xBhp.com : The Global Indian Biking Community - View Single Post - [Photo Feature]: Chennai - Yelagiri Solo Ride (With lots and lots of rain)

Zaphod · 12-16-2009, 11:44 PM

The Return trip:

Needless to say, I got freaked out when it started raining. I wasn't equipped with proper footwear at all and I could feel the strain in my feet. (Smelly beach sandals)

Not many photographs, since I didn't stop much except for Tea at Ratnagiri.

On reaching 'level' ground: 1254 hours

One of the houses at the base of the trek path

The trek, although not long made me hungry (Am not much of a physical type). Returned to Aathanur for lunch in a small restaurant called Aarthi. The meal was decent (30 bucks for the meals, 50 for hot chicken curry and 6 for omelette).

My mid-day meal. 1315 hours

I skipped the plan to go to Jagalamparai falls as the weather was worsening. Driving in rain is fun, but it gets ugly when you get heavy droplets that can prick you. Put on my raincoat and started my way down. Cursed myself again for not investing in a good pair of gloves. My rain coat covered my torso but my hands were exposed. Again my poor helmet visors made life a bit difficult. Little did I know things were about to get much worse..

Seems to be raining down: 1355 Hours

Looking back (The descent was slooww): 1424 hours

This is where the fun starts. I don't have much experience driving in rain except for one time, where I ripped off towards Mahabalipuram in October's North East Monsoon. Even then, the heavy rain wasn't 'painful'..
I didn't stop at all except for petrol and this snap.

Somewhere in the road: 1540 hours

To be honest, I can say this was testing both the rider's and the bike's ability to drive. With an unusable visor, visibility was poor.

This is also where FZ shone. The handling was spot on! The grip was fantastic and I was able to cruise at 70 - 80 without any problems except for numbing pain in my hands. I know I have told this multiple times, but the only thing I was wishing for was gloves. Luckily I had some kerchiefs in my bag and made crude 'gloves' for some respite from the drops; although my fingers were still exposed. I made a stop at Ratnagiri for some hot tea at 4 bucks a piece since I was shivering due to damp clothes.

After Ratnagiri, there was this poor 10-12 year old school kid who was stuck in the rain. Gave him a lift and some chewing gum. I got a huge smile in return, hi fived him and I resumed my journey with high spirits.

The rain started to ease out a little bit and from my calculations I was an hour or hour and a half from Sriperambudur. I used this opportunity to stretch myself a bit as my joints were stiff due to the dampness. Also, my legs hadn't moved much since my petrol stop near Ambur.

Since I had a lot of kerchiefs, I tied one to the mirror to wipe it clean when driving :P, 1751 hours

My other kerchief-cum-balaclava became my gloves now.

The horizon: Grim, Dark and Wet.

I was in Sriperambudur around 1900 hours. I knew there is a right turn here which leads to Tambaram and was very half-hearted to take this detour since I was not sure about the quality of the roads. If anyone has taken this right turn en route please enlighten us.

I landed up in a lot of trouble as I was nearing the Chennai Bypass. Heavy traffic with lots of trucks and stupid cab drivers made riding hard. Add hydroplaning effect ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroplaning_(tires) ) to the mix, and I was getting tested here. The other bikes around me were having the same problem as well. I noticed that the rear tyres everywhere was losing traction, but it wasn't as bad as the splendors and others about me. Thanks to the beefy rear tyres that defines FZ, I was in control. (EDIT: I WAS WRONG. #FAIL) I had half a mind to adjust the rear pressure, but didn't want to stop because of mad honking all around me. (Also don't fix something that ain't broken)

Once I reached the toll booth at Pennalur, I hit upon a bad, mad idea. Why not do a burnout to increase the rear tyre's temperature and thereby the traction as well. I don't know if this was wise, but I didn't feel any sideways movement as I did earlier. As always, it would be great if some experienced biker can enlighten me. (For all you know, it could have been a placebo).

Once I reached the Chennai Bypass, I could zip at 70-80 because of all the reflectors on the road and tarmac didn't have sheets of water as the roads near Pennalur. A word of warning, there are odd potholes near the Poonamallee end and I was bitten twice with a *thud*. Took the left towards Tambaram once I reached the Irumbaliyur flyover, and rains had almost stopped to a tame drizzle.

At exactly 2000 hours (I kid you not, the timing was perfect), I was home.

End of trip, tripmeter read 484.5 kilometers. 2004 hours

Epilogue:
I know this is an insignificant ride considering the other road trips by truly awesome bikers/tourers (bows to everyone), but still, this was a great learning experience for a novice rider in me. Things I learnt

Be prepared for the weather. I am still surprised at my common sense (coming from me is a surprise ) of taking a raincoat. But this was nullified for the lack of gloves.
Try to remain dry. Damp clothes + wind = a bad bad experience if you are riding fast. I can only imagine the horror if it were the North.
Slippers were annoying when I did the trek, I also had a light scratch in my left foot when I almost creamed the mountain side to make way for an oncoming Ford.
Improvise. I patted myself for the Kerchief -> gloves improvisation. Even if it was rather crude.
I also realised I didn't have a basic first-aid kit. To my credit, I did have a swiss army knife (which I forgot to mention in the last post).
Carry a good sturdy cell-phone that can withstand the abuse of the outdoors. I see no point in carrying an iPhone. To be honest, I kissed my mobile phone on the way. Doubled as my camera, tweet machine, and of course as a phone .
Humans are more capable physically than they seem to be. You never know what you are capable of unless you try. Moreover, I am not a physically fit dude (Have some flab if you get the gist) and was highly satisfied with this solo road trip.
Riding in groups is fun, but solo trips has its own perks.
Never trust friends who are half-hearted about road trips. Always have a plan-B, and lastly
Invest on a good sturdy camera.
DON'T FOOL AROUND MONKEYS!

Cheers, hoping to do a much longer trip. This was my first logged trip. Waiting for comments.

12-16-2009, 11:44 PM	#9 (permalink)
Zaphod One Hoopy Frood Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Madras Posts: 239	The Return trip: Needless to say, I got freaked out when it started raining. I wasn't equipped with proper footwear at all and I could feel the strain in my feet. (Smelly beach sandals) Not many photographs, since I didn't stop much except for Tea at Ratnagiri. On reaching 'level' ground: 1254 hours One of the houses at the base of the trek path The trek, although not long made me hungry (Am not much of a physical type). Returned to Aathanur for lunch in a small restaurant called Aarthi. The meal was decent (30 bucks for the meals, 50 for hot chicken curry and 6 for omelette). My mid-day meal. 1315 hours I skipped the plan to go to Jagalamparai falls as the weather was worsening. Driving in rain is fun, but it gets ugly when you get heavy droplets that can prick you. Put on my raincoat and started my way down. Cursed myself again for not investing in a good pair of gloves. My rain coat covered my torso but my hands were exposed. Again my poor helmet visors made life a bit difficult. Little did I know things were about to get much worse.. Seems to be raining down: 1355 Hours Looking back (The descent was slooww): 1424 hours This is where the fun starts. I don't have much experience driving in rain except for one time, where I ripped off towards Mahabalipuram in October's North East Monsoon. Even then, the heavy rain wasn't 'painful'.. I didn't stop at all except for petrol and this snap. Somewhere in the road: 1540 hours To be honest, I can say this was testing both the rider's and the bike's ability to drive. With an unusable visor, visibility was poor. This is also where FZ shone. The handling was spot on! The grip was fantastic and I was able to cruise at 70 - 80 without any problems except for numbing pain in my hands. I know I have told this multiple times, but the only thing I was wishing for was gloves. Luckily I had some kerchiefs in my bag and made crude 'gloves' for some respite from the drops; although my fingers were still exposed. I made a stop at Ratnagiri for some hot tea at 4 bucks a piece since I was shivering due to damp clothes. After Ratnagiri, there was this poor 10-12 year old school kid who was stuck in the rain. Gave him a lift and some chewing gum. I got a huge smile in return, hi fived him and I resumed my journey with high spirits. The rain started to ease out a little bit and from my calculations I was an hour or hour and a half from Sriperambudur. I used this opportunity to stretch myself a bit as my joints were stiff due to the dampness. Also, my legs hadn't moved much since my petrol stop near Ambur. Since I had a lot of kerchiefs, I tied one to the mirror to wipe it clean when driving :P, 1751 hours My other kerchief-cum-balaclava became my gloves now. The horizon: Grim, Dark and Wet. I was in Sriperambudur around 1900 hours. I knew there is a right turn here which leads to Tambaram and was very half-hearted to take this detour since I was not sure about the quality of the roads. If anyone has taken this right turn en route please enlighten us. I landed up in a lot of trouble as I was nearing the Chennai Bypass. Heavy traffic with lots of trucks and stupid cab drivers made riding hard. Add hydroplaning effect ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroplaning_(tires) ) to the mix, and I was getting tested here. The other bikes around me were having the same problem as well. I noticed that the rear tyres everywhere was losing traction, but it wasn't as bad as the splendors and others about me. Thanks to the beefy rear tyres that defines FZ, I was in control. (EDIT: I WAS WRONG. #FAIL) I had half a mind to adjust the rear pressure, but didn't want to stop because of mad honking all around me. (Also don't fix something that ain't broken) Once I reached the toll booth at Pennalur, I hit upon a bad, mad idea. Why not do a burnout to increase the rear tyre's temperature and thereby the traction as well. I don't know if this was wise, but I didn't feel any sideways movement as I did earlier. As always, it would be great if some experienced biker can enlighten me. (For all you know, it could have been a placebo). Once I reached the Chennai Bypass, I could zip at 70-80 because of all the reflectors on the road and tarmac didn't have sheets of water as the roads near Pennalur. A word of warning, there are odd potholes near the Poonamallee end and I was bitten twice with a thud. Took the left towards Tambaram once I reached the Irumbaliyur flyover, and rains had almost stopped to a tame drizzle. At exactly 2000 hours (I kid you not, the timing was perfect), I was home. End of trip, tripmeter read 484.5 kilometers. 2004 hours Epilogue: I know this is an insignificant ride considering the other road trips by truly awesome bikers/tourers (bows to everyone), but still, this was a great learning experience for a novice rider in me. Things I learnt Be prepared for the weather. I am still surprised at my common sense (coming from me is a surprise ) of taking a raincoat. But this was nullified for the lack of gloves. Try to remain dry. Damp clothes + wind = a bad bad experience if you are riding fast. I can only imagine the horror if it were the North. Slippers were annoying when I did the trek, I also had a light scratch in my left foot when I almost creamed the mountain side to make way for an oncoming Ford. Improvise. I patted myself for the Kerchief -> gloves improvisation. Even if it was rather crude. I also realised I didn't have a basic first-aid kit. To my credit, I did have a swiss army knife (which I forgot to mention in the last post). Carry a good sturdy cell-phone that can withstand the abuse of the outdoors. I see no point in carrying an iPhone. To be honest, I kissed my mobile phone on the way. Doubled as my camera, tweet machine, and of course as a phone . Humans are more capable physically than they seem to be. You never know what you are capable of unless you try. Moreover, I am not a physically fit dude (Have some flab if you get the gist) and was highly satisfied with this solo road trip. Riding in groups is fun, but solo trips has its own perks. Never trust friends who are half-hearted about road trips. Always have a plan-B, and lastly Invest on a good sturdy camera. DON'T FOOL AROUND MONKEYS! Cheers, hoping to do a much longer trip. This was my first logged trip. Waiting for comments. Last edited by Zaphod; 12-17-2009 at 12:55 AM.