Tales from the Saddle......
Insight into my athletic life. Every Race, Ride and Adventure.
Ironman in Making
![Ironman in Making](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCNVmjChcYTufhcvI31JDdBzGRDqSk-GLMW_wpo23bG5s322872sE7DP0ZN-11EXFk1LSwB4F7srKJ0qufGYTcsI3NZPXPMNDBKow8rVY4L1zIzKbz8ZOVkA1IhgM3JTMUkVFTEavX4Yw/s1600/Chai+Ironman.jpg)
Target - Ironman Zurich 2016
Friday, December 30, 2016
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
The Tri Life!! Bhor Triathlon Report
It’s a great pleasure to share
with you all about a recent change in my life. In December 2015 Multifit sponsored me to
do the Ironman Zurich in July 2016. Since then I have wholly devoted myself to
training for this beast of a race. For those who don’t know what Ironman is ,
it’s a race consisting of 3 sports swimming , cycling and running. The full
Ironman (140.6) requires an athlete to swim 3.8 kms then cycle 180.2 kms and
lastly run a full marathon which is of 42.2 kms. All this under 16 hours of
time limit, to achieve the coveted title of Ironman.
With the support of Multifit and
Cymour I have embarked upon this journey not only to complete this gruesome
race which will test my endurance but also to achieve a competitive timing. I
have been sharing my training pictures and videos online. But that is only 10%
of what I am actually doing. The triathlon training has changed my life. I am
in the fittest shape I have ever been. Each day is harder than yesterday. Everyday, I feel like
quitting but that is when I get over it and keep pushing on. Thanks to my crew,
coach, sponsors and supporters I have developed myself into a weapon.
Last week I took part in the Bhor
Triathlon just to test myself. The longest distance offered was the Olympic
distances (1.5 km Swim, 40 km Cycle, 10 km Run). Check out the following race
report.
Bhor Triathlon
The reason to do the race was
just to get myself ready for the bigger and more brutal Ironman. To simulate
that I went in tired and exhausted into the race. I had a hard build up of
training before the Bhor triathlon. Right upto the day before the race I was still
doing running and swim intervals. However I was still confident of doing well.
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All Packed and Prepped |
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Getting Ready for the Race |
I camped out near the race venue
on the night before the race. The race start was in a small village of Mhakoshi near Bhor. It rained throughout the night. Thankfully the
tents kept us dry. I had the awesome Nikhita Nath for company and help me
prepare for the race. After a good nights sleep I was feeling great for the
race. A light breakfast and I was ready for the 1.5 km swimming. The organizers
(Zenith Sports Initiative) had a pretty neat and efficient setup. The Olympic
Cat triathletes were the first ones to get flagged off.
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The beautiful location of the race!! |
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First out of water |
I dived straight in and started
with a fast freestyle pace to get away from the crowd and soon managed to put
quiet a distance from them. The swim was is a small lake with good clean water.
The swim had 4 loops of 375 mts. I had recced the loop the day before so I knew
what to expect. I kept a comfortable pace never exerting too much which was
enough to get myself the first person out of the water. I could sense my
triceps were tired from swimming drills from last week, which did not allow me
to function at my optimum. I later got to know that I took about 44 minutes to
finish 1.5 km of swim. Usually I would do it in 30 minutes.
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The cycling route was winding and rolling through the amazing countryside |
After the swim I headed straight
for my bike. The bike was a hybrid which was given to me by Aniket Mahashabde
of Cymour. The hybrid served me well on the immediate slippery and muddy uphill
section to get to the road. Thanks to the organizers who provided me with a
pilot vehicle who was ahead of me the whole time clearing traffic and showing
way. The cycling terrain was all rolling with pothole ridden roads and
sometimes no roads at all. It was good to have the Cymour crew and Niki cheer
me as they chased me in their car. I took about 1 Hr 30 mins to finish the 40
kms of cycling and managed to gain a considerable lead on my competitors. Then
off I went for my run which was supposed to be only 10 kms but ended up doing
16 kms.
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Trail Run |
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Greatful to Sushil and Prashant Tidke who paced me on my last lap |
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Always a relief to cross the finish line |
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Getting my bearings |
The running route was supposed to
be a loop of 2.5 kms x 4, but it actually turned out to be 3.2 kms. I started off
with a comfortable running pace, slowly increasing my pace as I went further
into the laps. By this time the weather had turned from a cool overcast to a
hot, humid and sunny. By the 3 rd lap I still had a lead of over 2 laps over
the guy behind me. After a cool 13 km run to finish first I was joined by
Sushil and Prashant where we did one more victory lap and still finishing
first. Although I would be lieing if I said I had an easy race. I was competing
against myself never getting comfortable and pushing myself through the pain. I
was glad to finish and lie down.
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That is all you need after a hard race |
Crossing the Finish Line
It was an honour to receive the
winner’s trophy from Prashant Tidke, a long time friend who has been inspiring
me since I took up the sport. I was overwhelmed by all the strangers coming up to me and said I was inspiring them.
They all cheered and clapped for me. All in all it was a great race, very well
organized, a beautiful backdrop of the sahyadris and the perfect rainy
atmosphere of the monsoons to top it all. I would recommend the race for
beginner triathletes, a great way to get your first tri experience.
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Receiving the Trophy from Parag Ghuge, Pravin Patil and Prashant Tidke (From left) |
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With the beautiful Trophy |
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My Baby and the Trophy |
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The Tri Life |
Wednesday, May 4, 2016
Desert 500 : Overcoming the Desert!!
As the hours passed the terrain started to roll up and down , the winds kicked in and the sun got back to its unforgiving self. I was getting cranky and really mad at my crew. There I was, at the start of the race thinking that I would finish it within 24 hours. Boy!! Was I wrong or what? Now it was more a question of survival. I was so exhausted that each pedal stroke took a lot of effort. It was here that I started to think of quitting but I just couldn't accept that. So I had to dig deep inside to muster the courage and will to keep up a brutal 30 kmph average speed........
Another Ultra race under the belt! After 2 Deccan Cliffhangers and a RAAM crew experience, I thought I had seen it all. But the Desert 500 remarkably proved to be otherwise. I walked (hobbled) away with a lot to learn. Here’s a brief and exciting summary of the race!
Another Ultra race under the belt! After 2 Deccan Cliffhangers and a RAAM crew experience, I thought I had seen it all. But the Desert 500 remarkably proved to be otherwise. I walked (hobbled) away with a lot to learn. Here’s a brief and exciting summary of the race!
The Desert 500
This race is organized by Delhi’s
Velo Sportive group and has been conducted for 2 years now. My good friend Divya Tate recently joined their
team I was looking forward to a well organised race. The race had different categories of 50km,
100km, 250km, 500km and 684 km. The last one was advertised as a challenge and
a qualifier for Race Across America (RAAM). With my eye on RAAM my priority was
to do the longest distance on offer and also to bag my 3 rd RAAM qualification.
The race was based in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. A very picturesque desert city. As
the name suggests the race route was through the scorching Thar desert of
Rajasthan. This was one challenge I was looking forward to conquering as racing in this heat
would simulate the RAAM conditions found in Colorado and Arizona.
The Race
This race required me to have a crew
to supply me with everything I need in the race. One of my sponsor and good
friend Aniket Mahashabde of Cymour volunteered to be my crew chief and
mechanic. Saniya Patil and Monish Deshmukh had both crewed for me in my DCs had
returned to support me once more and one new addition was the energetic youngster Arham Shaikh. All 4 between them o now have 10 crewing/racing experiences. I without doubt
can say that these guys are one of the most experienced crew in the country and
I was lucky that they had my back.
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Team Chai Before We left for Rajasthan. From Left - Aniket, Saniya, Chai, Monish and Arham |
Aniket had lent me his SUV for
the race which was what I needed to carry my race gear all the way from Pune to
Jodhpur. Aniket joined us in Jodhpur directly while the rest of us had a pretty
amazing road trip. Especially north Gujarat and Rajasthan!! The roads were
great and the countryside near the Aravallis was breath taking. We arrived in
Jodhpur by evening and were settled in a comfortable Youth Hostel.
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The Race Venue |
A day before the race me and
Arham assembled the bikes and got them ready to ride. We both headed out
towards the race start point, to check the bikes and spin the legs to take out
the travel stiffness. On the way back to the hostel I had an unfortunate crash.
24 hours before the race. I was distracted by my phone and did not notice a
stone right in the middle of the main street.
Fortunately I was on my back up bike which did not sustain any damage.
However my left calf and hand and thumb had bruises. I rode back home. They dint
seem as major injuries. Although the bruises hurt a bit I was concerned about
my thumb which had swollen up and had difficulty moving it. I could still hold
my bike handle properly so there was no question of dropping out of the race.
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Me and Arham going for the Test Run |
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At the Race Venue, just before I crashed. (Atleast I got the pose in) |
Race Day –
After an uneasy night I woke up
to a buzzing morning. My team were on top of the things, organizing food and
logistics for the race. I even got a breakfast in bed. I chose to ride to the
venue as I needed to check on my thumb. Bad news – I could barely use my left
hand for anything other than holding onto the bike. Breaking and changing gears
was painful. I knew it was going to be one painful race. I was one of the last
riders to show up. Saniya had already reached ahead of me and done the
formalities. Realizing I was the last to be flagged off with still 15 minutes
in had, I went off for a warm up spin. I only realized they started the race
when I saw Mayank Tripathi zooming off. I thought he was just warming up too
but then came his crew car. So I sped back to reach just before Sumit Patil who
was just ahead of me was getting flagged off. My poor crew were frantically looking
for me. Well not a perfect start but no
harm done, all I had missed was a photo-shoot with my fellow competitors.
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At the Start Line |
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Arham Giving me a TT style start |
The race started at 10 am when
the sun was just getting warmed up and it was already 32®C. The max was
predicted to go all the way upto 40®C and a minimum right down to a freezing 6®C.
With my usual steady but brisk pace I head out into the desert. Soon catching
up with Jagdish Italiya and Sumit Patil, both strong and proven riders. About 2
hours into the ride I realized I couldn't even use my left hand to receive my
drinks and food from crew. Arham was risking his neck as he stood in middle of
the road for the handover from my right side. Even though they were few and far
between the bumps on the road hurt my thumb and I started taking my left hand
off the handle every time I went over one. This one time I almost fell as I did
not slow down enough. This reduced my average speed by a few decimals. Despite
the issues I thought I was going pretty well and to the plan. The plan was to
finish the race within 24 hours.
I had decided to try out a new
strategy. Stopping after every 90 minutes to stretch my legs out. This actually
kept me fresh on the bike and keep my speed up. The crew were brilliant in
giving out the massages. As the day went on it got hotter and hotter. I usually
do not have a problem with heat and can sustain it but the desert was getting
very formidable. It threw heavy winds at me which kept changing directions. And
these winds were hot as if coming right out of the owen. My crew were
constantly on their toes trying to keep me hydrated and cool. I got water
sprays almost every 5 minutes. I later learnt that my back was covered in the
white salt deposits from the dried sweat. I was gulping almost a litre of water
every hour along with gels and electrolytes. Around 3 pm the heat was getting
to me. I was getting cranky and frustrated. By that time I had overtaken all
the competition except for Rajnikant Yadav a naval athlete. Due to the heat and
wind my average speed dropped and I panicked a bit, I put in more effort trying
to stay at 30kmph without realizing that it was taking a big toll on me. An
hour of this super effort drained a lot out of me and I had to stop and take a
nap at around 5 pm. I only needed a 5 minute nap and I was back refreshed on
the bike.
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Passing Jagdish Italiya |
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It went on and on and on. |
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Arham Spraying Water on my back |
Then started the chase for
Rajnikant. From 5 pm in the evening I
was on his tail trying to catch him. Every turn I took I expected to see his
crew car. As night fell every car I saw in the distance I thought it was him. I
got into a mad obsession to catch him. That drove me into deep frustration as
the kilometres kept piling up and still no chance of him. I was surprised as I
did not think he would manage to hold me off for so long. Mind you I was going
pretty fast and he still evaded me. The last time I had seen him in Deccan
Cliffhanger in 2014 he couldn’t finish the race in time. This time he
definitely surprised me. I had completely under estimated him.
The hours passed and so did the
miles. The night in the desert started to get really cold. A complete contrast
to the day. Thankfully the cycling was keeping me warm and I dint really feel
any chill at first. As the turn around point came close at around 500 kms, my miserable
mood started to get better as Rajni still hadn't passed me. I finally caught
up to him right at the turn around point. It gave me a huge boost. I finally
settled down mentally knowing that I can get my lead now. Wasting no time we
turned around and in about 15 minutes I had come up to him. He was looking
good, going off the saddle and hammering even after 500 odd kms. He was
literally hammering away like a guy on a
final sprint. He even taunted me with some snide remarks. ** ( After clarification he had just said "Aja aja aja" - means come on in hindi. I took that as an insult when it was not intended to be. He was just encouraging me I got to know later) That did not provoke
me at all and I still kept my calm as I pushed on with my steady pace. I
steadily overtook him. But he did not let me go away easily. We kept passing each
other for 5-6 times until I finally managed to shake him off with a calm and
steady pace never pushing too much. I had put on a good 20 minutes lead on him.
That’s when the cold of the night got to me. It was almost nearing dawn. The
coldest part of the day. I have no idea what temperature it was but even the
constant pedalling could not keep me warm. I put my jacket which only helped
for while. The cold was lulling me to sleep. Couldn’t stay up, so I took
another 5 minute nap. An uneasy but a much needed rest. Afraid that Rajni would
pass me I awoke with a start in 5 and was back on the bike. This period was one
of the toughest times I had. I was sleepy , I was tired and I was concerned
that Rajni could pass me any time. Its true what they say – “it’s the darkest
hour before the dawn”. Barely hanging on the bike I finally made it to dawn.
Once the sun was up it started to get warmer and the sleep went away. I started
to feel better and better. Also there wasn’t any sign of Rajni on my tail. Now
however another problem arised. It was around 10 am. I had to do about 120 kms
in 4 hours!! That meant I had to ride with an average of 30 kmph to just finish
within the cut off time which was at 2 pm. Now if you ask me on a normal day I
would say 120 in 4 hours is pretty darn tough even when you’re fresh but
imagine you've already ridden almost non stop for 22 hours ; done 550 kms and
now they tell you to go at 30 kmph. At first I was pretty confident as I felt
good and mostly the terrain was flat. But I was wrong …
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The Night Rider |
As the hours passed the terrain started to roll up and down , the winds kicked in, the sun got back to its unforgiving self. I was getting cranky and really mad at my crew. Here I was thinking at the start of the race that I would finish it within 24 hours. Boy!! Was I wrong or what? It was a question of survival. I was so exhausted and each pedal stroke took a lot of effort. It was here I started to think of quitting but I just couldn't accept that. With that I had to dig deep inside me to keep up a brutal 30 kmph average speed.
It was getting harder and harder as the day got hotter and the terrain wasn't exactly flat. Soon it was down to 90kms in 3 hours then 62kms in 2 hours. During these last few hours I had become immensely focussed and with that came extra-ordinary performance. My body surprised me. I dint know I had it in me to dole out the 30 odd kmph speed. But I was doing it, It was hard and it was painful. The fear of reaching too late was enough to push me to the extremes of my limits. Limits I dint know I had. In the last hour I had to cycle another 30 kms. The enormity of that effort was causing a great strain, more emotionally or mentally rather than physical. I even passed and overtook some of the 500 km / 250 km category racers. Somewhere in that flurry I got a giant bee sting right on my chest. As if I needed any more pain. But in those few hours, everything had become blurry and all I could see was the finish line. Pedal Pedal Pedal. The crew kept feeding and hydrating me, I have no memory of that. Saniya even had a fall as one of the hand-outs went wrong.
It was getting harder and harder as the day got hotter and the terrain wasn't exactly flat. Soon it was down to 90kms in 3 hours then 62kms in 2 hours. During these last few hours I had become immensely focussed and with that came extra-ordinary performance. My body surprised me. I dint know I had it in me to dole out the 30 odd kmph speed. But I was doing it, It was hard and it was painful. The fear of reaching too late was enough to push me to the extremes of my limits. Limits I dint know I had. In the last hour I had to cycle another 30 kms. The enormity of that effort was causing a great strain, more emotionally or mentally rather than physical. I even passed and overtook some of the 500 km / 250 km category racers. Somewhere in that flurry I got a giant bee sting right on my chest. As if I needed any more pain. But in those few hours, everything had become blurry and all I could see was the finish line. Pedal Pedal Pedal. The crew kept feeding and hydrating me, I have no memory of that. Saniya even had a fall as one of the hand-outs went wrong.
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Grumpy Chai |
The last half an hour I had 15
kms to go. I was pushing and averaging between 32-35 kmph trying to finish
before time to keep some cushion. Teeth clenched, heart pounding , legs pumping
, lungs exploding I went up the short climb which dint feel so short and
zigzagged through trucks and cars as I reached the final few kilometres. As I
took the turn off the highway to get to the finish line which was about 2 kms I
only had 5 minutes left on the clock. It was here my crew tells me that they
had lied to me and that I actually have 30 more minutes to go to the deadline.
I was so angry at them but I knew they had pushed me to my limits to get me
across on time. I even yelled at the media vehicle that started filming as I
approached the finish. Songs blaring, people cheering, cameras rolling I
crossed the line with 20 minutes to save.
To come out of that state of
utter focus and pushing myself to the brink I was overwhelmed by all the
emotions that came flooding out. The relief, exhaustion, happiness, frustration
and anger all at once. I could not contain it. Thanks for my crew who helped me
bury my (awfully dirty) face in some towels and shoulders. I was saved from too
much embarrassment. I did manage to
cycle further from the finish line to the venue to collect my medal and pose
for the pictures. The crew soon whisked me away to the hotel where I just
passed out on the floor without even bothering to clean up. I had officially finished
first and completed the Desert 500 race – 700 kms in 27 hours 40 minutes.
Strava Logs -
Click Here For Part I
Click Here For Part II
Strava Logs -
Click Here For Part I
Click Here For Part II
Later I came to know that Rajni
had managed to finish half an hour after me, about 10 minutes after the cut
off. He was still later announced as an official finisher owing to the fact
that we had to cycle close to 700 kms rather than the announced 684 kms. A
tremendous effort from him and his crew.
To conclude I would like to say
that this was by far the most difficult undertaking of my entire life. Never
before I had pushed myself to the brinks of a mental breakdown. I came out of
it surprised that my body could actually handle these extreme conditions. It
was actually my own mind that was limiting the body to function at its most potential.
With that in mind I have started to train myself for my ultimate dream Race
Across America (Target – 2017) and the Zurich Ironman (July 2016).
WATCH THE DESERT 500 MOVIE MADE BY ME
*** For Raw Footage check out my youtube channel -
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCA-lEZftCqSTM9F_iv45SOQ
*** For Raw Footage check out my youtube channel -
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCA-lEZftCqSTM9F_iv45SOQ
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Winning the D 500 was worth more than that Voucher and Medal |
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On the Stage with crew and fellow riders |
Lastly even though I train myself
to make the weapon I am, all this wouldn't have been possible without my crew –
Saniya, Arham, Monish and Aniket. They all performed beyond expectations to
keep me safe and to push me to my limits. The man behind all this who’s
responsible to making me a cycling machine Michael Lehnig, my coach. Also a big
thanks to my sponsors – Multifit and Cymour who have believed in me and
supported me in my crazy endeavours. Also my family and countless other folks
who have supported me, cheered me on – I can’t thank you all enough.
Friday, February 19, 2016
Of Dhoklas and Kachoris!! Rajasthan Cycling Travelogue
Just as I was getting over my DC
(Deccan Cliffhanger) hangover I started training for the Desert 500 race!! The
aim is to dominate the Ultra racing scene in India. So I jumped at the
opportunity when Divya offered me to join her for the recceing of the race
route. It was going to be a week long road trip and I was concerned about my
training. But Divya said we will be taking our bikes with us to do the 200 km
brevet in Bhuj and cycle most of the D – 500 route.
The Team –
Divya Tate
Director of Desert 500 race. A
680 km race starting in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.
Jatin Kale –
Crew member and photographer of
Team Saniya.
Vrunda Shete –
Crew member and photographer of
team Apurv.
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The Team before we left Pune |
Day 1 – Pune to Ahmedabad
We left Pune on an afternoon and
reached our first destination Ahmedabad at about 2.30 am. Stayed at my parents
for the night. It was on this first
night that we had a taste of authentic Gujrati “Umbadiyo” (spicy vegetables
steamed inside an earthen pot). So spicy yet so delicious. Later in Ahmedabad we had the traditional
Fafda- Jalebi for breakfast thanks to my Dad. The carb loading had started even
before the cycling started.
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Umbadiyo |
Day 2 – Ahmedabad to Bhuj
My parents joined us in this
drive to Bhuj. It was here I got introduced to the stark countryside of
Gujarat. No hills whatsoever for miles. Being from Pune where you are always
surrounded by hills it was a strange feeling. We drove through some big salt
pans. The weather even at high noon was surprisingly cool. I had mistaken the
desert. By evening we reached Bhuj where we met some local cyclists and those
from Baroda, Ahmedabad who had all gathered in Mr. Pathik Vachhani who had
hosted them all. His huge maze of a house/mansion/haveli was accommodated the
20 odd cyclists with ease. All these cyclists had gathered for the 200 km BRM
starting from Bhuj and ending in the historical town of Dholavira. My dad was
going to join me in this ride.
Day 3 – 200 KM BRM Bhuj to
Dholavira
This is where the cycling
started. This was going to be my first opportunity to go on a long ride with
dad. So instead of going into my usual aggressive cycling mode I stayed back
with Dad to enjoy the ride with him. It was a great idea, because then I really
got to soak in the beauty of the country. We had started out in the dark before
the dawn. I had heard that the deserts can get mighty cold in the nights but it
was the first time I was getting to experience it. I regretted not having
bought a jacket. After about 2 hours into the ride we saw the beautiful sun rising
on the desert landscape. We even had a jackal cross the road in front of us.
Everything was different from the usual countryside of Maharashtra that I’m
used to. The cattle were bigger with huge horns, the birds were different, the
terrain, the good roads, the crops in the farms, the villages, the villagers
and their colourful dresses. It was a joy to experience all that. Me and Dad
were making good time and were pretty much ahead of the field. The organizers
of the event had stopped at about 140 kms in a village. There I had my first
authentic Kachhi Dabeli. Obviously I couldn’t stop at one. After 3 of those big
dabelis I was so full that had I not been riding slow I’d have had trouble to
stay on the saddle. The last 30 km was where I was looking forward to.
Dholavira is on an island surrounded by a shallow lake which during summer
dries up into a white flat. To get to the island you have to go through this
salt deposition. There’s even a BSF post on the island as this lake goes on
into Pakistan, which is merely 50 kms further west.
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Dad in front of the Salt flats |
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Salt Flats |
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Salt |
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Salt Flats |
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Crystals in Saline Pond |
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Saline Pond |
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At the end of the Ride |
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Interacting with the Locals |
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Our Cheerleaders |
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Our Cheerleaders |
Capturing the Photographer |
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Jatin got the sun right on the Salt flat |
Day 4 – Dholavira Exploration
The day after the 200 km ride I
went for an early morning run. The trail was arid and sandy. But surprisingly
there were a lot of water bodies around. I met and talk with a few local
farmers who were as intrigued in me as I in them. On my way back I misjudged a
mound of sand and twisted my left ankle. It was a bad one. Barely managed to
crawl home. Even today i.e. a month after the tour my ankle still hasn’t
recovered full mobility. We later on went on foot to explore the ruins of
Dholavira. These ruins are the remains of the Harappan Civilization, who were
one of the first settlers in the Indus Valley. It was sad to see such beautiful
ruins in shambles and neglected by the government. According to our guide there
are still a whole lot of ruins yet to be unearthed. After the ruins we
proceeded to explore the fossil park right along the lake.
We were very hungry after all the
exploring and were thankful that our guide invited to his house for lunch. How
could we turn down an opportunity to eat authentic local food? The visit to his
house provided a glimpse into the local culture itself. They were very
hospitable and happy people. After that we set off in the car towards a village
called Adesar which was the entry point to the Wild Ass Sanctuary.
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The gateway to the Harappan Civilization |
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Royal Baths |
Couldnt walk with a swollen ankle |
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Saline Lake |
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Saline Lake |
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Saline Lake |
Shady |
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Royal Lunch at our Guide's house |
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Bajra Bhakri, Tomato Curry, Garlic Chutney, Buttermilk |
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Our Guide and his Bro |
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His Garden |
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Family Selfie |
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Our Host |
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Camping!! |
Day 5 - Wild Ass Sanctuary
After we set off from Dholavira
we camped just off the highway near Adesar. I had my ankle swollen so wasn’t of
much use in setting up camp. But the other were right upto the task. As we were
setting up camp on someone’s field we had midnight visitors coming in with
torches. The morning after we went straight into the sanctuary with a hired
guide. If anyone is looking to go into the sanctuary make sure you get
permission from the forest department and I recommend getting a guide. Once inside we went off the road
into the Rann. A vast expanse of nothingness with only the guide directing us.
Soon we sneaked up on a horde of wild asses (which look very much like horses).
They dint really like us and started running away from us and we chased them
around for a bit. To be alongside a herd of running horses was really
mesmerising. The guide then took us to an old diamond mine. After searching in
vain for any stray diamonds we settled for some pretty looking stones.
The Nothingness!! |
Bumming |
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If you are anywhere near Osiyan , Rajasthan this is the place to have the best Daal Baati |
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Sooooo Friggin Good!! DAAL BAATIII!! |
Day 6 – Mt Abu, Rajasthan.
The sanctuary marked our last day
in Gujarat. We then headed towards Mt. Abu the first town in Rajasthan after
crossing over from Gujarat. I was very excited to experience Rajasthan for the
very first time. The drive there was very beautiful. Green lush fields welcomed
us into the state. We even saw a wild boar strutting along the road. We had
planned to camp along a lake in Abu but since we reached there pretty late at
night we had to drop that idea and instead we camped on the top of the Abu hill
on a camping ground. Had a great view from there the next morning. The weather
was super cold. The host gave us nice hot ginger tea, which was so good that
amongst the 3 of we finished their whole batch. I then got my bike out and
decided to try my legs against the big Abu climb. I cycled all the way down to
the base to begin my upward climb. Got the whole effort logged, strava shows me
as second overall, if only I hadn’t stopped to click pictures. Divya went off
riding towards Jodhpur. Meanwhile me with rest of the gang went all the way up
to Gurushikhar the highest point in the Aravalis.
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Mt. Abu |
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View from our Campsite!! |
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Climbed up the 30 Km ghat of Abu |
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Stunning Scenes all around |
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Looking down to Abu base |
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Cheerleaders egging me up the climb |
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At lake Nakki on the top. Its very commercialized up there. |
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Climbing Abu |
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Gurushikhar Peak. The highest point in Aravalis |
Gurushikhar |
Gurushikhar |
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Campsite |
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Gurushikhar |
Day 7 – Jodhpur
I was eager to get to Jodhpur as
I had heard so much about it. After camping straight for 3 days we got
ourselves a hotel. We arrived fairly early to enjoy a great rooftop dinner at
Pal Haveli. The dinner included the much talked Mutton dish of Rajasthan “lal
Mass”. The next day we explored the Mehrangarh fort. This for looms
threateningly over the whole city. Its big walls rising above everyone on a
hill. It was even more intimidating once near its gates. I was totally awed by
fierceness of the fort, now that’s something considering that I have been to
most of the lofty forts of the Sahyadris. Later in the day we made our way to
Bijolai Palace which was the start point of the Desert 500 race. Me and Divya
set out to ride along the route. I ended up doing about 60 Kms till a town
called Osiyan. After the Sunset we started hunting for camping sites on the way
to Jaiselmer. It was hard finding the perfect camping site. We had to look for
a place away from villages and hidden from the road.
Rooftop Dinner at Pal Haveli |
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Lal Maass |
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Mehrangarh Fort |
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Blue City Jodhpur |
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The Kachoris should not be missed. |
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From Mehrangarh |
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From Mehrangarh |
It was really cold!!! |
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The Main Town Square of Jodhpur |
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As I said one Kachori aint enough |
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Start of the Route Recce for Desert 500 |
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Riding the Desert Scape |
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With the Race Director |
Camping Grounds |
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Cold AF!! |
Day 8 – Jaiselmer
Jaiselmer, the golden city of
Rajasthan. I was bowled over by this
charming little town. Its stunning golden hues, smooth sandy dunes, yellow
stone walls of Fort Jaisalgarh. And not to mention the amazing food we had
there.
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Jaisalgarh |
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Golden Battlements!! |
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Golden Battlements!! |
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Ancient Architecture! |
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Its all legal here!! |
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Delights of the North!! Chana Bhatura |
In India Peacocks Cross the Road!! |
Day 9 – Ranau
After spending a day exploring
Jaiselmer. Me and Divya went riding towards Ranau through some stunning desert
landscapes. That night we camped on the Desert dunes. One of my most beautiful
camping experiences. I got a firsthand experience on really how cold the desert
gets at night. If not for the campfire nothing would have kept us warm. We were
even joined by one of the locals at the fire. Many a stories were exchanged. Good
times.
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Riding on the Boder Roads!! |
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Camping on the Dunes!! |
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Had to huddle to stay warm |
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That Kept us Defrosted!! |
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Jatin the Entertainer!! |
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Local Company at Ranau!! |
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Dunessss!!! |
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Ranau!! |
Day 10 – Jaiselmer-Nagaour –
Ahmedabad - Baroda
This was the last day of the trip. We drove all the way from Jaiselmer
to Nagaur which was the D 500 route . Then made our way down south to Ahemdabad driving througout the night. We had one more stop to make before we went home. This time it was Baroda. The fair and kind cyclists of Baroda (The Cycling Club of Baroda) had invited Divya and me to conduct a seminar on ultra cycling. It was good to share our knowledge with them and we enjoyed their hospitality too. Kudos to Raghu Vishal, Raghvendra Jhala and Manisha Patel and the rest of the Baroda cycling community for entertaining us. Me and Divya even managed to get ourselves in the local Baroda tabloids.
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Back in Ahemdabad!! Thanks Mum for Hosting Us. |
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Into the Tabloids We go!! |
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The Seminar!! |
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