Day 4 - Ooty-Avalanche-Ooty

I wanted to get up at 6 in the morning, and Anil had predicted I wouldn’t get out of the blanket before 8 am. Neither happened and I got up at 6.45am. Anil expressed in his sleepy tone that he would like to sleep for some more time and dozed off. This being my first visit to Ooty, and I wanted to see the town. We would ride to red hills today as per the plan, and that would not have given me any chance for local sigh seeing. I decided to go for a solo ride.
Outside, mist had enveloped the surrounding. The streets that were busy with locals and tourist last evening were virtually empty, giving the place a sense of solitude. But it was chilling and the cold was biting my fingers. I wished my gloves had covered my fingers. I decided to check out the Ooty lake, and asked the locals for direction. Riding through the hill town, I saw people unloading vegetables for the daily market. Little further down was a bus stop which was seeing some action even in the early hours. I stopped for a while to rub my fingers which were getting numb, and continued again. Once I crossed the bus stand, the crowd, which were mainly local, thinned out, and I could see the glimpses of the lake on my left side. Devine. I kept riding along the lake, frequently taking breaks to rub my fingers. Soon I was on the other side where I stopped for a while to appreciate the beautiful lake. The morning mist had enhanced its beauty. I took a picture of the lake. I looked around and saw frost on leaves. But it wasn’t as cold as it was when I started in the morning. I checked my watch and it was almost 7.40. It was time to get back to the hotel.
When I reached home, Anil was ready and waiting for me. I wanted to take a quick shower.Anil warned that the hot water is not hot enough, but at least it wasn’t ice cold. We then checked our bikes. I was actually looking forward to today’s’ ride. It would be the first day of the trip wherein I would ride without my baggage tucked up in my rack. That reduces the load on my bike by at least 13-14 kg. However I had to take the tools, pump and the puncture kit. The Last 2 days ride had seen 3 punctures and a ride without a puncture kit would be insane.
The bikes were now set up for the days’ ride. We weren’t sure if we would get any lunch on the way to red hills and decided to have a good breakfast. Anil suggested Woodies, which was just 2 min walk. We had a masala dosa each and followed it up with some hot and steaming idlies. Food was decent. Finally we washed it down with some very good coffee.
It was 10.15 am when we finally started the ride. It was good 2 hours late than what I thought last night, but I decided to take it easy in the morning. Not because I was tired, but because I was loving every bit of our stay in Ooty. But both me and Anil were looking forward to today’s trip to red hills and the 2 lakes – the emerald and the avalanche. We have heard this is a virgin territory.
While asking for directions, we soon realised that not many around were aware of red hills, but emerald lake seemed to be a reasonably popular place. So we kept asking for emerald lake at every turn. Once we passed the Fernhill palace, the road kept going down. It would keep snaking down for such long distance that the thought of climbing all this up late in the evening was giving me goose bumps.
We passed a few small villages on the way. I was riding ahead, and the first stunning view came at a point where our road met another, forming a T junction. I laid my bike down on the green grass and soaked into the divinity of Mother Nature. I was also waiting for Anil to come down, but it seemed like I was waiting for ages. Anil came at last and informed that he had pulled one of the muscles of his left leg, and had to get down and take a break. Anil didn’t seem comfortable at all and I tried giving his right thigh a quick massage. After a few minutes of rest though, he felt better and we rode on. The road started going up, but the gradient was gradual and we didn’t have much of a problem. The fact that we had no heavy loads at our back felt so good while riding up. I was riding ahead, with Anil trailing. There were tea gardens around, but these were not like the lush green ones we had seen in kerala. I was stopping every now and then to take pictures and let Anil catch me up, who was understandably slow . At one point, I saw the road forking, and saw 2 people waiting on the road side. I introduced myself to them and came to know they work in a power station nearby and was waiting for the bus to go back to town. I asked them about which way the emerald lake was, and was told to ride back. It seemed emerald lake was way back, and when the guy was giving me the direction, I remembered the exact point where we missed the turn. And to make it worse, avalanche was in a different direction. I had assumed both emerald and avalanche comes in red hills area, and wasn’t very happy to know that they all are scattered. It was past 1.30 pm and it was obvious that we couldn’t visit all of them anymore. We had to go back anyway now, irrespective of the destination we choose. We decided to go for avalanche, which, apart from a very beautiful lake, seemed to have a forest and a protected region. The friendly chap informed that we would have to climb down and after around 4-5 km, we would see a junction from which we had taken the l to come up here. We would have to take the right instead. He also informed that the road is bad for the last few kms, but we should be ok with our mountain bikes. He also expressed that if we were lucky we might be able to spot wild animals. That bought a concerned look on Anil’s face, but was assured that it’s not dangerous. I can understand his concern. Surely, with the cramp in his legs, he won’t be able to out run a tiger ;-)
Now it was all downhill, and fun. While it took almost half an hour to climb up, it took just 5 min to get down to the point where we had taken the wrong turn. From then on, the road climbed up again, but this time it was a much narrow road. I was again riding ahead, after a few kms, around a corner, I saw a villager idlying.I asked avalanche, and he pointed to the road ahead. Assured that we are on track, I waited for Anil to join me. But he was nowhere to be seen. I waited for some more time, but no signs of Anil. I decided to ride back. Just when I was about to start, I saw him coming up. He was actually pushing his bike up instead of riding, and that’s the reason for the delay. He informed that he is fine, but he is just playing it safe since we have a few more days of biking left.
We decided to ride ahead. Fortunately, the road became flat and it became much easier. A little ahead though, the road started getting pretty bad. And then, gradually, we had only huge trees covering the broken road. We are into the jungle of avalanche, although the check post was another 5 km ahead. At time, the road was so bad that we had to walk. The fear of another puncture was playing in my mind. I remembered about the wild animals of avalanche. While it sounded exciting at that point when the friendly power station chap told us about them, it felt real scary now. The jungle along the road wasn’t like the thin eucalyptus or the bamboo kind that we had seen in wayanad. Here, even at 3 in the afternoon, there was not much of sunlight on the road. The trees were huge and each looked a few hundred years old. It was dense all around. I have heard leopards are not uncommon in these areas. Weird thoughts were crossing my mind. I imagined 2 eyes glowing in the dark, keeping a watch on us from our back. Every time we got down walking across the craters on the road, Anil will whisper me to walk faster. It didn’t seem exciting anymore and the thought of a leopard or a tiger pouncing on us didn’t seem impossible. The fact that the only human face we had seen in the last few kms was a guy who drove away in a jeep (looked like one belonging to forest department) didn’t help either. We must have ridden for 15 min through that cratered road when we saw the jungle thinning out. A board peeped out of the leaves of the trees announcing “Avalanche Forest Rest House”. We were relieved.
It was 3 in the afternoon and we were hungry as hell. This wasn’t a tourist spot...so there weren’t any place to eat or even find a pack of biscuit. We checked with the Forest Rest house people. They were cooking something in the kitchen. We asked if they can cook something for us, and we could pay them for that. But they wouldn’t and told its only for the people staying in the rest house. I wondered how much effort it takes for a cook to cook dal rice fr 2 hungry souls. More bad news followed and we were told prior permission is required to cross the forest check post which is around a km further down from there. That permission had to be taken from somewhere in Ooty. We recharged ourselves to some extent with some dates and water, and decided to give it a try. May be the forest guard would allow us when we tell we have come all the way from Ooty just for this!
The road went downhill from the Rest house, and sure, there was a check post a km ahead. A middle aged chap came out from the small hut next to the check post, and asked if we have the letter. Luck wasn’t with us and he wouldn’t budge. He sternly said he wouldn’t let us go inside without a letter, and we resigned to our fate. Perhaps our face looked very gloomy, and he suggested we can visit the trout fishery camp instead, expecting to compensate for a part of our disappointment. The trout fishing camp was just half a km from there, but Anil expressed he is too tired to give it a try. He declared he would walk up and wait near the Rest House for me.
I took the smaller lane to the Trout Fishery, as per the direction of the forest guard. On the way, I saw 2 guys in their late forties or early fifty chatting by the road side. They waved at me and asked if I am going to the Trout fishery. When I nodded, they told they are the caretaker, and would show me around. It wasn’t far away, and I got down from my bike and walked along with them. One of them was Mr Sadashivam , the other Mr Halaan( pronounces alaan). Mr Sadhashivam took out the keys from his pocket and opened the main gate, and we walked into the Fishery. The fishery was almost part of the forest itself with 2 of its sides adjacent to the avalanche forest protected area. There were huge trees inside the fishery. I was told that the place is more than 100 years old and was set up by one British gentleman, whom these guys respect a lot. They showed me his picture. Around, there were multiple concrete tanks, at different height. The trouts need moving water, and the reason the tanks are at various height so the water can flow from one to another. There wasn’t any pump to pump the water back, but instead the supply was coming from a presumably big stream in the forest. They then took me to the lab where there are smaller tanks and the temperature and the amount of light has been set in the range that would catalyst the breeding process. We chatted for a while after our tour and Mr Sadashivam informed that there are dangers of wild animals around , because of which they don’t get out of there quarters after 6 pm. Sight of wild animals are pretty common even beyond the protected area of avalanche, but generally after dark. Last month they had seen a leopard moving around, and he proudly proclaimed about spotting a tiger a year back. He also mentioned elephants are a common sight during November and December wherein they migrate from the Kerala side of the forest into avalanche. He however assured that the wild animals don’t come out in the daytime, so we needn’t be afraid while going back. I asked about the avalanche lake which I was told is somewhere around, and they said that we have passed it on our way to the checkpost. I wondered how this was possible and we would have spotted it in that case. Anyways, I thanked them for showing me around and left the place.
Back to the Forest Rest House, I found Anil relaxing on the stairs. A quick gulp of water and we started riding back, leaving the Forest rest house behind. Mr Sadashivam’s assurance worked, and this time we were much more relaxed. We must have ridden 2-3 km, when Anil spotted something bluish towards the left, visible only in small patches through the dense vegitation. We stopped...and behold. ! That must be the avalanche Lake. The mystery was now clear. Since we were keeping left, we couldn’t spot it on our way to the forest through the dense forest, but now, while coming back, we have spotted it. We spotted a trail going down through the bushes, but it was steep, and not possible to ride along. We took the bikes inside a bamboo bush and locked them together, and took the trail to the base.
To say that the lake was stunning will be an understatement. It sure is a synonym of serenity. Judging by the mark on the hard mud sand, it looked like during the monsoon the water level goes up quite a bit. We carefully went down to the bottom and spend some time sitting and looking at the lake. It would be apt saying I haven’t seen a lake like this before, and neither have I swater so blue. We went down and washed my face with the lake water. It was cold and een crystal clear. One local fisher man was trying his luck in the water. On enquiring, we were told that it is common for wild animals to frequent the lake at night to have a gulp of the water. We can see the other side of the lake narrowing down, forming more like stream and entering the forest. Could be a good place to camp, I told myself. But we weren’t carrying any tents.
It was around 4.30pm and getting late, and we started back. It I was thinking whether it was possible to go via emerald lake...and maybe even climb up the 7 km from the emerald lake to the red hills, when I realised I had a rear tyre puncture again. This was on a downhill and Anil was disappearing ahead. I called him aloud. But he was too far away. I checked phone – no signal. Worst, even the puncture kit was with Anil. No option, but to wait. I didn’t have to wait for long. I could see Anil pushing his bike back up towards me. And he has very well guessed what has happened. This was my fourth puncture and Anil’s patience was commendable. We took out our puncture kit and got back to business. No shortcut, and we checked the tube thoroughly. Anil has a knack of finding even the smallest puncture just by feeling the inflated tube, and this time also, he did the same. I has actually punctured at 2 different places, plus there was an old patch which was about to give away. Before the trip, we wanted to carry two tubes between us, but we could only find one with shraudeur valve in Hyderabad. So we had reluctantly take the other one of whatever valve type available, which was presta . I have been interchangeably using my original tube and the other one with shredder valve. Both of them by then had been patched a few times and were not looking in great shape, so we decided to use the other tube with presta valve. We changed the tube, and filled it up with air. To our disappointment, there was something wrong with the tube size somehow , although it was 26”, and the tyre won’t fit in properly after inflating. So no options, but to take it off, patch one of the other 2 used tubes, put it in place, get it inflated, and hope for the best. And thats what we did. This time , it fit properly, but I have started losing faith on my tubes and tyres.
By then it was 5.45 pm and was about to get dark. Obviously, with Ooty still almost 25 km away, there were no away to make it there before dark...and riding in dark was not an option in this kind of terrain. To make things worse, Anil was filling giddiness. And of course, his legs too were not co operating with him. Even a slightest gradient will make Anil get down of the bike and start walking. We decided to take a lift and reach somewhere closer too Ooty, from where we could just rent out something. Unfortunately, there were hardly any vehicles on the road. Glimpse of hope sparked when I saw a jeep teeming with locals coming our way, and managed to stop it. It hardly had any space left though. I explained that my friend was not feeling well, and we needed to go back to Ooty. The driver listened to me and said he can accommodate only one person with his bike in the jeep. I asked Anil to go ahead, because he was in serious discomfort. But he was adamant that it had to be both of us, else he won’t. My point was I was feeling pretty well, and I also had a light on my bike if at all I had to ride in dark (Anil’s didn’t). So, I should have been able to manage. But Anil wouldn’t budge, and I reluctantly asked the jeep driver to carry on. By this time, it was getting dark and cold. A km ahead, we saw another jeep, and I waved at him. He stopped, listened, and said there is truck load of stones that would be going, and we can take a lift. In fact he was going to the same place to do some checking before the truck leaves. The truck was getting loaded 2 km from there. Tired and drained out, we walked down those 2 km only to find that the truck had left a few minutes back. It seemed, the truck waited for us, and then after not seeing us for a while, they just decided to carry on. By now it had got dark, and really cold. Only option now was to ride/walk down to the next village around 3 km from there. We dragged our bodies ahead. Since our breakfast at 9 in the morning, we have been living on a packet of biscuit and some dates. Anil wasn’t in a position to ride even on flat road, but fortunately, the last 1.5 km to the village was downhill. That again was a little scary, because it was pitch dark, and my light would only illuminate only till few meters ahead. We were riding with the break levers clenched, very slow, with Anil following me. We reached the village from which it was probably another 18 km to Ooty. Somehow we convinced a tempo to take us to Ooty for Rs250, and reached hotel by 8.10 pm. We were shivering and after dumping our bikes in the room, we headed straight to the bar. We were expecting doctor Nanadakumar , but on enquiring we found he had come but left early. We concentrated on our drinks. Old Monk has never tasted so good. We discussed our plan for the next day over drinks. Anil wanted to take it a little slow and easy, letting him recover his strength. It was decided I will take the Ooty-Coonoor-Kotagiri-Metupalayam route while Anil will take the Ooty –Coonoor –Metupalyam. We will meet at Metupalayam, and then take a call if we would ride to Pollachi or just load it onto a tempo traveller. The day ended with some Ceylon paratha and chicken curry at the same place we went the night before.

Day 3 - Meppadi to Ooty

The alarm clock woke me up at 6.30 in the morning. My limbs were aching, but we must start early for the long day ahead. Plan was to reach Masinagudi which was around 100 km from Meppadi. Before that though, I had to fix the puncture. The bucket full of water helped us to detect the puncture, after which it didn’t take long fixing it. Anil’s foot pump came handy, and although it gives a feeling of ‘ready to disintegrate’, it did the job well.
We made a couple of trips for the bikes and baggage to get them down from the second floor on to the open space near the ground floor. Next was to tie my luggage on the rack, which has become an art work by now. I have realised that if it is not tied very meticulously, the bag is sure to move from is equilibrium position at some point of time. To be honest, even after giving my best shot, I generally had to re-do the job at least twice throughout the day.
Soon we were on the newly tarred undulating road, leaving the small town of Meppadi behind. And suddenly, there was drastic change in the scenery. The coffee plantations that had been accompanying us for most of these last 2 days had now been replaced by tea plantation. And the magnitude of it left us spell bound. The tea leaves looked their greenest, the oblique sun rays was making them glitter. All of a sudden my legs felt so much better. And hence, that small argument with Anil was unavoidable. There was a small lane that was going into a private tea estate, which we later came to know as called Arrapetta Tea Estate. Anil reminded me that we had a long day ahead, and we would have the company of tea gardens all throughout, but I was too overwhelmed to listen to him. With the tea plantation kissing our bikes, the road twisted, turned and dipped into the Arrapetta Tea Estate. I felt like a kid, the unbound joy that we were so used to . At the base of the hill, I stopped for a few pictures. I saw Anil coming down as well. The scenic beauty of the place has rubbed on to him as well.
We rode up, panting and puffing. Back on our main road, we realised we had lost a precious half an hour, but gained bounty of joy. Not a bad trade off, I thought. And surely, that deserves a quick break. We decided to skip breakfast to save time, and had some bakery biscuits and a glass of - well, Tea it has to be!

At around 10am, we crossed the border and entered Tamilnadu. And suddenly, the road became narrow and the tea gardens moved closer. It became even more enchanting. Riding through the beautiful tea estates, we crossed the village of Cherambadi at around 11 am. That’s only 23 km since morning. Blame it to the Tea Gardens of Wayanad. Soon we were riding up on to a hill, spinning our legs furiously. With every turn, we were hoping the road to go down only to find it going up...we continued for a while, and then had to get down and push our bikes. After all, walking gives us more time to appreciate the bounty of nature.
Anil was riding with slight hamstring cramps since morning. He complained that he needs a break, and we stopped beside a small tea shop. We had 2 cup of tea each, along with some local snacks. Its past midday now, and at this rate, covering another 70 odd km doesn’t seem probable. So the plan now was to cycle till Gudalur and then take a transport/lift to Masinagudi. That should help us reach Masinagudi by evening.
But that was not be .We were about to get back to our bike when some locals on motorbike spotted - oh yes. Another puncture! And the rear tyre again!! It wasn’t a good feeling. We had been taking break since the last half an hour, that was totally unnecessary now. Before we could dig into our puncture kit, the helpful locals got hold of some spanners and screw drivers and what not, and were trying to take my wheels off. Language was a barrier and we couldn’t convey them that those weren’t needed. Only when I showed them the quick release and displayed how to partially take the wheel off, could they understand what I was trying to tell them. I smiled to them, and they smiled back to us. A language well spoken anywhere.
The flat was repaired, but we lost considerable amount of time. 1.30 pm it was, so more change in the plan. While I was fixing my puncture, Anil had called up a few resorts and hotels in Masinagudi. They were pretty expensive, and we weren’t sure paying so much just for a night( we were leaving early next morning too Ooty) was any worth. Also, reaching Masinagudi now would mean almost no cycling, but just loading our bikes on some vehicle right away. That didn’t sound very exciting to me. We decided to ride till Gudalur, around 40 km away and then get a ride till Ooty.
Fresh after a long break, we continued with our climb. We have asked how long this climb was in the tea shop, and have been promised for not more than a km. What more, we have been told we would be rewarded by a long downhill after that. So happy lads we were, and decided to push our bikes ahead.
But happiness wouldn’t last for long. We had just covered that stretch of uphill, when I realized not all was not well. Puncture! 2nd puncture of the day and the 3rd that I would be fixing since morning. But this must be the most scenic of the locations I would ever fix a puncture in life! This place was at the top of the hill, and was like a view point, with a view of mountains and rolling tea gardens for 270 degrees. This time though, we knew we need to do it well and shouldn’t get distracted by the seductive scenery. We didn’t check the inside of the tyre last time, and that was stupid. We now were suspecting that it could be due to some sharp piece of object getting stuck at the inside of the tyre. I was a little scared to take the rear wheel off. But this time, we were left with no choice. So off came the rear wheel, and we got busy with it. Soon we had a company. A Rajasthani lad was passing through and got curious about us. WE came to know he and a few others get their stock of woollen blankets from Rajasthan and sell it off here. He was going to the town. Of course he was in no hurry, and even offered lending a helping hand to us.
Our suspicious was proved right. The tube has punctured around the same place again. On careful scrutiny, we found a small piece of broken glass stuck at the inside of the tube. As usual, the puncture was fixed, and I prayed to god to make this the last puncture of the trip. The flat being done, we were again on our way, enjoying the riches of the well deserved downhill that lasted at least for 3 km.
At Pandalur, we stopped for a lunch break at a small road side place. Surprisingly, not many people cared to check out our bikes parked next to the eatery. Good for us, we can pay our full concentration to the beef curry and parathas. Well, this time though, the food was average.
The day has been primarily a course in puncture fixing so far, and we didn’t do much of riding. By the time we finished lunch, it was almost 4.30 pm and we have only covered 37 km since the time we started from Meppadi. Anil suggested we hire one of those tempo vans right away for Ooty. I was reluctant as I wanted to ride some more. Luckily the tempo guy asked more than what we thought would be reasonable, and decided to carry on. That decision paid off in a different way, because after a few kms of flat route, the road arched and dipped down. What followed was beyond words. The road curved and snaked through the forests, through the hills and tea gardens. All this and the fact that the road surface was newly laid out made this 6 km long downhill my best till today. It made our day.
The day being made, we loaded our bikes onto a truck that offered to drop as at Gudalur. The driver asked us to come into his cabin, but we decided to enjoy the ride, sitting back along with our bikes. The journey, though exciting, was event less. But with every turn the truck was taking at a bend, I was missing being on the saddle.
From Gudalur, we hired a pickup truck for Rs800 to take us to Ooty. It was getting dark and within in an hour, it got very cold too. I started shivering inside. Anil on the other handed wanted to be little adventurous and was sitting on the open deck of the truck. I don’t know how he was managing that...probably he was thinking the rum will taste sweeter that way once we reach in Ooty. Somewhere midway we stopped for a cup of tea. Back on the truck, Anil joined us in the cockpit....and our driver suddenly wanted to fly. It could be the cold and damp climate; it could be he had to get back home early. I had literally begged him every few minutes to get the wheels on the ground.
8 pm – We reached Ooty . It was freezing...later we were told by locals that temp sometimes goes below freezing. After searching for a while, we found the Youth hostel. We were told rooms were available, and the old person at the counter had a friendly smile when we asked whether we can keep the bikes inside our room. He had checked out our bikes and did our introductions while we were unloading the bikes from the truck. He seemed to appreciate the idea of cycle touring, and I could see the glitter in his eyes. So this time there wasn’t much trouble persuading him to bring the bikes in. We were happy lads againJ. We checked out our room. Construction was old, and the wooden furniture in the room showed every sign of negligence. Else, it was a very decent room for the price. It wasn’t a big room though, and we had to keep our bikes in strategic places.
Anil was quick to find out that the youth hostel has a relatively busy bar, and we decided to check it out. Nice it was. Most of the crowd was local and working men. They seemed to be quite regular since almost everybody knew each other. The person next to us wanted to know if we were tourist, and soon we hit on a conversation. He was Dr Nandakumar, a general practitioner in Ooty and a very cheerful personality. He stays in Ooty and also owns a tea estate in Kotagiri. He was amazed to hear that we have been cycling for the last 3 days, and couldn’t conceal his awe when we said we are married, and got kids. With rum flowing freely, the discussion soon moved to the state of our country, politics etc.

We must have spent at least a couple of hours in the bar, after which I felt myself doing a tight rope walk to a keralalite restaurant suggested by Doctor Nandakumar. It was a few minutes away, and I realised the rum in me wasn’t sufficient to fight the cold; although it was sufficient enough to force me do my balancing act. I was literally shivering. Ofcourse, I wasn’t prepared for this kind of cold, and I didn’t carry any thick jackets as such to save on weight. All I had was a full sleeve thermal, a full sleeve cycling t shirt, and a very thin jacket. And I had all of them on me at that point. Anyways, it didn’t take long for us to reach the place. We ordered some paratha and fish curry, and when I started tearing my Ceylon paratha with my fingers, Anil reminded me of the customary photograph that I had been taking of the major meals of the trip. Obviously, the alcohol had changed the priorities . Well, the food was decent; although not as good as doctor said it would be.
One the way back, we picked up some hand made chocolates. They were expensive, but delicious. Back in the hotel, we wrapped us up in layers of woollen blankets. It felt so good.

Day 2 - Srimangala to Meppadi

The plan today was to get up by 6am and leave by 7 am, so we reach Kutta as early as possible. The reason, apart from taking advantage of the early morning pleasant climate was to brighten our chances to spot some wildlife by hitting the sanctuary as early as possible. But that was not to be. Plans hardly work for me. By the time I got up and was out for a walk, it was 6.45am. We were told that there is a small lake around, and I thought I will check it out. But I took a wrong way, and went in a different direction in the estate. I wandered in the estate for almost 45 minutes, listened to the wind whistling through the leaves of the swaying trees, smelled some unknown flowers, stopped a few times to appreciate the scenic beauty.

When I came back, Anil was waiting for me. Breakfast had already been laid on the table. It didn’t take any time for us to take the plunge. Must say the traditional coorgi rice balls (I don’t know what they are actually called) were something I had first time, and that it tasted awesome.

8.15 am – Finally we were back on the saddle. The morning air felt nice and made me energetic, but also lazy enough to not to hurry up. I wanted to feel every moment of the journey. It was mainly downhill to start with, and it felt good. As we cruised through, we saw 2 more signboards for home stays within 1-2 km from the one wherein we stayed. Soon our luck with downhills was over, and the road zig zagged up through forests and coffee plantation.

Things had changed since the first day. On the first day morning, I was even reluctant to come down to the second chain ring. By the end of the first day, I was more eager to drop down to second chain right on the sight of anything that goes up. That became the smallest one the next day. And today, any such sight promptly makes us get down from the bike and push it up cheerfully.
We reached Kutta at around 9.30, and then crossed the border to enter Kerala. We stopped at the border, took some snaps. I had long had that ‘something special’ image about Kerala and Kerala cuisine in my mind and it felt good to enter Kerala. The road till now was decent, but became very bad as soon as we crossed the border. I remembered hearing from friends that roads in Kerala are very bad. However, the road conditions improved dramatically as soon as we entered the Wayanad forest, which was only 2 km from the border. I have heard and read a lot about the scenic Wayanad, especially while planning this trip, and was looking forward to it. We spotted a small tea/snacks stall just after the check post and decided we must celebrate the moment with a cup of coffee. Unlike in Coorg, the coffee was served in much bigger glass here. Came to know from Anil that’s how people in Kerala drink tea and coffee.
It felt good after the break, and we were back on our saddle. We kept an eye open for any wild elephants. We have heard there are plenty in these areas. Although the road was excellent, we weren’t rushing through, and slowing down the pace intentionally. That, we thought, will give us a better chance. Unfortunately, it was almost 10.30am, and that reduced our chances of spotting any wildlife. The jungle, though, was amazing and the road was lined with huge tress both side, especially eucalyptus and bamboo trees. I have never seen bamboo tress so big. And when they swayed, they would make such scary creaking noise that it would remind me of horror movies. I wondered how it will be to lose our way inside the jungle, only to end up spending a night in the bamboo forests here.
At times, when we get down and push our bikes up, the sound of jungle would engulf us. The sound of the wind whispered to the leaves of the eucalyptus trees. Birds chirped and sang in enchanting tunes. Somewhere far away an unknown animal made a shrilling call.
No luck with wild elephants though, and soon we came out of the check post at the other side. Next town for us was Mananthawady which we had marked as our Lunch Stop. I was trailing behind Anil, who had disappeared from my line of sight on a long downhill. And now I sense some problem...may be the chain has slipped from the largest cog. It happens with my bike all the time. But no, it’s not the chain this time. The rope used to tie up the luggage on the rack has found a way to unwind itself and has managed to get stuck on the rear cogs, making it a mess. I cursed myself. Just when I was about to enjoy my downhill ride, this had to happen. I got down. Well, it was a real mess, it took me at least 5 min to sort it out and another 10 min to secure the luggage tightly back on the rack. I promised myself to get a pannier for my next trip. I was back on the saddle.
A couple of kms down, I found Anil waving at me. He has parked his bike by a small eatery and was enjoying a huge slice of watermelon. I was getting tired as well, and hence I welcomed the break. I parked my bike, and washed my face with some fresh water. It felt good. I helped myself to some snacks which were actually a slice of ripe banana dipped in some coating and fried. Must be a very common snack item in these parts of India, but I had it first time. It was love at first bite. Then I shifted by attention to that thing wrapped (steamed) in banana leaves in the picture. I don’t know what it is called, but it tasted nice. Not as good as those fried ripe bananas thoughJ.
Well, it was almost 1 pm and getting very hot. Although our stomach was half filled already, we still decided to take a longish lunch break. That was to avoid the afternoon heat. On some enquiry, we were guided to the P.S. Mess, which was may be 50 metres from the place where we had our snacks. We parked our bike outside the Mess. This place was a km before Mananthawady, which means we could avoid the crowd, which in turn means our bikes were safe.
P.S. Mess was a simple cosy place. We order some paratha, beef fry and fish fry. The beef fry was fiery but fabulous. One of the best I ever had. The beef fry also came with some free beef curry, which too was delicious. Along with that, we were served pink hot water. The colour of the water was due to an herb that the locals traditionally use. It is supposed to aid in digestion. This was probably the first time I was having hot water along with food, and it felt very odd. With time though, I got used to it. We finished the meal up, with a glass of coffee each and relaxed for another half an hour. When we went to the counter to settle the payment, we were pleasantly surprised to find the one of the most beautiful meal we ever had has cost us a total of Rs 65.
We would have liked to relax our limbs for some more time, but we had to reach Kalapetta which was still around 40 km away. So we got back to our saddle and challenged the mighty sun. We didn’t realise that the Sun god would take this challenge seriously, but it did. Soon we found the heat unbearable. We kept taking frequent stops and drinking some electoral water. At around 3 pm, Anil said he can’t carry on and we decided to take a break and wait for the climate to cool down a bit. Nearby, was a small shop, and we sat there and stretched their legs. We filled up our bottles with water and had some tea. We would have spent some more time there, but changed our plans when we found our bikes surrounded by a big group of school kids. Apparently, their classes for the day had just got over. As usual, Anil’s Edge attracted more crowd than my Target. But the crowd grew unruly, and we fled off with our bike.
By this time, sun god was showing mercy on us – the climate became much more enjoyable. Throughout the day, the road conditions were average. But around 20 km before Kalapetta, we started riding on what seemed a newly laid road. That increased our average speed, and at around 5 we were at Kalapetta.
Kalpetta looked like a much bigger town, and we had difficulty finding an accommodation that would allow our bikes inside the room. After a brief discussion we decided to continue to Meppadi, which, we were told is 12 km away. Although the road was excellent, it was mostly going up and we were happy to alternate between riding and pushing our bikes. The scenic beauty of the road was awesome. Pushing our bike up gave us more time to appreciate it. The mountains that were far away have suddenly come closer to us, keeping us company from Kalapetta. But everything is not well. Around 3 km before Meppadi, my rear tyre had a puncture. But it was getting dark and repairing a puncture is difficult. It was very frustating to push our bikes all the way to meppadi, especially this being a long day.

7.30 pm – We were at Meppadi. After looking around a bit, we got a room in ‘Hotel Paris’ for Rs250. It seemed to be the only option in the town, if you leave out the home stay a km ahead. The home stay though was expensive for us for Rs 700 for the night. But problem came when we insisted that we would like to carry the cycles in our room in the second floor. The caretaker will not agree, and they would suggest alternate places to park our bikes, which they promised would be very safe. But we weren’t going to leave the bikes out. Ultimately, they agreed reluctantly. We finished the day with a meal of Kerala paratha along with some chicken and veg curries in the restaurant at the ground floor of Hotel Paris.

Day's Stats:
Start from Srimangala Home Stay- 8.15 am
Reached Meppadi- 7.30 pm
Time on bike : 6hour 17min.
Dist covered - 68.09 km
Average speed - 13.3 km

Day 1 :Madikeri to Srimangala

It was 6.15 am when I managed to get out of the bed. I looked out from my window ...the sun was painting the sky in all shades of red and orange. We quickly kicked us out of our room into the open, inviting coffee estate. It was chilly, but the full sleeve thermal t shirt that I bought for the trip, beneath my usual full sleeve cycling t shirt was doing a good job. The sun was hiding behind the early morning mist, which, combined with the morning chill and the coffee plantation all around was making the whole ambience divine. The estate looked much bigger than it looked last night. There was a narrow walking trail covered with dried leaves that went off from a few metres left of the front gate of the house. It looked inviting and we found ourselves on it, going through the dense coffee plantation peppered with pepper tree. A little further, it dived into a dried stream, and then disappeared. Then it again magically re appeared once we crossed the stream, around 50 metres ahead of the stream. We kept following the trail till it hit a bigger, broader trail, and then lost our way. We wandered a bit, before Anil’s sense of direction got us back on the track. It was already 8.30 in the morning when we were back at our room.We took showers and got our stuffs packed. Anita and her family had to leave for the marriage hall, hence we had hurry up. We had our breakfast quickly and then concentrated on setting up the bikes.
Back in Hyderabad, I couldn’t manage to get panniers for the trip. I also tried getting one stitched, but to no avail. So the plan was to have most of the stuffs in a bag that can be secured onto the rear rack. The rest of the stuffs, which is basically things like toolkit, pump, puncture kits, first aid and some eatables, should go into the backpack. Securing the bag to the rear rack seemed tougher than it looked like and took a while. Meanwhile, all is not well with Anil’s rear seat post rack. Yesterday, while setting up his seat post rack onto the bike at medikeri, we had unknowingly screwed up the threads of the holes in the rack. This now means, the existing screws are not able to secure the rack to the bike. So we tried the only option we had – use some ropes to secure the rack to the bike....it seemed to be working. But that’s when we noticed a bigger problem. Apparently the wire from the shifter that controls the rear derailleur has become loose, and the chain was stuck at the largest cog at the rear, and the largest of the front chain ring. We tried our best, but soon we realised we didn’t have the tools to fix this issue, which means we were in a fix. If Anil had to ride now, he will have to do the climbs at 3-7. We asked the locals about our options and were informed there is town called Murnad, around 12 km from here, on the way to Virajpet. The road till Murnad being mostly downhill, we decided to take a chance and ride on rather than going back to Madikeri.

So at last we were on the saddle. But not even hundred metres into our rides, we saw Anil’s rear rack giving away again. Our rope trick is not working. We had only one option left now, and that’s what we did. 3 quarter of Anil’s luggage comes into my backpack. Whatever left, along with the rack, went into Anil’s backpack. We were hopeful that we should be able to get some bigger screws for the rack in the next town and get it sorted.
So yes, the ride has finally begun. It wasn’t exactly early hours of the morning, but even at this hour the air felt so fresh. And the winding roads through the countryside were a treat for my eyes that made me forget the load on my shoulder. Anil though wasn’t enjoying the ride as much as I was. Even the slightest uphill would mean he had to come down and push the bike. I was gladly using that extra time to preserve the moments in my new Canon F90IS. It took as less little more than an hour to reach Murnad, where Anil located a four wheeler servicing shop catering primarily to large vehicles. Luckily, they had the tools. While I went out looking for the right screws for Anil’s rear rack, Anil concentrated on getting the tension on the derailleur wire fixed. I tried at few hardware shops, no luck with the screws. But by the time I was back, Anil had a broad smile on his face. He has sorted the derailleur problem out. This surely deserved some celebration, so there we were in a local sweet shop, replenishing our sugar levels.
We resumed our journey from Murnad. We went through coffee plantation, open fields that looked like harvested paddy fields, banana and coconut plantation. Alongside, every now and then, we would spot a traditional coorgy architectured double storeyed building with sloping roofs. They looked majestic to the eyes that are used to seeing malls and software parks. At times, there would be small masjid somewhere around. I guessed there would be a reasonable muslim population in southern Karnataka.
The ride was mostly downhill, with a few climbs. Initially, like in Hyderabad, I would rough it out and climb the slopes on 3rd gear, which by the end of the day would become 2nd. This was to change with each passing day. By afternoon 2.30, we were at Virajpet. Virajpet was a small town, wherein we stopped for a quick bite at one of the bakery. The plan for the day was to reach Kutta, which was till 60 km away. Because of the late start, it may not to be feasible anymore, and we were now looking for a more reasonable destination for the day. At that point we met a very helpful local, who advised us to spend the night at Srimangala, a small town around 15 km before Kutta. We still decided to give Kutta a try.
The ride was pretty much smooth and we soon passed Gonnikoppal. Exactly at 4.30 pm we reached the small town of Punnampet. We needed something to eat now. We located a small eatery and parked our bikes on the road, and selected a seat which would keep the bikes in line of sight. Within minutes, we had a big group of locals, looking at our bikes and talking among themselves. The owner of this small eating joint though was very concerned about our bikes and wouldn’t let anybody touch it. As more and more people start pouring in, he urged the crowd to leave and they reluctantly dispersed. We were relieved and now concentrated fully on the kerala paratha and kerala style chicken curry that had arrived at our table.
By the time we finished lunch it was 5 pm. Kutta was more than 30 km away, and we knew it was not possible. We didn’t want to ride in dark. So Srimangala had to be the destination for the night. After Punnampet, the road started getting bad. Srimangala was still around 17 km away, but the good food had recharged our energy cells. The sun was getting back its orange tinge and the air its chill. Soon it kissed the horizon, and we tried to capture the beauty in my cam without much of a success. We resumed soon, but it was now getting dark pretty fast. Another half an hour of cycling, and we were at the small town of Srimangala.
Srimangala turned out to be a much smaller town that what we had assumed it to be. We stopped at one of the shops and asked local about any accommodation. We were told there is 1 km ahead of the town. We did find a house with a board that said they are a Home Stay. We later found that the owners stayin another building other side of the lane. Rooms were indeed available. After a bit of bargaining, we got a huge room, spick and span for Rs 300 for the night. The owners were nice people and the even allowed the cycles in our room.
It was dinner time soon, and we were treated with traditional pork curry, akki roti and some vegetable curry. I had heard about akki roties , but couldn’t get one in my tummy in madikeri. This was my last chance to savour those on this trip, and I was glad theey were right on my plate. The pork curry turned out to be too hot for me though, but the akki roties were too good. After dinner, we decided to go for a stroll. At 8.30 in the evening, there wasn’t a single soul in the road. It was pitch dark, occasionally the darkness punctuated by the headlight of some fast moving vehicle. We walked towards the town , 1 km away, to the point where we were given direction for the homestay. Although our body felt tired after the long day, legs felt so nice...I felt the walk was relaxing the muscles, almost like a massage. A few minutes later, we were in the centre of the town. Its not even 9 pm, and not a single shop is open. Not a single light, not a single soul. I looked at the sky. I looked at the stars. It felt as if the night sky has been studded with diamonds. I haven’t till date seen stars so bright. I spotted the Orion constellation, and remembered my geography teacher in school. I remembered my school days. I remembered how carefree life used to be, and soon I was nostalgic. It was time to head back.

Day's Stats:
Start from Madikeri Home Stay- 11 am
Reached Srimangala guesthouse- 6.45 pm
Time on bike : 4 hour 42 min.
Dist covered - 68.55 km
Average speed - 14.5 km