TFN Training Ride #4 : Nandi Hills X 2!

A lot of riders started from Hebbal around 6:30. Joshine and I left from Kgla/Sarjapura Road respectively at 5:20 to get there in time, and we did.

Eventually, the fragmented groups of riders were Ram, Alex, Joshine, Sharath, Saurabh, I and another guy on a roadbike (sorry - forgot the same). Nupur had driven upto Nandi's base and was riding up.

It was good going today and there were few stops - the first being for breakfast just before the airport turn, and the next a short one at Nandi base. Joshine climbed with no breaks, and I took 2. Sharath had a fall and aborted the ascent a a little before the top - and Saurabh did the last 3 kms again while we got to the top :) Sriram, who was running today - met him and Nupur on their way down - they helped Sharath out.

Flew back down - and there was a nice little gathering of all riders there, whom Vasu had joined too - he rode nonstop from Kgla to Nandi base!

Joshine and I decided to try the climb again, while the others left for Bangalore. The sun was nice and bright and hot by now. This time I remembered to lockout the suspension, but, in hindsight, should've eaten before we left. Stopped after 5+ kms once, and in another km and a half, felt a bit of loss of control. Stopped for a longish break, and realized I needed food. Finished the ride with superhuman will :) and immediately announced my alimentary intentions to Joshine, who'd again done it without a break - some willpower the girl's got!

Numerous biscuits, popcorn, juice, cucumber and chikki bites later, we started back. The downhill, as always, made it all worth it :)

Refilled water and started back for Bangalore in terrible heat. That sapped us of energy real quick - especially on the main highway. By the time we crossed the airport trumpet exchange, the consensus was to break for lunch, and wait it out till the sun was less harsh. We attacked the food with relish - tho I'm sure it wasn't the best around ;)

The heat was less of an issue when we started again, but it was slow and easy going from thereon. We were tired, clearly, though still pushing hard on descents. Eventually Hebbal came and the rush of the city traffic helped in a way. Did Hebbal - Sarjapura road in an hour! bid adieu to Joshine at viveknagar and rode slowly home, which I got to by 6:15.

The speedo showed about 156.5, but given that at Nandi top it wat 72, and the extra climb would have been 16-17 kms, I figure I actually managed 160! The speedo does stop working intermittently, and is a trifle pessimistic anyhow. In any case, its my century ride, 160 or not ;)

Feel much more ready for TFN, after this one. Learnt how to manage the heat a bit - gotta drink more often, take breaks evert 10-15 kms. The knees are just fine, though the shoulders need some more work. And I should probably get the cycling shorts anyhow....

Fitness Advice and Tests @ Manipal

919 kms, eh ? Sure, some of the TFN participants are seasoned riders, and many have done 100+ rides numerous times. Even so, doing such distances across mountain terrain day after day is not something that one's body usually takes to kindly.

It was in this context that Dr. Chandra, the doctor of sports medicine at the Manipal Hospital, the official Medical Assistance Partner for the TFN, had organized a session on advice related to nutrition and fitness for the participants today.

About 14 participants attended the session today. It was great to meet fellow participants, many of them with impressive histories.

The first session was on nutrition - conducted by Dr.Jyothi Prasad.

Nutrition (We start with the Cake Festival!)

Dr. Jyothi started off with a gem of an analogy about nutrition for endurance sports - paraphrasing here - "You are like a sports car, you won't go far on and empty tank or do too well on cheap fuel". So eat well, eat often and rehydrate all the time.

The total energy expended must be replenished, and this mostly comes from carbs, proteins and fats, and fluids and salts lost must be accounted for as well. While the exact amount of calories expended varies a lot per person and with effort, the replenishment should follow a 70% carbs, 20% proteins and 10% fats guideline.

- about 7-10g of fat per Kg per day
- about 1.5-2g of proteins per Kg per day

The average Indian meal has enough carbs to take care of your needs, and more often than not you do not need supplements of any form.

Its a good idea to stack up on carbs the night before a long ride, and unless you have breakfast 3 hours before the ride begins, go with a not-heavy breakfast and keep munching on quick release carbs - sugars, juices, energy bars - every now and then.

Hydration is of paramount importance to avoid fatigue and keep performance levels up throughout the ride. Drink 400-600ml before you start, and 150-300ml every 15Fitness-20 minutes as you ride. Its important to keep repleneshing salts as well, so an electrolyte (Electral/Gatorade or even water with some salt and sugar) will do much better than plain water. Include salt rich snacks as well.

Biscuits, chikki, bananas found pretty much everywhere make for good snacks. Its important to eat regularly. Its also important to replenish carbs, fluids, salt after the ride, so you're all set for the next day as well!

Fitness

Dr. Chandra has deep experience with sports medicine, and was with Machester United for a while as well!

We were initially introduced to the pre-ride issues - cycle fit techniques, riding positions, things to watch out for.

Its important to get the saddle height correct. One method discussed was

distance of crank to top of seat = 0.88 x inseam height of barefoot rider

The correct fore-aft position of the seat :

Sit on the bike, with both pedals parallel to the ground. In riding position, a plumb line dropped from the edge of the knee should ideally pass through the axis of the pedal. Else you're putting too much pressure on the knee.

He also discussed the muscles that get used most while riding, and training them well for achieving symmetry and balance in effort during the ride. The gluteus - buttock - muscles are the ones that provide maximum strength to the pedalling motion. These were the ones we all got tested later as well.

The importance of chained kinetics and hence strengthening the other 'helper' muscles as well was also highlighted. Doc especially pointed out the impact of weak scapula - the muscles between the shoulders - that can cause neck aches and overall fatigue and imbalance.

On the Ride

Dr. Chandra assured us that the medical team travelling along with the riders would be able to handle all aches, pains, strains and cramps, and keep the riders going. There's also Magesh - who will be available for specialist sports massages as needed - for peace of mind and muscle!

He did ask the riders to lookout for out-of-the-ordinary symptoms inclusing excessive sweating, dizziness, loss of control lasting a few tens of seconds, numbness, and rest, and seek attention. A process for keeping emergency contacts handy, and clearly outlining the name, location, nature of the problem, as well as getting a clear acknowledgement from the person at the other end, was also spelled out.

We were asked to not lose focus on recovery after the rides - stretching, resting with elevated legs, a decent massage, icing sone properly were some techniques described. Proper food and even psychological rejuventation are part of the recovery process itself, as is a good night's sleep!

We then got our blood grouping done, and Ravi kept all the cards. A test to gauge the strength and balance of our buttock muscles was also done, and I will completely avoid getting into the details of the results of my specific readings here for evident reasons :)

We had a very informative session, and the confidence it inspired in us about being is safe, experienced hands and having acceess to excellent medical facilities will surely help in a much more fun ride.

Thanks Doc, thanks Manipal and thanks Ravi and the TFN organizers!

Look forward to a terriffic ride.

How many riders....

Have been trying to collect details about how many people ride to work etc in Bangalore.

Now that the numbers of regular commuters who've responded has hit 50, sharing - the surveys still open and hope to see the numbers hit 100+

From Blogger Pictures

The ride without a because

Why am I riding the TFN ?

I'm a 34 year old desk-bound guy who's hardly gotten any exercise in a decade. I'm certainly not the athletic kinds, reasonably sedentary, in fact. I've just started cycling only a few months ago. My legs aren't that strong, and my knees howled in protest on the first long ride a couple of weeks ago. My parents will be in town, and I have a wife and kids who would have ideally joined me in a car on a trip to beautiful places like this.

Why does anyone ride ? Especially such a ride ?

I dunno - maybe its the idea of being up in the mountains with the December chill getting deep into your bones - with the only internal combustion happening inside your cells trying to counter the temperatures. Maybe its the silence of the wind whistling past your ears as you wheeeeeeee! down a slope. Perhaps its an escapist dream one wants to live for a few days, where all that matters is getting to the next milestone, or round the next bend. The company of like minded people to share stories with, and learn from, is surely part of the deal.

Is it the likely battle with ones own self as one struggles up the Ooty switchbacks, or when the muscles scream for rest ? About crossing personal barriers, overcoming demons ? Is it the adrenaline rush of the long distances in the most fun terrain around these parts ? Or the fear of the rapidly increasing numbers on the right hand side of columns in forms which say "age:", and a rush to do something before that number gets too big ?

What ?

Its a beautful place, and tough climbs, cool fresh air, great coffee, fun company. All of that. I could analyse this forever and ever. But at the end of the day, whats true is that I just want to do this ride. Perhaps I'll find the answer along the way, perhaps not. Perhaps I'll not even finish the legs I plan to do.

But - I'll have tried to do what I wanted to. Maybe thats the big one .....


C'y'all on the Tour of the Nilgiris.

Secure! Sanitize! Lockdown!

What is this ? The 21st century ? One might have predicted the obsolescence of armed forces as we knew them around WWII by now. Nopes, now target/hostiles/rdx etc are part of everyday vocabulary. Common citizens, and even kids, are familiar with the tools and methods of terrorism, and counter-terrorism, and counter-counter-insurgency, and warfare.

Whats wrong with the human race ? Our grey matter seems to manage way more negative than positive. I cannot understand for the life of me how that little mass of tissue inside the cranium can generate and carry around so much hatred - towards something or someone, that you can merrily destroy whatever crosses your path. Pretty effed up.

And the reaction now is equally scary. Yeah its necessary, but its already terrible to get frisked, have your bags checked at airports, and at malls, and for movies, and perhaps the neighbourhood grocer next. Its stressful, and a little irritating, and the lack of trust everyone has of everyone else slowly starts eating you from within.

Sure its required, and the enemy has forced it upon us, but see, the enemy is already winning.

Of course, its dumb to not take these precautions - after all every life is worth saving at whatever cost.

Is it ? Sure, sounds correct. But I don't really know upto what extent. The loss of innocence, the militarization of civilization, the omniscience of suspicion and "security-checks" - its all depressing. Stick to your friends, stay at home, retire to a small nondescript hamlet which is hopefully not a "potential target" - these seem to be the options.

Freedom ?

Used to love the carefreeness I've always associated with the word. I see it going, slowly.

At the same time, we claim to work towards freedom for those who have it not, and are chained by a variety of means. We're inventing a few ourselves now. New bottle, similar wine.

Damn the terrorists. Damn the fear. Almost damn the human brain.

Sorry, felt like a little rant this morning.

Update:

Now that I got that out of my system - the thought occurs that hard policing - including the heavy duty frisking and metal detectors and checks are probably the least effective methods of countering those seeking to strike terror. I cannot imagine the metal detectors at Forum, for instance, being of much use against someone determined to destroy lives and property.

The oft repeated "better intelligence" and "co-ordination" are probably less visible and more effective methods that avoid keeping the "terror" alive.

Though, given the complexity and size of the country, a few will slip the fingers. Oh well....

Critical Mass Poster Invite

Bike/Pedestrian primary city ?

The Dutch have done it a long time ago - turned against the automobile for commutes inside and immediately around the city. There are a lot many more who're either bike-friendly already, or waking up to it.

A lot many of us consider the coming decades to be India's, and Bangalore's surely one of the "smarter" and more cosmopolitan, forward thinking cities here.

Can we do it ?

What its got going for it ?

• A lot many people do live close to their workplaces - within 10-12kms
• Bangalore does have slopes - but nothing major
• Lovely weather most of the year - through the monsoon I got caught in the rain maybe thrice

What may it change ?

• Make it tougher/more expensive to drive - actively discourage bigger vehicles
• Might "split" the urban sprawl into smaller, more self contained centres. This will be a major help in managing them better as well. The various "towns" can be connected primarily using decent public transport which is again bike friendly.
• Fewer traffic related deaths, lesser pollution, lesser need to chop trees, expand roads and the like - lesser money spent better on public transport, a few arterial roads etc.

To me, the Dutch model for growth/urbanization beats the American Suburban sprawl model hands down. Its the way forward for civilization - and while this might seem like a utopian dream, its feasibility has been proven already, and "but-we're-Indians" is the only myth that needs busting.

Some cyclists are trying to do that a little this Fri - first ever Critical Mass ride in Bangalore. The plan is to ride in a single line (i.e one cyclist behind the other) and draw attention to the fact there there are people who cycle on the roads and that other people using the road should know about us and provide us
equal opportunity to use the roads.

Just a simple peaceful ride!

Cycle in a single file
No breaking red lights
No cussing
No arguing with motorists
Just a quiet ride. And it'll be fun.

I'm hoping we turn the IC-engine tide and pedal into a better city in a decade or so. Mere hope ? Who knows. I was really hoping the government would NOT drop fuel prices....

Bike To Work Basics

Bike To Work Book Free Chapters

It talks about some common anxieties, issues and myths. Good read if you're still wondering. If we can get 5% of Bangalore officegoers on bikes, it'll have done a tremendous lot for the city, and the riders as well.

My first century ride. Plus Nandi Hills!

Had planned a 90ish kms Nandi Hills ride, and as it turned out, did the full tour-day-distance! 145kms - mostly thanks to the extremely motivating Vasu, and never-say-die-first-long-distancer-Joshine. Joshine and I were the TFN aspirants on the ride, while Vasu was the guy who looked like he could actually do it easily :)

The first-cut-plan was to take a ride with Rajat upto CCD before the airport turnoff - but he had to pullout because of some personal reasons. Vasu called on Fri night and said he'd join as well.

Got home at 1am, caught some sleep and was off at 6 - Joshine got there too and we talked to a few BMTC guys who refused to entertain bikes. Vasu had gotten home at 3 - and asked us to carry on towards Hebbal when I called him. We left Koramangala around 6:50am

There was some pain below my left knee as we started, and stayed for a while but disappeared by the time we crossed Hebbal - we were doing decent time and I even did a burst or two of pushing hard. It rained a bit en-route, and we stopped for water + a snack a little before the airport turn. Vasu caught up with us and we pushed along. Iggy and Rushi crossed us around Devanahalli - apprently after 3 ascents up Nandi Hills! Devanahalli to the turn towards NH is a persistent gradual climb and it took all my might to maintain 14kmph on that. Ant other short break.

Just before the turn at the end of the straight - saw a guy with a compressor, and given the huge rolling resistance i was sensing and attributing to crosswinds - decided to check on tyre pressure anyhow. Front:30 - Rear:35!!! Arrgghhhh. Filled them up to 55-60 (not a very sure gauge I guess) and the improvement was immediate!

Stopped at the Nandi Hills base for eats - bun + tea + biscuits + tea + chips + chikki + water - and did a lot many stretches - answered questions about the bike - and about 20 mins later Joshine and Vasu got there. Another tea.

Felt much better stuffed with all the sugar, salt, water and air in the tubes. Started the climb with a fair bit of anxiety. Vasu provided ample tips on gear selection, planned breaks and the like.

My focus - throughout the ride - was on maintaining cadence as long as I could - and thats what I was focusing on the ascent as well - did that peacefully (gears:1x2/3, 7-10kmph) for the first 3 kms - took a break - carried on for another 3 in similar fashion, then hit the hairpins. The first couple were a disaster - went to 1x1 and was looking for the next lower gear by the end of the slope after the bend :) Vasu suggested moving to the next higher gear on the front (2x2/3) and standing up - pushing hard just around the bend and settling down to the lower gears imdtly after - that helped and went all the way up - with some effort tho. Nandi was in the clouds, and their was a fair smattering of rain to keep things cool.

It must routine for a lot of you guys, but I went "woooooooo..." when I reached the top :)

The downhill - in heavier rain for part of it - was a 35-44kmph affair all the way with the v-brakes doing a fairly decent job! Vasu timed himself and was actually pedalling hard as well - 11.something minutes from the ticketed gate to the base!

Vasu suggested a smaller road to Doddaballapur turning right from the base - we took that - lovely, scenic, lesser traffic. Lunch at D-b-pur was egg+rice/chapati as you wished.

The limbs were beginning to tire a bit - we hit the century a few kms along on the road to yelahanka - and average speeds dropped quite a bit. Joshine was in bad shape but determined nevertheless, and Vasu's egging, and lighthearted banter to keep us distracted, made life easier :) We got to Yelahanka eventually, and from there the rush of city traffic enveloped us, and soon we were cutting/dicing through the urban commuter mess.

Got home at nearly 8:15 - more than 14 hrs after I'd started, 13+ hrs of the actual ride and 8:40 on the saddle! 145kms - unthinkable in the morning but achieved by the evening...felt real good. Especially including the Nandi ascent and rain-riding. And the legs/knees didn't feel half as bad as after my earlier two long distance rides. Slept like a log, though each turn was a sloow painful process.

Am feeling a lot more confident about the TFN stages I'm doing - at least the first day. Getting up in some sort of shape and doing the Ooty climb on day 2 is totally another cup of tea. Raring to go, nevertheless...

Realty : Its beginning to slide ?

Slowdown: DLF slashes rates for its maiden Bangalore project - Corporate News - livemint.com

I'd kinda thought it would be in October, and sure, there were signs, but now it seems to have kicked in formally, with the biggest guys caving in as well!

Inspiration ?

My knee hurts a bit. Thank god i have a knee to hurt. Watch the video - it shut my knee up for some time at least. Awe inspiring stuff!



"Life is better than worrying about a leg, y'know...."

TFN Training Ride #2

Route:

Redwoods-ECity-Gottigere-Bannerghata NP-Jigani-Anekal-Chandapura Circle - Vakil Satellite Township - left to Huskur - Hosa Road - Sarjapura Road - Redwoods (about 77kms in all)

Started in the rain - left knee hurt by E-City already. Carried on with an eye of returning after meeting guys at Gottigere - carried on to the NP anyway - and then to Jigani.

Knee felt much worse between Jigani-Anekal and I dropped pace. A few stretches, slow riding and grimacing helped manage it.

Abhi and Ram took off to Pearl Valley while Jas and I went towards Hosur Road - walked a little in between, and felt better after some rest and tea/cake - rode much better after the Chandapura crossing and only after a bit of off-roading did I feel a huge stab in the knee, completely stopped, walked a little, and then the knee felt much better than it had all morning! The right knee - probably overloaded through the ride - ached a little by now - but an easy few kms saw me home.

Updated the log with takeaways etc.


Feel unsure about the TFN even now - but the last few kms felt better and gave me some hope.

Training Calendar

Suggestions for changes welcome.

Log/tips captured here.

Doc Rajat's Advice for TFN

Doc Rajat of Manipal Cure &Care helped out with some advice about training for the TFN. A lot of the audio below is unclear - have typed out a rough transcript below as well.






S-Sameer
R-Ravi
Doc-Doc Rajat

S:Should we start ?
R:yup!
S:...Just did 70km last sun - had done about max 40 before that
What happened was i felt some pain around the lower part of my knee
Its kind of disappeared over the last couple of days - I just kept riding
I'm just wondering what i did wrong and how one can recover from this.

Doc: As u said 40 is the longest you rode and thats really important because you doubled it right away.
Thats incorrect when you talk about endurance - running/cycling - what we recommend is 10% increases - because ur body needs to adapt - that was the big issue here.
Whatever you're complaining about - the layman bit - i think it is probably ITB - (?) - it happens suddenly - its like a sharp pain around there - each step that you take

S: It was happening only when i was cranking, or climbing stairs

Doc: Exactly - that usually happens amongst cyclists/runners - why it happens is as u increase ur inc ir mileage too much too soon - ur musculature is not right - maybe muscular imbalance problem - the stretching is not there - in cycling its not an issue but for runners the shoes may be wrong - it may seem all fine over short distances - it takes the strain - but its the distance that you do at one go - should not be more than 10% - mileage growth in a week, again, should not be more than 10%
Having said that, whatever your distance target is for the race - I would say do not test it right away - build it up over 2/3 weeks - basically the issue we have is you have around 5 weeks - and you need to taper off as well - its not like till the 5th week you have to stretch it - you have to go up and come down - so don't do too much - even you've done 70% of the distance you're fine

More than the distance its how much time you spend onthe bike.

S:And abt nutrition - have read we're supposed to eat 300 cal/hr

Doc: Professional Sports ppl more than amateurs - they're always looking for power gel, power bars - most of us are comfortable with natural - our normal diet so thats something you should try out beforehand so you get used to it - its something you've never taken - so while on the ride don't take it for the first time - it reacts.

But the bars are good - the way they're designed is they give you an immediate kick of carbohydrate or sugar...

S:Are there any indigenous foods so you don't have to carry everything, food store locally

Doc:They're great - this is not medical but as a runner - but don't bank on local stores etc - always have it in ur car or whatever vehicles supporting you - in the whole run dont depend on local availability - its better to cater to urself - not necessarily on you - but ...

S:In terms of salt intake - how do you really manage - is food enough ?

Doc:yes and no -

so if you're not cycling very quick - and have been cycling for a long time - its ok. More than plain water - i'd suggest having solvent sugar in it - much better than plain - try to have water with glucose it it - normal glucon-D - don't have too much plain water - too many people wait till they're very thirsty - and drink 1/2 or 1 litre at one shot.

....

In sports its very rare for people to have dehydration - its more common to have over-hydration.

----------------------------------------------------

rough guidelines:
About 250ml everyhour
Drink regularly - small sips

The last part is about what issues to look out for when starting to train for something like this after relative inactivity. Essentially some free consultation :)

TFN - Route details

Here are the stages I've committed to - 145 kms from Madikeri-Sultan Battery, with most of the climb at the end - the dark unknown zone so far as my riding abilities are concerned :)

Day 2 of my ride is shorter, but a major ascent -

Day 3, optional - is "in Ooty" itself - either a rest day or a ride to Dodda Betta, which I think is about 15 odd kms one way, though a major climb.

Right now it all looks impossible :) If I do not hit 120kms soon.......

Tour of Nilgiris Signup!

Did something my logical part had shot down after lots of deliberation - registered for days 3,4,5 of this - flyer below:

Will be posting training log updates here - starting with todays 68.8 km ride to Chikka Tirupati and back which has made me realize a lot of things I need to overcome before I consider myself capable of doing the 3 days I plan to.

Jampot TOIed

TOI recently did a story on Jamshedpur - of course with a Bollywood twist and all that. Its pretty much a trip down Nostalgic Alley, though a very "Northern Town" view of it :)

Given how permanently-smitten all us Jamshedpur folks are with where we came from - I'm not surprised the Bollywood gang has a reputation for going on-and-on-and-on about it in their circles as well.

Nice read, if you're from Jsr - especially Loyola or Dabba ( :D ok DBMS). For the rest of you out there, you should visit the place once if you're around there. But then its not so much a visitors' haven as the ideal place to grow up in.

Priorities, and the Matrix

What dictates our lives. How cool is that!

Mobile Greetings for your friends

Bunch of upgrades to Zook.

• Find the alert you want to set. Try “alerts movies INOX bangalore” or “alerts electronics deals“ - essentially syntax independent after the “alerts ….” - find and set the deals/movies/events you want to follow, not the “best whatever” somebody else puts and pushes to you.
• Greetings: Find a birthday/diwali/eid, etc, SMS forward, and set it up for the appropriate day as a mobile greeting! We’ll make sure its delivered on the right day and tell your friend you remembered them on the special day.
• Web Search: We’ve integrated web search results on Zook - just in case the data isn’t there, or good enough right away. Over time, we’ll try pulling information out of that too so you don’t have to grapple with links and more links and more links….

Keep Zook.in!

Why Ride

This one talks about how everyone benefits from cycling - everyone around too that is!

A little too positive, but yeah, if enough cars get off Sarjapura Road, everyone will benefit.