
D2D was a catchy name for a cycling expedition... Dharwad to Dhanushkodi.. wow... Infact ride to Dhanushkodi was in my bucketlist. But the timeline wasnt decided.. I had just returned from a 10 day long ride to Rann of kutch and an immediate ride was not thinkable. But the home ministry had different plans. Since we(boys) are used to riding endurance events at our whims and fancies, i guess ladies always wonder why shudnt they be part of such events. And hence i thought Padmaja rightfully deserved an endurance ride. Why should boys have all the fun??And what else could I ask for when Hubli Bicycling Club (HBC)had offerred such a beautiful concept of Relay endurance ride. So the home ministry order was passed without opposition and the team was formed.. Sagar is an ever ready guy when it comes to cycling events. He was also very keen and joined us without a second thought..
Meanwhile the wishmaster Raju Nayak sir was all ready with another team. And so 2 teams from Venugram cycling club Belgaum registered for this event....
I liked the concept of naming the teams after rivers. So beautiful ,so thoughtful, so so innovative...
We were team Netravati & team Tunga
We were preparing in bits and pieces for the event. I always felt that the format was rider friendly with 6 hrs of ride thats all with rest of 12 hrs.... little did i know what was in store.....
Padmaja & Shraddha were not used to night rides on highways and hence we did a practice night ride on Belgaum-Kolhapur highway as preparation. That amount of traffic on the highway scared them, but also gave them confidence that they too can do it..
Every day i faced this question" will i be able to do it?" Why did i register? Etc etc...
Finally the day arrived and we reached Dharwad for the briefing on 23Jan ..
HBC planning was perfect as usual. It was heartening to meet old friends and other passionate riders.
Anxiety killed the night and there we were at KCD circle for the flag off.
Opening batsmen
Myself and Bhaskar started off with 8 other riders. The climate was awesome and the orange skies mesmerising. It was 111kms in 6 hrs which wasn't an easy task. Bhaskar was the Sehwag types and me the Rahul Dravid types....Everything seemed rosy till around 90km mark when the spinners came into action.. Headwinds headwinds and more headwinds began... Reaching 111 seemed tougher now..... Some how we made it to Motebennur where our 2nd group of riders were ready for further action.. again unawares of the surprise ahead.
Sagar and Raju sir took over the baton & very reliably carried on, facing the scorching heat, braving the headwinds with a smile always. Resting in the backup vehicle didnt seem that comfortable... This was quite unusual as we were resting during an ongoing event.
Post lunch the hydration stop at Davangere ,was a much needed one for the riders, where joshi mam showered the teams with goodies, very meticulously planned as per the riders need. It was really refreshing & appreciable.... This was the toughest terrain and ride, as was expected...
Heartfelt appreciation to the organisers who managed time very effeciently and flagoff for subsequent rides were always on time...
It was 6pm ,a perfect blend of the sun settting and our lady riders rising to the occasion. Though with anxiety & apprehension peaking both took it on to embrace the further challenge...
We , the backup team took some rest for the previous riders to change on & started again...none of the riders were seen close by... Boom they went peddling their way on the bustling highway like the Ferraris & the Audis. We were worried as it was their first night ride away from home under unfamiliar conditions(just like Indian team in Australia)but they were bang on target...successfully completing the 111km mark... Splendid performance it was indeed... we knew they could do it, they knew they could do it, but they had to do it to believe that they did it.
Ride 4 -With the 1st round robin done, it was me & Bhaskar again to take on the midnight ride. The 1st batch was splendid in terms of pace(except me)... Oh gosh... it was great to see these guys riding with utmost ease at that pace. I just blindly followed the red light ahead of me , unawares of the elevations & the distance covered. I should admit that it was my coldest night ride with temperature hovering around 10 degrees. Credit goes to the organisers who were present enroute to provide some hot tea which was just needed to break the monotony of riding. It was enjoyment at its peak...
we conquered the chilly freezing night and at 5am, Bangalore arrived and so did the traffic.. we all drove to vidhan soudha for a group pic. It was still cold at 6:30am & seeing me shivering a guy came up to me & said " u shud run 100 mts to shed off that cold" ... I was absolutely speechless & ignored that free advice, ofcourse grinning, & taking pride in what we had achieved that frosty night..
Ride 5-The Bangalore traffic dwindled our plans & the next set of riders enthusiastically entered Tamilnadu. Beautiful terrains, green fields with small lakes & roads minus the potholes welcomed them along with heat wave. The HBC team was prompt, always updating us the next flagoff point.
Ride 6 - The sun somewhat sobered probably guessing the dynamic riders.. who were glad looking at the clouds hovering. Making their way through the Salem traffic the riders reached the destination. Probably this was a comfortable ride sans the Salem traffic.
Ride 7- Awesome climate in the backdrop of the orange sun setting led to the flagoff of our ride... Learnt a lot of things from experienced riders on the way.. Shetappa sir discussed the birth of EIOB & its rides. It was a great feeling as we had completed 2 days of rides, reaching Trichy. It was not fatigue but sleep deprivation which was bothering us. We hadnt slept for 40 plus hrs now and thats when the next ride was flagged off.
Ride 8-All energetic riders won over their
apprehensions of sleeplessness & there they were, well before time . This was magical as well as un thought of... HBC rider Ajay sir leading the pack of hungry lions. Hungry to ride more...
Ride 9- It was 26th Jan, a moment of pride for all of us , as we rode through different parts of our country through its cultures and various terrains. It gave us goosebumps when we sang the national anthem at a school enroute, reminding us of our school days... So far we were riding in southward direction & come Ramnathpuram we changed to turn east... So did our fortunes.... We encountered headwinds like never before... with the indian ocean on both sides we were being blown apart literally...
Ride 10- With around 40 kms to go for the final destination all the riders were energetic & accepted to take on the headwind challenge..we had heard of km challenge, elevation challenges... This was the headwind challenge... Post lunch we reached the Pamban bridge, a marvel in its own sense. Riding across the bridge was such a proud feeling .. one that of accomplishment..one that of team spirit...we had conquered our apprehensions and doubts... Its finally a mind game.... Reaching Rameshwaram was pure bliss... we were tired... Yes we were as we had achieved something extraordinary...beyond the cozy comforts of our homes, leaving behind our families...
There was more to come....
We finally had a bed to rest our backs, only to wake up for a sunrise ride to Dhanushkodi....our 2nd D of the D2D.... Yes the last land of India on bicycle.. crazzy and amazing at the same time isnt it...
The last ride- All 30 of us were ready eagerly waiting to barge Dhanushkodi.. And we set rolling... Everyone was intoxicated with the feeling of achieving something unique, something special. The mermaid blue indian ocean was a toast to our senses. The camera crew did a fantastic job clicking the cycling giants at their best poses... some with hands off the bike, while some lying on the floor to capture best possible shots.. The drone was the topper, surviving an eagle chase, making memories into mb and gb for us to cherish later on.
The feeling at Dhanushkodi was beyond words....All 10 rivers with its 30 tributaries had merged into the ocean...Despite achieving all this, we were yet so small infront of the mighty ocean... It was a humbling feeling....We never wished to leave that spot ..alas... the breakfast awaited us... Battling headwinds again we peddled back listening to the chirping of the birds and the dancing of the seagulls in air....
Dhanushkodi expedition was here to stay in our hearts for a long long time for the innumerable moments of joy we had.
Kudos to all the 10 teams and all 30 riders who gave their best in this endeavor.. Every rider had a story to tell... We had new comers to seasoned riders, young and old but Team work, camaraderie, & passion for cycling were the ultimate winners...
Special kudos to Padmaja & Shraddha for achieving the unthinkable, converting their doubts into beliefs and becoming heroes in their own eyes....
Hats off to the organisers - the Hubli Bicycling Club &EIOB-Explore India on Bicycle, a great initiative to travel green. HBC team had taken tremendous efforts at the back end to imagine , plan & execute all this. It was indeed an herculean feat...
Take a bow for pulling off such a massive scale operation with great finesse...
SIMPLY FLAWLESS.....
We did miss our families back home without whose support this was not possible.
Special thanks to my charioteer ( sarathi) Prakash who was awake like an owl through the 2 nights.
A RIDE TO REMEMBER....
Abhinandan Hanji
Venugram cycling club
Belgaum
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