Ride to SavanaDurga and Manchanabele Reservior

Date : Sunday ,Sep 27, 2009

The Savanadurga Rock

Group: More than 15 riders.

Sabjeewalas on the Magadi Road where I ate half Kg Tomatoes

The starting : We started at 0830 from Magadi Road - Chord Road Junction. Up to NICE road the ride was not fun. Lots of traffic and noise. Most of the times I was riding on the mud taking full benefit of my MTB.

Heading to...

On the way to Savanadurga : One of the riders was having some trouble in his bike. So he rode to Magadi, got it fixed and met us again on the turn towards Savanadurga on Magadi Road. On the way, we had breakfast and I again ate like monsters. The monolith is visible from far and the view is awesome all around the place. Lush green paddy fields and water logged at many places. We just took an idly break at Savanadurga and headed further.

I just came out of the water

The Manchanabele Dam : Now this is again a spectacular view! Blue colored water, savanadurga hill at the background, surrounded by green hills, blue sky with dense white clouds in between. Without wasting anytime, I was the first one to jump in the water. Few others rode their bike in the water itself.

Google Map has enough info for this route. Just remember the turn in front of Post Office

Return to home : Started climbing up and had a last view of the reservoir before the road turns on the other side of the hill. From Mysore road, I turned to the Nice road. I was allowed after some resistance. Riding on Nice road is fun and for the whole of 15 KM ride on it, I was having the view of the Manchanabele damn in my mind.

Ramesh with Machanabele and Savanadurga at background. He wasn't riding but was kind enough to drive his car as support vehicle at our slow speed. Many Thanks to him.

Stats:
Distance : 130 KM
Max : 52.1 KMPH
Avg : 21.0 KMPH

Bicycle ride to Bheemeshwari

Date : Sunday ,August 2, 2009

The strong riders: Prashant, George, Samim and Dipankar

Group: More than 30 riders, most of them on MTB and others on road bikes.

To follow this route, upload the GPX file located at
http://reach2paresh.googlepages.com/2009-08-02_06_03.gpx
to
http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/map_input?form=google

The starting : We started at 0600 from Merida Junction aka Kanakpura Outer ring road junction. The first halt was at Kanakpura for breakfast.

Anita was more interesting in posing than the nasty truck behind her

On the Kanakpura Road: The whether was awesome while going and it was downhill most of the times. Whenever rodies used to overtake, MTBers were getting charged up.

Dipankar with his Rodie and my MTB

The Kaveri Valley : After taking the left turn from Sathanur, it was a village road which soon took shape of a very steep valley road. I was able to see Rushi in front but my chain came out once and he got disappeared. There was no one following me. This downhill was the time to take maximum out of my Trek 6000 with thick tires, suspension and disk brakes. I attained the max speed of 60 KMPH for the first time. Within minutes, Kauvery was flowing calmly on my left. Bheemeshwari was still 6 KM ahead but I saw the road bikers coming towards me. George was looking for a place to have a dip but Samim insisted to eat first and the jump in the water.

So excited!!!

The refreshing halt : We rode 500 meters ahead and reached to a village. Had tea and idlies. Soon others riders also joined us. After refilling ourselves, George took us to the Dip Point. Some of us jumped into waster, others dipped their feet and others just looked from outside. This dip in the Kauvery was the best part of the ride. Every time during a ride, I used to think of jumping in the lake or river. But this was the first time that I did it and that also in non other than the Mystic Kauvery.

Enough of camera holding, I am going in now...

The Killer return uphill : After around an hour, we started back towards Bangalore. All the downhill, where I hit 60, was waiting and smiling at me. Tried for some distance but then came off the sadle and started walking. Pushing the body out of limits was not good because I had to preserve enough energy to ride all the way back to home.

Very few guys were able to pedal their bikes, Go Rushi go...

Then I realized that if I keep on walking, I would reach home in 24 hours. So I put the bike in lowest gear and with enough patience, started pedaling again.

I know it was damn tough...

The Beering End : Finally, I was able to complete the steep section of the uphill and reached the Kanakpura road. Roadies were waiting there at a tea stall. Filled stomach with biscuits and curd rice and started back to Bangalore. Anand asked to wait at Metro so that we can have a mug of beer before leaving for home. The taste of beer was different today due to the satisfaction of crossing 200KM mark in a day.

Lets celebrate!!!

Stats:
Distance : 201 KM
Max : 60 KMPH
Avg : 22.1 KMPH

Bangalore Bicycle Championship: The off road trail ride

http://www.bangalorebicyclechampionships.com had its third event as an off road trail ride event and I took part this time. It was a loop of 5 KMs and there were 5 laps. That made it a ride of 25 KM. More than 70 rides were present.

George in the middle came first. Geurge in red shirt, came second and Prashant in blue helmet came third.

That is me in action

My time was around 11 minutes and 25 seconds for a lap. The complete details of the timing were not available due to some issues

All the pics belongs to Mahesh Srinivas. Complete Collection : http://www.flickr.com/photos/purpwaltz/sets/72157621712722189/

Sarjapur Off Road Biking

Date : Sunday, July 19, 2009

Riders got lost, lets wait for them

Group : More than 22 riders...

The perfect all-night-long party spot

Starting : The meeting point was the Sarjapur Junction at the Outer Ring road at 0600 hours. Many of us were late and we had to wait for them. Finally we started 0625 hours. Later I got call from others that they are still on the way. Might be they rode alone....

Sukhi, you are the leader

The countryside : Soon we were at the lush green country side. Because of the large group, the queue of rides were quite long. We had idlies at the regular place at Gunjur village and then again got disappeared in the woods. Came across a beautiful spot for picnic. There was hut, a pond and lots of lotus on it.

The lotus and the one-pic-please people

The series of falls : Abhin, was the man of falls that day. He got around 5 falls and 2 flats. The last fall was major and he got badly hit. he was brave enough to ride till Decathlon Store, which was our end point for the ride:

A village guy helping Abhin after his fall at the jump

Stats :
Distance : 54 KM
Max : 44 KMPH
Avg : 18.2 KMPH

Sarjapur Trail Ride, Bangalore

Date : Sunday, July 12, 2009

Group :Ravi, Anand, Neera, Nitin, Rajat, Fareed, Priyesh, Francis, Baalu, many others and me.

Fixing the flats

Starting : I forgot my gloves and without them riding a trail would be difficult. Hecne, I moved back after riding for 2 KMs. Because of this I got late but was lucky enough to catch the other riders before they disappeared.

The Ride : The ride was good and the good weather was an added advantage. It was not much ride when one of us got a flat. Others checked their bikes and one by one, four bikes were having flats. A good break was taken there. After that Ravi leaded us to an Idly shop where all of us took breakfast.

So many flats?

We faced many dead ends today. Moving further, we passed around a lake and there were many rare birds around that area. One of them was really huge. There were also lots of skeletons lying around. One of us suggested to carry it with him to his home as a token of today's ride.

Flower Nursery and the breeding of the Cat Fish

Return : We reached to Decathlon Store on the Sarjapur Road. Got recharged there and also looked at the new arrivals. I will definitely visit there once I have spare money.

To follow this trail upload the GPX file located at http://reach2paresh.googlepages.com/2009-07-12_06_34.gpx
to
http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/map_input?form=google

Stats:
Distance : 51 KM
Max Speed : 44.6 KMPH
Avg Speed : 19 KMPH

Hesaraghatta Lake

Flying Neera followed by others

Resting in the peace

Date : Saturday, June 06, 2009

Group : Amy, Nitin, Sumeet, Neera, others, and me

Starting : As usual, we started late from cubbon park. Neera joined us from IISc. Amy was leading us but was not sure of the directions. Asked many people and finally we were on the Hesaraghatta road. We were looking for some village roads but not everybody was ready to do the experimentation. The road was in good condition and lead us to the Hesaraghatta Village. After having breakfast there, we rode towards lake which is not far off.

Breathtaking view of the lake

The Lake : The place is gorgeous and the lovely weather multiplied the beauty. We went off road and took the bikes on the lake. Water was present only at the limited portion and rest of the land was covered by lush, soft and green grass till horizon. Soon there was chopper flying over us. May it was on a scheduled session.

The Chopper over us

Neera and Nitin on the Banyan Tree

The place around : Mesmerized by the greenery and the cool weather, everybody wanted to ride more. Hence, we moved further. On the road side, there was a huge Banyan tree. Neera and Nitin did not waste time to climb over it.

The yahoo maps with my GPS pointed to a return. After reaching there we came to know that it was only a trail and not any road.

To follow this route, upload the GPX file located at
http://reach2paresh.googlepages.com/2009-06-06_06_19.gpx
to
http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/map_input?form=google

The return : We took the village road for some distance which met the mail road after some time. Stopped once to have coconut and jack fruit and returned. I was not in mood to take the Tumkur road again which is full of heavy vehicles throwing smoke at face and honking on head. So I decided to take another road. GPS again helped me out and I found a good road to return back.


My Rating : To put it in simple words, The place is awesome! It is perfect place to camp over night and have fun in group. From biking point of view, it becomes good only after coming to less crowded roads. We did not take the village road and the initial ride on the Tumkur road was bad due to heavy traffic.


Stats :
Distance : 87 KM
Max Speed : 51.2 KMPH
Avg : 18.2 KMPH

Nandi Hills Downhill Trail Ride, Nandi Hill, Bangalore, India

Nelly on his coconut Jump.

Date : Sunday, May 31, 2009

Preparation before the ride

Group : Modi, Nelly, Samim, Sree, Vivek, Pradeep, George, Joshine, few others and me.

Reached the top, about to ride down...

Starting : I started from my home at Koramangala at 0530 to the Jaksandara bus stand. The plan was to take the Airport Volvo bus till the Airport turn on NH-7. The plan worked. The driver and the conductor happily allowed me to carry my bike in the bus. I think there is no hard core rule for boarding volvo with your bike. Just start crying for this. If the bus is crowed then there is less chance. But on a Sunday early morning, the bus was having lots of free space.

George on the Rock

To the trail starting point : Got down at the Airport Junction at NH-7 and rode from there till Karahalli Cross (better known as Idly Point). On the ride, Samim overtook me on this Specialized Road Bike. I had Idly-Vada here and rode till the Mirza Circle on the Road to the Nandi top.

Vivek after the fall

On the Trail : It was a perfect and tough test for (a first timer like) me. I am not listing down any leanings or tips here because one has to keep in mind all the tips that are available on web and you-tube for mountain biking. I was slow because one minor mistake would have taken me to free fly and the directly to hell. The ride was great and I enjoyed it, without any fall. For second time, Nelly and others helped me to load my bike in the car to again go to up hill at the starting point of trail. We started again. Thigh muscles were keeping the body above the saddle and working as a suspension. Fingers were braking all the time. Brain was trying to concentrate on the trail. This is where I was not up to the mark. I was feeling hungry and my stomach my tickling me. This disturbed my concentration and I fell down. Thanks to my cheap knee pads because of which I just got a minor scratch in spite of falling on the rock.

To follow this trail, upload the GPX file located at
http://reach2paresh.googlepages.com/2009-05-31_10_32.gpx
to
http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/map_input?form=google

This was the time I noticed the functioning of unconscious mind. I am always conscious to not to apply front brake in down-hill. But when I fell my fingers pressed the right brake levers on their own. Nelly explained this behaviour. I (and most of the people) are right handed. So the unconscious mind uses that hand/fingers under emergency. Thus my plan is to switch left level to front and right level to rear brakes.

At Idly Point after the first round of downhill

After coming down second time, I had tomato rice at the Idly junction and then rode back to my home. I was expecting rain but only got the motor bike smoke.

Me on the trail...

My rating : It is not-so-easy trail and if you are not confident enough then should not try it. There were many first timers also so doing it should not be that tough also. Keeping the low speed is ok and getting down the saddle at tough points is no shame.

Its not just about serious riders. Fathers with their kids can also have a lot of fun

The cop seems to be in thinking mode, no wonder, anyone would be

Stats:
Distance : 100 KM
Max : 53 KMPH
Avg : 20.9 KMPH

Note : All the photographs belong to Modi : http://www.flickr.com/photos/modi-kumar/sets/72157619105052774/