Masochist ways… Kk on his Olmo in the first couple of kms on Nandi

But as the pedals refused to move any further, he loosened the toe clips and got the foot out in time to stop. It was 5.4km into the climb. He took a few seconds to let the heart calm down before he was ready to suffer again. Another couple of hundred meters and he almost fell as the leg slipped off the pedal as he tried pull up using the toe clips. Another start and he had to stop again as the front wheel almost lifted off as he took an inside line on a steep curve. He was losing the rhythm. But he kept going. Slowly he inched past one hair pin curve at a time until he reached the arch. He made it! He rode up Nandi, on his lovey Italian fixed gear bike, Olmo! 

He did it in 42:xx mins and a few stops after having already done nearly 90km to get to the base of the climb. Take a bow, Kaushik(kk)! Congratulations! 

Made it! At the end of the climb.. Well done!

Kaushik came down from Mumbai on a work trip and brought a bike along with him to be able to ride during the weekend he is in Bangalore. We were to meet at Siva’s road around 6:30am to ride to Nandi. Minkey and Siva were going to join for a shorter ride as they needed to get back early. 

But at 6:30, he was still somewhere on the 30 odd kilometers stretch of road between Electronic City, from where he started and Siva’s road, where he needs to reach. It was clear it is going to take him a long time. So, three of us decided to ride ahead and turn back after a while to meet him when he gets there. I began to ride with my phone in my hand so that I can direct the Mumbaikar on Bangalorian roads.

Siva, Paddy and Minkey..

Minkey(Gautam Raja), who landed in Bangalore for good a couple of days back and still jet-lagged, was there on Iro, his fixed gear beauty. Siva was the odd man out on his Scott as his two fixed gear bikes are resting in Singapore. As we rode chatting and rumor sharing, Paddy(Padmanabhan Thangaraj) who was waiting for Aditya Yadav(Addu) decided to join us instead of waiting forever for his riding pal. 

We rode a little past Bidigere and turned back when my phone conversations with the Mumbaiker ensured he was getting close to Siva’s road. He joined us as we approached the start. After a bit of chatting on the roadside, Minkey, Siva and Paddy went on their way towards Whitefield while I joined KK towards Nandi.

Bikeszone gang meetup on Siva’s road… Minkey Chief, Cheewachai and Kk

On the way, I decided to introduce him to ‘Tatte idli’ in Bidigere. After picking up his jaw from the ground seeing the size of the idli, he managed to slowly finish it. It became clear to me that this long distance rider is not much of a foodie as he struggled to finish it. As we began to ride again, he began to appreciate the road, the scenery and the great climate. 

The view on Nandi from the approach road..

As we approached Nandi, the spectacular view floored him. Any thoughts of a shorter ride and keeping Nandi for later must have vanished after that. We made to the base and took a few snaps near the bull statue. He rode a little under 90kms till then but was keen to see how far up Nandi could the Olmo and his legs take him.

The 76 gear inches(52×18) on his Olmo is a little steep to put it very mildly. The ratio on my Bulldog is nearly 74 gear inches(42×15) and even that little bit extra makes a lot of difference to the cadence and becomes a lot tougher when you’re climbing steep inclines.

As we began to climb, the first turn on the climb quickly woke his heart up and he began to stand up and grind it. I could hear the loud music that was blaring down through his earphones mixed with his heavy breathing as I rode beside him. The heavy breathing quickly became panting in the first two kilometers. Then he slowly settled into a slower rhythm and began to go steady. 

He made it till 5.4km before he had to stop as the crank refused to turn, almost exactly at the spot that I had to stop on my first Nandi attempt. For someone who is used to using clip-less pedals, climbing with toe-clips is a little difficult. He struggled with his shoe slipping off the pedals a few times while he struggled to pull up on the pedals on steeper sections. It was great to see that he kept on going despite the amount of suffering he was going through. I was not surprised at all that he was quite relieved and absolutely elated once he made it to the top. I still remember the elation of my first climb.

The beautiful Italian on the top of Nandi..

After the customary photos on the top of Nandi, we started riding back home via Siva’s road where we were greeted with fantastic showers. What a ride it was to welcome KK to Bangalore. Awesome weather, great climb and superb little rain to round off what was a fantastic ride. Congratulations again to you and the Olmo, KK! Great job!

It must have been an epic ~180km ride for him by the time he reached Electronic City again.

Here are a few more photos:     https://picasaweb.google.com/102172342564541481938/OlmoSVisitToNandi