Tour of Eastern Ghats - Day 1

Finally the day arrived when we would get to ride for real.
Any ride lasting 100+ km would usually mean an early start, and today is no exception.
Many folks wanted an early coffee to start off the day and Krish took it upon himself to serve the needs. The coffee would be available from 5 AM on wards. Another issue at hand is the breakfast. The breakfast joints outside or at the hotel won't be open before 7 AM. So Krish again came to the rescue saying that he would arrange a light breakfast of bread-butter/jam before the ride starts, and would pack the actual breakfast somewhere on the route and setup a pitstop about 60 km into the ride.

All set for Day-1 ride

Nice roads pumped us up!

The plan on Day 1, Sat 31 Aug 2019 is to start at about 5:50 AM at Bhadrachalam and reach Maredumilli by lunch time. As promised, Krish took care of the coffee, and Prabha, our beloved technician and lifeline for our bikes, took care of the bread-butter-jam. After loading the luggage into the truck, having coffee and breakfast, we started after 6:20 AM.

Within 20 minutes, we were on a road that cuts through dense forests with almost zero traffic. The endless tree canopies on either side of road provided shade with lush green endless views, and welcomed us into the wild.
The roads too were forgiving with rolling terrain. The overcast weather too helped us by keeping us out of heat in an already humid place, and let us ride without raining till the end of the ride. I was a bit behind the lead pack - Sam, Prajwal and Gokul. Occasionally Somnath, Dev or Raunak would catch up and we again end up riding at our own comfortable paces. I don't know about the lead pack, but the rest of us were in no hurry - except for the breakfast stop enroute ;)

Our breakfast in making

We passed some monkey packs, but thankfully none of them attacked. The dogs too seemed very friendly (except for one, which was barking at us from a rooftop).

Tree canopies

Empty inviting roads

About 35 km into the ride, the lead pack and support car were seen on the road. We refilled the water bottles and slowly started rolling.  
Krish told us that we need to take a left turn after crossing a place called Chinturu.

Pit stop to refill water and have some bananas

I have this bad habit of forgetting names within a matter of minutes. Later on I asked Somnath for the name when he was passing me, and he chanted 'Chinturu, Chinturu, Chinturu.....' :)
Again after 57 km into the ride, the lead pack and support car were seen on a bridge enjoying the views and taking snaps. The rest of us too joined them in clicking the photos and slowly started rolling.
The breakfast stop was nowhere to be seen even after covering 70 km.
Almost 73 km into the ride, I could see Krish in the car, and the lead pack ahead turning back.
I was not having any means of checking the route on the fly, and started to have doubts. Gokul says we missed a turn 10 km before. When I say casually that we might just end up doing a ride similar to a 200 km brevet, he mentions that he was just kidding. Apparently Krish under-calculated the distance for the breakfast point (and also the day's mileage). They turned back to stop at a culvert few meters behind for having the breakfast. Few minutes later all the riders reached and we got to taste the local idlis, dosas and even some bananas and boiled eggs. To the delight of Dev and most of us, Krish served freshly brewed hot coffee again to keep us pumped up for the rest of the ride.

At the bridge enjoying the views

View from the bridge

Posing on the bridge

Enjoying the breakfast

All happy faces after the much awaited breakfast

We start off after refilling the water bottles, and soon after the lead pack decides to take off once again.
But it was not too long before they were spotted on an old bridge along with Krish. Apparently there was a foot long gap spreading about two feet at one spot on the bridge, and Krish decided to warn all the riders to avoid any incidents.
Since the view was pleasant, we decided to take some snaps while the rest of the pack catches up.
Though riding a very heavy hybrid bike, Narayan was not at all slowing down. It was inspiring to watch the only hybrid rider cruise past a few road-bikers effortlessly.
90 km into the ride, there was a view point offering a splendid view of hills, valleys and a flowing stream. We ran into some riders (one of them in riding gear, a support vehicle with a bike racked behind it) from Kakinada there, who were headed to Sileru. It is a very rare occurance.

Posing at the view point

Splendid views from the view point

Streams running parallel to the road at some places

They were confused as to why we were taking this route and we mentioned that we were exploring roads that take us closer to nature. We got acquainted and clicked some pics, before starting off again.But right after we started moving, we encountered the hilly sections of the day's route. Few minutes later we hear Dev calling out and I head back to check what happened. His chain gave away and he had a cleat fall as he didn't get to uncleat before the bike stopped. We did not have phone signals, but we knew that the rear support vehicle (the small truck which carried our bikes/luggage) would arrive soon. So Dev would stop on the roadside while I start moving, tackling the first bout of climbs. Though the road offered some challenges, the scenic views that surrounded were breathtaking! I somehow planned my nutrition properly for the first time in a tour with a chocolate, energy bar, energy gel and fast n up. They all helped me keep moving without any issues.

Dev helping himself with some freshly brewed coffee

While I stopped to the roadside and started having my energy gel, Somnath and Pravin caught up and they too stopped to relax a bit. When I was about to start, the rear support vehicle arrived at the spot, and Prabha was riding the spare bike - a single speed. He was attacking the climbs and I told him a couple of times that pushing too hard could take a toll on the knees. Nevertheless, he kept enjoying the roads, nature, and kept riding at his pace. We would stop whenever a view would be too beautiful to just pass by, and take some pics while enjoying the scenic landscapes. 
After riding for 117 km, I finally end up in the spot on my bucket list - Maredumilli!
The lunch spot too is not far ahead, as I could see the support car parked to the right side of the road outside one of the food joints that serve the famous Bamboo chicken.
A car was hastily taking a reverse and blocked me from moving to the right side of the road. So I came to the left, overtook the car, and then moved to the right. The car driver was speeding away immediately after the reverse, and hit me with the front bumper slightly from behind when I was stopping next to the support car. Thankfully I was uncleated and coming to a stop. So I just ended up narrowly escaping a front fall, with just a minorly out-of-true rear wheel.

Curvy roads won't slow down the lead pack

All this was being watched by the riders who were already inside the food joint and they got worried. They already got to know about 3 other incidents, one of which saw some bruises.
Nevertheless, we quickly got into the feasting mode and enjoyed the chicken cooked inside Bamboo. It was dry but tasty. The rotis seem to vanish as quickly as they arrived. Krish had to hide some of the chicken for the riders who were yet to arrive. The vegetarians too were happy with the available options. To the delightment of Dev, tea was also available and we all gulped down some tea. The 'Majaa aagaya' relishment phrase was back.

'Bongulo chicken'/'Chicken in Bamboo' in making

Riders enjoying downhill after lunch

Gokul whizzing past the climbs

Post lunch pic

Thankfully it was all downhill after the lunch and we reached the day's destination very smoothly after covering a total of 133 km and climbing almost 1500 m.
Maredumilli was just like what I heard. Beautiful and full of forest life.
Some of us stretched a bit while others struggled for the internet (due to no network connectivity and a very slow wifi) to upload the day's activities and analyze the data, and figure out what all segments were covered and if any KOMs were acquired.
It started pouring after we got into the rooms.
After freshening up, most of us headed to the cafeteria, where we got to have some coffee and wifi.

Prabha appreciating the view

There was a stream running right next to our rooms and I glanced it from a distance. Prajwal distributed chocolates to celebrate his achievements.
Later in the night at the same spot, we had dinner and Krish walked us through the next day's route. Though I wasn't a beast while riding, I sure was while eating :D I would fulfill my appetite by ensuring that there is nothing leftover. The food was good too!
Gokul fixed the truing issue on my wheel, and we were all set for the next day's ride from Maredumilli to Narsipatnam. That ride is also supposed to be not that difficult. Should see if that is true :)