It was the 1st official ride for Unexplored Holidays and the day had finally arrived. Motorcycle touring has always been a passion for us and now was the time to spread the 'riding virus' among like minded people. We had announced the destination as 'Masinagudi' about a month in advance and had received an overwhelming response. Confirmations were flooding on Facebook. Yes, people who wish to travel the country on their motocycles indeed exist :-)
More often than not some individuals with this passion never go on a ride, because they dont have people who share similar interest in their friends community. Well, some solo riders do, but very few. This is the very reason we decided to organize group rides, thus creating a good forum for people to join and ride together. It gives a great opportunity to meet new people, learn new things. These group rides will give that chance to individual riders who wouldn't have ridden alone otherwise.
Day 1:
It was a cold winter morning and the common assembly point was 'NICE road'. We being the organizers had to be there 1st and receive everyone, but we had one very enthusiastic rider already waiting for us. Almost everyone assembled but for one rider. We got a call from him and he says " My bike has a flat tyre" and it was still 6:20 am. The 1st hurdle was here! No puncture shops were open and we sensed a huge delay ahead. While this rider prompted us to start riding, claiming he will catch us soon at the breakfast place, we were not convinced, especially this being his 1st ever ride. We must admit the fellow riders were understanding and proposed we wait untill the last rider joins us before we start. It was very frustrating to see tons of vehicles hurrying past us to get out of the city this being the holiday season. The morning chillness was not helping either with no tea shops around that area. It was finally 9:30 am by the time we could actucally roll. Naveen Rajappa took the lead and Spandan Ghosh opted to take the tail. Now the 2 organizers were well in control of the group riding in the middle. We got all the riders to keep their 'Head Lamps' on and suggested they do that for the entire ride.
After the long wait, everyone were happy cruising on the highway. It was still cold being a winter morning and the ride upto the breakfast place was amazing. The plan for breakfast was 'Kamat Lokaruchi' as it always been on the Mysore road. They have a buffet for breakfast on weekends here. The spread was good with idly wrapped in plantain leaf, vada, dosas, rava upma, pulav, akki roti, hot jalebis, pongal, cut fruits, fresh fruit juice, hot coffee & tea. All of us batted out of our skin to get a good return on investment and to say we did it successfully is an understatement.
We started off from Kamat and the progress was a bit slow this time, blame it on the solid breakfast. But as many of us would have experienced if the start is delayed, most of the journey would seem slow. As we entered Mandya, we hit heavy traffic and the group split for a short while. We the lead riders stopped as the lights from the rest of the group dissappeared from the RVMs. Shankar just rode past us, we still couldnt see the rest and slowly started to bother us a bit. What could have happened? Heavy traffic, an argument or a fight on the road, or the worse a crash? Panic seemed to creep in and we started calling them on their cell phones and no response. Tried many times and the answer was no different. Just when i thought of taking a U-turn, i got a call and oops - one of our riders almost had a fall. But i was releived to learn he had managed not to fall after being skidded off the main road. We waited for them to join us and then started rolling again. The sun was beating down heavily on us inspite of it being a winter noon. The others had parked on the ORR near Mysore waiting for us. On reaching Columbia Asia, we deviated to the left as the ring road towards the right was being repaired. A nice 7 Km tarmac took us to the far end of the city and then turned right to by pass the main town of Mysore. We cruised past the Lalitha Mahal, Zoo, Chamundi Hills and soon joined the Nanjangud highway. This stretch of Mysore - Nanjangud has always been a risky road with onward traffic coming on you all the time. The state buses KSRTC have mistaken this road to have been laid by their fathers, yes thats how they drive. I have seen some gory accidents on this stretch many a time in the past. Spandan did well to shield the 1st time rider very well for the entire ride. We were all back in the line, all the motorcycles one behind the other with head lamps on cruising at 70 KMPH. It must have been a sight to behold. From here on the progress was smoother and faster. We reached Gundlupet in good time. A quick pitstop to pick up the beverages for the riders and were back on the road again. The Bandipur check post was wide open and vehicles were zooming past it. We entered the national park and instantly slowed down to 30 KMPH, yes we all love the wildlife and didnt want to miss a chance to sight an elephant or more optimistically a Leopard or a Tiger. But its annoying to see many vehicles ( Cars, Buses, Trucks, Motorcycles ) driving like they had to catch a flight. These are ones resonsible for animal kills on the roads :-( We could only see a lone elephant before we reached Mudumalai but this was still good enough. Soon we were riding over the narrow bridge at Thepakadu enroute Masinagudi.
The 8kms ride to Masinagudi was eventless We took right from the fork and rode towards 'SINGARA'. We had the escort vehicle waiting at the Singara check post. It was a Maruti Gypsy and it gave me a fair idea of the roads ahead ;-) Yes the driver threw us the caution to ride slow and carefully for the next 3 kms offroad. The entry was adventurous as we saw no roads actually. It was all pebbles, stones, small boulders, sand and absolutely no signs of tarmac. The ride was bumpy and rough, throwing us off the seat many times and the need to do the balancing act was very frequent. We crossed a small stream as well and it looked like elephant country around. I must admit it was one hell of a ride to the resort / cottage we had booked. Yes we were finally here at the ' Whistling Woods Estate' without much damage. We were supposed to reach for lunch and it was 5 PM now. The delayed start was the culprit. 'Arun' was our host and he was considerate enough to preserve our lunch. We unmounted the Saddles from our steeds and checked in like a breeze. Our motorcycles needed the well deserved rest. A quick refresh and we were at the table for a late lunch. Even the cold lunch tasted heavenly! Soon after, we are sitting in the porch to observe the wild. Arun had told us about the sightings and we had seen a few videos of Leopards, elephants in touching distance from the estate. But this being a weekend during the holiday time ( Christmas round the corner ), there were many guests in the estate and they were noisy i must admit. This ruled out any sighting for us.
We just took some lazy walks to the fringe of the bushes and soon it was dark. Yes the days during winter are indeed short. The bon fire was up & running by 7:30 and the glasses starting shining like stars in every guests' hand. Our cruising cowboys were no different. The temperature had dropped down quite considerably too and it made all the more sense for those magic liquids to take centre stage. A few swigs with good starters around the fire was a cloud nine expereience. The chatter boxes in everyone came alive. The topics covered were Wild encounters, back breaking rides, adventures, cricket, politics, Nirbhaya, spirits and what not with everyone at their free flowing best. It was like Yuvraj Singh in top form batting at both ends. The fire slowly started going down around 10 ish and we were called upon to have dinner. The spread was Biryani, Rotis, Dal fry, Barbeque chicken, Chicken 65, some vegetables, rice, rasam, pappads etc. The stomach seemed to be bottomless that night. After all the damage, 15 mins at the porch to see if some elephants came for a stroll and then we called it a day.
Day 2:
Spandan works better than the alarm as he was up by 5 am and was pushing the fellow riders to wake up for the early morning ride up the Kalhatty ghats. Some good hot chai did the trick as everyone started getting off the bed and finally @ 7:30 we left for the ride. The morning breeze was crisp and fresh. It was rejuvenating ride that morning. It was 8 ish by the time we took the 1st hair pin on the steep 'Kalhatty' ghats. A total of 36 bends awaited us and our concern was the 1st timer, but he seemed to have caught up and everyone were eating up those hair pins like a piece of cake. This ghat is so steep that some transport vehicles like Jeeps, pick up vans will have to climb backwards in the reverse gear as they fall short of torque in the forward ones. This was the main event for us and everyone seemed to enjoy this ride up to Ooty. The hair pins are any riders delight and Kalhatty ghat didnt disappoint us. The temperature dropped further as we climbed up and finally when we entered the Ooty town, it must have been a single digit. We tanked up our motorcycles in the BP pump. The hill fuel is supposed to be good for the engines as they have the decarbonisation quality. Pressures in the tyres checked too and we soon we were in the heart of the town in Garden road looking for a good tea shop. We found one but the tea wasnt that great, but the chocolates were! Yes who would miss shopping for home made Ooty chocolates here. We picked up quite some cocoa and decided to climb down to our base camp. Climbing down is always risky on a steep ghat. One has to keep the vehicle in lower gear and use minimal brakes. Switching off the engine is suicidal. The brakes get heated easily as most people use them a lot and this can fail the brakes putting you in a terrible situation. So it was mostly 2nd gear, occasionally 3rd , with very minimal usage of brake and soon we had gobbled up the 36 twisties again. It was 11:30 by the time we reached the estate. This was supposed to be the check out time, but since we know Arun fairly well, he gave us some extra time to shower up and check out. It was a quick shower and a late breakfast ( or should i call it brunch ), a quick photo session and we were off on our return journey.
The ride through Singara, Masinagudi, Mudumalai was eventless. We saw a baby elephant with its mother in the Bandipur limits very close to the road. A few vehicles were panicking and we quietly led the way past. But it was scary to see people in cars pull over by the elephant to take photogrpahs and to show their little ones. People tend to forget that they are not their pets and often under estimate the speed of the elephant. I bet a lot of you will agree if i say, " Elephant is the most dangerous animal in the Indian jungles". We shooed those people away and continued the ride. Motorcyle touring is seen as a crazy, senseless, risky thing by most people who dont practice it. But one has to feel the wind and experience the freedom while riding a motorcylce on the highways to know why exactly some nomads do this and practice it like a religion. One single pile all the motorcycles with their head lamps on and cruising must have been wierd for many people in the oncoming vehicles. But i must confess we made all heads turn whether they were in a Bus, Truck, Maruti 800, Santro, Swift, Audi, BMW or a Merc. It was an amazing feeling to see people looking at you and nod their heads some in agreement some in shock and some in fascination.
A quick pit stop in Gundlupet for a smoke break for a fellow rider and were soon rolling again This time the progress was fast and we reached the outskirts of Mysore in good time. By passed the town through the same route and soon we were out of the crowds and back on open highways again. It was nice to open the throttle once in a while, but responsibly and we reached 'The Empire' just after Maddur for a late lunch or rather an early dinner. Mutton Raan, Coin Paratas, Butter chicken, kebabs, biryani occupied our tables and soon went missing into our stomach. It was nice heavy dinner and chai was a perfect finisher to wash the oils off.
It was quick dash to Bangalore from there. We all pulled over at the NICE road to bid adieu. A round of hugs, hand shakes, high fives to celebrate the ride and we were soon off to our own abodes. A quick dash from here and we were home safe & sound richer with experience.
Guess what was the main topic in this huddle? " When is the next ride mate? " :-) haha thats how riders are.
"Kids race & Men ride" is our slogan and we did exactly that through out the ride.
Yes guys, Don't race while on the public roads, ride responsibly and never ever forget your helmet, please remember helmets were never made for your elbows!
Untill we see you in the next ride, pls take care and keep munching miles!
More often than not some individuals with this passion never go on a ride, because they dont have people who share similar interest in their friends community. Well, some solo riders do, but very few. This is the very reason we decided to organize group rides, thus creating a good forum for people to join and ride together. It gives a great opportunity to meet new people, learn new things. These group rides will give that chance to individual riders who wouldn't have ridden alone otherwise.
Day 1:
It was a cold winter morning and the common assembly point was 'NICE road'. We being the organizers had to be there 1st and receive everyone, but we had one very enthusiastic rider already waiting for us. Almost everyone assembled but for one rider. We got a call from him and he says " My bike has a flat tyre" and it was still 6:20 am. The 1st hurdle was here! No puncture shops were open and we sensed a huge delay ahead. While this rider prompted us to start riding, claiming he will catch us soon at the breakfast place, we were not convinced, especially this being his 1st ever ride. We must admit the fellow riders were understanding and proposed we wait untill the last rider joins us before we start. It was very frustrating to see tons of vehicles hurrying past us to get out of the city this being the holiday season. The morning chillness was not helping either with no tea shops around that area. It was finally 9:30 am by the time we could actucally roll. Naveen Rajappa took the lead and Spandan Ghosh opted to take the tail. Now the 2 organizers were well in control of the group riding in the middle. We got all the riders to keep their 'Head Lamps' on and suggested they do that for the entire ride.
After the long wait, everyone were happy cruising on the highway. It was still cold being a winter morning and the ride upto the breakfast place was amazing. The plan for breakfast was 'Kamat Lokaruchi' as it always been on the Mysore road. They have a buffet for breakfast on weekends here. The spread was good with idly wrapped in plantain leaf, vada, dosas, rava upma, pulav, akki roti, hot jalebis, pongal, cut fruits, fresh fruit juice, hot coffee & tea. All of us batted out of our skin to get a good return on investment and to say we did it successfully is an understatement.
We started off from Kamat and the progress was a bit slow this time, blame it on the solid breakfast. But as many of us would have experienced if the start is delayed, most of the journey would seem slow. As we entered Mandya, we hit heavy traffic and the group split for a short while. We the lead riders stopped as the lights from the rest of the group dissappeared from the RVMs. Shankar just rode past us, we still couldnt see the rest and slowly started to bother us a bit. What could have happened? Heavy traffic, an argument or a fight on the road, or the worse a crash? Panic seemed to creep in and we started calling them on their cell phones and no response. Tried many times and the answer was no different. Just when i thought of taking a U-turn, i got a call and oops - one of our riders almost had a fall. But i was releived to learn he had managed not to fall after being skidded off the main road. We waited for them to join us and then started rolling again. The sun was beating down heavily on us inspite of it being a winter noon. The others had parked on the ORR near Mysore waiting for us. On reaching Columbia Asia, we deviated to the left as the ring road towards the right was being repaired. A nice 7 Km tarmac took us to the far end of the city and then turned right to by pass the main town of Mysore. We cruised past the Lalitha Mahal, Zoo, Chamundi Hills and soon joined the Nanjangud highway. This stretch of Mysore - Nanjangud has always been a risky road with onward traffic coming on you all the time. The state buses KSRTC have mistaken this road to have been laid by their fathers, yes thats how they drive. I have seen some gory accidents on this stretch many a time in the past. Spandan did well to shield the 1st time rider very well for the entire ride. We were all back in the line, all the motorcycles one behind the other with head lamps on cruising at 70 KMPH. It must have been a sight to behold. From here on the progress was smoother and faster. We reached Gundlupet in good time. A quick pitstop to pick up the beverages for the riders and were back on the road again. The Bandipur check post was wide open and vehicles were zooming past it. We entered the national park and instantly slowed down to 30 KMPH, yes we all love the wildlife and didnt want to miss a chance to sight an elephant or more optimistically a Leopard or a Tiger. But its annoying to see many vehicles ( Cars, Buses, Trucks, Motorcycles ) driving like they had to catch a flight. These are ones resonsible for animal kills on the roads :-( We could only see a lone elephant before we reached Mudumalai but this was still good enough. Soon we were riding over the narrow bridge at Thepakadu enroute Masinagudi.
The 8kms ride to Masinagudi was eventless We took right from the fork and rode towards 'SINGARA'. We had the escort vehicle waiting at the Singara check post. It was a Maruti Gypsy and it gave me a fair idea of the roads ahead ;-) Yes the driver threw us the caution to ride slow and carefully for the next 3 kms offroad. The entry was adventurous as we saw no roads actually. It was all pebbles, stones, small boulders, sand and absolutely no signs of tarmac. The ride was bumpy and rough, throwing us off the seat many times and the need to do the balancing act was very frequent. We crossed a small stream as well and it looked like elephant country around. I must admit it was one hell of a ride to the resort / cottage we had booked. Yes we were finally here at the ' Whistling Woods Estate' without much damage. We were supposed to reach for lunch and it was 5 PM now. The delayed start was the culprit. 'Arun' was our host and he was considerate enough to preserve our lunch. We unmounted the Saddles from our steeds and checked in like a breeze. Our motorcycles needed the well deserved rest. A quick refresh and we were at the table for a late lunch. Even the cold lunch tasted heavenly! Soon after, we are sitting in the porch to observe the wild. Arun had told us about the sightings and we had seen a few videos of Leopards, elephants in touching distance from the estate. But this being a weekend during the holiday time ( Christmas round the corner ), there were many guests in the estate and they were noisy i must admit. This ruled out any sighting for us.
We just took some lazy walks to the fringe of the bushes and soon it was dark. Yes the days during winter are indeed short. The bon fire was up & running by 7:30 and the glasses starting shining like stars in every guests' hand. Our cruising cowboys were no different. The temperature had dropped down quite considerably too and it made all the more sense for those magic liquids to take centre stage. A few swigs with good starters around the fire was a cloud nine expereience. The chatter boxes in everyone came alive. The topics covered were Wild encounters, back breaking rides, adventures, cricket, politics, Nirbhaya, spirits and what not with everyone at their free flowing best. It was like Yuvraj Singh in top form batting at both ends. The fire slowly started going down around 10 ish and we were called upon to have dinner. The spread was Biryani, Rotis, Dal fry, Barbeque chicken, Chicken 65, some vegetables, rice, rasam, pappads etc. The stomach seemed to be bottomless that night. After all the damage, 15 mins at the porch to see if some elephants came for a stroll and then we called it a day.
Day 2:
Spandan works better than the alarm as he was up by 5 am and was pushing the fellow riders to wake up for the early morning ride up the Kalhatty ghats. Some good hot chai did the trick as everyone started getting off the bed and finally @ 7:30 we left for the ride. The morning breeze was crisp and fresh. It was rejuvenating ride that morning. It was 8 ish by the time we took the 1st hair pin on the steep 'Kalhatty' ghats. A total of 36 bends awaited us and our concern was the 1st timer, but he seemed to have caught up and everyone were eating up those hair pins like a piece of cake. This ghat is so steep that some transport vehicles like Jeeps, pick up vans will have to climb backwards in the reverse gear as they fall short of torque in the forward ones. This was the main event for us and everyone seemed to enjoy this ride up to Ooty. The hair pins are any riders delight and Kalhatty ghat didnt disappoint us. The temperature dropped further as we climbed up and finally when we entered the Ooty town, it must have been a single digit. We tanked up our motorcycles in the BP pump. The hill fuel is supposed to be good for the engines as they have the decarbonisation quality. Pressures in the tyres checked too and we soon we were in the heart of the town in Garden road looking for a good tea shop. We found one but the tea wasnt that great, but the chocolates were! Yes who would miss shopping for home made Ooty chocolates here. We picked up quite some cocoa and decided to climb down to our base camp. Climbing down is always risky on a steep ghat. One has to keep the vehicle in lower gear and use minimal brakes. Switching off the engine is suicidal. The brakes get heated easily as most people use them a lot and this can fail the brakes putting you in a terrible situation. So it was mostly 2nd gear, occasionally 3rd , with very minimal usage of brake and soon we had gobbled up the 36 twisties again. It was 11:30 by the time we reached the estate. This was supposed to be the check out time, but since we know Arun fairly well, he gave us some extra time to shower up and check out. It was a quick shower and a late breakfast ( or should i call it brunch ), a quick photo session and we were off on our return journey.
The ride through Singara, Masinagudi, Mudumalai was eventless. We saw a baby elephant with its mother in the Bandipur limits very close to the road. A few vehicles were panicking and we quietly led the way past. But it was scary to see people in cars pull over by the elephant to take photogrpahs and to show their little ones. People tend to forget that they are not their pets and often under estimate the speed of the elephant. I bet a lot of you will agree if i say, " Elephant is the most dangerous animal in the Indian jungles". We shooed those people away and continued the ride. Motorcyle touring is seen as a crazy, senseless, risky thing by most people who dont practice it. But one has to feel the wind and experience the freedom while riding a motorcylce on the highways to know why exactly some nomads do this and practice it like a religion. One single pile all the motorcycles with their head lamps on and cruising must have been wierd for many people in the oncoming vehicles. But i must confess we made all heads turn whether they were in a Bus, Truck, Maruti 800, Santro, Swift, Audi, BMW or a Merc. It was an amazing feeling to see people looking at you and nod their heads some in agreement some in shock and some in fascination.
A quick pit stop in Gundlupet for a smoke break for a fellow rider and were soon rolling again This time the progress was fast and we reached the outskirts of Mysore in good time. By passed the town through the same route and soon we were out of the crowds and back on open highways again. It was nice to open the throttle once in a while, but responsibly and we reached 'The Empire' just after Maddur for a late lunch or rather an early dinner. Mutton Raan, Coin Paratas, Butter chicken, kebabs, biryani occupied our tables and soon went missing into our stomach. It was nice heavy dinner and chai was a perfect finisher to wash the oils off.
It was quick dash to Bangalore from there. We all pulled over at the NICE road to bid adieu. A round of hugs, hand shakes, high fives to celebrate the ride and we were soon off to our own abodes. A quick dash from here and we were home safe & sound richer with experience.
Guess what was the main topic in this huddle? " When is the next ride mate? " :-) haha thats how riders are.
"Kids race & Men ride" is our slogan and we did exactly that through out the ride.
Yes guys, Don't race while on the public roads, ride responsibly and never ever forget your helmet, please remember helmets were never made for your elbows!
Untill we see you in the next ride, pls take care and keep munching miles!
No comments:
Post a Comment