The most grueling day of cycling and more - BRM400 on 25.12.13 We (Isaac, Sharad & Myself) decided to ride as a group for the most part in an attempt to successfully complete this test. We reached the first checkpoint in an hour time after starting from BSA Riderz. Then a blissful period where we all enjoyed chilly weather down Kelambakkam - Vandalur road had to offer before reaching GST. We were riding at a decent pace to reach Acharapakkam around 9.45am. Then came the test that brevets can offer. First, the weather was getting hot as we neared Tindivanam. At the 150 mark, I requested for a stop as I was mentally fatigued due to lack of sleep. Attempting a brevet with one hour of sleep was criminal as I was feeling restless in the mind from there on. After a 10 minute break, I decided to pedal away with Sharad & Isaac without realizing Isaac had a flat. Satish came along after facing multiple punctures to help Isaac with his flat. Very kind gesture as the weather was starting to heat up steadily. Post that, Isaac had some issue on his rear derailar to make things more complicated. All of us tried to fix the problem but realized it was better leave it untouched. Isaac just decided to ride with the available gears on his hybrid. The guy is just beyond words as he can just overpower you in a flash if he wishes to ace the brevet out of boredom. Really a strong rider. Back to the grind, we decided to reach A2B as our next resting stop but we met Sundar Sir & Subash Sir coming out of Ponnuswamy and their feedback on the food stopped us from going any further as we were starving. Post lunch, we reached A2B by around 4.15pm. I must say the samosa & coffee was just perfect. After that we rode really well against the headwind as a group until we decided break for some hydration near Villupuram. This phase of the ride was extremely fun as the group made it an unreal experience. The group had Sharad, Anirudh, Satish, Yukesh, Tamil & Ofcourse Isaac the captain of the ship. Sharad -This guy is just awesome ya when it comes to cycling long distance. Keeps under playing his cycling skills. Anirudh - His level of patience in dealing with adversity is commendable. Satish & Tamil - The Bulls of Chennai. Yukesh - He comes across as someone who can grind out results irrespective of the circumstance. All in all, This group was filled with tough cookies. Coming back to the ride report, I reached the Tindivanam along with the group around 9.15pm. Took the advice of having dinner from Partha, Pradeep, Guru& Balamurugan. We rode towards Acharapakkam little past 10pm. And this was a phase where I was starting to think why am I doing this to my body.. I was so beyond tired. The grind to finish had began as I dragged myself to reach Acharapakkam. Tried to take a powernap but that went in vain as the group was ready march towards Chengalpet. The last 100 was real bad...It was a mental battle to the limit. In a way I was glad it was dark and could not see the road beyond my headlight. While riding to Chengalpet toll, I decided to break the next 100 into 3 targets and reward myself upon reaching those targets. Targets were destinations to ease the mental stress I was experiencing due to tiredness/sleep deprivation. Targets were Chengalpet toll(20mins Powernap), Vandalur junction. (2 Fruit & Nut Bars) & Kelambakkam (Take a coffee break). Dreaming of these rewards I really pushed on to reach my first target. The site of Chengalpet toll has never been this exciting knowing I deserved my reward. I decided to push on to reach the bus stop opposite to mahindra city to have my nap. Upon reaching my spot, I decided to inform Isaac about my whereabouts so that they wake me up incase I snooze my way out. Took my 30 mins powernap before waking to sounds of Isaac, Sharad & Anirudh ard 3.45am. Then again I pushed on to reach Vandalur where I rejoined with Isaac. We agreed to pedal towards Kelambakkam but I gave in when I took notice of nice tea shop as I was once again feeling really sleepy. Decided to break and found Satish & Tamil in the shop. We had a small chat before they pushed on to reach the Kelambakkam control point. While having our coffee, Sharad & Anirudh zipped past us. My guess is that, they were cracking the 40s. Upon finishing our coffees, we slowly reached Kelambakkam. The sight of Bala & Guru at Kelambakkam was a big relief as I was desperate for Balas lime soda. Knowing I was 20Kms away from the famous milestone of 400Kms gave me energy to push on after having balas famous lime soda :-).After a few more pedals, the group that started together finished the brevet in 25 hrs 30 mins. Thanks to Isaac, Anirudh & Sharad for their support throughout this brevet. Finally when the moment arrived, I was relieved 400 Kms was successfully finished. All in all, It was one heck of a day and more :-)
Posted on: Sat, 01 Feb 2014 15:10:09 +0000
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