2013/2014 Randonneuring Season - When journey is the destination

Alright.You have done brevets in Hyderabad before. Does it make sense to do this again this year? Has there been any changes from last year? Actually there are. And lots of them. If you are the kind who likes adventure and challenge, the brevets this season is something you  should look forward to.

Here is a brief writeup of what has changed.

• Highways and Country roads, only loops : Unlike the previous years, this years route have a good mix of highways and country roads. All the routes are loops. That is, you are not going to trace the same route back while coming.

The country roads during the recce of one of the 200 km route

• Scenery and Adventure : The routes this times are going to provide you a glimpse of some of the most scenic places around Hyderabad. As a result, very often you will find yourself on the road less taken. You will ride through some stunning countryside, crossing fields, hills , lakes and even forests. As an example, one of the 200 km brevet route takes you through Anathgiri hills ( near Vikarabad) past the Kotepally lake. A few other routes passes through Kawal wildlife sanctuary, Pocharam lake , and Narsapur forest .

One of the lesser known roads through Ananthgiri hills

• Challenges : You guessed it right.The routes have become tougher. You will encounter climbs and rolling terrain, stretches of bad roads and navigation challenges. You will also have to manage your supplies well as your ride through the country roads at the wee hours of the morning. The medals, though, will be well earned.

At the top of one of the climbs

• Control points : There's going to be more frequent control points. Manned as well as unmanned. We will ensure you are on your toes, always:-)

Control point

• Variety : There is going to be multiple 200 km and 300 km routes this time. So you can choose to do the ones what excites you. You could also end up doing all the routes :-) 

A stretch on the 300k brevet

Here is a link to the brevet routes this season -http://tinyurl.com/p9essn5

Before I sign off, I must thank the entire Hyderabad Brevet organizing team who have been owned the whole thing starting from working out the route options, doing the recces  for each and every shortlisted routes, and filling up the route approval forms. We look forward to a great 2013/2014 Randonneuring Season.