Chikka (Small) Tirupati - Big Achievements

It has been a good eight months, and I have been commuting to office everyday on the bike now.

I am now at a place where I want to inspire as many as possible to take up biking as a mode of transport or atleast recreationally. Where better to start than from the office.

So slowly, all my conversations with close friends started having a mention of biking. I'd make bizarre connections and relate a topic somehow to biking.

And slowly, I caught the interest of people. A lot of my friends have taken to biking, a couple of them as a mode of transport, and have seen tremendous changes in their life. Ofcourse, this was expected.

And so I wanted to take the next step of getting rides organized, and continue the momentum and not let people lose interest. We've done a couple of nice rides, posts about which will follow.

This post however, is to recollect a super ride we had on 06-Apr, braving heat and fatigue, and the truly surprising and inspiring attitude hidden in people - biking is one of those things that brings it out of them.

The pre-ride build up

The ride was planned to Chikka Tirupati. A total distance of around 75 km in a longish loop.

7 guys including me signed up. They all get a mention here:

1. Anand Devanathan - thats me - Bergamont Vitox 7.2

2. Shastisulochan Subburaman aka Shasti - Rockrider 5.0

3. Arun Sundararajan - Rockrider 5.2

4. Ramachandran Subramanian - Olympus God-knows-What

5. Sunil Kulkarni - Herculers Act 110

6. Abhinav Dhareshwar - Maxxit Even-God-Doesnt-Know-What

7. Venkatesh Kulkarni aka VK - brand new, just assembled (but borrowed) Schwin Trailway.

VK, Moi, Sunil, Shasti

So for over a week, we'd been trying to gather momentum, as this was the first 30+ km ride for everyone in the group except me, VK and Arun. Sunil did do an 80 km ride in China, but his first in India.

From whatever experience I have, inputs were shared on the ride prep, bike prep etc. The plan was to start at 6 AM, and try and end by 11:30 AM. Well, as all well laid plans go, this one had to give too! :D

The first leg: Start point Sarjapur Junction to Dommasandra - breakfast stop

Ram and I were on the same route to the start point, so we met up and rode together. We reached the start point at 5:59 AM and ofcourse were the first to reach. The others slowly trickled in. We finally set ourselves in motion by 6:30, and Sunil was yet to join since he was "searching for a few things" still. Thats what being too 'spirit'ed the previous evening does to one. 

We rode on for 10 km, and stopped at a fastfood for breakfast. Sunil rode like a mad man to reach here by 7 AM. The weather was holding. Hot idlies, and a coffee, and some joyful banter later we started towards the destination at 7:30 AM - this was going to be non-stop.

Shades at Sarjapur

So for all the gyaan that I could give about the ride prep, I forgot shades myself! Shades = sunglasses.

And the sun was pretty much in a bullying mood. We were riding east, and it was becoming difficult even at 8:00 AM. I stopped at a local fancy store at the Sarjapur village, that just opened - the guy was dusting and arranging etc. Got myself a vintage, high-end, Rs 110 plastic eyewear - the one you see me flaunting in the pic above.

The fun was far from over. Abhinav had forgotten his, and realized that I cheated him buying just for myself at the photopoint a couple of km later, and so I went back to get another pair for him. Realized I left my purse with Arun, and Abhinav had to come back too. So we bought his pair, and by then the group had taken off.

It was around 10 km to Chikka Tirupati from there and I had some serious catching up to do.

The mad rush

While Abhinav was taking it slow on VK's bike (he did this smart move while coming back to get his shades), I decided to sprint. I rode the fastest 10 km in my ride-life yet, covering the distance in just under 20 minutes. I soon caught up with Ram at about 6 km into the ride, and then VK on the bike shaped object struggling to get a move on - and cursing Abhinav's cheekiness all the way, and reached Chikka Tirupati to join the others who had just settled on a nice small wall just outside the temple. We had just finished 40 km of our ride.

A champion breakfast

A few of us made a quick visit to the temple while others guarded our bikes :). And then we all realized we were hungry again. I was told of a mess run by a karate master and champion, in the vicinity of the temple, by a kind soul in the Bangalore Bikers Club. We quickly located this place and got set on our breakfast. The nameboard was all in kannada, so I couldnt read a word, but if you make it to the temple and want a nice filling breakfast and dont mind an unkempt ambience, please do make it to this mess (pun unintended). The owner has many tales to tell and many experiences to share as well.

The ride to Hopefarm

A quick detour into a villa project nearby to check out Sunil's property, and we were set on the return leg. It was around 10:20 AM, and the sun was beginning to get ominous. A gentle wind tempered things down a bit, but then, this was headwind. So it was a two edged sword for us. Shasti, VK, Sunil and I rolled on, Arun was giving company to Ram and Abhinav at the back. 15 km later, we stopped at a bakery and had our refreshments - this was a longish break, as we also ended up helping the bakery fellows move some machinery around. Ram joined us a few minutes later, with a rather stoic expression and a slow swagger. I half expected him to curse me for getting him into this and crib about the heat etc. He opened his mouth to utter the most delicious words of the break "a couple of more times on this route and it should be easier". I was already a fan. People never cease to surprise me with their grit and enthusiasm, and here was another example. Unfortunately this time I dont have pictures of Ram, but the next ride there will be a feature on him.

Two sugarfilled glasses of juice with crushed ice and we were ready to take on the sun yet again. Arun couldnt take the heat any longer and he shifted gears literally and figuratively. He left us all behind and moved on closer to Hope farm. He thought he was lost when I called him to find out where he was (we missed spotting him when we were busy gulping down our beverages), but he was just a few km short of Hope farm now.

So the rest of us had to get a move on.

At this point, Abhinav was somewhere behind us, having retained his Maxxit. I called to suggest he pulls out if the heat was getting on to him. Suprisingly, he told me he was going to finish the ride no matter what, and asked us to go ahead while he does it at his own pace. I was pleasantly surprised by his spirit - this is exactly what one wants to hear. We respected his decision and got cracking on our final leg.

Chilled beer is the best drink in the world

Thats according to VK  :)

So yet again, his motivation was clear - he probably could even smell and taste it without actually drinking it. And hearing him was enough to get our mouths watering as well. The ride to Hopefarm was the worst leg in the ride, as we were entering city limits again, and traffic and dust was just plain offputting.

However, the reward waiting was big enough to help ignore these minor discomforts. Shasti and I blazed the city roads to reach Bageecha at Marathalli at about 12:20 PM - we'd covered 72 km overall.

Abhinav called to inform that he had reached Hopefarm and was going on to his home which was closer than the restaurant :) He had earned all of our respects and the man deserved something even bigger just for considering riding his BikeShapedObject for over 75km.

Slowly the others trickled in to the restaurant. 

Everyone does things in life to succeed. Some bunch of people do small crazy things, just like this ride. And it does put other things in perspective. For some in the group who havent biked in years, completing this was such a highpoint. And it clearly showed. Perspiration might have had something to do with it, but I thought I saw a glow in everyone's face. 

Arun and Shasti

Moi, VK, Arun and Shasti

Was this all worth anything? Each one had his own reasons to do this, and each one had something change in him. Each one had some memories built, and some muscles as well in the process ;)

We'd done something - the question is Not Why - the question is Why Not?!

Note to self: Very few pictures in this ride. These experiences call for a lot more.