Disclaimer - This post is probably too old to be up here. We've had like 2 more updated posts up, still I just want to do this. I've got vested interests. CHAM this one's for you!!!! :P
Its been a while since my last proper post! I'm not really sure if you guys are reading or not coz aside from the one comment, there's been nothing!!
So Ramadhan finished and the 21st was Eid. Eating lunch for the first time in 30 days certainly was an odd feeling!! The next couple of days were pretty quiet and uneventful despite all the excitement building up, I was headed to Singapore with some friends (As Shravan would say - Sing Sing Singaporeeeeee Baby!!) I was itching to get on the bike after not having been able to for soo long!
I called Rohit, Arif and Mopsy and we decided to ride 23rd morning. We met up with Rohan Ryan, Sawan and Chirag Gupta on the way to Marina Beach. We then rode upto war memorial and back. At the Gandhi statue we stopped for a bit. I had been feeling uneasy all morning, suddenly downing all that Chinese from the previous night was not such a hot idea after all! In a couple of mins all those guys saw exactly what I'd had for dinner the previous night!! :P
I felt like a new man after! Anyway, Rohit picked up some water and we headed home. Didn't want to overdo it. I had a flight to catch that night! The rest of the day was hectic with a lot of running around. Tanvi drove Zaid, Shravan, Abhay and I to the airport in double quick time only for us to find out our SQ flight had been delayed!
The in-flight entertainment was rather sad and the food was so-so. Whoever said this was better than Emirates was obviously either biased or he flew first class!!
On arrival in Singapore, we saw a couple of guys holding up a board that said "WELCOME MR.SEBASTIAN VETTEL"
We were soo kicked, coming to Singapore for the GP and meeting a driver on landing! Priceless!! We waited for a good 45 mins before even his manager started to get worried. His flight from Zurich had landed the same time as ours. The manager then got a call from Sebastian. Apparently he came out of a different exit, didn't see anyone waiting and went to the hotel by cab! So much for the dream beginning!!
We had no idea if our hotel was close to a MRT station or not, still we risked it! Turns out, it was right next door! Singapore was a blur! We barely slept and make the most of our time there! We even managed to spend an awesome half day in Sentosa, where we rented bikes and rode around. Two good friends from Singapore, Pragith and Anisha made our trip much better than it would've been!! =)
The race was awesome despite a poor showing from 'Kimi and Crew' and Abhay's skills with the camera really kicked ass! Here's an example!
We even managed to get on the track after!!!
On our way back we bumped into Abhishek at Changi airport, he mentioned a ride on 4th Oct. Both Abhay and I were puzzled to say the least. Rohit, Mopsy and Tanvi seemed to have everything handled! :)
We managed to fit in a ride in the Panasonic F1 simulator. Respect to Luca Badoer! Those cars are insanely hard to drive!
Landed in Chennai and the next couple of days went by quick. Mostly just recovering from Singapore! Abhay, Arif, Lakshman, Mospy, Rajesh, Rohit and I decided to ride on Gandhi Jayanti. About 15 kms into the ride, my legs started to give up on me, my breathing was heavy and laboured. I was sure that if I didn't turn back soon, I'd never make it back in 1 piece. So much for Lance Ahmed! :P
I turn back, head home and crash! I couldn't even get up in time to meet these guys for breakfast at Sandy's. Singapore was catching up!
01:45 am - 4/10/2009 Sunday Morning
Have to be up in an hour and a half and still no sleep! I'm quite anxious about the ride, firstly because of the mess on Friday and secondly because I really wanted to beat Mopsy's time from the previous ride (1 hr 59 mins) I had even gotten myself another bottle holder for the Camaleonte, so i wouldn't have to stop.
(phone rings - Kuttappa calling!)
These guys haven't slept either. Only Arif and I were riding this time, WE needed the sleep! Anyway, so Rohit tells me about this discussion they were having. They were betting on me!! Like i'm some racehorse or something! Abhay, Rohit and Arif thought that if i tried i could make the top 5, what with defending champion Sid Sharma not being there and all. Only Mopsy was betting against me! So much for our friendship! :P Honestly, after friday's ride, if i had to bet. I'd would've ended up betting the same way Mopsy did.
Managed to fall asleep by 3 am. Wasn't ideal, still some sleep is better than none. Mopsy came picked me up and we headed to Tiruvanmiyur with a quick stop on the way to pick up Amithu (our photographer for the day :D)
Once all the cyclists had gotten everything in order we were ready to head off. Today was my turn to experience the ride as a participant, except for the small safety briefing I gave!
And we were off! Stopped a bit to help people across the road then put my head down and began to pedal! I didn't want to lose sight of the group up front. After trying to get to the front unsuccessfully, I managed to find some company in Karun and Amritanshu (Dude, I'm sorry if I've spelled your name wrong) The 3 of us drafted for a while before Amrintanshu stopped to talk to a friend of his running on the ECR. At the first stop Karun stopped for water but I had to carry on if I wanted any chance of finishing in the top-5. Amritanshu somehow caught up with me somewhere between pit stops 1 and 2. Miraculously, my legs had held up so far. I was running on water, chocolate and adrenalin!
Again and the 2nd stop Amritanshu stopped and I carried on, till he caught back up to me. YES!! He was that good on a mach. Good work Veeresh!! :D As we passed the 3rd stop Abhay indicated to me that we were in 5th and 6th places. I had to do something!
Just as we approached Mahabalipuram, I made a break for it from behind. I had to do it! What surprised me was the freshness in my legs after nearly 50 kms of cycling. My A** on the other hand, whole different story! The Cannondale gel shorts helped quite a bit though. All in all, awesome ride. Yes! I did make 5th place in a time of an hour and 47 minutes The bikes ahead of me in order - Via Nirone (carbon), Via Nirone, LeMonde, Bianchi 928 Carbon MonoQ! Not bad for a Camaleonte. My next target, the 1 hour and 30 minute barrier. More from me when that happens. For now, I'm going to get one of the boys to post something besides the "duet" Tanvi and I have planned! :D
Keep Riding!
Oh btw this one's for you Sam a.k.a CHAM!!!
