When Road Beast 1000km brevet debuted last year, I was keen to ride, but had to miss due to travel. 2015 being a PBP year, I thought it would be nice to do a 1000km training ride.Knew that this is going to one hot ride, literally, as the route is Chennai-Vijayawada-Chennai.
On the saddle on at 6AM, it was zippy non-stop ride to the first control point 107km away. Two cream filled buns eaten while riding powered this distance. Andhra Pradesh welcomed us with extreme warmth (read HOT)! NH5 is an interesting highway, vast emptiness(some dry fields, harvested) on both sides, with sun blasting away (43 C)and hardly any hotels, just occasional Dhabas. The Rs 10/- Orange candy ice cream was heavenly when the sun was right on top.
The second control was at 297km and the wonderful MR folks were there. Night was cooler and having ridden the entire hot day, eyes were begging to shut. Couple of 15min power naps that we (Mohan, Arun & me) did not help. When I saw a few riders pass by after our power nap, I wanted to kill the sleep with a sprint and it was heavenly. But when I stopped, sleep came with a vengeance. A 30-min nap in a petrol bunk helped immensely.
Day 2 dawned and the sun said a big Hi! Then it was flyover time. One after another in waves they came, the never-ending kind. After multiple sachets of buttermilk (Thank you Neville) and lemon sodas, we were at the U-turn point at Vijayawada around 1pm. Lunch done and we turned back.
Now it was not only Agni, but Vayu also. Vayu was constantly hugging us – headwinds. Clammy gloves, sticky jersey, little drops trickling down the face, wet groin, “hot body”, legs pumping rhythmically, the fury of a trillion hydrogen atoms on your head and the Vayu blowing non-stop at you, a lovely experience.
107km later (611km mark) the third control manned point ‘Surya Dhaba’ showed up. A refreshing bath under the night sky, change of clothes, quick dinner and off we went. A few short naps and dawn broke.
I was feeling wonderful and wanted to sprint again. And it turned out be a long 60 minute sprint. I lost Mohan, Arun and continued on. The sun was back. A few climbs later the third manned control showed up around noon (780km mark). Parked the cycle and after a few minutes the front tyre was smouldering. Well, the ashes where the front tyre was resting on was still active and I did not know that. Well does this mean “Burn the rubber” – LOL! Thankfully the tyre was not damaged. the ever helpful Sundar Rajan loaned me a spare tyre just in case. A fiery hot lunch and I was back on the saddle.
The next few hours until the evening was slow, due the heat. Riding alone, I was quietly sucking up the heat and in a way enjoying it. Around 6PM Cafe Coffee Day showed up and a cold coffee energised me. Sprint time again! As the dusk vanished, the barren NH5 transformed into a ‘foresty’ road. And then the magic happened.
I got into the “zone”. The entire world was connected with me. There were no trees now, it was giant faces of wonderful people, some with masks lined along the sides of the road, the sky and road merged to give rise to a big tube in which I was sliding along, the legs were supple and relaxed rotating rhythmically, and the wind caressing me continuously, the little light illuminating the 30 feet of my world. The Zen moment. Hallucination is just wonderful. And then Arun called in and enquired if I was experiencing the moment!
The reverie continued for a few hours until the next CCD at TADA (900 mark). It was blissful. Hot coffee at CCD and back on the saddle and the moment came back. Eyelids closed with just a sliver open, mind agile and sharp, autopilot riding, it is experience that I look forward too. 800kms of enjoyable riding with very minimal sleep does the trick, always. And I just love it.
The reverie was broken as I entered North Chennai due to bad roads (flyover construction in progress). Chennai expressway shows up, it is about 2AM. It is pitch dark, empty and soul-less. The experience on this elevated expressway was frightening. The hallucinations were at the peak now. The mind was utterly confused by the merged images – the river Cooum far below, suddenly a balcony of an apartment on the road side, later a hillock shows up, the shrill beams of headlight from the oncoming vehicles on the distant right, the sudden expanse near the college building on the right were frightening. I had to stop and take a breakfast bar to ensure that I was not low on sugar and imagining things. And my eyes were tiny slits and I was pumping the pedals. The 30km ride on this expressway was the longest and I don’t remember a thing.
As I exited the expressway, I was delighted. The last few kms to the end point was my best sprint. Sprinted delightfully, the entire stretch was blur. As I jumped onto the pavement at the end point and I was greeted by the wonderful MR folks. And Kandappa’s warm hug was wonderful. Completed at 5:30AM with 3.5 hours to spare. And Jayaraman’s home made Kesari was pure Amritham (nectar).
Whatta ride. Being in the zone between 8PM-5AM on the third night, my longest, a new PB in hallucination! And multiple sprints, my first again. Just amazing. Hot in every sense of the word. My third 1000 brevet, one to cherish.
MR folks you are just amazing. Hats off to each one of you for the wonderful hospitality. Thank you Mohan and Arun for the wonderful company. It was lovely riding with you guys – Ajay Kandappa , Sanjeev Ramki, Padma Priya, Varanam Yuvaa, Varun, Ramesh Palani, Subash Jeyan, Karthikeyan Ramasamy.