2 days and Anantagiri!

"Everyone is ON for Anantagiri, where the hell am i gonna borrow a bike from?” Thanks to Abhiuday, who returned after a late night movie @2AM (u can guess with whom :P), i finally got the wheels for the trip.. Few adjustments on the bike, filling up the bottles with Gangajal (water, lemon, salt & honey), packing few clothes, i reached Gachibowli at 4:58AM (thought Shay would be proud to see me before time)

“But where is Shay… whers Sunil…Ed…Matt…& others?, did they leave already… did i again missed them by a whisker..” Checked up with Shay & Sunil they were still enroute to Gachibowli… I was the 1st Man in :) , so didn’t have to worry about giving any Paneer-Dosa treats :P

“Matt & Shilpa all smiles..”

“Satish & Maddy half asleep…”

OK…so everyone started to reach the venue, some alone.. some in groups.. some with artistic bikes..& some fully loaded with all the stuff for the trip. Then came our 2 wagon cars. We put all our bags in the cars and only carried some energy bars & water with us. Thanks to our friends in the cars, who stopped after every few kilometers to help us with water, etc., our riding was a lot comforting. It was also great to meet & ride along with some new faces on this trip. The group was full with excitement and raring to go.

Shay to photographer “we wait no more for the Sun”

Once Shay baba said “Chalo..”, there was no stopping..we began our journey with a photo shoot done by a press photographer and drifted into the HCU campus. Exiting from the back gate of the University we went on to take the familiar Shankarapally route. With few stops in b/w to regroup, we reached the railway crossing.. we could hear the sound of the coming train but we kept on going, nothing can stop these riders on bikes. We took a trail which passed under the railtrack and got to the other side on the highway. Another 5min & we reached the Dosa stall.

Ed baba & Ek-da-swami enjoying their 2nd of the day!

It was perfect timing for breakfast for people like me who didn’t have anything before the ride. By d way Ed baba, Sunil & few others who already had a breakfast @home were happily enjoying another one :P. Who wouldn’t, after all, it was Hot Dosas & Idlys with even Hotter Chatneysss.. Some work on the bikes and filling some air in tires it was already 8am. But with an overcast sky there still was no sign of the Sun. It was going to be a perfect weather for a perfect ride.

Sunil & myself: “lets see who can eat more”

As we moved for the next leg of the trip, the weather got little warmer. Still it was pleasant to ride as there was that cool breeze all along. Soon we were up against some good climbs & strong winds. Just when it was turning difficult to keep balance & momentum against the wind coming from the right, Shay baba took out yet another masterpiece from his repertoire of riding techniques. He showed us how to draft against a sideways current – all riders in a line but with each rider a little to the left & a lot closer to the rider ahead.

….common Sanju, you can fill it :)

It was science at its artistic best - 8 riders staying close and covering one side of the road, with the leading rider breaking the wind for the riders behind. Soon the tired rider would go in the end and the next in line will lead the pack. Its just wonderful, every time we ride with any of the trio – Ed, Matt & Shay, we get to learn so much.

…….tired but smiling riders!

Pit Stop Number 2: fighting the climbs & the winds, we reached the town of Vikarabad. It was time to take rest in the shade and to quench our thirst. A local shop provided us all that – shade, bottled water, Cokes & 7ups, and ya I remember somebody eating Desi Ghee sweets & complaining of his weight :P

Ok….more smiling riders!

Soon we began the last leg of our onward ride… to Deccan Trails in Anantagiri. Everybody was fresh after the break & exiting from Vikarabad we all picked up pace. Going down the flyover Ed picked up pace & stormed ahead, soon came Matt (like a fighter jet out of nowhere) ... before you hear him coming he is already 10metres ahead of you. Just when you manage to console yourself, comes Shay … says Hi & before you answer him he is already catching up with the other 2 flyers. For some of us like me & Sunil it was only a catching up game now.

in the trails!

Finally, we reached the Deccan trails. A nice camping location away from all the noises of the highway. After being greeted with some cool Jaljeera type desi energiser we were offered a nice north Indian lunch, to which we readily complied, all in the company of that hyper-excited Turkey!

Matt … he never looks tired, does he?

With heavily loaded stomachs, sleep was inevitable for most of us. While some went to sleep, Ed challenged us with bow & arrow, with the losers having to drink beer every time they loose. After 3rounds of 3shots each, it was a 3way tie b/w Sunil, Ed & me. Finally, Ed said something in Spanish (enough to break our concentration), God knows what and he got another one right & took the championship from us. Yet another bottoms up for me & Sunil :(

practicing for the bull’s eye!

comfort on that hanging bed!

lets hide this one… from Spanish babes!

…..zzzzzzz……ssssss…….. wakeup guys time for the evening trek. Ya we had that too in the nearby forest. It was a relaxing walk through the wilderness & much needed one for Ed, after he got frightened by a Snake (or was that a Rat :P) in his tent. As per our expectations we did not see any tigers, deers or elephants, although some of us did hear a bear following us all the while. Ok… we did see some peahens, a peacock & 2 bats. While the dinner was getting ready we lied down on our backs to face the night sky above and take some good lessons about the constellations, meteors & satellites, from our very own Professor of Astronomy (Dr. Ed). Although the sky wasn’t all that clear, we managed to spot few constellations, shooting stars and a couple of Geosynchronous satellites. After a nice dinner, a bit of bonfire & then back to our tents.

We r going for the trek Ed, u can leave the bike!

Sometimes when you are about to say ‘wow what a day it was…’ you get to share the tent with Sunil (that’s life i guess). Jokes apart he is always a nice buddy to have & for a change he wasn’t discussing girls :P. Before the strong wind on top of the hill, could blow us with our tents, we fell fast asleep. Early next morning we packed our breakfast, loaded all luggage in Ed’s car and started on time.

Matt setting the right pace for everyone…

Broad road… Shay letting us go in 2 files!

It was mostly down slope this time and even the tail wind helped us. Shay & Matt again guided us beautifully. They set the pace initially and all of us drafted pretty close to each other, taking turns to lead the pack. On the way it was some great camera work done by Ed & Tushar.

Tushar, with another of his lens work.

& a gr8 shot by Ed from top of the car!

We covered the entire return journey in quick time and reached Hyderabad well before noon. On our way back we reached the Osman Sagar dam. Some of us jumped over the wall & went down to chill out in the cool waters of the picturesque lake. While others choose to relax by the wall. After a breather we started off again for the final time.

Crossing Osman Sagar

An amazing trip was coming to an end and as we were good bye-ing each other everyone was unanimous: ‘ye dil maange more..’

Just Ride!

Ankit (Team HBC)