The impossible 170 km ride !

It was June 2012. Cycling had started becoming popular all of a sudden. I was seeing posts and articles in the media and the social networks very frequently on cycling and its benefits. Governments boasted about creating cycling lanes along schools and main roads. It had become a trend to be spotted with a flashy cycle with disc brakes, gears and what not! Suddenly everyone had taken to cycling.

The last time I cycled was during my 12^th when I used to ride to school. Cycling was something that I never enjoyed during my school days. I always wanted to be on the fuel powered 2 wheelers than the self-powered ones. I remember creating havoc and throwing a tantrum when my mom told me that she wouldn’t buy me a 2 wheeler to go to tuitions. I hated the cycle!

But now after 7 years, the cycle had reentered my life. On seeing the cycling trend and the extra pounds that I had accrued after school, I started to think if it was the cycle that had kept me in shape during my school days. Now that I had shunned it, I lost the active lifestyle that came with it.

Not wanting to be left out of the trend and the fun that cyclists in my fraternity were having, I too sought to go for a ride. My first ride was to pulicat which is about 60 kms from Chennai. Having nearly died doing that, I wanted to go on the next ride. It was to Thirukazhukundram, a small town on the chengalpet – Mamallapuram road, about 75kms from Chennai.

 

All set for the ride, I rented an Adidas MTB from a cycle shop near my place and started by 3:30 from my home and reached Tidel park, our assembly point, at 4:00. After checking all our cycles for anything that might cause us to delay, we set off towards sholinganallur where we took a small tea break before taking the left towards the vandalur – kelambakkam road. We then took an off road from the vandalur-kelambakkam road via karanur, othivakkam to reach karumbakkam stopping once to have a sumptuous breakfast of idlis and vadas. It was almost noon and the sun was happily sucking out my energy like they show on the glucon D ads! We stopped at almost every juice shop we could spot and drank whatever we could. I had about 7 glasses of butter milk at a single shop, so I guess you can do the math.



The Team

Finally about 1:30 – 2:00 PM, we reached the temple town of thirukazhukundram where we waited for about half an hour for others to catch up before reaching the bus stand for lunch. Post lunch, few of them who had to reach Chennai before evening started off immediately and few of them who were too tired to continue took a bus back to Chennai. I wanted to take the bus back. I had lost my stamina and my will to continue had come down. It was Peter who asked me not to quit and continue. We then took a small nap in a patch of grass land outside the town and by about 3:30 we started back towards Chennai. 

The nap on the outskirts of thirukazhukundram

By now the sun started to go down and the conditions were starting to get better to cycle. The road that we took had enormous paddy fields on either side and it was just so beautiful that I was thankful for not having taken the bus back to Chennai. We then spotted a huge well and a pumpset which was irrigating the fields. We have the habit of jumping into water whenever possible and the moment we spotted the well, . We jumped into it and had a very refreshing bath which gave us the much need energy to continue on our way back to Chennai. 

Thats me diving into the well

After a couple of hours, few others in our group took a different route which took them directly to guduvancherry and the 7 of us cycled our way towards the OMR. 

The final 7 (7th guy is the one clicking)

We had to take a very deserted off road, through a forest to reach the vandalur-kelambakkam road before it got dark and thankfully all of us made it just in time. Cycling in the vandalur- kelambakkam road was again a pain without the street lights and most of us didn’t have lights fitted on our cycles. To add to it, one of my friend’s cycle got punctured and we had to fix it with light from our mobiles. We surely had to be crazy doing these stuff. By the time we reached sholinganallur, it was 10 PM. We stopped over at Nalas and gobbled up everything that we could. The GPS which we turned on at sholinganallur in the morning now read 140 kms. Having cycled 20 kms to reach sholinganallur, I had completed 160 and I still had another 15 to go before I could reach the comfort of my bed. The thought of having covered over 170 kms in a single day on cycle excited me beyond anything. It was something that I thought impossible. If not for peter’s encouragement, I wouldn’t have achieved this. That night I had a very satisfied and content sleep. The kind of sleep that you get when you have are happy and there is nothing to worry about. I had cycled over 170 kms in a single day. Surely, there could be no problem that couldn’t be solved. 

It was a very important lesson I learnt that night after crossing the 170 km mark. It was to not quit at any point but to die trying. It is something that I have always followed till date and I hope to not quit till I die trying.

How many of you have achieved feats that you previously thought impossible? Do let me know!

Photo Credits - Peter

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My first trek ever!!

My first trek – Nagari

Oct 2010

It was 2 months since I registered with the Chennai Trekking Club and I still hadn’t done a trek. The invites that I received were all for medium / difficult treks and I wasn’t sure if I would be able to make it. Also, the thought of wandering off in a forest with strangers held me back a bit. It was then I received this invite from Peter. It was an ‘open to all trek’ to the hill ranges of Nagari, AP. This was a trek which was divided into 4 levels – Easy, medium, difficult and extreme. Finally I mustered enough courage to register for this trek.

The trek date came close by and I received the preparatory email. It had instructions as to where we had to assemble, the route to the base camp and things that need to be carried for the trek, apart from other rules and regulations. I started packing my back pack ticking things off the checklist. Couple of hours later, my backpack had in it, a set of clothes, 3 litres of water, spare footwear, sunscreen and other things that seemed essential.

I woke up early on the day of my trek and took a cab to Tidel Park, my assembly point. A while later, my friend, Gokul and I reported to the tidel park lead, paid the expense for the trek and we were all set to go. We boarded the bus which had been arranged to take us to Nagari and off we went.

After reaching the base camp, we had breakfast and started to collect food which we would need for the trek – lemon rice, chapathis, noodles, apples, glucon D and coconut poli. After loading everything in my back pack, I started to think if my backpack had become too heavy.

Things that we took for the trek

We started off on a trail that took us into the mountains. It was a narrow footpath that the locals use to collect wood. The whole terrain was very bushy and the sun started beating down on us. An hour later, we started to ascend and it became increasingly strenuous to climb. I desperately wanted to take a break. Everyone going past me asked me not to stop and keep moving slowly. I couldn’t. My backpack was too heavy and it pulled me back. I rested for a while, had some glucon D and started moving. From there, I started resting every 10 mins. It was then I understood why everyone had asked me not to rest. “You stop once, you’ll keep stopping again and again”-Lesson learnt the harsh way.

Stop once and you will keep stopping again and again !

For a few hours, we continued on the same trail which took us deeper and higher into the Nagari range. The views of the valley below were stupendous and kept me going. By noon, I had lost my stamina completely and I was losing my will to continue. Being in the middle of nowhere and at the mercy of nature, there was nothing much I could do but continue walking. By about 1 PM, we spotted a waterfall where people were taking bath. Phew! At last! I thought we had reached the campsite. The sense of relief that swept through me cannot be explained. The actual campsite was a Shiva temple above the waterfall. After the last climb, I could finally hear laughter, talk and glee. We had reached the camp site at last. ! Wait a minute - was this supposed to be the first level that Peter had mentioned as easy in his email? Damn! My body had become numb with pain. I quickly undressed and got into the pool and boy!! It was very refreshing. The cold running water was just what I wanted after such an ordeal. Being a non-swimmer, I couldn’t do much but just stand in the small puddle of shallow water.

The water that we had to cross to get to the 2nd campsite

Post lunch, I was not in a mood to continue and thought of spending the night in the first camp. Gokul though coerced me into continuing and I agreed reluctantly. I then heard the organizers call out for trekkers who wanted to move on and we buckled up. We were supposed to be climbing over a waterfall and follow the stream. What? It looked dangerous but nevertheless adventurous. The point where we crossed the water fall was very slippery and one wrong foot would have left me dead or worse, paralyzed. We then started climbing on boulders along the stream which were becoming increasingly huge and I was continuously gasping for breath. I started to lose my temper at my inability to keep up with the group. Out there, if you don’t keep moving you would be left behind or worse get lost in the middle of the forest. We then reached a fork where the ones who were leading the group didn’t know which route to take. One of the organizers thought it was a brilliant idea to climb on the left and went ahead.  We started following him but the left just didn’t seem right. About half an hour later, there didn’t seem to be any way forward. We were all scathed by the thorns, rocks and it was then we heard someone shout from below saying that it was the wrong route and asked us to come back. Damn! I was furious. I was on the verge of losing it. We then came back and took the right that we were supposed to. It was a long climb again. The climb was so hard that the organizer had to give me electoral to reenergize. I asked him “Do you think I can make it up to level 3” to which he replied “Go up to level 2, and then decide. Don’t ask your body, ask your mind how it feels”. Around 3 or 4 in the evening, we reached campsite 2. I asked my mind and my body and both of them strongly advised me to stay put and not move any further. After a brief respite, everyone got ready to move. I desperately tried to discourage everyone from moving on but in vain. Gokul asked me to come along as there was no water in this campsite and we would have to drain our drinking water supply to even cook. Swearing not to ever trek again, I moved on towards the 3^rd campsite. 

@ the 2nd campsite

                                          

The trail towards campsite 3 was surprisingly very easy. It was a very gradual ascend. A short while later, people were queuing up and not moving. Ah! We had lost our way again. The organizers in front didn’t know which way to go and few of them split up to find the way to the 3^rd camp site. It started getting dark and we all just sat wherever we had space to place our bum and started chatting and discussing about the eventful day that we all had. Half an hour later, one guy had found the trail to the campsite and off we went! By the time we reached the campsite, it was pitch dark. All of us got into action. There was water to be fetched, tents to be put up, fire to be lit and so on. Finally we got the soup boiling and it was over in no time.  Finally, Gokul and I got a corner to sleep and within seconds I dozed off.

The next day we woke up to find a bunch of guys along with Peter getting tea ready.They had spent the night in campsite 2 and came over in the morning. The place where we had camped was a small flat space on the ridge. The view around was just mind blowing. It took a while for the feeling to sink in. I was just staring around in awe. It felt so fresh to breathe such pure air.

This is what we woke up to !!!

Peter then called out for people who were willing to go up to the peak. This time, I was ready to move on. The previous day’s frustration, tiredness had all vanished overnight. Gokul held me back. He told me that we had to return back and if we were to lose energy going up, we would have a very difficult time getting down. Fair enough, I thought and all of us stayed put for some more time at campsite 3, had breakfast and then started our way down. The rest of the journey was thankfully uneventful and by about 6 PM we made our exit and came to the village. Gokul and I went to a nearby bar in the village and drowned a couple of beers and fell asleep. Couple of hours later, everyone had come back and we got into the bus and started off to Chennai. It was amazing how people were still so cheerful and enthusiastic on the way back with no signs of tiredness at all! All I wanted to do was just go and sleep for a day.

The next day morning, my muscles ached, I just wasn’t able to get up and getting to office seemed as difficult as the trek. But through all the pain, there was a sense of happiness, a sense of satisfaction, a sense of achievement. It was then I sent a message to Gokul – “I have the feeling of having conquered something. It feels great.” He immediately called back and acknowledged that he too had the same feeling. That was probably when I decided I would continue trekking.

Looking back at the first trek, 2 years and 25+ treks later, getting lost was probably the best thing that happened during that trek. It made the trek much more memorable. Another lesson I learnt from the trek – spare underwear, shorts, footwear, sunscreen are not required and only add weight to your backpack and if possible use others bowls and spoons rather than bringing your own.

Have you guys had any such interesting stuff in your life? Do share!

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The single thought that changed my life. Forever.

June – Nov 2010

Here I was in a cushy corporate job doing nothing relevant to what I had studied for four years at college. Life was on a monotonous high as is with every IT job. My daily routine included nothing except work, eat and sleep. Weekends were wasted and the thought of not doing anything else in life was pricking me. The time between lying down and sleeping is when we think of all that we haven’t done and that seemed to grow longer with each day.

One fine day while skimming through the news paper, an article on Chennai cycling club caught my attention. It talked about cycling from Chennai to Mahabs. I looked up their club online and found that they organized long distance trips on cycles. It was then this thought struck me. If there was a Chennai cycling club, why not a trekking club? Excitedly, I googled Chennai Trekking Club and the first link took me to their group. Little did I know then that this single thought would turn my life around.

Once into the group, I saw the various treks that they had organized and I was brimming with excitement. It was like a totally different world out there. The photos put up made me stare in awe at the beauty of nature and the challenges that it posed. I wasted no time in registering. Treks were being organized every weekend and my mail box was getting flooded with invites. I was a bit apprehensive in joining. I wasn’t too sure if I could do it. The thought of wandering around in a forest, though exciting, scared me. It was then I received this invite from Peter in October 2010. It was an open for all trek in the Nagari range. It had 4 levels and it gave us to opportunity to trek as much as we could. This was my first tryst with the mountains. I haven’t looked back since then.

The past 3 years have been the most wonderful journey in my life so far. The numerous treks that I have done have taught me much more than what I had learned in the past 20 years.

This independence day, it feels great to be writing down the single thought that made me come out of my comfort zone, the single thought which has made me a better person and the single thought that has given me the confidence to do what others think impossible. 

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