The bicycling club set out to Nandi Hills this Saturday, exactly 60km from the Institute. Nandi is a kind of bicycle pilgrimage since it is possibly the most well-known and accessible hill in Bangalore. I decided it was finally time that I pay a visit to this oft-mentioned place (where some of friends had also raced last year!). The road bike was the steed of choice, and we set off at 6AM. A bunch of road bikes, many BSA photon single-speeds and a lone MTB.
We chose not to go via NH-7 for many reasons, the crazy drivers to the Airport being one of them. Thus we took Institute->Vidyaranyapura->Yelahanka->Doddabalapur road->SH-74->Unknown road route. It was a good choice when going, and despite a tire burst some 15km from Nandi in a curious village, we were finally at the foot of the hill at about 10.00.
(The view from 10km away)
The last 8km of the route ascends from about 940m to 1582m. After coconut water rehydration therapy, we set off on the climb at 10.30! I had a small incident with my crank coming off, but since I had the foresight to pack the right tools, I put it back together on the climb. A mishap was averted when my parked bicycle decided to wander into the path of an descending bus, but I was quick enough to snatch it out of the way!
At this point, the climb still looked do-able and I reached the 6-km marker without much problems. Unfortunately, a friend had chosen the wrong single-speed road bike, and had become too exhausted to cycle up. He decided to walk, and I joined him. Unfortunately after that I became tired too, and given that the last 3km up the hill are really steep, I pushed a friend's cycle up, while he rode mine to the top. I entered the white gates of the fort at 12.15PM.
So technically the Bull isn't conquered yet, but I'll be back.
The journey downhill saw my 40-rupee brake pads melt away completely, so I rode the 8km at nearly 60kmph without brakes. A fairly nerve-wracking situation, but thankfully I made it! From then on, our return to the Institute was a fairly normal ride with the added advantage that unlike most of our other rides, we were actually riding fairly level back to the institute. We had set off late, so we had to ride in the darkness (with blinkers, of course) on Doddaballapur road, an experience that is not recommended.
A total of 120km later, we landed at the Institute at 8PM after riding 3 hours and 45 minutes. Without incident and happy to have achieved a milestone. Next day, my back and neck acted up due to the backpack I carried, but the legs remained uncomplaining.
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