The highness of completing a SR series was surreal for about a week. Post that I was on the road to recovery for another two weeks. The recovery was a difficult one which made it easy to decide not to take part in the BRM 1000 as my ride partners Isaac and Sharad had to dropout due their personal commitments. Moreover, my cycling goal for the year was complete with the SR series. As we neared 20th March, I got curious about wanting to do it due to the sheer occasion around attempting a Road Beast. I had to reschedule my office training a day before the big day(A big thanks to my manager Arun). With all the rescheduling, I had only 2 hrs of sleep before I reached the starting point along with my senior. The starting point was buzzing as expected with all riders and all their well wishers before the flag off. It was really nice of Raghav, Krishnan, Sairam, Ponnuraj, & Ponnappa to take the time to be present that early in the morning before the flag off. Caution: Its a long read!! In the excitement, I pushed on towards Velachery along with other riders. After reaching Velachery, I rode with KandappaSir towards Tambaram before we got on Chennai bypass towards Tada. After a few kilometers, I got clicked by Rajasekar Sir as I went past Maduravoyal toll. After a few more kilometers, I briefly rode with Srinivas.. what an amazing rider. Just looked effortlessly as he pushed on in his Fomas. We took the exit towards Tada and the weather was getting hot and the time was just past 8.30am. After crossing the first toll, I made a quick pit stop for tender coconut as it was clear I had to hydrate well seeing the weather heat up. I got back on the road with a mindset of reaching Tada before 11am. I took Kandappa Sirs advice of having short goals instead of having the big figure of 1000 in my mind. It definitely helped as I kept pushing myself to reach Tada and I reached CCD around 10.45am. Three riders had reached prior to me namely Basskaran, Sundaram & Srinivas. After a 45 minutes break, I had pushed on towards Nellore which was another 100 kms away. By this time of the day, the weather was getting really hot. The need for wet towels was officially on but it just wouldnt stay wet for long enough. What made it worse was that there was absolutely no shade whatsoever. I thought Samayapuram to Ulunderpet during BRM600 was physical test but this was far far more taxing. Before crossing Nellore, I stopped to rest in a small spot of shade as my mind was giving reasons to stop as I was starting to feel mentally exhausted. Thus, stopped to rest my mind by talking to Isaac but he was kind enough to tell me that he was enjoying the afternoon sitting in his ac cabin. Jokes apart, I felt fresh talking to him for a few minutes before getting ready to hit the road. In that time, a group cyclists zipped past me in a flash. The group had Coimbatore Riders, Kandappa Sir, Yuva & Silverster. Joined the group for the next 2 hrs before sleep became a problem. Decided to lose the group to take a powernap. Got back on the saddle after sleeping for half an hour. That was refreshing. Next part of the ride session was peaceful as it was scenic with dusk settling in slowly. Eventually I caught on with Deepak, Sulaiman, Chakkravarthy Sir & Kandappa Sir. We eventually stopped for evening snack with Neville joining us shortly. After filling up, we pushed on to reach the 300 kms control point. The last 60 kms of the ride was blissful until Deepak had a little incident before we regrouped towards the control point. My biggest challenge was managing my constant want of sleep as I had only 2 hrs of sleep the previous night. Can you imagine, I fell asleep with coffee in my hand. It was that bad :-(. After another cup of coffee, we pushed on as a group. A big thanks to the entire group as we rode as a group until we reached the control point around 10.30pm. I was knocked out for half an hour after dinner. Around 12.30am, I decided to push on towards the 400 mark but lack of sleep was making me miserable. Riding alone in my current state was a big no no but it did not last very long as I spotted Sathish snoring to glory in one of the Dhabas after 20 kms from restart. I was quick to join him for snooze. I was out until 2.30am. Woke up to see Subash Sir, Satish, Tamil, Yukesh, Yuva & Silverster dreaming away. It was a site to see my fellow riders snoozing under the starry skies. Sathish and myself hit the road and reached the 400 mark around 7.30am. Even though we started together, we hardly rode together as Satish was far superior a rider in terms of both speed and endurance. I felt the need for food inorder to reach the halfway mark. Just after crossing the 405 mark, I joined Satish at the table for some food. After a quick bite, Satish, Neville & myself pushed on but I was quick to lose them due their sheer speed. Around the 435 mark, I spotted Satish taking a snooze on the median as there was no spot of shade on the shoulder. It was really really hot to say the least. I yelled out to see if he wanted to join but his shake of head made it clear for me to proceed without stopping. Deep down I knew he would catch down the road. With 50 kms to go, I breaked for tender coconut to hydrate my body. I was quick to down two of them in a flash. The fact that sleep was not a problem anymore, I knew all I had to do was pedal as advised by my pedaling partners. Around the 485 mark, I ran out of water.. Lakshmi & Mohan were kind enough to spare me some water. I suppose camaraderie grows by such small gestures. Initially, I was hoping to reach Vijaywada by 11 am but that went for a six as I reached Vijaywada by 1.30 pm. Post entering Vijaywada, it took me another hours time to reach the correct petrol station with like Sathish, Lakshmi & Mohan. Lakshmi & Mohan are the most reliable riders I have ever seen. They just know how to get it done. After doing the formalities, We joined for lunch where fellow riders were resting post their lunch. After a yummy lunch, I was ready to pedal away with Coimbatore group and Kandappa Sir. We rode in peace knowing the Dhaba charpoy were in plenty at our next control point(610 mark). We took many breaks but we eventually reached the control point as a group even though we lost each other in those 100 kms. Those dried bananas were just amazing Chakkra Sir :-). In the joy of knowing I can sleep, I quickly refreshed and had my dinner. The plan was to sleep for 3-4 hours but got changed to a mere 1 hour :-(. Kandappa Sir was clear and Ajay threw the bone by saying reach 770 control point to sleep in tents. I was ok in vain to be honest. To make the best of what I had, I hit the charpoy for an hour before hitting the road around 1.30am. I was fine for a few hours but guess what.. my sleep was back :-(. The group was kind enough to stop for coffee breaks whenever required. Sathish was on his own trip.. speeding away and then take his powernap before eventually joining our group. Around the 680 mark, lets just say I had a scary movement because of my sleep :-). Again, Lakshmi, Mohan & Subash Sir came to the aid. After a brief stop, we stopped for breakfast. A quick bite and we pushed on as a group. The heat was definitely a factor as it was becoming unbearable after a point. Around the 710 mark, I spotted a group of riders cooling their heads off in a construction site. I was quick to join them. After a brief stop, we continued towards the 780 mark. I continued on because of Kandappa Sir as conditions were not easy by any means. It was extremely hot plus as the headwinds were massive. Added to these challenges, the terrain was just filled with ups and down. The point to be noted here is that, we had already finished 750 kms and it eventually became a race against time as we were nearing the cut off time limit for the 770 control point. In the meantime, I ran out of water and Kandappa Sir drink was a massive help before we spot a small shop for some fluids. We had to quickly push on as the headwinds ahead kept us on the guard. After an hour so, we reached the control point with 20 minutes to spare. It was a relief for 2 reasons, one reaching the control point in time and other reason was that I could get off the saddle for some time to rest. Team PASO were there to receive us in plenty. And they had the control point nicely done up with beds and tents. More importantly, those watermelon and oranges were just out of the world. Would like to take this opportunity to thank them all for their kind gesture. I quickly refreshed and took a snooze for half hour. After a brief video shoot by Team PASO, a group of 9 riders started their journey towards Nellore. Reached the 800 mark with not much hassle. After awhile, I was feeling restless because sleep was becoming an issue once again. As you can see managing my sleep was the toughest task on this ride. Eventually we reached Thirumala Shop where I had plenty of buttermilk. More than the fluids, I got to sleep for 15 mins. I was really struggling at this point. Really out of sync. But the group wanted to push on and I just joined the group thinking I will feel better if I got back to riding. Both Kandappa Sir and Deepak wanted me in the middle of the pack seeing my state. But unfortunately it only took 5 kms before I went to the back of the bus and eventually decided to take nap on the advice of Mohan as I went off the road 3 times. Sometimes you just need to act on casual advice as it could have got really nasty in a flash. With my phone battery dying, I decided to sleep for 1.5 hours but ended up sleeping for 2.5 hours. That was a scary as I was 125 kms away from my last control point and the time was nearing 3am. I started pedaling like there was no tomorrow until I got spotted by the last support vehicle. It was a pleasant surprise to see Sundar Sir, Bala & Varun as I was empty on fluids. Both Sundar Sir and Bala were kind enough to give some cashew, lime soda and water. I pushed on with great effort to reach Tada CCD around 3.45am. I was brainwashed saying there will hardly be any headwinds in the night. The headwinds were a handful after completing 900 kms. I had roughly 100+ kms to complete in 5 hrs. I was becoming nervy as time left and distance to cover was just abit too close for comfort as I was one puncture away from making it. With my saddle soreness becoming worse, I started pedaling in the standing position to gain speed and to avoid any further discomforts. I visually imagined pedaling with kandappa sir as he was the one who pulled me through the previous day. I kept cycling with time goals to reach certain spots I remembered from the onward ride as my speedo was not accurate. I wanted to reach the Chennai bypass by 6.15 am but ended up reaching around 6.25 am with one pit for a coffee and lime soda refill. As I reached the Chennai overpass, I stopped for tender coconut as I was empty on fluids. And it was roughly 6.40 am when I got up the Chennai bypass. And I rode like there was no tomorrow as I wanted to reach Tambaram exit by 8 am. I still remember thinking of my ride partners Isaac and Sharad during this part of the ride as I visually remember chasing them on this stretch. As I crossed Porur the site of Ramachandra College on the right side was a state of big relief. After crossing Porur, I did not take my eyes off the road as I was well over 30 kmph on this stretch until Naveen surprised me. I briefly rode with him before deciding to go on my own as I felt I was more focused riding alone. I pushed on with great effort to get off Tambaram exit by 8.05 am. I was off by 5 minutes and wanted to make it up on this stretch before reaching Pallavaram. The goal was to reach Pallavaram flyover by 8.30 am and I was getting down flyover by 8.35 am. I made up few minutes but needed to push on as I wanted to reach Velachery left turn by 8.45 am. I still do not remember how I navigated through the traffic in such high speeds. Scary thinking of it now. As I was approaching the Velachery MRTS flyover, I heard someone yelling my name but didnt spot anyone as I wanted reach the point before 9 am. It was Yukesh and his motivation that helped me speed through this flyover on the way down well over 50 kmph. I was wired in as I had reached the Velachery junction by 8.50 am as planned. After a few more hard pedals, I knew I had made it and Yukesh let me have my moment by pulling aside. As the control point was in site, the screams were loud enough to get me across the finish line with 2 minutes to spare. Whatta moment I say to see so many riders and friends at the finish point. The highlight was to see my father as he was the last person I spoke to before my phone battery died.The next 10 minutes was just priceless. Special mention to my ride partners Isaac, Sharad, Mr. G & Kandappa Sir for their tips and support before and during the ride. Finally, would like to dedicate this ride to both my folks and my wife as I know deep down they were worried for me. They let me pursue my passion by putting aside their fears.
Posted on: Sat, 05 Apr 2014 13:20:32 +0000
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