BRM 300. Mumbai Nashik Mumbai.

12th Sept, 2014

Manesh my partner in crime and I decided to push ourselves and attempt the 300km ride. Our previous longest ride have been a few 200 BRM's.

Pre race

This was probably the first time our race prep was near perfect. 2 days before the race I had checked to see what all I needed to buy, made a to do list, downloaded the app and set reminders to make sure I don't forget.

The general list is as follows

- Bikes

Manesh - GT hybrid

Rohit - Merida Matts 40 V

- Accessories

Zip locks

CR 2030 battery for the blinker lights

Gloves

helmet

sunglasses

- Nutrition

Apples, bananas

Hydration bladder, dry fruits

Few Snicker bars for variety in taste

ORS - rehydration salts
Peanut Butter sandwitches

Our prep has become better as each event has gone on. I guess we are learning from our experiences both good and bad .

Flag Off

It is probably the best start we ever had. At the very outset we started at a good steady pace of 25 to 30 kmph and within 30mins we were on the highway. It was a lot of up and down till Kasara. We knew after looking at the elevation profile that we would gain elevation constantly from the 70km mark to the 100km (Kasara). We took a few small 5/10 minute breaks during this time and were cruising along nicely. Then came the much awaited kasara ghat climb. Did get across the long winding ghat at a decent pace, took a minute breather mid way as I got tired but thankfully the view was great and there was a slight drizzle. It was a beautiful view. Manesh continued to march on at a fast pace with some other riders.  I reached the check point by 11:15am, which means in 5 hours we had come about 110km. But by the time we left it was 11:45,as we chilled a bit, made two bottles of electrolytes, ate sandwiches, filled up water, got the card signed, took a few photos. 

At the Igatpuri control point after climbing the Kasara ghat

  I decided to put music on as it helps me a lot in keeping my mind busy. 10km into riding again Manesh got cramps and that kind of slowed down and it got progressively worse to a point where we had to stop. We decided to take a break for about 5 to 10 minutes, luckily some riders passing by were kind enough to stop and let us borrow some Volini. We decided to start slow and if things got bad then would take a long lunch break right away but hoped that the muscle will ease after sometime of some slow riding. I was just hoping that Manesh should not utter the words, "I can't continue, maybe I should quit." I didn't like the prospects of finishing the remaining 170 km alone But then again Manesh being a very strong person mentally never even explored that option. So the next big break would be at around the turn around point which would be lunch. So the strategy was to ride as fast as his legs would allow him to and get to Nashik. Manesh was trying his level best and not to slow me down but the best his body would allow him to ride was around the 18kmph mark. And the next 2 hours were probably the most frustrating ones of the entire ride for me. Saddle soreness had kicked in by now, I would take a lead of about 1km and then get off the bike to enjoy the view and let him catch up. My ass was hurting when I was constantly peddling so decided to take the small breaks instead of free wheeling.Things continued like this for the next 2 hours and he was trying his level best to keep going and if you know Manesh then you know that he gives everything a 110% . About 10km out of Nashik I noticed that the wait time was decreasing and he was getting faster. This was such a happy moment. Life was good again. We rode the next 10km at a quick pace and I would say he was around 80-90% of his normal which was amazing.

 

We got to the half way mark Dwarka circle Nashik by 2:50pm. took a small break there had nariyal pani, Manesh bought bananas while I went to the Hdfc ATM across the road to get the slip that would be submitted at the end of the ride. We decided that within 5-10km on the return we ll stop at a decent place. Within 5km we found a Shiv Sagar and decided to stop for lunch. Time was 3:30pm. We ate idli sambar, tawa pulao since they were not serving proper lunch. We did make up for it with some chocolate icecream. We were done by 4:15pm and thought that we should be ready to rock and roll by 4:30pm. Just when we were about to get on the bike Manesh realized that he does not have his phone. If things weren't bad enough he  had put the phone on airplane mode for some  reason (why carry the phone right?!) Haha anyway so he decided to ride back to Nashik to check if he left it at the ATM or something and I decided to take a much needed bathroom break . So we split and thankfully he called in 25 mins saying he found the phone and it was on the banana sellers cart just where he had left it and even the vendor did not spot it. By the time he came back to Shiv Sagar it was 5:40pm. I still thought things were on track. But we knew that now we could not afford any unwanted stops or injuries. We rode at a good pace and reached Igatpuri by 7:30pm . During this 50km it rained heavily but we were determined and continued at a good pace. Met a few guys from some TV channel at a water break. They were excited to hear about our adventure and wanted to record a small video. We were running short on time so we agreed to do the small interview while we are riding. We left ahead and it was dark soon. Didn't see them later, maybe cause of the darkness?!

Anyway we came down Kasara at a very good speed and were in a good rhythm feeling strong so decided to keep on moving. By this time the lights were on full power and i was loving the big spread of my new lights. Manesh casually warned me that maybe i should think of conserving since we have a long way to go. I shrugged his concerns saying,"I have another battery pack, let me enjoy the lights". Soon familiar names started appearing on the sign boards such as thane, kalyan, Mumbai and we felt that we were close. Even tho it said mumbai 119km i consoled myself that we had to ride only till Mulund which was 33km short of town. I was constantly doing the math and running permutations and combinations on the pace we needed. We realized we needed to have a good dinner to refuel and finish strong. And hence began the hunt for a suitable place. By this time the battery ran out and I realized because of the rain my ATM slip i took at Nashik had shredded and other battery pack was not working as the water had seeped through. This is when me and Manesh has a laugh about his earlier advice to save battery. Then I has to ride the last 80km with the small blinkers i bought at decathlon. I put it on the handle but that didn't help at all so i has to hold the light on my left hand for the last 80km. I did have a rough time riding as my visibility was horrible and the roads had some really bad sections. Lesson learned, I do plan to buy powerful lights that last long!! Any ideas?

We gradually saw the distance reducing 90 then 80 then 70 and we would decide after every 10km that let's continue another 10 and decide about dinner. And around the 64km mark we stopped at a place that was a big food plaza that we were confident would serve good food. Had a nice meal consisting of dal khitchdi and chikoo milkshake (new fav drink). Started riding again and we knew it was within reach now. We just had to keep riding at a steady pace. And the tail winds were a blessing. We would be touching 30kmph without peddling, it was amazing. After entering mumbai we asked for directions to 10 different people of various occupations (cops, taxi drivers) to find mulund. By 1am we reached our destination - Mulund.

Us after the finish at Mulund.

 

It was a challenging ride and a great learning experience. We took 19 hours to finish the 300km ride. We were the only 2 to finish of the 9 riders who attempted the BRM. Given all the things that happened during the ride that slowed us down we were pretty satisfied with our efforts. It has given us the confidence to consider doing the BRM 400. The 600 is still taboo to talk about. Hats off to all the riders who attempted the BRM 600. Currently can't even imagine doing it but soon enough that will change :)