Ooty cycling expedition

In the month of April 2017, I participated in Yhai's Western Ghats cycling expidition which started from Ooty. Here, I share my expirence.

April 23^rd

We left Bangalore by car at 9am and reached Ooty by 4pm. The rest of the day was free and we just roamed around the streets of Ooty.

Cycling Distance = 0km

April 24^th

Today we received our cycles ( a firefox target ). They then conducted a test ride on the route to the Doddabetta peak. The ride was 7.5kms one way but totally uphill. The elevation was so much that unintentional wheelies were common. The downhill was super fun though! We were back to the Ooty base camp by lunch time. We were let free for the rest of the day and visited the botanical garden which was 1.5kms away. (visit not sposered by yhai )

Cycling Distance = 15kms

April 25^th

Today our destination was to Manjur which was 35kms away. We were told that 30kms would be downhill and the rest 5 would be uphill ( really steep ).We lwft the base camp at about 8:30am and reached Manjur at about 4pm. Participants took a lot of photos as the ride was really scenic and passed through lush green tea gardens. Once we reached Manjur, we visited a local tea factory.( visit not sponsored by yhai ). The night was to be spent in a Government school.

Cycling Distance = 35kms

Elevation = -250m

April 26^th

The next destination was Masinagudi which was 45kms away. But due to some reason 20kms was covered in a pickup truck. The rest 25kms was a gradual climb. But the area covered in the vehicle  was all downhill. We reached Masinagudi by 5:30pm and freshened up. 6 of us wanted to go for a safari. ( not yhai sponsored and there are local safari jeeps willing to take you on a safari ). It costed each one of us Rs120. We were able to spot deers, elephants, bisons, peacocks and wild boars.

Cycling Distance = 25kms

Elevation = -800m

April 27^th

Our next destination was Naduvattam  which was 30kms away. According to me, this was the toughest leg of the expidtion. The uphill was way too steep. We reached Naduvattam at 4:30pm and then just roamed the streets. Once we were back, sleeping arrangements were ready in a government school.

Distance = 30kms

Elevation = 800m

April 28^th

Today was the final day which involved cycling. The distance to cover was only 35 kms with a  very gradual climb of 250m. We left Naduvattam at 9:30am and made it back to the base camp at 12:30pm. Since we overshot the lunch point, we had lunch in a restaurant in Ooty. We spent the rest of the day shopping ( especially for chocolates ) and certificates were distributed in the evening.

Cycling distance = 35kms

Elevation = 250m

April 29^th

This was the final day and we visited the rose garden which is about 3.5 kms from the camp once we checked out.

After all this was a really pleasant experience with yhai and was worth every single penny. The food was outstanding, and the staff were in plenty and were always there to help you. Although they could cut down on those pickup truck rides.