Cyclothon

Cyclothon on Oct 11th, Sunday.....my first sports event after quite a long time...so long that i vaguely remember the last time i had run (I was an athlete in school days! Well, you could call me so, as i did participate (God knows about winning) in sprints, long jump, high jump, skating, kho-kho...the list goes on....

So, by now, you all must have understood how much of a sports freak i am and how excited i would have been about the Cyclothon event.

What added to my excitement was the book i read "Its not about the Bike" by Lance Armstrong a couple of weeks back.

Don't know how many people would like it, but it has become a great source of inspiration for me :-)

After reading the book, needless to say how much i was looking forward to the event. Of course, i didn't want to go untrained.

I had gone on a long ride, about 50km, sometime back and didn't struggle to finish the ride, except towards the end.

However, i wasn't quite happy about my timing.

So, while reading the book, I made a note of lot of tips like how to speed on the bike, how to save up the energy till the end of the ride, etc.

And i started riding to work regularly, had gone on a few 25 km rides, timed my ride each time, ate right, joined the Bangalore Bikers' Club group, read a lot about biking, and bloody hell, dreamed about the cyclothon !!!

It didn't end there, i wanted to feel like a professional. So, decided to get myself basic cycling gear like a hydration bag, gloves (i already had a helmet). I had to run all over Bangalore as there was shortage of this gear on account of the event.

Proud of Bangaloreans, they get very serious about events like this !

Two days before the event, i went slow on my training, slept well and still continued to dream about biking.

Finally, on the D-day, packed my hydration bag with getorade + electrol, carried, gloves, helmet, the paper with bib no. that needed to be pinned to my t-shirt, all set to bike smart on the NICE Road. I had gone on motorbike rides on that road and loved the experience. So, i was all charged up to ride on my man-machine bike.

I started off  from my place to catch the bus at 6 AM to reach the venue of the event,  BIEC.

We reached the venue at 7 AM sharp and the first sight was amazing. It was something i had never witnessed until then.

The folks of the Elite Race for Men (65 km on NICE Road) kick started the event and zoomed in front of us.

In a short while, they were followed by a bunch of ladies who were taking part in Elite Race for Women (35 km).

As i watched them zooming on their bikes, i felt the adrenaline rush in my veins and could not help smiling to myself, thinking that i would someday, very soon, be part of such bike races.

Cycling around the area, I was impatiently waiting for the Amateur Ride to start (36 km) at 9 AM

The whole environment was exuberant and i was thrilled to see thousands of people there, bubbling with energy.

What a great way to start a Sunday morning !!!

There we go, at 9 AM sharp, we were asked to assemble at the start point of the race and were being left in small groups. I looked around to see how many females were there. The ratio was was way too small, but as usual, it didn't bother me. I kept looking at my watch to make sure i time my ride and at 9:14 sharp, i started off.

Did i mention earlier that i feel liberated while cycling. I get very focussed, it is more like meditating for me; its just me, my bike and the road ahead of me! (Ofcourse, I'm cautious of my surroundings as i do enjoy riding in traffic :D)

There was a hike right at the beginning of the ride and i felt good as it helped me warm up and set my breathing pace for the rest of the ride.

I was born like that. Like what ? I usually tend to compete with the opposite gender especially in outdoors.

So, when i was riding past a few guys, i was feeling good and when i didn't see any females nearby, i was getting high :-)

Amazing roads, awesome cloudy weather, lot of energy around and in my legs, what else does a biker need to zoom !

It seemed too perfect a day to be true !!!

After a couple of min, i realized i was struggling to ride on a flat road. I looked at my handle bar, hell, i was in 4th gear and was struggling! I know myself too much to admit that i was panting hard and trying to ride faster.

Then i noticed couple of  girls overtaking me. I was keeping my cool and telling myself, may be, they are better trained.

Then, i noticed people overtaking me and looking back at me. That is when i heard, the sound i hated the most, the tak-tak sound of my rear tyre. My heart sank and very reluctantly, i pulled towards the left of the road and got off my bike.

My worst fears came true and hit me hard: My bike's rear tyre had a puncture !!!

I looked around, i was at the 5 km turn point. I looked at my watch, it was 9:30, 15 min since i started the ride.

I was told at the time of registration that technicians will be roaming in the cars to fix any mishaps with the bikes.

So, i calmed down and hoped to see the technician realizing in front of me and handing over the bike to me in its previous state in 15 min worst case.

Nothing happened for the first ten min.

There were couple of folks there, whom i contacted and they mentioned that no technicians available.

I couldn't hear anything else. I saw my dreams crashing in front of me. Is it sounding funny and dramatic to you guys ?

I know it seems childish, but I have to confess, i did feel a heavy heart and my eyes were welled up. Hard luck!

I really love my bike (Its a FIREFOX TEMPEST, which i borrowed from my friend).

It took me on long rides, off roads, speed rides and never complained. The more i rode, the fonder i grew of it.

So, didn't feel like cursing it, nor myself. It just sheer hard luck. I did curse the organisers though as they did promise about technicians but did not provide any. I sat there staring into the greenery around and thinking how did i take everything so much for granted. Not that i did not anticipate such mishaps, but was disappointed that it had to happen that very day :(

How much ever i tried to remain calm, my emotions overpowered me and i needed to talk to someone.

So, i rang a few buddies in Hyderabad who can relate to my passion for biking. Talking to them did lighten my mood.

Thanks to them !!!

A couple of folks joined me with the similar issue, their bikes gave in and all three of us connected instantly as we started cursing the organisers. After good three hours of waiting in the hot sun (weather changed sharing its mood with mine), we decided to walk back our cycles to the start point. Some riders were riding past us, panting and gasping for breath and checking if we had water.

It was already 12:30 PM and police cabs came by us and requested us to clear the road soon to allow the traffic.

Understanding that we were in a helpless state, they arranged a pick up for us and the bikes.

Overall, i have mixed feelings about my first cyclothon event!

However, the experience is really worth it :-)