The weather was fantastic. The views, surreal.

The Climb
The sweat was pouring down in buckets. The breathing was getting heavier. The sweat from the palms made the handle bars slippery. The saddle was completely wet and slippery. I approached the 5km mark into the climb, where I first stopped on my first attempt, and knew exactly which line to take. Took the longer line at the turn which means I would end up on the wrong side of the road but I ensured I was to the extreme right. First mental hurdle crossed and the steepest section of the climb started.

It was a big hurdle to cross too. I just wanted to take it inch by inch one turn at a time. ‘If I could repeat a few more times, what I just did, I should be able to make it’, was the constant thought ringing and I slowly made progress.

One more turn and to my surprise, I remained in the saddle as I continued to push on the pedals. I was getting up may be an inch or so off the saddle naturally from pushing on the pedals hard but I resisted standing up and pushing. I was trying to get into a meditative rhythm as I made progress.

Every passing curve meant I was getting close to the top. As I approached the last turn again I took the longer line and made it past the curve. There it was. A sight that felt like a lifeline. The arch. I’ve made it. Non-stop up the Nandi!

As I stopped at the arch, the heart was pounding crazily. I summoned strength to get off the bike and sat for a minute on the cement culvert pipe in the corner. As the heart rate slowly came to normal, the euphoria began to surface in layers. It was an amazing feeling. I was grinning from ear to ear, completely satisfied.
I guess it is this feeling after the pain is transcended, that makes it all so addictive.

Many Awesome Riders:
I made my way back down to the base with the same grin. I met many riders both on the way up and as I made my way down. I remember seeing Arvind, Siva, Gaurav, Saravanan, Shankar and Dipankar Paul descending as I was climbing. Dipankar was doing repeats of the steepest section on his Prima. Met Venky(Wheelsports) on my way down as he was climbing on his beatiful Eddy Mercxx bike.

As I reached the breakfast place at the base, Siva, Gaurav, Shankar and Saravanan finished their breakfast and were ready to go. After a few snaps and refilling water, we were on our way home.

Shankar did the climb in 30mins 30secs and complains about not being able to get the sub 30 time. Saravanan did the climb in 26mins after a 90km ride to get to the base. By the time he got home he completed 190km at 26kmph including the Nandi climb. Kudos to him! Amazing rider!

The headwinds were crazy on the way back. Saravanan, Shankar and I tired to ride in a paceline and it helped. If not for their company, I would have suffered on the return. Thanks for company guys!

The elevation profile from the ride.

Here is the Garmin link: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/90194038
Here are a few photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/hivenkat.d/FirstNonStopNandi#