SADDLE WORMS

                                                    Cycling tour to Ooty

Holidays had a head start and so was boredom!! My Manali –Leh cycling plans had just been crossed out! And all of my friends were engaged in their newfound work!! Weeks of joblessness and being home with absolute solitude turned me restless. That was when I decided to hit the road with my adventurous behalf let loose! Bums on saddle, feet on pedals and all I needed was an equivalent enthusiast who could give me compatible company. Well I just got lucky! While scrolling through the usual news feed on facebook I found Puneeth Mishra, one of my juniors who claimed to have cycled for about 4000kms in a months’ time!!The next thing I did was to message him about the cycling expedition with destination unknown!!Puneeth agreed with a time constraint and so the planning had to be swift. After much brainstorming I chose Ooty to which Jimmy and Swapnil with two more friends had cycled .Not wasting a minuscule of time we rushed to the Jimmy’s, gathered all the required information and updates regarding the local weather condition and the anticipated animal movements in the Bandipur reserves. With the ground work intact and journey planned, we were all geared up to conquer the highest peak in south India!!And as fate had it, we kick started the journey on my birthday!!(06th of july)

After a subtle birthday with family at different venues, my packing began only to enlighten my parents about the untold tour! Ensuring the packing to be light and compact we left home to board the Volvo, scheduled at around 10.15pm .We both reached the Shantinagar bus stop and waited to board our bus which was late by half an hour !I never sleep in travel but the Volvo was too smooth to stay awake which put me in deep sleep for a while. After building a rapport with the driver we were offered to sit in the front when the bus entered   the Bandipur forest reserves where only two buses are privileged to drive through the night. The eeriness of the place was consumed by the whistling of the trees and under the silvery moonlight we were fortunate to spot some of the fabulous fauna untouched!!!Numerous deers, bisons, sambas and elephants were passing by in their safe haven! A beauty to behold. Having said that the night ended in all its glory!!

searching for a place to sleep ..loafing the unknown

conquering the highest peak in south india thru cycle

wats the use of climbing high and no posing :P

DAY1

 We reached Ooty by 7a.m where we were welcomed into the clouds while on earth! Our next task was to hunt for Youth Hostels where we had planned to stay and promptly found out that it was pulled down recently. After a lot of roaming with humorous conversations with the locals in the language unknown to us, we managed to find an economical lodging. On refreshing ourselves in a swish we set out to accomplish our mission to conquer Doddabetta on cycle! With a ride of about 13kms   we reached in an hour and a quarter with just one break in the middle amidst the fact that we were on mud roads which were steeper compared to the Nandi hills. Standing on the peak with the magnificent view of the city a sense of accomplishment set me on an adrenaline rush! Spending some time lazing around, we got started on the best part, downhill cycling!! Pedaling in 9x3 gears, racing through the vehicles, reeling down at corners with the pedals scraping through the surface, we got the public awestruck! And yeah, we got back in 10 minutes. The excitement gained during these 10 minutes was the sole reason to endure the torturous climb. The scenic beauty included the tea plantations set up in step cultivation with numerous houses built on the slopes of the hill. Shrouded in mist, Ooty is rightly referred to as the queen of hills. We spent the rest of the day in local sightseeing. The major crowd pullers were the botanical garden, boat house, the mini trains etc., and a unique attraction being the cycling trails set up by Hercules with ramps and obstacles providing the adrenaline factor for the cycle freaks. The local cuisine was spicy and hot enough to beat the cold. With a happy tummy day 1 ended in solace with a serene view from my balcony.

cant see the mist but u can literally watch the mist floating on roads :D

botanical garden in ooty ..
lalbagh is much better :3

another selfie in a train ride :D

an amazing cycling trail designed by hercules where photography was supposed to be banned :P

DAY 2

As soon as it dawned, we were all set to cycle back till Mysore which was at a distance of 170kms from Ooty .The journey started off with some crazy downhill cycling in the morning where we had a glimpse of the horses and the unicorns roaming around like the BBMP dogs in our city. As time flew by some drizzling was evident which later turned into a heavy downpour, not stopping until we reached Mysore. There was poor visibility on road especially in the Bandipur reserves which got me worried as I have had a frightful experience in the past with the elephants in the area. We sighted some peacocks after which my nightmare came alive with a wild elephant standing by the side of the road. I was petrified and equally taken aback to see Punith who seemed extremely excited on the spot! All thanks to him that I turned courageous enough to take photographs of it which eventually turned into selfies!

The downhill was too gruesome due to which Puniths cycle brake pads were literally worn out and stopped functioning. Hence we had to walk through few sections .Finally we made it to the Karnataka border. At the Bandipur safari camp, we got acquainted with the officials who seemed impressed with our cycle tour and even offered us a free ride deep down in the woods where they had supposedly spotted a tiger that morning. Witnessing nature at its best we gratefully thanked them and left the place. We then halted for while by the side of the road when a lorry promptly stopped by to inform us that the area was the core zone of the leopards. Sensing a potential danger we quickly pedaled all the way back making it to Mysore at 11pm.The city was totally abandoned leaving us no place other than the railway dormitory. We slept like there was no tomorrow.

untouched beauty!!
some random falls which we bumped into :D

somehow this pic was getting the most likes in fb :P
the real picture was just so stunning that u would pain ur necks thinking where the tree limits end :D

picnic spot in bandipur which was supposed to be a leapord zone :P

sweating in after riding crazily for two hours to reach mysore!
night cycling!! :D

DAY 3

We woke up to some unexpected drama as a person in the same dormitory was looted of his phone and clothes due to which everyone including us was suspected. Somehow the drama subsided and we left the place. On the way we stopped in Mylari for the famous masala dosas after hearing mouthwatering stories from friends. Truly they were the best dosas till date.

From then on the endurance ride started off as we had to gain altitude to reach Bangalore .We stopped by to visit the Ranganatitu bird sanctuary which seemed totally deserted except for a few crocodiles and migratory birds. On resuming our pedaling we reached halfway to Mandya. As for lunch I feasted on Naati koli gravy with ragi balls and thoroughly pitied Punith who was a vegetarian. After the hearty meal we were totally exhausted with cramped up legs demanding a worthy rest ,which we duly got as Puniths cycle was punctured. Somehow we hitched a ride on a tempo. The driver offered to drop us all the way back to Bangalore to which I surprisingly refused as the whole “cycle tour “would lose its flavor completely. Puniths road sense came to the rescue as we nudged through the traffic and took the village en route to Bangalore. Our flabbergasting experience terminated on a victorious note as we reached home to happy faces waiting to receive us back intact. The sweet memories of the tour will be cherished every time I sip on to the tea or binge on homemade chocolates , a specialty of Ooty! 

visiitng the deserted rangantittu bird sanctuary :D

the place where u get best dosas in mysore!!