Tour de Bengal Day 0

Planning and Stuffs

The day started with huge planning. All my stuff was neatly laid out on the bed, ready to be packed into my old, trusted HP laptop bag. A quick last-minute bike tune-up before leaving for office — yes, office — and the journey was about to begin. After work, I’d be heading straight to the hotel that my teammate Barath had booked, where I’d meet Mithun da. Everything was falling into place.

Also, today was special — I had my first real breakfast in a long time: roti and aloo sabji. (The reason I’d been avoiding them? Pure carbs. But hey, carbs are exactly what I need right now.)

Hitting towards Office

OMG. How poor can road conditions even be? My Triban, loaded with a heavy backpack and all my gear, somehow powered through. By the time I reached the office, I was riding in Zone 4 — even though I was strictly supposed to stay in Zone 2. Well… there’s no “planned training” once you’re outdoors, right?

At the office, everyone was stunned to see me arrive with so much gear and luggage. I changed into work clothes and got down to business. I was surprisingly focused and wrapped up my tasks for the day. Lunch was chicken stew and four rotis — simple and solid.

Post-lunch, I shifted into prep mode. I created all the TCX course files and uploaded them to my watch — office to Bikesmith, Bikesmith to hotel, hotel to starting point, end point to hotel for Day 1, hotel of Day 1 to Day 2 start point — all sorted. That’s enough, I thought. I know some of the Jhargram routes by heart anyway, and Day 3 is my old route. I’ve crossed it three times before — this will be the fourth.

Final Touch-ups and enroute masaccre

I then left for Bikesmith for a more relaxed bike fit and gear tune-up. Still, it didn’t feel perfect. Anyway, I started towards the hotel. But almost at the end of the ride, I ran into a mini disaster — a “pocket tunnel” on the route was completely submerged in water. I was in full-length pants and regular shoes… and yep, everything got soaked.

Still, I pushed through and reached the hotel. Barath was still working when I arrived, just about to wrap up. I told him to come as early as he could. Meanwhile, I ran into Mithun da, casually roaming with his bike. I caught up with him and we started shopping — breads, sweets, bananas… the full carb treatment. He’d brought a massive trekking bag packed with potatoes, chicken, and who-knows-what else. Hats off to that man.

Finishing Up

Back at the hotel, I changed clothes and headed out for dinner with Mithun da. Barath was still on his way. We scouted for a good restaurant and finally found one. Initially, we debated: roti-tadka or rice? But somehow, we ended up ordering biryani. Don’t ask how — it just happened. The plan was to pack some for the next morning, but our appetites had other ideas. We devoured the full plates right there.

After a few water bottles from a nearby shop, I was ready to crash. Around 11 p.m., Barath finally arrived. I had already completed “Sleep – Part 1.” By 12:30 a.m., we were all out cold.

Conclusion

All we could dream about was getting through Day 1 — somehow. The first stage was going to be a real challenge. How I tackled it… well, that’s a story for the next post.