Jan 2012 (Part2) – Murud

White sands, blue waters, palm trees were very much inviting.

From Dapoli around 11kms got into a share auto filled with school children. Looking at me with a big backpack, the girls were giggling & smiling all the time. Every time they started singing, I would give them company and the giggling went louder.

The short journey ended sooner & with fun. Its just Rs.10/- per person for the short distance. There are also buses to reach Murud. Murud is down the hill of Dapoli on the west side.

Upon reaching we booked a room in Balaji Resort. A tent type accommodation with TV facility and in-house cooked food. One has choice to tell them what you want to eat. They do provide tasty food. The resort has a dog which always accompanies anyone walking to the beach.

I did what always fascinates me, beach photo with backdrop of the sunset. There is a possibility for horse cart ride on the beach. There are also speed boats, dolphin ride, paragliding & balloon ride & many more. All for a price but lesser than what is charged in Goa!

The best experience was lying on the beach sand in the night watching the clear star lit sky. My knowledge of star constellations is limited so I couldn’t figure out what each constellation was. Others with knowledge can do it of course. It was just breathtaking view. I tried to click some photos of the star lit sky which never appeared in print. Finally after few attempts it was best left for the experience and a beauty to be in the eyes of the beholder.

The advantage is the number of tourists is just few in number and one can always have privacy. Most of the tourists are from Pune, while few would be from Dapoli itself during weekends.

The shops are not open beyond about 8:00pm. Murud is a small village & less populated. Temples, thats one which could be find at every corner.

Very typical of places like these, there are just birds & birds everywhere followed by butterflies. Its a known fact that catching a butterfly on camera is very difficult. It took about couple of hours for me to sit idle & wait for butterflies to settle down to shoot something like this.

 

With better accommodation options & also food options Murud is a convenient place for stay. Murud becomes centric to move around to other beaches around this coastal line like Karde, Harnai & Anjarle.

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Jan 2012 (Part 1) – Dapoli & Dabhol

After long time of no travel, I decided its time to do a backpack. A mild luxury added on would always be a perfect vacation. Sometimes its good to spoil oneself.

What started with a tour to be planned for Hampi got extended by few more days to include coastal Maharashtra. Some beaches not visited by many, mostly Marathis so far. The white sands were inviting and calling to be stepped upon. 

Off did the trip start by VRL Travels from Bangalore to Kolhapur. It was not a good beginning to the tour when the bus broke down in the middle of the night. But I wasnt worried much since I was on a relaxed backpack tour. I was in no hurry to reach the destination. The good part in travelling by VRL is they got an awesome service. The driver managed to reach their shed somewhere in north Karnataka, not sure where. And we had a replacement bus of the same type. No compromise on quality of travel.

By morning with an hour of delay we reached Kolhapur bus stand. After freshening up & munching a vada-pav to signify the entrance to Maharashtra, took a local Maharashtra Transport bus to Dapoli. Dapoli is the birth place of Lokamanya Tilak. It is the only hill station in India which is half-surrounded by beaches. It wasnt as cold as one would imagine a hill station to be. It is pretty much a 7hr journey by local bus from Kolhapur to Dapoli. No reservations taken, it took time to search for a hotel before decided to settle down in “New Pathik Hotel” about 3-5kms away from Dapoli bus stand. 

There isnt much to see in Dapoli or to do in Dapoli. What was exciting was to walk down to Maharashtra Tourism Department Hotel down from New Pathik Hotel (about less than a km) in the night to get dinner in complete darkness. That was when I found the usefulness of the Tiny Flashlight App, the light was brighter than the torch I was holding in my hand!

Day1:

Tired from long journey, decided to take an extended rest & lazying around watching TV. Finally by afternoon decided to go to town, take a bus to Panhelkaji to see the caves. With no buses to directly reach the caves got into one of the bus which was just then leaving the stand. On enquiring for Panhelkaji, the conductor was amused & tried telling us that there is no way to reach there even if that bus stopped somewhere near. And there would be no buses to return later in the night. One of the other passenger in the bus asked us to go back to stand and take another bus. Everyone confused and amused, reminded me of the trip in Kerala few years ago. 

Asked the conductor where the bus would go to, Dabhol & took ticket to Dabhol. Who cares where we go. It is not important about destination in these kind of trips. Adjustments were always possible. What to do in Dabhol, got down took a ferry across the river. Spent about 20mins, took another ferry came back! 

Shahi Masjid built by Aisha Bibi is one of the oldest mosque built in the Konkan region. Its quite surprising that except the main gate, the doors from within is secured & locked with all possible ways preventing people to explore the beauty of the Masjid. With help from local, did manage to go all the way up. We don’t intend any harm to the Masjid and its sad to return without exploring. On a search in google there are videos and photos available of the inside of the Masjid. 

One way they are justified that further damage is prevented by not allowing people to the top. On other side, it does need some renovation. It could be worked upon & beautified. 

The third stop in the tour of Dabhol was to Chandi Ka Devi Temple. Tried bargaining with few auto drivers who were demanding crazy money just because we were tourists! They couldn’t understand a backpacker! We cajoled a share auto driver, walked up from Shahi Masjid about 100mts & got in. A trip of about just Rs.10/- for which auto drivers were demanding Rs.100/-!

Apparently this temple has a cave inside which one can crawl through, in which alsoentry is denied by the temple priest. When I entered the temple from ground level into what looked like a cave I was excited but within minutes the disappointment was written long on face. 

But there is a big arealeading to the temple & also up the caves where there are mango groves. To which nobody can deny entry or walking around till the time one wanted to. 

After spending long time trying to get into the cave with failure, walked back to the main road. Took the bus back to Dapoli.

Day 2

By now the excitement of getting to the beaches were more. The idea of visiting Panhelkaji caves were dropped again. A short trip to the main town was made interesting by two goats fighting intially and later ending up licking one another. 

Later in the noon packed bags, headed off to the beaches. Murd beach! 

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Valparai Ride

21bikes 24people from Royal Knights Motorcycle Club started on a journey to Valparai on 17th February 2011 at 4:30am. The route Bangalore – Kanakapura – Kollegal – Satyamangalam – Pollachi – Valparai. While the early morning temperature kept everyone cool the afternoon heat was starting to get everyone mad. The route was still scenic as it was in December. Just that the heat was far more. While riding I was wondering all the time was this the route that we pedalled during December. And of course I did keep looking out for the turn which was a detour towards Bandipur. Was almost 4:00pm when we reached Pollachi and that too due to sudden increase in pace and denial of lunch. It was at Pollachi that we had lunch.
Post lunch we started our journey towards the foothills before the climb up, yes 40 hari-pin bends. A small photo stop at 13th hair-pin bend and it was also getting dark fast. On the climb up further on few stand and wave for me to stop to learn that one bike had got its break jammed. After fixing the same we proceeded our climb. Me with my bullet never have climbed hills fast and always go slow to enjoy the nature. Few hair-pin bends later one of the couple is hurt due to a bad fall. We dress up the girl’s wound, switch riders and soon are on the road. A little later post a tea-break we loose our way to the resort Selaiparai Club and go in the complete opposite direction. One in the front, another in the middle riding slowly due to broken footrest of fallen vehicle and me behind accompanied by 2 more. After about 8 – 10kms we realise we are on wrong direction. We turnaround the same path in the darkness. It seems we were lucky not to have met any elephants though only a rabbit crossed the road.
Day 2: The first plan was to go to Sholayar Dam. Later it was changed by then few of them had proceeded further down. While I was taking a U-Turn I realised it was difficult to move my front tyre. There was a puncture. With no other option I park it at the resort and jump on to a free bike as pillon. Lunch was again at 4:00pm on this day. Accompanied by Valparai Tourism Director we went to Kurangumudi and down to the river, dangerous to get into water. He was reeking of smell of alcohol and got stung by a bee when he was explaining honey extraction process. It was little boring to be sitting here since there were far better places in Valparai which can be ventured out and looks more scenic. There was hell lot of photoshoot. Finally we escaped from there into town with my front wheel to fix the puncture. The other bike with broken footrest was also taken for fixing. All done, there was ample time for campfire and party without music!
Day 3: Morning when I take my bike out the front wheel wobbles and I safely deposit it back to resort, climb on to another bike as pillon. The ride is to Athrapally and it is through the forest of Kerala crossing the TamilNadu border. Not before we halted at Sholayar Dam for a photoshoot and stumptuous breakfast. Not only was the breakfast tasty the owners had a tough time cooking so much for us and it never seemed to end. Finally when all of us finished eating they had done their business for entire week!!
The moment we cross the line it gets very clear that we are into Kerala, thats the road condition. Something that TamilNadu has always kept up with good roads apart from Gujarat & Rajasthan. Even Maharashtra cannot talk of such road conditions.
Elephants roam around in forest and at checkpost we were told not to stop anywhere for our own safety. Kerala is very strict when it comes to taking plastic inside the forest, one needs to give a count of even the water bottle being carried. This is definitely a good sign and something which the neighbouring states can also follow strictly. Uncertain terrain and other conditions and situations made us go at a slow speed to the falls. Cutting short the time spent in water and rushing for lunch we were soon rushing back towards Valparai. Its not safe to be on the forest post 6:00pm or after dark. Not before each one had their share of fun in their own way. In return I got a chance to ride one of the other bikes and finally I was happy. Trust me it is not easy sitting behind another bike.
Some of us did see elephants but I was more in mood of riding and did not stop. Neither is it safe to stop as one can never predict how many are there in a pack. Half might be drinking water rest might be lurking somewhere. And moreover with a baby around, just ride.
Post sunset from Sholayar Dam to the resort a distance of about 20kms was really amazing to watch. All bullets were riding in a perfect formation with headlights on. A steady pace maintained, it was really great.
As usual it was time for repairs and luckily mechanic Pradeep came up. Thanks to him and others who arranged for same.
Day 4: Supposedly a long ride was waiting in front of us. Valparai – Pollachi – Coimbatore – Ooty – Bandipur – Mysore – Bangalore. What should have been an early morning start became a 9:00am start. Early morning would also have meant ride through mist and thats something we missed out this time. In my earlier ride I rode through the mist and thats real fun. One cannot see anything except the front lights of approaching vehicle and rear light of vehicle in front. Its really that dense.
As soon as we started into the 5th hair-pin bend I had another tragedy. This time chain got cut. This has never happened before and another breakdown added to my list. Thanks to the rest, we fixed it. It did take sometime since we had to remove the wheel and sprocket before fixing it. Whether we fixed it correctly or not time would only tell. Everything looked ok, did a cautious ride down the ghats and from foothills raced down to Pollachi.
Rest were waiting for us. While we were into our brunch they headed towards Mettupalayam and yes post lunch we did catch up with them at Mettupalayam. We ripped through but not at all stretches due to very bad road conditions. There were expansion works going on which was making it difficult to do a good speed added to which was the traffic. A simple calculation at Mettupalayam suggested we could cross Bandipur by 6:00pm. Climbing up Ooty was lot more fun when the traffic is at its peak and one need to cut through being careful at all times. Vehicles approaching towards you, buses/lorries/vans/jeeps/cars in front; overtaking was fun. Zig-zag, zig-zag we reached Ooty another brief stoppage for coffee/tea.
Hair-pin bends never leave you when in ghats and we had 36 such in front of us before we get down Ooty. We did this in no time maintaining a safe distance and safe pace. of course the pack was cut-off due to individual speeds. Once we entered Bandipur and after few humps at one hump which was little bigger I braked and went over it still, my bullet back wheel started wobbling and making a noise. Stopped again in the forest no other option fiddled around for sometime. It was not easy to ride with wobbling. You want to go in one direction the bike goes in another. Luckily there were no hair-pin bends or steep up-slopes & down slopes, otherwise my bike would have been left for wild animals to test ride!!
The problem was because the axle was rotating with the wheel. This could maybe because we might have missed something while fixing in the morning or due to general wear and tear. But this cannot be predicted. None to blame. On reaching the outskirts of forest we stopped removed the wheel and it axle was jammed inside. Finally with no other option in sight we hired an auto loaded it inside and brought it to Mysore.
Leaving it at Mysore, clung myself (literally) to a friends bike as pillon. Was holding the side so not to fall off. Finally morning 4:00am home.
Was a great trip but not the best for me. My bike which survived even a ride of 2500kms when mechanic gave it only 250kms was not getting fully fit. Not having done long rides has made my bullet fall ill!!

(All photos are on facebook courtesy my friends and fellow rides)

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Rann of Kutch (Proposed Plan)

Its going to be hot during the day as sun breaks out. Below is the proposed

DATE SECTOR
19th March 2011 Bangalore – Thane
20th March 2011 Thane – Ahmedabad
21st March 2011 Gear Check in Ahemedabad
22nd March 2011 Ride Ahmedabad to Zainabad
23rd March 2011 Little Rann, Adesar, Rapar, Dholvira, Toran
24th March 2011 Greater Rann, BOP Mucchi, BOP Karni
25th March 2011 Hodka, Bhuj, White Desert, Sham E Sarhad
26th March 2011 India Bridge, New Sardar Post, Kala Dungar
27th March 2011 Hodka, Nanda Village, Little Rann
28th March 2011 Little Rann to Ahemedabad
29th, 30th 31st March 2011 are buffer days.
1st April 2011 Ahmedabad – Pune
2nd April 2011 Pune – Bangalore

Any interested in joining do ping me.

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Bangalore 2 Chennai

Till about 2-3months back I was not in for riding long distances in a single day. Reason: One cant enjoy the beauty of surroundings. Finally I changed my decision since it was a ride to Chennai. We had few like minded guys in office from SAPRoadies group. We did not want a big number so kept the entire to a short group.
Last week, I was completely not in best of shape. Forget cycling, even getting up and going to office was a big challenge. Fever kept coming & going & coming & going. No food was going into my body. I started losing weight. People were asking all questions, I just kept quiet. No idea what to say and what not. Tried putting up smiling face but the body ache & hunger pangs showed it all over my body & face. When I did want to eat, it was a difficult slow motion job. It did look at some point of time that I would not be able to even pedal cycle out of my house. The only thing that kept me determined was this was a plan we had made together and so I should be there.

Riders: Venkat, Amol, Karthik & Myself — from SAPRoadies. Shyam (my bro), Anand, Ram.
Vedula on bullet as support.

30th October 2010, few hours of sleep. Final bag packing done and all saddled up. My bro (Shyam) & myself left house at around 2:45am. We were waiting for his friend who was delayed due to some reasons. Finally we all met at Silk Board junction and when we finally left that place it was after 4:30am. A clear delay by more than 1.5hrs. The outside temperature nor the body was warmed up, cycling towards Electronic City itself looked difficult. Slowly as pedalling was progressing at steady speed, the body started getting into a rhythm. Though it actually looks tough terrain from Shoolagiri to Krishnagiri, its not all that tought. Kepp changing gears, focus on the road and before you know you have reached Krishnagiri. Thats when we halted for our breakfast. No fancy big hotels, just roadside dhaba’s. Eating in big hotels is typically not my style and they take long time.
In cycling long distance every minute counts. Even now I was not able tp eat comfortably. It took a while for me to drown few idllis. Post breakfast, while Ram was showing signs of discomfort, I could not see anything. All I saw in front of me was the road and only thing I knew was keep cycling. we made efforts not to get on top of bridges, whereever & whenever possible. A halt for tender coconut water about 50kms after Krishnagiri. And again we started cycling.
When I reached Ambur for lunch I was surprised that I was the first to have reached. Of course I did not see anyone crossing me. I had taken a short detour but still others were behind me. It was not that I had cycled at great speed, others took some breaks and time-outs while I did not take any. I also did not feel for eating anyway my stomach was not in best of shape too. Just a plate of curd ride took me about 30mins that too I did not finish the plate.
Due to not eating in last days and too many tablets my acidity was increasing. Got couple of gelusil tablets and it helped.
At this point, other 3 wanted some sleep post-lunch. We 4 decided that we had anyway lost some time so no point in wasting anymore. There was slight drizzle on the way. All the time post lunch till Vellore there was just one thot on my mind. It was rains & cycling.If it rains heavily then I cant see, I was contemplating the moment. And in thinking about rains I did not feel anything about cycling to Vellore.Luckily it was not raining when we reached Vellore. Amol & myself had a quick decision to continue. Venkat looked to have knee pain but was determined to continue further. Same was the case with Karthik. The other 3 (Ranm, Anand & Shyam) wanted to halt at Vellore for the night. The worst part of the journey was hunting for dinner before Kancheepuram.
What we could also notice was our speed was going down. We didnt stop but short halts were increasing. Tiredness was beginning to show in the conversation. Here a stop, there a stop. And we 4 always kept to being together. Definitely not safe in night time.

Finally after more than 21hrs being on the road and spending more than 15hrs cycling, we turned into Chennai. The bright statue of Dr.Ambedkar showing direction. And yes, we did it. We checked ourselves into Hotel Vaithee Park in Poonamalle. And with that marked end of another event. Need to plan next soon.

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Cycling and Camping

Two days into my new road bike BSA Kruze, I was into my first ride. A weekend ride which included camping and destination Billgundala, a forest area near Hogenekkal. Anita, Sandeep, Ann, Venkat, Amol, Vinay and myself. We all met @ Silk Board junction, Bangalore and set off on the trip, luggage loaded on to our cycles.

We took an alternative route to Kannakapura Road, thanks to my suggestion and it was one of the longer routes that we took. In what was supposed to be a max 2hrs ride to Harohalli for breakfast @ Jayarams, turned out to be a 3.5hrs ride.
On Bannerghatta road, we asked people for directions and went around the national park crossing the CRPF training center. Up and down bad roads finally we reached Kannakapura road. This route was very scenic and a good beginning but not when we had planned for long ride. And when we reached Jayarams there was no breakfast left. Finally we did manage to find an alternative place for breakfast which otherwise would have probably been my last minute in the world!!
Post breakfast it was only about 80 – 100kms of riding to reach our destination. Little did we know that we would not make it. We continued on same manner pedalling, stopping, pedalling, stopping. Lots of big climbs up and rolling downs. Am always afraid riding down the hill.
With a new bike, the fear was even more with bad roads. Whenever there was pothole and my cycle went into it, my heart would stop for a second. Whether my heart stopped or not, I had to stop my cycle since my bag fell down from the carrier. With many breaks, we finally reached Hunsunahalli by eveing 5:30pm. A distance of 40-50kms from Harohalli. And we decided to call it a day after few kms at a school surrounded by fields.

Few villagers came over to enquire, they offered accommodation for the ladies, we filled our bottles of water in the village, had a good chat with them. Our dinner was packaged food of cup noodles and ready-to-eat.

Next day morning was a lazy rise and slowly the sun was beginning to come up. this was not good signs unlike the previous day when the sun never came out of cloud cover and troubled us. One round of breakfast at the village and chat with them again when we finally left it was 8:00am. About 2kms from where we halted for night was the TamilNadu border. Though people speak Kannada more fluently, they are part of TN.
To Anchetti and then to Denkannikottai. The stretch to Denkannikottai was a real killer. We climb up and up and up, it never seemed to end. Finally when it ended we were almost on top of the hill. Like this I dont remember how many hills we went up and down.
And then lunch @ Shankar’s Cafe, Denkannikottai. Some time of rest under the trees and we started off again. When chatting with Anita & Sandeep, somehow got me thinking. And I decided to cycle from Attibele to home rather than take the bus with Ann. Later even Ann got convinced to ride all the way. The main attraction was we would have done about 200kms.
And yes, marking in Google Maps the entire distance from home – home shows 205kms.
The route that we went on finally:
Koramangala – Silk Board Junction – Bannerghatta Road (unexplored @least by me so far) – Kagalipura – Harohalli – Hunsunahalli – Anchetti – Denkannikottai – Attibele – Sarjapura – Koramangala.

Very very scenic route all along. Steep uphill climbs and steep rolling downhills. Maybe I should have calculated how many times we went up and down. Amazing, cordial villagers. People gave us water and salt when we asked for. They allowed us to sleep at the school for the night. They were willing to have a conversation to know more about us and share about themselves.
At some places, when you meet some people, you dont need to say anything. They will start from your bike to where you are going to and coming from. All you got to do is nod your head and move on.

From the past I know if we dont reach destination as per plan because of me, then its a blessing in disguise. Well the disguise itself was disguised, nothing to prove this time around. Such kind of trips are a load of fun.
For photos:
Anita’s camera
Ann’s camera
Venkat’s mobile camera

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Kolli Hills

Kolli Hills a highly un-commercialized hill station in TamilNadu.
Route: Bangalore – Hosur – Krishnagiri – Salem – Rasipuram – Kolli Hills

This was destination for Royal Knights MotorCycle Club (RKMC) this month ride. Morning 6:30am on 25th September after briefing from the captain, 32 bikes started and roared through the city out into the highways and villages. As usual there were quite a number of stops enroute.
When riding through villages there was an old man who started communicating with me. We both were riding side by side and he was really happy to see so many bikes thumping down.

At other villages the common questions are always
1. Are you from Army?
2. Why are you riding, any social cause or message?
3. Whats the mileage of vehicle?

70 hair-pin bends to reach to the top which is at about 1300mts above sea level. Nothing to worry its not as steep as Ooty. None of the engines had any issue this time around. With rain clouds also hovering around and sometimes drizzling the possibility of taking snaps reduced. In hills its always nice to breathe the air. And I as always lifted up the visor and reduced the speed.
Many places on the side walls of the roads, they have painted it beautifully. The paintings depicts wildlife, some of the kings who ruled and many more. And you can find this also.

At 70th hair-pin bend we (Shyam, Anand & myself) stopped. There is a small path that goes near this place and inside there is stream of water flowing down.

There was not any amount of water that was to make us give an exclamation of excitement. What worried us was the alcohol bottles around. People never leave any place in its own peace. Just wonder why they react wildly when someone drops few bottles inside their homes.

Nallathambi resort and a 4 per room accommodation was just more than enough to quickly settle down and get ready for lunch and events later. The guys in the resort are very friendly. Infact on request they made even green chilly bajji’s for us.

The party started early in the evening and went on & on & on. Never remember what happens in a party the next day. Next day morning some went to waterfall which is humongous. Heard from them that there are 1200 steps to go down. Marked for next time definitely.

Next day by afternoon we started our ride back to Bangalore not without any issues. One bike had some noise and another bike had some issues with the wheel. Later there were some local people trying to create trouble.

All riders are always supposed to maintain a formation between the Point & Sweep. At wider roads its a two line formation and at smaller roads a single line formation. Its of course difficult to maintain the formation at all times given that there are bullets with varying pick-up speeds. And with so many bikes and sticking to formation when overtaking other vehicles would lead to blocking traffic and pissing off other drivers. But in majority times the formation was maintained throughout the ride and even when returning.

Important lessons:
1. Even with riding formation use own judgment and decisions.
2. If some bike has an issue and stops, try to move to the side as quickly as possible.
3. Whoever is behind when the guy in front has a problem mentioned in (2) do not stop immediately in the middle of the road. In manner of giving company do not take everyone along from this world.
4. Its good to know your machine.
5. Night time post 11:00pm be in a group and ride in a group till the end.

It was a great ride and good fun that we all had. Photos, click here.

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Bangalore – Srirangapatnam on Cycle

Kaveri Trail Marathon, few runners from my company SAP were planning to run on september 19th. Three (Amol, MJV, Raghav) first timers in this trail, of which two were running half marathon for first time. All part of our internal community for running and cycling “SAP Roadies”. What was seeded at an random coffee discussion, changed to why not cycle and cheer these runners.

Short postings internally finally we were 8 of us. Venkat took care of logistics, Karthik took care of support vehicle arrangement and my bro (Shyam) joined in. 9 of us.
September 17th was little tough for me in the evening. I went to friends place to pick up a cycle for my bro and urgent office issues. Slept by 12:00am September 18th and up by 2:45am. 5:00am finally we left Silk Board junction and cycled non-stop. With no lights it was pretty difficult at stretches where metro construction was happening. We were heading towards Harohalli.
@ Harohalli ask for Jayaram’s mess. Dont miss “upma + sambhar” combination. While we had some off-roading plans, we decided against it considering that there were few roadbikes with us. And in general, few first timers too.

The stretch till Channapatna was amazing. Nice greenery, cool breeze, sun not being harsh on us, fields, lakes, real uphill climbs, down slopes. We stopped at very few places for photo shots. Frm Channapatna we took more time to reach Srirangapatnam (almost 7hrs) then what we took to reach Channapatna itself (about 5hrs). The last 60+kms was bad on the main highway. Not again, anymore.

We had one dropout at Maddur. At Mandya my backpack was giving pain on my back and shoulders, gave it to bro who put it on his carrier and then we both raced down to Srirangapatnam the last 20kms.
In almost entire journey I stayed behind with my bro making sure everyone was there and also didnt want to tire myself much.

Finally we reached Balaji Garden Resort. And I remember we spent only few hours there. Rest all @ Young Island Resort.

Final route: Bangalore – Harohalli – Kanakapura – Kavanapura – Huchayanna Doddi (nice big rocks at this place) – Channapatna – Maddur – Mandya – Srirangapatnam.
Total distance: Approximately 100miles +/- 2miles.
For Garmin analysis click here.
For all photos from my camera click here.

Important lessons:
1. For touring purpose, no backpack. Have a luggage carrier. (Preparation for TFN)
2. Ride your own cycle, never take from others.

A special mention about Amol who not only cycled 100miles but also ran full marathon at KTM.

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Delhi 2 Bangalore

For the first part of the trip from Delhi towards Leh, click here & here & here & here.

13th August, I took my bike to Gurdial Auto Works @ Karol Bagh in Delhi for a quick service before I start on my trip down till Bangalore. The mechanic fixed new clutch plates, cleaned the decompresser, cleaned the carburettor. Filled up some more engine oil.

He: acha hua aap idar aagaye (Good you came here)
Me: kyon (why)
He: Bangalore me koyi dang ka mechanic nahin hai (there are no good mechanics in Bangalore)

After all servicing and payment. He was of the opinion that I shouldn’t ride till Bangalore since my vehicle drinks lot of oil and there will be short circuit. If its 200kms or inside Delhi city its ok, not otherwise. You need to change piston rings, get a new bore and fix it.
If he is the best mechanic in India then am the best bullet rider in India. For such a situation of vehicle I managed in the end to ride 2600kms without any issue. Am not the best rider in town and so he is not the best mechanic.

This is something I have noticed of many Punjabi’s that I have met in my journey’s. No doubt they are very friendly and affectionate and with lot of passion. But some of them have this attitude that Indians are good for nothing. They only thing they are good is in producing kids. Everyone except them are dumb and they are the best. They are proud to talk about themselves and show what they have done in the past.

After all the servicing, in the evening we walk down to have chaat and yes we had it. Little did I realise that that was the starting point. Within time my stomach got upset and my system got screwed up badly. I was unable to eat any further anything and dinner was just curd rice.

Delhi to Jaipur: 14th August:

Route: Once you leave Delhi head towards Gurgoan and continue on NH8. There is lot traffic in this stretch. 270kms approximately.
After crossing Gurgoan, there was huge pile up of vehicles and I hustled my way through all vehicles. In this my bag got stuck to side of truck and fell down and side part was torn off. I put the bag back on carrier and fastened it. And squeezed my way through. This was for a distance of 20kms and reason an accident.
Further down when I was riding inside Rajasthan, my bike suddenly stopped. I tried to start and it refused. I understood what the problem was. I pushed my bike for 3kms, yes with all the luggage and all alone. Luckily found a garage where there were servicing trucks and jeeps. I stopped, crossed over and asked for electrician. I told him the problem after initial reluctance agreed to help me out. I told him the steps and the soldering of the wire connected to ignition coil had come off. This was soldered and he refused to take money.

He: Aap se paisa nahin loonga (I wont take money from you)
Me: kya baat karthe ho (what are you saying)
He: Aap pareshani se mere paas aaye (you came to me in distress)
Me: tho (so)
He: Aap ki madad karne se dil kush ho gaya (my heart feels content in having helped you)
Me: thank you

Inside Jaipur I asked an auto guy for way to hotel and suddenly one guy pounced out and offered to take me to hotel “Hotel Sanu” near the market place. He wanted Rs.20/- and bargained and later gave him that for bringing my luggage into the room.

Jaipur was not the same. There are petrol stations just outside the Jaipur gate and there was nothing pink about the city. Get out into the side streets there is garbage all over and smells so yukky.

Jaipur to Udaipur: 15th August:

I wished the Hotel Sanu receptionist (guy from Orissa working here) since it was Independence Day and he didn’t even acknowledge. It seemed as if independence was immaterial to him. JAI HIND.
Route: From Jaipur continue on NH8 in the direction of Ajmer. Before Kishangarh take a left turn into NH79A. Few kms down it joins NH79. From Chittaurgarh it joins NH76 and into Udaipur. 415kms.
The ride was awesome. I met bus full of Gujarati’s near Kishangarh and talked to them. Moment I started talking, all the guys inside the bus were around me. One rushed to get me tea and poori. Another gave me tips on the route. They were so happy and they felt it was an honour to talk to me. In reality I felt the other way around. Such a sharp contrast between Delhi and these people. They all waved me goodbye and waited till I started on my journey.
Udaipur looked to be more beautiful city than Jaipur. Little smaller and cleaner. I checked into “Hotel Gokul Palace” near the bus stand. Always bargain for better room prices. Do not go by what they quote. It was damn hot during the entire day. Today I managed to have a meal in the noon and my stomach was still upset.
Next day I woke up early in the morning around 5:00am and went into the old parts of town in the direction of city palace. The houses, the lanes, the lake all actually give a feel of Venice. Its for no dumb reason that Udaipur is equated to Venice of east.
There are lot of shops catering to the Western tourists. Gives a feel that many travellers here are either from Europe or Israel.
My stomach started to give me problems again forcing me to return to the hotel. After a sound nap when I woke up it was raining heavily. Rest of the day I was forced to remain indoors. And I couldn’t take a walk again to have a look inside the City Palace.
Sankalp is a South Indian Restaurant and going by the crowd here, looks like people like South Indian food especially dosa and idlli. This is priced on the higher side and is definitely not a value for money restaurant. They do have branches in lot of cities around Gujarat and Maharashtra.

Udaipur to Daman: 17th August:

Route: NH8 from Udaipur till Mumbai via Ahmedabad and Vadodara. Alternatively one can head towards Godhra and reach Vadodara. There is an expressway from Ahmedabad to Vadodara but this is only for cars. At Vapi turn right to Daman. Turn left and you are into Silvassa another Union Territory. 640kms.
Though we call Daman & Diu, both are seperated by a distance of 300kms on road. The other way is through sea.

The stretch is pretty scenic and earlier day’s rains just enriched the greenery. The roads have been laid by cutting through the mountains and this is pretty much evident. Kids walk long distance to go to school. Not much traffic on Rajasthan side. One guy who walking to work stopped, talked to me and even explained a bit of his work too. Another on cycle waved to me and wished me. Everytime I stop my bike for a break there will be kids around eagerly waiting for me to take my camera out and click their pictures. Of late I stopped clicking pictures of these kids except on occasions.
Once I cross Rajasthan into Gujarat there is lot of traffic. People in both these States of India are very friendly. “Athithi Devo Bhava”.
The entry to Daman is not what one would expect. There are no roads and only gravel. A left turn would take you to Moti Daman and continuing straight would lead to Nani Daman. I stayed in Nani Daman at “Hotel Holidays”. Not the best of hotels. But everywhere I could bargain for a lesser price. I would not recommend this hotel though. I found about three cockroaches in the room. Hopefully nothing beyond that.

Following day woke up early as usual to the sound of water only that it was raining. Slept again and when I went for breakfast around 9:00am it was still raining. Its amazing feeling to watch rain with glass of tea in hand. And drops of raining falling on you flowing with the wind. After watching the rains for 1hr nothing much to do but to retreat into the bed. When the rain did stop I took my bag and went walking around the town. Man, it was humid aggravated by the rains.
Moti Daman is very quite place compared to Nani Daman. The entire population of Moti Daman resides inside the fort. The inside of the fort is designed in such a way that entire town would be inside. Properly planned layout of residential area, police, court, hospital. A visit to Jampore beach is a must. Walking around the fort is not all that good idea with the area being 36000square meters. Maybe someday when it is not raining I would return to this place to walk around the entire fort.
There is a fort in Nani Daman which is very smelly inspite a church being inside the fort. Devka beach is not as beautiful as Jampore. Nani Daman is more noisy. I had planned for some sunset shots but it started raining again in sometime, forcing me back to room.

Daman to Bangalore: 19th August:

Route: Reach Vapi and get onto NH8. Continue on NH8 till Godbhundar. Turn left into Thane and proceed towards Kalwa Bridge. Turn right after that towards Panvel. Its one straight road. Finally turns left into NH4 towards Pune. Do not leave NH4. Cross Satara, Kolhapur, Belgavi, Hubbali, Davengere, Chitradurga, Tumkur.
Distance: 1250kms. Travel days: 2 Night halt: Gold Star, Kolhapur.

NH8 roads towards Mumbai have been damaged due to rains and fresh laying is also happening. The traffic is also heavy that its not a fast moving highway. Godbhundar is signified by a very big river that flows out there. With good amount of rainfall and raining at that time of travel it was a magnificent view. It looked really majestic.
On reaching NH4, bikes are not allowed on expressway so I continue on NH4 and at Lonavala for few kms one would get onto the expressway and have to leave at the Lonavala junction. Since this was the first time on this highway for me, I was confused when I got into expressway and did not know how to get out. I see an luggage carrier auto in front of me. I go by his side and stop him.

Me: Expressway me kaise aagaye, nahin aane ka (How did you get into expressway, you are not supposed to come here)
He: {gets tensed and thinks am an officer} nahin saab galti se aagaya (came into this by mistake)
Me: bahar kaise jaoge (how will you go out of expressway)
He: saab udar poochoonga, galti ho gayi saab (i will ask there, mistake happened sir)
Me: ok

Then I also got to know how to get out of the expressway into NH4 again and I continued my journey. From Kolhapur after night’s sleep finally my stomach seemed to be doing better. Almost 6 days of being upset made me lose appetite and managed with just a meal a day.
And I met Nash of IndiThumpers who was riding solo to Velankanni. We both continued on the journey together. Between Davengere and Chitradurga construction activity is still ongoing. After Tumkur, got into Nice Road to reach Bannerghatta Road much faster and avoiding all the traffic.

Upset stomach did not mean that I missed good food on the way. Kichadi and kadi in Rajasthan. Dokhla in Gujarat. Poha and vada paav in Maharashtra.

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Trip to Leh – Part 4

The last part of Delhi – Leh – Delhi Trip that was planned but did not happen. To read the third part of the series, click here.

Day 10

, was spent in lazying around in the bed. A slow breakfast at a Tibetian joint. Tibetian bread with butter and Kissan Jam was awesome. Tibet herbal tea is what my mom makes and serves when we have cold and fever. Down south its called kashayam. Time for some more rest and some more rest. And of course it was raining outside this time even during the day. It wasnt pouring but still was a lazy feeling to go out. Later in the evening finally decided to go to Old Manali.

Day 11

, bags were packed again and plan was to reach Chandigarh by evening. Then enroute a small change to reach Ambala. But rains decided otherwise. It was not easy to ride down the mountains in the rain, but there were no options are alternatives. The only option was to ride since we had quite a distance to cover. Finally this time though we had good lunch at a dhaba. As time progressed both Ambala and Chandigarh looked out of reach and we settled for the night in a dingy hotel at Pinjore.

Day 12

, with no further wastage of time we headed to Delhi. On reaching Delhi we made a small mistake of heading to New Delhi railway station. For this we had to bike through the traffic of Old Delhi. Anyone familiar with Delhi would advise against this. After 30minutes through the traffic I was struggling to breathe. The pollution level is really high. We moved over to another lane went about a km parked my bike and panted for 10minutes. Finally I was able to get some oxygen back into blood. While others went to look for hotel and found “Hotel Southern” at Karol Bagh, I pushed Anand’s bike for 1kms since it refused to start. My bro came back and they both towed the bike to the hotel.

This trip was most adventurous. While last year during monsoon ride I faced tough situations it was nothing compared to in this ride. There were lot of learnings during the ride. We had all parts in this trip, fluctuations of moods. On 12th August when we got into hotel there was sigh of relief and happiness on faces of others. I was preparing myself for the next leg of the journey.
That we were unable to reach Leh this year does not mean we wont try again, we would plan again for a trip next year.

Though not affected by the floods, an understanding of the situation stems from the fact we were stranded in our paths on all directions. Another direction which we could have tried but did not was due to the riots in Kashmir. May peace return to the valley soon. And people have a good time in future. Let there be no more such floods which affects not only the people but also the army and overall economy. The amount of goods that got wasted led to loss for not only farmers but also other distributors.

If you are on facebook do your best in contributing to the efforts of providing shelter to those homeless people in Ladakh region. Click here. Alternatively you could also follow this link, click here. Let us help those in need.

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