– Chasing Clouds, Oct 2022
Chasing anything has its consequences, a huge build-up to the exotic Meghalaya finally materialized on Oct 10th. Beautiful clean scenery and rain joined us. We are staying in Sohra (as Cherrapunjee is called in the local language) – the place with the highest rainfall in the world.
Day 1
After a long journey from Hyderabad, we finished assembling all 23 bikes by 1 a.m. The first day was acclimatization and was short. We had a short morning Trek planned. However, the rain god smiled and denied us that pleasure. The start got delayed as riders were still putting stuff on the bikes.
When we eventually started from the first mile we had challenges, a 1 km gravel climb from the resort to the main road set the tone for the ride.
Krish had promised it was all downhill to start and climbing on the way back. By now I know I can’t trust him on such things, but hopeful we were and it wasn’t to be. It was a steady climb at a mild 4% or so climb for the first 5 odd km. The reduced sleep & blocked nose made it hard for me to stay in the green. I did what I could to control the HR and kept chugging along.
We took a deviation to the destination of the day and it was downhill/rolling. We rode through beautiful meadows toward the U-turn point. The turnaround place was good, but I guess our expectations had been reset. We turned back and were eagerly riding towards the waterfall for the day. We were asked to carry spare clothes and slippers to get into the shallow water below the falls.
The waterfall was amazing and I got into the water and tried some so-called swimming. I was shivering and it didn’t stop for close to an hour even after getting out of the water. In retrospect, it looked like a stupid idea. The hike back to the top and some food helped me warm up. But that I wasn’t in top shape was evident. Gautam Pothineni offered to pace me and I tried to stick behind him and reached the lunch spot which was close to the resort. There was one challenge still left, descending the gravel to the resort which was handled carefully and slowly.
Day 2 is twice as tough and it will be a full day of riding. Day 1 also became a full day as we were taking it easy. But more gravel, climbs and scenery are on the menu. It is supposed to be a front-loaded day with the bulk of the climbing in the first 25km. As we were subjected to a lot of sound effects on the night with a heavy thunderstorm, we kept our fingers crossed and hoped to stay dry (high hopes).
Day 2
To ride, hike, or ride an easy route. This was the dilemma on the morning of Day 2. It had rained continuously through the night. The pitter-patter of the rain gets quite violent in Meghalaya. They were a constant background music throughout the night. We got a 5-minute gap from the rain to reach the breakfast hall in the morning.
However, it was just a brief relief and the thunderstorm started with a vengeance. We decided to wait for an hour and if rain stopped we decided to do the planned route and if it didn’t we would swap to a shorter route from one of the later days. Thankfully the thunderstorms stopped and we rolled on.
The first 23km was a steady climb. I was very diligent in keeping the heart rate in check, unlike yesterday. Keeping it controlled initially set the tone for the day and I was able to breathe more through the nose. I prefer steady climbs to rolling terrain as it is easier to have a steady rhythm. The climb was sorted out smoothly.
It was raining throughout and we had to use rain jackets. Lunch was another 30km away. I was low on energy as we approached the lunch stop. It had stopped raining but was cold and windy. I was suffering due to cold weather. The lunch thali was excellent and was washed down with hot water and red tea. The owner of the restaurant is a national MTB rider and was very happy to see us.
Just before leaving the lunch stop, I removed my full sleeve base layer which was wet and this really changed things. Today’s main attraction was the country’s second-biggest canyon. We rolled down there and enjoyed the breathtaking views. Unfortunately, we couldn’t wait for a longer period as we have to return by 4:30-5 when the sun sets.
As we were returning we saw a lot of kids. Many of them would shout with joy and even run with us. In my earlier trip to Meghalaya, our guide told us how the villagers in Meghalaya live in a close-knit community. They are not too bothered about money and support each other from building houses to any major activity. The innocent kids and their joy reminded me of this conversation.
We passed through a beautiful water body and more breathtaking views. As we reached the last 20km we knew that we could descend down and complete the ride. As we regrouped, there was a very interesting modification of a tractor to resemble a jeep. I couldn’t resist taking a photo of this jugaad. We came across Suman who had a flat, I excused myself as others helped him.
After we reached the room, we had to wash the bikes, recover, and get ready for tomorrow. We had a bonfire and tried drying our wet shoes. Almost every dress was already wet, we had to refrain from getting only the shoes and our wet-to-bones bodies.
Day 3
Man, Machine & Meghalaya had their own minds and plans for day 3 of Chasing Clouds.
One of the originally planned days had to be canceled a week before the ride on account of the poor state of the roads. This was a 100km 3000m climb day. Gautam Pothineni was looking towards it and disappointed that it wasn’t happening. So our tour lead Krish Basu had given us the option of returning by bike on day 3 which was a 70km, 1400m elevation ride one way. The regular plan was to load the bikes and return to the hotel on the vehicle from the endpoint. Some were contemplating riding it, and my body which had been suffering laughed at my foolishness, but I recovered well overnight and was in shape to take it up.
Initially, at least the weather and Meghalaya were nice as it was raining less frequently and relatively less.
It was Sir Bradley Wiggins or Christopher Froome who had mentioned that he could guess how his body was based on the very first pedal stroke. My body had been so messed up that even I could feel it was going to be a good day. Just as there was that gap between the realization and smile, the gap between the pressing of the shift lever and gear change felt longer. In fact, it didn’t shift. I shouted out to Sampath and told him the rear was not shifting. Sampath came back and tried his magic. It was one of those days when even his magic didn’t work. My rear derailleur was covered in mud and water from the day before. I had cleaned it, but not sure if the electronics got messed up and it didn’t budge.
Round 1 to machine 🙁.
Sampath gracefully offered his bike, but I knew he was using the close-range cassette, and the gear ratio wasn’t much better than mine which was stuck in 1-5, and decided to stick to my bike.
We started off and it started raining, but I rolled gingerly recollecting my Lambasinghi climb during the tour of Eastern Ghats in 2019 when I had to give my bike to Devendra Malhotra and ride the Astr Sidewinder single speed. I was probably in the best shape then and even managed to be competitive with Prajwal Pingali & Sam up the climb. I tried forgetting that I wasn’t in the same shape and stayed positive.
The first 20km was all downhill and it was very beautiful. We reached the loop bridge which is the second longest in the country. A lone fisherman on a makeshift raft pushing upstream on green waters with a few dark black streaks of water set against the backdrop of an opening between hills. If you could get high by visuals we were there.
Krish asked us to ride back across the bridge to get some group shots. The roads after the bridge were promised to be bad and it was bad. But somehow we managed to push across. We were riding along a fence separating India and Bangladesh. Some more great visuals. We came across a couple of wooden bridges that had planks with narrow gaps where bicycle tires could get caught. Adhip Gupta stopped us and we walked across.
The climbs started and I braced up for what was to come. While the profile showed a steady climb it was not so in reality, there were many kickers and flat sections in between. I grunted, cursed, admired the sides, and focused on pedal stroke alternatively to get through them. After one tough section I stopped for a bit and as I was drinking water a yellow butterfly came and sat on the bottle. Made me realize there are more pertinent things than a stuck RD and I restarted with renewed vigour. Just a km before the next stop Krish drove along. He saw I was really struggling and was asking whether it was really that tough. I had to stop one more time and give a last push. Balaram & Sandy were just behind. They have been really strong & I was glad I was able to keep up.
Throughout the climb, there were a lot of insect sounds. There was one particular long whistle-like sound which was loud and unique. At times it did however feel like my ears were ringing after a knockout punch. Thankfully fellow riders reaffirmed it wasn’t my imagination. If you are on a ride where you see and hear more animals than humans you are blessed and we were truly blessed.
After the stop where I drank about 4 glasses of heavenly lemon juice, we rolled along. The elevation was easier and was fast. As we were reaching the end Balaram caught up and forced me to push harder. Push I had to and complete the day.
Oh and did we think we will return riding? Meghalaya had the last laugh 😂.
After more hot tea and lunch, we had a long bus trip back to the hotel. What a day. As the first pedal stroke indicated I had a great day, not the strongest, not the expected, but unbelievably great.
Day 4 & 5
Day 4 of Chasing Clouds was a rest day. Well, rest at least from the cycling perspective. A few of us thought of doing a trail run in the morning before breakfast. That didn’t happen, but we did manage to go for an exploratory walk towards & beyond the stream. After breakfast, we went to see a couple of living root bridges. After we reached the first one a few of us tried coming back through a new route.
It turned out to be very challenging. The friendly banter with Gautam Pothineni, Balram, Hemanth Chandan, and others made it less painful. Adhip Gupta had marked the start point and with the help of the offline maps he had downloaded on his Garmin Fenix, he saved us from getting lost or going off the route.
After checking the other root bridge we had a fancy heavy lunch and returned to the room. I had to address two issues my stuck Rear Derailleur and front wheel flat. I had requested Hemant to sort out the flat while I worked on the RD.
Sampath had offered his bike if my RD didn’t work. I took out my wheel to check the gear ratio at which it was stuck. He gave me 10 min to decide. So I started troubleshooting. After removing the rear wheel I got more exposure to the Rear Derailleur and with some cleaning, nudging, and prayer it started showing life. But the derailleur batteries were discharged and after I charged them, it started working. What a relief!
The rest day ended well on that note. I however had a disturbed sleep in the night and was very sleepy when the alarm rang. We have a 1.6km gravel technical uphill section at the start of the hotel. I negotiated it very carefully while feeling that I was again a bit off physically. It’s been such a tour that I haven’t had a single day without a mechanical or a physical problem.
I rolled on hoping for the best. This was the first day we had clear skies and the day’s course was 50km with the first half being a long descent and the second half being a long ascent on a different side. The climb was slightly steeper. A few riders wanted to do a 2000m climb and wanted a partial repeat of the loop.
I had also decided to do it. Just before the start of climb rep 1, my rear had a pinch flat. Gautam and Adhip helped fix the flat. I maintained a steady conservative pace and finished the climb without much fuss.
But I wasn’t really sure if the legs would co-operate for another rep. Balaram joined for the repeat and it was a great relief mentally to have him around. The first half was okay, but I was running on low reserves in the second half. Somehow kept grinding and finished.
The Rear Derailleur worked well. But I now have to troubleshoot the body. Might be a tougher one to do and harder to nudge.
We had plans for some caving in the afternoon. Post lunch the body had to be dragged to go to the caves in the bus.
One more day of riding and two more trail running/ trekking to go. All recovery tools and super saver mode of the body need to be deployed to complete this.
Day 6
Day 6 of Chasing Clouds is the final cycling day of the tour. It was kept an open day as one of the planned routes had turned bad. A slight variation of an earlier day combined with a walk around some caves en route was planned. It had about 700m of planned elevation gain. Just like the day before when some wanted to make it a 2000m climb day, today we wanted to make it a 1000m climb day.
By now I had become overcautious of my shifting and checked it first thing in the morning. One of the batteries had drained fully and I had time to charge it as we had a slightly late start with a hot breakfast before the ride. We even got time to do some exploration around the resort on foot.
The ride started with Sampath taking the lead and literally pushing a few of us to go hard on the climbs. He had stitched together the route the day before, and he had accidentally selected a wrong turn. Sampath, Nitin, and yours truly were together and decided to explore this anyway.
It turned out to be a very beautiful road along the edge of the hill range with an exceptional view from the rim. The exhilaration I felt as we came towards what looked like the end of the road and the sky took over was beyond words. It did have some nasty kickers which had to be negotiated from both sides as we returned on the same road.
We came back and saw Durgesh about to load the bike in the truck. He ditched his thoughts and joined us on the bike. We rode to a touristy but beautiful set of caves, changed footwear, and had some fun.
Just as we reached the lunch stop I was just 50m short of 1000m elevation gain, so we went a few km further and came back. The lunch was heavy. And it started hurting when Adhip wanted to do a 5k run to wake up his running legs.
We had very little daytime left, so after a quick shower, we headed for the trail run. The 5k run was hard with tired legs and a very heavy and full belly.
While we went for the run, the others had left to catch the sunset at other falls. They got some awesome snaps.
The day ended with friendly banter, and some bike boxing of the folks leaving tomorrow. Hope the running legs are found tomorrow as we have an aggressive plan to do a legendary trail route from both sides.
On paper, it is not the toughest tour we have done. Yet for me, it was the toughest, due to combination of a bad lead up to the tour, mild fever and cold for the first couple of days and a cranky RD which refused to budge on day 3. The heavy rains for the first three days didn’t make it easy either. The last day wasn’t too bad as the legs, body, and bike all stayed trouble-free. The vistas were the best I have seen on the tours. I will go back with a lot of memories, some disappointment of not doing justice for the rides, but immense satisfaction that I didn’t give up. This was the only tour where I considered quitting, given the numerous issues.
Day 7
Day 7 of ChasingClouds shifted gears and used a different set of wheels. Close to half the riders were returning and the others stayed back for some trail runs. David Scott’s trial was on the agenda. Krish Basu had recced that as well and had been clear that he wouldn’t give more trouble to his knees and asked us to carry on.
It’s about a 12km long trail with the trailhead about a 2 hr drive from our place. The end of the trail was just 10km away and right on the main road. Since some of the runners in us wanted to run it both ways, we hopped onto the bus which was taking the returning riders to the airport.
Armed with Gpx and Adhip Gupta’s navigation skills we started the run. Sampath also joined us. What a machine he is! During one of the earlier nights we had an official round of introductions where he told us how he started his first long ride – a 400km brevet with a bag full of food and completed it because he was told it was easy. At breakfast, he said he would borrow one of my soft flasks for the run. I suggested that he also take a water bottle as we were not sure about the availability of water en route. He had picked up a 1 L plastic bottle and a cycling bottle, stuffed it in his pockets, and ran casually ahead of us. We had our hydration bags and all fancy stuff trying to keep up.
The first km was a steep downhill, followed by another km of steep uphill. The route then meandered through some beautiful meadows as it gradually descended to the stream. The stream water was cold and refreshing. It was Rocky. We were sane enough to remove the shoes and cross it. We spent some time admiring the beauty and resting.
As we exited the stream we crossed back on a creaky long bridge and then it was a steady climb for another 3km. Towards the end, we met the rest of the gang who were trekking it from the entrance to the exit.
Dr Pavan Kumar Reddy, Dr Rajesh Fogla taught even the local guide how to enjoy nature and took their time. We went to the start point and caught some food and started back.
Before the tour, Sampath had been insisting that I do not break on the bike on descents. That had given me more confidence and improved handling. Before the tour, he also set my hoods perfectly and the position and lever reach had improved giving me further confidence. Gautam Pothineni has been egging me to take that same confidence on descents to running.
I tried going a bit faster on the descent and enjoyed it. We reached the bridge and stream in no time. Adhip had slightly twisted his ankle and was walking. Balaram gave him company. Hemant & Kewal also joined them.
Gautam, Sampath & I started after a brief stop at the stream. We had to power-hike the climb. I was finding it difficult to keep up with Gautam, but managed to keep him in sight. After a couple of km of sustained climb, we reached the plains and started running. We knew the penultimate km was a steep descent followed by the last km of steep climbing. Gautam’s plan was to use the descent to power through the last climb. My tired legs didn’t quite like the idea, but nevertheless I tried to keep moving and was elated to cross the exit point.
The cab arranged had gone to the start instead of the exit and we waited for a bit. Balaram and the gang also showed up and we managed to get a ride back to the lunch spot. The original plan was for us to hike down the 1.5 km to the resort after lunch, but thankfully Krish showed up and gave us a lift.
We enjoyed the evening with more chatter and drinks and called it a day. Gautam tried enticing me for a repeat of the run for the last day. But I think I have exhausted myself and will instead opt for a trek to the bamboo forest. One last day of Meghalaya is left.
