Rode 323.66kms in 15hours (a 2 day ride to Nagarjuna Sagar from Hyderabad and back)

One awesome Ride!
Best part; Lost about 1.5kilos during this ride(though we ate a LOT of food), feel proud that i helped someone.
Worst part; Had to do some Mud Fighting(read below, its long!).

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On Saturday 24th Sep, 2011, 12 of us started at 5AM from Hyderabad(IMAX) to Nagarjuna Sagar, only 7 people plan to stay overnight and return on Sunday, the rest planned to return the same day mostly doing 100-200kms. Except for crazy Sam who did 320 by evening same day on his MTB. Should bow down to this guy. For me, the ride from Hyderabad to Nagarjuna Sagar was easy, except the last 10kms where the hill begins, added to the heat and sultriness. Reached hotel by 2 pm or so and rushed for Lunch, had a heavy lunch and took rest for some time. We went down to Ettipotala waterfalls for some sight seeing in the evening. It became dark quickly and we returned back for dinner. Heavy dinner again and the much needed sleep.
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On Sunday 25th Sep, started late at 6am only to realize the return was full of headwinds(yesterday might be tail winds that made it easy ride) and heat came in very quick. That means too slow riding, tiring and too many stops. A lot of time got wasted resting on the way back. The two Seniors who came with us (one 74yrs and one 71yrs) were of great inspiration. The 74yrs rider did a 200kms(150+50) and the 71yrs rider did 100kms(50+50) both days put together. Both of them are champions in the State masters runners association. I wondered, by 70, forget running and cycling, would we be alive? Given our food habits and physical activities? We want to bring these two Seniors to all the 100kms HCC rides in future, they will be a great inspiration for everyone in the club.
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The Telengana Bundh part: 
with the Bundh and Vanta Varpu(cooking on the roads), there were blockades at 2 places while going and 3-4 places while coming back. With no buses and lorries, the roads were deserted mostly. Vehicles were stopped at few places and diverted at few. Luckly cycles are not in their agenda. At many places we answered that we were training for the Hyderabad team and its not a race. At one place, people want us to put Telangana flags on the bikes and ride for telengana. We said why don’t you put not one but two flags and do the riding yourself. The Fat buggers couldn’t answer that.(No offence pls)
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The Mob part: 
On the way to Nagarjuna Sagar(Saturday, Day1), somewhere just after the sai baba temple which is at 110kms or so, I was riding alone, Prasad and the new guy Raju were 1-2kms behind me. Sreekanth was 200mts or so ahead of me. There was a big crash sound behind me(some 400mts) – made by a motorcycle, it got dragged for some distance. I looked back and noticed a motorbike. I thought there was only 1 guy. Got down and started running with my bike towards him, heard a woman Shouting/calling Ayyo, Ayyo, Ayyo, Yemandi, Yemandi, Yemandi,(meaning husband in Telugu)….. Heart skipped a few beats, I feared the worst and said to myself, oh please not again. It was somewhere on the same road we witnessed an accident a couple of years back. An enfield guy hit a car from behind and fell very badly. It happened right infront of us. I normally don’t have the guts to see human blood. But that day I did help him, i felt it was not me. the accident was brutal and blood was pumping from his ears and nose. I am not sure he lived another day but the way people (some 100 odd) stood numb and watched him as if it was some funny show, irritated me the most.

Ok, coming back, I heard the woman shouting for her Husband, her calls will crush the weak hearted. I saw one lady picking up a small goat and running away from the scene. I realized the motorbike fell because of the goat. I reached the spot, so did Prasad and Raju. The couple were all bruised up and blood is all over the place. They must be in their 40′s. The lady is also badly hurt, amongst other wounds, her upper lip had a big hole and bleeding badly but she only cared for her husband, Was one hell of an emotional scene. Remembers you your partner’s love for you. The Husband was looking real bad and needed immediate treatment. She was pleading for help, they were in shock and the man wanted to ride and go home, we gave some water, made them stand in some shade and asked to relax for a minute… one car guy picked up their scattered stuff(they bought some Guavas for kids may be, they were allover the place), we tried to call 108 ambulances services, Prasad called and gave all details only to be told that they(108) were on strike? What the FUCK? Emergency on strike? Why take all details and say “Sorry we are not strike”. Fuckers!! Soooo pissed off. I spotted a private ambulance, hoping they can do some first aid and tried to stop it. But that asshole increased his speed and didn’t care to stop. It was not carrying anybody, except one guy sitting in the front, I could see it. Meanwhile the Husband started saying he is ok and will ride home. We told we have a vehicle(the 2 seniors riding with us brought a Tata mobile pickup with them) and offered them a ride till their place which is hardly 20-30kms away. He didn’t want to leave his motorbike, we told we can bring it to his place. Poor guy is worried about his new bike and in the shock he doesn’t know how badly he is hurt. The couple got onto the bike and from nowhere there were 2 people started who shouting that they need compensation for the goat. They came running after seeing that the couple could walk again. That bitch started shouting and abusing the couple, we simply got on top of her voice and said “Get Lost”. It worked I thought, and the couple started on their motorbike. Feeling relieved we got back on our saddles. Prasad then mentioned that someones’ following the couple on a motorbike, probably to stop them.

He was right, 1km ahead, they were stopped by the locals, probably by the other shepherds/assholes in the area. I couldn’t let it go. These guys were shouting/abusing the couple and demanded 5000 rupees. They didn’t bring the goat along with them, intelligent assholes… Prasad said he has seen the goat walking away after the incident. The Husband said he don’t have money. One thick skin guy wanted them to pay then-and-there and was trying to pull his bike keys off. It was very hot and even we couldn’t stand there. I knew this won’t be over soon and I had to shout on top of him. He looked like a fat bastard and can easily take me down. 1-2 other local guys were supporting the couple but that wasn’t enough. The Fat bastard took his phonebook out and says lets go to the police station. I told the guy, lets take these 2 people to hospital first and then you can settle it in police station, first lets get them some help. Knowing we were ready to go to police station, he switched to his next level of intelligence. Started shouting, did the goat hit the bike or the bike hit the goat, we went on top of his voice and said the goat did and we have seen it. After doing this several times. He started saying why will the goat hit the bike wantedly?… Fuck, I was loosing it already. There was too much heat and its not something that the couple could enjoy when they are loosing blood. I started shouting what he was doing was not right and said fuck off in the way he understands. By this time, some 50 people gathered, some were locals. The situation is heating up… Now, his next level of intelligence,,, came on to me and shouted; you come to my place and shouting on me and started abusing me…. Somewhere at this point I lost it completely. I had no choice. I shouted WTF if its your place…. Threw my bike away and went for his neck. Gave one tight crush. 3 other guys joined and started hitting/pulling me. One guy wanted to check how elastic was my new HCC Tshirt was. He ripped it off. Another guy wanted to see what brand shoes I was wearing and lifted me off balance, that resulted a bruise on my right elbow. Another guy took a stick and started hitting me. Later I came to know there is one other guy who started throwing stones. These 2 assholes were stopped by fellow riders and couple of onlookers. The couple also tried to stop the mob and they were pushed off. One group of 4 men came in and pushed the assholes away and took me away from the mob and put me in a car. In the end, I went on top of everyones voice and told the thick skin bastard that he too will fall one day and that there would be no one to give him water when he needed it the most and he was a blood sucking animal.

I was driven away from the spot for about 1km and one of those 4 men rode my bike just to get away from there. These men were also locals just from nearby place. They knew what was happening, they knew the locals wont let a Mob opportunity go away. They appreciated my intention and told it was too dangerous to get physical with the locals. But I didn’t have any options. I am not justifying my madness. The couple needed help. Nothing else was working at the heat of the moment and they were losing time. I came to know that these guys also pulled the couple away from there and let them go away. Hearing that, I was so relieved and proud of what I did. I resisted to madness, I tried to be human. I tried to help. Ha… I was pissed off because people tried to hit me with sticks and stones but that didn’t matter considering i did what i wanted to.

I thanked these men very very much and told people like them must be there for people like me and that couple.

Today, my legs are much stronger but my Heart is a lot stronger now.

Many might feel, I was stupid, some might feel its none of our business. But what is it that differentiates us as humans from scavengers/opportunists like Vultures? What would you do being in my/our shoes at that moment?

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How would you feel when you have a bad accident and no one comes to your help and if people start pull your stuff and run away? Can you imagine that? Let us hope those days will never come and there is someone to help you when you badly need it. Likewise, helping someone in a real bad situation will only leave you good memories and will make you less evil. Thats my personal feeling.

The AA or AAA lights that are generally available to us in India or no match to 18650(battery type) lights in their lumens(lighting power), built quality and LED life. Not just 18650 lights, but any good brands like Fenix, Solarforce, JETBeam, NiteCore, EagleTac, Olight, Quark/4Sevens, SureFire, Etc., product some high quality flashlights. But lets limit this discussion to Solarforce, Fenix, Magicshine and 18650 vs AA lights.

Here is a brief of what the 18650′s are about:
18650 lights are all tactical lights and NOT generally cheapo quality lighting. If you have a wish to loose your eyesight, just look directly into them and its fulfilled instantly. Well there are both the good quality LEDs and medium quality LEDs(Bulbs I mean) in these lights. But I am yet to see one useless LED bulb from the good brands. Single cell 18650 lights are usually around 220-320 lumens.
(FYI: there are several high quality, durable, dependable AA lights which can be used for biking but rechargeable, high power, anytime, anywhere takes me to 18650 types)

I have a huge collection of lights since years (protecting them as much as the ladies do with Gold and diamonds and as much as Bzeers/MTBrs do with their bikes) and I think I fell in love with Solarforce and Fenix lights long ago. For bicycling, Solarforce is what i choose. Fenix’s are costly, better built but the cost of the lights pushes me several steps back from mounting them on my bike. But Fenix’s are the bikini babes for light collectors. There are several other high quality light brands like JETBeam, NiteCore, EagleTac, Olight, Quark/4Sevens, SureFire, Etc., which collectors buy just for the fun of owning them (most of them will not be used more than a couple of times) but these are outside the scope of our discussion.

The basic Solarforce L2′s are good to go. The collectors however don’t buy full lights, they buy all parts like body(different colors), heads, bezels, tail caps, slings, lenses, Layard rings, belt clips, lanterns/wands/diffusers, etc and assemble to get the best looking, high performance lights which are never available on sale anywhere.

More about solarforce lights: http://flashlight-wiki.com/Solarforce
More about Fenix lights: http://flashlight-wiki.com/Fenix | http://www.fenixlight.com/newping.asp

So here is what i can tell you about Solarforce lights for biking:
The “Solarforce L2″ type lights is what I chose for biking. I have a 2 lights setup on my bike, I’ll tell you why, below. These lights give you around 270 to 900 lumens for depending upon the bulb type for about 1.5 to 3 hours on high mode. Some L2′s (high powered LED ones) have single mode, the rest have 3 or 5 modes. The best option is the 5-mode light -> High, Med, Low, Strobe, SOS.

Why 5 modes?
Because you need to switch between modes depending on your ride, time and situation. For example in city traffic, the Strobe mode is more useful than the High mode. Many times I keep one light in Medium mode and the other in Strobe. Medium is just to be visible for other vehicles(considering most of the city roads have enough lighting), and switch on the Strobe on second light when you want to say it LOUD. And sometimes when people annoy me without giving side by crossing me and occupying the left most part of the road and block me, i annoy then back switching both my L2s to STROBE. They are pretty annoying i can tell you and satisfy my ego.

Where to Buy:
Ebay.com – many international sellers (most from HK have free shipping)

What to buy:

Lights: Solarforce L2 5-output/mode lights on Ebay: http://j.mp/gyWtQe

Mounts: There are several options for bike light holders, I have tried all most all of them and here is what I suggest(look for the mount in the pics below): http://j.mp/gi3jqK – you might get each for $5 and free shipping also if you are lucky. They are not the exact fit for the Solarforce L2, but you can wrap your light with a piece of bicycle tube and if need be use another piece to wrap the handle bar where you want to fit the mount and there you go. Good enough for city riding. Trail riding, I’m not sure with this setup.

If you have the money and need just one light, Magicshines is what you should look at. (I think they are coming back corrected and new after the recent battery pack exploding complaints). Note  that the magicshine is also a 18650 light (4×18650 packed into one pouch which sits separately on your top tube). Magicshines on Ebay: http://j.mp/ijULLT

Batteries:
There are a variety of 18650s available.
Major differences are Capacity and Protected/Unprotected.  For our usage, we can go with the unprotected ones too. Most of my batteries are unprotected 18650s and I don’t have any issues. If you want to dig into the protected vs unprotected topic, check this: http://j.mp/fh57N2

Battery Brands you can buy are: Ultrafire, Solarforce, Trustfire and GTL
(I use Solarforce and Ultrafire, mostly Solarforce, and Ultrafire as backup)
Beware of unbranded 18650s. Just not worth even looking at them. They can give you some serious trouble like blowing up or switching off unexpectedly.

Battery Capacity: varies from 2200mAh to 3800mAh. Buy the 2400mAh or 3000mAh, these are tried and tested.  I prefer the 2400mAh types. You can buy the protected ones if you are v.v.particular about battery performance, life of lights, or are a little afraid of these HK stuff in general. They will safe guard.

18650 batteries on ebay: http://j.mp/hjDEz1

Battery Chargers:
For years, I have tested countless chargers. Some used to work only for a few times and then die.
My wife says, “why the hell do you buy these useless chargers all the time? when you know they are shipping fake ones?”

So you get the point, its hard to find great 18650 chargers, there are many lemons and few oranges. Even the best working chargers might have lemons if you are unlucky. Luckly if you buy from ebay, there is always replacement. So, you need to test the charger for atleast 3-4 times to see how its doing before you can confirm you got an orange and before the time to ‘report a problem on ebay about the item’ runs out.

Here is what I buy for the chargers:
Ultrafire WF-139: http://j.mp/hkacyA (check for WF-139)
Solarforce 18650 Charger Version 2: http://j.mp/g8DbkX (look for version 2)

Remember, if its available for too cheap, the quality/life of the item will reflect the price. Ebay or DealExtreme or Amazon or HK or USA is no different. They are all made in a small town in Hong Kong, cheap to high quality stuff.

There might be several points you want to know and which I missed here, I can add points based on questions coming.

Ok, here are some pictures:

[Show as slideshow]

In the pictures you can see the Twin Solarforce L2′s setup for bike lights, size comparison with batteries and other lights and mounts.

For the Solarforce lights setup, if anyone goes for it, this is what i recommend:
2 lights – $60
3 mounts – $15(its 3 not 2, just in case one of these breaks)
4 batteries – $24 (2 always on the lights, 2 as backup for cycling and other purpose, read below why)
1 charger – $12

That comes to around $110. Thats some 5k INR for excellent anytime, anyday lights. any-night lights?
For that cost, you can get basic model magicshine light i think but in case of battery or LED failures, the dual lights with single cells are increasing your chances of survival. The new magicshines have 5 modes now. low mode is what you need in the cities, and mid sometimes. But if you want to switch to Fast blink(Strobe) mode, you have only the strobe mode (unlike the dual light mode setup where you can have one light pointing little forward in high or mid mode and the other pointing low with strobe mode) and the strobe mode in the magicshine might be somewhere between 700-900 lumens and thats really a lot of annoying lighting for others on the road as well as the rider.

And as i said earlier, the magicshines are more for Trail riding. They will blow you out on the trails and highways where you just want to enjoy more light than you actually need.

The 2 extra/backup batteries that i mentioned above applies to any light setup ( for single cell lights, buy 2 batteries for each light, for dual cell lights, buy 4 batteries for each light) because you never know when you want to use these lights to their full capacity for more than just bicycling. These are tactical lights and can be used for various outdoor purposes like camping, etc. and sometimes indoors too – when there are power failures. Extreme cases – earth quakes, floods, what ever you want to imagine, you never know when these multi mode lights come in handy. I have personally used them in power-cuts, paddy fields, mango gardens, palmoil/jamoil plantations and forests like places and they also make excellent car travel lights (long journeys) – in case if you have a flat tire or need to help someone in the middle of no where. These lights (not just solarforce, any tactical lights) make good house lights and personal protection lights, in case you encounter some as$hole the light physically becomes a weapon with sharp teeth in the front and the illumination also is powerful enough to block the view of the other guy giving you a few seconds of advantage to do your thing.

The best way to use your 4 cells on 2 lights is this: Charge all 4 cells, use 2 till they drain out or get dim. Bring the backup ones and use them, meanwhile charge the drained out ones, so at any point you definitely have 2 cells fully charged and the other 2 drained or sometime they are also ready to go. One more thing, if your lights are 2-cell lights, do not mix and match the cells, maintain sets of 2′s strictly all the time to get the best out of them.