With my travel schedule and summer heat, I had not done a 100 Km ride for 5 months after the Republic Ride. I was looking for a good one when I saw the planned ride to a Solar Power Plant just beyond the Narsapur forest. I had heard about the forest and the scenic ride though it. So, a brand new route through a forest, visiting a power plant and a 100 Km ride. Too good to miss.

I started riding from my home at 4:30 AM and reached back home at 1 PM covering 117 Km. A long break for breakfast followed by an even longer break at the solar plant made it a leisure ride. But this was compensated by meeting new Hyderabad riders! The cycling culture is certainly catching up. And a good way to start the biking season in my city this year!

After 3 successive weekends in May covering 3 different lakes at Hyderabad, we were looking for a new place to explore. That is when I noticed the Mango Ride scheduled by The Bike Affair for 23rd May. It turned out to be one of my best rides, with the visit to organic mango farm being the highlight. Freshly plucked mangoes made up for breakfast for most people.

I was not aware of the numerous mango orchards at the outskirts of Hyderabad. Another memorable ride to cherish.

Ameenpur Lake was on my list of places to ride for a long time and the opportunity finally came during the first weekend of May, 2015. I had promised my wife that I will take her for long rides during summer and was excited to see The Bike Affair post Ameenpur Lake as part of their Saturday Leisure ride on May 2nd.
The ride was about 35 Km in total including some off-road at the lake. The breakfast en-route at BHEL was pretty good. A memorable experience overall!

I visited Bangalore on work for 3 days during mid May. After a long day that started with an early morning flight from Hyderabad to Bangalore and a tedious journey from Bangalore airport to office followed by several meetings, my colleague and I reached Lemon Tree Hotel at Whitefield to check in. At the hotel entrance, the sight of 2 new bi-cycles caught our attention. I asked the receptionist who those cycles are meant for and I was delighted with his answer that it was for us! We were not going to miss the opportunity.

We decided to wake up early and explore some nearby areas. I started the next 2 days with biking at 6AM. Coincidentally, we spent exactly 1 hour 10 minutes biking both the days. On day one, we covered 17.6 Km biking up to Varthur lake – it should have once been a beautiful lake but now one of the most polluted ones I have seen! On day two, we covered 15.8 Km riding through some scenic fields near Kodigehalli including some off road.

I plan to explore more of Bangalore during my future visits! Look forward to it!

Over a Friday lunch at work with my team-mates, we started discussing on the best way for the team to spend some time that Saturday with one of our colleagues from Bangalore. I suggested going for an early morning ride to Gandipet and was surprised at the enthusiasm shown by most of the team members. 9 people said yes and all of them turned up! They rented cycles from HBC and were all set by 5:45AM. I drove my car to HBC along with my wife and both our cycles. We all started riding from HBC around 5:50 and arrived at Gandipet around 7AM. After spending some time at Gandipet and clicking some pictures, we took a different route on return that included some off-road riding as well. We completed the ride around 9AM covering about 30 Km and wrapped up after a good breakfast.

Having covered Gandipet, we wanted to cover the next nearby lake the next weekend. This time 6 people turned up including a couple of new ones. We started a bit later in the morning but luckily we had pleasant weather. We covered Qutb Shahi Tombs and Golconda Fort on the way to Himayat Sagar. We ended the ride only by 10:30AM  covering 45 Km but the beautiful weather made it possible.

Across the 2 rides, we had 2 flats and a broken chain. Though everyone seemed to have enjoyed the rides, better cycles would have made it easier and more enjoyable. I hope the enthusiasm continues and we continue to ride as a team!

I came to know of the annual Club Run conducted by Hyderabad Runners Club towards end of January. I was not sure if I wanted to participate. But once I realized that they also had a 3K run for kids, I decided to participate along with my wife and kids. The only decision I had to make was around the choice between 10K or half marathon (21.1K) for me. I had done about five 10Ks so far, but never did a half marathon. We always have a first time and decided to make this one for me!!! And my target was to finish under 2:30.

I registered online about 5 days before the event and was a bit annoyed as the google docs page did not send me a confirmation with my details. I emailed the organizers and got a positive response from them in a couple of days asking me to collect the bib the day before the event. I went to the venue to collect the bib and the arrangements were excellent. I was in and out in less than 5 minutes. The event day arrangements were also excellent – great job Hyderabad Runners Club!!!

The flag off for half marathon was scheduled for 6AM but was delayed by about 15 minutes because of bad light, which was understandable. I felt I started a bit slower than usual but picked up pace after the first 10 minutes. The terrain was largely flat, which is rare in Hyderabad. That helped me to maintain good pace.

I forgot to carry my arm band and had to carry my mobile in my palm. I felt it would be a pain but it gave me the opportunity to check my speed frequently. I completed the first 5K in 27:37, which is my personal best. After 5K, I started to struggle and after 6K, I started to walk. One of my friends who was behind me till then passed by urging me to maintain pace. I tried to keep up with him that helped me cover a Km in good pace. But I eventually asked him to carry on and alternated between walking and running. When I reached 8K mark, I had taken just over 46 mins and I told myself this is my best chance to conquer 10K in under 1 hr if I can run the next 2 Km at 6.5 Km/min. That motivated me and I completed the first 10K in 58:26. I was very happy and decided to relax a bit for the next few mins. I covered the next 3 Kms in more than 22 mins. I tried to increase my pace and managed to cover the next 2 Km in less than 14 mins but my will power was starting to fade away.

After 15K, the sun was also out and I started tiring. I drank gatorade and ate some bananas every couple of Kms but I was slowing down progressively. I could never manage a full Km under 7 mins after that. As I crossed the 18K mark, it was just over 2 hrs since I started. I had 3.1K left and I told myself that I should do a really bad job from then on to miss my target of finishing under 2:30. So, I did not stretch myself and was just monitoring the time. As I was about 400m from the finish line, a couple of my friends came from the opposite direction and started pushing me to finish strong. One of my friends even started running along with me and he later sent me a picture he took of me as I approached the finish line. It was a great gesture. I was glad that I had energy left to give it a last push and collect my medal. The clock showed 2:26 and Strava showed 2:25. I would take either as I finished under 2:30!

My family was waiting for me at the finish line. My wife and kids had already collected their medals and it was picture time. After a generous dosage of pictures, I picked up my food packet but was not in a mood to eat anything. It was a great feeling to finish in good time!!! Look forward to more in future!!!

Runners and Riders Club at my organization regularly participates in and conducts events that promote health of its team members. The annual 10K Walk / Run / Ride for 2015 was scheduled on Saturday, Feb 7th. I registered for 10K Run.

I had previously completed four 10K runs with my personal best being 1:01:19. My target was to complete 10K in under 1 hour. I was confident given my regular runs of about 4K and my fitness level. However, my last 10K run was more than 3 months back and I had only one 5K run in almost 2 months.

I had reached the venue by 5:30AM and the organizers had done a great job in getting everything together for more than 200 runners and 200 riders. The run was flagged off perfectly on time at 6:30AM.

I started very well and for a brief moment, I was the lead runner! After 2 Kms, we hit a steep climb and I slowed down. I continued to progress as best as I could but noticed at least half a dozen runners overtake me as I settled into my regular pace of about 5:40 minutes per km. I reached 6K point in about 35 mins and tried to push myself to complete the remaining 4K in less than 25 mins. With the last 2K remaining, I realized it will be a touch and go.

I eventually completed the 10K in 1:01:09, which is 10 seconds faster than my previous best but not good enough to be under an hour. I realized that daily 4K runs at an average pace between 5:40 mins/km and 6:30 mins/km was not going to get me to 10K under an hour. I need to figure out a new strategy.

I got some refreshments and waited for my team-mates. They started finishing one by one and it was a proud moment when the entire team finished successfully!!! The medal and t-shirt were a bonus. A great event overall. I will return in 2016 with a better plan to finish under and hour.

Republic Ride conducted by TAF to coincide with Indian Republic Day on Jan 26th every year was one of my planned events in 2015. I almost dropped out 3 weeks before the event with an alternate weekend plan that I could not skip. With the eleventh hour cancellation of the other event, I immediately jumped on the opportunity to participate in the Republic Ride 2015.

My target was to complete the 100 Km in less than 5 hours. I assembled with my colleagues at Gachibowli stadium by 5:15 AM to be part of the early start planned for 6 AM. It was a cold morning and visibility was low. The ride was flagged off around 6:22 AM after visibility improved.

I settled into good rhythm with a pace of about 24 Km/hr whizzing past the first couple of checkpoints at Malaysian Township and Inorbit Mall very comfortably. Unlike Freedom Ride 5 months back, I did not lose pace or energy even after the first 30 Km. I could sense that my regular weekend long rides was making me stronger.

I was on track to complete the ride under 5 hours when a couple of TAF guards posted to guide the riders pointed me in the wrong direction at Narsingi Junction. The irony was that I was very familiar with the route and I was sure that the third checkpoint at Taramati required me to take a left turn. But the guards did not allow me take the left and asked me to proceed straight on ORR Service Road. With a doubtful mind, I proceeded straight but soon felt confident as I could see more riders ahead of me. I caught up with one of my colleagues and shortly a TAF volunteer on a motorcycle from the opposite direction told us that we missed the checkpoint at Taramati. I was mad at being misguided but reminded myself that my anger was not going to help me. I took a u-turn and rode back to the junction. I eventually found that I had cycled an extra 8 Km due to this and I now had to complete 108 Km to finish the ride. On my way, I expressed my anguish to the guards and they said they just did what they were told. I knew they were just doing their job and told myself that I should just focus on finishing at my best pace. By then I also knew that under 5 hours was ruled out now.

After the checkpoint at Taramati, I had a good breakfast of idly and vada along with a break of about 20 minutes. The weather was pleasant and with the breakfast recharge, I proceeded comfortably to the next checkpoint at Himayatsagar. I had completed 50 Km at an average pace of 24 Km/hr.

The next checkpoint was at Kalika temple 30 Km away. The sun was out by this time and it was getting tougher. I passed through VIF College and Gandipet strong. As I started along the Shankarpally rode, after about 65 Km, I could feel that I was tiring. I started to lose my strength as I reached Kalika temple around 10:15 AM. The average pace for the last 30 Km stretch was 21.5 Km/hr. I had started to lose strength.

As I started after the checkpoint to head back to Gachibowli stadium, I encountered strong headwinds and felt I was just crawling. My pace was only about 18 Km/hr now and could see a couple of folks overtake me. My objective was to hit the Kokapet foothill with strength left to climb it and Microsoft hill. I managed it and suddenly found several riders struggling with the Kokapet climb. At least half a dozen riders had given up the climb and were walking their cycle up. I lowered my gears to 1-1 but did not give up. As I continued to cycle, I overtook several folks to swipe at the last checkpoint above the hill. The same repeated as I climbed up the Microsoft hill overtaking about half a dozen riders. After reaching the top of the last hill, my adrenaline started kicking in and I wanted to finish strong.

I reached the finish point just before noon with Strava showing elapsed time as 5 hrs 37 mins, moving time as 5 hrs 13 mins and total distance as 108.6 Km. It was 37 mins more than my target but 8.6 Km more as well. My target of under 5 hrs will have to wait till Republic Ride 2016!