27 Hours - 410kms : (Nearly) Challakere and Back: 400K Brevet ride report

I recently entered in the world of Randonneuring and this 400km Brevet ride organized by IISc Randonneurs was a part of it. This was my 2nd brevet ride having earlier done the 200K Brevet held last month.This particular ride started at 6:00 am on Jul 21st and we had to cover a distance of ~410 km before 9:00 am next day (total time of 27 hrs). We are given a cue-sheet and a map which has directions for the complete route at the beginning of the ride. There are various control stations along the way where we need to reach within designated time limits. This is a non competitive ride and everyone who completes it within the stipulated time is eligible for a medal from Audax Club, Paris. 

The complete map of the ride is as below:

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Some brilliant roads around Hesaraghatta - Pic courtesy Rafi

I was a bit late at the starting point and started around 6:20 am. Learnt from Nirmal and Mustafa that 8 people had already started the brevet. Around 10 kms into the ride I found a bunch of bikers standing in a group. Kiran kumar had decided to abandon the ride due to a pre-ride injury and good-byes were being exchanged. Shreeju (on hybrid) and me (on MTB) started riding together from there. We passed through some really beautiful stretch of village roads near Hesaraghatta with almost zero traffic and well paved roads. There were occasional  potholes and small stretches of broken roads, but overall it was a pleasant ride with lush green fields on either side and good tree cover.

A very small section of bad road near Hesaraghatta.
Most of the roads here were excellent as seen in prev photo.

We passed Sri Anjaneya temple near Madhure lake around 8 am and decided to have breakfast in the town which came immediately. After a quick breakfast, we set targets to complete 100 kms by 11:30 (5:30 hrs) and also reach the first control at Koratagere (109kms) by 12:00 pm. 

We encountered severe headwinds and also some climbs as we rode towards Dobbaspete. Thats when my speed slowed down and I started falling behind Shreeju a little. At Dobbaspete we had to take a sharp right turn (Almost a U turn) and that somehow told me that we should get some down hills and tail winds ahead! It turned out to be true and we gained some speed and momentum in this stretch.

With help from the gentle slopes, we were able to meet our own time targets we had set above. After getting the required ATM slips, we took an awesome 30 min lunch break at Koratagere. 2 HUGE tatte idlis with sagu (vegetables) and a bowl full of tomato rice and unlimited majjige (buttermilk) for just 20 rs! 

Shreeju was already feeling he had eaten a lot and was slightly worried if he will be able to ride in this state. I assured him that after the first 4-5 kms he would again be in aggressive ride mode. We just joked - after eating a lot, now its the time to ride a lot :)

Madhugiri Fort - A nice place to hang out in the weekend.
Perfect for a day long cycling trip from Bangalore

Soon we reached Madhugiri without much trouble and and were feeling really good so far. The Madhugiri hill is really a beautiful sight from a distance as we came near we saw the fort at the top. Looked like a cool place and I definitely would like to come here again. A Bangalore--> Madhugiri --> Bangalore trip with hiking at Madhugiri hill added in between would be ideal for a day long cycling trip.. This being a weekend, there were quite a few tourists already there. Anyway, after taking a couple of snaps we started on our way to Sira. Soon the sky became overcast and it began drizzling. I was wary of getting wet because of the night ride ahead (was worried of catching cold due to the cold winds later..) So I decided to wear my rain poncho. As always happens, as soon as I wore it, the rain stopped! Again removed it started riding. Kudos to Shreeju for stopping for me every time! 

A Road biker's nightmare: Around 30 kms of road
between Madhugiri and Sira was being completely re-laid .
Again pic courtesy Rafi

After doing about 10 kms in the next 30 mins we passed through a small village where Shreeju filled his water bottle and we had some munch like chocolates. After that, THE bad portion of the road started. It was a killer stretch where the whole road was being re-laid and everything had been dug up with diversions every now and then. Thank god for the rains otherwise there would have been loads of dust flying around. For the first time I felt lucky to be on an MTB! :). Initially, I maintained good speed here and managed to stay on Shreeju's heels. However, soon it again started raining and thinking it might be another passing shower, I decided to wait for a while at a small bus stop. On hindsight, this was the first mistake I made on this ride. Before I knew, 30 mins had passed and the rain was showing no signs of stopping. So eventually I decided to wear my poncho and start riding again. The winds were making my poncho swell up and it had become a mini parachute decreasing my speed by quite a bit. I just hung in there and kept riding at whatever speed I could. 

Meanwhile, got a call from Shreeju who had reached Sira and was having some tea and snacks over there. I had no idea about how far I was from Sira and asked him to continue without waiting for me. It took me ~40 mins to reach Sira and without taking any breaks I just continued riding towards Hiriyur. The winds had reduced by now and I was really enjoying my ride in the rain. I just rode on merrily singing songs to myself without worrying too much about time or distance. My garmin watch had died by now and I had no sense of time too (my phone was in my bag at the back inside the poncho). This part of ride on the highway in the rain was the most kick ass part of the whole ride in terms of pleasure quotient. For a short while I seriously felt I just wanted to keep on riding to infinity and beyond... :-) Its a feeling difficult to describe in words. 

After a while the rain stopped and evening sun was out for a while. I promptly removed my poncho and took a small snacks break. - One full pack of hide and seek biscuits and water mixed with electral. As I rode along, I met the only other MTBer on this ride - Karthik (Karthikeyan Swamiappan) from IISc. He was changing the tube in his rear wheel since the other one had a slow puncture which he wasn't able to find. I stopped for a while and helped him put things together. He informed me that Shreeju had passed him ~30 mins back when he was having food at a dhaba. Karthik is a very strong rider and had done the 600K brevet last month on the same MTB. With the 200K and 300K also done, this was his last brevet required for becoming a Super Randonneur. We rode together from then onwards and I picked up some speed in his company. Soon we passed through Hiriyur towards Eraballi (the next control point). 

We were still about 20 kms away with 1 hr 30 mins to go for the control closing time (20:40). It was almost dark now and it was time to switch on my all new head light. It was really bright and I could easily see up to 25m in front. We rode well and reached the control by 8:00 pm. 

Me at the first Photo control point - Eraballi

This was a photo control and we had to take a photo with us and/or our bike in it standing next to a white sign board at this place. I had brought my small Nikon camera just for this. Unfortunately, it was kept in my front pannier bag and had got all wet in the rains. First we tried taking photo using my cell phone camera by pointing the bike light on the the subject. But did not work out :(. As a last resort, I took out the Nikon, wiped it dry with my kerchief and turned it ON with crossed fingers. Luckily it was dry from inside and turned on without any trouble! Only thing, it had reset itself and I had to re-enter the date and time. This is when we realized that this type of proof (a photo with time stamp) could easily be tampered with by just changing the time in the camera :-) Something for the organizers to ponder .. 

Anyway, we found that Karthik's new tube was also leaking and loosing air. He was really (and understandably) frustrated with that and was even considering quitting. He just wasnt able to find the root cause of the slow punctures. The next control (Aymangala) was just 13 kms from here and so we decide to pump in some air and then reach there and then decide on what to do. This particular stretch of road from Eraballi to Aymangala was really dark and scary. It was single track with open fields on either side and not a soul in sight until horizon. Karthik was too occupied worrying about his puncture (and rightly so) and he probably did not "enjoy" the spookiness of this place :). 

Me at the 2nd photo control point - Aymangala

By the time we reached Aymangala and got the required photos, it was already 9:15 pm with just 15 mins to go for the close of control!! Here, we met Kalpesh (another IISc rider) who was sitting there looking very weak. Looked like his body was reluctant to accept any solid food and was rejecting it outright.   Me and Karthik had some food over here and prepared some water with electral for Kalpesh (I dont remember whether he had it or no). After a while of debating whether to quit or continue, Karthik finally decided to try one more tube and reach the next (and last) control Hiriyur and then decide. Hiriyur was about 22 kms from here and we had 1 hr 30 mins before the control closed. Since it was an ATM control, Karthik did not require my help (I was the only guy with camera) over there. So I wished him luck and started riding towards Hiriyur. He would start ~15 mins later after changing the tube one last time.

The rest of the ride (~177kms) was going to be on NH4 and was expected to be smooth. I started riding fast and soon reached the flyover near Hiriyur. When I was 1 km away from Hiriyur, I got a call from Shreeju asking where I was. He was having dinner at Hiriyur and was happy to learn that I was also nearby. Somehow, I lost my way and could not figure out how to take the right opposite to Hotel VMP Mahal  (as mentoined in the cuesheet). I wasted around 10 mins to figure that out and another 5 mins to find the SBI ATM at Hiriyur. It turned out that both me and Karthik reached the ATM at exactly the same time (22:50 - just 10 mins before closing time). This had been a control point during his 600k brevet earlier and he knew the way well. Suddenly he found that he had forgotten his wallet at Aymangala and was not in a position to take the ATM slip!. He quickly called Kalpesh if he was still there and could get his wallet. But looked like Kalpesh too had already left the place. I took a photo of Karthik outside the ATM as a proof and we rode on to a hotel for dinner. Karthik had found that his rim tape had worn out at a certain place and probably that was causing these slow punctures. He had put some packing at that place while putting a new tube at Aymangala and was hoping that it would last now.

We now had 10 hrs to go and 155 more kms to cover. Karthik assured me that this was easily doable as most of the road was downhill with just one small stretch between Sira and Tumkur which was really uphill. He had done this stretch in 8 hrs 30 mins during his 600K brevet and they had ridden in the afternoon heat at that time. From my earlier 200K brevet, I too was aware that the road after Tumkur was really nice and one could really speed on that stretch. So I relaxed a bit and took a nice 1 hr dinner break over here. This on hindsight was the 2nd mistake of my trip.

During this 1 hr, Karthik found that his 3rd tube was also flat :(. This was the final nail in the coffin and he decided to pull out. This was really sad because his dream of becoming a Super Randonneur this season had come to an end (unless he goes all the way to Delhi for the 400K BRM). At the previous control, Kalpesh had offered his road bike to him to complete the rest of the ride (since he was dropping out anyway due to bad health). But Karthik refused saying "If at all I complete the brevet, it will be on the MTB (RR 5.3)". Moreover, he did not want to leave a sick Kalpesh behind alone too. I really liked the camaraderie among these two IISc Randonneurs and was myself tempted for a while to quit and help them. But logic got the better of emotion and I decided to continue on the ride.  

At Hiriyur - Still 155 more kms to cover in 9 hrs with lots of Elevation gain 

I started from Hiriyur at 12 in the night and now had 155 kms to cover in exactly 9 hours. Now I was getting a little tensed on whether I will be able to finish in time and started riding at brisk pace. After covering some 26 kms in the next 1 hr 10 mins, I suddenly started feeling very sleepy. Just then came across a small dhaba with lots of cots lying outside. I could not resist and decided to take a 10 min power nap at this place. Woke up around 1:20 and had a nice cup of hot tea and was back on the road at 1:30. Around 2:15, when I just passed by Sira (292km mark), I got a call from Shreeju asking where I was. He had crossed Sira about an hour back and was a good 20 kms ahead of me. He offered to wait for me since he was well ahead and had some spare time. It was very nice of him but I asked him to continue since he might get a puncture (he has a history of getting punctures on the highways) and it was not wise to risk waiting for me. I told him its going to be touch and go for me at the finishing line and asked him to carry on. 

Talking to Shreeju freshened me up and I kept riding till 3:30 without much trouble but started feeling sleepy again. This time I decided to take a nap just sitting on the sideway. Another 10 min power nap and I was good to for another 1.5 hrs. I had brought a mix of dry fruits (apricots, figs, cashew nuts and almonds) with me and started munching them on the way while riding. Apricots and figs are really hard to chew kind of fruits and they helped me drive away sleep on the way. I think chewing gum is also a good option for staying alert while riding. 

My average speed reduced as I approached Tumkur due to the uphills. I did not have a cyclocomp and wasnt using my garmin watch to log distance to save battery (I needed a watch in case my phone battery died). So, the only source of distance covered were the not so periodic milestones. I must have crossed Tumkur around 5:15 and was again starting to feel drowsy and just waiting for sunrise. I was hoping that the sleep would reduce once it got brighter. Soon, I reached Tumkur toll booth at 6 am. The sun had risen and it was quite bright now. Had a nice cup of tea and some bananas and checked the cuesheet for the distance remaining. Was surprised to find that I still had to go another 60 kms in the next 3 hrs! I must have been really slow in the up hill section. 

At Tumkur toll gate. Still 60 kms to cover in 3 hrs!

From my previous 200k brevet experience, I knew that there were considerable downhills after dobbaspete and it is possible to gain some some momentum over there. Assuming at least 20 mins of total break time, I would have to ride at an average speed of 23-24 kmph. This was not an easy ask considering the amt of kms I had already done. Somehow I just kept pedalling and pushing myself to keep my avg riding speed around 24 kmph. The confidence kept increasing slowly as I passed familiar points (Dobbaspete, Nelamangala toll booths etc). Soon I reached NICE road interchange at 8:20!  (I beat my target to reach here by 8:30) Now just 12 more kms to go and 40 mins remaining. I was finally relieved. Rode on normally after that to reach the end control just about when it was closing!. I actually reached at 9:10 due to the traffic along the way and also I had to stop at various signals. But there was a grace period of 15-20 mins due to the additional 10 kms and I was considered to be in time. Also, We (me and Shreeju) had helped a person on a Luna who had crashed down near Hesaraghatta. That had taken >10 mins of our time. I am sure organizers would have considered it had I been more late.

Finally reached the finishing point. After the longest
(and toughest) ride of my life!

The feeling that I remember on reaching the end control was more of relief than anything else. Was happy to see Shreeju and Rafi sitting there with Nirmal. After relaxing for ~10 mins whilst Nirmal completed my brevet card, we started towards A-Mess for scrumptious breakfast. Had 4 masala dosa's back to back! :-)

My left knee and ankle had developed minor swellings due to the hard mashing towards the end  and I was barely able to walk! Felt slightly better after applying volini cream. I decided I will ride slowly to hebbal and take the airport volvo towards my home with the bike in it. Unfortunately a bus that came after waiting 30 mins did not allow the bike inside. Left with no other option, just rode slowly the final 15 kms to home in an easy gear. 

Thus ended my longest and by far the toughest cycling trip ever! I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it and will cherish these memories for a long time to come. I had good company from Shreeju and Karthik for a major part of the ride and really enjoyed riding with them. Really sad for Karthik who could not finish the ride due to some silly punctures which could not be found. But he is a brave rider and I am sure he will be a Super Randonneur next year (if not this year). A word also for Ashok who is nearly 50 years old and he completed 350 kms of the ride before punctures in the middle of the night and back pain got to him. Wish him luck for next season. I will probably be doing this ride again next season in my quest to become a Super Randonneur. Hopefully will ride with these awesome guys again then.

More photos of the ride can be found here:
https://plus.google.com/photos/101248951236541984759/albums/5768265952171279201

Preliminary results of the ride can be found here