05.02.2011
Day 2 started with sore thighs, sore backs (what else would you expect if you slept on a stone) & dirty dirty clothes. The campsite was BARE. No washroom, no food, no pretty bunker beds, no spas for massages... But it did have something.. It had a lake overlooking stone slabs you could sleep on. It had water, It had trees for shelter. As far as I was concerned this was just a perfect home.
I slipped out of my sleeping bag into my cycling shorts & a new t-shirt (which is actually the oldest tee I own) that I had packed despite weight regulations as after all these years of wearing it, its 100% cotton had run down to 0% weight. Stacking up on water & clearing up the campsite, we un-eagerly awaited the monotonous drone of a marshall to bestow upon us the next challenge to endure. Kayaking.
Now that was fun. As we geared into the lifejackets Jeremy & Guy briefly discussed paddling strategies (& who'd enjoy the view at the front) we set forth into our assigned kayak. Girl team members were to sit in the middle as were supposedly thinner & leaner & the boys had to row it across the river & back. I was happy to get Jer's waterproof camera in my hand & I enjoyed the moment clicking wildly! Off we went swiftly drifting across the lake leaving everyone behind; Hey we were first & fastest to reach by a long long margin!
Our victory was shortlived as our time was running & we picked up our backpacks & geared up for another promised strain on the calves (Jer slipping in between a short interview to Star News on our overall experience) We said bye to the campsite & started the uphill. Tired as hell as we were we didn't really care too much about the time count so we took it easy on ourselves & walked the sections we were too tired to contemplate whether they be ridable or not.... Full of bitterness, we finally rounded up the crazy uphills & subsequently short downhills. I learnt soo much that day.. With a thirst to just keep moving forward you really do conquer quite a few nasty terrains.
My knee hurt with every pressure I put on it while walking so I decided to pedal some sections similar to the stony uphills from the day before. This time I also rode the stoney downhills. I looked 15 metres ahead to subconsciously pick up lines for my wheels & braked occasionally to lower the pace to maneuvre sharp turns. Every downhill & new maneuvre was not considered an achievement, it was considered a past & I had no time to dwell on the past when the future was this uncertain.. How much more of this is left?! We finished the riding with LOTS of stops & breaks & a little breakfast of 4 cheese cubes, beef, crackers & bread. We thought this would be our last meal.. Our food supply had finished (& so was the water) "Hey we've to scavenge for water. We really are running out"
With only 1/4th of a bottle to share amongst us we headed forth onto the now completely messed up uphills that mimicked the sinewy curves of a voluptuous woman. With absolutely no energy, I arched myself to gain as much momentum as I could from the scornfully low downhills to climb the mammoth of the uphill.. As the uphill would approach I wouldnt anticipate & start pedalling but wait till the last ounce of momentum my wheels could go on for before pedalling in the 1-2/ 1-3 shifts. I knew this was probably stupid but I wanted to drag the bike with momentum as much as I could (& it did work on a few stretches..) Desperate for water we finally managed to come across a little shack, the owner of which gave us all the water we wanted. It was 11:30 by this time & the sun was up & shining. We were now also running low on electrol with about 1.5 packets of electrol & 1 packet accelorade. Refreshed with the water break we pressed forth to the next checkpoint.
"Your next challenge is for about 15 kms. The first checkpoint is 5 kms away on this stretch from where the volunteers will direct you next.." I moaned.. She added: The next time count (TC) checkpoint is where the race ends.
Suddenly everything seemed brighter & I hugged the marshall. She laughed before offering water & biscuits. We'd wanted this to end.. It was sweltering hot. It never crossed our minds how dirty & smelly we were, we'd passed by a lad from another team who'd puked due to dehydration (5 cms away from Jer's bike; ofcourse he had a lot to say about that), we'd outstretched our enthusiasm for the race & even the strong & chirpy Guy had exhausted his reserves. Ofcourse we wanted this to end, & end NOW.
At the 5 km checkpoint the volunteers smiled, you see the hill... fuck fuck fuck no way! NO! absolutely not!... he still continued, take the path to your left & keep climbing. You'll see a tree at the notch. Thats where the volunteers will guide you further. It will take about two hours.. So its not that much. Two hours 2 HOURS? 15 kms I can ride in 30 mins! Gimme the tarmac & i'll finish it dumass! A hill? Now?
Guy & Jeremy pulled me away from the marshall & dragged my bike up the hill. We rounded up nasty curves & slippery paths & chugged our bikes who's pedals had now formed permanent marks on the back of my legs as they hit with every few steps i'd take. Soon I maneuvered a way to keep the bike & me on one path & make the pedals behave. We all remember this climb. It was tougher than the one we managed at night! This time we had to create a path as there was absolutely no other way to reach the top. Guy went up first to break through the tough growth of some variety of plant that i have no idea or inclination to know about. Then would take my bike up. Then would follow Jeremy & then I would take the support of the roots of the now cut out growth to support my weight for clambering through. After a tortuous 2 hours we reached the halfway mark only to realize that there was indeed a path that we didn't see & was much less strenuous. We here came across a gentleman who's team members had quit but he had persevered forward just to finish as much as he could. He treated us with lovely paranthas & cheeni-roti that energized us for a climb forward. We were still without water.. & there didn't seem to be any sign of it (except the beautiful lake that looked at us menacingly waiting to engulf us lest we fall)
At this point we met with other frustrated teams. I was slow. Super Slow. I had no energy & will to do this anymore. So I continued forth last amidst shouts of This is the wrong way! There is no path here.. Its not the most encouraging thing to hear.
I needed water, & the hope of finding it at the top kept me moving. Eventually a marshall came down to help us see the path as were terribly lost. We'd climbed tough growths & lost our way & had to climb back down to find the path the marshall guided us to. These moments when you're living them have a much different outlook. You're there, with no water, no food, in sweltering heat & lost & being told to climb down the path you had just climbed up. You don't know when its going to be over. There is no internet & therefore no google to guide you through to the terrain. Even if there was, you don't know whats the endpoint you need to put up as Point B.. Theres no way to back out, coz you don't know how to back out. You're in the middle of a hill!
We finally reached the bloody tree in the notch & its obvious this is not over.
Without water & 15 minutes rest we headed forth. We had to cross 3 hills to Abhiruchi Top, proceeding down from it is where we'd find our last checkpoint. At some point here I started hallucinating. I'd let everyone else go ahead coz had i been in the middle i'd have slowed everyone down. We soon reached a village, they served us murky red water. Part of me inched to drink it. I needed it, if only half a glass. I didn't give a shit about hygiene. I had 6 layers of dirt on my arms & legs, there was no way I wanted to give a shit but I did. I had 1/4th of a glass of water..I was still bloody thirsty but I moved on anyway.
While the team proceeded forth, I gave up under a tree & sat in a quiet place for 10 mins contemplating licking the remainder of the dew off the leaves. I waited for cold winds to brush my face to get a little of that chilly sensation on my tongue. These thoughts however were disturbed when I heard something stir in the trees & one part of its branch fell on my bike. That little bit of fear that everyone was too far ahead to come back quickly if needed was what woke me up from my near faintish stage. I mustered this one last ounce of energy to reach the guy in front of me who was from another team. I asked him for one sip of water as I was now unable to push the thought that I could go on without it. That one sip of water coupled with 2 mars bars gave me the energy i needed to push forward. I didn't slack now, I made my way to the head of the group to meet jeremy & guy & rode with them till I found a village. (yes rode!.. you cover distances faster when you ride even when theres a sheer drop to your left) I think I drank 2 glasses before realizing that these guys must be getting their water after walking such distant miles. Thats when I stopped. I decided I'd quench my thirst later. For now I just needed these two glasses to move on.
From there on it was about 30 minutes of riding on top of a hill. Jeremy, Guy & I kept close together with Guy going back & forth in between to help other people at the back. We rode, & didn't stop & finally saw the lovely young marshall, Kavitha, at the end who said the words I wanted to hear. This is the last checkpoint, go DOWN this hill, you'll see the tarmac. Go downhill from the tarmac. Thats it. Thats the end.
I couldn't ride the first patch of downhill as it was steep & stony & I was now missing a brake-shoe.
I rode the tarmac down though without the brake-shoe determined not to slow down. It was a beautifully soft glide that refreshed me entirely. I didn't have the energy to clamber up another uphill but I had energy now to walk again.
We finished the 5 km downhill in less than 7 mins. You can imagine how fast we went. We swung our last swerve to reach the endpoint, gladly dropped our bikes & chatted merrily with the marshalls. Were you expecting a more dramatic 'threw our bikes & lay flat on the floor' end?
Sorry our energies were back..
& we could think of nothing else except "The Place" & the brilliant sizzlers that were calling out to us.
(Addendum:16 out of 27 teams completed the race.. & we came in 6th!)
