My First Hill Climb Race on a bicycle!

Some time back I had raced up a hill in the Himalayas. The race is called the Kaladunghi Epic and this was the inaugural year. It was also my very first time climbing a hill. And this below is my experience of dying, before climaxing!

Link to the Strava Segment which we raced: https://www.strava.com/segments/12287519

For those who don't want to click on the link, here's the screenshot!

And here's the story I had written after the race of dying a slow agonising death:

This past Sunday was my first attempt at a hill climb race and what a fantastic experience it turned out to be (even though I happened to be the slowest rider there!).

1650 metres of climbing in 30 km, was a considerable challenge. Coupled to that was the drive from Delhi to Kaladhungi and back. I had to focus more on the driving of the car rather than the riding of the bike. The road to Uttarakhand still by and large has you pulling the hair off your head and it is incomprehensible why it cannot be repaired.

The adventures started off the night before, as I packed my bike into the car. The front tyre of the bike was punctured and I didn’t have sealant or a spare tube, neither did my co-rider who was travelling with me. Fortunately, Daniel who was already in Uttarakhand, was carrying a spare tube which he generously offered so that I could ride. Else, my ride would have gotten over, before it even started.

We started off from Gurgaon at 2 AM on Sunday after managing half an hour of sleep and reached Kaladunghi by 630, even though some stretches of road were terrible and we also got a bit of fog on the final stretch. After an unsuccessful attempt at a power nap, breakfast was a double omelette. I assembled my bike for the start of the race and was ready to rumble, or at least, struggle and curse my way to the top.

500 metres into the climb I saw the fast guys pulling away and I swallowed my ego and let them go. It was going to be a fight to the top of the hill and not the standings!

Once a rhythm was built, it was easy enough to climb at my own sweet slow pace. I looked at every monkey I passed with eyes of suspicion, since I had a couple of bananas in my jersey pocket and didn’t want to get mugged by my simian relatives! Fortunately, the Corbett Park monkeys are better behaved than their Delhi counterparts and I was left to enjoy my bananas in peace! We crossed two lakes on the way and at the second lake I looked up and saw where the road led. And that was it. Seeing the crazy climb that awaited me broke my spirit and from there it was a right royal struggle. Finally I gave up and did the walk of shame, pushing my bike up the steeper sections and getting onto the saddle and riding the easier bits.

After what seemed to be an eternity I reached the finish line where I was greeted with high fives, cheers and more importantly a hot plate of Maggi noodles! It was elation in elevation.

What goes up must come down and a few quick photos later it was time to head back on the road we had just climbed. What took me 3 hours 53 minutes to ascend, took just an hour to return. The joy of cycling is freewheeling downhill!

Back at the base of the climb, we loaded our bikes into the car and after lunch and a shower it was time to head back to Delhi. Since I had slept just half an hour in the past 30 hours, the drive back was not something I looked forward to. Once again the MTB guys came to my rescue and I drove along with two other vehicles. But my adventures refused to end, as we got news of a major traffic jam, something that the NH-24 is infamous for. Dinner was tucked in at Gajraula, where after much deliberation and Google map checking, a detour via Hapur and Modi Nagar was decided. And what a detour it turned out to be.

A drive in a sedan on dirt tracks through fields and villages of UP in the middle of the night was more excitement than I had bargained for! And it didn’t end there. On the home stretch, a speeding truck rammed into a marriage procession just 10 feet away from me, threatening to overturn all its contents on top of my car. Home suddenly seemed very far away!

After a rather eventful day, I finally reached home at 130 AM, with only the thought of sweet dreams in my mind. Just half an hour of sleep in the previous 48 hours, coupled with an intensive physical effort had taken a massive toll on the body. In a drunken stupor, I crashed out on my bed, happy to have finished safe.

Before the start of the race, we lined up for a groupie! Thanks to Ankur for the picture!