Pedaling the weekend blues — Cycling to Tirupathi under 9hrs

The firsts are always the best. I was easily doing 60KMs in the weekends plus an additional 50+KM in the weekdays totaling up-to 110KMs / week. So I planned to do a weekend long trip under 300KM (to & fro) in 3days including Friday. I have a basic “Btwin My Bike” which is single speed & has no gears which would max up-to 30KM/hr downhill & 25KM/hr om flat roads.

The blog is not a TLDR; version & will be elaborated to its finer details , so please take time to read the experiences , I promise you wont regret it 😉

This was no easy task riding up all till Tirupathi from Guduvanchery covering 150KMs in a single day against the extreme temperature. One cant be wearing the regular outfits for long journey’s on cycle . so I got myself an cushioned shorts and an sweat absorbing T-shirt from Decathlon. These apparels help you ease the ride with comfort. I also a got a good grade light source as I would be venturing out early in the morning and driving till late 8PM in the night. It was from Sigma brand which would emit about 400Lux.

I also got a bag that can be tied to frame of the cycle where I kept my wallet, power bank, coolers , coconut oil, detol, band-aid for emergency purpose. The wonderful cooling effect of coconut oil was felt only in the scorching sun when I applied the oil all over my hands, legs & head

The one way journey was about 150KMs , so I planned to do a test drive the previous day (Thurday) , wrapping one set of shorts, T-shirts , around the frame of cycle & with the same bag full of items that I would be taking the next day. This was also a load test for the trip, I also took cycle pump for emergency. The load test — preliminary drive test was completed in 3.5hrs covering 40% of the total trip distance. Once I arrived home completing 60KMs it was set for the road trip the next day.

It was all ready for the D-day , completing 60KMs in 3hrs gave me enough enthusiasm to split the trip into 2phases. Nagari was 50Kms before Tirupathi, so the plan was to reach Nagari before 12PM and rest there for 4 hours & resume the journey later that evening around 4PM

As planned I started exactly by 4AM from Guduvanchery. This was the route to be followed , Guduvanchery — Outer Ring Road — Poonamalle — Thiruvallur — Thiruthani — Nagari — Tiruapathi

Starting by 4AM , I was afraid to drive solo in the ORR service roads, so I asked my room mates to accompany me till Poonamalle , when the sun would have also set in being it summer, the sun rise was expected early & so it was. My friends came in bike following me. Once in Poonamalle we stopped for morning snacks & tea where-else I resorted to juice to keep me hydrated all long. They departed to their End game show scheduled at 7.45AM & myself to Tiruvallur.

Poonamalle to Thiruvallur was around 25KMs , I planned to reach Thiruvallur around 8.30AM and halt for breakfast. There wasn’t much heat and the route was a pakka road, so this is when Spotify came to play. Remember the bag tied to the frame , it has a provision to attach the mobile on top via velcro & had an transparent top covered with water resistant material to operate the mobile & for easier navigation.

Spotify is an music app , currently have entered the Indian market, the app is THE BEST. With an array of playlists to play from , I opted for ARR & from then till TVR , it was a shuffle of Omana Pennane , Vaarayo Thozhi, OMG ponnu (Sarkar album is 😃) and varied songs. Never user headphones while driving. I resorted to play in phone speaker, as it was early morning there was much less traffic & I could listen to the songs with less honking 😜 There is an catch to this musique ride to the end 🐶

I could see many companies & private colleges being established en-route.

Missed to click before Lotte, it was near by to Coke

There are two routes to reach TPT from TVR, one via Nagari & another via Ulundurpet — Nagalapuram. After asking friends, I finalized the former option as the roads were better constructed. Having completed the BF at TVR by 8.30 & refueling my water bottle(There is only one bottle holder in my cycle, so I was constantly refilling it every now and then), I resumed my ride towards Thiruthani-Nagari. 50/150KMs was done by TVR & I was pushing myself against the altitude & scotching sun to complete the 2nd 50 😃

Playing from Spotify, I kept pedaling to reach Thiruthani, keeping myself hydrated became a mandatory thing. Having the 4G data on & exposing mobile to the hot sun , made it very hot even while clicking images, my OP5T throw-ed a warning message as “Flash is automatically disabled due to extreme temperature”.

I stopped for a quick break to have some tender coconut along the road side thallu-vandi, an auto driver stopped by me and kept asked about the cycle trip, I elucidated the details and was navigating with the help of google maps. The auto driver anna asked me to skip the current route what I was following & to take a right turn to go interior into the villages which would save me 10KMs, if I would have stuck to google maps and directly reaching Nagari bypassing Thiruthani. Can we call it “Bypassing the bypass 😉”. These are the exact words he used “Go via the village thambi, you will feel cool , there are many trees en-route & you save much KMs”. Always get second opinion from an auto-driver 😃

I exactly did what the ADA told me, take a right turn near the Shivan temple, and Andhra Pradesh welcomed with 35'C 😢

Once I crossed TN, the landscape completely changed to vivid agricultural land, cultivated to the fullest with rice & sugarcane, I think. It was a panoramic view of plantation & the eastern ghats.

It was 23KM ride to Nagari via the villages. The state borders kept changing rapidly. Once I would be in AP, in next 10mins I could see a school name written in Telugu and further down 30mins I would see an gift box on the house walls campaigning for the elections. I think these villages would from enclave structures between the two states, learn about enclave & exclave here.

I rested in many places, sat underneath many shaded trees, one gentleman offered me to rest inside his house seeing me sitting outside his house under the neem tree shade. He even offered me some mango sambar along with rice which I politely refused & told him that I would have lunch once I reach Nagari. So, he suggested a good mess in Nagari where I eventually crashed for lunch.

I refilled my water bottle & resumed the journey. The weather was too extreme & intense heat started burning in. I started pouring the entire water bottle of water on me, from head to hands & legs to cool down my body temperature. I kept my OP5T inside the pouch evacuating it from the top holder, already OP5T was boiling due to abuse of GPS+4G data, happy that I didn’t buy an Xiaomi 😛

I finally entered AP and was left to myself to navigate among the many side roads to Nagari. The OP5T being inside the pouch i didn’t want to make frequent stops. All I could find was,

I posted the photo on Instagram & my Telugu friends replied to me that there is no Nagari in the sign board, Once I could see the reply, I had pedaled extra 3–4KMs switching the directions. It was all upto the locals to get the directions. Finally it was 12.30 when I reached Nagari and went to “Bhavani mess” as suggested by Vadivel Reddy, had unlimited meals for mere 55Rs, but I badly missed the Parupu podi. I booked a room for 3hours to charge me up as well as my gadgets- mobile, Samsung gear which I used to track the avg. speed & heart rate. Some peaceful place to escape from the sun 😃

I replied back to all my friends who wished me luck & was keenon asking about where I’m headed in AP and hd a nice nap till 4PM. The gadgets were powered-up & so was I. The last 50KMs was ahead of me , the sun has descended and I was about to get back on the highways. Having the ETA to be 8PM to TPT, I pedaled slowly , even stopped by CCD at Puttur for a quick evening snack.

The sunset in Puttur was the best, surrounded by surreal mountains, this was complete bliss 😊

Post snack , i was riding against the altitude of Puttur , there were no gears to change & I had to put all of me in and pedal hard against such heights. There were even people who come by foot to TPT , were carrying a mini chariot and were trying to climb up the small hill. This was the highest altitude climb ever in any ride i have ever took. There was nothing left in me , I never wanted to get down & it was only option to shout and move forward slow & steady.

“Elu kondala vada venkataramana govinda govinda” was the phrase that rejoiced myself the people who had to push the chariot. I made it to top altitude, once there I clearly the descent would be tasty fruit. Whoooo, this was amazing, Samsung gear gave out a notification that I was going at 28.6Km/hr with an heart rate of 180bpm which was nearly triple fold than the resting heart beat.The euphoria was there to rejoice the pain that went on to climb the ascent,

BUT one should not give into the euphoria , one should learn how to control it. I was very clear about it and was constantly holding onto the brakes applying it gradually all along the descent. I would have tumbled to the rock bottom if I would have gave much into my aphoristic happiness.

Continuing my journey, I got a sudden call from friend’s sister who was a native of Puttur. She told me skip the bypass again and take the route via the villages which will save around 10KMs 😉. This was an old road to TPT, was too well maintained. Oh boy, I never expected this call, the sun have set and I was remembering Paulo Cohelo’s line,

When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.

played spotify for music , wore safety reflective jacket & turned on my Sigma 400Lux head lights and was merrily enjoying the final 25KMs of the ride. It was dark and I was cycling through the village with music from speaker, to a sudden a group of dogs started chasing me , If any dogs chase you, STOP as a first measure, don’t stare at it. Just wait the dogs will retreat once it knows you are not a threat to them. So did I & turned off spotify,

Dogs don’t like music, PERIOD. 😟

I reached Thiruchanur around 7.30OM & TPT by 8PM as planned having clocked 155KMs.

I finally made it under 9hrs of cycling with 6hrs of rest totaling upto 15hrs of the journey with an average speed of 17KM/hr 😃

I booked a room for 2days & also got the Sarvadharishana ticket for the next day 8PM darshan. having been to TPT 2months back on my RE, I clearly knew therules & procedure follwed. I planned to get the early morning seva slot and return to room by evening, visit our office branch here at Renigunta & get a nice sleep and start the return ride as early as 4AM sunday morning.

BUT nothing goes as planned, the day I went they cancelled all the dharshans till evening for saturday & I have to wait till 8PM to enter the queue which would eventually mean I get to see Venky by 11.30ish and return back to room by 12.30AM sunday and I have to start by 4AM leaving me only 3hrs of sleep.

I had a nice sleep the day I went and visited our office the next day. I relaxed myself , my thighs , had good food nearby. By evening 4PM of saturday i got a bus to Thirumala, I dropped plan to walk by foot as this would wear me out completely for the next day ride. Got to see Venky by 11.30PM , plus an additional 30mins to get the 12ladoos and reached room by 1AM sunday.

I woke up by 5AM and packed up my things , this time I had an additional 2KG to added to the ride. According to TTD , each weighs around 160–180 grams, for 12ladoos this would be easily 2.1KGs. I cannot be traveling 150Kms with extra weight and making it difficult to pedal as the ladoos were tied to the top bar & would hinder my pedaling.

I had my friend who resided in Puttur 7 works at Chennai , the plan was to deliver her the laddos and get it back the next day in Chennai and it was also kind of a reunion to meet a friend after 2years & I rode there for breakfast.

All the auto drivers near the hotel in TPT & the hotel boys helped me tie up the entire apparels and helped me fix the bike. They all waived a fitting goodbye and a good-luck 🙌. As I started late by 5.30AM and need to make a pre break at friend’s I was not sure about finishing the ride the same day considering the intense weather. It was a complete gamble with the time , weather, my broken rear brake, flat tire & I need to be reaching home by night to make it to office the next day. I even had plans for halting in TVR for that night and making a 50KM ride monday morning. But the climate being cool, i pushed myself into the ride.

Apparently , cyclone Fani was along the coast & made the climate to be chill all the ride along. having delivered the ladoos , I resumed my ride towards Nagari around 10AM having repaired my cycle.

I skipped the village route & stuck to all the bypass roads this time reaching TN border Tiruthani by 1.30PM

Stopped for heavy meal lunch and resumed the ride to reach TVR by 5.30PM and Poonamalle by 7.30PM. Finally it was the last 22KMs along my favorite Outer Ring Road, this time I challenged myself to reach home by 9.45 considering the Vandalur sunday traffic & breaks for refreshments.

As planned & counted I reached Guduvanchery by 9.30PM and made some nice rava upma along with pickle for dinner. Yaaaay, finally I made it, I made it in “My Bike”.

It was all about keeping myself hydrated all along the journey. I had about 6–7 tender coconuts , 4–5juices, 7litres of water in one way journey. Its very dangerous for our body to run out of water, head ache will start to kick in , followed by intense body temperature & vomiting.

Food is also quintessential for longer journey. Carbohydrates gives you more energy than any other macro-nutrients. While returning , after the heavy meals, I was cruising at 20KM/hr , yes I reached a distance of 20KMs in 1hr. This is the same reason why our body fatigues in the starting few weeks of low carb. keto / paelo diet.

Once after long period after food, your energies would be completely sucked up & the blood sugar will dramatically go down and we would tend to faint. I had experienced it once and fell down from my bi-cycle. That day the ride was completed with 88KMs injuring my right elbow. In-order to avoid such scenarios this time , my friends bought me .5KG of chocolates , snickers & some biscuits.

The ride was not about visiting new places to me, it was all about the various kinds of people I met. The tender shop owner who soaked a bandana in water and wrapped it around my water bottle to keep it cool.

The auto driver anna who helped me navigate quicker with ease. The same ADA saw me while I was returning, asked about the dharshana, about the village route and wished me luck for my journey ahead home.

Mr Vadivel Reddy who invited me home and we spoke for about 30mins about summer, planting more trees. He was very reluctant to leave me without having lunch in his home. He pleaded me 3–4 times to eat.

The hotel boys who helped me tie up everything in one place & the auto drivers of TPT who wished me luck.

The people who wished while I took a break for juice, they shared their stories, walking to TPT, Palani & Sabarimala in their 20’s & 30’s.

While crossing roads to Puttur, a person stopped me & told “These Tamil people don’t drive with sense, ride safe pa” We smiled at each other and crossed.

The small boys who were eager to take a selfie with me 😉

It was all with the social media that kept me going. Instant messages with friends, wishing me luck, asking the whereabouts and helping me all along.I kept updating on both whatsapp , instagram, posting status-es , stories with the location. Social media is nice, if its creation is used to the fullest. Initially, my parents were so skeptical about leaving me all alone in cycle to TPT. I convinced them by elaborating the entire plan and I told my dad i would share my live location on WA. Its human nature to get distracted from things, so I created a WA group with people from work, school, college, relatives so that at any point of time any one of the all would be watching me. I updated them periodically through the entire journey. I even used varied options provided by IG on their stories like poll, location, countdown, QA sessions, etc. Social media is a BOON, if used correct 😃

I smiled, I laughed, I cried, I shouted, ran out of hard cash, begged for water, slept under abandoned bus stops, slept in-front of shops, the ride had it all.

So far nearly 30 people have started cycling seeing me :-)

சைக்கிள் ஓட்டுங்க சார் , life நல்லா இருக்கும்

Adios 😃