I have been looking forward to every September during the last four years – that’s when Hyderabad turns ideal for cycling, with the monsoon coming to an end and winter starting to set in allowing for long rides. With bountiful rains last monsoon season, the lakes around Hyderabad were brimming with water and the scenic routes were a delight to the eyes! I had good company in Aditya and thanks to his Google Pixel phone, we captured some fantastic views.

We started in September with Bakaram and Musi river upstream from Hyderabad!

We rode around Himayat Sagar during the first weekend of October:

More beautiful Shamirpet lake the next weekend!

Finally, Patancheru and Ordnance Factory:

Now was the time for brevet season. After finishing up as a Super Randonneur in December 2016, I had told myself that I will try to repeat it during the next winter season.

200 BRM – Heaven & Hell:

Unlike my previous brevets, I decided to cycle to the start point at HBC Station that would add another 20 Km. I thought this would prepare me better for the longer brevets coming up. I had company of Aditya for the first 120 Km but after that I stopped pushing myself and slowed down significantly. I could sense a bit of over confidence creeping in and had to endure a minor scare of not finishing on time. Finally, managed to complete with about 5 minutes to spare!

300 BRM – Tour of Neelagiri:

After the scare of finishing 200 BRM late, I told myself that I should overcome complacency and ride faster. It had the desired effect. Though I took an hour longer than the last time, I was still in time with more than an hour to spare.

400 BRM – Nizamabad & Armoor:

I had to do it alone with Aditya deciding to focus on racing with his new road bike. I finished with about 40 minutes left, but not a lot of pictures!

600 BRM – the Two States:

The first weekend of January 2018 brought the ultimate challenge of completing 600 Km brevet to become a Super Randonneur again. It was a different route this time, all along the Bangalore Highway till Gooty and back. I started strong and rode at good pace for the first 65 Kms as we crossed Jadcherla at almost 25 Km/Hr. The first problem stuck around 80 Km. I felt my rear wheel drag on but carried on for a few minutes. Then I decided to stop and check. It was a shock as my rear tyre was flat in the middle of nowhere – and this was the first time in more than three years of long rides that I had to deal with a flat. Just as I was preparing to fix it, a couple of riders were kind enough to stop and help me. It took about 30 minutes to change the tube and start riding again. We stopped for dinner break at 120 Km and I got the punctured tube fixed. Now the second problem – as we were around 140 Km mark, we saw a young rider standing on the side of the road appearing clueless. He had a flat and had no idea or tools to deal with it. Along with the two angels who helped me, we fixed his flat and got moving after about 30 minutes. Net-net, I lost an hour and that meant I could not take any rest at mid point at Gooty. When I started from the mid-point, I only had about an hour buffer that appeared insufficient given the uphills that I had to deal with.

The return journey under the hot sun was tough. After a short lunch break and relentless riding, I reached Kurnool around 6:15PM. Another 200 Km to go and under 14 hours left. I started to feel sleepy around 7:30PM and had to take a power nap at one of the road side tea shops for about 30 minutes before riding again. Then I made the final mistake – while taking a dinner break was a wise move, the duration of that break was atrocious. When I started after dinner break, I had to cover almost 150 Km with under 8.5 hours left – almost impossible given my energy levels and the impending uphill! I gave it my shot riding fast for the next one hour gaining some time. But just before Jadcherla, the uphill started and slowed me down significantly. I reached the checkpoint at Jadcherla later by about 45 minutes. I now had about 3.5 hours to cover 70 Km, pretty much impossible. Instead of hitting the wall trying to push too hard, I decided to just finish late. After a tea break just before dawn, I dragged myself towards the finish point.

I completed 600 Km in about 41 hours, more than an hour later than allotted time. Net-net, I finished a brevet late for the first time after 13 successful attempts. But who cares – I did complete riding 600 Km and consider completing the last 60+ Km knowing fully well that I will not finish on time as an achievement in itself! The thought of giving up and getting onto a bus or a mini truck to get back to my car crossed my mind several times. It required immense will power to complete in this scenario and glad I was able to do it.

After the ordeal of Chennai Marathon in Jan ’17, I thought I will not put my body through the torture of a full marathon again. I was not in a good shape for Chennai Marathon as I had to deal with back to back health issues for two weeks before it and I barely recovered before the event. Anyways, in a couple of weeks, the thoughts of ordeal disappeared and only the pride of completing the marathon remained. In Feb ’17, I completed a half marathon as part of Hyderabad Club Run just a day after completing one of my 200 Km brevet ride with less than 10 hours between those events. That gave me confidence on my fitness and readiness to continue challenging myself.

I typically start preparing for Hyderabad full marathon about four months before the event. With all the travels this year, I could not start preparations in the earnest till mid June, giving me just over two months to prepare. However, I continued to clock several 10K runs on a weekly basis that kept me in touch though that distance typically will not be sufficient for a full marathon preparation. Net-net, I planned to making the decision on registering for full marathon based on a couple of long runs.

Practice Run 1 (Pachavati) – 11 Jun:

As I was returning back from vacation, I saw a post on one of the WhatsApp groups about a run at Panchavati park. I never heard about this park near Shamshabad Airport. I thought it is a good opportunity to start my preparation for the marathon. The park was a bit disappointing but the weather was beautiful. A full loop of the park was exactly 4 Km. I planned to do five or six loops to make it a half marathon distance. But after four loops, I decided to end the run and have my breakfast. I had completed 16 Km in 1:50 @ 6:47 min/km. It was decent but did not help me decide whether I was ready to register for a full marathon.

Practice Run 2 (Heritage Run) – 18 Jun:

Due to a last minute change in the route for Heritage Run in 2016, I missed the real beauty of the event passing through Golconda Fort and Qutb Shahi tombs. With no late surprises this time and pleasant weather, I enjoyed the run tremendously. My Strava showed that I completed the half marathon in 2:17 hours, which would be my second best timing. That was enough for me to register for the full marathon the same day!

Practice Run 3 (Hussain Sagar loops) – 2 Jul:

With no group runs in the vicinity, I wanted to log some hours of running and decide the best place to do it would be around the scenic Hussain Sagar lake. I did not feel fully fit and started with the target of three loops which will make it around 27 Km. But I managed to complete only two loops and took 2:14 hours.

Practice Run 4 (Hussain Sagar loops again) – 16 Jul:

After two weeks, I completed the pending loop and took 3:23 hours to complete 27.7 Km. Though it was flat terrain, I was happy to have logged more than 25 Km!

Practice Run 5 (Alankrita Run) – 30 Jul:

With just two long runs possible before the d-day, I wanted to push myself towards the 30 Km mark. My first attempt was during Alankrita run. But it was a hot day and I was done-done by 9:30 AM managing to complete 28.8 Km in 3:51 hours.

Practice Run 6 (Marathon dry run) – 6 Aug:

The long awaited 30 Km run finally came on the dry run day. I wanted to start running by 4:30 AM to log about 9 Km before starting with the large group that had assembled for the dry run. But I could start running only at 4:53 AM and managed to log 6 Km before joining the group for the dry run. I continued running after the finish point to make it 30 Km. I was happy to have achieved that milestone for the first time as part of marathon practice in three years!

Airtel Hyderabad Marathon – 20 Aug:

I felt ready for the big Sunday after all the long runs behind me! I collected my bib on Friday at the Expo and also bought four Fast&Up energy gels from the stalls hoping they will help sustain my energy levels. I also carried a 20g protein bar (Yoga Bar – chocolate brownie) that appeared to have kept me in good stead during the dry run. Along with all of these, I also carried my own bottle of Gatorade to avoid jostling with the crowd at water stations. I stuffed myself with two chappatis at 3:30 AM and arrived at the start point around 4:30 AM. I had rained the previous evening and the cloudy weather promised to make it a delightful run. The marathon was flagged off at 5 AM and I started running, still wondering how well I will finish.

I had planned to maintain a steady pace instead of starting fast and progressively slowing down. I maintained a pace of around 7 min/Km for the first 13 Km, covering it in about 1.5 hours without stopping or walking. I gulped down the first gel as I walked up Panjagutta flyover and prepared myself for the climb for the next 10 Km. My pace came down on the climb but I was able to sustain running. I was able to reach the half way mark in about 2.5 hours. At this point, my timing was similar to the last two Hyderabad marathons but unlike the previous attempts I felt quite fresh for more. It was a great feeling for which I should thank FastnUp gel and gatorade. I had the second gel at 22 Km mark and increased my pace over the next 2 Km of downhill. As I crossed the 26 Km mark, I felt the need for my protein bar and had half of it. That’s when I noticed someone clicking a picture. An odd one with a mouthful of chocolate!

I took a 5 min break at the top of Gachibowli flyover (27 Km) to stretch my muscles. This was a key milestone as I found it difficult to continue running after this point during my previous marathons. After a bit of relaxation, I started running and was pleasantly surprised that I was able to continue running. It was about 3.5 hours since I started running and I had another 15 Km to cover. I now believed that I can complete the marathon in less than 6 hours!

As I took the left turn at IIIT and come to the end of the last climb, I finished my third gel and raced down microsoft hill. I reached 32 Km point in about 4 hrs 10 mins. By that time, my gatorade bottle was empty and got it filled up with Fast&Up reload at a water station. I was ready to push through the last 10 Km and told myself that I should be able to finish in less than 6 hours unless I mess it up from there. Pleasant weather was also holding up. So, overall I felt better at 32 Km mark than any previous marathon. Soon after, I finished the remaining protein bar and continued running at about 8.5 min/Km.

At 36 Km point, took the right turn towards Hyderabad Central University and gulped down the last energy gel. It was a little under 5 hours and I told myself that I should push myself to continue running to finish strong. But I could not sustain running after that and started to mix it up with walking for the next 4 Km. As I exit HCU campus at 40 Km point, I started running again and was surprised that I could manage running continuously. I gathered all remaining energy and called upon my will power to finish in 5 hrs 47 mins. It was my best full marathon time and the first under 6 hours! A marathon that made me feel really good and am ready for more!

After completing my Super Randonneur series in December ’16, I was tired of cycling and took a break from it for a few weeks. During my rides over the next six months, I realized that the overnight brevets that made me a Super Randonneur also subconsciously changed my riding style and pattern. My body is always prepared for the long haul and is ready to endure non-stop biking for hours together. But this increase in stamina came at the cost of speed as I found it increasingly difficult to increase pace as in the past. I noticed similar pattern with my running as well.

My first long ride was TAF Republic Ride that I finished third year in a row. Significantly slower this year, with a couple of riders from my office finishing before me unlike the previous two years!

I had completed only three 200 Km brevets between Nov ’14 to Nov ’16 and used to consider them as events that require a lot of preparation. But after completing the Super Randonneur series, I started looking at them as opportunities to get some time for myself to relax and also add some miles for my fitness sake. The next 200 Km brevet was coming up on 18th Feb and as part of preparation, I went on a 100 Km ride the previous Sunday with my friend to Ameenpur lake and Ordnance Factory – some of the most scenic places at Hyderabad!

With the summer heat and numerous travels between March and June, my next long ride had to wait till the season’s next 200 KM brevet on 8th July. I had done a couple of relatively small rides during the preceding weekends but no real preparation for the brevet. And the 200 Km this time was the toughest route – Heaven n Hell. I took it easy and decided to use all the time available, still finishing with about 20 minutes to spare.

I had not originally planned to take part in 300 Km brevet as we typically we had to ride overnight. Surprisingly, the scheduled start was 6AM, which meant I can complete around mid night and not lose my entire night’s sleep. So, I decided to do it. The week before the ride was filled with rains that made the countryside lush green and it was a refreshing ride. The finish was not so good as I had miscalculated the climb during the last 50 Km and suffered through the last three hours. But all that ends well is good. I did manage to complete 300 Km just under 20 hours, with 9 minutes to spare!

That was my 10th brevet and one remarkable feat is that I managed to finish every one of the brevets that I started! I may not be the fastest rider, but I manage my time well!

While I completed several running and riding events at Hyderabad from 2014-16, I refrained from traveling to other cities to participate. That changed when I registered for Chennai Marathon 2016 that was originally scheduled for 4th Dec ’16. I had to travel to Chennai for a personal engagement during that week and wanted to leverage that opportunity to run along the beaches I enjoyed frequenting during my school days. With a string of local events at Chennai starting late Nov ’16, the marathon was postponed. This actually helped me to complete 400 Km and 600 Km brevets to become a Super Randonneur.

I came to know of the revised date (8th Jan ’17) for Chennai marathon around Christmas time and promptly booked my flight tickets for the event weekend. However, I caught flu after that and was down for almost a week before the marathon. I thought i will recover in time for the event but it became worse with a stomach bug and conjunctivitis during the week leading to the marathon. I was not sure if I will be able to make it to the event but given I had already registered and also booked my flight tickets, I decided to give it a try. It was going to be a test of my WILL POWER more than anything else.

I had my marathon mentor, Raman Mishra along with me. I arrived at Chennai early morning on Saturday, Jan 7th, went straight to the expo to collect the bib, memorized the route and slept the entire afternoon to gear-up for the demanding run on Sunday.

The primary inspiration for me to register for Chennai marathon was the running route. It was along my favorite lanes and roads from childhood days – Besant Nagar, Elliots Beach, Theosophical Society and Marina Beach. I arrived at Madhya Kailash at 3:30AM along with Raman well on time for the start. I was way off my usual fitness and my only objective was to complete the full marathon without any time target.

The start was delayed by 10 minutes that made me anxious as any delay will result in spending additional time under hot Chennai sun. The marathon was finally flagged off around 4:10AM. The first 15 minutes were lethargic as I tried to shrug off my tiredness. I settled into a rhythm after a while and was able to maintain it for the first 15 Km that I covered in a little over 1.5 hours. This was primarily running in Besant Nagar that I was eagerly looking forward to.

Once I was out of Besant Nagar, the route merged with half marathon folks resulting in a congested road. As we ran through Foreshore Estate and San Thome, I had to jostle with a lot of fellow runners as there were hundreds of us running at different speeds with very little space to maneuver. It was tough and after about 18 Km, I was no longer able to run continuously. I had an energy gel and dragged myself to 25 Km point to take a 10 min break and relax my aching legs.

I still had 18 Km left and it was already well over 3 hours. I was hoping to finish in less than 6 hours but was now quite sure it will take longer. It felt like I could not run any more and that is when I spoke to another suffering marathoner. He said we can use run / walk combination to cover the remaining distance in under 3hours. I followed this strategy and was able to cover the next 8 km in about an hour.

As I got close to Besant Nagar for the last 9 km, it was past 8:30AM and the sun was now out in its glory. I checked with the volunteers if the venue will close down in 6 hours. To my relief they said the roads will be thrown open for traffic after 6 hours but I will have another 30 mins or so to finish after that. After 36 Km, I was not longer able to run and decided to just walk the remaining distance.

I had covered about 40 Km in 6 hours and the last 2 Km was horrible as I had to walk through congested roads. All that ends well is good – I managed to reach the finish line in 6 hours 22 minutes – not a great time given the flat terrain but given the condition I was in, finishing itself was a great achievement. It was sheer will power that saw me through. I told myself – Great job, Santh!!!

When I bought my Trek 7.1 in August ’13, I used to go on 10 Km rides for the first nine months and feel proud about my “endurance” rides. June ’14 is when I started riding with my friends in preparation for TAF Freedom Ride in August ’14 and the target of 67 Km sounded insane at that time! I struggled whenever I did more than 25 Km and was thoroughly exhausted after the Freedom Ride. When one of my friends talked to me about brevets that started with 200 Km, I could not imagine myself completing such a distance. But I managed to finish my first 200 Km in November ’14. I then limited myself to that distance for the next two years till I decided to try out my first 300 Km in November ’16. Even then, I did not fathom myself trying out 600 Km brevet riding through two full nights and a day. But once I completed 400 Km brevet, the idea originated in what looked like the final frontier and becoming a Super Randonneur!

I started mentally preparing for the 600 Km ordeal soon after completing 400 Km brevet. I had about 2 weeks after 400 Km to recover and prepare for 600 Km brevet – In to the Wild. I studied the route, memorized the landmarks and contemplated several strategies. But I knew from experience that all strategies need to be flexible to adapt to real time situations and constraints. Anyways, I was all set to start off at 4 PM on Saturday, December 17th from St. Martin’s Engineering College at Dullapally. After the paperwork, a total of 16 riders were flagged off!

The first 200 Km was pretty much the same route as the previous brevet and quite familiar having ridden there just a couple of weeks back. I targeted to reach Zyka for dinner by 7:30 PM. I was a tad bit slower than last time but still managed to reach for dinner by around 7:40. This time I switched to rotis and butter chicken. All the 16 riders had reached by the time I left the place around 8:20. I was some where in the middle of the pack.

I set myself a target to reach the 209 Km point at Singh is King dhaba at Nirmal by 3 AM. This also marked the end of riding on NH7. I maintained a steady tempo and arrived at the checkpoint at 3:07 AM. I had roti with dal tadka at the dhaba and we were six people at the dhaba then. We all took a power nap and I was woken up after about 30 minutes around 4:15. I felt refreshed – a power nap does wonders to our body. We started riding and felt terribly cold for the first 15 mins. We had completed about 210 Km and were done with more than 12.5 hours. So we did not have much buffer built up and thought we should ride fast to build some buffer over the next 10 hours. As the body warmed up, we exit NH7 into the Adilabad forest. We were told to ride together through the forest that stretched for the next 120 Km. The six of us were almost together and I was in the middle of the pack trying to keep up within sight of the tail lights of lead pack. There were moments of loneliness that made me nervous thinking about Kanwal tiger reserve we were riding through. As dawn broke out, four of us assembled together at a village tea stall. I gulped down a couple of glasses of tea and met the remaining two folks from the lead pack at Kadem. We took some pictures at the scenic lake and decided to ride fast to have breakfast at a town called Jannaram. We arrived for breakfast around 9 AM. We had covered around 280 Km till then in about 19 hours.

After a few idlies and vadas, we started riding around 9:30 AM. The sun was out but riding through the forest, we did not feel the heat. After 320 Km, we turned right out of the forest towards the next checkpoint at Thakkalapally village. The last 25 Km to the village was tough – started feeling hungry and tired that was made worse by slow progress due to uphill. I finally reached the checkpoint at 1:10 PM. Luckily for us, the family at checkpoint had prepared good simple food saving time that we otherwise had to spend at a restaurant. After a sumptuous lunch of rice, dal and rasam, I took a power nap for 30 minutes. While the six of us were at the checkpoint around the same time, one of riders decided to get some head start without a nap and the rest of us started riding again around 2:30 PM.

It was time for strategizing again. I had about 17.5 hours left for the remaining 250 Km. This should be quite easy but for a couple of reasons – the elevation (it was pretty much uphill all the way to finish) and having ridden for almost a full day till then, fatigue would be a factor as well. I decided to take it small chunks at a time and set a target to reach the next checkpoint at Siddipet around 8:30 PM giving it around 6 hours to cover 100 Km. I crossed Jagtial, Vemulawada and Sircila at good pace to reach 400 Km point by 5:30 PM. Then came another tough stretch – Sircila to Siddipet was a constant uphill. All of us split after lunch and as I was riding at steady constant pace, two of the riders joined me as I was struggling through the uphill. They were taking breaks every 30 mins to have some snacks and water while riding faster than me at other times. I took a couple of breaks along with them and noticed that one of them had a hurting knee. We encouraged him to endure till Siddipet and decide. We arrived at Siddipet at 9 PM, 30 minutes later than my target.

My strategy went for a toss at Siddipet! I had planned to dinner at Siddipet and start riding out of the place around 9 PM. But I reached there only at 9 PM and wasted precious minutes waiting for the two riders who were with me for the last 30 Km ( I later found out that they dropped out at Siddipet out of pain and exhaustion). As I crossed Siddipet, I did not find any place for dinner. As I was riding slowly looking for a restaurant, I did not realize that it was already 10 PM and I had covered only about 10 Km during the last hour. I enquired a passer-by for a restaurant and he said I either had to go back 10 Km to Siddipet (which was not an option given the time constraint) or proceed for another 25 Km. I had about 10 hours to cover the remaining 140 Km and it was getting close. All the buffer was gone and the remaining distance was all uphill  as well. I decided to skip a full fledged Indian dinner and instead survive on the plentiful energy bars and dry fruit chikkis I had left. I pulled out an energy bar and started riding again with determination.

It was painful progress given the gradual uphill and I stopped at a dhaba to gulp down a couple of glasses of tea. I continued to ride alone and was surprised to see a couple of stationary blinking tail lights ahead. As I approached, I saw a couple of riders taking a power nap over one of the culverts on the highway. They had left the lunch place around the same time as I did but were riding ahead and faster. Catching up with them gave me confidence on finishing and they were super confident on finishing. We rode together for a few kilometers but lost sight of them as I stopped to eat another energy bar just after Ramayanpet at NH7 junction. Finally a downhill stretch started and I was able to increase my pace. I had to stop for a few minutes at a railway gate and as I was waiting for the freight train to pass, a man on a motor cycle stuck a conversation. He suggested that I wait till dawn to cross the Narsapur forest. I said I did not have time but will take care. I quickly raced past the forest downhill for the next 25 Km and reached the next checkpoint at Medak by 2 AM for greetings from a couple of volunteers. I also rejoined the two riders I had met a while back. I took a 15 minute break and the volunteers said that I should be able to finish easily within time and suggested I just relax and enjoy the rest of the ride along Narsapur forest. The three of us decided to ride together for the rest of the distance. We had a little over 5.5 hours for the remaining 80+ Km.

We entered the core forest and would have ridden for about 20 minutes when one of the riders said he wants another power nap. I said that I will not be able to finish with my pace if I took a nap but if they took a 15 minute break, they should anyways easily catch-up with me before the next checkpoint at 565 Km mark. So, I started riding along again as they took a power nap. It was a tough uphill section and I was very sleepy. I gulped down an energy gel that is supposed to be loaded with caffeine to keep one alert but it did not make any difference. As I was riding sleepy with about 10 Km left for the next checkpoint, the two of them joined me. I was happy to see them as talking to them helped me stay awake.  We finally reached the last checkpoint at 5:20 AM. It was a manual control point at BVRIT college and it was nice of them to serve us with hot idlis at that time! After a 20 minute break, we started riding again at 5:40 AM to cover the final stretch!

After more than 37.5 hours and about 565 Km, it now boiled down to covering the remaining 37 Km in about 2 hours 15 mins! This last segment included a steep climb for the first 15 Km after which it was supposed to be an easy downhill. My fellow riders turned the heat on and started riding too fast for my comfort as they wanted to leave some time for any contingency. I pushed myself to keep up with them and managed doing it! As we reached the last 10 Km, the roads became bad and we had to slow down. Fortunately, we had build sufficient buffer by that time to finish on time. After negotiating all the challenges, the three of us rode together into St. Martin’s Engineering College, the FINISH POINT!!! We had a couple of folks to greet the Super Randonneurs, including the first timer – that’s me!!! It was one heck of a journey and an immensely satisfying one completing 200, 300, 400 and 600 Km rides every alternate weekend to become a Super Randonneur!!!

I could not have imagined doing this a couple of years back but am slowly realizing how we can condition our body and mind to push the limits.

I did not think about doing a 400 Km brevet, till I finished the 300 one (Tour of Neelagiri) strongly. Having finished 300 Km in less than 18 hours, I was confident that the remaining 9+ hours should be ample time to complete 400 Km successfully.

With that thought, I registered for 400 Km brevet: Hyderabad – Nizamabad – Armoor one, largely along NH7. The elevation profile appeared to be tougher that the route for 300Km brevet but nowhere near the challenging Heaven & Hell one through Anantagiri hills. I had about 2 weeks after the Tour of Neelagiri to recover and prepare for the 400 Km brevet – enough time to recover from the previous night out travails but close enough to keep my muscles warm for another ordeal.

I followed similar routines during the 24 hours preceding the brevet start and arrived at St. Martin’s College by 3:30PM on D-day, giving me about 30 minutes to complete paperwork and talk to co-riders on the route. The flag-off was scheduled as a grand event in the college with many students and the college Principal in attendance to cheer the 23 riders who started on a 27 hour ride.

The first 20 Km was a bit of uphill and then it became a gradual downhill that helped us maintain good pace. We reached our dinner venue (Zyka restaurant) around 7:30 PM covering about 75 Km in 3.5 hours. I had some curd rice that I thought should keep me going till the next manual checkpoint at Nizamabad. But before Nizamabad, I had to deal with an automated control point at Kamareddy after about 95 Km. This was my first auto control that made me anxious. I reached Kamareddy around 8:50PM and took a selfie in front of a bank. As a crowd started gathering, I quickly restarted and continued on my rhythm. I made it a point to memorise the cue sheet and looked for the landmarks to make sure I do not lose my way. When I saw the signboard for Nizamabad, I stopped under a light to recheck on cue sheet and confirm the route.

I reached the manual checkpoint around 142 Km at 11:09 PM. It was a beautiful house where the organizers had arranged beds for folks who wanted to rest for a while. 6 out of the 23 riders had already checked in and 3 of them were taking a nap. I had a banana and some juice before I left the place telling the folks that I want to cover as much distance during the cool night. A nap can wait till I return to the same place after 260 Km!

The next 40 Km was tough. I rode through a forest – bad roads, poor lighting and blinding head lights from a few vehicles coming from the opposite direction combined to make it difficult. It became much better after rejoining NH7 around 180 Km. Just before that, there was another auto control point where I took a selfie with a leader’s statue at 1:34 AM. I arrived at the mid-point of brevet at 2:56 AM and clicked another selfie at the designated ATM. When I took a u-turn to retrace to finish point, I noticed it was exactly 3 AM. I had taken 11 hours to complete 200 Km. About an hour longer than the 300 Km brevet two weeks back but I was left with another 16 hours to complete the remaining 200 Km.

It was around this distance during the previous brevet that I had an omelette, which I thought energized me for the rest of the night. I was craving for the same and was happy to find a dhaba. I carried my cycle along with me right till the seat to avoid any curious truck drivers meddling with the gears or other equipment. I ordered for some rotis and egg burji and lied down for a few minutes as the order was getting ready. As I started eating, a couple of truck drivers came to me and started asking questions about the event and purpose. I was in no mood to answer them but did not want to sound rude – I replied with short responses. I noticed about 5 riders cross the dhaba as I was finishing with a tea. After about 30 minutes, I started riding again. It was lonely for about an hour after which I caught up with one of the riders, who was feeling sleepy and needed some company to remain awake. We rode together for the next 3 hours. On the way we saw a few riders taking a nap under one of the bus shelters along the highway. I was not feeling sleepy and wanted to cover as much distance as possible before dawn.

We arrived at the manual control point at Nizamabad at 6:45 AM. It was beautiful weather and the countryside looked fabulous. After completing the paperwork, I was ready to start when the volunteers announced breakfast was ready. I gulped more than half a dozen idlis with chutney. It tasted among the best idlis I ever had – I should have been hungry! I knew the next 140 Km would be the toughest phase but it proved tougher than I had expected.

I was told that the incline before Kamareddy would be steep and wanted to cross it before the sun came out. I could not manage that and was left puffing through the steep incline under hot sun. It took more than 3 hours to cross this 45 Km stretch and I finally reached the last checkpoint at Kamareddy at 10:10AM. That also marked completion of 300 Km. I had another 100 Km to go with almost 9 hours left. Time was not going to be the issue but the thought of riding under the hot sun was draining.

As I was struggling through the incline before Kamareddy, about 3 riders crossed me. I managed to catch up with one of them and we planned to have lunch at Zyka that should be around 20 Km after Kamareddy. I thought we should reach there by 11:45 AM. The hot sun delayed it a bit and we finally managed to reach there by around noon. But we arrived a bit early for lunch and they were not ready! Not wanting to waste time, we decided to look for the next dhaba. But that would not come before the 352 Km mark! I was thoroughly exhausted by this time. It was 1:15 PM and I had breakfast around 7 AM. It was clearly a mistake to have given such a long gap between two meals and with only about 50 Km left, I decided to take it easy. I had some curd rice and took a power nap for 20 mins before starting off again around 2:20 PM.

The power nap did wonders to my energy level. I was surprised by the difference a short 20 minute nap can do to our body! I started riding with more confidence and power and managed to catch up with a few riders who should have crossed me during lunch. The sun also hid behind the clouds for some time making it easier. I finally reached the finish point at 5:23 PM to warm welcome from the volunteers. It was a tough ride but one that I again enjoyed and would cherish for a long time!

As I completed my fourth 200 Km brevet on Nov 5th, the thought of trying out a 300 Km one crossed my mind. I never attempted more than 200 Km as it required riding the entire night and I did not want to put my body through an all night suffering. But the suffering I endured under the sun during the all day Bhongir Fort ride made me feel that I might actually enjoy an all night ride. All I needed was to log additional sleep hours before and after the ride to compensate. So, I decided to try out the 300 Km brevet on Nov 19th – Tour of Neelagiri.

As a practice ride, I went for The Bike Affair’s Anniversary ride for their Jubliee Hills branch. It ended up being an enjoyable 100 Km ride along the countryside. As always, TBA hospitality made it a pleasure!

A long ride is a good opportunity to hog all the food I enjoy for several days before the event. My first 300 Km brevet provided many of them during the preceding week. I treated myself with a good portion of tandoori chicken and chicken biriyani for lunch before I started to the venue. After all the paperwork, the brevet was flagged off around 4 PM with over 40 riders and off we went on a pleasant November evening. I had 20 hours to complete 300 Km and I should be back at the venue by noon Sunday.

The route had 3 segments:

1. About 90 Km largely on Hyderabad – Vijayawada highway till Narketpally through Choutuppal and Chityal and largely downhill
2. About 60 Km from Narketpally till Miryalguda through Nalgonda – largely flat with a bit of rolling hills
3. 150 Km from Miyalguda to Hyderabad along Sagar Road through Peddavoora and Mall – constant climb for 120 Km followed by rolling hills on the final stretch.

The first segment went off like a breeze. Fresh legs, downhill and pleasant evening aided in maintaining average speed of over 22 Km/hr. I arrived at the first checkpoint at 8PM to the sight of a dozen riders having dinner. After completing the paperwork, I had tasty curd rice with pickle that was arranged by the organizers. I wrapped up the break with a banana and refilled my water bottle.

I had a minor scare after I restarted when I thought my rear brakes had jammed on the wheel. After meddling with them for a while, it looked like the problem was due to the 2 pouches I had attached to the top tube of the frame. I adjusted them a little bit and things appeared fine. Keeping my fingers crossed, I started riding again. Luckily, I did not notice any further problems and I continued to maintain good pace. I arrived at the second checkpoint (152 Km) at Miryalguda at 11:21 PM. That was less than 7.5 hours for 150 Km at over 20 Km/hr. I was happy at being able to maintain good pace and was surprised that I was only the 6th rider to arrive. But I knew the ordeal would actually start from here and felt if I could maintain the 6th place till finish, it would be an achievement!

After the standard formalities at the checkpoint, I started riding again with the objective of maintaining my relative position among 40+ riders. Till Miryalguda, we were on a 4 lane highway with excellent surface but now it was a single lane road with numerous potholes and even stretches with only gravel left on the road. That made riding difficult but it also made me feel closer to the countryside. Without any traffic, the silence was blissful and after a while I started enjoying the environment! The next checkpoint was a place called Peddavoora at 195 Km and I reached there at 1:55 AM. It was amazing that I covered almost 200 Km in about 10 hours. I was still among the top 6 riders. The checkpoint was at a all-night tea stall that was serving omelettes and rotis. I wanted to gain some time. So, I quickly ate an omelette, gulped down a glass of tea and quickly started before a couple of others. There were three riders ahead of me at that time.

The next checkpoint was at a place called Mall, another 70 Km away. This stretch was the most difficult. The road was bad and uphill. Riding between 3 AM and 5 AM was not easy. But after about 4 AM, I got into a rhythm and started chipping it away. It was an absolutely barren road but there were houses along the road every few hundred metres and they had the lights turned on their corridors, which lit the road well. I stopped a couple of times to refresh with sports bars and dry fruit chikki. It was awesome to see the dawn riding along the countryside. The next checkpoint at Mall was no where in sight. I thought I will reach it by 6:30 AM but it was 7:23 AM by the time I reached the 263 Km point. But to my surprise, I was only the second rider to arrive and the two people who started before me from the previous checkpoint arrived about 10 minutes later. The thought of finishing second was cool and excited me! I had a cup of tea and a couple of bananas before starting to ride again.

I was now on the last 40 Km stretch, with the sun shining bright but the heat had not yet picked up. My target was to finish the ride before the sun came out strong and try to avoid any one crossing me. The constant uphill became rolling hills and I was able to increase my pace back to about 18 Km/hr. I did not see any one closing in till I reached the finish point at 9:48 AM. I finished strong and was surprised at it! It was one of my best rides and gave me the confidence for more!!!

While I touched 900 km mark on running front by mid October, I was off mark on cycling during 2016. Strava showed reduced cycling activity from April till September, due to summer vacation and not participating in monsoon brevet during July. Usually a 200 km brevet results in covering 400 km with 200 on the event day and another 200 during the preceding 2 weekends as part of preparation. So, I decided to register for Bhongir Fort brevet on November 5th and that also excited me as my previous three brevets were all along the same route.

I planned to cover all the lakes of Hyderabad as part of my preparation and I expected them to be beautiful after recent plentiful rains. I covered 3 lakes – Himayat Sagar, Gandipet and Ameenpur lake during the first long ride. It was a delight to see all the lakes with copious water – particularly Ameenpur lake that was filled to the brim.

I decided to go to Shamirpet lake for the second practice ride. It was a wonderful sight –  I had never before seen it with so much water! It was a pleasant cloudy morning that helped me easily cover 100 km without  getting tired!

  

For 3 weeks after the Hyderabad marathon, my fitness activities slowed down while I was recovering from the marathon and a viral fever. As I was scheduled to travel on work, I planned to compensate for lost action.

I started with a target to run about 100 km during these 3 weeks. But with beautiful weather and running trails at New York, Charlotte and San Francisco, I made it over 120 km. Manhattan Central Park, Charlotte Little Sugar Creek and SFO Bay area parks are beautiful places to run! And my buddy at Charlotte helped me go biking on a couple of days during one of the weekends covering 94 km across the Carolinas. I got a feel of the US countryside for the first time! Overall, one of those rare instances where I was able to exceed my target.