Pedal Power - 3 days / 300 km

Wish you all Pedal Pushers a Happy and Eventful 2009.

Just back from a 3 day pedaling sojourn covering Pune - Panchgani - Mahabaleshwar - Pratapgad - Poladpur .

For most of 2008, all my well laid pedaling plans seemed to have gone down the drain.
The empty feeling of not having set off on a road trip for the whole year was agonising to say the least.

By doing this trip spread over 31st Dec, 1st & 2nd Jan'09; managed to redeem myself of the 2008 jinx , while also start 09 on a +ve note.

The original plan was to cycle up Pratapgad Fort via Poladpur (ahead of Mahad ) . Had heard a lot about Ambenali Ghat that leads to Pratapgad (4km steep detour) & further to Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani. It is one of the longest Ghats in the Sahyadris winding its way up for 41 km. However, the very thought of getting screwed on Ambenali made me opt for Plan-B :) .... a longer route along NH-4 with 3 smaller Ghats (Khandala, Khambataki, Pasrani) to manouver.

With Anoop 'n' Co headed for Konkan and Akshay ditching at the nth hour; it was meant to be a solo ride once again.

Left base on 31st morning from Goregaon by train to start the ride from Kharghar (Navi Mumbai). This was the fastest way to get out of city limits while also saving on time given the 3 day time frame.

Day -1 (130 km)

Kharghar - Khopoli : 47 km
Left Kharghar @ 7.30 am for Khopoli along NH-4 by taking the Panvel bypass to reach Khopoli by 10:00am.
This is a gentle route.

Khopoli - Lonavala : 15 km
After a brief break, left for Khandala and Lonavala. Negotiating Khandala Ghat was the first challenge; which drained me completely. While my logic of using a racer with 21 gears was justified; carrying a haversack & cycling uphill was making my senses comfortably numb.
To cut a long story short, slogged for 3 hours before hitting Lonavala by 1.00pm.

31st meant, Lonaval was chokablock with tourists. A quick lunch & decided to head straight out of city limits. From here on, the route via Kamshet is a breeze.

Lonavala - Vangaon (before Katraj bypass Tunnel) : 68 km

Before reaching Dehu Road, there is a diversion[~38km from Lonavala] (there are no Indicators here) leading to Katraj Bypass along Pune - Satara - Bangalore highway (NH-4). This diversion meets Pune end of Expressway. Traffic in this section of the route is quite bad. It was 7.30pm by when I had called it a day.

Lodges available for about 400 bucks a night.
(couldnt fig out home-stay option anywhere along e route)

Day 2 : (90 km)

Vangaon - Surur : 70 km
Highlight of this section is the 1.5 km long Katraj bypass tunnel & Kambatki Ghat. The landscape is barren with few pockets of vegetation. The 6 lane highway takes you straight to Khandala. From here on, the road towards Satara has to negotiate Khambataki Ghat while road towards Pune from Satara passes through Khambataki tunnel .

The 8 km Khambataki Ghat is of moderate gradient leading to Surur Phata. Approaching Surur, take a right below the one way Over pass.

Surur Phata– Wai – Panchgani : 20 km

Having spent most of the time along highway, it was sheer relief to ride along internal village roads.

The 11 km long Pasarani Ghat is a winding road with moderate gradients. However, this 2 lane road is popular amongst the speed demons zipping down from Panchgani; making the route tad dangerous for inhabitants on 2 wheels.

Finally managed to reach Panchgani @ 5.00 pm on 1^st Jan’09.

Kamshet & Panchgani are popular destinations for the Paragliding Community. Did manage to see a few gliders dotting the skyline along the way.

Cant really fathom; whats it with places like Panchgani & Mahabaleshwar that draws tourists in hordes. Probably a longer stay would solve the mistry. Must admit; the long winding roads dotted with vintage schools 'n' villas give this place an Old World charm.

Day 3: (70 km)

Panchgani – Mahabaleshwar : 20 km

This is another beautiful & narrow stretch of cycling road .

Mahabaleshwar – Pratapgad : 20 km

Zipping down the twisting Ambenali Ghat @ 50kmph is a hair-raising experience worth every sweat that went onto the earlier climbs. It is a remarkable route winding its way through some breathtaking forests and valley views. After a 16 km intense decent, there is a 4km climb for Pratapgad fort.

Pratapgad fort is relatively small compared to Raigad & Rajgad. HOwver, it is remembered for the slaying of Afzal Khan; whose tomb is situated some distance from fort entrance. Like amny other tourist places, Pratapgad too has to endure the onslaught of restaurants 'n' hawkers. After spending close to 2 hours exploring the fort, it was time to head back to Poladpur for the journey back.

The 25km downhill from here on is interlaced with some bumpy sections. However, once you have overcome these irritants. its smooth sailing all the way to Poladpur.

While I didn't bother to carry any toolkit or puncture repair kit, it was good fortune that none came handy.

The return journey was eventful; as the biggest hurdle was to the cycle up the carrier of an ST bus; and ensure it remained there all through the journey. With each bump the ST managed, had the giddy feeling of the cycle disappearing into the night.

This was mostly an endurance ride as the scenery was nothing home to write about except for the last while descending Ambenali Ghat. However, my Bum 'n' Balls had the most horrifying time enduring a rather thick skinned saddle. At one point, all clothes in the haversack was used for B 'n' B protection.

The one person who pushed me take up this task was Ameet; right from identifying the basic route to providing moral support right through. Thanks mate for all the help extended and looking forward to the next long ride.

No more highway jaunts for me; unless it happens to be up North. That would mean a Trans-Himalayan cycling trip.. now doesen't that sound interesting :)

Looking back, I am amazed at the distances covered by Cycling Pro's day in & day out on the grueling races like the Tour 'de' France . Given that these high performance cyclists cover close to 3,500 km over a span of 20 days @ ~175 km/day; it is a staggering test of human endurance.

To Conclude:

Riding up Ambenali Ghat would be a worthwhile challenge; that would mean rasing the fitness bar atleast 10 notches higher....!!

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