On January 19, 2021 I attempted my ride to Kamshet all the way from Navi Mumbai. This 140 km ride was a big milestone .
Since I started riding my bicycle way back in December 2019 the only purpose was to burn calories and get a good-looking lipid profile score. The distance was not much of an agenda. Getting past the 20 km mark was quite an achievement then.
Vashi is 13 km (one way) from my home at C.B.D. Belapur…and riding to Vashi and back is a piece of cake now. But it wasn’t the same a year ago. I recall my first ride to Vashi and back and yes, It was quite an experience and thrill. It inspired me to push (pedal) further.
When I started learning more about Bike Trekking/Bike Touring one destination that topped the list was Kamshet followed by Aamchi Mumbai – my birth city. Kamshet (कामशेत) is approximately 100+ km from my place. This was the perfect ride for me to push my boundaries and set bigger milestones in the future. I have been visiting Kamshet since 1999 mostly for Paragliding. It was always on four wheels. Buzzing through the Mumbai-Pune Expressway getting to Kamshet in a vehicle is breezing fast and easy. Climbing up the Western Ghats in your car is absolutely zero effort compared to the effort required in pedaling two wheels. No doubt, this was the perfect adventurous bicycle trip I could think of.
So the target was set. I will attempt a ride from CBD Belapur all the way to Kamshet and if possible, to make it a little more adventurous and also to add some extra kilometers, why not add Aamby Valley as a waypoint?
Lots of practice. Stamina, Skill, determination.
For someone who recently completed a 30+ km bike trip simply fantasizing about a 100+ km ride was not good enough. I knew it required a lot of practice, stamina, and skill. All I had at that point was a decent new bicycle and loads of determination. So I decided to ride more frequently, adding more distance to my daily rides. Practicing uphill rides was a must and proximity to Kharghar Hills and Parsik Hill helped me in getting used to such climbs.
Equipment, preparedness
My Hybrid Steel Horse – BTWIN Riverside 120 has performed quite well so far, with no major issues. I am not even sure if I am supposed to expect much from this bike in terms of performance. This is my first (modern) bike and I have absolutely no clue what are the great advantages of other advanced and of course much more expensive bicycles. So all I did was to pedal away as much as I could. Ride…ride and more rides. And keep the bike in shape, clean and functional.
On February 23, 2020, an early morning regular ride turned out to be my first 50 km ride. This was on the same route as my planned Kamshet Ride Trip. Though just a fraction of the planned ‘Big Ride’ distance, this 50 km ride was a good encouraging warm-up.
So with all of the above, it was time to prepare for the ‘Big RIde’. The weather was perfect, not too cold in the morning and pleasantly cold in the evening/night. My plan was to wind up an ongoing business project and then head out for the ‘Big Ride’ maximum by the third week of March 2020. Anytime later than that would get too hot for riding the bicyle.
STOP! COVID ahead
The entire nation was locked down to fight COVID-19 Pandemic situation. Forget the ‘Big Ride’, even the regular rides were no longer possible. For almost 2 months watching some amazing Bike Touring/Trekking videos on YouTube was the only way to virtually ride! Nope! I am not complaining. Watching people ride some awesome routes across Europe, Alaska, Leh, China, etc. was not only inspiring but good learning too.
Although recreational cycling was permitted, inter-district travel restrictions and the existence of the COVID-19 situation were not encouraging at all in planning the ‘Big Ride’. So the next few months it was back to the usual routes but with more rides and bigger distances. This was the first Monsoon riding season for me. So I made the most of it riding through some really crazy thunderstorm days and exploring beautiful places in and around my hometown which I had not seen in my 30 years of living in Navi Mumbai. What did not happen on four wheels, was made possible thanks to my Foot Powered Rides.
Rides must go on...
As the Southwest Monsoon was on the verge to exit I managed to add two good rides to Chauk and JNPT of 55 and 65 KM respectively in late October 2020. ‘Big Ride’ aim was not lost…just took a backseat for a while. Due to workload, it was not possible to attempt till the end of November. So why not make it happen on December 1, exactly a year since my first ride?
December was a full month away. And I was itching to get my first 100 km. I have earlier mentioned the second destination on my list – Mumbai City. So why not attempt this ride not far away from my home and within the comfort of getting support (just in case). On 21 November 2020 early morning, I took off on my hybrid towards Mumbai and clocked my first 100 km (106 km to and fro). It was crazy, a lot of fun, and a bit stressful but quite an urban adventure. I think it was a dry run for the ‘Big Ride’ minus the elevation.
