Previously: TABR: Day 2
Looking back at my TABR ride now, I realize the many, many ways I could have done things better, and I believe the experience will hold me in good stead for my future rides. Back then however, it was hard not to get overwhelmed; I was afraid of getting into a state of panic, so I often overcorrected, and was perhaps a bit too relaxed. On a ride like TABR, it’s important to keep stops short, and even a few minutes saved makes a difference, as it all adds up. My Day 3 of TABR 2017 started at a quarter to two A.M (0145 hrs). I rose, packed my bivvy, whose liner was quite damp, after two consecutive nights of bivvying, and knocked on the fireman’s quarters door, to ask to use the restroom.

Bliss in the Hills is a unique 1200 brevet, and arguably the toughest ride in all of India. I’d attepted the 2016 edition (you can read my account here). The 2017 edition is on September 28 2017, and registrations are open again for a limited period of time. For registrations, go here. This remains a ride that’s rather high on my ‘must complete’ list, and though I can’t cross it off the list this year, I look forward to doing it sometime soon.

I woke up at 0330 hrs, in the park, determined to try and have a better day than the previous one. The GPS said the temperature was 5°C. I was shivering a bit, as I rolled up the bivvy, and tightened up the saddlebag. I’d stopped before it got dark the previous evening, so the lights were flicked on for the first time, and I noted that they were aimed too high. Stopped, adjusted them a bit, and was off. My rig has a Shutter Precision PD-8x dynamo hub which powers an Axa Blueline 50 front lamp and a Busch + Müller Toplight View Plus rear light. When the lights are not being used, the dynamo powers my Cinq Plug III converter, which supplies a USB outlet to feed electrons to my phone, GPS etc, and on this cold and pitch dark morning, the Axa lit up the road quite brilliantly, and I was rolling down the Salmon River Highway quite confidently, at speeds near 40 kmph. I could have easily gone faster, but was afraid there might not be much time to react and avoid, if there were potholes or any other debris on the road, but my fears were largely unfounded; the surface was truly beautiful.

June 3, 2017: The day started early. I’d been checking the time on my watch every few minutes, to see if it was time to be up, and when it was half past four, I got up, showered and packed the clothes I’d washed the previous night, into my saddlebag. Harrison was next up, and David the last. We were soon all set. Harrison suggested we grab something to eat at the cafe nearby, before heading out to the start, but it turned out that the cafe was not open yet. We started rolling to the start line. It must have been only about five hundred metres, when I felt I’d picked up a flat. I asked Harrison to see if I indeed had a flat, but nope, it was my saddlebag, rubbing heavily against my wheel. This would be a recurring theme over the next few days.

June 2nd, 2017: This was the rest day, and the day to get in any last minute shopping done, before the race. It was also the day we picked up our caps, and those of us who’d rented Spot trackers got their trackers, from Nathan Jones. I was staying at the Rivershore Motel in Astoria, and David Barstow Robinson (DBR) and Harrison McClain were right next door. Harrison had already written to me, asking to share my motel room on the 2nd, and we both decided to let David bunk with us too. They arrived just before noon, and I decided to head out to the local bike store, which I was told was getting busier by the minute, thanks to all the TABR racers who were descending on it!