After riding 26 consecutive days on ATP (2 full ATP's and 6 days of my third), it finally happened. I had to stop a ride. I am not sure if its my ego of my bruised bones that are damaged more, but I am sitting in a hotel room in Jaffna and feeling rather sorry for myself. I am not apart of my third Challai ride and i sit here eagerly awaiting any kind of news i can on my phone, feeling rather inadequate not to be able to ride today. ATP, to me has always been about riding a 100%, and not being able to ride a day hurts.
We had a great day off in Nilaveli Two days ago, sleeping like sloths, eating copious amounts of food and sucking down Arrack Cocktails. Charlene and I had an amazing massage and much time was spend lazing around the beach or in the air-conditioned comfort of our room. As gorgeous as the weather looked, it was hideously hot. The temp was well into the high 30's and if you could ever really on any of the weather forecasters, apparently it felt like 45. I have no idea what that's supposed to mean. To me in the context of the current weather, it is simple. Hot, Hotter and Fucking Insanely Hot. Take the latter, add a few degrees and you get the picture.
As I have stated on many previous posts on the blog, I HATE THE HEAT. When Yasas mentioned to the team that day 7 departure would be 11am, it took all my self control not to roll on the ground and cry. I could almost feel my skin, and my rather bare scalp, sizzle. We didn't have a choice as we were getting to a tented campsite that would not be ready till late evening.
Having attempted to comfort myself by eating more bacon for breakfast, I retreated to the confines of my nice cool room to await the dreaded departure. The temp steadily inching up to the 'FIH levels.
At the dreaded hour of 11, we rolled out of Nilaveli and on towards Pullmudai and the Kokillai Lagoon. The road is spectacular. This is another favourite section of the ride. We meander along the coast, through Mangrove swamps and rolling farm land, passing the Thiriyaya temple, reputedly the sight of the oldest stupa in the country. As gorgeous as this road is, my mind couldn't shake the reality of what we were doing. Riding a short (still over a 100km) ride, at a reasonable pace, in 40+c (100f) heat.
We cut our planned water stops by close to half the usual distance and motored on towards the lagoon. Lots of water for bathing ourselves in an attempt to cool our scorching skin.
At the lagoon, a spectacularly beautiful part of our little rock in the indian ocean, we wee treated to a delicious Roti, Sweet potato and Sambol lunch by the Navy who have been incredibly supportive towards this cause. Having been fed and watered, we boarded a handful of boats and chugged access the lagoon to join the road on to Mullaitivu and our stop point for the night.
the last 35km's of road is great riding surface and when getting into Mullaitivu, it has become somewhat of a tradition that the last 12km is done at almost a flat out sprint. Yesterday was no different. Umm.. Well. It was different. Very different, as we had been riding in impossibly hot weather, and I for one was grumpy, sweaty, scorched beyond comprehension and just wanting to 'get this over with'.
Regardless, when Yasas 'made his move' I dragged my groaning carcass behind him and found myself hurtling down the B297 at close to 40kmph. The group started off with about 12 riders but gradually we dropped a few others along the way and kept motoring. My eyes were rolling back in my head at my stupidity to try and keep up with the 'pros' but never one to give up on a challenge (bull shit.. it was just ego), foaming at the mouth like a rabid dog, I hung in there. the km/s counted down at rapid rate.11, 10, 9 , 8 and then sanity took over. I realised i was probably going to explode like a rather large watermelon, and decided to drop out of the pack. Much to my surprise i realise there was only 6 of us at this stage.
Having dropped back a little bit i was caught up by two others who had been attempting to keep up and the three of us, Tejala, Manjula and I, now formed our own group and went haring after the 'big boys'. We were doing fine till with about 4km's to go, I got a bit too close to the rear wheel of Tejala and at around 38kmph (reasonable pace for a weekend rider like myself),I touched wheels and in a split second (in which I let out a rather high-pitched screech) found myself hurtling through the air towards the tarmac and the gravel embankment.
No snapshots of my life flashed before me, nor did any thoughts of after life pass through my mind in the moments between realisation and impact; It was more like "fuck.. this is going to hurt" and "get those fucking arms tucked in". I hit the road, in a tangle of bicycle and legs and arms, skidded along the surface, and all i could hear was the rather loud grating sound of my helmet dragging along the ground. After what seemed like an age, i came to a stop and realised Manjula who had been following me, had taken a tumble as well. we both sat on the ground and stared at each other. I waited for the pain to hit from a variety of broken limbs; I also expected half my skin to have lined the surface of the road.
Much to my surprise both Manjula and I (who total up to about 200kg's) were incredibly devoid of any critical injury. A grazed elbow was all that was visible, but a quick check by the ride doctor, later revealed a few more bruises and potentially a crack in a rib. The bikes were a bit worse for wear than we were but Sajith the magician mechanic was quick on the scene and we were back on and riding to the stopping point within a minutes.
The night was spent in a wonderfully set up camp site on the Mullaitivu beach. I was finding it difficult to move as the stiffness set in, but enjoyed a nice dip in the ocean that made all the grazes burn, and then relaxed near the beach, had an early dinner and slept outdoors, under the stars, as the tents were impossibly hot.
This morning, Charlene wasn't to pleased that i had plans of riding. Realistically, i think I knew I was going to struggle, but i had to give it a shot. I got suited and booted and joined the riders and rolled on towards the start. Most people were a bit nervous about today as it was the dreaded Challai day.
This years was extra special as thanks to Yasas's initiative and the support of the Navy, we were having the first international Challai Challenge. Many international riders and local racing teams were a part of it. While I had absolutely no intention of racing, it would shave been special to have been a part of the first race.
The ride takes us through the uncharted beach track that the LTTE terrorist used as supply routes for their navy. It is hot and sandy and done almost entirely on Mountain Bikes. I began riding but having covered about 5km's started getting spasms of pain in my ribs and had to pull to a stop. Ego has taken a big hit but hopefully, I will be able to take this old body, and get it to ride 160km's to the Wilpattu border tomorrow. Till then I will enjoy the luxurious setting of Jetwing Hotels new property in Jaffna; and tomorrow, I will get back on my bike and ride.
We had a great day off in Nilaveli Two days ago, sleeping like sloths, eating copious amounts of food and sucking down Arrack Cocktails. Charlene and I had an amazing massage and much time was spend lazing around the beach or in the air-conditioned comfort of our room. As gorgeous as the weather looked, it was hideously hot. The temp was well into the high 30's and if you could ever really on any of the weather forecasters, apparently it felt like 45. I have no idea what that's supposed to mean. To me in the context of the current weather, it is simple. Hot, Hotter and Fucking Insanely Hot. Take the latter, add a few degrees and you get the picture.
As I have stated on many previous posts on the blog, I HATE THE HEAT. When Yasas mentioned to the team that day 7 departure would be 11am, it took all my self control not to roll on the ground and cry. I could almost feel my skin, and my rather bare scalp, sizzle. We didn't have a choice as we were getting to a tented campsite that would not be ready till late evening.
Having attempted to comfort myself by eating more bacon for breakfast, I retreated to the confines of my nice cool room to await the dreaded departure. The temp steadily inching up to the 'FIH levels.
At the dreaded hour of 11, we rolled out of Nilaveli and on towards Pullmudai and the Kokillai Lagoon. The road is spectacular. This is another favourite section of the ride. We meander along the coast, through Mangrove swamps and rolling farm land, passing the Thiriyaya temple, reputedly the sight of the oldest stupa in the country. As gorgeous as this road is, my mind couldn't shake the reality of what we were doing. Riding a short (still over a 100km) ride, at a reasonable pace, in 40+c (100f) heat.
We cut our planned water stops by close to half the usual distance and motored on towards the lagoon. Lots of water for bathing ourselves in an attempt to cool our scorching skin.
At the lagoon, a spectacularly beautiful part of our little rock in the indian ocean, we wee treated to a delicious Roti, Sweet potato and Sambol lunch by the Navy who have been incredibly supportive towards this cause. Having been fed and watered, we boarded a handful of boats and chugged access the lagoon to join the road on to Mullaitivu and our stop point for the night.
the last 35km's of road is great riding surface and when getting into Mullaitivu, it has become somewhat of a tradition that the last 12km is done at almost a flat out sprint. Yesterday was no different. Umm.. Well. It was different. Very different, as we had been riding in impossibly hot weather, and I for one was grumpy, sweaty, scorched beyond comprehension and just wanting to 'get this over with'.
Regardless, when Yasas 'made his move' I dragged my groaning carcass behind him and found myself hurtling down the B297 at close to 40kmph. The group started off with about 12 riders but gradually we dropped a few others along the way and kept motoring. My eyes were rolling back in my head at my stupidity to try and keep up with the 'pros' but never one to give up on a challenge (bull shit.. it was just ego), foaming at the mouth like a rabid dog, I hung in there. the km/s counted down at rapid rate.11, 10, 9 , 8 and then sanity took over. I realised i was probably going to explode like a rather large watermelon, and decided to drop out of the pack. Much to my surprise i realise there was only 6 of us at this stage.
Having dropped back a little bit i was caught up by two others who had been attempting to keep up and the three of us, Tejala, Manjula and I, now formed our own group and went haring after the 'big boys'. We were doing fine till with about 4km's to go, I got a bit too close to the rear wheel of Tejala and at around 38kmph (reasonable pace for a weekend rider like myself),I touched wheels and in a split second (in which I let out a rather high-pitched screech) found myself hurtling through the air towards the tarmac and the gravel embankment.
No snapshots of my life flashed before me, nor did any thoughts of after life pass through my mind in the moments between realisation and impact; It was more like "fuck.. this is going to hurt" and "get those fucking arms tucked in". I hit the road, in a tangle of bicycle and legs and arms, skidded along the surface, and all i could hear was the rather loud grating sound of my helmet dragging along the ground. After what seemed like an age, i came to a stop and realised Manjula who had been following me, had taken a tumble as well. we both sat on the ground and stared at each other. I waited for the pain to hit from a variety of broken limbs; I also expected half my skin to have lined the surface of the road.
Much to my surprise both Manjula and I (who total up to about 200kg's) were incredibly devoid of any critical injury. A grazed elbow was all that was visible, but a quick check by the ride doctor, later revealed a few more bruises and potentially a crack in a rib. The bikes were a bit worse for wear than we were but Sajith the magician mechanic was quick on the scene and we were back on and riding to the stopping point within a minutes.
The night was spent in a wonderfully set up camp site on the Mullaitivu beach. I was finding it difficult to move as the stiffness set in, but enjoyed a nice dip in the ocean that made all the grazes burn, and then relaxed near the beach, had an early dinner and slept outdoors, under the stars, as the tents were impossibly hot.
This morning, Charlene wasn't to pleased that i had plans of riding. Realistically, i think I knew I was going to struggle, but i had to give it a shot. I got suited and booted and joined the riders and rolled on towards the start. Most people were a bit nervous about today as it was the dreaded Challai day.
This years was extra special as thanks to Yasas's initiative and the support of the Navy, we were having the first international Challai Challenge. Many international riders and local racing teams were a part of it. While I had absolutely no intention of racing, it would shave been special to have been a part of the first race.
The ride takes us through the uncharted beach track that the LTTE terrorist used as supply routes for their navy. It is hot and sandy and done almost entirely on Mountain Bikes. I began riding but having covered about 5km's started getting spasms of pain in my ribs and had to pull to a stop. Ego has taken a big hit but hopefully, I will be able to take this old body, and get it to ride 160km's to the Wilpattu border tomorrow. Till then I will enjoy the luxurious setting of Jetwing Hotels new property in Jaffna; and tomorrow, I will get back on my bike and ride.
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