Pursuit of Happyness

The plan was simple. Day 1 involved 25 cyclists cycling from Makkandur to Mandalpatti peak and back via Madikeri. The group’s experience spectrum ranged from novice to pro. The entire route covered about 60 km and involved a grueling 11km climb to the peak. All this was on paper and was even laughed at by me, but throw in events like a mud slide, zero visibility, a guy losing three of his front teeth, stream crossing, leech bites….and it was nature that had the last laugh.

We started out at 8am from Makkandur and reached Mandalpatti base which is 11km away. Until here everyone stuck with each other and at this point the group started splitting into smaller groups based on experience and cycling pace. The climb to the peak had two routes, one covered with asphalt and the other through the coffee estates which has only jeep tracks and covered with knee deep mud. The original plan was to stick to the asphalt road, but I and Mr. Raghavendra Rao accidentally took the jeep track which turned out to be a great mistake.

Both our bikes were MTBs (Mountain Terrain Bikes) and both man and machine were tested. The trail was amazing with zero traction and 60 degree gradient. The trail was so deep in mud that even a 4x4 jeep got stuck in there and the passengers inside gave us a look which said “Are you out of your mind to be cycling here”. We covered 60% of the climb on this mud track. We then got onto the asphalted road and the view opened up. We were covered by hills all around with clouds passing through and it felt like heaven.

The temperature dropped to a cool 20 degree Celsius and visibility a blinding zero. Some tourists who had come there asked me “You cycled all the way up? What pleasure did you get?”. Lance Armstrong once said “Cycling long distance isn’t pleasure, its pure pain”. It is pain indeed but by god it is the best legal anti-depressant there is.

Nature was my therapist and my cycle was the reclining chair. I had nothing but optimism and beauty surrounding me. Cycling is one of the best ways to unwind and take in all the perfections of Nature. How else can I explain as to why my group contained people from INTEL, National Instruments … etc cycling and going through such pain when they could have splurged money in a luxury resort and climbed the peak easily in a SUV (Sports Utility Vehicle).Many tourists that I saw had done the same and no doubt they all saw the same breath taking view that I did, but I can assure you this, my beer tasted much better and my sleep was much peaceful than theirs after the climb. We reached the peak and were greeted by forest guards with a hot cup of tea and some trivia about the place like “elle Saar Gali Pata film shooting agidhu”. It was a climb to reckon and it was 12.30 pm when we reached the peak. We went up the view point and were surrounded by clouds and couldn’t see much.

We started cycling back to the base and this is where gravity took control. We were hitting speeds of 80kmph on the slopes and the adrenaline rush was intense. I know 80kmph feels trivial if you are a bike or car enthusiast, but on a cycle where you have to constantly change your centre of gravity in order to balance yourself, maneuver on loose gravel and apply the right amount of brake force….you are always on the brink of disaster and this feeling is great. Ayrton Senna after his amazing victory in Japan said "I felt his presence, I saw God". I can now relate to what he meant and experienced after cycling those slopes. Unfortunately it was on one of these slopes that a fellow rider fell and knocked out three of his front teeth. He was brought back safely by a jeep and was sent to Bangalore after being given some medical attention.

We reached the base at 2pm and headed for Kalur after having lunch. It was again a mud track and perfect for my MTB. It was in this stretch that we had to cross a waist deep stream of Harangi river, push our cycle through knee deep mud and be the center of Village folk’s jokes such as “enta roadnalli tractor gale hogalla, en cycle hogutta” and all this after being totally drenched in rain.

The road from Kalur to Madikeri was asphalted and the ride was totally relaxing and pleasurable. In Madikeri, I saw a tea stall called ‘Jesus Beats Tea Stall’ and I had to stop there for a cup of tea. I don’t know what ancient battle Jesus had with the tea stall but Jesus certainly beat my thirst that evening. From Madikeri to Makkandur, the road was again asphalted and I reached Makkundar at 7pm. A home stay with hot water and food was awaiting me there. It was lights off at 10pm.

Day 2 required us to cover a distance of 50km from Makkandur to the Tibetian Golden temple near Koppa. The ride started at 8am and the whole route felt like home with a canopy of trees covering the road and allowing the right amount of sunlight to trickle through it.

We crossed the bridge on Harangi River which had followed us like our shadow and never saw her again. One more highlight of the day was visiting Deepika’s farm house in Kushalnagar. A lucky few of us were treated with home grown papaya and coffee. We reached the golden temple at 1pm and headed to Bangalore after lunch.

I met a lot of interesting people on this trip. Mr. Raghavendra Rao was the wisest and fittest among us, Manohar was the leader of the peloton, Harsha was the decision taker, Deepika was lively and fun, Butch a.k.a Sree Ram was funny, Karthik was more of a thinker and remained silent, Swapnil, Mccafe team, Mehul, Jayanth… and many more whose names I forgot but will certainly cherish the moments we shared for the rest of my life.

I can’t put in words how much my back or my leg hurts. I certainly carried back a lot of physical pain from Makkandur but I did leave behind one thing … the boredom of monotony which weighs me down every day. Will I be stupid enough to do this trip again? ... in a heartbeat.