Travelogue approved

Hassan-Belur I can never forget this road, the most beautiful road I have ridden till date.

Waiting for the remaining pics and log

Very true..Best two lane highway I have been on till date.. with very little traffic and beautiful scenery around, I loved this part of our trip the most.. Will post pics and log soon..

Nice start,Bring on the main course please

Cheers
Biru

Day 1: Bangalore - Hassan - Chikmaglur - Kalhatti - Chikmaglur

Here is the rest of it Biru bhai. It was all decided in a hurry. I purchased my R15 on August 23 and ever since had been planning to take it up on the hills somewhere. Had been to Nandi Hills but that trip was done mostly under 60 kmph (engine run-in ). ODO on my R15 read 1003 when I decided to take it to Chikmaglur. Three of my friends were ready to accompany me but we had a problem. We had 1 bike and 4 ready riders. The problem was solved by renting a Bullet for 2 days .

Our plan for the trip: Ride up to Chikmaglur on Saturday, sightseeing on Saturday and head back to Bangalore on Sunday (strict office routine for my trip mates).

Route: Bangalore - Hassan - Belur - Chikmaglur - Bangalore (via the same route).

We decided to start at 400 hours but were stuck due to 'no water in the taps' condition and could start only at 515 hours.

0500 hours: Bikes on idle and warming up



Tea break at the junction of Nice Road and NH4





Quick Map check at Neelamangala



Somewhere in between Neelamangala and Channarayapatna





Mighty NH4



We took quite a number of butt breaks as we were riding with pillions with bags on their backs. NH4 is beautiful to ride on and the 4 lane road just invites to rev hard. My R15 hit 120 on a couple of occasions and we cruised mostly at 90-100 kmph. We thanked the Gods for sparing us from rain en route Chikmaglur as we were not carrying any protection from rain whatsoever . We decided to take lunch at Chikmaglur and hence continued riding till we reached Hassan from where we were to Hit Belur road, the most beautiful two lane highway I ever hit. With loads of scenery around, you can just keep cruising, praying the road may never come to an end.







Once we crossed Belur, the tarmac was not so good. The road to Chikmaglur is in not so good condition. We continued our quest and suddenly realized the Bull was thirsty. It drank a tankfull again right before Chikmaglur and we entered the city at 1100 hours. We checked in at the Planter's Court and were not happy with the room and the food .

Nevertheless, we hit the road again and decided to visit the Kalhatti falls. Started riding again at 1400 hours. The roads were good enough with soem hairpins and twisties till the diversion that goes to the Kalhatti temple and falls, and the connecting road some 10 kms from the falls is a mess .

Chikmaglur - Kalhatti falls



On Board the R15



Road to Kalhatti



The Kalhatti Temple



It was late evening and we decided to call it a day. While returning, we were caught in rain and were drenched. Returned to our rooms, gave the wet clothes to the laundry to dry them up and hit the bed after dinner.

Random Clicks during the day

Day 2: Chikmaglur - Bangalore

We were up by 8 30 and had our breakfast. At the table, it was decided that we would head back to Bangalore so as to reach by evening (with a lot of photography breaks ). A few clicks of the morning:



Here is Swapnil in a weird pose



The Planter's Court (pit stop) (Economy Room Non AC starts at 1092 per room with a double bed, DONT eat here at all)





After breakfast, we collected our jackets and denims that were with the laundry for drying after the previous day's rain. Once ready, we set out for Bangy. I am not sure of the name of the lake but this one is right outside Chikmaglur city. We stopped there for few clicks. Also, while we were clicking some pictures there, I saw a fully geared rider on a black CBR with saddle bags vroom past us. I signaled him with a 'Thumbs Up' but VROOM . Here are the pictures.





Our Road



2nd Stop after Chikmaglur and before Belur





The next we stopped was at the Yagachi Dam. Pictures:













It was extremely humid and sunny and we could not wait to start riding again. We clicked few snaps there and went off again. Reached Belur in no time and did not stop. Decided to have lunch at Hassan. Again, the Belur Hassan stretch was liked by the rides and they pumped in some power to caress those twisties and tarmac. Again, we stopped at a place and here are the pictures:









Next stop was at Hassan for lunch. Had lunch at Santosh Hotel. Tummies tightened and we set off for Bangy. Decided to make no stops at all except butt breaks. But nature had other plans. As soon as we crossed the city, we were greeted by the rain gods. Quickly made a stop to pack all electronics and wallets inside a waterproof bag (home-made by wrapping a 'Sapient' bag in a Food Bazaar polythene bag ). We decided to keep moving even if it rained and that is exactly what we did. All the way from Hassan to Bangy, it was a continuous drizzle and at Channarayapatna, it rained heavy . We were drenched till the insides and had no option but to change. Stopped for a change of shirts and socks.

Trying to squeeze water out of my socks before putting them in the bag



We hit the road again and even though it rained all way along, we were able to maintain a speed of 80 kmhr and reached nice road at 1830 hours. Took another hour to reach BTM.

End of Story