Half Day Cycling Event to Hutri Durga
Aimed cycling to Hutri Betta, but
got more:
I
am not a rookie when it comes to endurance sports, have done my fair bit in
swimming and little bit in running. Last time I peddled a cycle for more than a
km was in 1999 when I finished my academics. I used to do 5-6 km to my college
and back to my home in an old cycle with robust frame which used to weigh my
weight (Pl note point of exaggeration is heaviness the cycle and not how lean I
was 18 years back :)). Well that's my experience or memories of experience with
cycling which is way below par in comparison with cycling enthusiasts like the
general readers of this blog. I had (have) decided that I will not invest in
owning a cycle not only going by the high prices, but also easy of it getting
stolen (I believe Hiren doesn't mind me reminding this once again) ;).
Nevertheless I wanted to test myself on one of those straight handled ones with
gears which is something I had no clue so far.
I immediately
registered when my friend and colleague Hiren a BTC event organizer and
adventure enthusiast, shared information about this cycling event.
Fortunately one of my friend Jagga and myself got shortlisted and we got an
opportunity to try our hands on (rather legs on) peddling our way from
Bangalore to Magadi.
We
got clear crisp notifications from admins Hiren and Dinesh on
when-how-whereabouts of the event and accordingly Jagga and myself came to
Deepanjali nagar bus stop at 6 AM. We were warmly greeted by organizers who
were busy making sure we have the right infrastructure cycles, helmets. Also
recording attendance of all participants, briefing about event, reiterating the
rules of BTC events, safety tips and cutting jokes (Here I wish to mention that
humour and fun just lasted throughout the excursion and the same lifted the
mood of the gang). When I inspected a cycle which was appeared to be good for
my height... saw 3 numbers on left handle lever and 7 on the right lever, I
thought to myself "Oh boy!, this is a problem of plenty, 21 options to
change gears" I decided I will simply not change any gears and use the
default to avoid confusion. I felt extremely happy when a person (whom I came
to know later as Pawan another fitness freak, I hope Pawan doesn't mind my
language) asked participants who did not know to use gears to rise their hands,
I am 6 ft tall, I made sure I reached out 8 ft towards the sky without
any shame :). He gave us simple rules which gave most of the rookies some
comfort. He also gave us a caution that using gears the right way is helps a
lot but using them the wrong way will be hell (most of the rookies got first-hand
experience of both :)).
By
this time we started shaking hands with other participants and more than
friendly admins Hiren, Dinesh and Pawan made us feel like we are one team.
Banana was distributed which is the right calorific lift and the event started.
All participants went in a line... religiously adhering to the instructions of
admins.
Good
part was one of the admins led us and one trailed and made sure our pack was
secure. The best part was arrangement of a backup vehicle, utility of which was
exercised more than once by participants. I also understand the admins took
care about spare tyre, spare cycle, tools to perform adjustments in the cycle
which we were using.
We
started on Mysore road and our first plan was to assemble at the place where we
want to deviate from Mysore-road towards "doDDa aalada mara". On the
way enough care was taken to make sure we are doing good and no one is left
behind and boosting morale of team, reiterating safety etc.
This
is the first time I was using gear cycle and initially I went with guidance
provided which was of great help, however I was very conservative using the
gears and stuck to 2 on left, I was doing reasonably good. Our journey on
Mysore road was more flattish and it gave me an opportunity to try 3 on left...
Wow! What happened next was something which was unbelievable, I am cruising at an
unprecedented high speed ever recorded by me (another exaggeration, but
seriously it was a lot more speed than what I have experienced on a cycle)
in my lifetime so far... The joy was so much that for some time I even forgot
the pollution and traffic of Mysore road. However, on an instance I had to
brake and realized Spiderman film's tagline "with great power comes
great responsibility" :) I stumbled and fumbled before stop and by this
time with first-hand experience, I learnt another lesson about speed and safety
of cycling, then I decided to tone down :)
Once
we started on the deviation from Mysore road we had calmer but more challenging
road which made us exercise the lower gears and was little more tiring. Btw I
treat doDDa aalada mara as a bonus for us as I did not know about this
till the event day :). We took nice and well deserved break and ate banana and
started from there. Point to mention here is the willingness and I would
say assertion :) of the organizers to take care of the unlocked cycles which
were parked outside the alada mara enclosure.
Further
on the way, there was a discussion on the route. The near one TippagunDanahaLLi
route or the one which is more scenic manchinbelle Dam route. Decision was manchinbelle
dam just because Pawan wanted it that way :) just kidding.... Idea was to
experience more scenic beauty of the terrain towards manchinbelle dam and the
decision was good. We had covered 25 - 30kms or so by then and we had more or
less same distance to cover and at time was around 10 if I am not wrong.
Route
towards manchinbelle was very beautiful and upward slope was talking a toll on
our energy reserves. Once we reached manchinbelle, we stopped to
appreciate the beauty of water with background of Savandurga, we ate chocolates
and took photos and obviously rejoiced the downward slope the immediate path
offered...
In
fact Hiren was so overwhelmed that he went all the way down the slope and came
back all the way up, he did not want to break the pleasure of cool breeze which
gravity offered as a reward of gaining potential energy.
When
we started from manchinbelle we had to cover more challenges. Though it
was July, Sun started to flex his might on us, occasional upward hill was
asking for more muscle and lung power. But mother earth had a soothing surprise
of a welcome sprinkling shower. It was for a very brief time but very
enjoyable.
At
this point I need to mention a funny experience of something called as 1...
1... on the gear system. This is supposed to be used in steep ups and I believe
some of our route qualified for it. Since I am new to gear, I felt very awkward
peddling 10 rotations to hit a meager 2 mts :) anyway I have a long
distance to go before I get on top of gearing mechanism...
We
took breaks which included finding shade to eating biscuits. I also remember
myself lying flat on tar road along with another buddy Nachiket. After this
incident I will be more considerate with my daughters when they pick something
fallen on road. Till now I used to brandish them for such acts :) The
sprouts, the chocolates, the final shares of the ration bound the team
together.
Throughout
the way admins were more than willing to take photos of the team at various
instances, I really appreciate their energy. I remember Dinesh took a selfie
snap as he was riding ahead of me in one of the calm and roads (organizers you
ppl are really motivated and keep the participants motivation high :))
Admins
decided to have lunch at a modest place near Savandurga, most of us were
craving to gobble something and I did a job which I am more proficient with...
i.e., eating
We
went towards Savandurga after lunch and found a place to take an hr refuge
close to foothill and after recording close to 50 kms cycling and exchanging
experiences and feedback, we decided to come to Bangalore via Magadi by
government bus.
I
have not still decided which most challenging part was, cycling or shared auto
journey from Savandurga to Magadi. Anyway, we enjoyed every bit of the
excursion :)
Thanks
to the organizers and the participants... As the title says, we aimed to Hutri
beTTa but got more
Written By :
Somashekhara Sharma
Organized By : Dinesh Yadav & Hiren J
Date of event : 22nd July, 2017
Place
: Magadi Road
Post a Comment