PeDlLiNg bACk HomE

Prologue

It was 11^th Jan 2011 that I got my new partner for life on a very special day! Brand new Trek 3500. While waiting for my bike to be assembled, I just had a look at the numerous cycling routes around Bangalore. And that’s exactly when an idea triggered in my mind! Can I actually ride my cycle to home? Is it really doable? Is it realistic? And what not! At that time, I just kept my thought in one corner of my mind so that I can take it up a little later.  

I started to use my cycle for daily commuting to office and later on, it extended to small jolly rides too. It was in Jan 2013, that I realized we have continuous holiday from 1^st Nov to 4^th Nov. And soon after this realization, I dug out my mind to get the idea of riding my cycle home. Quickly went through Google maps and it somehow looked realistic. Googled for a while only to find that there are freaks who has done similar rides or even more. 

Wow! What else can be blissful than this? Made up my mind that in first week of Nov 2013, I will be riding my Trek 3500 home and I have to get fitness for the same. As a startup, did a ride to Kamath Lokaruchi in Mysore Road and that came up to 98 Kms in total, followed by Manchanabele Dam, Savanadurga ride which again came up to 100 Kms from home to home. 

Sometime later, Srini invited me for a ride along with Hemanth. At the last moment, Srini had to dropout and it was only me & Hemanth who did a ride to Mysore Road Coffee Day which came up to 126 Kms. In this ride, I told Hemanth that I have a plan to ride my cycle to Udupi and in response; he said he has a plan to ride Dharmastala. After a little of discussion, we agreed to ride together and since then, it was combined practice for the big ride. In the very next week, we both rode to Nandi Hills and this time, it was 136 Kms. As the distance was increasing, our confidence was increasing tooJ. As a last practice ride, we did Bangalore-Mandya-Bangalore and the total distance we covered was 209 Kms. With this ride, I was pretty confident that I can hit 200+ Kms in a dayJ. 

On the other hand, I expressed my idea & desire of riding cycle home to few of my friends and the response that I got was plenty like OMG!, What nonsense are you talking?, Are you normal? Etc. Out of the verity of response I got, best one was from one of my friend who said, 

“Next year you go home running!” Oh man! Did I have to hear that? 

But who cares? I just wanted to do something that I had dreamt of doing. So, here is how it took off….

Day-1 | 01-Nov-2013 | Bangalore – Sakleshpur

It was 2:45 AM that my alarm started to wake me up when entire Bangalore was still in deep sleep. Got out of bed without much of trouble might be I was pretty excited about the ride ahead, got fresh, had a glass of milk mixed with honey swapping through few of the music channels. I had packed my bag, oiled the chain, filled the air etc on previous day itself and I dint had much of a work except being on the saddle itselfJ.

“Krishna avare, Naanu Kidney foundation hatra bandidini (Krishna, I have come near Kidney foundation)” Hemanth said as I was waiting for his call.

“Alright then! It’s time to start the big day!” I said to myself locking the door & getting my bike down from stairs. It was sharp 4:00 AM when I got on the saddle after a click.

All set at 4 AM 

We took Outer ring road to reach Tumkur road and we both were aware that at any cost, we can’t get aggressive at any point. With this mind set, we rode pretty slow dealing with lot of dust from the trucks and what not! Also, we had decided earlier that, our destination for the day will be Hassan and if time permits, we would decide based on our condition. After a nature call break, we crossed Nelamangala at 5:50 AM and now we were in 4-lane smooth NH 48 towards Hassan. It was already more than 2 hrs on the saddle but still we were pretty energetic and were in a mind set to cover as much as possible before it gets sunny. 

Initial few Kms were horrible with wind blocking our speed completely. I was wondering if this is the case, then how shall we reach Hassan? But soon it was alright and we could keep the good speed of 25-30 Kms/Hr. Our first break came after around 48 Kms on the saddle. It was after Solur that I stopped to capture sunrise snap with our machines on the foreground.

Sunrise Shot

After pouring in some water and stretching our legs, we were back on road without wasting much of a time. Early morning mist accompanied us for quite a long with pleasant sun rays and it was around 70 odd Kms in odo when we took an exit from NH to enter Kunigal city for breakfast at 7:45 AM.

We started looking for a restaurant where we can eat sitting outside so that we can have a look at our cycles. But we hardly got any such hotel and at last had to manage with whatever we came across. After locking the cycles to nearby pole, we settled in a table and when I took my mobile to message & call loved ones, it was switched off! Shit man! I had charged it completely previous night. How can it happen suddenly? Ordered Masala Dosa and started to repair my mobile with whatever little knowledge I had but all the effort went in vainL. Grabbed roasted Dosa followed by a cup of coffee and was resting for a while and Hemanth got engaged in a call. I requested him for few calls so that I can inform my close ones about the status and soon after that we were getting ready to be on saddle again!

Machines resting during Breakfast! 

“Yestagutte saar ee cycle ge? (Sir, how much does this cycle cost?)” Asked a man on bike with his kid settled over bike tank. 

“Eeppattu saavira (twenty thousand)” I replied while getting on the saddle and fixing the speedo meter.

“Yellinda bandiddu? (Where you came from?)” 

“Bangalore!” 

“Munde yellige? (Where are you going ahead?)”

“Hassan!”
We got back on road by 8:30 AM and it was pretty sunny by then. Hemanth still on a call, took it little slow and I was just keeping the pace with him till we reached back NH. In 15 Mins, we got back on smooth 4-Lane highway and back to the speed run J. I do not know if it is cause of festive season or something else, but Hassan NH was just like city traffic. Damn! So much private vehicles plying around. Added to that were most of the local guys waving their hand and asking us about where we came from, where are we going ahead, why are we going in cycle and so on. I wonder where they keep such curious questions in their mind. 

We were riding at good speed when a Duster overtook us with a cycle tied to it. Soon after he overtook us, he stopped waiting for us to crossover him. 

“Where you guys are heading to?” He screamed on top of his voice. 

“Mangalore!” I screamed with whatever energy I had. He drove over with thumps up signal. 

By now, it was over 10 AM and was damn hot. But thankfully it wasn’t too windy in which case it would have cut down our speed too. Hemanth was feeling pain in his right knee and I could see the worry clearly in his face. 

“Urgent beda! Aaramnalli hoguva! (Let’s not hurry! Let’s take it easy)” I told him when we stopped for a break for 10 Mins.

Burning sun rays with smooth road ahead :(

Got back on saddle and continued our expedition ahead with music on my ears. Even though it was hot, we could maintain decent speed. Quite a lot of Royal Enfield bikers passed over us waving us ‘All the best! Happy riding!’. While nearing Hirisave, 

“Yellinda hortri? (Where did you start from?)” A local guy in his bike asked me while moving! 

“Bangalore!” I replied against my wish!

“Yestu gantege hortri? (What time did you leave?)”

“Naalku gantege! (4 O’clock)” I responded thinking if he is from BBC that he is taking our interview!

Damn! In an effort to answer his questions, I lost balance and had to get down from road. It might sound really silly but for a cyclist, its pain to get down from road and get back again as the difference in the surface will directly hit your bumsL.

“Sir! Lemon juice idiya? (Sir! Do you have Lemon juice?)” We enquired a local juice shop in Hirisave as we badly wanted one for our dried up throat.

He pointed to a shop in opposite side of the road.  We went there, parked our bikes and ordered juice unloading our bags from back. In no time, few local guys gathered and started their discussion about our bikes but we stayed a little away since we were in no mood to respond to them as we had already seen enough of it!

After resting for a while, we continued our ride ahead slowly munching miles. Many people in their comfortable cars slowed down asking us where we are heading too etc. added to that, few even started guessing our destination!

“Dharmastala ka? (Going to Dharmastala?)” With their head out like a well trained puppyJ.

I was constantly looking at sky in hope of some clouds so that we do not have to ride under direct sunlight. But I could hardly find any clouds that can come in favor of usL. We took a bypass to Channarayapatna and kept on riding in NH without entering the township. In this stretch, we came across gradual uphill ride for long distance and I was wondering how long should I ride like this? Bad part of the uphill ride is your speed is completely cut down to around 10 Kms/Hr and in this speed it takes very long time to get over an uphillL. Hemanth had ridden little fast and I was riding much behind him with few breaks for photo. I badly wanted to take a break but continued thinking that it is good to take break together instead of he riding ahead and waiting for me.

After a long uphill ride, I could see Hemanth parked his cycle on right side of the road beside some small shop. I thanked him in myself and stopped over only to see that he had ordered cucumber to keep ourselves coolJ. We had cucumber followed by Sapota. In the due time, a Sumo stopped at the same shop and guys came out for tender coconut.

“Yellinda bandiddu? (Where did you come from?)” One hefty guy asked with his looks matching to south villain.

“Bangalore!” We replied.

“Yestu hottige hortri? (What time did you start?)”

“Bellige naalku gantege (4 O’Clock in the morning)”

“Yestu ee cycle ge? (How much do these cycles cost?)”

“Eppattu saavira! (Twenty thousand)”

“Yappa! Antadu yen ide idaralli? (Oh! What’s so special in this?)”

“You buy one and you will get to know!” Is what I wanted to reply but dint as I badly wanted to cut down the discussion!

Bypassing Channarayapatna

They were badly needed :)

With the sun right on top of our head, we continued the ride and our next stop came after Channarayapatna in Kamath Upachar for lunch. It was 1:30 PM by then as we had planned to rest for a while since it’s too sunny at this time. Locked our bikes to nearby wooden stool, and went in only to see that it was completely packed like a street market.

 

Requested Hemanth for his phone so that I can update the status of the ride and he took in charge of booking a table for us. After a long wait of around 20 Mins, we got a lunch table and had nice south Indian unlimited meals. After lunch, Hemanth slept for some time and even I tried to sleep under a shadow but it went in vain! All thanks to fliesL. After a good break for 40 Mins, filled our water bottles and were back on road ahead to Hassan which was around 30+ Kms.

Securing cycles against whatever we get :P

This patch of ride to Hassan was quite exciting might be due to the long break we had taken after lunch. Crossed Hassan city by pass and took butt break in a bus stop. Mean while I filled a pack of Electrol to water so that it can hydrate my body.

Looking strong for the miles to come

Landscape around

With the lot of energy and time left, we decided to reach Sakleshpur for the day and got back on saddle by 5:15 PM. But little did we know that the road ahead will be 2-lane with lot of traffic plying on either side. Most of all the steep incline and decline took a toll on our ride. Added to that was it started getting dark in no time. With all these worries in mind, I tried to ride a little hard only to feel heavy pain in my right knee L. It was paining so much that I could hardly use my right leg to peddle. I wanted to stop badly and screamed Hemanth to stop who was riding right ahead of me!

“Neevu nilsoke helliddu olledaytu. Nangu tumba novu agta ide. (It was good you told me to stop. Even I am feeling a lot of pain)” Hemanth said with the pain clearly visible in his face.

We were hardly in a shape to get down from saddle and stand on our own legs. It was just 20 Kms from Hassan and we still had around 20 + Kms ahead. We put our bikes to side, slept on a lawn beside the road for a while. After resting for around 10 Mins, I had one of the two Apples I had carried and we got back on road with no option left in middle of nowhere L.

Hassan-Sakleshpur stretch in dark :(

 

It was pitch dark by now and high beam lights from opposite direction vehicles made zero visibility to the road ahead. And road was not that smooth to ride too. With all these trouble, we gave another break for tea and water on a road side shop. Once again, localities gathered around our bikes and started playing with my head light, shifting gears etc. Hemanth warned them not to change the gear since it has to be done only when one the move.

Rode ahead but this time, very slow in an effort not to stress our painful legs checking various options for stay and reached Sakleshpur Township by 8:00 PM.

“Onte mella pole aava! (Go little slow ok!)” A guy said in Tulu overtaking me in his Maruti Omni. I guess he thought I am unaware of the language.

“Aavu ye! Yenkalegu daala urgent ijji! (Ok! We are not in a hurry!)” I replied with full excitement. They got shocked on my response, waved me bye and drove ahead.

We reached Gandharva lodge by 8:15 PM and on enquiry, lodge supervisor told us that our bikes will be put inside the shutter beside and locked. Got in the room, I put my mobile for charging hoping that it is a battery problem and guess what! It started to work. Wow! Now I was pretty relaxed. But hardly could move my right leg L.

Took bath, informed family and friends, had dinner in room itself and crashed in no time with pain killer sprayed on my right knee. It was a long day ride we had and since we had covered a good additional distance till Sakleshpur, we decided to start tomorrow only after it is bright since tomorrow’s ride would consist of Ghats with hardly any roads.

Days Distance              è 226.85 Kms

Riding Time                  è 10 Hrs 45 Mins

Day-2 | 02-Nov-2013 | Sakleshpur – Mangalore

“Hegide Kaalu novu? (How is the leg pain?)” I asked Hemanth before even I could open my eyes after alarm rang at 5:30 AM.

“Innu ide swalpa. Needana hodiyona ivattu! (Little is there. Let’s ride slow today!)” Voice came out under the blanket.

I woke up and realized that there is a little pain even in my right knee while I walked to toilet. However stressful our legs were, we had to move on and for Hemanth it was just about 80 Kms for the day. But for me, it was around 130+ KmsL.

We got fresh, packed our bags and most importantly applied Iodex to our paining legs that I was carrying. It was 6:45 AM when our bikes came out from shutter and we got on our respective saddles.

All set to go!

From our previous days ride, we had suspected that leg pain might be due to continuous gear change and that’s something which needs to be reduced in order to get rid of this irritating pain. So, today, irrespective of incline or decline, I managed to ride steadily without much of gear change. After initial few Kms, came across a smooth downhill where I did not even peddle for about 3-4 Kms and it was as if I am flying in sky.

Day's ride was to go thru twisties :)

But to my bad luck, soon after that downhill, I had to ride 1.7 Kms uphill. Shit man! It took the hell out of me. But thankfully, it did not stress out my right leg.

Soon after this stressful uphill, we came across continuous downhill for miles together but where is the pleasure when there are no roads at all. The complete Ghat section is brutally in bad shape! Since we were cyclists, we managed to get away with most of the bad patches through narrow good patch on one side of the road. The road was so bad that our hands and shoulders started to pain in vibration. With few photo breaks, we reached Gundya for breakfast by 8:50 AM. 40+ kms in 2 hours with full of bad roads was good progress for the day I thought.

Can you see the uphill behind?

Looking relaxed after an uphill of 1.7 Kms

Somewhere in midst of Western Ghats :)

Luckily, the pain in my right knee was almost gone and it was reduced for Hemanth too J. Now we were pretty confident that it is doable for us. Grabbed Set Dosa, half Lemon rice and Coffee and we could feel the coastal humid weather effecting us.

“Innu yeradu Km road heege! Matte tumba olleduntu munde. (Another 2 Km road is like this! After that it’s super.)” Was the response from servant when Hemanth asked him about road conditions ahead.

As a precautionary step against my mobile battery getting dried up searching for signal, I had switched it off today. We got back on the saddle by 9:30 AM when localities were curiously looking at our machines and road condition was as said by the servant. After initial 3-4 Kms, it turned out to be smooth awesome road but heat was hitting us very badly L.

Breakfast time :)

Hemanth stopped after riding for almost an hour for Lemon juice and we had 2 glasses of them each. While getting back on the road, I felt that my rear tire pressure is very less. Soon called Hemanth who was riding right ahead of me and we realized that there is surely a puncture. But thankfully the air was getting leaked very slowly. We filled the air with the tiny pump we were carrying and continued the ride and next stop was at Dharmastala junction.

Oh Yeah! We wanted lemon juice at any cost :)

After about 30+ hours of journey together, we had to take our respective route to reach our destinations. With a photo click, I bid bye to Hemanth and continued on NH-48 towards Mangalore.

Good bye buddy :)

Sun was very harsh by now and added to that was pathetic humid climate. Mercifully, road was butter smooth because of which I managed to munch miles pretty fast and reach Uppinangadi by 12:20 PM and broke out for lunch.

While I was tying my bike to a fence nearby, a guy came to me,

“Yellinda bandaddu? (Where did you come from?)”

“Bangalore!”

“Yavaga shuru madidri? (When did you start?)”

“Nenne beligge naalku gantege! (Yesterday morning at 4)”

He kept on asking questions till I tied my bike and finally I said,

“Oota mugisi bartene aayta? (Will have lunch and come ok?)” And got in a restaurant which I knew from my previous visits.

Settled in a table and removed my Helmet, gloves, bag etc to wash my face and hand before lunch. Kids in restaurant were starting at me as if I have come from another planet J. Had South Indian meals followed by Lime juice to hydrate myself. I was sure that my rear tire air pressure would have gone by now and I have to refill it. My idea was that I will refill it whenever required and complete the days ride to Mangalore. Once I reach there I would get the puncture fixed.

While cleaning the table, a kid asked me,

“Adu yenta? Mobile aa? (What is that? Mobile?)” Pointing to my speedo meter.

“Idu mobile aadre adu yenta? (If this is mobile, then what is that?)” I replied to pointing to my mobile.

He laughed looking at me and I came out making his confusions clear. Decided to rest for a while and then would move ahead refilling the air in my pump. While resting, a nearby fruit seller poured his share of questions in Tulu. While refilling the air, in an attempt to fill it fast, I broke the handle of my air pump. Shit man! What’s happening? I checked the air pressure and it was pretty ok for now but not for very long. I made up my mind to stop and get it fixed in next puncture shop and road ahead.

Can you see the butter smooth road that I left behind?

Riding adjacent to river near Uppinangadi :)

Coastal vista!

Lunch break! Can you see the very less rear wheel air pressure?

 

Burning sun and humid weather started to take toll over me L. I started to feel dehydrated completely and was wondering what to do now since I cannot even stop just like that. While on the go, enquired in one shop about tire puncture and he replied ‘No’ waving his hand. With no option left, rode ahead and enquired in another shop and he nodded his head. Thank god! I said and took my cycle up and kept in his shop.

Settled in a chair, unloaded my bag, took out an Electrol packet, poured to my bottle and finished about 700 ml of it. Before even they could ask anything about the ride, I told them every detail J. Electrol energy effect I thought for a while that I was speaking so much J. Meanwhile, he finished his lunch and I explained him the issue with rear tire.

There was another middle aged man sitting in chair and he asks me,

“Yella sari! Aa gaati yalli hege bandri? Road onchuru sari illa alli…. (Everything is fine! How did you manage to come in that Ghat section? Road is pathetic out there….)”

“Adakke tire puncture adaddu (That’s why tire got punctured)” I replied smiling.

He made out that I badly wanted water and asked me if I want cold water. Now who will reject the offer?

“Idre togondu banni please (If it is there, then please get it)” I said drinking Electrol water in my bottle.

Puncture guy fixed the puncture and I was back on the road paying him 30 Rs which he demanded.

Fixing the Puncture :)

I do not know how, I was pretty energetic by now and rode pretty fast in spite of sun dancing over my head. Might be I was confident and tension free with tire puncture issue now I concluded. Crossed Bantwal and gave my last butt break just before 15 Kms to Mangalore. Bought a liter of water and it went inside my body before even I could realize it.

Mighty Netravati only half filled :(

On footpath! Best part of cycling isn't it?

Can you see it? Just 17 for the day & 72 for home sweet home :D

Finally, it was 4:40 PM when I crossed over pumpwell circle. Man o man! Did I actually reach Mangalore in my cycle? Guess what? I did Bangalore-Mangalore in 36 Hrs, 40 Mins. Pretty fast I said to myself and road straight to Mangala stadium dealing with few uphills.

Welcomed by Mangalore :)

 

Manoj was waiting for me with one of his friend. He asked me,

“How come cycling from Bangalore when there are better options to commute?”

“Fitness is the mantra when turning 30” I said panting badly.

 Manoj offered me Chikki and I had most of them without any hesitation. Soon after that I followed Manoj to his home and was welcomed by his family. Meanwhile his dad came and was shocked that I came in cycle all the way from Bangalore.

“Now! Don’t tell me to come running next time uncle” I joked in Tulu.

“Given a chance, am sure you will do it” he replied patting my back.

After some time being spent on chatting followed by Diwali sweets and Coffee, we went to my brother’s place in Pandeshwar. Again I followed Manoj in his car since it was raining and I was on my rain gear. Reached brother’s place by 7:15 PM, got fresh and watch India vs Australia last ODI lying in Sofa with a glass of Pepsi that bro had kept for me. Had dinner in Pallakhi which ended up with Jamoon with Ice Cream. Manoj dropped me back home and I crashed by 11:00 PM recollecting the stressful ride in Ghats. Oh Boy! Tomorrow its home sweet home.

Days Distance             è 137.1 Kms

Riding Time                 è 7 Hrs 11 Mins

Day-3 | 03-Nov-2013 | Mangalore – Udupi

I had decided to reach home before it gets hot and in that effort, woke up by 5:00 AM and was on saddle by 5:45 AM. Dealing with steep climb near Jyothi circle, was on road towards Udupi. I was pretty excited that I am very close to home and was riding in good speed. But to my bad luck, from nowhere, 2 dogs came running towards me which made me stop my cycle cutting down all the speed that I had gained.

Passing through Bykampadi Industrial area

Ride till Surathkal was blissful without any sun rays and not much of a traffic. I was easily able to manage 25-30 Kms speed and gave my first break at Surathkal beach by 6:50 AM after a small detour from NH. Beach welcomed me with its freshness and charm which took away my stress in no time. Had another apple, took few photos and got back on saddle so that I can reach home soon. Road was a mixture of good and bad since 4-Lane road work was under progress. But this din’t stop me from maintaining a decent speed. And the best part was, unlike previous days rides, there were hardly any uphill to ride on or I dint observe it might be due to the excitement filled in me I thought. Since few stretches were still in 2-Lane, I had to deal with traffic on both sides with buses overtaking recklessly.

Rode non-stop for 30 odd Kms and took my last butt break after Pangala when Udupi was just 10 Kms ahead J. Continued the ride taking few photos and reached my home by 9:15 AM.

Surathkal beach early morning :)

Yeah! Why not I pose for the click?

Mom and dad were unaware that I would be coming in cycle and when they saw me in cycle,………..

Entrance to Udupi with road work in progress :)

OMG! I did it. Yuppeeeee :D

That's the total Kms of the trip :)

Isn't that a good average for the trip? ;)

Yeah! That's the maximum speed (Of course on a downhill)

Days Distance             è 62.17 Kms

Riding Time                 è 2 Hrs 56 Mins

Epilogue

Is this a dream or something that I really did in this life? Riding 426 Kms in cycle wasn’t any joke after all. And I did it just like that. What the heck? After all, what did I achieve doing this wasting 3 days of my vacation is what many people might think at once. But I can only feel the accomplishment of achieving this in my life and I really have no words to express it. After all, the best things in life are to be felt and not expressed. And for me, this is one such feeling.

By completing this ride, I was sure of one thing. I am physically fit. Months of training and exercise, many practice rides, many days of sleepless thoughts had paid off at the end. And to end it all, my last 3 years was something really special in my life.

2011 Ø Had a lifetime solo ride to Ladakh and back in 53 days.

2012 Ø Had ridden my Sis-in-law’s scooty streak to Mangalore from Bangalore in 12 Hrs.

2013 Ø Completed and outstanding Cycle ride to Udupi from Bangalore.

I closed my eye shutter and went back in search of a place where I can take my cycle next time.

So,……..

Route Map

Route Map!

Statistics

Total Distance             è 426.12 Kms

Total Riding Time       è 20 Hrs 52 Mins

Average Speed            è 20.41 Kms/Hr

Maximum Speed         è 51.72 Kms/Hr (Of course on a downhill)

Special Thanks To

è Hemanth for riding along with me and giving me very good company all along the trip and also for many practice rides.

è Shruthi Chakkere for giving me her compact PS camera because of which I could make my ride more memorable.

è Pradeep for taking my entire personal luggage back to Udupi.