My First 50 km. real ride to rala mandal sanctuary after ages.

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Topic : My First 50 km. real ride to rala mandal sanctuary after ages.

Date: 27th March Sunday 2011

Bike:Trek 4300 D

Time:Evening 16:00 hrs. to 19:30 hrs.

February brought a lot of joy and happiness as the waiting period for the search of the right bike finally came to an end.The spending time online over the forums searching for the right model,make and information over the last two years resulted in getting a Trek 4300 D MTB.The bike that's a true companion for anyone starting/getting back  to off roading/mountain biking.Received the parcel two days before holi which made my holi more colorful.It was nicely packed in the original box by a fellow friend and a keen biker with a manual,tool kit,bell,bottle cage,reflectors,fenders etc.I for first did not try my hand at assembling the bike by myself not that it would be impossible to do but the thought of handling a new phoooren bike made me keep my calm.Called the trek store the next morning and asked to send the mechanic home for assembling the bike.The store manager was helpful enough and assured to send a mechanic the same day charging me some assembling fees.The mechanic turns up after a few days with his own set of problems to rectify with the summer approaching and his tube well not working,when asked.Anyways in less then two hours he got the bike assembled,tuned and greased.I took a test ride and was satisfied.

Continuing with my daily routine run and badminton i was trying to keep myself in good shape for the rides i wanted to do.The whole next week i got the bike out for small evening rides in the university campus to get a good feel of the machine,brakes,gears.Felt some pressure on the inside of my palm on all my rides other then that the ride was smooth,everything felt perfect and the bike rode like a charm.Riding after almost fifteen years can make one cautious about certain things around atleast it did to me.The university is at a short distance from home with lush green areas to ride in with a solid concrete road,just the traffic maneuvering on the way was tad bit tricky as a cyclist but i was too excited to do what i have been waiting for all this while.So could not bother any less.

27th March,Sunday:The Day,the ride and everything in between.

Finally!!!

I had in the meantime hooked up with another cyclist from my (not so keen cycling city)who luckily wanted to join in for a weekend ride.I suggested him for the Rala Mandal Sanctuary-50 km. ride after discussing the ride plan and time we were set.Decided to meet at 16:00 hrs. at the bypass junction.The meeting point was around 17 kms. from my place and some 21 kms. from my friends.I was excited about the ride.Did some early morning yoga,swim and running with a bit of stretching and rested well before the ride.Took a early lunch at around noon so the food gets enough time to digest properly.I prepared for the ride at 14:00 packing the goodies i would need for my ride.Charged my camers batteries the night before.Got ready in my cycling outfit checked the bike for air pressure and re checked on stuff i needed to carry,just the essential stuff,did not want to carry anything unnecessary.So here i was on my way to the ride i waited for.

The Build Up:Primary Leg on the highway.

The 17 or so kms. from my place to the point was a good ride with fairly modest road(at least for the standards here)just the sun a bit too strong,as the temperature in the month of march in central india gets high.Was 38 degree celsius  but the cap,sunscreen,shades and water helped me keep my cool and once out of the city the views around were getting better with less traffic to maneuver,less braking,could now relax my alert thumb off the bell.I kept my focus and rode at a modest speed keeping the speed limit stable.Throughout, i got a lot of attention and keen looks from the curious people.My phoooren bike primarily and my cycling outfilt.Infact two cops rode alongside could not help but ask about my bike(brand,specs) and what am i doing in such hot climate riding a bike.For them it looked serious business.Am i preparing for a race is what their gesture suggested.When i told them about how i love to ride and want to keep myself fit and about weekend ride to the sanctuary nearby is what i am doing now.On which they wished me good luck for my ride and parted ways thinking of ways how they can reduce their bellies.I  carried on my ride focusing again  to get a better feel of the gear system(which was relatively new and too kewl for me to handle;) as this was kind of first experience riding a proper gear bike.Had no trouble and was fun fiddling with the gears which shifted with one touch with a perfect cluck' sound, covered the distance in 35 minutes with a five minute stop for sipping some water and caching a breath as it was hot.

Reached the point at 16:00 hrs. right on the clock.Looked around for the friend but couldn't see him.Saw a air pressure shop at the meeting point so i decided to get the pressure checked.The friend also arrived.We had a brief chat for a bit,some water,cookies and decided to do the second leg of our ride before loosing much time and light.

The Highway that leads to the hill.

Both of us,me and the friend had our motors running,the heat factor and riding got us well warmed up for the real deal.We made our way to rala mandal sanctuary taking the bypass further till the crossing that divides the road and take you toward the sanctuary.On the way we chatted while we rode, to ease a bit while the temperature cools off a bit.We spoke about how hot its getting too soon,the heat wave was strong in month of march,my friend told me about this 100 km. trip he ended up doing last week to dewas(neighbouring town)and back the same day with his other friend who is just eighteen and had a tough time matching his speed and stamina.We left the bypass and took the road which takes us to the sanctuary now this is something we both enjoyed.The sun was mild,the heat was no more scorching,the road was tarmac,less traffic,greenery around.We both picked up the pace and pedaled our way to the sanctuary.The breeze was coming from opposite direction which was good in a way, it kept us cool but we had to pedal harder to pierce through the air force which made it exciting.We cruised almost seven kms. and couldn't find the entrance gate to the sanctuary.On asking to one of the villagers we were told that we left the entrance some five kms. behind us.Damn!We were really excited and had missed the entrance, i guess this is what a good company,setting sun,a wonderful bike,perfect riding roads and excitement of the first ride can do to you.Did it to me at least.As me and my friend haven't been this side in a while we both couldn't keep a track of the exact point.Anyways it was no harm done we exchanged smiles with each other and without any panic happily turned back and took the same lovely road back to the main entrance.Reached about in 10-12 minutes at the gate which was something not to be missed so easy.Day Dreams on the go!;)

A beautiful hill about 20 kms. from Indore which houses an ancient palace built by Holkars. This sanctuary is home to various animals including deer, birds, and some claim a tiger as well. It has ample parking at the hill-bottom and needs a ticket to go up by trekking or camel ride (extra cost). A good place to spend few hours on a Sunday.Though normally crowded on weekends with local people visiting the place often,couples as well for its lovely setting it has to offer.There is a entry fee for foreigners as well as indian nationals.This lovely place has got some attention only recently.A few years back the place was a nightmare for people to even consider about going as come cases of murder in the past have happened plus other bad elements.Now its a forest reserve,well governed and finally money being spent by the forest department to preserve the leftover beauty of this place.The ranger and the staff were actively involved at work during our visit.It was the forest ministers visit due for the 30th of march to the sanctuary as the goverment has finalised and selected rala mandal for opening a dinosaur fossil park and apparently a cycling track too which came as quite a surprise(good)for a town where people consume more calories and prefer cars to go to the corner store to buy smokes.We were really happy to hear that.After registering and getting an entry we went inside the forest reserve area and saw a lot of people and staff on the move involved in various things.Felt good to see such a place being finally paid attention to.We were escorted by the security guard at the gate to meet the forest ranger,when we asked the gaurd if we could take our cycles up to the top of the hill and do some riding.He however said its not allowed to take your vehicles after a certian point and we have to park them in the parking-lot but if its a cycle then we could ask the ranger's permission and might just get the approval.We meet the ranger who was busy in some work guiding his staff for the big day when the minster was going to make a visit.He spare us some time and on knowing that we are keen cyclist as hinted by the guard, he gave us tad bit extra attention.He was very impressed with my trek 4300D and showed us the firefox bikes the goverment has bought for the cyclist willing to ride the trail which is under construction for a nominal fees.The firefox were geared bikes as well.We had a brief chat and the ranger tried to convince us to come on the 30th morning for the visit of the forest minister and show him how its done.He wanted us to ride with our phoooren bikes up to the top of the hill and also promised to give us free t-shirts and caps.We agreed on it.On our wish to ride our cycles to the top he gave us his consent without any further delay which was kind on his part.Most of them would be tough cookie to crack especially when its about to get dark.We exchanged numbers and assured to see him on our return.

The ride to the fort on the hill

A guard was sent to show us the right direction as we can make our start to the hill top.(once getting diverted from the main track was enough, we had to come a few kms. back,as the reserve was big we did not want to take any more chances as the light was decreasing) Apparently he also turned out to be keen in cycling.How badly he wants to start cycling and be in good shape but doesn't have the will to get going.We assured him that he should get a bike asap and start riding rather then thinking when to do it and how to go about it,also the cycling track coming up so so close to where he stays(forest guard line houses)which should make it so easy.He took a note of it and assured he would make soon be at it.We reached the point from where it was us on the cycles all the way up to the hill.The ride for sure looked challenging as the road wasn't the best.There were sectors with literally no road,steep elevation with type 1 and 2 climb at certain points but what made all of this interesting was the lush forest reserve,the chirping birds,beautiful light of the sun going down and the will to take the new trek 4300D at the top,i was not worried as trek is reliable plus an MTB would stand at the job after all this is what its made for.Right?Testing time was right ahead.Though friend had a look at his road bike but felt he could do it,being young and fit.We sat on the saddle and rode.First km. was plain ride on soft pebbles which gradually lead us to up steep climb on corner one which had a nice carved bamboo open hut in one corner.Saw a few couples romancing in there and why not after all this place has the perfect setting to romance.Yeah.Without letting my mind get diverted from the track i switched to the gear and rode on to the first climb.Not much pressure as the gears work wonders,very smoothly shifting and just had to maneuver the handle bar as the road was soft with a bit of sand n pebbles.My friend was right behind.We managed to reach half way with bit of ease and following the track lead us to a lovely point from where the view was something.Could see hoards of birds making way back to their nests.We rested about 5 minutes for a water break and munched some cookies also i managed to click some photos on the way up and this spot.Again here we saw a nice bamboo canopy where we sat and it gave us the feeling that the sanctuary is finally looked after.There were even sign boards on the way giving information about the types of birds present in the reason which was nice.We did not want to waste much time as the sun was going down and we wanted to spend as much time as we can on the top before coming down.We picked up our bikes and rode further up to the hill.Now the ride became challenging,There were throns n twigs on the path,literally no road,very uneven to keep a balance going and the climb was getting steeper and steeper but the view was getting from amazing to awesome.So we rode,rode slow and easy,shifting of the gears was the only sound in the air besides the chirping of the birds.I for the first time felt my heart at work,lungs pumped and pedaling was becoming harder and harder ,even the thigh could feel the muscles put to some job.It was the last four sectors that were really intense.One got to be in the best form to be doing  level 1 and 2 steep climbs.A good cyclict would struggle too as there was no road ,keeping in mind  to stay focused as  balance becomes worse with every pedal.My friend had a tough time with his road bike but kept on the pace.Slowly and steadily we made it to the top.It was a bit of a crawl,a bit of a leap a bit of pulling the bike on the final sector as we would have just not given up after reaching so close.The old fort was now 100 meters from us and there were broad steps to go over.A breath of sigh!!!We managed to get the bike through,slowly reaching to the fort.By this time the light was amazing orange-yellowish.The shades covering my eyes were back in pouch as at this point of time it was just right to look at the sun.We took a 360 ride all around the fort and parked our bikes in front of it.It was all big tiles around.We went up the fort and boy o boy! This is something which instantly made me feel so worth,all the hard work we did to reach at the top.Worth every pain we took.The view was a complete 360 degree of the city.Could spot a lovely lake around,the sun's gentle light shimmering on the water,the lovely green forest reserve which surrounds it,the fresh and pleasant breeze kissing the face and passing by.This was well worth the effort.Had to tap each others back and say,"Well done lads".We took some snacks,let ourselves sink into the beauty of the place.i even gave 5 minutes to meditate while the sun went down,was such a calming effect.We got nice pictures from the top as well as a video we recorded which was so much fun.Being a bird sanctuary there were so many of them,especially at the top during sunset most of them were returning back to 'home sweet home'.We had to go back downhill and it was getting dark fast as the sun went down,we were loosing on daylight and had no lights on our bikes.Decided on heading back down before it gets dark,as the track was really tricky.Got our stuff back in the bag,got ourselves hydrated,caught some breath and back on the bike riding down on our cycles.This was something i loved the most.I did downhill from Khardung La the highest motorable part in the world.Those 50 plus kms. were a part of one of the best rides from the past and it gave me a lot of confidence.So much so that i managed to do the whole downhill trail without stopping even once with no slip no fall in about 15-20 minutes.Fun!The friend made it as well in a bit while i said goodbye to the ranger as i had mentioned while going up and assured to visit the sanctuary on the 30th of march for the ministers visit it being a india vs pakistan world cup 2011 semi finals match day.Hmmm....Later on the way i thought to myself,'Oh God!What have i done'.

My friend filled water bottles before we left the sanctuary so i took a ride around in the forest reserve and spotted some rare/indigenous ayurvedic plants/trees been planted around and were properly tagged along each one with their proper botonical names.That was impressive.The forest officials seemed to be on their toes at least thats how it appeared now.

On our way back we were just gliding with ease as the plains was so easy after the hard climb.Both our bikes behaved in the best manner without no puncture or any other breakdown which is quite a surprise thinking what that trail had to offer.Touch wood.Once we reached the bypass junction my friend was in a hurry to leave as he got a call so i said good bye and he took off while i found a lovely sugarcane juice place by the road side.I decided to have a jumbo glass and trust me this was one of those drinks which you relish the most.Felt instant energy after that glass and in no time rode back to my place.So charged,did not feel a thing.Sugarcane Juice FTW!!!

Parked my bike.Got the photos to upload from the camera,in the meantime i washed the cycle and finally got a shower.Wow!I can say this was one ride which i enjoyed physically as well as mentally after such a long time.Enjoying the ride was the most important thing for me which this trip gave me to the fullest plus all the calories burned was an added bonus.Now i can freely enjoy that Sunday night BBQ with friends at the farm with the wine without being too cautious.;)