It's going to be a long message but I felt I should share my wonderful experience...
This Sunday i.e. 19th Oct 2020 was an important milestone as I took my baby steps in the beautiful world of cycling. As someone new to this field, I had doubts about whether I would have the ability to complete 200 km.
I must say that the pre brevet briefing was very useful in preparing both the mind and body for the task ahead... Thank you, Mr Ashwath WERC for the well-structured briefing...
I did my best to follow all the instructions given in the briefing. My bicycle was ready the previous night itself... All essentials were packed.. It was important to not leave anything for the next day morning so as to not miss any essential item...
And as usual I kept the insurance of 3 alarms as wake-up call... At 4am,4.30 and 5.00 am... And again as usual hit the snooze button till 5!
In spite of being a participant, I had volunteered to reach early (5.20am)to help Mr Ashwath.. So in a span of 20 mins I had to freshen up, pray, dress up and cycle from city centre to Taj cycles. So you can imagine how disastrous it would have been if I had left the packing for the morning!
After a small briefing by Mr Ashwath and the inauguration we set for the gruelling task ahead. I kept in mind all the things explained in the brief such as important of hydration, that too with natural drinks. Mubeen, Richie and I found ourselves in a group and alternated leading one another. However, in a spur of the moment with all the excitement, I zoomed ahead, reaching up to 22 km/hour. I should say it was maybe overexcitement as I missed the final check point and had to take an u turn. Thankfully I realised it quite early, so I guess it's important to keep oneself grounded even if very excited
During the ride, it was a pleasure and a distraction to the tiring body and mind, to meet people such as Dr Syed Mustafa and other cyclists from team Udupi.
The heat, dehydration, headwind, full urinary bladder and saddle sore were the main challenges I faced, but the support and encouragement from one another, helped to overcome these and achieve this important milestone in my journey as a cyclist... And now I can proudly say I am a randonneur! Thank you WERC.
Some points I felt are crucial to remember are:
1) Attending the pre ride briefings
2) following all the instructions given in those briefs
3) being encouraging to each other will make the task easy
4) hydration hydration and hydration
5) it's all in the mind. You can do it, if you think you can
