The weekend Nandi Expedition

One may call it, a wake up apathy syndrome or a selective hearing disorder or a alarm clock immunity, majority of us suffer or had suffered from it in some days of our life (not to mention, this disorder is a boon in disguise many times). When the most powerful and strategically complicated alarms fail in doing its job, thanks to a simple call from a friend at the nick of time, that saves your day. 

Last week, following a casual discussion with bunch of cycling enthusiast in office, a 150 km casual ride to nearby Nandi Hills was planned instantly for the weekend ie. 15th of March 2014. We all, a group of four, agreed to start quite early in the morning hours at about 3:30 am to avoid the midday baking under the hot sun. This being a casual trip, I was a bit too casual to the extent that I slept late at 1:30 am, the previous night. The plan to make this trip happen was still very well registered in my brain but my tired and sleep deprived mind had subconsciously made another easy and a convincing plan while trying to sleep i.e. to skip the entire trip and extend the sweet sleeping hours for the next whole day instead. Lazy me!!!

Well, my cell phone was ringing, in-spite of the fact that 5 loud alarms set on the phone lying on the extreme corner of the room had been already dismissed. With a squinty, blurry and suspicious vision, I looked at the time. It was 3:34 am. My friend and a office colleague Macks was calling me. In a half sleepy dreamy mode, I thought, "Oh! noooo ways ... I haven't even started the good part of the sleep yet ...". Covering my head and ears with blanket and couple of pillows, making a sound proof insulation, I was within no time back to that cozy peaceful dream world. 3:41 am another ring. This time picking up the call, I jumped off the bed instantly. Feeling a bit groggy, gulped down a glass of water, I was in minutes ready for the cycle expedition.

Bunch of street dogs had gathered outside the house all barking at me, well, who knows may be wishing me good luck. Without responding back to their good wishes, I quietly left home. Macks was there, waiting for me in the nearby lane. 4:15-4:30 am, we started to ride slowly on the silent empty roads towards Domlur. Met Punit and Vinesh near Domlur flyover. 

Now a group of four, we were on our way to capture the hills. The plan was to reach Devanahalli town via the Sivas road instead of the NH-7 express highway thus experiencing the early morning scenic sunrise on the village roads far away from the city and traffic. The fresh earthy fragrant air, wide open fields, dark sky lit by bright stars and a subtle red light of a breaking dawn at far horizon behind the coconut trees was breathtaking. Stopped just after the Budigere village for a pee break. Devanahalli crossed, we were soon ridding on the beautiful Nandi Durga road. 68 km feeling quite fresh, reached 'Nandi Beta' the base of the hill, met three other riders who were also doing the climb. Had a chit chat and a good breakfast of idli vada and tea, refilled the water bottles and started the outright vertical accent.

There is always something magical something thrilling about climbing. It makes one euphoric in spite of the hard work, the grueling torture and pain one goes through. This one we were attempting has around 500 m of elevation in 7.2 km, with the last 3 km of the climb being a bit steep with sharp hairpins. Pretty enough to burn one out. The hill with altitude of 4,851 ft (1,479 m) above sea level resembles a sleeping bull (Nandi) and requires a bull strength to climb literally. Out of the total seven cyclist, it was the first time experience for the three cyclist riding with me and all were able to nail it down. Celebrating our achievements, we rested for a while, just after the arched gateway to Nandidurga (Fort) at the top.

Going downhill was a sweet delightful rewarding treat but did not last long, we were all back to the base in few minutes. Had a second round of idli vada and badam milk breakfast at the base to refill our empty and hungry fuel tanks. A good chit chat with the co riders, all satisfied, but there was one more challenge left that is to go back home, facing the intense heat of the day. 

It was already 10:30 am hot and bright with no trace of clouds in the sky. We decided to take the express highway this time. I on my road bike was riding at a faster pace in order to reach home as early as possible. 11:30 am blazing bright, the highway was reflecting a lot of heat. No tree cover, the harsh sun and just 2 hrs of sleep the previous night was was making ride tough. It sucked up every bit of energy in me. I tried to focus, managed to ride nonstop in solo mode all the way to home. 1:10 pm, tired and exhausted, unlocked the door of the house, throwing the bike against the wall, crashed on bed and slept within seconds.

And yes, that certainly was, the best sleep I experienced in the recent times. Wondering, how come I forgot to even shut close the main door of the house before sleeping. Now i know why :P :)))

Punit, Mudit, Macks, Vinesh @ Nandi Hill top