What is all about a Crew?

Crewing is insane!!! and Now I can categorically write about it! All this while in my life (well not the entire life, but last 10 years), I have ridden Solo or supported, meaning someone crewing for me. However it was time to return the favor.

When Tandava and Manas (BWCC Cycling buddies), reached out to me in October to support Saurabh for his RAAM Qualifier ride - Deccan Cliff hanger, I wasn't sure if I should do it (rather I could do it or not?). I have never done crewing in my life and my worst fear was would I end by being a hindrance rather than support!

RAAM is Race Across America and only 3 Indians have successfully completed the solo event so far. Kabir being the latest one whom I met during the Deccan Cliff Hanger Race.

The Deccan Cliffhanger is an annual 646 Km (400 Mile) Ultra Cycling Race from Pune to Goa, comprising solo and relay team categories. The Relay event is RAAM style, and the Solo Race is a RAAM Qualifier. All racers in all categories must have a support vehicle and crew.

The Deccan Cliffhanger is on the Ultracycling (UMCA) calendar. Solo Racers who complete within the time limit will be qualified for RAAM

I was noncommittal at that point, but I called up Manas to do a dip stick a few days before the ride to check on the expectation. He gave an overview of the ride and made it look simple. And you know that sometimes in life,  Chemistry between individuals are so good that you trust them and just go ahead with the ask. So I signed up as an emotional support for Saurabh. A few weeks before Deccan Cliff hanger, I injured my right calf muscle while playing soccer. It left me immobile for few days and limping for few weeks. Saurabh has been preparing for the ride ardently. He did the Ironman in Goa, rode long rides in Delhi to ensure he was fully fit and ready to race. Now that I had committed, I wasn't sure if I will be the lumber wood in the whole Deccan Cliff Hanger???

Manas and Tandava decided to ride their car on Thursday, but I had some stuff which meant I could take a second half flight from Bangalore to Pune and only arrive on Friday later afternoon. I arrived by around 4pm at the "Cliff" and by then the briefing of the trip was done. Key Highlights
* In the night, there rider should be in the shadow of a Support Vehicle's head lamp.
* Safety is paramount
* Identification of the vehicles is key - No support Vehicles allowed for Crew to travel other than the one marked.
* You cannot handover items to the rider from a running vehicle

We took a few Photographs and at the base and I could sense the excitement brimming! Saurabh Thanked everyone who came to support and Apologized in advance for any tantrums he would do on the way due to the stress levels. A typical 600km BRM ride has a 40 hours - Tandava and Manas had already done BRM's and were well versed with the stress levels and the expectations. But the qualifier meant , it had to be done in 32 hours. Difficult, but not impossible.

A bit about the Crew! a Truly National Integration Theme indeed.

1. Manas Kumar Sahu – Oriya living in Bengaluru - Avid Cyclist and BRM champ
2. Sankarson Banerji (Shanky Da) – Bengali living in Mumbai - Cyclist and had done Deccan Cliff Hanger last year
3. Tandava Krishna – Andhraite living in Bengaluru, BRM Champ, Avid Cyclist, Works for social cause and a great human being
4. Krishna – Chattisgarhi from Hyderabad A Cyclist and Avid Runner
5. Sabyasachi Das – Oriya from Mumabi – who unfortunately couldn’t make it for the race, but our race wouldn’t have been possible without him. Rather he was always on Calls with Shanky Da throughout the ride to check our status
6. Saurabh Kapur our Rider, the man with Gills as I call him – Punjabi from Delhi. 
7. Me – Keralite living in Bengaluru

All members of the crew from diverse backgrounds, united by the love of cycling and came together thanks to Surabh and his GoMissing Expeditions. 

We brought few supplies all natural and water from Pune. We spent the night discussing about the ride strategies , nutrition, hydration and breaks. We kept one room for Saurabh and the rest of us shared the rooms. Our flag off time was around 620 am, which meant we need to arrive by 6 am at least. Ravi (BWCC rider/Admin) joined us for Dinner. He had relocated to Pune couple of years back and it was good to catch up with him!!! It was 11 by the time i went to sleep, but i could sense a bit of tension creeping because we haven't worked as a crew. Infact none of us had done Crewing before. In the midst of the Pune cold weather and the ensuing ride tomorrow, I fell asleep. 

The  4 am Alarm went off, but i was already up. Manas had not slept the whole night (probable because we designated him as the chief of crew - which truly deserved).  We had 2 cars as part of the crew. Manas's XUV and Shanky Da's Skoda. We had a rack on Shanky Da's Skoda and kept a cycle on it. Manas's car had a cycle packed in. Nutrition was split between the two cars.

The confusion reigned in the morning in where to load the cycle and how to get the folks to the top. I, Shanky da paired up and we loaded two cycles in the Skoda. The primary cycle was pushed up the hill by Manas and we reached barely minutes before the start.  We were flagged off downhill around 620 and were on our way through Pune outskirts into the choked Katraj Tunnel.

khambatki ghat top view

We had a brief stop on top of Kambakti ghat for breakfast which we had picked up on the way and then Shanky da and Saurabh left immediately. The rest of the crew took time to have breakfast and then followed up to catch-up. So far we were ahead of plan on time. The aero bars on the cycle were working beautifully. A small break after Satara Checkpoint and we were well on our way to Lunch Checkpoint at Yellur. 200km up in 6 hours, we felt confident of the rest of the ride. 440 km to go and 24 hours to go, we felt confident. 

The ride up till Belgaum was interleaved with short hydration, nutrition and massage breaks. Few kilometres before Belgaum panick stuck. Saurabh eye power and he uses the power lenses while riding but needed clear lens for the evening ride. We lost one of the eye glasses which he had asked us to keep safe. We searched and found it later, but the tension at that moment was getting the morale down. Moments Earlier, we were also informed of curfew imposed in Belgaum due to Babri Masjid verdict. Luckily the organizers did a good job of getting us a Police approval. A couple of hours ride ahead was Belgaum and as night fall happened, the night rules of riding were active. I and Shanky da went ahead to get food for the night while the second vehicle followed the rider.By 9 we were in Belgaum. 15 hours done, we had done 340 km and around 300 to go. At this rate, we were well in sight of reaching Goa Control point within time. 

Little did we know of the up coming challenge. What bad could happen during night rides??

1. Cold

2. Fog

3. Low visibility

Add to this Bad Roads. No I am not talking about potholes here, but Roads that have been excavated to lay fresh roads. From Kanhapur to Supa Reservoir -60km, this was the case. Saurabh wears glasses and it got fogged pretty quickly, he had to ride almost with zero visibility for a long time with the cars providing the light and direction. There was a point where at an intersection, Saurabh stopped to ask for direction and I used my hand to show him the direction. Unfortunately, he could not and one of our cars had to go ahead for him to see the way! I had been driving since afternoon so decided to take a 1 hour break in between with Shanky da at the helm of Skoda. We lost considerable ground during this period and things started to look shaky. An hour later, I woke up and started driving again.

Where is the Road???? Kanhapur to Ganeshgudi

By 2am we had reached the base of the Dandelli climb and were staring ahead at a 15-20km uphill to the control point and return to the same point below to continue to Karwar. I drove the Skoda and me and Tandava tailed Saurabh giving the rest of the crew time to rest and relax. By average speed, we should have come down by 4 pm at least, but we were done only by 445pm due to Bad roads and low visibility due to Fog. We had lost time and with 200km ahead of Goa Control point, with around 9 hours to go for qualification end, it looked challenging.  I took a break while Shanky da was at the helm of Skoda. 

At around 6, I sensed the car swerving a bit (all be it at slow speed). Shanky Da was tiring up! We decided to pull over a bit to get few minutes of rest. I never realized a 15 minutes sleep could be so precious. 

Karwar was 100 km away when i Woke up to dogs barking. The place where we parked was a village and then milkman was serving milk at 630am. I took the wheels and let Shanky da sleep. Once I caught up, i releaved the second vehicle so that they could rest. We stopped couple of times befor Karwar for water and nutrition breaks. I could sense scepticism in Saurabh, the road was still bad, he was starting to get tired, hadn't slept the whole night and was starting to get chafing. Adveristy brings the best in individuals right? So was today. He bolted up and continued to ride. Slowly from Desperation, i was feeling anxious. This is the time where you (and the rider) starts evaluating priorities of life and start thinking what the hell am I going, I should quit and get some rest or go abandon the ride.

At Karwar, i was exhausted and needed a break. I gave the car to Shanky da and let Manas tail Saurabh. I took a break at the nearest Fuel station at Goa entry. I must say that Swach Bharat Abhiyan is working. At least the rest rooms were in good condition.

With 80km still to go with 3 1/2 hours to go, it looked a difficult task with Goa Climbs,narrow roads and rippple humps.

We bought Chilled Water bottles to cool down the rider but it wasn't helping much. With couple of hours to go, we were 30 odd Km from destination and Saurabh asked me for time left and km to go. I shouted out the number from the car. It needed him to ride more than 25kmph in the peak traffic and he told me "ab Mushkil lag raha hai".( It is looking difficult). Damn we have come this far, there is no reason we will not. Shanky da swung into action, got the cold bottles out, refilled the sipper with Coke (the drink). We gave Saurabh a cold shower and Gave him the much needed sugar rush(Coke) and gave him few words of encouragement. It seemed to work. The second car went ahead and stopped vehicles at the junction so that the rider had a free ride through. It came down to 10 km 35 minutes with the burst and things started to get back on track. We took a left from the airport road and the climbs kept increasing. Last few minutes to go and we had Bogmalo beach at sight. With 10 minutes to go we got the downhill and rushed down to Bogmalo beach to the Control Point. Yes we did Qualify with 6 minutes to spare!!!!

All of us were elated and exhausted at the same time. A sense of serenity prevailed probably resembling the mild mid-day Arabian sea that was in front of us. 

A Transformational Message Rung through my mind : When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it. (Paulo Coelho)

With Divya Tate , Head of Inspire India

Related Blog from a Riders Perspective : http://www.saurabhkapur.com/cycling/lessons-from-the-deccan-cliffhanger/
Lessons in management : http://www.saurabhkapur.com/management/11-management-lessons-from-a-650-km-cycle-race/

Tips for Crewing.

1. Don't need a lot of stuff, just 3 basic things. Nutrition, Rest, Hydration  and all 3 based on the rider and the terrain. So plan accordingly. 
2. Strategic things

• Plan A , Plan B .. i.e. what time are we expected to finish the race? Based on that we need pit stop strategy.. pace it based on riders comfort. If it doesn't happen, what is plan B? We managed our breaks poorly. I heard that Kabir who finished the ride around 26 hours, was off the saddle only 15 minutes in this whole race
• The Crew should gel well and it is important for the crew meet up few weeks in advance
• Use Technologies to solve your problem. Location sharing , Radio/Walkie -Talkie
• Route knowledge is key.. Reconnaissance of the route is important to plan the Nutrition, Rest and Hydration
• There should always be a Primary bike vs. Secondary bike vs. Bike for a particular terrain. The Recce will help us identify this 
• The Crew should now the Riders limitations, in our case we knew about the eye sight issue but did not plan for what if all hell breaks loose and he has to ride without glasses in Fog!
• Some advice 2 hours sleep in between, but it is up to the riders comfort.
• It is important to split the Roles per individuals in crew. many a times, there is debate on who should do what
• The ride is as intense for the Crew as to the rider, the Crew needs to plan their sleep cycles to ensure that the rider is kept in good hands
• During the day, Leave the cyclists on long trail, don't need to tail him
• Most important : Breaks can be really good stress relief, but minimize and timekeep them so that it doesn't accumulate.
  
  
  Minor Items : 

• We dont need a Bed for the rider but a simple Yoga mat would help in stretching and stress relieving, 
• Decathlon folding chair would be useful
• Water spray in case of humid climate
• Ice pack
• Ice box
• One each cycle rack per car - you never know which car is going to tail the cycle 
• Wet towels/ Warm Towels
• Zip locks/pouches