycle a little in the hope that the chain would stretch sufficiently to settle into the old cassette in the week before the ride. The positive news during this week was that Rajkumar Khot would be coming down for the event and we would be riding together after almost a year.

Rajkumar arrived on 31 October, the day before the ride. We set up our cycles, the lights were charged, the saddle bag and handle bar bag's were packed and loaded onto the cycle, tires inflated, chain lubed and we were ready to go.

Ranebennur (600 Kilometer Brevet):

Date: 1 November 2018

Total distance: 620 Kilometers

Start Time: 6:00 am 1 November 2018

Return Time: 6:33 pm 2 November 2018

With: Various riders

Altitude Profile:

Kanteerava Stadium - Tumkur - Chitradurga - Ranebennur - Chitradurga - Tumkur - Kanteerava Stadium

The usual rush to get to the start point since we were a little slow to get going from home. 5:20 am when Raj and I started from Koramangala, met up with Rohit Bidkar at Forum mall and the three of us headed to the start point. Guess it was around 5:50 am when we reached. The paperwork was completed very quickly, thanks in large to the organisers who had set up beautifully to ensure that the start formalities could be completed quickly.

The route briefing was done and the ride was flagged off at 6:00 am. Raj took off in his customary fashion and I had a difficult time keeping up with him initially. Quick work through the city and then past Yeshwanthpur. We slowed down a little after Yeshwanthpur and settled into a steady pace. A lot of riders were going past us, but that was not too much to worry about, we had to ride at a pace with which we were comfortable.

The morning weather was favorable, however, we were unable to make the best use of the conditions. Getting to Dabbaspet gave an opportunity to increase the pace of the ride a little and make up for lost time. The clock was ticking towards 8:00 am, the sight of Tumkur city was tempting to stop for breakfast. We pushed on to get to VRL before we stop for breakfast. The ride from Tumkur city to get to VRL was a little stretch as we were low on fuel and were beginning to labour to get to the control point. Just as we were closing in on VRL Raghu and Phaneesh joined us.

The 4 of us reached the control point at 9:15 am. Headed in to the restaurant just as Swamy, Prasad and Aravind arrived. It was a congregation of riders at the restaurant. Had idly/vada and caught up with a few riders over breakfast. It was a relaxed breakfast, the thought that we had a long way to ride probably put me in the 'take it easy' mind frame.

It was 10:00 am when we started from the restaurant. Satish Addanki, joined us, we were 5 when we started from VRL. The road ahead was easy, and we were in a relaxed mind frame. There was a slight cross wind, however, with a downhill gradient, the wind was not affecting our speed too much. A small gap opened up with Raghu, Phaneesh and Satish going ahead. We caught up near Sira, since Raghu was having an issue with his handle bar. Phaneesh had managed to sort the issue for the time being and we re-started. A little ahead, we stopped again to refill on water and then a few more kilometers again a stop for coconut water. The stops were increasing and we were losing time.

The stops were not ideally timed as we did not keep the lunch time and destination in mind. Satish had fallen behind and it was 4 of us riding together. The clock had ticked to 1:00 pm and we were just about entering Hiriyur. Raghu stopped for lunch, however on enquiry the others were not hungry and we decided to continue. The pace dropped and we were getting disbanded intermittently leading to some amount of wait time to re-group. The decision to not stop for lunch, hit us hard when Raghu started cramping and needed to take a break. We stopped ahead at a dhaba and were told that food would be served in 10 minutes. It took 45 minutes for the food to arrive. It was a heavy lunch, but took a long time for it.

3 pm when we started from the dhaba, about 30 kilometers to go for the control point. The first task was to get to Chitradurga. The wind mills were visible and the wind was pretty strong around the area. There was a slight gain in gradient in this section followed by a small climb to get to Chitradurga. Just as we got to the top of the climb, we caught up with Satish and were passed by Mohan Sir and Jins as they headed to the control point. We were able to up the speed a little on account of getting into downhill gradient in Chitradurga town and pulled up at Mysore Cafe at 4:25 pm. A lot of riders were still at Mysore Cafe and it was another 30 minute break. The breaks were beginning to pile up and it was beginning to get into the "we're stretching it a little here" zone.

We started at a brisk pace from Chitradurga. The Sun going down, helped as the temperature cooled down and that gave additional impetus for the legs to keep churning. We witnessed a beautiful sun set, at time it felt like we were in touching distance of the Sun and did not require a rocket to get to the Sun. Ride a little faster and we could be on the Sun, alas the Sun sank faster than we were riding and in a short while we were entering the dark phase. The light deteriorated pretty fast after the Sun disappeared. It looked like we would have enough light for the next 30 minutes, however, in 5 minutes were switching on our tail and head lights and wearing our reflective bands.

The positive about the ride after Chitradurga was that we were riding with minimal breaks. We stopped for about 5 minutes for photos of the sun set, then a quick stop to switch on the lights and then a quick stop to refill water. The reduced breaks and a steady ride resulted in us reaching the U-turn point at 9:20 pm. 308 kilometers done in 15 hours 20 minutes, we had not done too badly. However, considering that this was the easy part of the ride, reaching an hour earlier would have been ideal.

Jins and Mohan Sir welcomed us to the control point and we were served delicious Puliyogare (Tamarind Rice) and Curd Rice. Banana's, chocolates, chikki and guava were available as well. Refilled on water, caught up with other riders and just when we were set to leave, few riders were heading to catch a quick nap. We decided to catch a nap as well. It was just 10:00 pm and I was not very sleepy, tried to catch a quick nap here, however, I could not sleep. The  break served as a rest, however, mentally it had caused a little bit of a stress as well as we were falling behind on time. The 30 minute sleep break had already extended to 45 minutes, I woke everyone up and by the time we got going it was effectively 11:00 pm.

When we started, it was a big group, guess we were 8 riders. The break had served it's purpose to an extent since everyone was flying and riding in the huge group was reaping its benefits. We were charging through the night and covered 27 kilometers in an hour. Riding at this pace would be great and it felt like we would be gaining a lot of time and Sira for breakfast was looking highly possible.

There had to be a road block and it came in the way of bad roads. The road was in pretty bad condition inside Harihar and getting past the bridge over the Tungabhadra river was a rather difficult job. The group got disbanded and a small wait to re-group. The pace dropped and we were now riding in spurts. Quick when the road was good and backing off when the road condition deteriorated. In the next hour we were able to ride only 18 kilometers. The sight of a tea stall was the trigger for all of us to stop. I was hungry and ate a few cake slices. 20 minutes rest was done, however, few in the group wanted to sleep and it was decided to stop at Coffee Day and sleep for a short while.

15 minutes later we pulled up at Coffee Day and all of us headed in. Orders were placed and we plonked ourselves on the sofa to catch a quick nap. It was not exactly a good sleep, since I kept getting up every few minutes on account of people walking into the place. It took about 30 minutes to get into sleep mode and I slept for about 20 minutes. By the time we got going we had spent over an hour at the place.

250 kilometers to get to the finish and we had 19 hours to do it. However, considering that we were looking at having a good rest before the next ride, we had about 15 hours to finish. It was just before 3:00 am when we started from Coffee Day. We were 40 kilometers from Mysore Cafe, which was our next target, get to Mysore Cafe and re-assess the plan there. With road work in progress in this section, it was very difficult to ride here. A lot of deviations to be taken and a lot of rumble humps to be negotiated. A few which surprised us and we were flying over the humps and were fortunate that we did not have any damage. Raghu was not so fortunate and had a broken spoke and had a wobble which slowed him down further.

Managed to negotiate the road work section and got to Mysore Cafe at 5:00 am where Mohan Sir was waiting for us. Phaneesh, Rajkumar, Ratheesh and I had reached, in a short while Raghu, Venky Sir and Rohit came along. Raghu's wheel was fixed for the time being by Ratheesh with instructions from Venky Sir. Venky Sir had fixed the handle issue as well earlier in the day, Raghu's cycle was good to go for the rest of the ride. Venky Sir and Rohit headed to Mysore Cafe to catch a nap, the rest of us started from Mysore Cafe.

We had spent 30 minutes at Mysore Cafe. There was a little bite in the air which was sufficient for me to pull on the jacket. I expected it to remain cold for the next couple of hours at least. Contrary to my expectation, it took just 5 minutes of riding to realise that wearing the jacket was not required as I was sweating. I did not want to stop immediately as that would break the rhythm and rode on. A lot of riders had stopped in Chitradurga to sleep, I passed by them and then sped downhill when we exited Chitradurga. Saw that none of my ride partners were behind and took the opportunity to stop and take off the jacket. It was sun rise time, it was a beautiful sun rise, the various hues of orange and yellow in the sky was an amazing sight. Thought that the previous day's sun set was going to be the best moment of this ride, however, the sun rise had beaten that moment.

It took 10 minutes for everyone to re-group and then a small refreshments break as well which took a further 10 minutes. It was 6:30 am when we got going. The plan to get to Sira for breakfast had evaporated long back and now the plan was to get to Hiriyur for breakfast. Phaneesh took off and we could not keep pace with him. The rest of us rode steadily and then increased the pace as we got close to Hiriyur. Just as we reached Hiriyur, saw that Swamy, Prasad and Arvind had stopped for breakfast. We joined them, 8 of us at the restaurant, sharing stories about the ride while we ate.

When we restarted at 8:30 am from Hiriyur, Venky Sir and Rohit joined as well. A 10 member train on the highway seemed more like a tour party than a group riding a brevet. We stopped for a coconut water break after an hour and then it was a procession towards Sira. A small dash to get to the Coffee Day at Sira and we had made it at 10:20 am. Venky Sir, Satish, Rohit wanted to stop for a break at Coffee Day, the rest of us started from the Control Point.

The ride was getting difficult just before we got to Sira on account of the heat and the wind had picked up as well. Swamy, Prasad and Arvind were riding at the same pace and were together almost always. The rest of us were riding at different speeds which made it difficult to keep track of each other. There were intermittent breaks to regroup and resume. The remainning distance was below 100 kilometers, however, the thought that we had to get sufficient break after this event was rankling the mind.

The heat and wind took its toll and we made slow progress. The next 20 kilometers took over an hour and we were falling behind on the time front. We were riding at different speeds which disbanded the group. I got to VRL just before 1 pm and sped ahead so that the lunch stop could be taken at Tumkur which was a further 10 kilometers away. This backfired as Rajkumar and Raghu had a tough time to get to Tumkur to have lunch. Raghu had hurt his knee and was soldiering on despite the pain. Any advice to discontinue the ride to avoid further damage was not taken well and he was determined to complete the ride.

The lunch at Pavithra Thatte Idly hotel was not great. We resumed the ride at 3:00 pm. It was going to be a climb towards Dabbaspet and in a short distance we came across Abhiskek Priyadarshi who was also struggling with knee pain. Raghu and Abhishek synced up here as Rajkumar and I rode ahead. We caught up with Swamy, Prasad and Arvind near Dabbaspet as they had stopped for lunch. Getting past Dabbaspet increased the pace of the ride as we were in rolling terrain.

The heat and wind had played spoilsport in the morning and in the evening it was unexpected showers. Just as we were getting close to Nelamangala, there was a bout of heavy rain. However, the rain did not deter us and we used the opportunity of the reduced temperature to good effect as we raced into Nelamangala in heavy rain.

When the rain abated, we were at Nelamagala, and ran into a familiar deterrent from here..... traffic. Weaved our way past traffic and then made the most of the rolling terrain and then the small climbs towards Bangalore and made it to Kanteerava Stadium at 6:30 pm.

Quickly finished the end control formalities and headed home to catch up on rest. 8 kilometer ride home was not very easy as there was a lot of traffic and we must have spent about 3 kilometers pushing the cycle on the footpath to get back home. Freshening up, dinner and setting up the cycle for the next day took a little while and we were able to sleep only at 10:00 pm. The enormity of the task ahead had still not struck us and we were still in a rather casual mode as we were of the opinion that we had our bases covered.

Lepakshi (400 Kilometer Brevet):

Date: 3 November 2018

Total distance: 411 Kilometers

Start Time: 4:00 am 3 November 2018

Return Time: 6:10 am 4 November 2018

With: Various riders

Altitude Profile:

Kanteerava Stadium - Tumkur - Devaranyanadurga - Madhugiri - Penukonda - Lepakshi - Bagepalli - Kanteerava Stadium

It was an early start, 4:00 am. A few riders had been caught out by the start time as they had assumed that it was the regular 6:00 am start. BR had arranged for sandwiches for the riders to assist them through the morning hours. Effectively fuel to get us through the early morning ride.

It was a quick start and Raj was off again. It looked like he had not ridden the 600 BRM and was off quickly. However, the effects began to show after 30 minutes and the pace began to drop. It was a steady decline in pace till Dabbaspet which improved in the downhill after as we raced into Tumkur. We reached the first control point at Tumkur, took the slefie and started immediately. 66 kilometers were done in 2.75 hours. It was still under 7:00 am and things were under control.

We were going to be on interior roads from this point and I was looking forward to the forest section. A lot of riders had reached the control point at the same time, however, when we restarted there was a small gap to the riders in front and the ones behind us as well. In spite of having ridden the route in the previous year I made a huge mistake in not having read the route instructions before the start as I was confident that I knew the route.

In the next 4 kilometers we had to take a right, however, when I reached the junction I took a left. Rajkumar followed suit. I kept waiting for the forest area which did not arrive and by the time I realised my folly I had covered 5 kilometers. Saw that Swamy had realised that we had taken a wrong turn and had called, however, I did not hear the phone ring and had continued in the wrong route. Swamy had sent a couple of bikers to tell us that we were off route, the biker had caught up with Raj and informed him however, I was slightly ahead and realised my folly when I reached the Chitradurga highway. I turned back, caught up with Raj who had stopped a kilometer earlier and we made our way back to the junction. The 10 kilometer detour had cost us 30 minutes. More than the time it was the effort that I was worried about as this was a ride where we could not afford to expend additional energy. Its a 1,500 kilometer ride and 10 additional kilometers should not be an issue. However, this 30 minutes cost us a lot as we never really recovered from here as things kept getting worse for us.

We rode through the forest section steadily and made it to the Devarayanadurga entrance in reasonable time. However, the effect of the 30 minute detour was that it was going to hit us on the nutrition front as well as we tried to make up for the lost time we were restricted to eating snacks rather than a stop for proper breakfast. We came across Swamy, Prasad and Arvind who were on their way down from Devarayanadurga, and similarly on our way up we saw a lot of other riders who were making their way down.

It was time to focus on the ride and get back on track. We tried to make up time on the climb and pushed hard on the climb. I made it to the Devarayanadurga 10:30 am. Rajkumar came by in 10 minutes, however, he had hurt his thigh muscles in the process. At the time we hoped that he would recover and assumed that it was a cramp. We had decided not to stop for breakfast and would ride till lunch. We had a sandwich from the start point and split it to keep going.

The ride till Koratagere was rather quick, 24 kilometers covered in an hour and none of the effects of the cramp were showing up as yet. I rode ahead as we got closer to Madhugiri, we had caught up with Swamy, Prasad and Arvind and I was excited to have made up for the lost time. However, when I entered Madhugiri, noticed that Raj was not behind and stopped to wait for him. Raj came by in 20 minutes and was struggling with his leg. There was a marked loss of pace and struggle would be an understatement as he was in a lot of pain. He decided to keep riding and hoped that there would be a let up in the pain.

The next hour was a ride with intermittent breaks. We came across Swamy, Prasad and Arvind who were fixing a puncture. The village folk had gathered in the bus stop where the puncture was being fixed and it looked like a cycle workshop was in progress where fixing a puncture was being taught. We joined the session and doubled it up as a rest session as well. Shreyas caught up with us, but was late for the class and had to miss out on it ;)

We started slowly after fixing the puncture and by the time we picked up our pace we came across the familiar sight of Mohan Sir and Jins Paul waiting for us. It was earlier than I had expected and it was a pleasant surprise that they were stationed at the 150 kilometer mark. Further surprise was that Galin and group also came by, they had stopped for a rest and now it was huge gang of riders having lunch.

It was 12:00 pm and I gorged on the Pongal and Kesari Bath and in a way ate too much. The decision to not have breakfast had led to overeating at lunch. It was also spurred by the fact that I wanted to ride long after lunch and minimise the breaks.

It was 12:20 pm when we started after lunch. It was not long before the riders got past us and we were back to riding slow as Raj had not recovered sufficiently. The speed was down and we were averaging 16-17 kmph. The buffer that we had built in the early morning ride was being eaten into and further the buffer that we needed to get sufficient rest at the end was being wiped out. We made slow progress to the next control at Pavagada. It was 2:30 pm, 190 kilometers done, further 210 to be done.

Raj said that he was feeling better and decided to continue riding. Before reaching the control we had spoken about him stopping the ride so that he can get sufficient rest and recover for the 300 km ride. He decided to continue and we took the turn to Penukonda and came across the familiar sight of Swamy, Prasad and Arvind who were looking at snakes in a well. I'm not a fan of the slimy/wriggling creatures and was surprised that they had managed to spot the snakes in the first place. Shreyas came by as well and the six of us started riding. It was a slow ride as there were head winds in this section of the road.

There were intermittent breaks and the ride was very slow. The expectation at this point was that we would make up for the time lost when we got onto the highway and we could afford to take it a little slow in the interior roads. Mohan Sir and Jins were waiting for us just before Penukonda. It was 4:40 pm, we stopped for refreshments, a serving of pongal and kesari bath, butter milk, juice, an assortment. This was beginning to feel like a tour as we were in a very relaxed mind frame. 70 kilometers after lunch had taken 4 hours which had pushed us behind on the time front. Santosh Surendra reached a few minutes after us and it was again a big group of riders. Jins massaged Raj's leg and tried to keep him going till the end of this ride at least. He was apprehensive that it could be a muscle injury and that riding further might cause more damage. Raj was determined to complete the ride and did not want to stop. We started at 5:20 pm and were in and out of Penukonda rather quickly and made it to the highway at 5:40 pm.

170 kilometers remained and we had just over 13 hours to complete. The ideal time to ride these 170 kilometers would be 10 hours so that we could get some rest before the 300 kilometer ride, however, I was now looking at finishing the ride rather than finishing it with a buffer. Raj was struggling again and the pace had dropped. The light was fading and I told Swamy and group to ride ahead rather than waiting for us. If they could finish early, they might as well get the additional rest rather than waiting for us and losing out on precious time.

Swamy, Prasad, Arvind, Shreyas rode ahead. Santosh had fallen behind, Raj and I rode together. It was slow progress, however, Raj was soldiering on to complete the ride. It was dark in a short while and the reduced visibility was going to cost us a little on the time front as well. Knowing that the road condition from the highway to Lepakshi is not great, it was worrying that we were falling behind on time.

There were a few sections where the road slopes down which allowed us to make up a little time. We took the turn from the highway to Lepakshi, dark roads and roads which were not in great shape made us ride cautiously. We saw a few riders riding towards the highway and the inevtiable feeling of getting late kept the mind occupied. We reached Lepakshi at 8:30 pm. We headed to Haritha resort for dinner and saw that Swamy, Prasad, Arvind and Shreyas were having dinner. They had reached just 10 minutes before us. Santosh came by 10 minutes after us.

Fortunately for us, there was still a little food left at Haritha and we managed to have a plate of chapathis and curry I guess. Don't remember whether it was Chapathis or we had rice. Swamy and group started after they had finished dinner, we took a further 15 minutes to get started. Raj did a little stretching in the hope that it would relieve the pain in the legs and allow him to get to the end point.

Three of us started together from Lepakshi and decided to stick together till we get to the highway since the road is isolated and dark. It took us about 40 minutes to get to the highway and in a few kilometers Santosh stopped to catch a nap I guess. Raj and I kept going, although it was slow progress we were still making progress which was a positive rather than having to stop.

We crossed the border and got into Karnataka, back onto to familiar roads, however, with the injury to Raj it did not make a difference if we were on familiar roads or on interior roads, the pace was not going to increase. We had ridden 300 kilometers in approx 19 hours, just an hour buffer. We had to ride 100 kilometers in 8 hours to be able to complete the ride in time. It was 11 pm and sleep and hunger were going to decide whether we would be able to complete this ride.

We managed to cover 20 kilometers in the next hour before stopping for a rest stop. Almost 30 minutes spent in which we managed to get about a 15 minute sleep in before resuming the ride. Within a few kilometers we saw that Dinesh had stopped as he had a puncture and did not have a spare tube. Stopped to help him with the puncture before resuming. 70 kilometers remained with 6 hours in hand.

We rode a further 6 kilometers before stopping for refreshments. Saw a bakery which was open and headed in to refill water and have biscuits. 15 minutes later we were back on the saddle and heading towards Bangalore. We manged to negotiate the climbs near Chikkaballapur at a steady pace which helped on the time front.

The remaining ride was done with intermittent stops of 2-3 minutes to regroup. We took the left to go on the ring road and this part of the ride was rather irritating as we were so close to the finish but still had to ride round to get to the finish. A little waiting here as Raj was confused with the route and had assumed that he had reached KR Puram. We synced up near the KR Puram bridge and rode towards the Pass Through Control, a quick pic here and then rode towards the finish.

We reached the finish at 6:00 am. Just one hour remaining for the start of the 300 kilometer ride. We had managed to finish the 400 km ride, however, it was too close and we were looking at the prospect of having to ride the 300 kilometer without freshening up.

Mohan Sir was kind enough to offer his car for us to go home, freshen up and come back. We accepted gleefully and made our way home. Raj had decided to ride the 300 kilometer as he was feeling better and said that he had recovered from the injury and was not feeling any pain.

Horsley Hills (300 Kilometer Brevet):

Date: 4 November 2018

Total distance: 304 Kilometers

Start Time: 7:20 am 4 November 2018

Return Time: 2:53 am 5 November 2018

With: Various riders

Altitude Profile:

Kanteerava Stadium - Gownipalli - Horsley Hills - Kolar - Kanteerava Stadium

By the time we reached home it was 6:45 am. We knew that we would be making a late start, however, we freshened up as soon as we could and headed back to the start point. Mohan Sir was waiting for us, it was 7:20 am when we started the ride.

We had not had breakfast and the plan was to stop for breakfast near Hoskote so that we have sufficient fuel to get to the first control. We were not the only late starters, Santosh Surendra and Prakash Upadhyay also were late starters. However, they had opted to have breakfast at the start point rather than riding a little before stopping for breakfast.

We rode till Hoskote and stopped for breakfast at the Hoskote toll. Had a plate of idly vada which took about 30 minutes. The clock had ticked to 8:45 am. We had to ride 70 kilometers to the first control and we had 4 hours to do it. An average speed of 17.5 kmph to be maintained which effectively meant that unless we ride at 20 kmph we were not going to be able to take any breaks.

We had another issue to contend with, Raj's cycle was stuck in the smaller chain ring and would not shift into the big chain ring. We tried to tinker with it, however, were not able to figure out how to rectify it. We had to continue riding with what is available and Raj had the gear shifting to contend with along with his injury.

We rode 20 kilometers in the next hour on account of the easy gradient, however with the gradient and the wind picking up the pace began to drop and we were riding in the 15 kmph range. Raj was pretty much exhausted and wanted to take a break. We stopped for a coconut water break and hopped onto the saddle and hoped that Raj's speed would be back up. However, he was still struggling, however, he did not want to stop and continued pedaling. We were running into crunch time and were at risk of not making it to the control. Prakash and Santosh had gone ahead and we were the last riders on the road.

I tried to motivate Raj, however, he was unable to respond as he was in a lot of pain but was not stating it. He was determined to complete the ride and did not want to give up. I was hoping that the clock would tick a little slower. I was concerned about reaching the first control, however I was even more concerned about getting to the Horsley Hills control as this was getting too close. We would reach the first control with no buffer and would not have the time to stop for lunch as we had to climb to Horsley Hills.

When we crossed Chintamani we still had about 15 kilometers to get to the first control and had just an hour to do it. There was a head wind as well and our speed had dropped down to the 10-12 kmph range. The road conditions was patchy ahead and we were not going to make it to the first control. We had to decide if both of us should risk missing out on the control timing or only one should risk it. I decided to ride ahead and make it to the control in time. It was a very difficult decision to ride ahead and leave my ride partner behind, but it had to be done in order for one to complete the ride at least instead of both of us missing out.

I sped ahead, caught up with Santosh in a short while and the two of us rode quickly to the control. Both of us knew that it was crunch time and we had to keep the speed up to make it in time, and it was not only about making it to the control in time but to carry as much buffer as possible onto the next section of the route.

The road was not in great shape and we managed to negotiate our way past the bad stretches and reached the control at 12:25 am, 30 minutes before time, however, taking the pic and uploading on the group took 5 minutes. I waited for a few minutes to see if Raj would make it, however he did not come by and I had to start from the control to be able to make it to the next control.

Santosh and I started towards Gownipalli, I had ruled out a lunch stop and decided to ride on Coca Cola till the Horsley Hills base and would eat a little before starting the climb. We reached Gownipalli and refilled water and bought Coca Cola and started the ride. 100 kilometers done and the time was 12:50 pm. I checked on Raj and he said that he had made it to the control in time and was now resting. I knew that resting was not a luxury that he had, however, given his condition he needed that rest. I hoped that he would realise that the next section would be difficult and that it was better if he stopped the ride. However, there was no convincing him on this day and he was going to ride ahead.

When we crossed Gownipalli we were welcomed by bad roads. The next 18 kilometers took an 1 hour and 15 minutes. Getting to B Kothakota was a very slow process. I was relieved that I had reached B Kothakota and crossing town brought me onto good roads. Santosh had fallen behind a little. It was close to 2:00 pm and I was very hungry. There was no food options available, however, I came across an ice cream vendor in the village and stopped to buy a cone. Santosh passed by, I got back on the saddle and had the ice cream while I rode. It was a butterscotch cone, the next few kilometers were spent relishing the ice cream and not thinking about the road ahead.

Just as I finished the ice cream, Dipankar and Raju passed by on the opposite side on their way back, the first riders on the way back. Few more kilometers and I saw that Mohan Sir and Jins had set up the refreshment point at the base rather than at the top of the hill. The ice cream was working its magic and I was not hungry, I told Jins that I would eat on the way back as I was not hungry, I wanted to get to the top and make the control in time. Jins gave a couple of banana's and chocolates to help on the climb and I started the ride towards the start of the climb.

3:10 pm when I started the climb. I had 90 minutes to get to the top, just 8 kilometers to be ridden, however having taken 75 minutes on my previous attempt to get to the top on this hill I was still wary about making it in time. I was able to ride at a steady pace and started to catch up and go past a few riders on the climb. I did not stop for a break as I did not want to lose out on the momentum and the rhythm. Having done the climb previously helped a lot since I knew that the gradient lets up a little after 4 kilometers before kicking in again 2 kilometers from the top. 50 minutes later I was at the top, it was 4:00 pm and I had made it to the top with 36 minutes to spare. I did not want to waste any time and started the descent as soon as I clicked the pic at the top of the hill.

I made a fast descent, no stops for pics, 14 minutes I was at the base where I saw Raj had just reached and was about to start the climb. He had to ride 8 kilometers of the climb in 30 minutes, would have been possible on any other day for him, however, today it seemed like a lot. There was exhaustion written all over his face, however there was still a steely resolve to keep riding. I wished him the best and headed to the refreshment point. I had decided to wait at the refreshment point in case he makes it back in time.

I reached the refreshment point in a few minutes. Few riders were still there. I had not eaten any of the fruits or chocolates that Jins had given before the climb, the ice cream had served me well. I ate the fruits, followed by Puliyogare and sweet. As I was just about finishing, Swamy, Prasad and Arvind arrived at the refreshment point. They hadn't eaten as well. I waited in the hope that Raj would be able to make it in time and that we could ride together.

Riders came by and went past while we were still at the refreshment point. It was now 5:10 pm and there was still no sign of Raj. There were network issues on the hill and I couldn't get in touch with him as his phone was not reachable. I had to start from here as it was again crunch time to be able to make it to the control at Kolar. 82 kilometers to be ridden in 5 hours 30 minutes. Should be done easily, however, bring in bad roads, dinner break into the equation and it becomes a difficult job.

I started along with Swamy, Prasad, Arvind and Santosh. We chatted as we rode towards Kothakota. It was a beautiful sun set, however there were worrying signs as we looked up. Dark clouds hovered above us, we did not need this ride to be getting even more difficult than it already was. We reached Kothakota, as we crossed town it was getting dark and we had a few drops of rain. I stopped to pack my phone into the plastic cover and started the ride. Having had rains on the 600 kilometer ride and since the shoes had not dried, I had worn sandals for this ride. A little bit of luck as I did not have to worry about the feet getting soggy after the rain.

In a few minutes there was a heavy downpour. It was a combination of bad roads, heavy rain and low visibility as we were on interior roads. Couldn't stop riding and rode slowly. I was riding alone as the remaining riders had fallen behind. The downpour lasted about 15 minutes, but it was sufficient to get me drenched. I stopped after the rain and took off my socks before resuming the ride. Swamy, Prasad and Arvind caught up and we rode together for the rest of the ride. We chatted a lot during the ride, the pace was not great, however it was the best that we could do given the circumstances, bad roads, water filled pot holes and a squeaky chain. Stopped at the junction after Gownipalli to lube the chain and then rode to Srinivaspura.

It was 8:40 pm when we reached Srinivaspura. Kolar was a further 27 kilometers away and we had to stop for food. Fortunately we found a vendor selling dosa's on his cart and this was probably the only one available at Srinivaspura. We ate dosa's and just when Prasad was getting ready to catch a nap, we persuaded him to keep riding and make it to the Kolar control before we stop to rest.

We started from Srinivaspura at 9:10 pm. 27 kilometers to be ridden and we had just over 1 and a half hours to do it. We rode at a steady pace and did not ride hard. We were about 10 kilometers from Kolar when we caught up with Santosh. He was his usual calm self and was riding serenely through the night. We rode together to Kolar and reached the Control Point in time. We headed out of Kolar and found a closed shop premises to sleep for a while.

It was 11:30 pm when we started after the stop. We lost a few minutes as I had misplaced my goggles and could not find it. Did not want to waste further time searching for it and we started the ride. We had to ride 60 kilometers and had 3.5 hours to do it. Looked a little difficult as I very sleepy after the sleep break and did not find the going easy when we restarted after the break.

We just about managed to ride at 19 kmph for the next couple of hours. It was just about sufficient to keep the asking rate at 20 kmph. A number which I was not too keen on increasing. Santosh had ridden ahead and had taken a sleep break a few kilometers after us. As we closed in on Bangalore he caught up with us and the 5 of us were the last riders remaining on the road.

The closer we got to Bangalore, the sleepier I was. The kilometers were not coming down quickly. Prasad wanted to stop for a tea when we reached Hoskote, I took the opportunity to catch a quick nap. 15 minutes spent sleeping before being woken up by Swamy. We had to ride 20 kilometers and had 75 minutes for it. Early morning hours and no traffic to worry about, on any other day this would have been an easy task, however on this day it was an uneasy equation. Neither too difficult nor too easy, which made me take it easy when we restarted the ride. I was slow off the blocks and was in a bit of a rut as far as my riding was concerned. I woke up when Swamy told me that I was riding very slow and that we had to increase my pace. After that we started sprinting on the flyovers and were making good time until we were impeded to an extent by a drunk youth on his bike. He was looking at crashing into us, a few minutes spent to stay away from him and then with no option of wasting any further time we had to take the risk of riding ahead of him and hoping that he wouldn't crash into us. Fortunately for us, he went on his way and did no harm to us.

Got past the KR Puram bridge and rode through the well lit streets of Bangalore to make it to Kanteerava stadium with 7 minutes to spare. Santosh came by in 2 minutes. We had run the clock very close, however, were still in the game to complete the SR5.

I checked on Rajkumar and he was still 2 hours out and said that he would finish the ride. I requested Swamy to give me a wake up call and headed back home to freshen up and catch a few minutes of sleep.

Chintamani (200 Kilometer Brevet):

Date: 5 November 2018

Total distance: 207 Kilometers

Start Time: 6:11 am 5 November 2018

Return Time: 5:00 pm 5 November 2018

With: Various riders

Altitude Profile:

Kanteerava Stadium - Kolar - Chintamani - Chikkaballapur - Kanteerava Stadium

I got back home, freshened up and went to bed around 4:30 am. I set the alarm for 5:00 am before sleeping. I woke up to the phone ringing and familiar voice of Swamy telling me to wake up. I had missed the alarm again and fortunately for me Swamy called and I was up. The SR5 would have been incomplete if not for this wake up call. I knew that it was going to be another late start for me. Informed Mohan Sir that I was on my way and would reach late to the start point.

I reached the start point at 6:10 am. Rajkumar meanwhile had finished the 300 kilometer ride 2 hours late and had started the 200 km ride as well. Although I was carrying a change of clothes for him, I was surprised that he was doing the 200 km ride.

Was back onto the Old Madras road, was only doing it in the opposite direction. The shower and the 45 minute sleep along with day light had woken me up. It was now only a matter of getting through the next 10 hours. I was wary about the traffic situation at Hebbal and did not want to reach Hebbal under time pressure.

It did not take long before I started catching up with the riders ahead. It was a good sight to see riders ahead after the experience in the 300 kilometer ride where I was amongst riders only at the Horsley hills climb, before that the riders could be counted on my finger tips.

I was nearing Hoskote when I caught up with Rajkumar. He looked exhausted, however, he was still riding. Unfortunately within a couple of minutes of catching up with him, he had a puncture. A nail had pierced the tire and we got down to fixing the puncture. The exhaustion was coming to the fore here when both of us could not remove the tire from the wheel. It took some time to get the tire off and then replace the tube. We got back on the road in 20 minutes, however, Rajkumar was not looking good at all. I told him that it would be very risky if he continued to ride, not immediately, however, getting back to Bangalore from Chikkaballapur with a lot of traffic would make it very risky and that it would be better for him to stop riding. He was willing to listen at this juncture and said that he was very sleepy and tired. He decided to stop, although it was a tough decision, in hind sight I guess it was better to call off the ride rather than to risk getting through it. I rode ahead, although I was disappointed that Raj could not complete, I was relieved that he was not putting himself under high risk.

A few kilometers from Hoskote, the wind picked up and it was a head wind. An unwelcome element especially after having lost 30 minutes to the puncture, it was going to make getting to the first control at Kolar a difficult task. I did not have the luxury to stop for breakfast and had to ride non-stop to Kolar. It was a job which was made a little easy as I passed a lot of riders en route and was able to converse with few of them to keep my spirits up. Swamy, Prasad and Arvind were passed and then Chetan of Cadence 90, Sridhar Rao, all of them pushing me to keep going. I reached Kolar at 9:30 am, took the selfie at the control point and got into the road towards Srinivaspura.

There was no stopping for breakfast and I stopped at a shop to buy banana's and murukku to keep me going. The plan was to eat while on the saddle, the banana's were raw and the murukku was very spicy which did not help on the nutrition front as I was not able to eat either. I was on interior roads and was enjoying the respite from the open highway and distracted my mind from the hunger with the sights that the location had to offer. This is the first time that I was riding this stretch in daylight.

I reached Srinivaspura at 11:00 am. 92 kilometers done and 108 to go, I stopped at a bakery to refill water and buy a bottle of coca cola. Bhaskar Pandeti was at the shop as well and spent the next few kilometers riding with him. Hats off to him to have recovered from a horror crash on the previous brevet and was back to riding in brevets.

The road from Srinivaspura to Chintamani was in good shape and riding on it was easy. Further with Chintamani just 20 kilometers away it was easy to keep going. Having a lot of riders on this ride meant that I was coming across riders every few kilometers. I met Nilesh Kumar just before entering Chintamani town and had a nice chat with him by which time we had crossed Chintamani town and were heading towards the manned control point. Few more kilometers and I was with Robert Kingsley, the single speed king, he was going strong and was on course to finish the SR5 on single speed. Having riders every few kilometers helped a lot and before long I was pulling up at the manned control point and had the familiar radiant faces of Jins Paul and Mohan Sir welcoming us to the control. Bisi Bele Bath was on offer along with banana, juice and chocolates. I had my fill before resuming the ride.

Just 80 kilometers remained and I had just under 7 hours to complete it. Time was not an issue anymore as long as I could keep sleep at bay. I had lost momentum after the lunch stop at the control point and was riding slowly. Tiredness was catching up in the afternoon Sun. I was beginning to labour and opted to stop for a coconut water break. I was joined by Nilesh Kumar during the break. We resumed after the break and rode towards Chikkaballapur. The coconut water break did not rejuvenate me sufficiently and I was still struggling to ride at pace. I managed to ride till Chikkaballapur and took the pic at the control point, headed out of Chikkaballapur and stopped at a restaurant as soon as we were on the highway.

I took a 15 minute nap here before we started riding again. I was slow off the blocks again and I was stuck in a rut (similar to the previous night). I told Nilesh that I had to increase the pace lest I get sleepy again and sped ahead in the hope that it would wake me up. It sure did, I was able to ride quickly and finally the kilometers were coming down quickly. Reaching the Nandi Hills turn brought me onto familiar roads and riding from here was easy. Set small targets and every time I knocked off a target it was a wake up shot and I was able to keep going further.

Before long I was at the Hebbal flyover and managed to ride past without getting frustrated with the traffic as I had sufficient time. The ride from Hebbal to Kanteerava stadium was again through traffic filled roads, however, the mind was at ease as there was no time pressure and I was able to have a relaxed ride to the end control.

Mohan Sir and Jins were at the end control and welcomed me to the finish and congratulated on completing the SR5 ride.

Summary of the SR5 rides:

Date	Route	Distance (Kms)	Ride Time (hrs)	Total Time (hrs)	Departure Time	Arrival Time	Elevation (Mtrs)
1 Nov 18	Ranebennur	620	26.75	36.75	6:00	18:45	5,870
	Rest Time			9.25
3 Nov 18	Devarayanadurga - Lepakshi	411	21.00	26.25	4:00	6:15	3,764
	Rest Time			1.00
4 Nov 18	Horsley Hills	304	16.75	19.75	7:15	3:00	2,959
	Rest Time			3.00
5 Nov 18	Chintamani	207	9.25	10.75	6:15	17:00	1,387
	Total	1,542	73.75	106.75			13,980

Of the 26 riders that attempted the SR5 ride, 12 of us were successful in completing it. Now that the ride was done it was celebration time and Bangalore Randonneurs had organised a felicitation ceremony for us.

Although I was able to complete the SR5, I was not happy nor relieved at completing the ride and was rather disappointed that Raj could not complete the SR5. One wrong turn, 10 additional kilometers is all that it took to derail the ride for us, it was a bitter pill to swallow. In hind sight there were a lot of things that I would have done differently, however, I knew that if there was one thing that I could undo on this ride it was the wrong turn that I had taken. The price for the error was too steep.

Other than the error in navigation there were a couple of other critical moments for me on this ride, which were Mohan Sir offering his car which helped to freshen up before the 300 and also the wake up call from Swamy before the 200. 

Bangalore Randonneurs have done a fantastic job in organising this event. They have pulled off another event superbly and all the while with a smile on their face. Just the sight of them was an energy booster on this ride. It can't be said that they are organising cycle rides and "creating experiences" for riders would suit them better.

Congratulations to all the riders who earned the title of Super Randonneur in 5 days. Hard luck to the ones who missed out. Thank you to all the riders who were part of this ride, everyone of you'll were a motivation and kept me going through this ride.