Magestic Statue of Unity – Gujrat (part 2)

Day 3 Monday Aug 15 (Navsari to Ankleshwar)

We planned to cover 80km, which was the shortest distance of the journey. One of the rules or lessons that we have learnt and always remembered was that never underestimate the distance even if it’s the shortest. It was Aug 15 our 75th anniversary of independence day and the vibe on that particular day was different. The photo session started as soon as we stepped out on the road. After refilling the water nearby a petrol pump cooler we started riding towards Ankleshwar.

Around 6.30 we took our 1st tea break near the stall. The highlight of the day was almost everyone in the group wore the same white colour jersey which was specifically designed for this ride. It was Mahesh’s idea & creativity behind it and the jersey turned out to be fabulous.

After finishing Tea and countless pictures which was an ongoing activity we started riding and decided to take a break for the breakfast which we did after riding approx for 2 hours. From morning it drizzled continuously in comparison with the past 2 days. Around 9 o clock we had breakfast halt. The hotel had everything. From Batata Vada to chat dishes, Puri bhaji and we ate almost everything.

After finishing a heavy breakfast when we stepped out of the restaurant it started raining immediately. Suddenly it was feeling really cold as it was raining continuously and we decided not to take another break because the rhythm will break and the body will adapt after some time. But those 15-20 minutes were slightly challenging. Another challenge we faced was the wrong way traffic. Vehicles kept coming in full speed in the opposite direction & controlling the cycle was a big task. Sometimes vehicles on your right hand side and opposite direction refuse to slow down & there is no space. At that time using the hand signals towards the vehicle does the job. The rest of the ride went smoothly and we reached Ankleshwar hotel around 1 o clock in the afternoon. The distance we covered was around 77km with the elevation of 232m.

We unpacked our luggage, cleaned our cycles & went to our respective rooms. Hotel Silver leaf turned out to be the posh hotel and the security guy was a jolly fellow. I had a good chat with him & when I asked him if he went to the Statue of Unity he nodded but wished me good luck for the journey ahead. There was a facility for lunch and dinner at the hotel dinning room area & they had a 75 Rs scheme only for that day. On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of independence day they said that one can eat unlimited but it should be only one dish. There was an option of Gulab jamun as well but eating unlimited Gulab jamun would be too much . So I had Paneer and kulcha for lunch and noodles for dinner. The food was tasty but we felt they added too much soda in that*

In the afternoon we met Mr. Nilesh Chauhan. He was a friend of Sunil Gadgil and he gave us a box of sweets which we finished immediately after the photo session in spite of a heavy lunch. Nilesh is also a passionate cyclist and when we told him our route from Ankleshwar to Kevadia (Kevadiya) he told us another route. Initial route Tukaramji worked out was Ankleshwar – Motali – Jhagadia – Rajpardi – Umalla – Shir – Amletha – Rajpipla – Garudeshwar – Kevadia. He then told & explained us a new route which was from Ankleshwar – Valia – Netrang – Khunta amba – Rajpipla & Kevadia which was scenic & comparatively easy with elevation in between. We decided to listen to a local experienced guy and informed others. We thanked Nilesh for the sweets and route guidance and he gave his best regards for the journey. The advantage we got today was we had more than a half day to take rest and recover. In the afternoon we took a small power nap which was refreshing and evening spent well with a random discussion on the past trips and trekking experience of kk, Arun & others. We then decided to have an early dinner by 7.30 and slept around 10pm.

Day 4 Tuesday Aug 16 (Ankleshwar to Kevadia)

A new route was set and we started the day around 6.15 in the morning. Nilesh said that till Valia which is 20kms from Ankleshwar the road is bad & we were mentally prepared for that.

After riding for around half an hour we witnessed real music. The road had lots of variation. It was slightly* bad but ridable. After riding on the interesting road variation of 20km till Valia; we decided to take the 1st halt there itself. A few years* back there were no roads on that patch but we were fortunate at least we got some ridable patch & it’s good to have a variety of roads.

After the quick breakfast we started riding towards Netrang which was 21kms. The road condition was pretty good in comparison with the previous patch and we started witnessing lots of scenic views.

Meanwhile Gita wanted to check out & ride Johanna (my cycle name) so we exchanged the bike and she rode till we reached Netrang. It was 10.30 when we reached Netrang and decided to have breakfast there itself.

After having a delicious breakfast at a local joint we started saddling towards khunta amba which was 18kms. The view was breathtaking and the road was fabulous. Classy roads do exist in India. I was riding ahead and when I saw there was a gap so I decided to stop. I sat and slept under the tree for some time. After a few minutes 3 local school kids came towards me & my cycle .They were very curious to see the cycle and were observing both. I had a small chat with them like which standard they are studying in the school, where they live. After sometime other riders showed up & I started saddling again.

It was 12.30 and we decided to have lunch in the second half of the day, once we crossed the Jungle and ghat section. At the Jungle section we decided to halt and ate dry fruits brought by Mahesh. Beneath us on the left side on the road there was a small water spring. A few of us went down. The water was fresh. We drank, filled up the bottles and recharged ourselves. That halt turned out to be super refreshing. A few Abhijit friends have attempted the route a few weeks* back and they told him to keep the gear ratio on the lower side as the road consists of constant rolling climb & elevation. That information turned out to be pretty useful during the climb which was beautiful indeed.

It was raining heavily and few km before the lunch spot, Nayan’s cycle punctured. She, Sachin and I started working on it. Meanwhile we told other riders to go ahead for lunch. We changed the cycle tube and went towards the lunch spot. PS if the cycle breaks down such as puncture the entire group shouldn’t wait. In such cases a group can split and once the work is done the remaining people will join the group .This helps to be on schedule. After lunch I removed the cycle stand because Sachin observed that while riding, it was on the verge of touching the cycle disk. Just before 17km from Kevadia near Junvad we got another puncture of Arun Deshmukh cycle. Gadgil and KK changed the tube and we started riding towards Kevadia.

Initially before going to the hotel we were planning to go directly towards the Statue of Unity but since it was a maintenance day we came to know they are not allowing people to visit & it was closed. So we decided to stick to the plan and started riding towards the hotel. As soon as we saw the Narmada River we stopped on the bridge. The river is humongous and our eyes could see that the camera lens couldn’t. More than capturing it was feeling that mattered at that particular moment carpe diem in true sense. (Still we clicked countless pictures 😬)

We reached the hotel sou eco camp around 5.30 in the evening. (More about the hotel and Statue of unity visit will be in the next and final part of the blog). We covered 102km distance with the elevation of 640m. The hotel had facilities such as a swimming pool and outdoor jacuzzi. We chilled and relaxed there for some time and went to our rooms. We booked one common dormitory for 14 people. In the evening they had live karaoke music and a small dance floor in which Kishore and Nayan actively participated and sang beautifully & eventually by choice and few of us by force 😬 was on the dance floor. Meanwhile it started raining heavily again. But it stopped after an hour. We went outside & had dinner in the nearby restaurant whose service was super slow. After dinner we came back to the dormitory & went to sleep. To maintain & follow the routine on the next day we decided to get up at 6 in the morning.

To be continued….

PS Day 5 Kevadiya to Statue of Unity I will be covering in the part 3 of the blog.