What seemed like a cancelled trip at one point in time because of lack of participants, turned out to be the best outing ever so far.
Initial plan was to go to http://www.deccantrails.com/ and rent pre-pitched tents and enjoy the ready made food (was costly affair though).Cost factor made many back out and we got only handful of folks RSVPed for it. 2 days before the event Krish B & I discussed about cancelling the plan since going that far with 2-3 folks was not the whole idea of the trip. Sumit initially confirmed but he had to leave town because of personal emergency came back just a day before and was keen to still join us, Krish B initially didn’t have plan to go but may be seeing less # of participants he decided to pitch in (he decided to drive his car which was huge help to carry the supply). We also got confirmation about few of the Krish B’s friends who were very enthusiasts to CAMP but didn’t want to ride so they were to come to Pargi Hills in their car.
Saturday early morning 04:30am Frank’s call woke me up, he started early since he was coming from other part of the city & confirmed that he’ll meet us at Shankerpally (breakfast point). He asked if it’s raining this side of city. I was surprised why is he asking about rain, also didn’t see rain in the dark. Got ready & packed the backpack for night stay and met others @ IIIT junction. On the way realised it had rained in the night, roads were still wet. Came to know a cyclone is approaching & we might get rain on our way. Rain warning wasn’t gonna make any difference in our plan anyways.
First 40kms till Shankerpally it was awesome, it was cloudy & cool breeze was making the journey enjoyable. But by the time we finished the GRAND BREAKFAST it was raining heavily. We thought of waiting for 5-10 mins to see if it stops but then as per cyclone warning it wasn’t gonna stop soon, WHY to waste time. “Rain or Shine, WE RIDE”. It was first ride in full rain, which annoyed initially coz shoes & all the dress was damp. After sometime dropped the rain thought and just kept enjoying the route. Rain clouds over the hills were just awesome and treat to the eyes.
When I woke up after the nap, didn’t find anyone nearby & looked like I’m the only one stuck here in dark land and everyone is gone somewhere, called up Krish B to check where they all are. Came out of the car to see fire under a tarpaulin shade. WOW.. Thats what we all needed that time a shade under which coal griller can be kept.. Rest all Kerosine+Coal and lighter did :) Delicious grilled items and heat brought me back from my disappointment. Seeing a fire lit was the best we could achieve in this heavily raining night. Guys did some EXCELLENT job.
Pitched the tents & after few hours of grilling it was time to get inside the tent. It was still drizzling and WE were all suspicious that water would have gone inside the tent. WE WERE WRONG :) slept inside the tent like a dog till morning. It was so WARM & COZY though was raining heavily and pretty cold outside. AN EXPERIENCE OF LIFETIME. Rain which annoyed before turned out to be the best part of this trip. Rain made the whole trip very challenging and remarkable experience. Krish B. says he never pitched tent in rain before, it was a very new experience for all of us in some or other way.
Total 200+ km bicycle ride + Tenting in the rain @ Pargi Hills: Awesome weekend spent with some great enthusiasts.
*Dropbox_link: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/6aswujr7c0s8vfw/eFJgCb70PY#/
