Lepakshi 400 BRM

Lepakshi 400 BRM

Lepakshi 400 BRM would be one of my longest continuous cycle ride. Having done 200 BRM and 300 BRM comfortably in the past few weeks did give me confidence that this distance is not impossible to achieve. Its suggested that you take enough rest and sleep well before the ride so that the body will be in a condition to buffer the stress but for me, unfortunately had a sleepless night. Now that is definitely against the prescription. The ride starts at 6:00 AM and will continue throught the night till the next morning 9:00 AM. The Brevet rules give you 27 hours to complete the 400 Kms. Ensured to verify my usual checklist of things to carry such as Lights, Cash, Spare Tubes, Puncture kit, Reflector vests etc. We started off at 6:00 AM and Raj was with me. He had finished the 200 BRM but had skipped the 300 BRM. Started off in a breeze and since there was no early morning traffic. Was pushing to cover a lot of distance before the sun starts sapping our energy. Since I would have woken up early for these rides, my stomach usually starts growling for food within the first 50 kms of ride start. We had planned for breakfast at Pavithra tatte idly, which is like 60 Kms from start point on Tumkur Road. But since its a popular place, there was too much crowd. In addition all my cycling BRM partners were also there. The service was slow and due to this spent a lot of time over here. Even after all this, had to miss vada and coffee. Overall Unsatisfied breakfast. Lost the early advantage and buffer that we had created from our start. But BRM's are not a race and the idea is to endure the whole journey within the set time limits. If you have participated in Bangalore Randonneurs organized rides before, you know that you will get elevation and rolling hills challenge. This was in no way different. The Devarayana durga climb that was thrown in is a high incline climb. Gradients are around 12% and the climb is relentless. This is a 3km straight uphill. No hair pin bends to give you respite. Some of the seasoned riders say that the climb is not a challenge. The challenge is to do this climb in one shot without stopping. Of course, in my case its still a long way to go to complete this in one shot. The only down hill segments had stiff headwinds. Lost all down hill advantages. The lunch point was somewhere at 145 Km from start and was keeping a keen eye on the cycle odometer. I observed sudden speed spikes on the odometer and in a minute or two it concked off. This Sunding wired speedometer had served me well till now. For Rs 250, It was very accurate. I was used to this and felt lonely with no idea on speed and distance now. The second half of the ride from Pavagada to Penukonda was after sunset. I generally carry one pair of sunglasses to use during day rides. I dont use any glasses for night rides as I always feel that even the plain riding glasses dont give me good visibility. This time it did pose a different type of challenge with insects continuously hitting my eye. Thank God that the problem lasted only on this stretch. It was cloudy with a chance of rain. We stopped for early dinner at Penukonda since we had got an indication that there may be no good quality food available till you hit the lepakshi turn. Also that those food points close by 9 PM. Did not want to take a chance as I was not confident I could make it to that junction by 9 PM. While having food at Penukonda, many riders trickled in and they had got caught in rain. The break prolonged for me as was waiting for the group with whom I was riding to finish. Did not want to ride alone in the night. The ride from Penukonda to lepakshi has a steep climb and just a few kilometers after the start we encountered light drizzle. This was enough to drench the clothes. I had a good break and was feeling energetic. This was easily visible as I was able to ride fast. Most of the other riders I think had slowed down due to the drizzle and were no where in sight. The only person with me was Nithin. He is a young and extremely fast rider who was doing backup duty this time for few female riders. Thats one beauty of Bangalore Randonneurs. Female riders ride BRM's for free and mostly some experienced male riders will accompany the female riders. Its a great gesture. Me and Nithin were breezing along and thought that we can wait up for the others in the next CP. Just before lepakshi, got a flat tire at a pitch dark place. Metal piece pierced tire. Immediate deflation. I called up Nithin and informed him. He came back for me. While we were fixing the puncture few other rides joined us. Since it was pitch dark, all the lights and additional help was a blessing. We removed the metal piece as well. It was drizzling all the while. The Lepakshi control point is at Lepakshi Nandi. You have to take a deviation from the National Highway towards Lepakshi. A few strethes of road was under construction and it was pitch dark as well. I was riding with the group. The control point was more of a touch and go. As we came closer to the point where we meet the National Highway, the drizzle turned into a heavy downpour. I got completely drenched. Shoes, socks fully wet.

These are the times which challenge you mentally. Never easy to ride in Rain. The wet clothes make your body cold. You have to negate it by the warmth generated by cycling. The moment you stop pedalling you start feeling the cold. On top of this, lepakshi to Chikkaballapur has a killer climb. This slowed us down and after an hour, the rain reduced to a drizzle. At someplace on the highway, stopped with the group to have some tea. This was a bad decision. I got acidity due to this. Was feeling a bit uncomfortable on the ride. Once you reach Chikkaballapur, you start getting rolling terrain. The last 50 km or so was a grind. My eyes flared up when I saw a shop right in front of Nandi Upchar that was open. Wanted to get a coke or some soda which could releive me of that slight acidity. Was happy when the shopkeeper told that he can make lime soda for me. Had a refreshing lime soda and it really helped. I was able to give a strong finish to my ride. All in all, extremely challenging ride. Tested endurance to the core. Not easy, not easy. At points, it gets you thinking why do people ride brevets. But at the end, the accomlishment gives you a sense of satisfaction that is hard to explain. 400 done and dusted.