Vadivel's blog

After completing 200 BRM on June 21st 2013 (ECR Classic 200 BRM) was enjoying the success for too long that I didn't practice for quiet sometime. Even registered for 400 BRM for July but dropped out on last minute as I wasn't feeling well. During that period Kandappa Sir posted in Madras Randonneurs about a crash course he is willing to take for folks who are interested in attempting 200 / 300 BRM. Didn't think twice before requesting him to consider me as well and from then on no looking back.  Took the practice rides seriously and followed it religiously.  Me and my worries! Couple of things I was worried about were: I have never rode during night time on highway and was little worried on whether my headlight would be powerful enough to show me the way.  Never during a ride I had ate anything apart from energy bar, tender coconut, Gatorade or Juices. But for a 20 hours ride one can't survive like that alone. To overcome this fear I decided to face it and

Since lately I have been posting my cycling adventures in my Facebook account many of my friends have been asking suggestions on "What types of cycle should I buy?", "Tell me the best Brand of cycle to buy" etc., Though I am not an expert on this yet thought of sharing what I understood till now and leave for the experts to comment and help me correct any content which they feel might be misleading for the readers. My Top 4 Learning as of now 1. DON'T just go by Brand 2. Fix your Budget - Because there are bikes from few thousands to 2+ Lakhs :) 3. Be clear on what sort of terrain you plan to ride / Major purpose of this investment 4. Test as many cycles, brands as possible and see which one YOU are comfortable with. Majorly these are the 3 types of bikes I tested: Road Bikes, Mountain Bikes (MTB) and Hybrid Bikes. I had always loved the Brand Cannondale and Bianchi a lot. So I had made up my mind to buy only one of these brands. But after t

During March 2014, after completing my first TCC 100 Kms ride in less than 4 hrs 30 mins decided that I should attempt BRM 200 in June.  Preparation: I wasn't having any friends who are into cycling at that time so wasn't too sure on what sort of practice is needed for this. I am used to cycling all alone and my only group event was TCC 100 Kms ride till now. So all I did was as much as possible daily 1 hour (20 to 25 kms) of cycling and over the weekend i extended it to 2 to 3 hours. I made sure to take a rest day after every 2 days of ride. Used to carry two bottles one filled with water and another one filled with Gatorade. As a backup will also carry two more Gatorade bottles in my backpack along with 4 energy bars. Reason being I want to get used to that drink and energy bar which I plan to use on the event day as well. Things to carry on a 200 BRM: This is in no way an exhaustive list I am just documenting what I carried and found it useful. Hope it w