Morning ride to Bannerghatta

Ride date: 01.12.2007

The Loop: - Silk Board Junction – IIMB – Bannerghatta – Anekal & back
Start time: - 5:45 a.m. Finish time: - 10:00 a.m.
Distance: - 50 to 55 kms

My mobile wriggles on my bed. It was Harsha. “Hey! Awake?”, it reads. I call him back to be told that he is having a throat infection and Manohar is down with flu. Harsha asked us to go ahead with the weekend morning ride. I was off from my home at 5:30 a.m. and I new that I am going to be late. Thoughts….. “Other fellow bikers will be waiting for me at our meeting point “Mantri Elite”, in cold”. But when I reached there, I found none. Stumped, I pull my mobile which had already 3 missed calls. All were from Chandru and when I called him, he said ‘”I am 10 mins ahead from the meeting point, near St. John Academy (I had no clue where it was), pedaling alone. I decided to catch up with him, anyway. Chandru was waiting near a tea shop and a Wow was written over his face, when he saw the Trek. After exchanging greetings, we decided to call Sandeep. Sandeep, picked the call and said we was near MICO, Adugodi. Phew!! Mate, we are going ahead, catch us at Bannerghatta, was our message to him. No problems, I will catch you there…Sandeep replied…

Our next stop was to see the sunrise, an orange ball was peeping through the trees and the moment was worth freezing. Pedaling ahead, we were smelling a nice scent in the air. Puzzled, by the scent and guessing what it could be, we were turning the pedals and in unison we said to each other… ahhh, Ecalyptus smell! Yes, hundreds of trees were lined up screaming… “Welcome to Bannerghatta”. The sign board after a few yards read Bannerghatta National Part – 11 kms. But, that should be wrong… I guess it would be only 7 kms or so. We stopped there for a photo shoot and this was the outcome.

[sunrise ; Ecalyptus trees enroute Bannerghatta]

[Trek 4300D, my bike ; Ecalyptus tree]

Pedaling further we reached Bannerghatta National Park… Chandru asked, “What shall we do? Go inside or…. ? I said.. lets keep going… this left road seems good. It was Anekal Road and on this road we had some stunning views of the morning sun piercing the trees and the misty morning turning magical…. Shoot photos… as much as you can… till Sandeep arrives.

[Now thats what we call a milkman cycle ; Chadru disappearing in the mist]

[Zero traffic on Anekal Road ; Misty morning near Bannerghatta]

[Trek on Tarmac ; Sunlight piercing the tree]

Sandeep arrived around 7:30 a.m. and together we pedaled back to Bannerghatta National Park. It was time to answer the tummy and we had some yummy ‘mega-size’ idlis in a small shop. I have never seen such huge idlis, they were like Discs which are thrown in track and field events. Next, we had some Puliyogare…. 1 round…. 2 round…

[Chandru, cycling ; Sandeep arrives at 7:30 near Anekal]

We started pedaling towards Bangalore but the traffic was increasing slowly….by the time we entered the city limits at Meenakshi temple…. there was too much of traffic, dust and honking and people were restlessly revving up their engines and we looked like jokers on road. The mob was amused with my cycling outfit and before they could realize what this outfit meant, I would utilize the dropping speed of their vehicle and sneak through. Nevertheless, they will chase me down and stare on my face. Hmmm…. That’s a strange situation…you can only spare a smile at that juncture.

We stopped at a bus stop, which was abandoned and decided to give shape to the idea of night camping at Hoskote. Sandeep, gave a rough idea of “How a three-men tent looked liked” and how it would be erected. Sandeep, said it’s a low cost, basic, primary, beginners tent. With all those adjectives, what he meant was “Guys, do not have high flying hopes of a superb tent, all you will get is a shade above your head.” Blankets, torch, candles and of course snacks were some items which we intent to carry. Let see How the camping adventure unfurls today evening.