The Background
The picturesque Kolli Hills is a short range of hills in the Eastern Ghats in Namakkal District, Tamil Nadu.
Kolli Hills has been an addition to many of the cyclists' bucket list, after this picture of the Kolli switchbacks (hairpin bends) went viral a few years ago. My tryst with Kolli started when I had been on a tour along with friends to Kolli more than twenty years ago. Trichy Randonneurs had been organizing the Kolli Hills ride for a few years now. This is a 300km BRM with a total elevation gain of 2600m. Unlike the rolling terrain that we face in and around Bangalore, most of the elevation gain is bundled into major climbs, with nearly half of that coming from the 21km ghat section, with 70 hairpin bends. For cycling fanatics, this is categorized as a HC (Hors Category) climb.
Kolli had been on my bucket list for a while, and I missed it during the Twin Hills 600K BRM due to an unfortunate incident. I needed to complete a complete a 300km ride towards qualification for PBP. Few friends had been inviting me to Trichy for quite sometime now. Kolli 300 seemed to check many boxes. While I was still contemplating on the ride, a picture of the beautiful medal sealed it for me.
Registration and support from Trichy Randonneurs
As soon as I registered, Prashant, the organizer confirmed my participation and gave me a few suggestions for the the hotel and transport. The friendly call made me feel welcome at the event. With my car fitting two full bikes, I just needed on more person to share the 7-hour drive to Trichy, which Sai readily agreed. I managed to get a shared room with JP.
This being an outstation ride, I had to get everything set a day ahead. From charging lights and power banks, to getting all the randonneuring gear, I got everything done the previous evening. Still, anxiety ruled over me and there were some last minute items that I had included.
Preparation for ride and the choice of bike
I made an attempt on the Bangalore SR5 on November 1st. However, work commitments forced me to skip the 400 and 300 in between. Nevertheless, riding in wet socks (and rainy weather) had made my feet tender, and I doubt if I would have finished, had I started. During the 600BRM that included the Nandi and Avalabetta climbs, I figured that my 1984 Miyata NineTwelve (Japanese Zen) loaded heavily with 11-28 gearing was inadequate for the Avalabetta climb. The next natural choice is Canyon EnduraceAL (Black Swan) with a 11-32 gearing. I decided to take this bike though I prefer using the Black Swan only for shorter rides.
Drive to Trichy and the previous evening
We had an early start to the day, I left my home at 6 am and picked up Sai in Electronic City by 7 am sharp. This helped us avoid much of the morning peak hour traffic. We quickly got through Hosur, and after a brief stop at Murugan Idly Kadai, we reached Salem by 10 am. The terrain from Namakkal to Thottiyam was dry and the temperature was shooting up. We could feel a stark difference as we entered the Kaveri delta, and the scenery changed to tree-lined paddy fields from barren land. This brought a welcome change to our sore eyes. Just around this place, we came across a roadside vendor selling Padhaneer (palm sap). We finished one litre of padhaneer bottle between both of us, and I packed one for the evening. This filled our famished bellies so much that we decided to do the lunch post brevet card pickup.
The reception by Trichy Randonneurs was super awesome with a party-like atmosphere. Sai was famished after skipping lunch, and we caught an auto to Kannapa Hotel at 530pm. As it turned out, they weren't ready for evening service. The friendly auto driver took us to Parthasarathy Vilas, one of the oldest hotels in Trichy. We loaded up on most of the carbs required for the next day. As we exited the hotel, I observed a tall wall across the street, and figured that it was Jambukeswarar temple in Thiruvanaikkaval. We had a great darshan amidst peaceful ambience. While I had heard about the temple since my childhood days, never got a chance to visit. I wasnt even planning to visit this temple.
Start time for the ride was fixed at 0400, and it meant hitting the bed early. I did at 2200hrs. With the new surroundings at the hotel, I couldn't sleep easily. After tossing and turning in the bed for nearly three hours, I woke up at 0100 and showered and got back onto the bed. Lady Luck wasn't favoring me yet. I must have slept half an hour when JP woke me up at 0320. Quickly got ready and was at the start by 0345.
Pre-dawn ride
The flag-off was prompt at 0400 hrs. The organizers gave clear instructions on the route. As I started, the topmost thing on my mind was that the Kolli climb was starting at 110 kms, and breakfast will be served at around 50 kms. I maintained a good pace for the first 50 kms .The only hiccup being covering an additional 4 kms because of detours mentioned on the course. The first control point was a pre-Covid era hotel, that ceased to exist. There was some confusion regarding the location, I quickly took a selfie and moved on to the supposedly next designated breakfast point. Breakfast was idly, vada and chai.
The next stretch of ~60kms
As I moved from the breakfast point, I observed that it took three hours to cover 60kms. I was a bit disappointed. Gomathi Shankar, an earlier friend from Chalukya 1200 and Kittur 1000, came along and mentioned that there is a 2% gradient and constant heavy winds. While this brought some solace. I wanted to conserve energy for the next 50 kms. It was a super chatty ride, with many folks from TN (Parthiban, Murugan, Kavi, Balaji and Senthil).
As I reached Karavalli (Kolli Base), Sai had already reached there. Two yelakki bananas and two chikki (peanut cakes) were topped off with a tea, and later with Sting energy drink. Luckily for me the bananas helped the stomach maintain its composure. I packed another couple of bananas for the climb, just in case.
As I entered the Kolli reserve forest, waved my hand to the forest guard and moved ahead. I kept wondering what could be in store for the next 21kms climb with ~1000m of elevation gain and 70 switchbacks.
Gopi (from the organizer team), was waiting just past the half-way mark with some snacks and juice. I mentioned that today is going to be a non-stop climb for me and moved ahead. I was pleasantly surprised to see that my HR had dropped down to 160s.
A few more switchbacks later, a group of riders had stopped to take pictures. Danny, a friend from Kittur 1000 was one of them. Once again, I repeated 'non-stop-climb' and moved ahead. Temperature got cooler as we climbed higher. And the switchbacks completed one after the another. Soon, I came to the final signboard. I took the customary picture and moved ahead. My heart rate was hovering just above 150s. So, 170s at the start, 160s midway and 150s at the top. I can for sure say, Lady Kolli spared us today. It makes me think, that HR is a function of ambient temperature than the effort today.
Lady Kolli, Lord Varuna and Lord Vaayu
On any given day, the Kolli climb can be a killer. However, there were many factors at play today.
This has been a year of rains. And today was the perfect day for an all-day ride. Lord Varuna (Rain God) kept Lord Surya (Sun God) at bay for all of us.
To understand how Lord Vaayu (Wind God) came into play, a bit of geography lessons are in order. During the SouthWest monsoons, the winds flow from West to the East, and these are quite strong. Strong winds can be deadly if you dont know how to handle them. Once you know how to harness them, tail winds can be your greatest friend. As for today, Lord Vaayu assisted in more than a quarter of the climbs.
Lady Kolli (aka Kolli Paavai, the guardian deity of Kolli Hills) blessed us and granted passage with a little help from Lord Vaayu and Lord Varuna.
"It's not the moutains we conquer, but ourselves" - Edmund Hillary
Further climbs...
And they did warn us at the start. That the switchbacks are only a teaser, and there are two other climbs, one of 8kms and another at 5kms. As we arrived at the lunch point, the food hadn't arrived yet. We filled up our tanks with Paddu (dumplings) from a local vendor and moved ahead, with the next climbs in anticipation.
The second climb of 8kms was never ending. And as we finished this one, we came across one hotel. An immediate enquiry revealed lunch is available. We made an elaborate stop here, to recharge both ourselves and all our devices. I also tried to lie down and take a quick nap.
The third climb of 5kms sucked every last bit of energy we had. The saving grace was the long downhill that followed. The picturesque view of the valleys brought back all that lost energy.
Midway through descent, Kavi's freehub broke and it was holding the wheel. Having known that this problem cant be fixed on the road, I had to bid goodbye to him sadly and continue the ride. From this point onwards, it was mostly solo ride for me.
Finishing in style
With all the excitement and elevations behind us, what was left, was a long 100km ride towards Dhammampatti, Thuraiyur, Musiri and finally to Trichy. And this ride was punctuated with a cool breeze on the face, tail winds on the back, a gentle downward gradient and butter smooth roads. I couldn't ask for more.
As I finished the penultimate control, there was still about 80kms to go. I was feeling very tired. Food and hydrating didn't work. It occured to me that this must be the lack of sleep. I had two choices: continue with a slower pace and feel miserable for the rest of the ride, or sleep for half-hour and resume fresh. I found a small temple with sufficient space to stretch my legs and take rest. To my luck, I had good sleep and woke up after half-hour.
And when I resumed, the first hour covered 25 kms, and the next almost 24 kms. The power nap was paying rich dividends for the time lost. A short dinner stop, before I covered the final kms kept hunger at bay and kept me energized.
Final word
The foremost thing that comes across is the friendliness of the Tamil people. Needless to say, the organizers played a larger role in helping us cover mostly desolate terrain. The decision to start the ride at 0400, two hours earlier than the regular start, was brilliant. It allowed us to start the initial climb when it wasn't warm, and at the same time, get through the descent much before dusk.
Many Thanks to the organizers for the wonderful route, on-course support and all the coordination before we even arrived at the event.
Picture courtesy: Danny
Video courtesy: Organizers
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