Offroad again...

yet another offroad ride. HBC had plans of a non-stop round-trip ride to the airport - would've been about 70kms in all. That ride was more about endurance. I chose to go with my office group for yet another offroad ride. 6 riders planned to join...4 turned up. Rest decided to turn in their beds and in turn missed yet another superb offroad ride. :)

Today's ride was about finding the hidden trails among the known ones. Exploring the offroads, we found ourselves in a highly rocky terrain. The area was tricky and almost always created an illusion of enclosed spaces. On closer inspection, one could find the narrow trails leading up and beyond the rocks. The surface was full of loose pebbles and gravel...so much that riding uphill, the wheels were just spinning in place - the bike refused to budge. At one point, we were riding on a narrow trail on a ridge with a steep fall and water bodies on either side. A single mistake or skid would have cost us dearly. Another thing that struck me much later that these rocky hills are often blasted up by dynamite to get rocks for construction. Though they cordon-off the area, they sure done expect bikers in the middle of the site. Luckily, we were too early for them I guess :) With the bike on high gear and hands firmly on the handle, we went over one uphill to another. It is actually surprising that I'd not discovered this place earlier. Finally, a good 60-odd km ride to kick start the weekend.

We started this biking club (Thunderbolts) in office more than a year ago. Most of the old group has fallen apart. But the good thing is a some really nice enthusiasts have joined. And they're changing the face of the club. The average age of riders is much lesser, fitness and enthusiasm level much higher. Number of high-end bikes in the club is on the rise and so is the level of challenge that the members are pitching themselves against. There's a lot of dedication in the group about riding and people are more open to taking longer riders and discovering unknown trails. At the same time, my fitness level is a concern and I am apprehensive about going for multi-day long rides that I happily used to go for last year. Or maybe, this is just a passing phase.