06/02/2019
Cycling along the coastal routes of Konkan had always been on my bucket list. I yearned for such trips on seeing picturesque posters of cycles on the beaches posted on the social media sites. One fine day, while browsing through the facebook posts, I happened to come across an article of Sachin Bhandary of Eccentrips, detailing the cycle rides he had done with this wife and inviting people to join in for the next Konkan Sunsets ride. I jumped at the chance and without a seconds thought, replied to him that I am in for this trip.
DAY 1 – Sion to Bhaucha Dhakka. Ferry from Bhaucha Dhakka to Rewas. Rewas to Nagaon – 45 Kms
It was a three day cycling trip . The route of the trip for DAY 1 was from Sion to Bhaucha Dhakka. Ferry from Bhaucha Dhakka to Rewas. Cycle from Rewas to Nagaon. Tensed, I was about this ride – an unknown cycle and I had to tag my luggage on it too. As it is, I cannot climb a moving cycle. I can get on to only a stationary cycle. Now with the added burden of the luggage, I had doubts. Spoke about it to Sachin but he encouraged me to come along. Thursday the 31st of Jan., saw me getting up at 4 am, did the last minute packing, tried to keep it as light as possible. Weighed it…. 5 kgs!!!! Fine. Caught an OLA and landed at the meeting point -Sion station before time. As I was waiting for Sachin at Sion station, I saw a sprightly young girl come bouncing up the steps . She halted in front of me and introduced herself. Hi!! I am Thithi Poojari. Ah!! The second participant. She was a college going kid, full of energy and enthusiasm. Next came Sumant, the third participant. Got introduced and finally came Sachin, the one who got this trip going. We went over to the office of Rent-a-cycle to get our cycles. While the others were busy checking out the cycles, I was thinking how to get on to one. I was asked to test ride a MTB, which saw me going east to west and banging into a stationary car. Sachin panicked and told me ever so sweetly..”Sree, look, if you are not up to it, you have the option of getting out of this trip. Ofcourse, my logisitics will go a bit awry, but its ok. You are free to go home.“ I nodded my head and told him I am for it. I rode on the MTB offered by Sachin and finally decided to go ahead. With my bag secured on the back of my cycle, we had to cycle to Bhaucha Dhakka. I walked with the cycle, crossed the roads. Sachin kept on glancing at me and he may have thought that he should not have taken me in. After crossing the signal, I finally got on to it and rode all the way to the jetty. The smell of the fish was over-powering. Seeing me comfortably cycling, relaxed Sachin and finally put him at ease. We purchased our tickets and had our breakfast while waiting for the jetty.
Finally got into the jetty and our journey began. After an hour ride, we reached Rewas and continued our ride after getting our cycles ready and Sachin explaining to us the route we were supposed to take to reach Nagaon, our first halt for the day. O yes!!! I had a power packed ride coz there were no traffic, relatively smooth roads and I was now comfortable with my MTB and the 5kg bag on it. I rode comfortably. Though Sachin warned me to keep to the extreme left, I was happy riding in the middle of the road. We Stopped for lunch at Prabhakar Restaurant and continued our journey.
Thithi kept me company, maybe she thought that since I am pretty wobbly on my cycle so its better to be keep a watch over me. Sumant was the quiet one, on his own and into his own world. Sachin, the guide and mentor, waited for us at the junctions to assure that we were on the right track. Finally we reached out destination Chundi naka – Greenwood Resort. What a beautiful resort!!!
We parked our cycles, checked out our rooms, Thithi was my room partner. She was just like any college going girl and had similar traits like my daughter. We hit is off from the word go…. We freshened up and walked to the beach which was near to where we were put up. Watched the sunset, frolicked on the beach, took lots of pics, returned for an early dinner.
It was then I really got to know Sumant. A walking talking encyclopedia. He had a vast knowledge of every topic under the sun. A quiet unassuming guy, I was amazed at his knowledge on various subjects we covered while having dinner. Had fun time with Sachin, capturing us live about our experience of the first day of the ride. Went off to bed as DAY 2 was going to be a long long ride.
DAY 2 – Nagaon-Kashid-Murud-Agardanda ferry-Dighe-Diveagar – 66 kms
Though we were supposed to start as early as 7, got a bit late and started our ride after 8 am. I never go on my workouts or any rides on an empty stomach. This was the first time I rode on an empty stomach. Sachin was a bit tensed as today’s ride was going to be a tough and a long ride. Sumant as usual was calm and Thithi was like ..chalo kar lete hain. We started our ride .
I was ahead and on not seeing anyone stopped at a beautiful temple by the side of the road.
After about 5 kms, stopped for breakfast at Nirmala Guest house. Continued our journey. We all got separated and here I was alone on the unfamiliar roads Our destination was the Agardanda Ferry. The roads, the rocky roads, the muddy roads, completely opposite to the roads of Day 1 ride. The sweltering sun, the steep inclines with an elevation of 282 meters, and the s**t scary declines. I was not prepared for this ride. What had I let myself in for? Lost count of the number of times I got down my cycle as I could not tackle the inclines with my MTB. Tried changing gears, but it did not work for me. Decided to ride it out without changing gears. Me, my cycle and the long winding deserted roads. I have been in situations like the one I was facing right now so it did not affect me in the least. Climbs and Climbs. I walked with my cycle. Parked it to take a leak by the side of the road, confident I was that not a single soul would pass by. 🙂 . As I asked the route to the villagers, their faces reflected the amusement and surprise when told that I have been cycling from Mumbai. The three and a half hours it took me to reach Agardanda Ferry wore me down, my neck started troubling me and my buttocks were sore from the constant bumping of the cycle on the roads. The only silver line in today’s ride was the beautiful scenic locations.
Met Sachin towards the turn to the jetty. He was there to show me the way so that I do not go riding in the wrong direction. Thithi and Sumant were waiting for me at the jetty. On reaching the jetty at about 3.30 pm, I told Sachin that I would hitch a ride on reaching the shore towards Diveagar. I would take time, my neck was hurting me and I had no energy left in me to tackle the inclines again. Sachin would not listen to me, encouraged me to ride it out . In anticipation of me being late, he even had his headlights ready should it get dark.
Fine.. we had our lunch and started out again. This time Sumant waited for me at certain points making sure that I am on my cycle:-). I am paranoid of narrow lanes and the ST buses. The ST buses do not follow a single line, they too go zig-zag just like me. As if the buses were not enough, the cattles too chose to take the route followed by me.By now, I had learnt how to tackle the oncoming ST buses by going off the roads and getting on to it after the buses passed. The inclines were tough and steep but the declines were deadly. I freaked out going down the inclines, with my hands on the brakes and my legs stiff on the pedals. I could not afford to shift my hands and legs even for a second as it would mean losing my balance and hurtling headlong down the rocky roads. I had full confidence in the MTB cycle I rode on. It was one hell of a bike. O Boy!!!! what a ride. My cycle rattled and shook to the core. I was pretty sure that by the time I am on flat road, all the screws and nuts would fall out. Though it did not happen but my cycle was flying on the even roads and to the surprise of Sachin, I managed to turn up earlier than expected. Me….who was not sure of riding this part of the journey actually made in well in time. Thithi rode damn well. For somebody who seldom cycles, she was a pro on the inclines on her hybrid. After Sumant joined us, we all started our ride towards Diveagar which was about 3 kms from the junction. Our halt for the night was a homestay. Parked our cycles and left for the beach to watch the sunset.
Later on freshened up and went out for dinner. Sumant is the curious one. He will get to the bottom of the matter while we just skim the surfaces. He is not satisfied with one line explanations. He has a genuine interest in each and every thing he comes across. His antics amused me at the same time I was spellbound by his indepth knowledge. We all were happy that the major part of the ride was done with.
Day 3 – Diveagar-Shrivardhan-bagmandla ferry-Bankot-Velas -45 kms
Started our ride at 8 am. Halted at the Suvarna Ganesh Temple.We had to reach Shrivardhan for our breakfast. More inclines but comparatively lesser than the previous day. Sumant kept me company. At one point, saw the curious Sumant asking the road contractor about the condition of the roads, width of the roads etc. Sumant and his thirst for knowledge!!! 🙂 . This route was the most scenic of the lot. Picturesque locations and beautiful beaches.Rode it out. Had to pass through small villages where I got down from the cycle as i cannot tackle the traffic, the pedestrians, the cattle, the cats and dogs and the hen and their chicks ..all at the same time. The children of the villages were happy if their hi’s and bye’s were reciprocated. It made me laugh when I did not reciprocate to a little kids hi and heard the kids mother telling her…tee lai thakli aahe :-). Shrivardhan was beautiful. After a brief stop, we continued towards Bagmandla jetty to reach our destination Velas.
Met few guys who were on their road trip to Goa. They could not fathom why we were slogging it out on the cycles when there were other means to travel and we were wondering what is the big deal in travelling in comfort, sitting hours together in a four wheeler. The road to Velas had one steep incline and the rest was through the villages. We were told to stop at Nana Phadnavis statue. Assuming it to be a statue in the terms of the statues like Shivaji Maharaj etc., I failed to see it even when the villager kept on pointing it out to me. Sumant went way ahead of the intended stop. He too missed out on it. Velas is a beautiful, quaint old village. A home to Oliver Ridley turtles. My second visit to this village. The Laxmi kripa homestay was a beautiful one. The house was surrounded with chickoo trees, Spice herbs, Supari trees, etc.The host prepared lovely modaks for us.Breakfast of poha and upma never tasted so good!!! The homemade pure veg dinner….. Yummy and delicious.
We met Mohan Upadhaye, the force behind the protection of Oliver Ridely turtles , a guy so passionate about his job and he can talk for hours together on the subject. Sumant, as usual the curious one, wanted to know what made him tick. Next day morning, saw us going for bird watching and turtle sighting trips. Ah!!! and the beautiful beaches of Velas
Sumant preferred to sleep it out while we had a refreshing walk through the villages.
Very soon, it was time for us to pack up and leave for Mumbai in a Bolero. I carrying many beautiful memories with me bid farewell to the hosts and we were on our way to Mumbai.
This trip will always remain fresh in my memory for years to come. S Salute to Sachin Bhandary of Eccentrips, who gave up his cushy job and followed his heart. ECCENTRIPS, will surely go places…While some people will term it as crazy, madness but what is the harm in following your dreams. We , the adventure lovers, are a crazy lot. Where people explore places in four wheelers or using the public mode of transport, we find it thrilling to do it by riding a cycle.
