Before anything I say, I would like to declare that one cannot describe the beauty of Munnar in a word or even in a sentence! Some call it 'Gateway to hills', some describe it as a heaven of peace and tranquility. But one thing is for sure that no one will regret going there and in any season for consideration.
One of the most popular hill stations in India, Munnar is situated at the confluence of three mountain streams - Mudrapuzha, Nallathanni and Kundala. Located at 1600 Mts above sea level, this was once the summer resort of the British Raj. One can still find the essence of British royality if you enter good restrurants or hotels in Munnar.
Munnar is the place of tea plantation and most of its beauty is flourish with well maintained tea gardens. Most of the tea gardens are owned by TATA tea. Apart from TATA tea there are also small tea companies which operate in this area.
The visitor is greeted with miles and miles of unending tea plantations on entry into Munnar. Among the exotic flora found in the forests and grasslands here is the Neelakurinji a flower which bathes the hills in blue colour once in twelve years. The Neelakurinji, will bloom next in year 2018 AD. Munnar also has the highest peak in South India - Anamudi - which towers over 2695 Mts and is an ideal spot for campers who like to do some trekking.
Local Attractions:
- Mattupetty: Situted 1700m above sea level, it is famous for its highly specialised dairy farm, the Indo-swiss live stock project. Over 100 varietes of high yielding cattle are reared here.Visitors are allowed into three of the eleven cattle sheds at the farm.
- The Mattupetty lake and dam , just a short distance from the farm, is a very beautiful picnic spot.
- Eco Point: Echo Point has a natural echo phenomenon and offers panoramic views.
- Rajamala: Rajamala is the natural habitat of Nilgiri Tahr. Half the world population of this rare mountain goat is found here, which is fast becoming extinct.
Once our team was ready by early August, we started two things immediately: Hard practice by riders and race strategy by the crew members. For being a good crew, one needs to have several qualities, and the foremost should be a cyclist himself or herself. It's very difficult for anyone crewing for ultra cyclists without understanding their problems, and demands on the race.
We spent several hours planning the race, as we wanted 100% of our back-end jobs complete a day before Pinaki and Imran were to hit the starting line. Since the racer and crew were in different cities, and travelling most of the week because of their job, we thought to use WhatsApp to a great extent to share our ideas almost round-the-clock. Incidentally, there was no WhatsApp video calls then, and we practically did everything on chat! Technology, especially the communication part, is very crucial in any cycling team to be successful.
So, how does one prepare as a crew member? We've all seen how a driver in Formula 1 zooms past everything. But what drives the driver? A team of professionals — from automobile engineers to garage workers, practically. And, a person has to do a lot more than his/her own skills too. Likewise, in ultra cycling team, a crew member has to arrange everything even as his/her role is assigned. Except the driver/s of the crew vehicle/s, the other crew members are supposed to take care of the supply line — that includes nutrition, hydration, accessories, apparel etc for the rider/s and also for the crew!
We took three steps seriously to make our preparations rock solid. First, we started to read up stories and blogs of other ultra cyclists who had attempted Deccan Cliffhanger successfully. Obviously, we wanted to learn from the mistakes they did and also to put to use their success mantra. The best blog we found is none other than Chaitanya Velhal's who is an RQ racer, Ironman finisher, and also a great crew who had experience in RAAM also. was an eye-opener to me, as well as many others.
Second, we attended the crew seminar in Pune just three weeks before the race. There, many racers and crew shared their experience. It was also a learning experience on how to plan on-road nutrition and hydration for the riders. The best part from this seminar was to successful execution of rider change plan and sleep management.
The third was the most important part of our preparations. A dry run. We thought that a dry run was essential before the race to check whether everything was in order. We chose to cover around 200 km of the 650 km of the race on the Diwali holiday. And, the best part from this was to plan the Ghat sections. We knew that the whole Pune-Goa route is undulating but our target was to cover the Ghat sections at ease. The dry run five days before the race made our strategy perfect.
Deccan Cliffhanger is just a two-day race unlike RAAM's 12-day rigour. But for me, it was a huge experience. Fortunately, we did not have more than one flat tyre just off Satara town in Imran's rear tube but the race tested our patience, sleep-deprived conditions, surviving on dry food for hours and what-nots! On my part, to encourage the racers, i ran up several metres on the ghat section along with them apart from occasional dances to motivate them! Yes, they could fall off the saddle laughing but nothing of that sort happened and these little tricks worked very well for the riders. Also, in absence of a physiotherapist, i took on the role of a masseur too!
Obviously, i had a great time on the road, off the cycle, and helped two ultra cyclists romp home with finisher's medals!