LeJog 2020

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Where there is a will, there is a way.

Where there is a will+ bicycle+garmin +team LeJog, there is an epic chapter in your life. 

December 2019…. Arasu instigates, Kalpa acts. An outrageous goal was set. Lands end to John O Groats on two wheels.  9 cyclists, one master -Ram- who mapped our routes, plotted our training schedule,  fed our hungry bodies, minds  and dare I say..even souls! In turn, the cyclists obeyed. No questions asked. They did not think of the enormity of the commitment- close to 1000miles over 10 consecutive days. They just focussed on moving from pit stop to pit stop..one step at a time. 

17counties

1 global pandemic

2 storms

6 wet days

Over 100 hrs of butts on saddle time..

When I was at school..I was an affirmed zero in sport. At the memorable most, held the school flag in the march past. Certainly not the one nominated to cycle end to end of a country!! This simply goes to prove..NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE!

For my non cyclist  friends, LeJog is every cyclist’s distant dream equating to ultra marathons in cycling world where our endurance is challenged beyond borders. 

THE TEAM

Mad medics- Animesh, Arasu, Hari, Kalpa, Mahesh, Maninder, Nishant, Ram, Ravinder and the running insane legend Professor of Psychiatry Subodh. Together we trained. Certainly could have trained harder on two wheels. But, we made up for it by building a naturally strong team camaraderie. We all owe our success and enjoyment of this dream to the team! Like the spokes of the cycle wheel, each member held the wheel together and Ram moved the wheel with the right momentum! Amongst us, (for 10 days only), anything was allowed..from smelly wet gloves to temper tantrums. Whether in a peloton or a run away solo..we were in this together!

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THE JOURNEY..IN A SINGLE WHEEL SPIN

Our body clocks were reset.  Early starts at crack of dawn..come rain come shine (more rain than shine sadly ). Bananas, gels, bars, back up charger in pocket. Day zero started with traditional coconut breaking , executed expertly by Christian at a busy start point in Lands End. I took in the rugged cliffs of Lands end as I said my ritual pre ride shlokam semi aloud. The heathers were abundant and the ochre lichen on the rocks set the Cornish scene for our start. We cycled past  “the last pub”  (or the first) of UK as our cleats locked in and butts settled on saddle. 

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We had rider number 10 within 5 mins..Storm Ellen. Roaring. St Michael’s mount was in low tide exposing a rocky beach.  Cornish ice cream shops soon paved way to rolling hills of Exmoor.  Let me put this clear and simple.  The romance of Exmoor and North Devon coast usually had me think of Lorna Doone and the moors. Well, not any more.  Hence forth, it will HAVE TO be Quantock hills ! AONB- Area of no breathing @25% gradient hill.  Ouch!  The youngest in our group Nishant tamed this notorious climb in one smooth stretch. For the rest mere mortals, we took it and did it at our own pace! the last push of the ascent made Alpe D’huez and Dolomites seem a doddle! In fact, this single mile of crazy climb of 200m remains the best  mile of the 1000! Lets apply brakes for pictures..

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The famous Camel Trail done, cycling along Severn Bridge we headed to familiar home territory of Midlands. The hotel conference room in Worcester doubled up as our bike store. I lay flat on the carpet of this big room doing my post ride stretches and thought- this is like a bike shaadi mantap- as I saw all our well wishers arrive to give us a much needed mid way morale boost! Smita and Nikhil joined us on the longest day form Worcester to Manchester and the miles melted in length with laughter as we poked fun at each other, passing stunning Kinver canal side and Stratford town centre. We whizzed past Manchester airport and a smile tugged my heart when I saw dear Shreeram waving a subway cookie as he cheered us at the end of 180km!

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Furious storm Francis made Chief Ram call off the ride at 20miles next day as yellow card hazard warnings were issued due to torrential rains. In those 20miles, some never to be forgotten life lessons were learnt. Resilience! Yes Maninder, its already on my PDP as an entry! Compass was reset. Mental fitness overtook physical at this stage. We huddled like wet rats in a pub in Penrith and signed an unspoken treaty to keep cycling even if weather worsened! Perfect excuse for all weather gear shopping!

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We bid adieu to England and entered Gretna – the town renowned for runaway weddings. Passing historic Lockerbie, we took on the Forth bridge and headed into the much awaited Scottish phase of the ride.

As I pedalled on the fresh grass that covered yet another cow catch and gazed around the moorlands, I allowed a love affair to take shape with remote Scotland and me. The highlands deepend the spell cast. Lazing cattle, marked sheep, a simple fence that created a boundariless boundary, windmills that emered from nothingness..it was mystical. We cycled in ribbon roads between stunning nothingness and limitless everything! Hari’s chatty banter in this undiscovered surroundings was more than music- a dessert island disc! The hamlet town of Altnahara will remain special for the entire group. For one- it was Maninder’s bday – a glorious beautiful celebration and also because it was undoubtedly the most challenging day to ride. A day which scrappped all our physical stamina and moved to challenge our mind games! Yet again, we did it!

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The last day was picture post card perfect. We powered through Betty Hill and Thurso. We had some fab scones in the northern tip of the country (instead of Devon!) and tea at Melvich. Together we rode the last 3 miles with one final homeric push..to the iconic end to end sign post!!

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PS- the start and finish was similar – one sign post to another!!

FOOD

The word created strong emotions in me. A salad based grazer, and a tambram thayir sadam eater like me had to face the reality of going into negative calories by day 3! I ate my first boiled egg and focussed on carb loading. The need for nutrition dawned too late and I had to work on losing my apprehension at meal times. “Coping” – another life lesson learnt! We had a loaded mobile kitchen- rice cooker included on the go! What else can you expect-after all, Ram ran the show!! Overnight oats with burfi- (Ravi’s nick name for squeezy condensed milk), eggs, boiled salted potatoes, home made power ladoos with dates and ragi, Arasu’s rose milk like recovery drink, Subodh’s maltodextrin fix, Maninder’s nimbu pani, my royal chai, Ravi’s beetroot concoction..we had it all – our fancies and treats!! Eating happened almost in the same frequency of breathing!! Not to forget local ice creams, scones, haggis, pasties, one shot venison, local whisky of highlands and of course group made kheer at Ganesh chathurti! Ram’s support was eclectic when it came to food!! Sammy’s healthy wraps, Sanchi’s chaat, Worcester feast and voted the best Linda’s idli vada for the beginning of the trip! A veritable feast all the way! As we took our finish line pictures, I resolved to go on a diet!!!!

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THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVOURITE THINGS…

With the remoteness of the path came some hidden gems. We passed a train in Sutherland which I learnt was a hop off train wherever you wished in the middle of nowhere to cycle off ! Who needs a mindfulness workshop here! A remote barn, a solid stone bridge in the distance over no water, a close encounter with a sheep that gazes right back at you for invading its land, the pink wild flowers -rosebay willowherb that followed us for miles.. All these were balanced with the sight of our support car (blue Audi), a steaming hot drink in Chirstian’s van amongst nowhere, Mani darling’s “listen to me man”, and his early morning knock on the door to move us, our pink water proof socks!

The desi girls had every intention of putting of our trademark on LeJog. I can confidently say we are likely to be the original pioneers to wear our Saris proudly and photograph two loves together at the pinnacle of our ride- cycle and sari! We wanted to do it and DID IT!

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We have literally reached the end of the road in UK . Strangely, it feels like the beginning of yet another life journey ! Miles more to go..before we sleep..Bye for now..