Secunderabad to Anathagiri Hills and back

[Sam505]

Hey guys. Last October, I rode to Ananthagiri Hills and back on my Hercules Thriller. I've only recently joined bikeszone, so here's the ride story:

So there I was at NIIT, listening to my friend and classmate talking about her trip to Vikarabad. She had recently attempted the I-Cet that year and had gone with her friend in a bus to check out a college at Vikarabad. She said that the two of them got through all the songs on their mp3, all the chat in the world and still no sign of Vikarabad. That really inspired me. Somewhere deep down a fire was burning and I got this idea of doing that distance on my bicycle. Every alternate day I commute to work on my Hercules Thriller; a distance of about 18 km from neredmet x roads to kukatpally. So I had some cycling fitness, but the maximum distance I’d ever done was 155 km in one day. This would be a bigger challenge than that. I researched on the net and found out that it would be 85 km one way, so that would be a considerable distance to cover in a single day on my ordinary non-geared bicycle.

So I spent the week researching the routes on the net whenever I got the time. I also did some shopping before the trip and stacked up on candy bars, dates, and bread with jam, which I knew I would need to keep my energy up during the trip. Now the route that looked the simplest to me was to go straight on from Kukatpally to BHEL, Patancheru, Sangareddy, Sadasivpet and then a left turn from there would take me straight to Vikarabad. What I didn’t expect though was for it to be a much longer way around.

So Sunday came and I was all ready, snacks packed in my bag along with a few bottles of Tropicana orange and Maaza, bicycle checked up and ready to go, and me full of apprehension and enthusiasm to see what I was really made up of. After having some corn flakes with milk I started off from home at 5:30 a.m. My mom was a bit worried about me, but I wanted to prove a point to everybody I knew that this could be done on a bicycle.

RSo I started. It didn’t even feel like I was capable of doing a big distance. I took the route I always take to get to office, from Trimulgherry to Bowenpally on to Balanagar and then the NH9 that leads to Kukatpally.

It took me barely 45 minutes to reach Kukatpally, but it felt weird not to stop ever there and head straight to office. So I carried on and soon enough I was going past BHEL.

After chugging along some more, trying to maintain the speeds at close to 25 kph I soon reached the Patancheru toll booth, which is around 16 km from Kukatpally.

Once out of Patancheru, the roads were less trafficked and there were beautiful green fields on either side. The surface of the road was very good indeed.

I soon reached a small locality called Isnapuram where I took a break to have some snacks and drink some juice. Those high energy candy bars, as I had thought, had an instant effect on my blood glucose and gave me the energy to keep going, but it was kind of sickening to keep having that sweet stuff every hour or so.

So after getting recharged I set out pedaling faster than before and the smooth roads helped me push the speed up without expending too much effort. I was doing pretty well, time wise. I had estimated that my average speed may drop below 20 kph, but I found I was able to easily maintain a much higher average speed than that.

The roads beyond Isnapuram were really a dream. Smooth tarmac all the way and the Thriller just glided over them. Maintaining 25 kph was no problem on these roads. The greenery on either side and the fresh morning air really gave me an extraordinary kind of energy and I was far from tired or maybe it was the kick of all those 5-star bars. I just kept pushing and pushing.

Before I realized it I was already close to Sadasivpet. I don’t even remember when I passed Sangareddy. That was the point where I needed to take a turn according to Google Earth. I stopped at a Reliance A1 pump and asked the man sitting inside about the directions to Vikarabad from Sadasivpet. He was helpful, but what he said made me gasp. He said Vikarabad was another 45 km from Sadasivpet. I had not expected that. I was thinking in my mind if I was up to it.

So I made the turn just beyond Sadasivpet police station and I was en route to Vikarabad. The first sign board I saw read “Vikarabad 44 km”. Well it was 8:30 a.m. and I had covered 68 kms already. So preparing myself for quite a long ride ahead of me I pedaled on. This is where the run of dream roads ended. The surface was uneven, the road was narrow, and there were a few slopes that extended for half a kilometer at times. Soon, I was cycling by a pond on my left. I just had to stop for a few pictures and a well deserved snack bar and juice.

So after the break I pushed off again. Speeds were dropping. On the highway I was doing a comfortable 25-27 kmph. Now I was struggling to maintain 20-22 kmph. The surface was becoming quite treacherous, but once I found my rhythm I could keep going at that speed. I made sure to stop every 1 hour 15 minutes for some water and 5-star candy bar.

While going towards Vikarabad I encountered numerous patches on the road where farmers had just laid out their crops over the entire road. I tried my best to be courteous and go off the road to avoid them, but of course cars and bikes could not do the same. It was after a while that I realized that they wanted vehicles to go over those crops in order to grind them. They looked especially happy when an Ashok Leyland RTC bus would come through and grind the crops totally.

Once I reached Vikarabad, first thing I did was buy some mineral water. I was pretty thirsty. Then I asked for directions to Ananthgiri. As I had read earlier, it would be another 6 kms from there and that’s how much it turned out to be.

Finally at around 11 a.m., I reached the place. The first thought in my mind when I looked at the entrance was “What, that’s it?” I had expected some grand entrance to the foot of some nice hills. Unfortunately, I discovered that I was already at the top and the only way to go was down. So I went down the several steps

By 11.45 a.m. I had looked around pretty much everywhere. It turned out to be rather small. So then I headed back up to the parking lot. I quickly downed some more 5 star and Maaza and set off again. While going back when I tried to turn left on to the road that had brought me up there, a cop stopped me. He was stationed there to stop everybody from taking that turn because that road was actually a one way. To exit Ananthgiri you need to go straight and negotiate the downhill. The cop was very suspicious. He would not let me go. He kept asking me why I had come all the way out there on a bicycle. He looked at me very suspiciously when I said I live in Secunderabad, have a job, and a family. I definitely think he thought me to be a terrorist. Anyway, after explaining to him that I like cycling and that I am not crazy I asked him the way to get back to Hyderabad. The way he explained the route to me sounded simpler than the way people at my office had explained to me. It was easy. I just had to take a right from Vikarabad on towards Himayat Sagar Road and then continue straight to Moinabad, Chevella, Langar House and then Mehdipatnam. He advised me not to go downhill, that it was very dangerous. I was looking forward to this downhill. When I hit the first slope of the downhill I had butterflies in my stomach. It was a steep decline and it sent my Thriller rushing forward. I hit a max speed of 58.7 kph on the downhill. What was even more fun was braking down to 40 kph taking the right hander and then a left hander. It reminded me of Initial D and how Takumi would drift his Hachi Roku through those turns. The cars ahead of me were being very cautious about it and were slowing down more than I did. Anyway, after those two bends the road leveled out and we were doing boring straight roads again. That downhill was the best part of the trip for me. So I turned right on to Himayat Sagar Road from Vikarabad and saw Hyderabad was another 76 kms from there. Again, the roads here were uneven, so speeds were low. I was averaging around 21-22 kmph for the most part. Out on the open highway after Moinabad I was having a bit of difficulty with head wind and whenever a truck would pass by at 60+ the gush of wind would literally push me back.

On the left was a water body, which I didn’t know anything about. I could not make out if it was part of a river or a lake or a pond. It just made for a nice view.

Meanwhile, I was starting to get quite tired. With 40 kms left to Hyderabad my knee started hurting quite a bit. Every hour that I would stop for a break my knee would ache when I got down from the bike. My mind told me, “This is the real deal. This is what life is about, challenging yourself and dealing with the difficulties.” The other side of my mind told the wise guy side to shut the hell up while I cooled off with some water and re energized with some dates.

From there on it was pretty straightforward riding without the worry of getting lost. I just wondered if I could make it back. I was starting to feel pretty low on energy. Each deep breath pained my chest. I realized I had pushed myself more than ever before this time.

With 20 kms remaining I started to feel a little better. I guess that was because the roads were smoothening out a bit, so I could transmit the power to the wheels without exerting too much. There was a scary moment when one of those district-run buses nearly hit me. The driver was swerving all over the road and even though I was on the extreme left he nearly hit me. My ears alerted me in advance and I just swerved in time to see the gigantic front end of an Ashok Leyland miss me by inches.

Finally, I went past Chilkur temple and reached the Outer Ring Road. Some helpful cops pointed me in the right direction and I was on my way to Langar House road, which was not very far. Then came Mehdipatnam where some auto drivers told me about the way to get to Banjara hills. At this moment I realized I had not taken my house key. So I called up my mom who works in and around the Banjara Hills area as a business manager for an apparel brand and asked for her key. So I was to meet her at Hyderabad Central. I reached Central pretty beat and wanting nothing more than my cozy bed at home. My mom said she could not believe I had cycled so much that day. So I recharged my batteries with some boiled corn and then headed back home after thanking my mom. On the way back I stopped at Lal Bazaar to talk to my bicycle guy. He had asked me to meet him once if I could complete the trip successfully. He was in awe of the distance I had covered because the speedo was already showing 203.5 kms at that point. So by the time I got back home at Neredmet x roads, it was 5:05 p.m. I had cycled a total of 206 kms that day. Mission accomplished and all I could think of was getting a well-deserved 12 hours of sleep.

[Sam505]

http://picasaweb.google.co.in/113954322 ... directlink

[sagarshankar]

Nice ride story

[onionion]

Nice ride Brother. But please never ever take that trip on NH9.

I live in Bidar about 120 odd kms from Hyd but hardly anybody from here thinks it wise to venture on two wheeler leave alone a bicycle especially in the morning hours with those travel buses heading into the town(a dead tired driver having driven all night staring at those headlights). Its one of the most dangerous roads in the country.

Sorry to sound so preachy but seriously think passion is not worth the risk on NH9. And were you without a helmet? There should be much better safe routes to chart out from Hyd. Don't get me wrong but its never your fault. Its always the other guy but we end up paying huge price.

Would like to know where your sister got that digital speedo in Hyd and how much did it cost her?

[khushi]

Really nice story and very well described..with the essential details..and keeping its interesting

[wannabe cyclist]

200km on a single speed MTB is a wonderful effort, Sam. BTW, The cyclocomputer should be facing you
--Ram

[cryptic_abbreviator]

Hey guys. Last October, I rode to Ananthagiri Hills and back on my Hercules Thriller. I've only recently joined bikeszone, so here's the ride story:
On the way back I stopped at Lal Bazaar to talk to my bicycle guy. He had asked me to meet him once if I could complete the trip successfully

Are you doing the Sagar Ride ?

BTW which LBS in Lal Bazar ?

ciao
gr

[bikeyvenky]

Hey Sam.. 200km on that bike? Its not about the bike after all! Good one. Keep riding

[Sam505]

@Ram: Actually the handlebar is not straight on this bike, so I have a problem setting up the speedo there. I find that place the most convenient. It sits snugly over there.

@GR: Actually I have not checked up about the sagar ride. Will do so now. My LBS in Lal Bazar is G. Bala Rao Cycles. Been going to him for nearly 10 years now.

@venky: Thanks. Appreciate it

[vkalia]

Excellent ride, Sam - big respect for a very impressive ride.

[deepakvrao]

+1. A distance I dont even want to think about. Fantastic achievement and nice report.

[ameetbhide]

Congratulations on a great ride Sam. Very well written.

[Sam505]

Thank you all for the encouraging words. Really appreciate it.

@onionion: Hey I totally understand why you're advising me against riding on NH9. I've been commuting to Kukatpally for many years now and I've seen some ghastly accidents. However, the risk I took on this ride pales in comparison to the risks some of the other people here have taken on their rides. There is a person who rode from Bangalore to Kurnool in 2 days. On the first day he cycled 250 km and was riding on the highway till 12 at night. And another person rode from Bangalore to Chennai and many others who have taken quite a bit of risk, but in the end it was all worth it because there is little part in all of us that wants to do something out of the ordinary, something that we don't do all the time. So I say, one should take a few risks and do such things before they grow old and regret that their life was just too plain and boring.

And yes I was wearing a helmet, just didn't include it in the pictures actually.

About the cyclocomputer, actually that is the Sigma DTS 1106. I am not sure it is available in Hyderabad. My sister picked it up from a bike store in France. However, you can get other Sigma cyclocomputers from The Bike Affair. Here's the link:

http://www.thebikeaffair.com/Accessorie ... ocomputers

Cheers