Merida - Harohalli - Maralavadi - Hunasanahalli - Anchetti - D'kottai - Thali - Anekal - Chandapur - Bangalore

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I was happily floating on water. Wooosh… an SUV zoomed past very close, I could feel the dust rise and hear leaves rustle and the gravel shudder. Is there a road close to the waterfall? Whatever, I don’t care, I just need to rest.
“Jayanth, shall we start?” Vishnu’s voice startled me and I woke up.
I was sleeping on the road and dreaming!

The ride was planned about a week ago by a few members of the Bangalore Bicycle Club. The ride plan - 100km to Anchetti, swim at the waterfall and back. I was looking forward for the ride and much more for the swim. I woke up at 3:50am, got ready by 4:15am and hurried down the stairs with my bike. I had a vague idea of the meeting point nicknamed Merida Point, about 20km from my place. With my backpack heavy with 4 liters of water, I was doubtful of making it there by 5am.
“Sorry sir, you can go out only after 4:30” said the security near the gate.
I am doing my masters after working for 18 months and have time restrictions! Heights!
“I have a race at 5am. I need to leave now” I exaggerated.
He woke up the head security, and I was allowed to leave by 4:20am.
There is no way am going to make it on time. It was 4:40 and I just reached silk board.
But luckily Merida Point was easy to locate and I was there by 4:58am. It was my first ride with the members of BBC (Bangalore Bicycling Club) and a round of introductions followed. I met Dipankar, Ramesh, Prasanth and Sri Ram. The Times Green Championship on the world environment’s day thwarted all my confidence and I declared myself as a slow rider. So me, Prasanth and one more guy who wanted to go till Kanakapura started riding towards Horahalli. The route was scenic, pitch black tar road flanked by colorful trees, picturesque.
Zzzzziiiipppp… Dipankar, Sri Ram and Ramesh overtook us. I increased pace and joined them.
“Are you sure you are a slow rider?” asked Ramesh after a while and I told him that the race on World Environment’s day convinced me that I was.
We stopped at Horahalli bus stand at about 6:20 and by 6:30, there were a total of 9 bikers debating where to have breakfast – Vasu’s or Jayaram’s. A crowd started gathering around us, gawking at us. A year back, I would have felt very shy but now I became shameless and was just amused. Dipankar, Sri Ram, Vishnu, Harsha, Shobit, Prasanth, Chiddu, Ramesh and I formed the pack of riders attempting to conquer Anchetti and refresh at the nearby waterfall. I couldn’t wait to swim, float and drown myself in the water. Finally, we headed towards Jayaram’s for Idlies.
“This 30km is nothing. We will be riding on the ghat road and the next 70km is going to be like 120km” said Dipankar who was leading the ride, his second practice ride for the Tour de Himalayas.
He was right, the terrain was awesomely challenging. There were steepest of the steep ascents which made me double and triple check if I was on the 1st gear or the 6th. Then there were descents, without peddling, I touched 54kmph on one particular downhill. The road was not smooth and I could hear every nut of my bicycle rattle and every joint creak. I was sure it would soon fall apart. Dipankar and Sri Ram were leading the group and I slowly joined them followed by Vishnu. The story of Dipankar’s 3 bikes amused me – first, Rs7000 FireFox bike, then Rs20000 rockrider and now Rs70000, the make I forgot, which he takes it out only for races. (Hoping to follow your lead Dipankar ).
Vishnu and I stopped for rest, photos and snacks and we were stuck together for the rest of the ride.
“Do you get buses to Bangalore?” enquired Vishnu when we reached Anchetti after a grueling ride with the sun bearing down upon us. Dipankar and Vishnu were ahead of us and the rest of the group close behind.
“Yes yes” replied a localite. I was so exhausted that I was ready to crash into the water with my bike!
“Ready? About another five kilometers for the waterfall” said Vishnu.
I am going to spend a lot of time in the water and return by bus, I decided.
A few hairpin bends challenged us and we were quickly running short of water.
The waterfall, waterfall and swim, I kept reminding myself.
We kept taking short breaks every kilometer and I was envious of Dipankar and Sri Ram who should have been by the waterfall by now, enjoying themselves.
Oh my god! This is not possible! My heart sank seeing the terrain ahead; steep ascent for as far as I could see.
“Jayanth! We need to take a fifteen minute break” shouted Vishnu and I couldn’t agree more. After eating dates and chocolate and washing them down with all the remaining water, I slept by the road using my towel as a pillow.
“Warn me if a truck comes hurtling down” shouted Vishnu. I craned my neck to see what he was doing and smiled. Even he was sleeping, perpendicular to the road.
“Dipankar and the rest are having lunch at Anchetti” said Vishnu hanging up his phone. I burst out laughing. We were leading the group!
“Let’s rest for 10 minutes and go to Devankottai for lunch. It is 15km from here” said Vishnu.
Anything after the swim, I thought and fell asleep.
I was happily floating on water. Wooosh… an SUV zoomed very close to me, I could feel the dust rise and hear the fallen leaves rustle and the gravel shudder. Is there a road close to the waterfall? Whatever, I don’t care, I just need to rest.
“Jayanth, shall we start?” Vishnu’s voice startled me and I woke up.
I was sleeping on the road and dreaming!
We still did not reach the waterfall I was dreaming about, it is still about 5km away, a killer 5km with steep slopes. I stretched myself and nodded. We started peddling. My legs were crying but I learnt sometime back that I should not feel merciful. It is their duty to pedal.
“There it is” said Vishnu
“Where?” I asked
“There!” he said pointing.
“But… But… that is a fall, not waterfall!” I exclaimed.
“Well ya, summer. Water has dried up. Didn’t you notice there was no water below the bridges or anywhere” he said.
“So we cannot swim?” I asked, utterly disappointed. No water to drink, no water to swim and no water to drench myself and cool down.
“Nope, maybe if you come again in November” he said.
I felt like a seven year old whose birthday cake has been snatched away.I wanted to lie down on the road, beat my fists, swing my legs and cry I want my waterfall, I want my waterfall! But sure that the tantrum would drive Vishnu nuts, I hid my disappointment. I even brought a towel and shorts for the swim, the weight of which I can now feel on my back.
“So what plan? Direct to Devankottai for lunch?” I asked. There was no point going off road to see a waterfall without water.
“Yup, 15km more” he said
It was another 15km of rough terrain which took us a little less than 2 hours to negotiate.
Vishnu and me had lunch in Sankar Café, Devankottai and were later joined by Chiddu, Ramesh and Harsha. Vishnu and I decided to continue the ride till Bangalore. The others, due to other commitments and tight schedules, decided to take a bus. After a grueling 35km ride to Anekal through Thali, we separated.
I was happy that I completed the ride, a distance of about 185km; a ride through one of the most demanding terrain in Bangalore.
But the waterfall…
Sometimes we work very hard for something which we might not get. But the journey, though tough, would be tiring, tough, fun filled and full of experiences. I am sure that I am now a better cyclist. After negotiating through the steepest slopes, riding in the city is going to be much easier. It would have been awesome if I could have had the swim, but this is life and disappointments are part of it.