Manchinbele Century Ride 06/06/10

I have been wanting to do a long ride over the weekends, and give my training a push (which I keep repeating since the momentum never sustains! J ). Suma and I set out on a century ride. It had been raining the previous day, and it was on its way out that morning.

GR Photofile: Suma on the section through villages.

Few kilometers in to the ride, I felt my muscles loosen up, felt the cool breeze and freshness of rain soaked earth. If you ride in India, you are a no stranger to unpredictable traffic, brash pedestrians, and friendly cattle 🙂  About 20kms in to the ride, I got off the road to let a bus pass, and as it pulled in to a local bus stop, I stayed to its left to cross the now stationary bus.  As I left the margin to get back on the road, misjudging level of rain soaked mud, I skidded. Bus had just started to leave the busstop and, my first thought was for my safety. I rolled over and looked up to find myself right in front of the bus tires, and by the time I could react, bus came to a stand still, having barely started to move. Conductor was standing on the steps and was aghast. I barely had time to thank him for alerting the driver, before Suma caught up and pointed to the damage to my knee and helped me clean up. Never leave home with a first-aid kit, which I did! It sure was quite a nasty road burn, and took a good 3 weeks to heal.

After first aid, declining Suma’s offer to turn back, I continued on with her, and what a ride it was. A few kilometers ahead, we turned off the road at Lakshmi Narayanaswamy temple to go through villages, ride along lakes, and some very beautiful hill country.

GR Photofile: Whether it was the cloudy weather or beauty of these lakes I can't say but, the route is one I would love to repeat.

Here is our breakfast stop for the day: Kamat on Mysore road. Though I enjoyed seeing all the turkeys, and birds, didn’t quite like the idli or vada. You might want to try another place.

GR Photofile: Turkeys, ducks, and more birds make a pretty picture at this Kamat on the highway.

We reached Manchinbele lake, and Sawandurga, every rock climber’s mecca. We decided to skip the ride around the lake, and headed back. Pics here:

GR Photofile: Suma with Sawandurga and Manchinbele lake in the background.

We stopped for chain oiling as Suma’s chain started to get rattier than we would have liked. We loaded up on bananas, water, and carried on to see the big banayan tree: Pics here, and decided to ride back with no more breaks. Some pics from along the route, along with partial elevation.

GR Photofile: The big Banyan tree

GR Photofile: Cruising downhill

GR Photofile: Partial route elevation of the ride.

Missing a few kilometers from the end of the ride. A total 101 Kms door to door, and a few short climbs. A good route for a training ride with long stretches of traffic free road for speed training. Also offers a lot of food and water stops along the way. One can find bananas, and coconut water too. Our return route included a ride through Horahalli to South Bangalore.. You can stock up on some candy, and electrolytes in the form of gels, or powder to meet your hydration/sugar needs if you are going to be riding for more than 50kms. Always ensure you carry your cell-phone, spare tubes, and a air pump with you. There are stretches where you will find yourself in the middle of nowhere and might need to depend on your own supplies to see yourself through a flat or dehydration.