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I have improved my performance in rolling terrain over the course of multiple Brevets. Result was that I was able to finish this Coorg 600 with ¬6 hours of buffer. Will give you some background of my training:

Anchetty 200 (2018):This was my first ever ride on any hills. Prior rides were only in flat roads in Chennai. Result was that I didn't know when to shift gears. Finally, ended up breaking my Rear Derailleur and had quit at ¬55km itself. 

Jog 1000(Apr'19): This, I knew, was going to be my toughest ride attempted till that point. I didn't prepare at all:Didn't ride my bike for almost 2 months before this big event. I had also put on 7+kgs of weight which wasn't helping. 
Impact:I got too tired at 500kms and had to quit. 

I wanted to go for PBP. My morale was low since I had to quit Jog falls. I didn't register for PBP until I see some success in rolling terrain. 

Jog falls failure made me take the challenge of attempting the toughest SR series created by Bangalore Randonneurs. Anchetty(200), Basavanbetta(300), Hogenekkal(400) and finally Coorg(600). 

My aim at each brevet was to finish the ride. Anchetty was the first one since I wanted a successful BRM completion in Bangalore. Was able to complete Anchetty in just less than 12 hours. Was certainly happy that I finally finished Anchetty Ride. 
This gave me confidence to register for the PBP. But, still was skeptical to book tickets and hotel stay. 

Then came Basavanbetta(300). To my surprise, I started with the first set of Riders (Arun Kumarasamy, Raj). I forgot my helmet in the first CP and hence, had spent ¬30+minutes to collect the same. Finally, finished the ride in ¬17 hours. 

Hogenekkal(400):Started the ride alone and rode the whole distance in solo. Was able to finish this ride in ¬21 hours ( 6 hours buffer). 

Now, I got the confidence that I can do something in PBP. Went ahead and booked the hotel as well as created travel plans. Also, applied for the VISA. 

Each ride boosted my confidence that I can perform to a decent level in rolling terrain. 

Coorg 600 was really a challenging one for me since I wasn't sure how I will perform in the ride which had 2 nights to ride. Not sure if it was out of fear, but got severe cold on Tuesday itself(Ride was on Friday). I had severe running nose and cough till the start of the event. But, when the event started, I was riding at a good speed; I was breathing heavy as well(heart-rate around 160+). This made all fluids in my nose come out easily. Then came the rains. Any high temperature I had in my body went away :). 
    I was able to join the fast riders (AK, Mahesh and Somas). They were courteous to not leave me behind when I got slower. Thanks to all of you. 

The climate in the entire 600 was a bliss. Coorg was awesome. I don't think any photo can depict the feelings we went through. 

Thanks to Bangalore Randonneurs for giving me such a slow and steady training in rolling terrain as part of this SR series. 

Thanks to Madras Randonneurs, my home ground where I started all my brevet events. 

Thanks to ProBikers for giving me a wonderful bike (Lappierre Sensium 500). 

Finally, a huge thanks to my WCCG group. Without this WCCG family, I wouldn't have found the passion of cycling in me. They made me cycle for commute, for fun, for tea/vada, and mainly, for friends!. 

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Deepak Manohar

Coorg 600!

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