Ready ... Set ...
The day of the much awaited 200 km BRM ride came - Nov 15th. Couldnt sleep early the night before as had Tosha's birthday party and she and her friends were having a sleepover - they were up till 2:30 am. 14-15 pre teen girls playing freeze dance and chit chatting makes a lot of noise :-) ... so sleep was near impossible. Slept finally around 12:30. Alarm was set to go off in 3:30 hours.
Was pretty much all prepared for the ride - all the things mentioned in the earlier post packed. Except perishable food items. It had started drizzling a bit at night and was worried what would happen if it increased in the day.
The day of the much awaited 200 km BRM ride came - Nov 15th. Couldnt sleep early the night before as had Tosha's birthday party and she and her friends were having a sleepover - they were up till 2:30 am. 14-15 pre teen girls playing freeze dance and chit chatting makes a lot of noise :-) ... so sleep was near impossible. Slept finally around 12:30. Alarm was set to go off in 3:30 hours.
Was pretty much all prepared for the ride - all the things mentioned in the earlier post packed. Except perishable food items. It had started drizzling a bit at night and was worried what would happen if it increased in the day.
As 4 am rolled by, woke up excited ... checked to see if there were any updates on FB on the BRM page ... someone asked for a spare jacket for the rains. Rains! damn! Checked the weather forecast and it was supposed to rain throughout Saturday ... ok better pack that extra windbreaker myself.
Sonali had prepared 3-4 baked potatoes the earlier evening even while handling the girls. Daughters had helped prepare the rider number and pack it in a plastic bag. Much needed help and support from the home front. Packed the rest of the stuff from the list and off I was out the door at 4:20 am. The starting point - Coffee Katta in Balewadi, was only 5-10 minutes from my home so would be well within time at the starting control point.
The rain started during this small 2 km ride to the starting point. Heavy and blinding rain!! Was contemplating heading back to grab a cap but figured it wouldnt be worth it as that would get drenched in this weather anyways. There was absolutely no thought of backing off ... I have been mentally preparing for this ride for way too long now.
... Go !!
Reached the starting control. The formalities took about 10-15 minutes - signing in, receiving the brevet card, getting the bike inspected etc. First the 400 km was flagged off at 5:05. Then some more wait ... met few more old and freshly minted randonneurs. Everyone was kinda worried about the rains ... but some were positive as well saying that headwinds will reduce due to the rains. Ok something positive to cling on to.
Finally the 200 km was flagged off at around 5:15. About 25 of us started riding into the rain in dark with headlights and taillights on. Would have been quite a scene for observers I assume as they saw this crazy group of riders riding in heavy rains. Well so be it. All excited I head off. Exchanged pleasantries with a couple of other riders. Glad that I met another newbie - Rakesh, whose and mine pace was matching quite perfectly. Him and me stuck it out together till the end as it turned out.
The first 100
I thing I had to now recalibrate was my target to complete in 10 hours. With this sort of rain I had given up any hope of completing the ride in 10 hours. I was now hoping for 11 hours or around 4 pm finish. Was going reasonably strong for the rains initially ... at around 23-24 kmph. The rain was so heavy that at times it felt as though Varun devata had decided against me doing the ride. Kept chugging along.
Crossed Wagholi, Lonikand, Koregaon and River Bhima ... 40 km or so done. Going strong ... Was going through a lot of puddles on the road. Cars and buses splashing water on us. There was no sense of cleanliness at all. Couldnt breathe through the nose as it was watering up due to the cold and rain. So breathing through the mouth. And lot of rain as well as road water splashing into the mouth. Well ... the pumping adrenaline makes you forget the hygiene! :-P At around the 40 km mark, Rakesh pointed out that a polythene bag had got stuck in my rear gear assembly. Wasnt harming my riding cadence, but not good for the gear assembly. So first break needed. Hands dirtied in grease now, took out as much of the plastic stuck in the gear assembly. Still some left that I couldnt take out. The shifting of the gears was slightly tough ... hopefully this would ease up as I went along. Ate a banana and rolled along. First 5-7 minute break done.
We were doing quite well with the pace here. In 2 hours reached Shikrapur at 45 km. Around 60 km there was a 4-5 km 2% gradient climb after Ranjangaon. Reached around 65 km mark near Karegaon in just over 3 hours. I was riding with Rakesh and both of us were pacing each other quite well. At this point things started getting slightly monotonous and a bit tiring.
So we decided to do a bit of drafting to conserve energy and save time. Drafting basically means you are riding one behind the other in a straight line to avoid the wind resistance for the rider behind. The rider behind has to follow the rider ahead at 1-2 feet at most making it a bit risky. But it conserves about 20-30% energy and effort of the rider at the back. Then you take turns to stay in the front. My first time doing this ... so initially was a bit worried to stay so close to the bike ahead of me. Plus the water splashing from the tires of the front bike was directly going into my mouth as the mouth was open to breathe. But the saved energy was well worth it. Doing this also kept us engaged and we kept on going for another 30 km or so. Took another break at around 85 km mark. Had baked potato and more gatorade here.
After that intention was to head all the way to turnaround control point at Smile Stone which is about 7 km from Supe, about 107 km into the ride. The climbs in the final patches were tough as energy level had started going down.
Finally reached the turnaround control point at 10:35. 5 hours 15 minutes. Not bad considering the weather. We were about 5th or 6th to reach here. We had seen only 3-4 riders who had turned around and went past us so far. Great going!
The Ride back
I was slightly worried of the ride back as the previous Randonneurs on this route had experienced heavy headwinds on their way back. So I mentally adjusted my 10 hour completion target to 11 or 11:30 hours. Means I would reach back around 4:15 or 4:45 pm. Started on the return journey after about 15 minutes rest at the control point - 10:50 am.
We didnt stop at Smile Stone to eat as one experienced Randonneur advised us it would be faster to eat at Kamaths on the way back. Was about 10 kms on the way back. We were at 120 km mark now at 11:20 pm. Had a hearty brunch of Idli Sambhar and Misal Pav - as these 2 dishes were ready to eat. Was so glad to hear that Misal Pav was ready. ;-) Very satisfying brunch!
Was interesting to see how folks were staring at us in Kamaths. No wonder as seeing a couple of cyclists in some weird tight clothes all wet and muddy would indeed be an interesting site. :-)
From here on out it was a pleasant ride back ... stomach was full, refreshed after the 20 minute break, was still raining but no sun out, quite a distance it was downhill, pleasantly cool, no headwinds as had been anticipated. The ride could in fact be renamed 'Water from Heaven' instead of 'Headwinds from Hell'. We were now counting 10s of kilometers. Crossed Shirur at 135 km ... then reached Karegaon around 150 km. Stopped for a 10 minute break as Rakesh needed to buy some water. It was almost 1 pm now.
We were now doing keeping quite a good pace. Only 50 kms left ... we could even dream of a 10 hour ride now if we managed to complete 50 kms in 2:15 hrs. Wow! But fatigue was also creeping in a bit and a bit of cramping. Paddled along. Crossed Ranjangaon, Shikrapur ... couple of small inclines. and at 2:20 made it to Bhima River just after Koregaon Bhima. Only 25 kms left now!
Took a bio and photo break of about 10 minutes here. Started again at 2:30. Was quite surprised at my endurance so far as I think could go easily for another couple of more hours without completely killing myself. Happy so far. With the last break we would certainly miss the 10 hour mark but still could make it more than 3 hours from the cutoff time.
Paddled along on the final patch of the ride through Lonikand, Vithalwadi, Wagholi and eventually to Kalyaninagar. There were so many curious motorcyclists now who were slowing down and asking where we were coming from ... quite surprised to hear about the distance we had ridden and the time we had started at. It had been more than 9 hours and we were around 180 kms or so.
Close to Wagholi we started hitting some bad traffic and traffic lights as well. We were losing the riding momentum quite often now and the stopping and restarting was quite painful. Plus the drivers were absolutely horrible and would cut across us making us slow down. Finally made it to the Cymour shop in Kalyani nagar exactly at 3:30!!! 200 kms done! 10 hours 15 minutes total time. Riding time of 9 hours 5 minutes!
A very satisfying day indeed!! For a day or so after the ride knees were hurting while climbing stairs. Have to figure out why before I get on the next BRM. Also will most likely switch to 25 mm tires ...
The ride captured on Polar v800 transferred to Strava
Waiting for 20th December for the Pune - Umbraj - Pune 300 km!!
Finally the 200 km was flagged off at around 5:15. About 25 of us started riding into the rain in dark with headlights and taillights on. Would have been quite a scene for observers I assume as they saw this crazy group of riders riding in heavy rains. Well so be it. All excited I head off. Exchanged pleasantries with a couple of other riders. Glad that I met another newbie - Rakesh, whose and mine pace was matching quite perfectly. Him and me stuck it out together till the end as it turned out.
The first 100
I thing I had to now recalibrate was my target to complete in 10 hours. With this sort of rain I had given up any hope of completing the ride in 10 hours. I was now hoping for 11 hours or around 4 pm finish. Was going reasonably strong for the rains initially ... at around 23-24 kmph. The rain was so heavy that at times it felt as though Varun devata had decided against me doing the ride. Kept chugging along.
Crossed Wagholi, Lonikand, Koregaon and River Bhima ... 40 km or so done. Going strong ... Was going through a lot of puddles on the road. Cars and buses splashing water on us. There was no sense of cleanliness at all. Couldnt breathe through the nose as it was watering up due to the cold and rain. So breathing through the mouth. And lot of rain as well as road water splashing into the mouth. Well ... the pumping adrenaline makes you forget the hygiene! :-P At around the 40 km mark, Rakesh pointed out that a polythene bag had got stuck in my rear gear assembly. Wasnt harming my riding cadence, but not good for the gear assembly. So first break needed. Hands dirtied in grease now, took out as much of the plastic stuck in the gear assembly. Still some left that I couldnt take out. The shifting of the gears was slightly tough ... hopefully this would ease up as I went along. Ate a banana and rolled along. First 5-7 minute break done.
We were doing quite well with the pace here. In 2 hours reached Shikrapur at 45 km. Around 60 km there was a 4-5 km 2% gradient climb after Ranjangaon. Reached around 65 km mark near Karegaon in just over 3 hours. I was riding with Rakesh and both of us were pacing each other quite well. At this point things started getting slightly monotonous and a bit tiring.
So we decided to do a bit of drafting to conserve energy and save time. Drafting basically means you are riding one behind the other in a straight line to avoid the wind resistance for the rider behind. The rider behind has to follow the rider ahead at 1-2 feet at most making it a bit risky. But it conserves about 20-30% energy and effort of the rider at the back. Then you take turns to stay in the front. My first time doing this ... so initially was a bit worried to stay so close to the bike ahead of me. Plus the water splashing from the tires of the front bike was directly going into my mouth as the mouth was open to breathe. But the saved energy was well worth it. Doing this also kept us engaged and we kept on going for another 30 km or so. Took another break at around 85 km mark. Had baked potato and more gatorade here.
After that intention was to head all the way to turnaround control point at Smile Stone which is about 7 km from Supe, about 107 km into the ride. The climbs in the final patches were tough as energy level had started going down.
Finally reached the turnaround control point at 10:35. 5 hours 15 minutes. Not bad considering the weather. We were about 5th or 6th to reach here. We had seen only 3-4 riders who had turned around and went past us so far. Great going!
The Ride back
I was slightly worried of the ride back as the previous Randonneurs on this route had experienced heavy headwinds on their way back. So I mentally adjusted my 10 hour completion target to 11 or 11:30 hours. Means I would reach back around 4:15 or 4:45 pm. Started on the return journey after about 15 minutes rest at the control point - 10:50 am.
We didnt stop at Smile Stone to eat as one experienced Randonneur advised us it would be faster to eat at Kamaths on the way back. Was about 10 kms on the way back. We were at 120 km mark now at 11:20 pm. Had a hearty brunch of Idli Sambhar and Misal Pav - as these 2 dishes were ready to eat. Was so glad to hear that Misal Pav was ready. ;-) Very satisfying brunch!
Was interesting to see how folks were staring at us in Kamaths. No wonder as seeing a couple of cyclists in some weird tight clothes all wet and muddy would indeed be an interesting site. :-)
From here on out it was a pleasant ride back ... stomach was full, refreshed after the 20 minute break, was still raining but no sun out, quite a distance it was downhill, pleasantly cool, no headwinds as had been anticipated. The ride could in fact be renamed 'Water from Heaven' instead of 'Headwinds from Hell'. We were now counting 10s of kilometers. Crossed Shirur at 135 km ... then reached Karegaon around 150 km. Stopped for a 10 minute break as Rakesh needed to buy some water. It was almost 1 pm now.
We were now doing keeping quite a good pace. Only 50 kms left ... we could even dream of a 10 hour ride now if we managed to complete 50 kms in 2:15 hrs. Wow! But fatigue was also creeping in a bit and a bit of cramping. Paddled along. Crossed Ranjangaon, Shikrapur ... couple of small inclines. and at 2:20 made it to Bhima River just after Koregaon Bhima. Only 25 kms left now!
Took a bio and photo break of about 10 minutes here. Started again at 2:30. Was quite surprised at my endurance so far as I think could go easily for another couple of more hours without completely killing myself. Happy so far. With the last break we would certainly miss the 10 hour mark but still could make it more than 3 hours from the cutoff time.
Paddled along on the final patch of the ride through Lonikand, Vithalwadi, Wagholi and eventually to Kalyaninagar. There were so many curious motorcyclists now who were slowing down and asking where we were coming from ... quite surprised to hear about the distance we had ridden and the time we had started at. It had been more than 9 hours and we were around 180 kms or so.
Close to Wagholi we started hitting some bad traffic and traffic lights as well. We were losing the riding momentum quite often now and the stopping and restarting was quite painful. Plus the drivers were absolutely horrible and would cut across us making us slow down. Finally made it to the Cymour shop in Kalyani nagar exactly at 3:30!!! 200 kms done! 10 hours 15 minutes total time. Riding time of 9 hours 5 minutes!
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| With Rakesh Agrawal with whom I rode the BRM |
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| The muddy me ... this is still the wain washed version... :-0 |
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| The bike that gave its all during the ride! Very happy so far with its performance! |
A very satisfying day indeed!! For a day or so after the ride knees were hurting while climbing stairs. Have to figure out why before I get on the next BRM. Also will most likely switch to 25 mm tires ...
The ride captured on Polar v800 transferred to Strava
Waiting for 20th December for the Pune - Umbraj - Pune 300 km!!