The Schwinn was all dirty. He had had a ride through the muddy road. After getting him clean, oiled and loaded, I fell asleep to wake up into a beautiful day. Woke up to a message from my friend that he won't be able to join me for the ride. Lack of company never demotivated me. Now I have my first solo century ride to dream about!
It was 5:55 AM, when I took the Schwinn out. It was dark, but not so cold outside. I got into the Ring Road and headed towards the Mysore Road. The pedalling had picked up the rhythm when I saw a group of bikers riding in the opposite direction. Thought a minute about joining them, but decided not to. The Schwinn was enjoying the frequent down slopes of the Ring Road, leaving me a bit concerned about the return journey. The day was getting brighter as I entered the busy Mysore Road. Quickly had a masala dosa at a road side restaurant, and I was back on the saddle. The gradients were favoring the Schwinn here too. I eased back on the saddle looking forward for the land marks to the Big Banyan tree road. I was eager to meet the Big Banyan tree, having read much about it in blogs. I had zoomed into the Google maps to locate it and was awed by its size. Yes, It was huge indeed. Too bad, the gardener didn't let me cycle around inside it. Quite strage, they should be promoting green commute!
Had it not been drizzling every now and then, I would be stopping every hundred meters to take photos of the beautiful landscape. So, I thought! Little did I know that the real beauty was yet to show up. And that's when I approached Manchanabele lake. The lake was very lively, and the hills around were lovely. They were competing to grab my attention. The silhouette of the Savandurga on the backdrop just added to the beauty. A narrow road wrapped around the lake, making it the ideal spot for cycling. I spent some time enjoying the ride around the lake, and capturing photos whenever I couldn't resist. What a pleasant day I chose for the day out - the clouds had kept me away from the sun, letting me savour the nature to the fullest. Few boys from the village was awe struck looking at the Schwinn. They wanted to try it out, but I denied them. A selfish cosmopolitan who cannot fathom the innocence of the village! I found a narrow trail where the road ended, and it took me to the dam. The maintenance staff there got angry; apparently it was a restricted zone. I blamed it on the naughty Schwinn and escaped from there.
Then I headed towards Savandurga. The narrow, 13 km long stretch passes through the Savandurga forest area, and was breath-takingly scenic. Many times I had to break the rhythm of the Schwinn to capture the beauty. Once I got out of the forest zone, Savandurga showed up with all its imperial beauty. The blue sky with the light colored clouds was perfect on the background. I had already pedalled around 60 kilometers. I chose not to ride all the way to the base of the hill, scared of the slopes.
Instead I headed towards Magadi, a village next to it. Refilled my water supply, had some dry fruits to boost my energy levels and headed back towards Bangalore through the Bangalore - Magadi state highway. The road was very smooth, and with Savandurga constantly on the background it was a very enjoyable ride. The Schwinn couldn't resist a steep (and safe) down slope on the road, and it zoomed all its way to its all time best speed of 55.4 kmph! The school kids on the sides were waving to the rider.
The sun started showing up every now and then, forcing me to take breaks more frequently. I took the deviation to the Big Banyan Tree, it was now crowded with couples enjoying the weekend (yearend, rather!) I had started a count down of the remaining kilometers by then. The next 30 kilometers was almost non-stop except the traffic signals, and the 10 second water stops. As expected the small climbs on the Ring Road was tiring. At one such slope, I was chased by a few 'chakkas'. I was tired alright, but how dare they think they can catch up with the Schwinn! Cruising amidst the curious city, I reached a restaurant near my place, quickly gulped a plate of lemon rice and two vadas, went back home and fell on the bed! How heavenly it feels!!
No doubts, the last day of the year was the best day too!
Ride statstics:-
Distance covered - 125 km
Average speed - 16.1 kmph
Time taken - 9 hrs 30 mins
Top speed - 55.4 kmph
View Larger Map
It was 5:55 AM, when I took the Schwinn out. It was dark, but not so cold outside. I got into the Ring Road and headed towards the Mysore Road. The pedalling had picked up the rhythm when I saw a group of bikers riding in the opposite direction. Thought a minute about joining them, but decided not to. The Schwinn was enjoying the frequent down slopes of the Ring Road, leaving me a bit concerned about the return journey. The day was getting brighter as I entered the busy Mysore Road. Quickly had a masala dosa at a road side restaurant, and I was back on the saddle. The gradients were favoring the Schwinn here too. I eased back on the saddle looking forward for the land marks to the Big Banyan tree road. I was eager to meet the Big Banyan tree, having read much about it in blogs. I had zoomed into the Google maps to locate it and was awed by its size. Yes, It was huge indeed. Too bad, the gardener didn't let me cycle around inside it. Quite strage, they should be promoting green commute! 
Had it not been drizzling every now and then, I would be stopping every hundred meters to take photos of the beautiful landscape. So, I thought! Little did I know that the real beauty was yet to show up. And that's when I approached Manchanabele lake. The lake was very lively, and the hills around were lovely. They were competing to grab my attention. The silhouette of the Savandurga on the backdrop just added to the beauty. A narrow road wrapped around the lake, making it the ideal spot for cycling. I spent some time enjoying the ride around the lake, and capturing photos whenever I couldn't resist. What a pleasant day I chose for the day out - the clouds had kept me away from the sun, letting me savour the nature to the fullest. Few boys from the village was awe struck looking at the Schwinn. They wanted to try it out, but I denied them. A selfish cosmopolitan who cannot fathom the innocence of the village! I found a narrow trail where the road ended, and it took me to the dam. The maintenance staff there got angry; apparently it was a restricted zone. I blamed it on the naughty Schwinn and escaped from there.
Then I headed towards Savandurga. The narrow, 13 km long stretch passes through the Savandurga forest area, and was breath-takingly scenic. Many times I had to break the rhythm of the Schwinn to capture the beauty. Once I got out of the forest zone, Savandurga showed up with all its imperial beauty. The blue sky with the light colored clouds was perfect on the background. I had already pedalled around 60 kilometers. I chose not to ride all the way to the base of the hill, scared of the slopes.
Instead I headed towards Magadi, a village next to it. Refilled my water supply, had some dry fruits to boost my energy levels and headed back towards Bangalore through the Bangalore - Magadi state highway. The road was very smooth, and with Savandurga constantly on the background it was a very enjoyable ride. The Schwinn couldn't resist a steep (and safe) down slope on the road, and it zoomed all its way to its all time best speed of 55.4 kmph! The school kids on the sides were waving to the rider. The sun started showing up every now and then, forcing me to take breaks more frequently. I took the deviation to the Big Banyan Tree, it was now crowded with couples enjoying the weekend (yearend, rather!) I had started a count down of the remaining kilometers by then. The next 30 kilometers was almost non-stop except the traffic signals, and the 10 second water stops. As expected the small climbs on the Ring Road was tiring. At one such slope, I was chased by a few 'chakkas'. I was tired alright, but how dare they think they can catch up with the Schwinn! Cruising amidst the curious city, I reached a restaurant near my place, quickly gulped a plate of lemon rice and two vadas, went back home and fell on the bed! How heavenly it feels!!
No doubts, the last day of the year was the best day too!
Ride statstics:-
Distance covered - 125 km
Average speed - 16.1 kmph
Time taken - 9 hrs 30 mins
Top speed - 55.4 kmph
View Larger Map
Intersting, Mr. Solitary Cyclist.
ReplyDeleteKUTTAAA....CONGRATS FOR UR INSPIRING ACHIEVEMENT.NOT ONLY FOR IT .THE FLOWERY LANGUAGE AS BLOSSOM OF THE EXPERIENCE.WAAAHHH..PEDALING IS AN ALTERNATIVE... TO RESIST THE POLITICS OF OIL.COME ...JOIN....
ReplyDeletemacha.. 125 kms!!!! God Max!
ReplyDeletekutta, nee oru sambhavam thanne,as a cyclist,a writer with a good command over english and a photographer!
ReplyDelete