THE KC 500 EX

Kick off at Pondicherry Day 2: Jan 20th - Destination - Thanjavur (176 kms) I never thought I'd wake up on Day 2. Confidence was at an all time low. I had even told one of the organisers, Venky, the previous evening, that I probably wouldn't be in shape to do much on Day 2. To that Venky had replied, "Don't worry about it, we'll give you a Combiflam (pain killer) in the morning and you'll be good to go". That's when it hit me that the pain was everybody's to suffer and quitting was not an option. Thankfully though, accompanying us on the tour, were 2 exceptional masseurs. The previous evening, almost each and every one in the group had filed into the support rooms to get various muscles relaxed and pressed back into action. If foot falls were an indicator of success and popularity, you'd have to say the masseurs were easily the most popular people on the tour! With the muscles relaxed, the next morning, I woke up feeling surprisingly fresh. I was in elite company on the tour - with an eclectic and exceptional group of fellow cyclists. There was Karun, who was exceptionally fit; Ramesh and Bhaskar who were national level professional cyclists/ racers - the three of them led the pack on all four days. Then there was my roommate on the tour, Rahul Kumawat, a young Rajasthani who had recently cycled from Chennai to Delhi (a distance of 3000 kms) to raise awareness on cancer. Another friend I had made on Day 1 was Aqil, an 18 year old energetic kid who just a month before, had accomplished his own feat of cycling from Cochin to Goa. There was also Ajay Kandappa, who carried the title of 'Super Randonneur' because he had completed a 600 km ride with no aid and stops until the finish! While these guys stood out because of their achievements, the other riders were just as competent and I learnt a lot from each one of them. If Day 1 felt long, Day 2 was to take us on an epic 176 km ride to Thanjavur along some of the most beautiful stretches on the tour - paddy fields on both sides of the road and small villages scattered all through. I was actually able to keep pace with the lead group for about 30 kms, and though it took the energy right out of me, I enjoyed every moment of it! I learnt a lot about 'drafting' that day; the lead group had about 5 cyclists including Karun and each one of them took turns in leading from the front and taking the strong winds so as to protect the other riders from a slowdown. The lead rider in the group would also bear the responsibility of alerting on coming traffic of the group's existence and also signaling to the other riders via hand signals and shout outs, about every pothole, bad stretch of road and speed bumper on our way. It was a fascinating experience watching these guys work their magic. Unfortunately though 30 kms into the ride, I fell back behind a bus and couldn't catch up after.

Day 3 - Ramesh (right) gives me a hand and helps me re-join the g

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XPERIENCE
The day had many more challenges. The left side of my neck began to hurt really bad - a nagging muscular pain (similar to a muscle pull) that wouldn't allow me to turn to the side. I realized that the pain became worse as I moved my head so I began promising myself that I would not turn my head. This though was a serious test in self restraint. Further on in the ride and somewhere close to our first pitstop at Vadallur, my bike began to get really heavy - I knew that either my tyre was flat or my brakes had jammed. I stopped, checked my tyres but they were fine so I decided to continue and wait till the pitstop 15 kms away to get my bike checked. The slowdown though took a heavy toll on my legs and by the time I reached the pitstop, I was quite exhausted. I realized that a spoke in my rear tyre was broken and that caused the brakes to jam - which basically meant I was riding with my brakes on for about 20 kms! After getting it fixed, I set off again. I was tired and somewhere down the road without noticing, I had veered off course. Almost 20 mins had passed till I finally realized that I was going the wrong way - a very very expensive mistake. By the time I got back on course and stopped for lunch, I realized that I had done atleast 15 kms extra on an already long day - a mistake that many of the other riders had also committed! I was mentally very irritated with the experience and with about 35 kms left to reach Thanjavur, I gave in and ended my pursuit for the day. I felt disappointment, but I knew that with two more grueling days to go, it would probably help me in the long run. Day 3: Jan 21st - Destination - Karaikudi (110 kms) When dawn broke on Day 3, I felt really fresh. After 2 days of burns, rashes, muscular pains and exhaustion, the body had finally got into a rhythm and I couldn't have felt better. The distance was shorter than the previous two days and I was really excited about a second opportunity to draft along with the lead group from the start despite repeated

Siddharth Mohapatra PC 211 Siddharth is an HR professional with a keen interest in Fitness, Basketball, Tennis and Cycling

advice from Rahul and Ankeet that it would be a bad idea to burn myself out from the go. Karun however, advised me to stay with him as he'd make it easy for me ride - all I had to do was stay on his wheel. The ride started and that's exactly what I did. The pace was so fast that within 10 kms of the ride, the rest of the group had fallen way back and was not visible anymore. I felt a little nervous at this point because I knew that if I were to fall back at some point, I would be in an awkward spot between two groups - no man's land with nobody around. I kept pace well but about 17 kms into the ride, I fell back and this could have been the worst thing to happen to me. Luckily a charitable effort by Ramesh, one of the professional cyclists, ensured that I rejoined the group. He slowed down till he got to my right side then basically extended his left arm and pushed me along till I made it back to the group! In hindsight, his effort is what kept me going that day. I stayed in it with them for almost 70% of the ride and felt stronger than ever. Distances went by in a flurry as we averaged about 35 kmph on the cycle that day. I was also happy with the fact that I was able to carry on my experiment from the previous day of keeping my neck straight and my muscle was hurting much less as a result. This was right up until, I looked up. A sharp pinching pain ensued from the point at which my neck met my spine - I realized that through all my concentrated effort of keeping up with the lead group, I had never looked up and the pain was from the pressure build up on my spine as a result. I was a little nervous about it but chose to ignore it. Luckily though, it never flared up beyond that. The final 30 kms of the ride was through long stretches of highway with barren dessert like scenery on either side and with the sun beating down. Considering Karaikudi is the hottest point in Tamil Nadu, the heat really got to us that day. Determined to finish before possible dehydration set in, and with stronger legs, I powered to the finish in good time. I completed the 110 km stretch in 4 hrs and 8 minutes. The day was like a living dream. The Chettinad lunch at the finish felt like a reward for my efforts.

group

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Day 4: Jan 22nd - Destination - Kodaikanal (86 kms uphill) We stayed the night in Madurai and drove down to foothills of Kodaikanal to begin our ride that day. A day that everybody had talked about for a month. Everybody had their own philosophy on how this day would either make them or break them. For me though personally, I was happy with the fact that I had made it so far alive. I've never trained in the hills and I knew coming in, that I really couldn't expect much out of my legs on the uphill stretch. To make matters worse, the food from the previous night hadn't settled in well with my stomach. In fact most of the group complained of a bad tummy that day. Mine was terrible. As I went up the hill that day and as the legs under me failed, I knew that my tour was coming to an end. The otherwise beautiful ghats began to feel like hell on earth with its steep climbs and beating hot sun. I got off the bike and walked about 10 kms up before calling it quits. I was exhausted, mentally tired and my stomach hadn't felt this bad in months! As I boarded the bus and drove up the ghat to the Kodaikanal Club (our stay for the night), I saw the other riders, each one on their own, scattered across different parts of the course, battling their inner demons to persist and reach the finish. It was a humbling experience. For me personally though, the biggest surprise of the day was Leslie, a former wrestler and a heavy rider who had paced himself behind most of the others for three days; but on this day, he was well ahead of the group, beating down on his pedals and eventually climbing the hill faster than most. He had resolved to conquer the hill - for him, the day signified the only ever chance he'd get to prove to himself that he could beat all odds and make it up that hill. I have the utmost respect for him after that day! I was also elated to see my friend, Ankeet make it up the hill that day without quitting. He, like Leslie had promised himself that he would not quit at any cost. Slowly but surely, he made it up the hill, in the company of Ajay. The both of them had ridden an astonishing 10 hrs or so in the heat and then the cold, with its steep climbs, patchy roads and dangerous truck traffic to reach the finish!

Along with the lead group en-route to Karaikudi @ a cash shop. From left to right: Aqil, Bhaskar, Karun, Aravind an

The Peloton lead by Karun (right)

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The End That night, in the cold of Kodai and around a bonfire, we all celebrated. We talked, laughed, reminisced and it dawned upon me that, 4 days of grueling cycling had finally come to an end. The tour had taken us through paddy filled countryside, often with cheering villagers and little kids by our side; dusty, traffic filled towns, across dams and rivers, through the shade and the heat and finally up probably one of the most beautiful ghats in our country. I was grateful for the experience and humbled by the fact that the biggest challenge wasn't the heat nor was it the pothole ridden roads, or the crowded towns, or the trucks and buses that were within a few feet of knocking us of the road; the biggest challenge had to be ourselves. Four days of cycling and being in elite company had taught me that we are far more capable than we recognize; that our mind's control everything. Four days of cycling had taught me discipline and pain control and the whole experience has given me an immense amount of confidence. It was only fitting that we received a text message the next morning from one of the organizers, Magesh that read, "As you ride down to Batlagundu (Kodai foothills) today you will see the magnitude of your efforts yesterday; a story you can tell your family and friends. Cheers". To top it all off, we received news that the group's efforts had helped raise Rs. 15,00,000/- for the Pallikaranai High School! I have to thank the organisers Venky, Magesh, Rajaram and Vaz of TCC for taking the best care of us and making this the most memorable experience of my life; Suhail Chandok and Mahesh Ramamurthy of Roundtable 42 for all the support and encouragement they provided; Karun for making this happen; placing his faith in riders like myself to make this a success and leading by example every day of the tour; last but not least my fellow riders for inspiring, encouraging, humoring and keeping everybody going!

Scenery from Kodai hill

shew nd myself

Lunch stop on the way up to Kodai. We had to keep the bananas away from the monkeys! With Ankeet (left) and Ajay (right)

Team briefing by Magesh (middle) prior to Kodai ascent

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