Coorg Escapade was my first active holiday experience. The options on the website were exhaustive and ignited the adventurer in me to register for the “Warroir of Hills”. Road cycling - truly the Coorg Ascent, Speed Kayaking - paddling through Kakkabe river and the Ultimate Trail Run!!
Thanks to the TCS10K and Alpha League training I was confident I was gonna have tons of fun!
The Long weekend of May 1 was brilliantly planned. Attended a family function at Mysore and later drove to Virajpet with bags packed and cycle mounted.
The smell of fresh air and greenery always brings in a new level of excitement. Reached Virajpet by twilight. A quaint town, pollution and plastic free. A quick stop over at the Coorg Adventure Club to pick up the bib before we headed for the home stay.
May 2nd - The big day for the Advanced 40K Cycling and Speed Kayaking
The start point was the prestigious Karada Hockey grounds and wow, what a welcome I received from Ankush :)
My first road race and butterflies in my belly…A REAL gun shot at the start line and off we were cruising through back roads of Coorg. 11 climbs with a total elevation of 600 meters. The route was extremely well marked with volunteers in shining white tee at every curb and hairpin bend. Although I have no technical descending skills managed to break well through the 10 downhills. The chain came off, my helmet moved and my handle bar rattled..but a strong finish.
High intensity speed kayaking was next on cards. The Kakkabe river is mystical and calm. Must guys at 'The Good Wave’ did a brilliant job in organizing the kayaking. Safety first and then the race said the instructor. First few minutes my kayak went round and round and refused to move an inch.. he he
Meet and Greet dinner was held at the Coorg Adventure club. A beautiful evening under the stars with live music and scrumptious local Coorg cuisine. Jayeesh and Tanushri were mesmerizing with their numbers - I could sway way to the strumming for the guitar.The local delicacies - rice noodles with chicken curry, the Pandi Curry for the ones who come all the way to coorg looking for this and the badam kheer… yum!!
May 3rd - The Final Day
Geeta, Rahul, Heena, Shuvashek, Gajju, Gayathri.. felt like home to see you folks at the start point. After a bumpy off road trail, we reached the start line. Previous evening the rains were crazy leaving the trail slushy.
3..2..1.. off went the REAL gun and route down the beautifully sloped coffee plantain, streams. Running along the Chelavara falls is not something I could type out, you gotta run that :) The ascent was over 900mts and the toughest one I have ever run. The Organizers of the Coorg Escapade stay stuck to their promise - Run wild, in the wild!
Ankush, your energy and spirit is WOW!
Raj, thanks buddy, if not for you finishing 5th in the women’s category would have been a dream :)
Anju.. you came to me like an angel- Big Thank you!
Carun and team - starting from smart registration counters, effective warm up sessions, perfect briefing, accurately marked routes and well stocked aid station, creative finisher medals to the tasty, wholesome breakfast you guys are FANTASTIC!!
<a>"A dream is your creative vision for your life in the future. You must break out of your current comfort zone and become comfortable with the unfamiliar and the unknown."<a> Denis Waitley
Coorg Escapede - Yes, it was tough and outside my comfort zone and I like it that way and we are meeting again!
Being Awareded the Warrior of the Hills
