World Environment Day Race

See the pics here, not many though.

From: gjayanth8[at]gmail[dot]com

To: pedalpusher[at]timescycletowork[dot]com

Subject: Times Green Championship

Date: 3^rd June, 2010

Dear Sir/Madam,

If cycling 400Km in two days makes one a pro then I am one.

I rode from Bangalore (Electronics City) to Kurnool (Bus stop) some 10 days back.
I wish to take part in the Times Green Championships, please consider.

Regards,

Jayanth

This is how I entered the Times Green Championship of the Times of India Cycle to Work initiative to take place on the World Environment Day, 5^th June, 2010. All the slots for the race were filled and I badly wanted to participate. The race was for 60Km, 3 laps of 20Km. The 400Km lone ride made me feel that I am not a rookie anymore or maybe a Lightening McQueen (in the movie Cars) style rookie.

Why was I so keen to enter the race? If I had known what the 1^st prize was, the reason would have been the free trip to Leh but the prizes were not announced beforehand. Then why was I keen to enter the race? One, I wanted to compare my cycling with other Bangalore cyclists, two, well be a part of World’s Environment and three, a publicity stunt. Yup, publicity stunt for my debut novel, Exotic Engineer Entrepreneur. If I can figure among the prize winners I can persuade Times of India to review my novel faster than otherwise, I thought. Within an hour and an exchange of a few mails with pedalpusher, I got my registration number for the Times Green Championship race. I was happy.

5:36am! My cell phone ditched me again! It was an Rs800 ZTE Reliance mobile and had a zillion bugs. That day it failed to wake me up at 4:30am. After bottling glucose water, chocolates and boiled eggs, and preparing a map to reach the venue, I slept at 1:00am and was still too sleepy. For a moment I considered going back to sleep but not wanting to miss the event I jumped off my bed and grabbed my brush but threw it down and used colgare plax mouthwash instead. I need to save every second to be there at Sarjapur, 20km away in less than an hour. By 5:45 I was out zooming on the Hosur road and five minutes later I remembered that I forgot the map. But 6am is not as early as we students think and there were folks around to ask for directions.

It’s not the plane, it’s the pilot, I tried convincing myself. The bikes around me were just awesome - professional, and stylish and wheels so thin that thinning a bit more would render them invisible. It’s not the suit on us, it’s the spirit inside. I was wearing regular shorts and t-shirt but some people around me were looking like international cyclists seen in sports channels. It’s all in the mind, I told myself seeing one biker who seemed really physically fit. Shay Mandal of the Hyderabad Bicycling Club briefed me about their activities to remain fit – cycling, running and swimming in quick succession over varying distances, it’s called Triathlon. But I did 400Km in two days, I will stand a chance.

I did not stand a chance and I realized it about 10 minutes into the race. For one I was still sleepy and moreover I was just not prepared, rather did not at the least perform any preliminary checks on my cycle before the race. Front tire was not properly inflated and seat was too low. I had to stop twice to adjust the seat height, first time I made it too high in a hurry. While trying to properly inflate the front tire, my cycle fell down and from then on I started having a problem with the top gear, the shift to top gear would be delayed and abrupt. After 30 minutes I realized racing was not my cup of tea. There were a lot of people behind me but there were lot more ahead. I enjoy cycling and I can go on endlessly at my pace but not race, at least not yet. It was early morning, just after rain and the route was beautiful, so I decided to enjoy the ride. Singing along with my iPod I forgot I was racing. Slowly I started catching up with others. Honestly, if we enjoy what we are doing, it makes hell lot of difference in the quality of the work. Maybe I do stand a chance! Maybe most of them will give up and only a few will complete the race, I started peddling harder. A team of professional cyclists were coming back completing a lap. Around eight guys speeding as one, they were a sight to watch. Lap U-turn  is somewhere close, I kept riding and riding but the lap just did not end! Just as I was feeling I have lost my way, I saw the U-turn sign and a few volunteers waving a flag and stopping the traffic so that we can safely turn around. Jesus Christ! At this rate I will be laps behind the pros!

Unfortunately I was. Vroom… beep… honk. A group of motorcycle volunteers were clearing the way, signaling the traffic to move aside. Wow, thanks guys! It feels royal! Cyclists are the king of the road! Did that volunteer just ask me to move aside? Nah, impossible, I am on a cycle.

Beep beep and I looked behind and suddenly realized that all the hulla was not for me and other casual cyclists. The bunch of professionals were zooming towards me flanked by more motorcyclists and the Safari with two cycles mounted on it. I was a lap behind and they were getting the royal treatment, not me! I moved aside and let them overtake. This is not a chance to miss, I thought and I gave it all I had to catch up with them. One pro shouted encouraging words as I tried to keep pace but after about 20 seconds I had to give up, their cycles were just too good. Don’t be an idiot, it’s the pilot not the plane, my inner self screamed at me but I did not want to agree. It’s the cycle I fought back and what I saw next make me think again, a hero cycle, the kind of cycle we see ordinary people going to work with. The guy was riding it pretty fast, with his wife sitting behind him carrying a steel lunch box! I followed him, observing him, for a few seconds, he was maintaining his pace. Wow! I gave him thumbs up and he responded! I smiled and overtook him. It’s both, the pilot and the plane, given this guy a racing bike, he would be a decent performer, training would make him shine.

 “Hi, I am Jayanth”, I said drawing alongside one of the cyclist riding at my pace.

“Hi, Kartheek”, he replied

And I found a friend, ok a two hour friend. If the name was Krithika or perhaps Nisha, we might have exchanged phone numbers. We spoke, rode together and raced. It was nice to have someone to ride with. In the last lap I got tired and fell behind while he raced ahead. A few minutes later I saw him at a distance having coconut water. To hell with the race, I thought and joined him. He did not have change and I paid. Kartheek if you are reading this, remember you still owe me Rs15 :).

            In the last 10Km I raced a couple of guys riding slowly, one exhausted guy walking his bike and another guy waiting for the crew to pick him up. When I finished the race, there was no one to flag me finish, every volunteer left and they took the finish board along with them! When I entered the shamiyana, celebrations were already on! A bottle of Himalayan mineral water bottle, glucose and cookies were the goodies from the sponsors. Prize distribution started and my heart skipped a beat after the first prize was announced – Rs10,000 + a trip to Leh! I love cycling and someday I am going to win that and much more, I resolved.