Tristate 216 km - Bicycle ride

Somewhere on the way

My short ride report on the recent 216 km bicycle ride dated 13/06/15. The itinerary being Bangalore-Hosur-Krishnagiri-Kuppan-Vepanapalli-Berigai-Begalur-Sarjapur and finally back to Bangaluru. The route covered the three states Karnataka, Tamil Naidu and Andhra Pradesh.

Managing some 3.5 hours of sleep the previous night, I woke up early at 4:30 - 4:45 am in a frenzy. Gobbling up couple of rotis with tad of honey, I left the house. Started at 6:00 am from Pizza Hut at Silkboard with bunch of other co riders. Soon after crossing the electronic city 10 km away, all the co riders vanished, some behind, some ahead. Thereafter, I rode mostly alone in a solo mode for rest of the stretch, at my own pace.

Ride till Krishnagiri was frisky, smooth and effortless just like a bird's flight. Feeding on idlies vada pongal and hot crisp filter coffee at Saravna Bhavan at 72 km, pepped up, I was back on the pedals. Soon took the detour from the Bangalore - Chennai highway towards Kuppam. 

The weather was warm and humid. The road was now relatively free from traffic with an overall uphill gradient and a few nice climbs. The surreal and scenic landscapes of Kuppam were most delightful to watch with giant imposing boulders embedded perfectly on the hillocks surrounded by vivid vegetation. The birds chirping in the backdrop of lush green cover and the fragrance of clean pollution free countryside air was captivating. At times I found myself riding through a platoon of the colorful butterflies flying on the road everywhere. 

Soon after, I was on a scenic decent to Vepanapalli to join the highway to Begalur. Unable to find a decent place for lunch, I settled for half a dozen bananas and water and moved on. This section of the route till Begalur also had climbs but was equally nice in terms of good roads and less traffic.

Despite the exhaustion due to heat and climb in the middle of the day, resting and sleeping for a while under a shady tree on the roadside over a bed of wild grass with mild breeze gently sweeping my sweaty face and cooling me off was quiet soothing and liberating. There was whole new beautiful world of bugs and ants, twigs and leaves on the ground. While laying on the back and observing the vast expansive sky above the trees, I was engulfed in my solitude, a feeling of being free, a feeling of being strong yet tiny at the same time.

An ice-cream break at Begalur, water bottle refilled. Its always a pleasure to smile back and wave hands to local people, specifically the kids who come running behind to cheer up, shouting there hearts out in excitement on seeing some cyclist in strange attire. 

With the clouds filling up the skies and the sun playing hide seek, I picked up pace on relatively flat terrain to reach Sarjapur. Sarjapur to Bangalore had pathetic traffic which progressively increased into a disgusting smoke filled jam near Bangaluru city. Really wished our city was more serene calm and clean.

6:35 pm, reached home, then a blank. 1.5 hours later, I found myself lying stiff on the chair with feet on the tabletop :p. Had a hot shower, followed by a well deserved yummy dinner to satisfy my hunger pangs.

Had an amazing day :-)

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