Bicycling the Malenad route in the Western ghat section of India is always a pleasure.
An organized bicycle ride in the Western Ghat region during the Winter season, starting from Horanad to Mudigere and finally ending the ride at Sakleshpur made for an exhilarating experience.
Day 01 : Hornad – Kelaguru – Kottigehaara – Mudigere
Sat, 05 Nov 2011
Reach the lodge at Horandu an hour late, freshen up and start riding by 8am. We stop by Thotadur for a quick breakfast and ride on towards Kalasa. On reaching Kelamarasinge, the view was simply breathtaking and had to stop for a lil’ bit of rest and many snaps as we chatted up with a local cowherd there who gave us good info about the area. The roads then on heading from Kelamarasinge to Sunkasale and further onto Javalli had a few long winding road that had climbs, testing the limits of how much one can push self to pedal on. Trees along the road provided shade and fresh air to breath in, however the primary focus here was to ride past those climbs.
By 12:45am we reach the homestay at Balur, for lunch. A very old farmhouse built during the British in India, the place was contemporary with teak wood used for doors, windows and furniture. The bungalow overlooked a few hundred acres of land and a hill at a distance for cultivating coffee, that is also now used for trekking to and back. After a good vegetarian meal and relaxing for about an hour, ride on towards Kottigehara. At about 4pm we reach a T-junction at Kottigehara, where the left leads to Mudigere and the right to Malayamaruta point. Considering the detour would be only 4.5km, decide to turn right and get to Malayamaruta point which overlooks the picturesque mountain range. After having taken snaps, ride back towards Mudigere.
The route was simply breathtaking as nature gives the the perfect scenery with fresh air, paddy fields, trees and hills in the far background and clear blue skies above with clouds having soft colors of the setting sun. Unaware of the time past by or the distance pedaled all evening, we reach the scheduled hotel at Mudigere. After a refreshing hot bath and some rest, head out to have dinner at a close by restaurant. Hot rice rotis and spicy curry was good. On getting back to the room, gave my aching leg muscles the much needed massage and then sleep.
Distance covered for the day 73 km
Day 02 : Mudigere – Hosakere – Hanbal – Sakleshpur
Sun, 06 Nov 2011
Bright clear morning and ready by 7am. After a quick breakfast we ride out from Mudigere and after about 8km stop by an old bridge for pictures. Continue to ride past several villages including Billur, Gowdalli and Hosakere taking pictures along the way whenever possible. At this juncture, we come to a road deviation where upon asking a local said that the good road was 8km to Devalakere while the rocky road was 3km shorter. What good is an MTB if one doesn’t ride over bad stretches of road, right? A good choice it was, riding down a really rocky bad stretch of road for about a kilometer and then to take a left on reaching the good stretch of road.
Soon reach the small town Devalakere for a refill of water and brief rest. Head on further to reach Hanbal junction and from here Sakleshpur was 17km. Quick stop to eat bananas for boost of energy and continue to ride towards Sakleshpur. This stretch of the ride now seemed grueling with the sun overhead. Finally reach the designated stop point a kilometer before the town of Sakleshpur. We headed for lunch and when all were done, we had a group photo of all the riders. Later on, bikes and riders all aboard canter vans and bus respectively, head back to Bangalore. A short stop at Channarayapatna for evening tea/coffee and hot chilli pakodas.
Distance covered for the day 56 km
In the Malenadu region, riding a bicycle along the inner roads admiring the scenery, breathing in clean fresh air, makes for a simply exhilarating experience.
Awesome event organizer : Cycling And More a.k.a CAM
