The Lightness of Being

Ever since my cycling stints to office and back in Pune, used to wonder about long Cycling treks.

Atul came to know of Enduro3, an adventure race, around three weeks before the event and toyed with the idea of participating. I was initially apprehensive but was encouraged by Sona to go ahead and take part.

I managed to rope in Parag as my team member as this is a 3 member team event. We emailed around the office for a third colleague. We got Vrashab, who had to drop out before the forms were submitted, as he had to go for official work. And we had just 24 hours to convince a third guy to join the team. Sudhakar, another colleague was convinced for the same. Eventually he ended up in another team (Sameer and Akshat) and Atul joined our team.

That done, we had 4 teams of three each. Me and Atul went to Parvati the NEF organization’s office to submit the forms. They found our forms incomplete as they wanted a Parent / Gaurdian form to be filled up as well, although we were either at the prime of our youth or past it.

Having committed to the event, the preparation for the event started with more time devoted to aerobic cycling in the gym. Managed to do 10 km set of gym cycling. But then cycling in rugged terrain is a different ballgame as I realized later. But the goal of participating in Enduro made my gym sessions more meaningful

The twelve of us also decided on Cycling and trekking to Sinhagad trip as a warm up with just a week left for the event. That trip would be another blog as it was eventful too.

We made a list of food and drink items to take, which turned out to be a blunder eventually.

The Event

The 10th of February dawned upon us and started with my new trekking haversack filled with stuff we would hardly ever use and Water bottles of Electrolytes.

The rick I took for Symbiosis NCC grounds broke down at Bundgarden. “A nice start”, I thought to myself as I scouted around for another one.

I finally reached NCC grounds with Parag already there. The time was 8: 00 AM. Atul joined us later and so did the rest of our colleagues. The teams started trickling in and sun got harsher as the time ticked by.

The rear tyre of my bike looked flat, but I remembered having filled it up the day before.

I looked around for a conventional Cycle pump (as we were carrying a lightweight handpump) and started filling air. I was now apprehensive of this tyre, it had given way even before the race started, I wondered to myself. We decided that we’d keep checking and filling air with Atul’s hand pump at frequent intervals. We did not have any choice. An hour passed and I rechecked my rear tyre, there, it was feeling flat again ! Why should this happen to me ? Atul removed his hand pump this time and started filling air again. Keeping our fingers crossed, we were flagged off, eventually at around 10 :00 AM for NDA gate via Chandni chowk.

1^st lap – Symbiosis – Nalstop – Chandani Chowk – NDA gate

The initial half of this lap was mostly dodging the Karve road traffic as we proceeded to the Paud flyover. We were given curious looks by the pedestrians and questions asked by others about our destination/ A sardar participant ahead of me took support of a moving rick to tow him, I shouted “ disqualified, disqualified” and he let go of the rick in fear without looking back.

I got down from my bike on the upslope of Paud flyover to conserve energy and then it was smooth sailing till we reached Chandani chowk and a uphill road started again but this time devoid of much traffic as we got down and pushed our cycles with us. The sun was hot now and we needed sips of water already. Atul’s chain slipped and locked between the gears on the downhill route but we managed to loosen it. Thereafter it was a great pollution free ride till NDA’s Pashan gate.

Within NDA - trekking

There we were, finally, within the hallowed precincts of the armed forces , the training grounds of the cream of our defence, the National Defence Academy, NDA. Part of my reason for participating in Enduro3 was a chance to experience the NDA surroundings which otherwise is a No Entry zone for the general populace.

We were told to stop and park our bikes for the trekking to start and this section had a time control (TC). From now on our laps would be timed and we would be needed to go through Passage Control (PC) points too. This was to ensure that participants did not cut short the laid down route by NEF. I checked my rear tyre, wow the pressure was intact. Seemed to be a air leak from the loose valve. Kept my fingers crossed.

We started this at 12:00 noon. Looking back, I wish we had eaten something solid at this point before the trekking started. There was a dry stream which we were supposed to follow till we got a open polo ground after which had to up hill to a PC on the hill top. We got misguided as we followed other misguided participants a couple of times.

There were two splendid horses with their mounts following the trekking route and making sure everything was in order.

We reached the boundary wall of NDA atop the hill with the Khadakvasla lake to our backs and trudged along. By this time we had finished our electrolyte water supply. We saw a villager, his daughter and wife, whose house touched the NDA fence, replenishing the participants ahead of us. We restocked our water supply, poured water over our heads and damped the towel wrapped around over necks. Atul remembered the dry fruits and we thought it was a good ides to try the dates. I and Parag could hardly eat a handful. Atul ate a few more than us and we found PC 2 and soon after PC 3. The marshal at PC 3 encouraged us “only 800 metres, come one”. And we hit a tar road and got diverted from the end point TC by 500 metres. We got a TC of 2:30 PM. We had been walking for two and a half hours in the noon sun.

Atul proceeded for Rifles shooting as he was the Team leader and we stretched our tired limbs.

We did not realize that as soon as the team leader finishes his rifle shooting the Time starts for the next leg which was Cycling within NDA.

We whiled our time here and after realizing the above fact, quickly mixed a meal supplement for each other and one for Atul who was in the hot sun waiting for his turn to shoot.

The others joined this break point as we told them about the procedure. There were plastic water tanks, the contents of which most of the participants had already started using. A "firang" team dipped their water bottles from the top of this tank and smelled the water. They did not have any choice … no coke around or mineral water.

Atul came back from the shooting stint and after he drank his meal supplement we proceeded for the cycling section within NDA.

Cycling Route

We fetched our parked cycles and saw a pile of rotis nearby. Some team either spilled them or seemed to have dumped their solid food, to make their bags lighter.

I rechecked my rear tyre, this time it was confirmed, no leak, tyre was as firm as a rock and we were all relieved.

The cycling trail was a tar road, but the luxury soon ended as we hit a dirt track with stones. This trail had one Passage Control, after which there was steep climb. We had no choice but to get down and haul ourselves with the bike uphill. We were drained and took a brief stop under a tree shade. Parag cut two lemons and we squeezed them into the bottle which was being filled clumsily with electrolyte powder for want of a proper funnel. We chewed on the lemon rind which was quite refreshing. After which we resumed cycling. Cautiously we made our way as we did not want to lose our way again and then hit a sand track which made cycling an ordeal. To top this it was down hill and the sand track was wide enough for only one cycle. We had to brake to reduce momentum and avoid the bike from skidding. Now we could see the air strip of NDA and the we had to reach the NDA boundary wall and it was a tar road at last till we hit Sudan block (why is it named Sudan, I wondered ) from Raj marg (this name seemed reasonable) and the great domed main building of NDA. We were heading towards Peacock bay where the rafting session was to take place. This stretch of cycling took us through the civilized portions of NDA, the staff quarters, bungalows and the lush green football grounds. We passed two groups of cadets jogging with Rifles in hand. These guys really need to slog compared to the life that we lead.

By this time, I had begun to feel the strain and could not wait for the boating section to start. And we also had to then exit NDA and make our way to Panshet over the neelkanteshwar phata. The time must have been past 6:00 as the sun began to set.

Peacock bay – boating

We parked our cycles at the Bay, it was lined up with boats and the marshals were handing life jackets to the teams who wanted to go ahead and complete this section. I was tired but knew we had to cycle in the dark to reach the end of our cycling route. Atul was pushing me and he was right. The sooner we started the cycling route the better. And so far we had not touched any of our solid food except for the dates during our NDA trek !!

I opted to handle the rudder while Parag and Atul took car of the oars. I had the luxury of taking snaps as we made our way across the float markers. This was easy (as I was not the one rowing:-)) and we returned and docked the boat with level of expertise which made me not want to leave this section.

The boat ride, in some way, rejuvenated all of us. We found a water cooler in the NDA shed nearby and filled our bottles with water and topped it with all the electrolyte powders that we had. Another mistake, as by this time the taste of electrolyte was becoming a wee bit nauseating and we would soon yearn for the taste of plain cold water.

Panshet water sports centre - the giveup point.

Its too soon to call this the give up point without the details which preceded it. Since you've read till here I guess you are finding this interesting.

We exited NDA and proceeded for the longest cycling lap over the hills to reach TC6.

I had decided to get down and walk any uphill that we would meet. We passed a village and a small cricket session. I wished I was amongst them.

We passed farms and small shanties and Atul surged ahead of us. Parag and me were close as a buffalo and her calf, a few yards ahead of us, surprised at these helmeted aliens broke into a trot. A stray dog sensing something amiss, barked after the poor calf who broke into a gallop. The buffalo with all her motherly instincts to protect her baby galloped after the dog and her calf, while a the same time swaying her head to the left and right to keep an eye on us, the aliens after her. We were unsure whether to peddle faster than she could run and overtake her, but we needed space to go past her. Fortunately a fork on the road saved us from this predicament, as the calf took the other road and we were rid of the animal safari. I am sure the buffalo must have been glad, too, to get rid of us.

Darkness was setting in as the road made its way uphill and downhill. Potholed roads on the downhill stretch made our bottoms sore as we stood on the pedals to avoid the same. Any stray vehicle coming from the other side at such a stretch made it all the more difficult as visibility reduced and we needed to brake and lose the momentum of the downhill stretch. An ST bus or two passed us leaving behind a trail of dust and smoke which we had left behind at Karve Road in the morning.

I took a stop for a breather and some electrolyte. The taste of electrolyte was starting to nauseate and I asked Parag for a Lemon slice. I also removed the toy spectacle torch which Manoj had thoughtfully brought for the team a week back. This came very handy as I put it on the Handle bar of the cycle. Visibility improved and we moved on.

Atul got some cramps and we stopped again at a blind turn. I was getting tired too, and a little giddy. A patrolling ambulance stopped by asking whether Atul needed any assistance. No, we did not and they moved on. It was pitch dark except for the zillions of stars above and the occasional hutment or two from between the trees lining the hilly road. Some bird cries, but definitely not wild animals, joined us as Atul got up from his breather. We resumed and I kept a Lemon slice inside my pocket to suck as we cycled on.

Parag was making headway without any lights and I was lagging behind now. Atul seemed to have recovered from the cramps as we hit a Passage Control point at NeelKanteshwar phata. This was the back waters of Panshet and the phata was a bridge with water gushin from both sides. We crossed this and took another left, Parag was way ahead and I saw the Panshet water coming out from a Irrigation pipe. Atul stopped with me and we soaked our heads, splashed our faces and quenched our thirst with the cool water. I tried filling a bottle with this but the force was too much.

Even after this rejuvenating stop I was feeling giddy. We kept asking some villagers now and then about Panshet water Stadium and “3 Km” was the common answer even after 15 minutes of cycling.

At this point all of us used to get down whenever we hit a uphill road. I lost my footing and went off the road during one such stop. Parag pulled me back on the road and we took a breather. At this point I was ready to give up, Atul consoled me that we could sleep after reaching PWS and we carried on.

Vomit zone ;-)

We reached an intersection where we could see the Panshet dam lights and almost lost the way when a Jeep (hired by Enduro) with only the drivers inside came by and stopped. They were supposed to direct the participants to the right way. This was the start of another uphill route. I asked the other to take a break as this was treacherously uphill. And moreover the nausea had increased and I felt like throwing up. Atul removed two theplas from his bag and gulped it down.I could not dream of eating anything at this point, and decided to stimulate the vomit by fingering the back of my tongue. This worked like a charm and out came all the sour bile, I felt better. Atul followed suit and out came his theplas. A team passed by and enquired whether this was Passage control. “No, this is Vomit zone”, I remarked.

The guys in the Jeep had just visited some bar in Panshet town and were a little tipsy. They suggested an ambulance but we were feeling better and declined.

Give Up Point

It was 9:30 and we had been cycling for three hours in the dark. This last stretch was a hairpin U turn uphill and to the right and finally the last Time Control of the Cycling stretch was in sight.

We parked our cycles here and Atul decided to carry on as it was 10:00 PM in the night and the trekking lap across the Panshet dam wall to the other side needed to be finished by 6:00 AM next day. (Atul reached that point next day at 8:00AM )

Parag had saddle sores and could walk with great difficulty. I needed to rest as the vomit made be hungry as well as sleepy. I knew we had reached far beyond our Endurance limit. Almost 60 km of Cycling and 15 km of trekking was enough for the day.

“I am Chetan “

Both of us with Samir from the first team made ourselves comfortable under a Shed near the Time Control zone. The teams lagging behind kept coming in till 1:00 PM and we could barely sleep with all the voices of the Marshalls and the team members. I drifted in and out of consiousness and suddenly found the body next to me presumably Parag’s shivering. Did he have fever ? “Are you OK”, I asked him. He replied that he was feeing cold and wanted a bed sheet. I half opened my eyes and saw two guys to my right. I lifted the bedsheet of the guy on the extreme right. This was Parag.

“Who are you”, I asked this guy between me and Parag. “I am Chetan “, he replied. Another giveup guy had cosied between my sleeping bag and Parag when we were sleeping and tried to make himself comfortable only to find that it was cold and miserable.

I put my leg within the sleeping bag over him and this guy started feeling more comfortable and snored away to glory. I lost my sleep for the rest of the night.

Back Home

Daylight broke and we could see our surroundings more clearly now. This was the Panshet Boating point with the Dam to the left and the stretch of Panshet Lake to the right.

We had some food in the restaurant nearby, where other give up contestants had also camped. We broke Atul’s bicycle chain with which he had locked all our cycles the night before and decided to reach Panshet bus stand and look for alternatives to take us and the bicycles back to Pune.

Eight of us with our bicycles arranged for a tempo and we returned from our tryst with “Endurance” with a mixed feeling of regret of not completing the race but at the same time satisfied that we managed to complete almost 75 % of the route without any major misgivings.

Next year we will be there … Amen

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From Enduro3