Hope to continue with better preparations

Sometimes we have to cancel or postpone the expeditions for relevant reasons. One of the pedaling trips I was keenly following is cancelled last week. http://adventuresofgreg.com/blog/2010/09/22/pedal-the-ocean-expedition-canceled/

It looks like I may continue my trike expedition at right opportunity with sufficient preparations. One of the main requirement for next lap is there should be a support vehicle preferably Maruti Omni for obvious reasons. The support person can drive vehicle, take photographs plus help in organizing food and lodging, attend to networking. All these are beyond the capability of one person to tackle alone, especially partially handicapped one.

I could not hand over my cameras to total stranger in unknown places and ask him to take photographs while my legs are strapped to trike pedals. So there are very few photographs of mine along with trike on the road. There was a chance few strangers act decently & I develop the habit of asking all people passing by without paying much attention to the circumstances.

One reason for Omni is carrying solar panels on the top so that I will be more self sufficient in power. Convincing people to give me power was not difficult but there was no power on numerous occasions due to power cut. Coming from a village in Mangalore district where power cut is absent because of good payments, I never realized supply was so bad in other parts of Karnataka, leave alone Tamilnadu and Maharashtra. Four or six panels of 75 W can easily be transferred from my terrace to Omni rooftop and that will make considerable difference.

On the day I climbed shiradi ghat road, I had asked boys & Dinakar who were in Omni to go ahead and buy tea. I could take few sips of hot tea in shiradi village sitting on the trike thereby saving few precious minutes. During my long trip, either I went without tea or wasted lot of time.

My life’s philosophy is to just get on with useful stuff and avoid getting bogged down in pointless debates as walking a untried lonely path always attracts criticisms. I do this with purpose and passion.

Return Journey to Home

My plan for returning was to take a train and come via Arasikere or Bangalore. So I went to Railway Station after having lunch at Lalith Mahal. The concerned person booking parcels who himself had pronounced limp while walking was a crook. and wanted to exploit me. With a handicapped certificate I could have got free passage for trike, we both agreed.

Knowing it contains a small motor, he said it is going to cost me INR 750 to book it to Bangalore as nobody will come near the parcel wagon in Arasikere to unload in the middle of the night. I said I spent just INR 100 to take it to Trivandrum from Mangalore. He made a scene of talking to his superiors and confirmed it is going to cost what he has already quoted, Rs 750.

While I was walking out of there somebody said there is a VRL bus leaving Bijapur @ 4 PM and just an hour was left for that. My batteries were low on power but I still coaxed them to take me 4 km to VRL office. The booking clerk said the top of the bus is already loaded with luggage & he cannot arrange for its transport.

So I came back to bus stand area and saw Ganesh Travels bus office and it was repeat of VRL story - they have regular luggage etc. It looked like they wanted to exploit the situation. By that time I was sort of desperate. Next came near Lalith Mahal hotel & saw Durgamba bus office. They said they have tickets for days bus leaving in about an hour and can accommodate trike. I said that I will come back after a tea.

When I told my story to cashier @ Lalith Mahal, he offered to get some discount. He said I should have approached him earlier & could have arranged with the busses, I already spoke to VRL, Ganesh - if necessary. He bargained with the bus agency and I reached Mangalore with my trike for Rs 470 including loading / unloading tips.

The trike was loaded by bus agency office staff and hotel boys loaded my bags. I was sort of running around clueless. Luckily everything was in order. I checked the trike that was tied up in top of the bus in Jamakhandi which is about an hour journey and it seemed okay.

When it reached Mangalore, it was upside down and there was considerable damage to the luggage carrier. I was lucky that nothing was missing. Later examination revealed that water had entered the controller which is very important electronic component   and have spoiled it.   The bus luggage receipt had put the valuation of goods as Rs 300 only. 

In the heavy rain I removed the carrier and then summoned Ashok. By coincidence it was Ashok who had put the trike on train luggage van many days earlier on the way to Trivandrum and had come to my help when I reached Mangalore. Both days, it was raining. If the carrier was not damaged, I planned to ride it home – about 45 km after charging the batteries. So left it in Ashok’s house and he offered to deliver it to my home next day.

 

14th Day Throttle failure leads to unexpected trip ending

The Lalith Mahal hotel was best lodge in my whole trip. The trike was parked just outside the door of the ground floor room so that loading and unloading of the trike was very easy. The food was good and was just few steps away. There was hot water in the tap and naturally I waited till 7 AM just to have pleasant hot bath.

Meanwhile in the morning I went to KSRTC bus stand to ask drivers and got input that Arakeri road is not too bad. There was many road options before me and I decided to take a local road to Pandharapur instead of National highway options. Having spent some time in Mysore during my childhood, sight of well maintained tongas was a good sight for me. I took the photograph sitting on trike while passing by bus stand.

The road was not very good but passing thru villages makes it a very pleasurable experience. Two youngsters in motorcycle offered to share a cup of tea in Siddapur the last town in Karnataka side which I accepted. The border is simply difficult to make out but for a marathi board indicating the distances to different places ahead.

It takes total concentration to ride in that road which was comparable to Karnataka roads & not better. I had covered about 6 km in Maharashtra when this happened. All of a sudden the throttle in my left hand came loose & when I noticed the spring inside was visible. Immediately I stopped and tried to rectify it but it did not seem to be working. Considering the horrible roads that I had been in northern Karnataka, I was not surprised as the lock of this throttle broken. It could easily be equivalent to three years of our normal use or more.

Then I took out the other assist control devise and fixed it. WaiWon of eZeebike who supplied this from China had advised me to take this along saying it could be used in throttle failure circumstances. So continued another two km with this set up. So some power can be fed from battery to wheel but there was no fine control over that. It was sort of preset and could mean runaway vehicle.

It can be used in roads where there is no road humps & roads are predictable & smooth. It should be matched with the brake lever actuated cut off so that when we apply brake, the power is automatically cut off. I had this at home and felt get it is not easy. Moreover I had brakes fixed to front wheels only and little control over power fed to rear wheel can lead to dangerous circumstances.

With a makeshift arrangement for shoe cleats already in place, another major failure was too much of a risk. I could not get suitable screw for the shoe cleats in Bijapur also and without shoes locked in, riding even 100 feet is difficult. When I asked about railway network with locals, they said no network is available nearby in the road ahead. So decided to come back to Bijapur as continuing in the crippled trike did not seem logical. Moreover next town Mangalvedha, was too far away.

On the way back I stopped under a tree to analyze the situation and access internet. There was no net signals nor Cell One signals available there. Some kannada speaking locals happened to pass by and they offered to arrange some battery charging. When we went near a shop there was no power and expected to restored @ 12. Waited for about 20 minutes and no signs of power even after 12.20. So power shutdown and road condition in rural Maharashtra appears to be similar that of Karnataka.

I was terribly short of time as evening train to Bangalore leaving around 5 PM and had to book the trike well in advance. So slowly rode towards Karnataka and I realized I was on this side of border after hitting a hump and all three wheels were off the ground for a moment. Gradually I got used to this knob turning business but coordinating it with pedaling was not easy.

I asked for the railway station and was said I had to take left turn at a particular circle and bus stand was half km strait ahead. Still I opted to have lunch at Lalith Mahal hotel as the staff over there knew me & will watch over my trike & bags when I have lunch. After a quick lunch, rode to railway station. Seeing the Gol Gumbaz sign, I went inside for three minutes just to take a snap.

I must have cycled about 60 km on this day. I have done about 1400 km cycling from Kanyakumari and including the distance 100 km done from Trivandrum to Kanyakumari to that - total will be 1500 km over 15 days of cycling. The story of traveling back home will be in next post.

13th Day 100 km to Bijapur

It started to rain as soon as I left Kudala Sangama. I was determined to move on and it was very pleasant cycling in light shower. The approach road to Kudala Sangama was very good but once I reached the highway, it was same old story. Good thing was there was no potholes, just pockmarks for next 20 km.

The land was very level and you could see for very long distance all around. The black soil was tlled but there was no evidence of planting yet. Saw some sunflower fields at distance.

I reached Almatty at 9.00 AM and had good breakfast there. The photograph above shows Almatty Dam in the background. Checked my cleat and the screws appeared okay. The temporary arrangement made yesterday was working well. I may continue with this till I get better screws somewhere. I feel the constant rattling might have played a role in loosening the screw.

There was plenty power to continue then and I decided to have power topup at Muthgi Cross which is supposed to be 20 km away. I was in a shock when they said power comes at 3 PM while it was still 11 AM. Tried at a petrol pump but they said they don’t switch on power continuously. So kept moving and hoping for a miracle.

It happened. When I consumed about 19 Ah, when I reached a KPTCL substation. The lone operator there was sleeping & I had to woke him up. Shivananda helped me in hooking up chargers to power supply but as soon as we completed it, there was power failure there also. So we waited for half an hour and finally power started to flow at noon.

The roads continues to be very strait. Some drivers do drive rashly but there is no shoulders to move on. The road edges are very steep and could topple the trike. The dual lane work is going on and most of roadside trees have been cut. Actually I was a unfortunate witness to JCB cutting tree. So no shelter if it rains.

I was under impression that I can go to Horti and stay there. People I met said there is no lodging facility in Horti and I have to go upto Zalki, 50 km away & there is little chance of reaching there before dark. Since this is National Highway & lot of fast moving trucks present, I did not want to risk at fading light. So decided to stay @ Bijapur.

Since I stopped early, I asked for a engineering college so that I can expose them to this most energy efficient way of transport. That gentleman I met on the road said there are two in city & took me to gate of one. The Secab college that I went to failed to understand the rare opportunity they had and treated me like I had come for free meal. So pedaled out of there into Hotel Lalith Mahal.

Did two stupid things about data collection today. Failed to reset Cycle analyst electronic meter in the morning and reset the GPS without recording the track in the evening. I was concerned as last time when I switched GPS off, it showed low battery indication and in haste to put battery for charging, failed to transfer the track to computer

Will be entering Maharashtra tomorrow. So this is last night stay in Karnataka. Then I can say having pedaled across two states.

Day @ Kudala Sangama

I had spent seven hours struggling with pedals yesterday and it was really tiresome, both mentally and physically. I love to be totally engaged like it happens in all thrilling games and it was just that. Only problem is my body cannot take so much abuse.

I was awake in the early morning @ 4 AM today thinking about options before me and then I realized that it is logical to take rest today and improvise on the cleat screws. Once I decided that I am staying back, I could go back to sleep.

I went to many shops and finally got hold of some screws in cycle shop which offered some hope. I tried many combinations and finally fixed the screws without the plate the bind the screws to the cleat. I hope this holds till better solution is available.

Not getting enough sleep is really alarming me. I am able to squeeze only 5 hours sleep on riding days and this is simply not enough for me. I may just post photos and GPS tracks with less text in future if that becomes necessary. This kind of trip is best done with a support team and I am all alone. Lugging the batteries and sometimes trike too both at beginning of ride and end of ride takes lot of effort. Most of the lodges have rooms upstairs.

Yesterday I had used up 40 Ah which means double the capacity of my batteries. It also indicates that even in worst circumstances you can get 31 km from a charged battery.

This blogsite is blocked in China and occasionally I mail the blog contents to W W Ching, Owner of eZee technology who made my power assist system. I have to say about 1300 km done so far was made possible with this wonderful assist unit and this have been part of many expeditions so far. Here is his comment which he naturally mailed to me.

Govind, you are going so fast I think you probably set a cycling record in India.
Take care and warm regards.
WW

I hope to reach Ahmednagar in four days and it might be via Pandharapur or Sholapur depending on road condition input I receive tomorrow in Bijapur.

12th day to Kudala Sangama 125 km

I put on knee pads today morning and found that they are very much useful. Anil suggested this and lent me the pair. So there was less pain due to knee muscles today. So I got out of the lodge fresh after hot refreshing bath around 730 AM. There are three lodges under Pai management in the same road and this was best lodge so far I found on my journey. Everyday many people gather around me when am packing my things in the morning and photography is last thing in my mind. I simply want to pack & leave. We can see Tungabhadra dam in background in above photo.

One person among gathered told me that having seen my interview in Samaya TV. Actually it happened because Dinakar gave clue of my home visit to a TV reporter and many press people had come to my home together. It was bit awkward talking about cycling advantages sitting on petrol hungry ATV

The road after Hospet town was very bad & my progress was very slow. There were plenty of large car carrying trucks but they are far more responsible than the mining lorries. I sometimes compelled to take the unpaved parts on the sides of road but edges are sometimes too high to get back. One triple hump had me in grip. Almost thought had get down from the trike to get it out. I had thought of having breakfast on the way but there was no suitable hotels, only dhabhas of various kind. Moreover I wanted to cover some distance before breakfast. There are some paddy cultivation after Hospet maybe because in downstream of Tungabhadra river.

Some boys were holding a long rope across the road and stopping trucks. Looked like Ganesh Chaturti collection but I did not stop as I wanted to get ahead. I was both hungry and keen on covering some distance.

At about 1030 I saw a primary school and Kushtagi next town seemed unreachable with power in hand. So went in and asked the teacher if I can have some power. He agreed and my trike was kept in school corridor. Later I got bisibisi oota also in the school. Since today was Saturday they had meals earlier and for me it was late breakfast too. There was rice plus sambar and sure tasted good.

After 45 km from Hospet the road was very much better and this best part continued for another 35 km. Last 45 km was tolerable but had some potholes here and there. I had uswde up 40 Ah today which is double my battery capacity.

A motorcycle overtook me around 2.15 and forced me stop. He introduced himself as reporter for local Kushtagi town newspaper and spent ten minutes talking to me. It was first interview by a newspaperman with me sitting in trike. Then I explained my time limitation and asking him to email me if any more clarifications required.

The roads are very strait here reminding me of American roads. Once you are at the top of one hill, you see a long strait line to another. The surface is tolerably good. Some potholes create headache as you are sitting very close to ground and difficult to imagine its depth.

I passed by Ilkal town around 345 and took some more charge. There was not enough charge to comfortably reach next town. I noticed the one of the shoe cleat screw was loose and tightened it. There seems like lot of stone block mining and all around the highways we see waste pieces. It is not very pleasant sight and looks sort of graveyard.

There was heavy rain once I left Ilkal and I continued for ten minutes and stopped under tree for another ten. It looks like stopping under tree is better practice than wrapping up all my stuff and rainfall is never too long.

I did not like the look of lodge in Hungund and decided to continue another 22 km to reach Kudala Sangama. Actually this place, sacred to Lingayaths is 7 km off NH 13 and that means 14 km have been added to traveling distance. There are two places to stay here run by Jains and Lingayaths. The jain establishment is more expensive & opted more modest Lingayath Ashram. About 60 boys stay here and so today both Lunch and dinner was with the kids.

When I was about to get off the trike, I found that one of the screws that holds the cleats have fallen off. I had tightened it in llkal, about 40 kms from here. I have screw of the same thread but that have protruding head and this one has to have recessed head. So this may mean forced rest today and being Sunday some workshops may not be open in the town. This is too serious matter to be overlooked.