1st #BBCh Race - An amateur's Experience | July 2018

My Experience of #BBCh Amateurs 72KM #Race | July 2018

INFO: It's not the usual ride of 2-5 Roadies working out on a cool and calm Saturday! It's also not the one that allows us to take comfortable breaks to get down, stretch a bit, eat, take selfies and continue.

Here, I want to share my experience as a first time Racer in the highly renowned #BBCh (Bangalore Bicycle Championship) race that happened on 15th July, Sunday. This year's race was the longest in India featuring the distance of 132 KMs for masters and 72 KMs for amateurs.

It all started on 6th July, the Friday. I got a notification in our Cycling WhatsApp group about the upcoming Bangalore race that'll feature National Cyclists, those who can average up to 40-47 Kmph 😮😲

So there were two categories of the race, broadly Elite/Masters and the Amateurs (Now that doesn't mean a beginner in #BBCh 😛). I couldn't find the category that suits me 😉. So, I own a Roadie that I got 2 months back and I wasn't even sure if I should be participating in this race.

But as they say, there's always a #firstTime for everything! I got excited to participate, rather to compete with the Best of the Nation. (By the way, Bengaluru has produced national champions almost every year). It was super fascinating to even think about it. And I Registered! Of course, for the Amateur race. So, to brief this category, it has Under-18 [Kids, is what I'd prefer to call them ;)], Beginners (that's me!), Women and anyone who is scared of Masters/Elite candidates!!😜 . All these racing together for 72 KMs at a stretch. (Remember, there supposed to be no breaks etc.)

So, gradually the race day is coming close and the wait is making me impatient. Excitedly, I'm sharing with everyone I ever known, that I'm participating in the #BBCh race and will compete with national cyclists. Little did I know, it's going to be one of the most memorable ride that I've done till now! For what reason?

Read on...

Reporting time:5:30 AM, I left at 3:00 AM from Whitefield, Bangalore and reached by 5. There were organizers and volunteers setting up the race stage and the registration desk. Got into the nearby CCD and the wait started. In the next 20 mins, we were 5 amateur cyclists talking about our first race, past experiences, our strategy for today and what not!

Image.1 Peloton Getting Ready

Cycling tags collection started sharp by 5:30 AM and within the next one hour there were around 150 cyclists. (80 in Amateurs category!)

I once had heard, there are cycles costing 2 - 4 Lacs. But, watching them all at one place for the first time was just amazing! The race was flagged at 7:10 AM for amateurs and the 4 KM neutral time began. We were asked to follow the vehicle that accounted for the warm-up.

The race started and I was somewhere at middle of the crowd off the 80 member Peloton. I had packed couple of Bananas and energy Bars in the Jersey and had filled the energy water for the long route to follow. The route was through the beauty of NH7 highway, peeking the scenic view of Nandi Hills and an endless climbs, headwinds and crosswinds accompanied by the non-stop competition.

Everytime, someone came 50 metres close ahead, I got into competitive mode and moved ahead. Likewise, it went smoothly for the first 20 KMs. The short climbs are supposed to be my strength where I crossed couple of riders. I was averaging at around 30 Kmph for the first 28 KMs. The downhills were not to take rest, I took them as an opportunity to speed up on the next climb. I wasn't the only one with that strategy. There were two riders whom I couldn't cross till then. One was slim-fit and constant, other one never gave up his lead to us, with his strong determination!

It was the time I had eaten one banana (till 25 KMs) and naturally didn't realize it until nearing the U-turn (36 km). 3 KMs still to it, I had started getting a strange feeling on my rear thigh muscles, that I never had in my past 1500 KMs of lifetime cycle ride. I think, the inner me was scared of what was being warned. The Cramps!

I was riding a climb and started getting down the hill, a sudden pain on the left thigh rear muscle made me stop slowly from my Roadie. It was the 1st mild cramp I felt and I got down to stretch a bit. Something I never expected a racer in me would do! Within next 10 seconds, I saw two riders crossing me with 28 Kmph. With couple of more overtakes, I thought the rest I took was enough, and got back on to the saddle. The pain was not gone. Soon after some hundreds of metres I got them again. 100 metres from the U-turn, I felt a strong pain, not in one but both the legs were screaming to STOP!

50 metres and I was on the ground, sleeping on the roadside grass with my bike lying by my side. I never felt this kind of pain in my legs. All the dreams, my best timing target, average speed of 28 Kmph were all seizing to become reality. Was I going to need a support vehicle? or Do I need to book cab to reach back to the start line 36 KMs far? This didn't feel fair to me, as I never thought of failing in the first race with my road bike. The muscles were jerking, the burn feeling was all enough to make me quit the race!! The time was running really fast, as I see people gradually taking U-turns, all those whom I had led till now.

It was time to take tough decision, either to quit Now, or if starting from U-turn, have to complete the next 36 KMs on the saddle! I had my 30 Kmph gain to be forgotten after I quit, or to continue with the pain and complete the race, ignoring about my average speed target!

I chose the latter! I needed new motivation to finish the race. The cut-off time for 72 KMs was three hours, I had reached U-turn in 1:10 Hrs. My target time was 2:30 Hrs.

First half was a comfortable ride, but coming next, was a scary cross-wind waiting for me. I kind of guessed how many climbs would be coming on my way, but the fear of getting the cramp again held my confidence low. Another strong cramp and I was going to give up. I decided to forget the timing target and was treating my legs with extreme care. No heavy pedaling, no chasing, taking occasional breaks off the saddle. Every kilometer was now testing my patience and the sight of next big climb was threatening me to quit.

Fast forward, I took 8 breaks each for around 2-3 minutes. I was drinking enough water, but that itself was not enough. Eating bananas didn't help much either!!

My new motivation was now to enjoy the beautiful highway, watching the super-bikes on NH7 and the fields across. The greenery, the cozy wind was now the company I was looking for! I converted my full race into smaller targets and despite having the multiple cramps on all four side muscles of my thighs, I reached the Finish line! The last 36 KMs, I maintained 16 Kmph average. Crossing the finishing line wasn't a satisfying one this time! I was  happy that I finished the race. I took an hour extra than my target. My overall average was 20Kmph.

Post-Race: the amateurs met again and the 5 of us celebrated our first racing experience together!

Image.2 We met again! Could finish our first race. 🌝

Cheers to us all! Soumabh, Sachin, Nandini and Kapil it was great sharing the event together. So I made this video for viewers to have a look at our experience. The #tempoDriver was to our rescue when a friend got his tire punctured! Indeed, that became the best moment of our day.

I thoroughly enjoyed the overall time spent at my first #BBCh race. And many Congratulations to the Winners in each categories. Also to the organizers and the sponsors, kudos to your efforts for making the longest #BBCh racing event a huge success featuring more than 150 cyclists.

Amateur Category Winners

Elite Category Winners

Women Category Winners

Master Category Winner

Meanwhile, I look forward for another #BBCh race, till then I'm going to work really hard on my fitness and overall strategy. Thanks to readers for staying till here and being part of my journey!

Cheers! 😉