Starved biker slips into depression.. Result? A monsoon ride to Mangalore..

July 23, Friday

I wanted to go home and also desperately needed a long bike trip. I think for long hours while I am at work and finally the truth hits me - let me go home by bike, alone..

18:30
Back from office, freshened up and immediately took my bike for a pre-ride check up.
As usual the mech says everything's fine. Then I took off to JC Road to Sandhya motors.Bought a spare accelerator,clutch cables, gear ratchet springs, couple of spanners, screwdriver and then also got a saddle bag fixed.
Satisfied with the arrangements, topped the fuel tank, checked oil and slept off at 01:00 AM.

July 24, Saturday
Woke up at 04:15 AM and I really meant to keep up my word of starting off at 5:00. Got a quick shower, donned my riding gear and yes, it's trip time again :)
Kept the bike idling a good 3 minutes and then set off towards Vijayanagar, whence I would take the Yashwanthpur-Nelamangala road.

6:00 AM
It took a damned full hour to get out of the city and reach Yashwantpur, thanks to the drizzle and the traffic!! soon I was seen taking a left at Tumkur Road-Mangalore diversion.Once in NH 48 I sped up a bit and pushed my bike till 65. I was not really confident on the condition of the engine after the repairs. However, I did hope it will be back in shape.
But call it the nature of the highways or myself, shortly I was cruising at about 75-80kmph :) The road till about Kunigal is not great, watch out for huge potholes, diversions and speed breakers.

07:00 AM
Kunigal is about 70kms from Blore and the journey till here was uneventful.
Stopped by for breakfast at a hotel and stumbled upon four students on two Pulsars. I just hit upon a conversation and learnt theat they were heading towards Mullayyanagiri in Chikmagalur.
Mental note: This place is amazing and is definitely in my to-be-visited list.

My next pit stop was in CR Pattana. The weekly fair was on and I made a very wise and fortunate decision of buying a big polythene sheet to protect my baggage.

Once crossing CR Pattana, I really felt a rush of excitement and turned up the throttle till 80-85kmph. After 2 hrs of nonstop ride just stopped by and checked the soot deposit on the silencer and was glad to see no trace of oil(for non techies= it meant bike is fine) :D

The scenery was uninteresting until crossed Hassan. So dint bother to take pics.
Once I neared Sakleshpur, it started to drizzle and to my horror, just magnified to a full fledged downpour. Switched from the leather jacket to the raincoat I had got and fastened the polythene over the baggage. The roads through Sakleshpur were windy and wet, made me bit apprehensive about the speed so stuck to a respectable 60-65kmph.

11 30 AM
Had reached the apex of the Shiradi ghat section, stopped for a tea cum bike inspection. I was completely drenched and shivering by this time. Not even porn would heat my body up.. Not really..
Shortly, the descent down the started and surprisingly enough the roads were good. I could still manage about 65kmph in the ghats. Lush green surroundings and light rain, I was so glad on making this solo monsoon ride :)


One of the Royal Enfield's poster says "SELFISM".. But there is much more to a trip on a Bullet than this - you smell freedom, adventure and a certain serenity while you hear the rhythmic roar of the bike.

During the descent down the ghats, met another lone bulleteer heading to Mangalore. Exchanged a few words and then I was off on my own. After some kms, saw half a dozen cyclists parked beside the road. I was very curious where these guys came from and on asking learned that they were students from Hassan!!

Then I took diversion to Dharmasthala and amidst the heavy rain was just hitting speeds of 75-80kmph. Could hardly see the windy road, forget the traffic!!


02:00 PM
Home sweet home!!!!!
Got a mouthfull from Dad for being 'STUPID' :D

July 25, 26
Spent at home and town, eating Mom's delicious dishes.

July 27, Tuesday
08:15 AM
Fastened the baggage on the bike and after nodding to Dad's essay type instruction/advice started off towards Charmadi ghat. Yes, I plainly knew taking this ghat route meant rains for sure but did not want to go back the same route.

En route to Charmadi, I almost had a potent accident setup - noticed that I was bit high on the speed for the curve. For next three seconds this is what my brain calculated: No brakes or gear change becuase I had entered the curve and banked too. Take the risk of entering the blind, wrong side of the road and get the control back.
As I had expected, there was a Omni coming with a horrified driver staring at me. I barely managed to get out of his way :)

Charmadi ghat has amazing, breath taking scenic roads. Few turns were very tight and I loved working them out.


10:15 AM
Reached Kottigehara and I desperately wanted a tea after another drench cum shiver session of 35kms.Met a couple of guys on a UCE Bullet Electra whom I had overtaken in the ghats.

My next destination was Belur via Mudigere. It still drizzled, roads meandered through coffee estates and I was really speeding down the roads which were in bad shape till about 10km from Belur. Glad that I had a sturdy bike..

01:00 PM
The town of Belur was a busy place and I took the right turn at a signal towards Chennakeshave temple. Parked the bike, kept shoe and baggage at a counter nearby and replaced camera's battery.
Entered the temple sanctum sanctorum and wow.. It is so beautiful!!!
Not much of a crowd and wasn't I glad? took lot of pics and came out after a short prayer.

Went to Hotel Vishnu Regency, asked for a changing room and put on fresh, dry clothes. Gosh, I felt so happy to have gotten rid of those wet clothes.
The waiters were very active and served a sumptuous meal which cost Rs55.
Oh yes, he also gave me a pan which I so love..

I started to set some pace for the journey and 80-90kmph was my chosen speed till I reached Hassan. Again, had a nice(no not really!!) tea and back on NH 48.
By this time I was sick of fellows motioning about my glowing headlight. It occured to me that it's almost equivalent to an obscene gesture :P

The 220kms from Hassan to Bangalore just went past dreamily as I took the Magadi road diversion immediately after Kunigal.Later I took the NICE road till Kengeri. Only event during this stretch was that a maniacal truck driver tried to mow me down by suddenly shifting to the fast lane. Was just in time to notice and escape.Else you would not have this last part in the blog :P
It took me 4 hrs to cover these 220kms and was back in my cozy room by 18:30..

Odometer reading: START: 22680 END: 23370

Damn, a total of 690kms and the tan on my face tells me that it was one hell of a ride...