[Secretariat]

Originally Posted by srini1785

So it turns out that there are old blokes here who have read the classics.

Yes, there are a few of us (probably more, for , it is a classic).

Originally Posted by srini1785

I would say its one of the best travelogues i have read here. In addition to being a fitness enthusiast, you also seem to be a heritage / history man. Good passions. All the very best.

Thank you. Yes, I am a history buff.

Originally Posted by evil_grin

Your chats with strangers reminds me of a time I went cycling through half of Goa with YHAI. I would stop at people's thatched houses to refill my water bottle. They'd ask if I was being paid to cycle so far. I'd sheepishly reply that I was the one paying. They looked at me as if I were crazy or stupid or both

Ha Ha. That's a funny one. In a deeper sense, is it not that one man's craziness is another man's passion ? After all it's a thin line that separates genius from madness !

Originally Posted by yogeshsom29

Wow, what lucid & easy going narration supplemented with healthy dose of pictures & history.

I am also a cycling buff & could relate to every feeling you described. Seriously floored by your writing & this, certainly is one the best travelogues I have read in sometime.

Thank you. Coming from a cycling expert, that is high praise. Thanks for reading and commenting.

Originally Posted by bugatti

This was indeed a very enjoyable read (with the delightful photos). It's almost like a "heritage" route. True throwback to the past. One wonders if this was a one-off ride you've done? The inspiration, planning and other modalities- do share some details if time permits.

Yes, heritage experience was one of the objectives. I have always done one long road trip per year, but always previously by car. This time wanted to try something different. Have been cycling for a year and a half just for fun and as the fitness improved, the idea took root. It is my first long distance cycling ride.

Originally Posted by bugatti

Having restarted cycling after a 15 year gap, I do enjoy it. Just did a 300km brevet (melkote) last week.

I bow to thee. Anybody who does Brevets is very special.

Originally Posted by bugatti

On a related note, a friend of mine did a tour of malaysia 2 weeks back (his original plan was to cycle from Singapore to Bangalore but he didn't get a thai visa, unfortunately, so had to abandon).

Wow. what an adventure, even just the Malaysian bit. Visas, alas, are the bane of Indians.

[deepfreak15]

Holy Moly! I still can't wrap my head around the fact you cycled so far! I make that trip to Kanyakumari at least once a year albeit "in the fast lane", so to me it is a superhuman feat to pedal that distance . Hats off to you , your spirit and endurance. I can't even imagine cycling 1% of that distance so thanks for taking me along your trip with that wonderful narrative and pictures. And oh , everytime I'm in Kanyakumari all vendors start of in full tilt in Hindi and look really shocked when I tell them I'm a local.

[landcruiser123]

Great trip Secretariat. Kudos! Keep up the riding. It is truly a rewarding activity. This trip is something I should do once in my lifetime. Bicycling is my favorite past time too.

Originally Posted by Secretariat

They only see a blur from the car window. But how does the world look if you slow down ? Really slow down ? To say, 20 kmph

Totally relate to this as bicycling is the ultimate experience compared to driving. Just did a 49 mile rounds trip from Wilder Ranch to Pigeon Point Light House and back. Thoroughly enjoyed every sound, sight, smell, breeze, and fog while bicycling on CA State Route 1. This is the route I took: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Wild...37.1855837!3e1

[Secretariat]

Originally Posted by deepfreak15

I make that trip to Kanyakumari at least once a year albeit "in the fast lane", so to me it is a superhuman feat to pedal that distance . Hats off to you , your spirit and endurance.

Thank you deepfreak. Very special, considering this is coming from my neighbour ! You do the ride in the real fast lane on machines I drool over and so that is superhuman to me

Originally Posted by landcruiser123

Great trip Secretariat. Kudos! Keep up the riding. It is truly a rewarding activity. This trip is something I should do once in my lifetime. Bicycling is my favorite past time too.

Very special coming from a fellow enthusiast. Thank you. I am jealous of the scenic routes in your part of the world. Wishing you wonderful rides and imploring you to write about it so that we can feel even more jealous !

[sgmuser]

This may sound familiar, but, I feel like buying a bike, do just one trip just like this and leave it, if I don't get the taste! But still, it is worth it to cherish those experiences and places.

Great travelogue and great framing of photos. Kudos!

I visited Kanadukathan in 2018 and stayed just one night. I really had a cultural shock! That kind of landscape, houses, streets are unique only to Kanadukathan. Eventhough, I have seen that big house in umpteen movies, this place is an important cultural identity for Tamil Nadu.

[shipnil]

Secretariat, this is a wonderfully narrated travelogue! I learnt so many new things about colonisers of India here than in history books.

You have a nice way of writing which makes a reader feel like he is experiencing it first hand.

Thanks for sharing!!

[ampere]

Beautiful log! Indeco is indeed an awesome place to re-live our moments. Right in the center of the temple history! And not to mention the bicycle!

[Dieselritzer]

Wow! Mods, for this thread pls bump up the stars. Brilliantly written. Have you written more? Please do share a link where we can read more from you. I've always loved cycling. I thank my stars that my schooling was done at Nasik where we cycled everywhere. None of my Mumbaiya friends know anything about cycling.

A few questions:
- how do you judge on the distance you'll cover in a day?
- is this your first cycle? How did it start?
- do you wear any special jacket or something like that so that the cars take your notice? Like a reflective jacket or something like that?

Cannot thank you enough for sharing your experience which is worded so damn well. I'm sharing this link to anyone and everyone. Thank you Sir once again.

[vinya_jag]

Thanks for posting this travelogue. Loved the pace of it. And I didn't want it to end. I was plotting your way, on maps and was hoping that as you went further south, you would come back up North via a different route. So was removing some of the very close points on the map to make way for more. Alas, you didn't cycle back.

I was surprised how vast and different, Tamil Nadu is. All places that I have been to, are mostly temple places, and then Pondicherry. I couldn't have imagined the rural Tamil Nadu as empty as it seemed, compared to those bustling and busy temple places.
By the way, I haven't been to Kanyakumari.

Other point that saddens me is the Cauvery water sharing. I could easily sense a day when most of the Cauvery basin would go dry, and people simply vacate those historical lands. We were driving along the highways from Bangalore to Kodai, and the thing that stuck me most was, how much of this land lives and breathes Cauvery. From all the protests and one sided news that we see in Bangalore, one can never get to grips with the wider scenario. Again, from what I have seen, upstream dams and upstream water usage will dramatically alter the landscape. Be it Vanivilas Sagar dam in Chitradurga, Alamatti in Bagalkot, Tungabhadra in Bellari, they have all sucked the downstream districts. Mekedaatu project could do a similar damage to these vast green lands.

Erratic rains, ever growing Bangalore, over usage of Bangalore ground water; I can only see trouble in the next few years, and overtime, the Inevitable

[Secretariat]

Originally Posted by sgmuser

This may sound familiar, but, I feel like buying a bike, do just one trip just like this and leave it, if I don't get the taste! But still, it is worth it to cherish those experiences and places.

No chance. If you do one trip, you will be hooked and there's absolutely no possibility of leaving it !

I visited Kanadukathan in 2018 and stayed just one night. I really had a cultural shock! That kind of landscape, houses, streets are unique only to Kanadukathan.

Yes Chettinad is different and even inside it, Kanadukathan is unique.

Originally Posted by shipnil

Secretariat, this is a wonderfully narrated travelogue! I learnt so many new things about colonisers of India here than in history books.

Thank you for your kind remarks.

Originally Posted by ampere

Beautiful log! Indeco is indeed an awesome place to re-live our moments. Right in the center of the temple history! And not to mention the bicycle!

Thank you. Indeco is indeed still beautiful but methinks it has slipped over the last few years. But yes, right in the middle of temple country and yet be woken up by the adhan - lovely demonstration of all that is good about India.

Originally Posted by Dieselritzer

Wow! Mods, for this thread pls bump up the stars. Brilliantly written. Have you written more? Please do share a link where we can read more from you.

Honoured and floored. Yes, I am guilty of a few more threads in this forum. Just search accordingly.

A few questions:
- how do you judge on the distance you'll cover in a day?
- is this your first cycle? How did it start?
- do you wear any special jacket or something like that so that the cars take your notice? Like a reflective jacket or something like that?

I have been training for months and came to a position that 100km on flat roads was my comfortable distance. I reduced it to an average of 70 km on this trip to ensure enjoyment more than pain. The max I did on one segment was 90 km. No, it is not my first cycle. I bought a very cheap gearless bike to get over saddle soreness and to make sure that I enjoyed it and then bought this one, exactly as I buy my car - a reasonable competent vehicle, but lower end and I use the money saved to splurge on the actual travel ! A reflective jacket is often useful, but on this trip I didn't use it as visibility was mostly very good, I was cycling in peak visibility hours and my bag covers were a bright orange which served the same purpose.

Originally Posted by vinya_jag

Thanks for posting this travelogue. Loved the pace of it. And I didn't want it to end. I was plotting your way, on maps and was hoping that as you went further south, you would come back up North via a different route. So was removing some of the very close points on the map to make way for more. Alas, you didn't cycle back.

Yeah, I chickened out of riding back. Sorry ! Most bicycle trips tend to be that way for some reason.

Other point that saddens me is the Cauvery water sharing. I could easily sense a day when most of the Cauvery basin would go dry, and people simply vacate those historical lands.

Alas, this is a serious problem everywhere. Many thinkers have predicted that the next wars will be fought over water. I am more hopeful that technological solutions can be found to prevent it from going to that extreme. But, we will have much trouble in the meanwhile - share your worries.

[neil.jericho]

To me, this is one of the all time great threads on this forum. Magnificent read all throughout.

[tilt]

Originally Posted by Secretariat

*SNIP*

Yeah, I chickened out of riding back. Sorry ! Most bicycle trips tend to be that way for some reason.

*SNIP*

So, how did you and your bike get back home?


I thoroughly enjoyed "travelling" virtually with you though I was never a cycling enthusiast. You tell good stories


Cheers

[vermasach]

Thanks Secretariat for penning down this travelogue! It really brings back old memories and makes of think about our cycle tours back in school and college days.

Your writing is really engaging and immersive. It felt like sitting on the carrier of your bicycle and seeing the entire country side, feeling the air in the hair along with you.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading it through and felt younger at heart.

[vishwasvr]

Lovely write up! Makes me want to start cycling too! On a side note, I now understand the pain cyclists face on a daily basis! Cyclists get absolutely no respect by other motorists sadly! Keep it up!

[sramanat]

This is getting bookmarked :-).
I go to Swamimalai with the entire extended family at least once a year, but never knew of the place where you stayed. I will stay there for sure the next time instead of the nondescript Kumbakonam hotels.