The Magical Konkan - A Ride Report, Part 1

I made a hurried entry into the ST bus and grabbed my window seat. Next to me was a grumpy faced old lady with a big sack next to her. Her pretty faced teenage daughter was sitting across the aisle. The bus was filled with villagers and with cleated shoes, baggy shorts and a backpack on my back, I was easily the odd one out.

Ameya helping me load the bike on the top of the ST bus

Just a min back I had successfully managed to fasten the bicycle on the roof top along with help from my brother in law. I was on way to Guhaghar to join the rest of the gang on our maiden 8 days Konkan Ride – Mumbai to Goa. Unlike the regular bus route, we were going to take the old SH4, disconnected at multiple places by creeks and river crossings, but rewarded by views no less than Magical. I was supposed to start with the other 4 riders from Alibaugh, but had to alter my itinerary due to some personal emergency. As per the new plan, I would be joining them at Guhaghar by the end of the 3^rd Day. It helped immensely that  my friend Mihir had arranged a Bergamont Vitox 6.3  for me from Pune which I was supposed to courier back once in Goa. So there I was sittting in the Swargate – Guhaghar ST bus, appreciating the countryside.

By around 5 pm , I was at Guhaghar. Guhaghar is a sleepy little town , with just a small hamlet of houses and shops, with the beach being 5 min walk. We saw lot of shops selling confectioneries made of local products like alphanso, kokum etc.

The home stay booked was just a km from the bus stand and an old gentleman , who turned out to be owner of the homestay, welcomed me with a big curious smile. He was keen to know more about the ride and was excited about the fact we are going to unpack and assemble the bike from the box. Krish, Varun, Sumit and Rajiv arrived a little later in the evening. This was the 3^rd consequite day of riding for them, over some really hilly terrain. It was good to see them.

That night, over some fried surmai, fish curry rice and solkadi, I caught up with  Krish A, Sumit and others on stories and happenings in the last 3 days. Most of the talk was around the scenic beauty of the route, and the amount of climbing they have done. There was also a lot of talk on the road conditions and some great time they had riding on one of the beaches. I was really itching to start my trip.

Day 1 ( Guhaghar to Ganapatiphule , ~80 km)

My Ride Begins

 After a nice and long breakfast, we kicked off the day's ride at around 9.30 am. I had the freshest of legs, but I could instantly make out why the terrain has been the centre of the talk last night. Immediately after we crossed the town, the climbs started . The terrain remained heavily rolling for most of the day as we kept riding through the western ghats. We crossed forest stretches and lots of mango farms. 

The road leading to the Tavsal jetty

My First Ferry Crossing 

The ride so far was good, but to be frank, it was event-less. Also, the ' magic' I was expecting was missing, and I just hoped it would get better. Little after noon, we reached Tavsal, from where we had to catch the Ferry to Jaigarh.

Getting into the ferry, and on our way to Jaigarh

It was my first ferry ride after long, so I was looking forward to it. Not the same with the others though. They had boarded 4 ferries in the last 3 days, with one of them being a very adventurous one that could only take 2 bikes and 2 passengers at a time. They had to cross that one in 2 shifts. Anyways, I got to ride my first ferry of the trip soon, and we were at Jaigarh. 

The lunch at Jaigarh

It was around 1.30 pm, and we decided to stop at Jaigarh for lunch. Now, one of the reason I do bike tours is to taste the local cuisine. The idea is to stop at non fancy little places where locals eats. After a bit of searching , we located a small local eatery where  some truckers had stopped as well. 

The lunch at Jaigad. The mackarel fry was delicous.

The place served some great bangda( mackarel) thali. Here again, Krish, Sumit and others had started getting bored with the konkani cuisine. Sumit complained about lack of variations and said he can't take any more of that konkani fish curry. But, it was my first lunch of the trip and there was no way I was going to give up. I gorged on the fish and topped my glass of solkadi thrice.

The gateway to the beach ride. Waiting for Varun and Sumit.

I finally get to my share of Magic

I was still looking out for the 'spectacular' part of the ride and even starting to get a little impatient. A lot has been talked about the amazing views the route offers, but they had eluded me. Post lunch, the terrain seemed to have eased a little and the climbs were more gentle. It continued for another 10 km like that and after a sharp downhill, we found our self on a road right next to the beach. My first real view of the sea and the sand. Someone said 'lets get on to the sand', and we rode right on the beach. 

Yeh, our private beach.

Miles of miles of hard sand , not a soul in sight.

Riding on the sand, with the waves kissing our tires, I finally had my share of Magic

It was one one of the hardest sand beaches i have come across and the ride along the sea made the day. The evening sun shinning on sea, the cool breeze on our face, the hard sand beneath the tires with not a soul in sight. I finally had my share of the Magic I was so looking forward to. For 5 long kms, we had just the sea waves giving us company and then we got onto the tarmac again. One more hill and an hour later, we were at Ganaptiphule.

Around 5 km from Ganapatiphule

Unlike Guhaghar, this was a much bigger town. After a shower and visit to the famous Ganaptiphule temple, we walked down to one of the eateries that the locals recommended. Everyone was super hungry and we gorged on the food. Food was great, and that place seemed to be a hot among visiotors.The surmai fry was the best I had in a long time . On the walk back, we stopped by an ice cream parlour and chit chatted on the great time we had over multiple cup of amul ice creams.

Day 2 ( Ganapatiphule - Ratnagiri-Pawas-Adivare ~85 km)

We were all ready to start by 7 am, when one of us noticed that Varun had a flat. Apparently, Varun had missed inspecting his tire before the trip and has been having frequent flats since the last 4 days. On inspection, we realized there was actually no rubber in multiple places. Every change of tube in no time resulted in the next flat. It took some ingenious effort for the team and we eventually managed to start the ride at 8.30 am. Now we were not sure if his time is going to last  even for the next 5 km. The plan for Varun was to somehow reach Ratnagiri and then try looking for some tires. And just hope for the best:-)

After a nice long climb, we were at the outskirts of ganapatiphule, entering bhandarphule. Memories flashed back and I remembered my trip 15 years back when me and 2 of my roomates had taken a bus down here from pune and stayed at one of the cliff view resorts at Bhandarphule. From bhandarpule we had taken many walks down to Ganapatipule. 'The town has changed', I told myself .The familiarity made me feel good though. 

The Magic was Back!

The road runs along the sea

The terrain kept heavily rolling. The road cut through the western ghats like the day before, but this time we were right next to arabian sea offering us terrific cliff views. The Magic was back. It kept on like that for a pretty long time, and we kept shuffling between riding and taking pictures. It was the best part of the trip for me !

A coconut break

Cycle touring can be taxing on the body, and  mind. Many times, when the going gets tough,  I tend to ask myself  why I am doing this? Is it worth the suffering ? Part of the answer lies in roads like those that makes you forget all the pain.

The Magic was back. We stopped to appreciate the views

Riding by the sea, I could  answer myself why I had gone through all the sufferings

Some more answers to questions thrown by life!

The Tire Hunt for Varun

After many breaks, we reached Ratnagiri. On priority was to find a replacement tire for Varun's Bergamont. It was not going to be easy because the rim sizes used on these bikes are slightly different than the local rims. I mean different sizes. And guess what ? We actually found a shop who has tire for the rim! We were elated and celebrated the occasional with a lavish spread of breakfast on one of the local udupi restaurant.

Yeh, we got the tire! Jyoti Cyle store comes to our rescue.

Varun getting his tire replaced.

The View from top, Kishore Kumar and the Escape from Sun

Gentle rolling climbs, great surface

Post Ratnagiri we were greeted with some relatively flatter roads. The terrain was barren with open fields on both sides. We pushed on hard to cover some lost time, but the afternoon sun with and the occasional long climbs made it harder and harder. Finally we stopped at a lone shack on top of one climb.

Break Time!

I came to know Krish A had reached here almost an hour back and has waiting for the rest of us.  As soon as I hopped off the bike, Krish A informed us with a big smile that the shack makes some of the best masala chai, and he had savoured many cups till then. However, after sweating out in the sun for the last 2 hours, tea was last thing in my mind. I just crashed onto one of the benches the shop had and wished the ride just ended there for the day !

The Rejuvinating Lunch break

After 30 min or so, I woke up to the radio playing some lovely old kishore kumar songs and amidst some vada pav and misal pav related discussions. Aparently those were the 2 options available to eat. All of us feasted on both, and followed up many glasses of Kokum Sarbat.

The long rest has recharged us. It also helped that it was nearing 3.30 pm and the sun was not at its notorious best. It was time to move on.

The Adivare Sun temple and the flock of Hornbills

Vijaydurg was still around 50 km away, and we wanted to reach as close to it possible while the daylight lasted. Krish was as usual ahead of us when we saw the sign for the Kanakaditya sun temple, a  800 odd year old temple located in the forest. I realised Krish has missed the turn and Kedar, a friend of us , had told us repeatedly not to miss ' The Adivare temple'. We tried calling Krish, but there were no phone signal. The rest of us continued to the Kanakaditya Sun Temple. 

Through the forest, to the Sun temple

The route goes through forests and some steep hills, and it was a good little adventure ride. We temple has lovely architecture, the place was serene. We sat there for a long time , soaking in the serenity and chatting with the pujaris.

The Kanakaditya Sun Temple

The Sun Temple from a different angle

Just when we were about to start our ride back, I noticed a huge bird fly by, making a whosh-whosh sound by its wing. 'Hornbill' , I whispered in  Varun's ear. Never seen one before in real life, and I was thrilled. Soon we discovered the area has loads of Hornbills residing around in multiple trees. They seemed to be in harmony with the local people, and nobody seemed to care!

The hornbills! They were very shy, and every time we would try to take a pic they will shy away

The steepest climb of the whole trip. At least 50% steeper than any climb I have done till date!!

Krish A, the Flying Mascot!

The Adivare town was 3 km away, it was getting dark. Our headlights were on by the time we reached the town. 'Your friend was waiting for you  for the last 1.5 hours here!' one guy screamed.  'He went looking for you', another sighed. 'Where were you all?' , one more curious local wanted to figure out. We explained we could not co ordinate as phone signals were not working. and assured them not to worry. We told 'Krish would be back soon'. And so was Krish, in 20 minutes. We checked into Adivare temple guest house that night – the only accommodation in the town and used a local tailors phone to call our home .

Temple Guest House

To be Continued......

Women, Biking and Freedom

I started biking 5 years back - on a slightly old, less used bike that my sister left behind when she moved. During that period of no-employment, I had decided to try one new thing ever week to build patience. The patience never built, but cycling caught on.

I remember taking the bike out to a local cycle-mechanic since I did not even know how to fix the front wheel. Starting with a few little rides with the Hyderabad Biking group, I visited The Bike Affair to pick up a pair of biking shorts. I remember the store as a lot of cardboard boxes placed next to each other and Krish picked out a large pair of men's biking shorts & told me that would work well. When I asked him if my bike would be ok, he serviced it and told me that it would work just fine!

So, started my journey. That year, I religiously took the bike out every Sunday to Gachibowli Stadium from where we would do rides. What started as an extremely tough 12 km ride through the University of Hyderabad, I moved on doing 50 km rides in just 3 months. On the rare days when I did not have a car, I would bike 20 km from home to the stadium and then continue the rest of the ride. Back in those times, the bike was an addiction. However, as my strength improved I realized what the bike eventually meant to me.

To me, it was freedom. Being brought up in India meant I could not freely go everywhere I wanted to and at all points in time. I never walked on a street alone after 11 PM. However, armed with a bicycle, I could be alone, yet not afraid. I could wake up to dark mornings and see the sun come up on my bicycle. The bike was empowering in way I never felt before and by default I started incorporating the bicycle into my travels as well. I biked on the world's highest motorable road in Ladakh and biked 75 km to see the rarely-visited Being Melea temple of the Ang Kor ruins in Cambodia. On my first solo international trip to Thailand, the moment I rented a bicycle I knew that the rest of the 2 weeks would fall in place.

However, what I had not realized was that the cycle had been a constant companion through my adolescent years. I went to school on a bicycle and went to tuition classes on a bicycle. I also went to watch a few movies on a bicycle!

The cycle is not just a sport, it has been the source of freedom to several women especially in smaller towns and villages. It helps girls get to school and women get their household groceries. In fact the bicycle played a HUGE role in the Women's Suffragate Movements as well. In the 1890s, the bicycle moved away from being the rich-people fad and more women started enjoying the pleasures of cycling. And this cycling led to women being liberated from the complicated dress codes of the 19th century to the more comfortable trousers or bloomers.

In those times, social reformer Susan B Anthony famously said, "I think it has done a great deal to emancipate women. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel. It gives her a feeling of freedom, self-reliance and independence. The moment she takes her seat she knows she can’t get into harm while she is on her bicycle, and away she goes, the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood..."

These lines hold true even today as the 10-member Afghan women's cycling team is eyeing the 2020 Olympics. They are fighting their regressive society and their aim for the Olympics is to get more Afghan women on bikes. Getting up on their bikes is an everyday fight for them, since their battle is not just physical, it is also social. They put up with a series of lewd remarks, insults and stares because to them "the bicycle is a symbol of freedom."

Closer home, several state governments initiated giving bicycles for girlstudents to ensure more educated and employable women. History shows that it was never cars that offered freedom, but the cycle that truly gave wings to imagination. It is simple, affordable and exceptionally useful.

More recently, I have been following the series of arguments for including a Tour De France category for Women. For a sport/ activity that has offered so much to women world-over, it should also be offered in the form of a much-coveted world championship. It ll be a huge step towards real equality. Here's hoping that a women's category gets included next year and one of our present-day school girls goes on take part in it!

Trek 8.2 DS Review

Contributed by Dharma Teja

The Trek 8.2 DS

Many a novice rider starts their bike quest looking for a bike the does all and goes everywhere. Unless one has a very specific purpose in mind, cross bikes are the ones that claim to be as much versatile as a bike can get to be. Having ridden the Bergemont Helix 2.3 and I was looking forward to find out how versatile the Trek 8.2 DS could be. Without further ado, I let the details speak for themselves.

Build

The frame is cross geometry double triangle with a sloping top tube. Specific alloy used in the frame or the butting could not be found other than Trek's cryptic specification calling it 'Alpha Gold Aluminium'. Fit and finish is absolutely good. Trek uses this same frame throughout their entire range of dual sport '8 series' bike. The frame geometry is quite comfortable. Infact this is one very nice aspect of this bike that left a lasting impression despite few other drawbacks. In India, we have the choice of two sizes only, 17.5" and 19.5".

Components

DriveTrain : Crankset is Suntour make. Altus rear derailleaur and index shifters are matched quite well. Shifting even under load is good. Available range of gear ratios , thanks to that extral large 34T cog at rear and 28-38-48 chainrings, are quite versatile.

Bottom Bracket : Trek doesn't mention make of BB in spec sheet but based on ride feel, they can be classified as 'fluid and smooth'

Wheel Set : Wheels are 32 hole Bontrager make while hubs are from 'Formula', a reputed maker of MTB hubs. Both are definitely very smooth rolling pair. Thanks to solid and good quality quick release skewers, removing the wheel and fixing back is quick indeed, doesn't mess up wheel centring at all.

Fork : The Suntour NEX 63mm is soft. That results in a very plush ride, so much that one may fall in love with the comfort it offers but take this off the road, it doesn't take too long to bottom out. Fork doesn't come with lockout. Comes with disc brake mounts. 

Brakeset : Brake levers and brake arms (Tektro make) are good but the overall braking efficiency is just average. It requires a hard squeeze to able to lock front wheel, much harder for rear wheel. 

Tires : Tires are again Bontrager make, 38c wide, one notable aspect being that they are very soft. It is to be noted that soft compounds deform around small road imperfections and reduces wheel bounce, thereby increasing ride comfort.

Bontrager 700x38c tires are soft and provides a comfortable on road experiance

Saddle : Saddle is Trek's own SSR model which is standard on many bike frames across this price range. It is wide, comfortable and flat without any stress points. 

The bontrager SSR saddle felt nice and comfortable on rides

A few more observations
 

Ergonomics: Handle bar grips are butted, ergonomic and comfortable even during long times on saddle. Along with hand gloves, they take away all vibrations and absorbs road jolts well. 

The ergo, butted handle bar grips are comfortable even on longer rides.

Handle bar itself has good amount of raise for varying reach positions. Saddle to handlebar drop is comfortable and results in a relaxed posture with default setup of stem. 

Disc Ready : Fork and rear dropouts come with disc mounts, chain stays even have cable guides for disc cables. Some one looking for better off road performance can add discs . 

Fork with disc mounts

Unusual second Bottle cage mount : Frame comes with only one regular bottle cage mount. There is a second cage mount underside of down tube closer to bottom bracket. Unfortunately, it is not practical to be used for anything other than a frame pump.

The unusual location  of the second bottle cage mount is a mystery.

Seat Post, QR, etc : Seat post quick release clamp is of good quality, something that I prefer to clamp design offered in other bikes. Seat post doesn't have any height markings as the rival Bergemont Helix 2.3 does.

Road Test

Comprised of 15 km of smooth flat road speed test, 40 km of rolling terrain, 25 km of city riding in traffic.

One thing that immediately strikes to novice rider on this bike is the very relaxed posture and cushy ride it offers. If speed is not goal of the day, but all you want to do is roll and roll while enjoying the surrounding scenery this fits the bill very well.

Short Rides :In city traffic, the bike steers responsively, comfortable posture gives you good view of road in all directions and rolls on and off foot paths with ease. Rolling over speed breakers is cake walk, a definite advantage over rigid fork hybrids. On a flat stretch of open road, the bike can reach good speeds but is a little lazy at responding to pedal strokes. This is due to the soft fork that absorbs part of your forward pedal strokes. However, if acceleration is not your everyday concern, this can be ignored. On pure flat stretch I was able to hold speeds of 32-35 kmph comfortably.

Long Rides :For longer road rides that may stretch beyond 40 km , the bike still is very comfortable. When the roads get harsher, you can still keep riding at same speed thanks to soft tyres and suspension. Grips are ergonomic and offers a decent amount of palm support. Gears shifts have always been precise and quick even under load. However, as mentioned above, there is only one usable bottle holder mount, I wouldn't like to make too many stops to refill water on longer rides.

Off Road Test

Comprised of 20 km of cross country stretch with dirt, rocky and unpaved paths.

The bike is quite ride able on unpaved paths without many undulations but when you hit the dirt, the soft spring damps out all the fun. Tires did not provide good grip , the suspension left us wanting. Despite that, steering response and control is acceptable, thanks to the frame design. Overall with the stock setup, it is safe to say that the bike did not meet our expectations on the trails.

Snapshot

Positives :

• Relaxed geometry - perfectly tuned for a casual recreational ride.
• Precise gear shifting, ergo grips and comfortable saddle
• Disc Ready – fork and dropouts come with disc mounts.

Negatives :

• Soft suspension fork
• Only 1 usable bottle cage mount. 

Conclusion, Comparison

This bike with the stock setup is a mixed bag of features without exactly fitting into any category. It handles offroad poorly for a cross bike and is sluggish on the road to be a hybrid. If we put the bike up against its competitors, the Bergamont Helix 2.3 is faster on road and is a good performer off road too, cheaper as well. But if there is one thing that I liked in 8.2 DS over Helix 2.3, it is the riding position – perfect for a casual rider who chooses comfort over speed/efficiency. Helix 2.3 has comparatively aggressive stance than 8.2 DS which offers a relaxed and more upright posture.
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Dharma Teja started cycling in early 2010 on his Hercules act 110. Since then he has owned and ridden many bikes  including a giant rival MTB , Schwinn Madisson, a Fuji Roubaix 1.3 and recently the Bergamont Helix 4.3. On the bike, he loves to push his limits and takes special interest in randonneuring.