DROOGS actually refers to Droog Fort situated around 13 kilometres from the town of Coonoor in the Nilgiris.It is now an old and worn out fort once used by the famous 16th century king Tipu Sultan as an army outpost due to the bird's eye view it offers. It stands at an elevation of about 2000metres above sea level.
The ride from my home in Coonoor to Droogs and back to the highway is around 31kilometres.Jacob and i have done this ride a few times since May of 2011 and its just so different every time.
So,we had planned this weekend of biking in Coonoor about a month in advance so everyone could block the dates and also do some regular biking to keep the biking muscles fitter than usual.
It was set to be a real fun weekend since we were 8 in all including my brother Sanjay who rode with us on our rides around Coonoor but decided he would get to Droogs behing the wheel of the landcruiser and enjoy a spot of mild offroading and also play the part of support vehicle since we had 3 riders(Gopi anna (Gopi),RamAnand(Anand) and Prasanna who had never done it before.The others being Shantharam(shantha),Vijay Mohan(TV),jacob and myself.We arrived in Coonoor on the 16th afternoon so we could do a small ride in the evening just to get a bit acclimatised to high altitude.So we all did a 24k ride that evening down to Dolphins nose and back.
The ride the day before!
We started our ride at 7am,Jacob having riden up to my house to start with us,and Sanjay in the landcruiser following.It was a cold winter day and home was at an altitude of around 1800 metres.The temp guage was hovering around 9 degress but what made things worse was the 3 km downhill start on the highway which was the first bit of the ride.At the end of it we reached the point where we turn off the highway and my ears felt like they were going to break and fall off.Gopi had forgotten his SLR back home and was wondering what we do when to his delight Shantha who is usually the last one to leave did his good deed for the day and brought it along.
At this point were were around 1580 metres altitude and started our first and only tarmac climb for the day.Its a 4km continuous climb which i would say is pretty hard on the body since you are not warmed up at all and the climb is relentless for the entire distance untill you get to the top of the hill at Nonsuch estate.
The first kilometre or so is actually very painful on the legs since the body is stone cold and you are straight away into what i would say is like a 5-6 percent grade.As you slowly start feeling the heat in your legs and the body warms up things become easy and you are at the top pretty quickly,by this time you are sweating quite a bit and all the extra layers of clothing you put on in the morning are coming off and into the landcruiser.We all decided to do the climb at our own pace and just reach the top preferably non stop not allowing the body to cool down.Nonsuch is one of the most beautiful estates i have ever seen ,the tea looking perfectly manicured and very special in the mild morning mist.
Nonsuch.
Our first stop,to refill bottles and hit the trail.L-R.Sanjay,TV,Shantha,Prasanna,Arjun,Anand,Jacob
A few kilometres in we turn off into the trail,the first bit being a very rough 1-2 kilometre climb which needed to be done on the 22 ring with the sudden rocks and ditches all the time messing up your rhythm.I was the one having the easiest time here with the dual suspension on the OIZ soaking up everything.I know the difference all too well since i have done this ride twice on my F7 and the ride to droogs was what made me want to buy a cross country dual.
As we reach the top then its a 2-3 kilometre gravel road with a mild descent,very beautiful, from here on in all you see is the valley on one side as you pretty much ride above or around almost 5 hills on the way to the peak in Droogs.The sun was out and it was perfect weather and we were all enjoying a very leisurely pace,stopping once in a while for pictures and refill of our bottles.
Jacob,prasanna,anand,TV
It was then onto the first BIG climb of the day.Its a grassy climb with almost 10percent grade ,the grass adding to the friction
The small road you see at the bottom is where we start!
.After advising everyone to drop down to their smallest chain rings we decided to give each other enough room and start climbing.The climb briefly flattens off a bit around 200mtrs in where some decided to take a breather cause at this point your heart feels like its going to pop out, and then climbs steeply a further 150 metres.Meanwhile my brother and i were chatting at the bottom of the hill wondering whether the landcruiser would make it up this narrow,slippery road without damaging the surface.We decided the only way to know is to try,i locked the landcruiser's hub's ,got onto my bike and told him i would see him at the top...hopefully.Reached the top and so did the landcruiser without any fuss whatsoever.we decided to take a break,enjoy the sights and grab a bite of biscuits and energy bars we were carrying.
The next few climbs are probably one of the most difficult by any standard.
You need to pedal at high cadence to avoid wheelspin and keep things as smooth as possible,at the same time managing the wheelspin on the slippery hard clay surface and also the wheel lift cause you are in such low gear at low speed where the torque is high and with ditches across the road is quite a challenge.If you stop halfway up then the only way is to push .
This pic is from a previous ride on my F7.
Even though each climb is not more than 300-400 metres long the effort you have to put in is over 100 percent just to keep moving and keeping the bike stable with both wheels on the ground.the heart rate hits over 175 beats quite regularly and early as you continue over two more of such climbs before you get to the bottom the final hill.At this point were were at around 1900 metres and still climbing.
The tea estates around the nilgiris have become home to many Indian Gaur,commonly known as the bison.they are wild in every aspect and are to be treated with great respect otherwise one can end up getting hurt.We were fortunate enough to see a couple of them on the way grazing in the estates amid the tea workers, who carried on with their work of plucking the leaves with ever a watchful eye on their large friends.
A short while later we were at the base of the Droogs hill if i may call it that.This is where the steps start and its quite a steep push and carry for almost a kilometre to the top.
TV and Anand were not too amused that i suggested we carry to the top as already the body is crying with all the climbing.the comfort of having the landcruiser around made them have second thoughts of having to carry the bikes up.I told them the ride down the steps is great and somehow convinced them to make their journey up with the bikes.
Sometimes with steps being knee high,this is a challenge if you are trekking leave alone carrying a bike.jacob and i have always done this cause you cant take the chance of leaving the bikes unattended so now this has become a big part of the ride.
In this pic L-R Arjun,Prasanna,Jacob(standing),TV,Shantharam(standing),RamAnand,Gopinath and my Orbea OIZ:)
Following are pics of the climb to the top.They tell a better story.Enjoy!
Half way up.
Enjoying the view of coonoor before the final climb to the top.
TV and Gopi reaching the "TOP OF THE WORLD"
It was a a really special ride to the top as always and to be able to share it with so many friends made it the best ride to date to Droogs.After all the cursing by the guys on the way up,reaching the top im sure made them really proud of what they have achieved and very happy that they gave in to my nagging and did it.
The next hour was spent exploring Droogs and walking over to the other side of the hill where the views are simply stunning.
Exploring Droogs!
Jacob!
Shantharam
Well done to Gopi for carrying the SLR up there.Seen here putting it to good use.
After numerous pictures lots of laughs and riding technique discussions we decided to head back.it was almost 11am,we were at almost 2000 metres altitude with another 14 kilometres to go before the bikes will be loaded onto the Landcruiser,Shanta's YETI and Jacob's Nano.
The climb down the hill needs one to exercise utmost caution since it is steep and, with the bikes you dont always get a good footing particularly in the initial bit.
Jacob and Sanjay started heading down before us and then half way down i climbed onto the saddle to ride the rest of the way.All the guys saddled up as well and enjoyed the tricky ride down the narrow and often slippery steps.Its only on rides such as these does one really realise what a Mountain Bike is capable of.
We decided to head back non stop at our own pace and meet up at the stop point.In any case Sanjay was following with the Landcruiser so all was safe and taken care of.
The ride back was not all easy ,there was a 4km uphill trail before reaching the 4 km tarmac blast downhill.
The downhill tarmac section is sort of like a reward for doing the ride to droogs,its relatively low on traffic and you are at more than 50 plus km/hr almost all the way except through the flowing corners where i realised something was wrong with the back end of my bike.I pulled up alongside to ask tv if it was a flat tyre and he replied in the negative.Two corners later after having almost lost the rear end in a big slide i stopped to check what i though was a damaged bike only to find the tyre pressure down to 10psi.
I pumped up to 40psi with the onboard pump and headed off towards the stop point about a couple of kilometres away.Did the last 400 metre climb to the finish of the ride with just about 10psi pressure,very glad that i did not damage the wheel or tyre.
It was a very memorable ride for all particularly Prasanna,Gopi and Anand being their first time.
The view of coonoor from Droogs!
Droogs as seen from Coonoor.Its the last peak to the left of the picture.
Anand crossing the finish line.
Gopi.
Ride well done on the eve of his Birthday.
Bikes loaded we all headed home,talking non stop of how brilliant the ride was and also how great the bikes were,looking forward to an afternoon consuming lots of brewskies and more biking banter.jacob joined us a bit later at home and the banter continued well into the night as we headed to the Coonoor Club.
We all went to bed late that night after planning to do a short ride the next day, around some trails in Coonoor to celebrate Gopi's birthday all the time knowing that we will be back on top of the hill at Droogs very soon.
The Bikes.. Cannondale Trail SL2(TV),Cannondale Trail SL3(Sanjay,Anand,Prasanna),Cannondale Trail SL4(Gopi),Cannondale F8(jacob),Orbea Alma H50 29er(shantharam),Orbea OIZ Carbon 3 (Arjun)
The visibility in some parts is not that great so i was keeping a careful watch for any Gaur in the area.I had a very close call with one on the same trail many months ago,extra cautious this time since its not very easy for 7 chaps with MTB's to turn around on a single track trail if a quick turnaround is required.Surprisingly the Gaur were not to be seen this time.
L-R.Arjun,Shantha,Prasanna,Sanjay,TV,Anand. 
