The best part of the ride was a chance to ride with a professional cyclist Kaivalya who had come in the first 15 of the recently concluded Mumbai- Pune race. I was awed by other statistics that he shared with me regarding ghat timings that they achieve. 40 mins for Sinhagad climb and 12 minutes for the Katraj Bhor ghat which they repeat 6 times ! And he rode with us on a single speed 52/16 customised Hero Hawk frame !! On the climbs he would ride on the brake hoods and power his way out of sight while we down shifted and struggled to keep a more than walking pace. His company was inspiring as well as intimidating !
I started my morning journey at 5:00 AM and reached the Katraj bypass meeting point at 5:45 AM which is 18 kms away from home. That puts an average speed of ~25 kmph ! Waited for the other guys till 6:15, nobody turned up, and worst my cell battery conked off. I could not get in touch with Divya who had organized the ride. Borrowed a passerby’s cell and messaged her that I was starting off without them. Dawn was breaking out but the sky was cloudy and therefore still dark. It was a gradual incline uphill till the Katraj bypass tunnel which was around 1.45 km long. With the other vehicles zooming past and lack of breeze inside, I was sweating as the end of the tunnel was in sight. A scary sight was a bearded guy shrouded in a blanket standing in my lane at the end of the tunnel. I made my way past him and it was a beautiful downhill and rolling section till shindewadi. I was humming the 3- Idiots song “ Give me some sunshine, give me some rain. Give me a nother chance … I wanna grow up once again … na na na na, Nanananananananananan … “I was on a roll as I saw a McDonald sign ..12 kms ahead. Probably a recently opened outlet. Was planning to take a break at a Pohe / wada pav stall at Shirval … Took a few stops for snaps and water break as the Sun came out bathing the landscape and bringing out nice hues in the fields. Shirval was 10 kms away and I made it in another 30 minutes reaching Shirwal junction at 8:45 AM. total Bike time was 3.5 hrs excluding the 30 min wait.
Was wondering whether to continue ahead but decided against it as the return trip of another 60 kms was at the back of my mind. Lifted the Trek and went to the other side when I saw a cyclist waving at me, he was part of the group I was waiting for and they had caught up with me, The rest of the group followed and post introductions we decided to cycle till the toll post around 10 kms away (Khandala), this is the base of Khambatki ghats.
Reached the khandala at 9:30 AM and we all crossed over to the other side at a roadside shack for Misal Pav, Wada Pav and Tea. Got to know then that Kaivalya was a pro, not that I did not guess before during our short 10 k ride as he was pedaling at ease his single speed roadie bike which appeared to be a customized Hero Hawk. Some photo-ops and freshening up and we were ready to start our return ordeal as the sun made its presence felt at around 10:30 AM. The return was with more stops as the road was more uphill than down and the last killer was Shindewadi which was a enjoyable downhill some hours back. We also took a Sugarcane juice break, instant sugar energy booster just before the Shindewadi uphill road. Kaiwalya had convinced me to take the old Bhor ghat and we parted ways wth the rest at the junction. I prepared myself for the climb which was a short 1.5 km ghat which I climbed on 39/19 I think. Saw the descent just round a corner and braced myself, shifted to 42 and powered ahead on Kaivalya’s trail as we sped past motorcycles and trucks with my heart in my mouth. This is the only time I was keeping pace with him, well sort of, as he quickly steered to the right of a truck and sped past it leaving me behind the truck. Soon we finished the descent and the rest of the road till Bibewadi was a downhill as well but the traffic did not allow us to take advantage and speed up. The sun was up maybe 1:30 PM and I was feeling a slight nausea and headache as Kaiwalya pointed the diversion I needed to take as he stayed nearby. Another 10 odd kms for me to ride and I was exhausted, not in the legs, but the head. Stopped at a shady tree spot, washed my face, poured water on the head, wrapped it in a towel and started the last lap slightly refreshed.
The last lap would not have been an ordeal but for the sun and the headache which came back. Overall the first metric century ride was very satisfying and on a road bike probably an hour faster. Reached home at 2:45 PM in the afternoon.
The map till Panchagani is below via old Bhor ghat.
Some pics
