Day 3: Ooty Youth Hostel to Manjoor
The day was finally here. It was a chilled morning and everyone was really egged on for the ride. We finished our breakfast & collected our packed lunch. We got ready and submitted our excess luggage at the base camp and loaded our knapsacks on the YHAI pickup van. This was a pleasant surprise since we didn’t need to carry our knapsack on the bicycles.
Some last minute instructions and route details were shared by Sapna & Vandana. We lined up for some pics & we were flagged off by Hari. We all started off slowly since it was downhill till the main road and the surface was really slippery considering the dew all night.
 |
| All set to ride |
We reached the main road and we were supposed to cycle towards Coonoor. The first sign of uphill started testing us but we managed to pass through it quite easily. We finally reached a junction with one road going towards Coonoor & the other one going towards Manjoor. We took the route towards Manjoor & the entire landscape of the road changed from here onward. We had left the city limits and there were tea plantations on both sides of the road. The road had a gradual downhill and passed through greenery on both sides.
 |
| Thumbs up |
 |
| The route |
 |
| The route |
The route passed through the Ooty – Coonoor toy train. We stopped at the Lovedale station on this route. Though we didn’t get the chance to enjoy the toy train; we made the most of the time at the station. We clicked some photographs and off we were towards Manjoor.
 |
| @ Lovedale railway station |
We passed by this really beautiful school on the way with the architecture of the building having shades of the vintage era. And the sun rays passing through the trees made for a really good sight.
 |
| A beautiful school on the way |
The route started getting even more beautiful with the fragrance of the Nilgiris (eucalyptus) following us through the journey. This initial stretch of 5 odd km just made us realise that we made a really wise decision by coming on this trip. The landscape was alternating between tea plantations & eucalyptus trees.
 |
| Dum laga ke haisha :) |
 |
| The route |
 |
| First of many hairpin bends :) |
 |
| Strike a pose |
We passed through many small villages on the way and the locals were more than happy to wave out to us and cheer us on. Though the local language was Greek and Latin to us; the universal language of smile served the purpose :)
 |
| With the locals |
We made the most of the time trying to interact with the locals and they were also happy to meet us. They were curious to know about our journey and wished us all the best
 |
| With the locals |
Ahead on the route we approached a cliff with an excellent downhill. We used this opportunity for a group ride and photographs. The photographs came out really good.
 |
| All lined up |
 |
| Ride along |
The real essence of the trip was now starting to come out. As with most of the trip of this nature; the enjoyment is more about the route and less about the destination. The destination is just a sojourn. The route kept on amazing us. Long winding roads running through tea gardens with breathtaking views. What more could be ask for?
 |
| The route |
 |
| Some Offroading |
 |
| The route |
By now we were very close to our lunch point. Our scheduled lunch point was a temple very close to Chamraj tea estate. We reached the Chamraj tea estate and met our fellow participants who had reached earlier enjoying the tea. Since it was already lunch time and the lunch point was only a stone’s throw away we decided to have lunch first and then round it off with tea. We reached the lunch point & parked our bikes. Got fresh and jumped on the packed lunch.
 |
| Along the route |
 |
| Chamraj Tea Center on the route |
 |
| Just before lunch point |
 |
| Our lunch point |
We finished lunch and Akhilesh & I went back to have tea. We met some locals here who were really happy to meet us and happier to know that we are on cycles exploring the local sights. We ordered our cup of tea and sat down on the table by the road. Its not everyday that you to get the chance to enjoy tea right out of the factory sitting among the tea gardens by the road.
 |
| @ Chamraj tea Center post lunch |
 |
| The route |
 |
| All lined up |
 |
| Showoff :) |
 |
| The route |
We started gingerly post lunch. On the way towards Manjoor; we spotted many birds. The ride from here onward soon turned into a photography competition trying to capture the beautiful birds on our camera. Well very frankly it was also an excuse to punctuate our ride with breaks since the last 4 km were entirely uphill and we had to cover about 14 hairpin bends of the total 24 hairpin bends on the route.
 |
| My Bike |
 |
| The route |
 |
| Birdie |
 |
| Strike a pose |
 |
| With ISRO Gang |
On the last stretch towards Manjoor we met some local kids who had just finished school. They were more than happy to meet us and wanted to ride on our cycles. We obliged and the kids had a jolly time. We clicked photographs with them and the kids were really up to speed with the latest social networks as they wanted us to share the pics with them on WhatsApp. We exchanged phone numbers with a promise to share the pics once we get back to Mumbai. And till date we still remain in touch with these kids albeit on WhatsApp.
 |
| Local kids @ Manjoor |
 |
| Birdie |
 |
| Birdie |
We finally reached the camp site for the day at Manjoor. It was a local guesthouse with 3-4 rooms. Manjoor was a small but well connected village. There were many shops in the local market. We did some shopping for essentials before dinner. By the time we returned it was time for dinner which was followed by a customary YHAI camp fire. Since this was the first time that the entire group was together; we had a round of introduction with everyone and lots of funny and interesting stories came out of the campfire. To close the session; we were briefed about the route for tomorrow. The earlier batch had some trouble on this route since there was some confusion on the distance that was to be covered.
YHAI did some changes for us. The first 20 km was planned to be covered by jeep and the next 40 km was left to be covered on cycles. Some participants were eager on cycling the entire route but it had to be turned down since it was very important for us to cross the check post before Mudumalai Tiger Reserve by 4 pm else we would not be allowed to enter the wildlife sanctuary. We retired for the night after an amazing day of cycling and with much more expectations to look forward to tomorrow.
Super Yo :)
ReplyDeleteClicks are really amazing! Good read as well
ReplyDelete