300

Disambiguation and Disclaimer: This is not a movie review. Nor are the feats here as heroic as in the movie. This is about what couldnt be. If you are still interested, read on.


Experience they say, is a great teacher. And Life they say, is a great leveler. And when it puts you in place, it puts you in place.

After two amazing 200+ rides that I finished pretty well much to my own surprise and joy, came the opportunity to do a 300 km brevet. By now, the family has warmed up to my newfound passion, and my wife has resigned to my craziness. But then, I had changes in my outlook as well. I was brash, cocky, and I thought I could just get up and do a 300 km. And that too on a MTB with stock knobby tyres. 

And.... I didnt finish. 

So, this write-up, rather than a ride report, is better written as a "lessons learnt" list - for me to refer to when I go beyond the thin line to enter "over confidence" territory.

So here goes:

1. Past glory is exactly that - past!

The first steps in the direction towards disaster were when I did not register and plan in time. While I was in the top 10 to register for the 200 km brevet, I registered in the 50s out of a total 54 registrations. If I had been as diligent and as serious as my previous rides, I'd have jumped into the ride head first. 

But no, I was a veteran now after the unbelievable number of two long rides, and I can afford to come late to the party, its fashionable. Ha!

I forgot to pay the registration free in time, and after begging the organizers for grace - got half a day's extension. So frantically I paid the fee online, on Thursday night for the Saturday ride, and the confirmation came on Friday afternoon. If there was a prize for adding needless pressure on oneself, I was already heading for a podium finish.

2. A fix in time, saves many.

Flats are a part of a cyclist's life. Its only a matter of time. I had a flat in my front tyre on Tuesday after riding in the rain and rolling over some thorns, but I put off the fix. It was 10 minutes' work - but I couldnt find the time.

And on Friday, reaching home beyond 7 PM after a full day of car drive, I frantically rushed to fix the flat and have the right pressure in the tyres. But the nearby petrol pump had the compressor off, and the local bike shops didnt have a gauge. So it was by feel that I filled the tyres. 

My tail lights werent working after the 200 brevet, and I didnt replace it till Friday. I called Sanath up, who stays close and wasnt riding this brevet, and got his lights. He had them nicely packed and I collected it from his mom after fixing the flat in my tyres. Then stocked up on Electral sachets at a store. After all these, I reached home at 9:30 PM, leaving myself very little time for the rest of the prep - which by now is standard.

All this could have been done one at a time, much ahead in time, and it could have saved me all the running and pressure. 

3. There is a reason why you sleep 1/3rd of your life

Sleep is essential. It is critical before a ride. 

After reaching home by 9:30, I had to clean and lube the bike. I settled to do this after dinner, at around 10:00 PM. I finished it at 11:15 - after the ride in the rain, I had pretty much abandoned the bike for 3 days, and I paid the price.

And my daughter was awake, and of all days she wanted to be put to sleep by me this evening. My wife tried all her tricks, but my daughter had the best trick of all - wailing.

So I had to concede and sang some songs, and she soon found out it was better to sleep than to hear me sing in that awful mood I was in. By 11:45 she was asleep. And I went to sleep at 12. I had my alarm set at 3:45, and I woke up miraculously at 3:44 AM. 

Less than half the average sleep recommended, and slightly more than 1/3rd of what I would have liked before a brevet. I woke up in a daze, longing for a few more minutes in bed. This is not how you wake up for a brevet. You jump off the bed and hop on the bike. And badly begun is half sunk.

4. There is even more reason why you "eat" + "properly"

Carbs are important and in a craze I ate everything I thought had carbs in it on Friday. Mistake # 437 I guess. My tummy was in turmoil when I woke up, and mistaking it for hunger again, I had an apple. It did settle my tummy for a while, but too short too late.

So I reached the start point not in the best of mood and not in the best of shape. Registrations done, I met Adiviraj (read previous brevet report for his introduction) and his friend Dhruva (his first brevet). I was feeling much better that I had company of these riders to look forward to.

After some initial delays since these guys didnt have printed brevet cards for them, we headed off at around 6:15 AM. The setting was perfect - the right chill, windless, and early morning mist. So we rode pretty strongly till we reached the first diversion towards Malur. The fog increased and visibility was probably 10 meters on the highway, but it was amazingly refreshing and fun.

And after the turn towards Malur, I noticed that my front disc was rubbing against the brakes. It was mildly irritating at first, and soon I became too conscious about it. I slowed down considerably, did a few temporary adjustments and rode on till the first control - the psychological advantage is critical. So I put off repairs till I reached the control.

8:20 AM - First control at Malur, Canara bank ATM. 

I caught up with Adi and Dhruv again here. They were pretty strong, and Dhruv turned out to be the mad man. The typical adventure junkie. The sort you should have as your company in a brevet. Only, I wasnt destined to enjoy it much longer.

Notice that I didnt have anything to eat till now, and I decided to skip breakfast and ride on. Mistake #, well, too many coming ahead - forget the count.

So we rode on. And the disc issues resurfaced. I slowed down again, and lost the guys after 20 km or so. I tweaked the brakes again, and rode fast - to find the guys resting around 10 km before Bangarpet. Adi gave me 3/4th of some delicious homemade sandwich (he was eating into it, and just handed it over when he saw me tired and breathless) and a banana. We fixed the front disc issue well and truly now with some tweaking by Adi as well.

Dhruv behind me. I have that resigned look already.

Dhruv and Adiviraj - strong young riders (students)

After joking around a bit, we started again. But I couldnt keep pace. I was struggling already. And I couldnt explain it. 

I was pretty strong early in the mornings on both my previous long rides. But my legs just wouldnt move this time. I was huffing and puffing and lost the guys once again, and this time for good. Which was definitely a good thing for them, because I would have only slowed them down.

I still didnt realize it was because I didnt have a proper breakfast - it was a critical element for me in my previous rides and I consciously chose to ignore it this time. 

An empty stomach fills up your mind - and we all know mind is a monkey - mine went on to be a gorilla.

5. Use your strengths well - do not copy strategies, develop what suits you

In a brevet, you need to pace yourself according to your strengths - very few have the ideal combination of fast and strong - for most people one of these dominates. And you need to heed it, and use it. Many of us do the mistake of seeing others do some things differently and doing them well, and we start emulating it.

So I tried riding fast - but whatever little strength I have is about endurance. At 20-23 kmph, I ride like a train. Anything beyond it, I am a balloon that was just untied, I lose steam too fast and am all over the place.

So with no food since morning, I burnt whatever I had in the system riding like a mad man towards the second control at Pernambut. And around 20 km from Bangarpet, I lost it. I had no fuel left, and I the sun was just warming up. It was around 1:10 PM, and I stopped to rest.

I had a queasy tummy by now, accentuated by all the ORS.

6. Inspiration is everywhere - learn to recognize it; 
6.1 Did I mention? - EAT PROPERLY

At this point, I met Mr Sridhar, professor of mathematics at the Indian Statistical Institute. He is 50+, and he rides 40 km everyday as commute to college and back. 

He had very kind and encouraging words for me, and I started riding with him. We reached the Pernambut control at 2:35 PM, with a good hour to spare. We had no decent place to eat here, and I had two bananas, half a liter of water, one Britannia cup cake. Sridhar offered me some of the lunch he had packed, but I was temporarily full - and in continuation of my mistake, I skipped a proper lunch.

We went ahead for another 20 km, and rested again. I was almost going to puke now, and my legs were stiffening. I had half a cucumber and some water here. 

What we didnt realize, is that we consciously missed a turn towards Vaniyambadi, and went on towards Ambur - additional 5 km. One can argue it is not the best thing to do in the state I was in :P

7. Sun generates heat

Many of us probably learnt this in kindergarten. So this lesson is just a default inclusion.

But what needs to be added is, on a highway at 4 PM with no trees around, 30+ degrees is not a good thing for a rider. You cant avoid the sun, but you can prep against it. I didnt - I had no expendable energy and a queasy tummy. I was collapsing, and grinding to a halt.

Sridhar made me draft him and stay in his shadows - he took the sun on and blocked it for me, and kept repeating this: "you can finish it, just put one stroke after another". Moments like these literally make me choke. These moments re-invigorate belief in goodness of heart and inspirational figures are not just confined to epics and fables. 

Here was a 50+ man, himself fighting his demons, rising to the occasion and helping me. But I let him down. I was continuously dropping back, and at one point, I didnt want to slow him down, so stopped. 

And found myself a bakery to have some Sprite. Immediately after which I puked. Too much gas in an empty stomach. But it did help me, and my tummy felt a lot better.

8. Quitting is easy - so dont do it.

At about 27 km from Krishnagiri, I caught up with Sridhar again. But now I was looking to quit. I could not imagine myself doing the climbs after Krishnagiri - a key mistake was imagining that far ahead when I had to first reach Krishnagiri for that.

And I was collapsing once again - after puking I didnt feel like eating, and now my tummy was fully empty. Just when I was trying to push myself, my rear wheel just made a roaring noise.

It was completely out of place and was wobbling. At around 7 pm, it was completely dark, and I told Sridhar this was the last straw. I assumed this was unrepairable, and only strengthened my decision to quit. Sridhar wouldnt leave me like that, so he saw me off in a tempo. He continued the ride, and I genuinely wished him well and said a silent prayer for him.

Reached Krishnagiri town. Under a bright street light, I sat down to see what was wrong - I just had to tighten a couple of screws, and do some minor tinkering and the bike was alright. So it wasnt that much of a bike repair as it was a mind-repair.

Had dinner at Krishnagiri, found a bus willing to carry my bike and reached Hosur at 10:05 PM.

I slept in the bus for around 40 minutes.

9. Did I mention this as well? Sleep is essential!!

After the dinner and the short nap, when I got off the bus at Hosur, I felt fresh as in the beginning of the ride. I stopped looking for another hike to Bangalore, and started riding. 

I rode non stop from Attibele where I took a 10 min break to empty a bottle of water and catch a bit of breeze.

Covered 40 km in the next 2 hours and 37 minutes. Reached home at 12:37 PM. 

If I had just taken this decision to eat properly and sleep for a short while just before I quit, I probably would have made a fight out of this. But I gave in too easily.

The overall ride distance was 264 km, my longest yet in a day. But 264 <> 300.

I take pride in the fact that I never quit, not easily atleast - but I did that just this the 300 km. Bad prep and bad attitude did me in, and this is the most painful I have felt in the recent past. There were moments on Sunday when I felt like shedding a few tears at this ignominy - not as much about the incomplete bike ride as about accepting defeat so helplessly. 

But there is another day, and there is another ride waiting. And another chance to suffer, and suffer well towards a good goal with good prep. 

And that I will.