1. Pulicat Lake Ride
So it was the D-day, and Peter (the organizer of the ride) had mailed the participants with the preparatory mail and asked us to assemble at Anna Nagar sharp 4am! Well 4 am meant I had to start at 3am from my place in Velachery which means I had to get up by 2.30am! But there I was battling for sleep and it was already 1am. So I decided to give in to the anxiety and excitement and sacrifice the sleep. I started from my house 2 hours earlier than planned.
I took help of Google directions and took the safe route through the highways. I went at a steady pace of 20 kmph and took care not to strain myself too much as I hadn't slept. I was about 20kms to the destinations when I called up Peter and told him about the head start. I finally reached the Pulicat lake by 10am and the first thing one notices there is the bridge that connects the beach:
I found out that Peter, took the other participants through some scenic Village offroad trails and they had close to 30 punctures! I was both relieved and dissappointed on hearing this. Since I knew they will be late, I locked the cycle in a church there and slept under the shade. A baby playing where I slept:
After a nice sound sleep, I got up at 2 am and Peter and his crew were still about 5kms away! So I decided to tour the islands on my own and take some photographs. Pulicat has a lof of small Islands where people used to go through boats and have campfires. But recently, there was a boat which capsized and all the people died. due to this any sort of boating apart from fishing activities is not allowed on the lake.
Fishing is the main livelyhood here and almost all the population are fishermen. Since it is a backwater lake, u get both varieties of fish which makes it really tasty. Even though I was alergic to Fish, I decided to try out the Fish curry they give with rice (Meen kolambu) (which did not have any good effect the day after though).
After a while, Peter and his crew appeared on the scene and the whole town diverted their attention towards us. There were 35 odd cyclists in a small town and there was chit-chatting everywhere. Everyone was asking everyone where they are from, what are they doing here? How they came on cycle? etc. etc.
After the CTC guys finished off their lunch, Peter wasted no time and asked us to turn back as we were running late. Peter took us through small village roads and Offroad trails and avoided the highways that I took. That was the first time I took the Rockrider through offroad trails and I really liked it :D And there were no dusty polluting lorrys which made it even better! In no time we reached our homes and I remember having a dreamless deeeeeep sleep that night!
So it was the D-day, and Peter (the organizer of the ride) had mailed the participants with the preparatory mail and asked us to assemble at Anna Nagar sharp 4am! Well 4 am meant I had to start at 3am from my place in Velachery which means I had to get up by 2.30am! But there I was battling for sleep and it was already 1am. So I decided to give in to the anxiety and excitement and sacrifice the sleep. I started from my house 2 hours earlier than planned.
I took help of Google directions and took the safe route through the highways. I went at a steady pace of 20 kmph and took care not to strain myself too much as I hadn't slept. I was about 20kms to the destinations when I called up Peter and told him about the head start. I finally reached the Pulicat lake by 10am and the first thing one notices there is the bridge that connects the beach:
I found out that Peter, took the other participants through some scenic Village offroad trails and they had close to 30 punctures! I was both relieved and dissappointed on hearing this. Since I knew they will be late, I locked the cycle in a church there and slept under the shade. A baby playing where I slept:
After a nice sound sleep, I got up at 2 am and Peter and his crew were still about 5kms away! So I decided to tour the islands on my own and take some photographs. Pulicat has a lof of small Islands where people used to go through boats and have campfires. But recently, there was a boat which capsized and all the people died. due to this any sort of boating apart from fishing activities is not allowed on the lake.
Fishing is the main livelyhood here and almost all the population are fishermen. Since it is a backwater lake, u get both varieties of fish which makes it really tasty. Even though I was alergic to Fish, I decided to try out the Fish curry they give with rice (Meen kolambu) (which did not have any good effect the day after though).
After a while, Peter and his crew appeared on the scene and the whole town diverted their attention towards us. There were 35 odd cyclists in a small town and there was chit-chatting everywhere. Everyone was asking everyone where they are from, what are they doing here? How they came on cycle? etc. etc.
After the CTC guys finished off their lunch, Peter wasted no time and asked us to turn back as we were running late. Peter took us through small village roads and Offroad trails and avoided the highways that I took. That was the first time I took the Rockrider through offroad trails and I really liked it :D And there were no dusty polluting lorrys which made it even better! In no time we reached our homes and I remember having a dreamless deeeeeep sleep that night!
A price hike and a missed good deal is a real turn off for a potential buyer. But if you are determined on getting it, price is just an obstacle u have to take care of.
