Monsoon ride: 400 KM BRM (Indapur — Lonavala)
Like Winter Cycling, one must definitely not miss out on experiencing the joy of cycling during the monsoon season. Considering this thought I have registered myself for 400 KM BRM which was in July month. The cut-off time to complete the 400 KM is 27 hours & I have one & half months of enough time to improve my endurance & mental preparation. (I would say yes! It’s a mental game but for me, it was enough time as well😊)
Let me share my experience with you guys and let you guys enjoy the virtual ride with me!!
Training & Preparation: I have engaged myself for the group ride that arranges some decent elevation rides & training for long distances suitable for BRMs. Total three rides I did 1st at Lavasa with a max elevation of 1300 meters, 2nd at Sinhgad with a max elevation of 1350 meters, 3rd at Lonavala with an elevation of 680 meters. Also, I have added some small running sessions on weekdays as a time management issue due to the office hours.
During the practice rides, I got valuable guidance from experienced riders regarding what safety precautions to be taken during night rides & how to maintain your energy till the end of your ride.
I have prepared my bike & list of accessories which I have to carry during the ride.
Accessories List: Wet lube for the chain, Headlight with min 10~12 hours of battery backup, Taillight, Reflector jacket, two jerseys, two cycling shorts, shoes with two pair of socks, Electral powder, candies, Protein bars, Raincoat, Helmet, cycling gloves, rain cap, goggles, puncture kit, some cash, power bank with cables, charger, etc. (Drop Bag & Night stay facility was made available by organizer)
Event Day — I reached Decathlon waked at 5.30 am, did the bike Inspection by one of the volunteers, handover the waiver form & kept the Brevet card in a safe pocket. Many riders have reached & some of them are arriving, and a heavy rush gathered. Organizer started instructing the ride rules, route of the ride & checkpoint information. The ride started at sharp 6 am.
Way to Indapur — Initially all the riders started slowly as the rain started & everyone adjusted their raincoats & headlights. The road to Hadpsar is going from the city area so many of the riders going together to not lost on the route. I was alone at that time & taking the help of Google Maps to find a way. Suddenly one rider approach me while riding & asking for help to guide her rider wife Monali to Hadpsar as he has some urgent surgery at the hospital & he has to go back for cesarian surgery as he is the lead Anesthetist Doctor. I said okay & told her to come along with me, She was riding little slow & her bike was doing some noise due to some pedal issue. After reaching Hadpsar I told her the way is straight now to Indapur and that we have a Control Point at Hotel Mouli Prasad & same we have a Lunch break there. She said I will follow you, don’t worry. I told her we must ride as fast as possible, as the tailwind is supporting the pedalling to 150 KM but that was not the case while returning from Indapur as we have to face a heavy Headwind, that situation is horrifying me.
After reaching Yavat we took a break for a Banana & water. I removed the raincoat & wore a hand warmer as the rain was stopped & started again after 10 mins break. The tailwind is supporting the ride we were gaining an Average speed of 26~27 kmph. Near Kurkumbh we met with another Rider from Navi Mumbai, Ganesh. Originally, he was from Hyderabad, he was riding his brand new bike & participated in a trial ride as he was going for PBP race in next month. (Paris-Brest-Paris -1200 KM race, Organized by Audax Club Parisien), Together, we hit the road & reach an avg speed of 28~29 kmph. At Bhigwan we decided to take a break for tea. After eating a crispy plain dosa & tea. Monali told us to go ahead with your speed and she will meet directly at Mauli Prasad Hotel for Lunch. We refilled the water bottles & started again at full speed, that time we crossed the 100 km milestone with avg speed of 30 kmph. After 20 km I lost my energy don’t know why & I became slower & but Ganesh went ahead of me.
I reached Indapur Mauli Prasad Hotel at 12.10 pm & Ganesh reached at 12 noon. 150 KM milestone achieved in 6.10 hours. We rushed to get stamped on our brevet card at the checkpoint. I noticed hardly 6~7 riders reached there till that time. After a few mins rest & water break, we ordered Dal Khichadi & buttermilk for lunch. Till our lunch finished few of the riders reached along with Monali & gathered the heavy rush over for lunch. The total number of registered riders is 68 & started from Decathlon Wakad only 51.
Ganesh & I left Indapur Hotel at 12.45 pm, as Monali has to take some rest for a few more minutes. We just crossed 1 km, & started feeling the heavy flow of headwind & realized we couldn’t ride in a normal way, it made us challenge now for 150 KM of return ride. somehow, we manage to ride at the avg speed of 10~12 kmph, Ganesh again went ahead of me, and I was riding alone again to face the headwinds & rain storms. This road & Headwind is not new for me I already know the route & faced the same challenges during the last year Pandharpur wari, but the current weather was more challenging & tough.
I have changed the strategy & ensure to take a break after every 10 km for refreshments. To cover 50 KM it took me 4 hours. At Bhigwan I took a tea with the peanut butter roll & protein bar. Again started with deep heartedly. The road was flat not much elevation but at decent also I need to pedal hard to keep moving the bike. Many riders started giving up & quitting the race due to the heavy headwind & rain storm. I came to know from our common WhatsApp group during a break. Till 70 KM I was riding alone, I observed many riders resting at a roadside or nearby hotel. Some of them face mechanical problems in their bikes & a few were repairing punctures by their own.
I took another break at Kurkumbh for tea & homemade protein bar after resting for 10 mins I gained energy & started peddling again full of energy. The tea was awesome, I was happy with the taste of tea which I got the best of during the day ride. I reached near to Uruli Kanchan at 7.30 pm approx. 240 km covered till the time, my stomach is asking for food but no better options were available, I decided to eat Egg omelette & move the bike to the left nearby hotel.
On the way to Hadpsar, I met 2 rider friends, Deepak & Koushik, I took a big relief that I don’t have to search for a way on the phone from Hadpsar to Sai Lodging, waked (2nd Checkpoint & organizer made a night stay arrangement over there). We started riding together & parallel discussing the plan for the Night ride to Lonavala.
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It was still 9 pm and we got stuck in the horrible traffic at Hadapsar & guess what heavy rains also joined us. Rains always make you tempted for tea and that’s when we decided to take a small tea break but due to the horrible traffic, we took a break at Aundh around 10 pm.
Finally, we reached Sai Lodging, wakad around 11 pm, with full of muddy clothing, shoes & bike. We rushed to get stamped our brevet card & checked into the hotel room. Till time about 5~6 riders has arrived & many were stuck up in traffic & headwinds. We were all three accommodated in one single room. By the time I met Ganesh, he reached the hotel at10.40 pm & was resting in another room. He said he hire an Autorickshaw from Hadpsar traffic to Wakad hotel & ride behind him as his phone was discharged & no other local riders reached there at that time to guide him to an address full of traffic & rain. Hehehe, rich man 😊
We don’t want to waste time so started to get ready for dinner. To our surprise organizer arranged Dinner over there. I took a quick bath, and change my clothes, I can’t explain how I feel with a clean & dry cloth after a long wet day. I put the headlight & watch on charging with the power bank back up. I don’t want to take the risk of headlight discharge during the dark & rainy ride at Lonavala. We finished our dinner, big thank you to Dhanraj Sir, for arranging a delicious veg biryani. I started feeling fresh & ready for the ride again, I asked Deepak & Koushik both were ready for a ride, no need for rest.
Way to Lonavala — At midnight 12 am, we checked our bikes, fixed the lights & started riding towards Lonavala with Ganesh, Deepak & Koushik. It was a deep dark night & full of rain. Near the Dehu Y junction highway, we saw a midnight runners group, they were running in the rain full of energy, we cheers each other & went ahead. After crossing the Somatane kickass climb we decided to take a coffee break at one of the open shops. We were not able to see the road as the rain drops are hitting the eyes, & bike light is also flashing the less light may be due to the fog & rain combination. We thought we will have coffee and start but got irritated with the shopkeeper as he took almost 20 minutes to make just 4 cups of coffee, but finally started back again after the refreshing coffee and all the irritation went off and told the shopkeeper thanks and moved. We made a strategy to ride in line to save energy & every 5~10 KM front rider will come back & replace the last rider.
We came to a point where we were waiting to climb Kamshet Ghat 😊, I had climbed this ghat many times an entire year in different seasons, but this was my 1st experience climbing after finishing a 300 KM ride & also on a dark rainy night, but as we say team makes differences, teamwork never fails and that’s when We together crossed the Ghat without facing any problems.
At 3 am, we reached Kumar Resort Lonavala, which was our 3rd checkpoint. It is no man checkpoint, where we must have to send a selfie from there as evidence. By the time we have finished 350 km & to celebrate, we decided to treat ourselves & went to Lonavala night Choupati 24/7 Maggi point. Ganesh started dosing off at Maggi Point as the waiting period was high due to late-night students do come to enjoy Maggi at this place at this odd time, Now we got activated and supercharged with the yummy & hot Maggi with the cup of coffee and we started once again to reach our remaining final 50 KM.
At 10 KM near Karla, Koushik complained about sudden knee pain and we stopped, applied pain relief balm which I do carry always and did some massage and again stood back and started at a slow speed, and nothing more to wonder I realized my backlight went off due to discharge & Ganesh’s headlight also got discharged after a few KM ride. So we change the strategy and told Deepak to lead at the front, Ganesh & me will be after him in middle & Koushik in the last. We started riding at 12 to 15 kmph and at Talegaon toll Naka we luckily met one rider who was repairing his bike puncture, we stopped offered him help as there Ganesh had carried his electric-operated air Pump & then we went ahead.
At 5 am, we were at Dehu junction & we finally got relief from the darkness as the sun was rising due to morning overlapping the darkness. Now only 10 km was left to achieve and reach 400 km milestone and just before completing I believe 1 km to reach and Ganesh bike got punctured.. Ganesh decided instead of stopping he will walk that 1km, and finally at 5.30 am we reached our finished point at Decathlon. The ride was completed before the time limit in just 23.30 hours.
Punched the Brevet card & finally took a smiling selfie. By that time there were only 6 to 7 riders who reached successfully. We greeted each other & went home with a thrilling adventures experience.
It was such an adventures, thrilling, energetic, and refreshing ride. I always take part so that I can meet new people around me, learn from them and even share tips with each other so that I will have many future friends in my life. Never be shy to make or mingle with unknown people. You never know some may be with you for life time as a friend or life saver.
About Monali ohhh yes forgot… she reached the finish line at 8.30 am along with some female riders.
Hope you enjoyed the virtual ride with me 😊
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