Tour-De Golden Triangle. Delhi - Agra - Jaipur - Delhi On A Bicycle Part 3 (Last Part)

The Final Crescendo - Day 3 - Jaipur - India Gate:

“The journey is what brings us happiness not the destination.” This is what is being said in Dan Millman's inspiration stirring book 'Way of the peaceful warrior'. This is one of many lessons which this book has to offer when you read it. I remembered these set of words arranged in a sentence from the book, as we were sitting on the stairs of the Hotel entrance. 1:30 AM it was on the clock as we have reached our destination for the day. While sitting on the cold marble floor of the hotel staircase, I remembered a day from the past when I used to be all eccentric and stupid. A group of friends; including me; belonging to the same clan of similar stupidity and eccentricity booked a cab to come down to Jaipur to check in a hotel to get high and wasted. I don't even remember my own thoughts and feelings at that time. I just remember being completely wasted, on the way I had vomited twice and was carried on two shaky shoulders to be shoved into a hotel room to be left alone to sleep off the booze, just to get ready to get wasted again. The destination was the same, a 4 star hotel in Jaipur, but the journey was different and the purpose was different. One journey was taken towards self-abnegation, destruction and complete annihilation of the mind while another was taken towards self cleansing, purification and complete catharsis of the mind. I could conspicuously see the contrast between my old self and the present self to understand the quote “The journey is what brings us happiness not the destination” in depth and with better clarity. This train of thoughts and realisations were broken by a sharp pang of hunger originating in my very stomach. 

Tour-De Golden Triangle. Delhi - Agra - Jaipur - Delhi On A Bicycle Part 2

The Fugue - Day 2 - Agra to Jaipur

Here comes the pain! When I woke up next morning in my bed at Taj Resorts Agra, room number 1002, I felt a mild pain in my left knee and ankle in form of a soft whisper trying to warn me about the upcoming horror, like clouds on the horizon. As I was in the process of regaining my consciousness, I realised that I had made a big mistake in carrying the monkey on my back and completing the 224 KM stretch from my home to Taj Mahal at more than my comfortable speed. Lesson learnt for long rides: Set a pace for yourself, in which you are comfortable, and follow it till the entire ride. Also choose the gear combination which you are going to use for majority part of your ride, when you are not fighting the headwind or sprinting.

Brushing aside the thought of pain, I got ready as we had to get down for breakfast sharp at 7:00 AM, with flag off time set at 8:00 AM by our captain Kamal Bisht. Me and Gaurav checked our bikes, and  after cleaning and oiling our bikes we went together towards the breakfast table. At that very moment I felt so glad to have Gaurav by my side on this expedition. Without him I would have had been totally lost. When I first told him about this expedition he was a bit reluctant in joining. I was not at all expecting him on this trip and it was a pleasant surprise to know that Gaurav will be joining this expedition too. He phoned me the day before the ride and gave me a long list of some useful items (which I that time found it utterly useless) to bring along with me for this ride. For those who do not know Gaurav; he is part of my company and we both have done many rides together as part of HCL Pedal Pushers Group. We also shared rooms together along with another riders, Dhruv in Agra and Avadhesh in Jaipur. Gaurav is a seasoned rider with good experience. He is a kind of person who will not flinch an iota in throwing one or two good advice at your way, without sounding or seeming bossy.

"Me and Gaurav Getting Our Bikes Ready For A Long Windy Day Ahead"

Tour De Golden Triangle. Delhi - Agra - Jaipur - Delhi On A Bicycle Part 1 TDGT

The Prelude:

The seeds were planted last year, I guess in April. Nothing takes place in vacuum. In April 2016 I created a Facebook event - Noida - Agra - Noida on Cycle 400 KM. This was when I first got my Btwin Rock Rider 300 on Yamuna Expressway. There was a milestone next to the road reading "Agra 200 KM". A thought, followed by a strong feeling started creating cadence in my head; that if I can do this, then I will be prepared to face from worse to the worst in life. I will grow in strength, both mental and physical. A strong desire started giving shape to this thought like a potter's hand on the revolving clay. This was the phase when I was clean; off from Alcohol and smoking for 4 months now and was struggling with the relapse phase. 'Easier desired than done' is my twisted version of the cliched saying 'easier said than done'. I was not prepared physically for such long rides. Lack of experience and physical stamina were 2 biggest roadblocks. So this Facebook event's date was moved from pillar to post. Initially it was 4th April 2016; postponed to 4th May; then to 4th June. This epic drama went on till 4th September when I finally decided to take the event down completely. I could have deleted the event, but could not delete the strong desire from my consciousness to attempt something like Delhi to Agra and back on cycle.

Tour De Golden Triangle - List Of Riders And Marshalls With Their Introductions TDGT

Riders:

"Group Photo In Front Of Amer Fort. Captain Kamal Bisht Missing"

1) Gurleen Kaur (The Hardcore MTB Lady! 600 KM Brevet Rider On MTB. A lady with ardent determination and limitless perseverance. An inspiration for many)
2) Gaurav Dasgupta (Super Randonneur, my mentor in cycling, my room partner on this ride. Highly spirited and motivated person.Very helpful and supportive)
3) Dhruv (Young IT professional. Totally belongs to GenX. Someone filled with raw boisterous Zeal. A very strong and Determined Rider too.)
4) Nidhi Sharma (One of the nicest kids I have come across. The fact that she has 4 nationals under her belt, her personality does not reflect even an iota of ego or attitude. This the most amazing thing which I have observed in her and got inspired from. A very strong and aggressive rider; very amiable in demeanour)
5) Kamal Sundriyal (1200 KM Brevet finisher)