harikeshpk

An 800 kms ride was not to my liking. Especially when I have planned to complete the ride within a self imposed time limit of 10 hours. As the bike had to be taken from Vellore to Trivandrum I felt the best way to do it was by riding her down. So the day came on 12th june 2011. My ninja had just done the second service and another 500 kms after that. The strange thing was that I was least bothered about my bike’s condition and taken it for granted that she will do the distance just like that. Maybe the best part of owning a ninja is that she is ready to go any distances at the drop of a hat and I love it. I had to be more worried about my physical condition of doing 800 kms at a stretch and reach home without much discomfort. Ninja checks are just coolant level lubricating the chain and filling petrol to the brim. The route would be Vellore-krishnagiri-salem-madurai-thirunelveli-nagercoil-thiruvananthapuram. Excellent roads till the stretch of 100 kms from nagercoil to thiruvananthapuram. I had done this route almost 10 times during the last 3 years at a stretch on my trusty maruthi 800 so the road is most familiar. Started the ride at 5.00 am and enjoyed the dawn breaking and had the first pit stop at BP company pump at krishnagiri (near thoppur toll gate). 3 things here . good food, good petrol,clean toilets. Filled ninja to the brim again with speed petrol. Had a 10 minutes rest and was good to go . I planned to have my break fast near Madurai where the second BP company outlet is there along with the food joint etc. Had another two 5 minute breaks and I reached Madurai for an good pit break of 30 minutes. Had my breakfast topped ninja to the brim and now its something like 335 kms to reach my home, and I can normally reach without filling petrol. I have found that in most other pumps on this stretch of 800 kms petrol is poor quality and they cheat you on quantity. The wind was heavy since morning but I was able to keep up good speeds from 80 to 120 kms without much problem. Only when I reached thirunelveli the wind showed its true colours. I was riding on the right side of the centre line and twice my ninja was pushed out by sudden burst of wind and I found I am riding on the left of the centre line and I was lucky I was still on the bike. Then came the icing on the cake. I just could not ride the bike at all. The wind was too much and my ninja was wobbling like there is no control. I had to put in all just to stay on the bike . I was riding at a speed of just 40 kms praying that I stay on the bike. This continued for about 30 kms and after that I was able to speed up to 60 kms and ride with extreme caution. With much relief the highway ride came to an end and I got into the state highway leading to kerala. The state highway is like a city road with mad traffic. The 2 hours it took to cover the 100 kms to my home sapped my energy like any thing. Made it home by 4-00 pm in 11 hours ,late by 1 hour to my set time of 10 hours for 800 kms. So It was a quite an experience especially the wind riding which I will not forget in the near future. This area on the thirunelveli stretch is famous for wind farms, and from June to September has the maximum wind. Lesson learnt not to do biking during these months unless it is unavoidable. Thanks for reading.

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Mountain biking on impulse with my wife and our bike goes down in water

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my saddle sore 1600k is official - the story

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Noor

Travel log approved

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aargee

So its 800 Kms from Vellore is it? Its precise 755 Kms from my home to PRS Hospital Killipaalam. The winds are really treacherous & no wonder there're 1000s of windmills deployed to generate electricity.

PS - Never knew you were native of TVM. Did you have chance to meet any xBhpians there?

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Aneesh@4GHz

Congrats for your successful trip and happy to see you. Ride Safe.

Cheers!

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lijok

Welcome home? You should drop by the TVM offline thread and introduce yourself... we have quite an active community here...
Also, can you give me details of the BP outlet near madurai that you mentioned, as in how to locate it? I've had trouble getting good fuel on that route...

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aargee

Surprised!!! Really surprised Lijo!!!

Its on to your left side when you come from Madurai towards Trichy in the bye-pass. Its actually Ghar Dhaba & can find an outlet of A2B. It was a huge attention during 2007 when the roads were being constructed. There's huge hoarding that you can never miss.

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Patience pays...The Vulture's virtue is patience and the bird always get it's food - Wise man saying

This is not a bakery. I don't sugar coat anything. If you ask for my opinion...then that's what you'll get. Don't be mad when it's not what you want to hear

lijok

gmap link?

Also... towards Trichy?

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ridermax

Nice ride Hari!
Was looking forward to one of your rides. Your Ninja is quite a girl!

Kudos & Ride Safe!

aargee

Sry, can't find out in Gmap. Its in Melur, just about 9-10 Kms after Madurai when you're coming towards Trichy. Like I said before, its on to your left side.

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Patience pays...The Vulture's virtue is patience and the bird always get it's food - Wise man saying

This is not a bakery. I don't sugar coat anything. If you ask for my opinion...then that's what you'll get. Don't be mad when it's not what you want to hear

lijok

ok... but my confusion remains.. the route harikeshpk took was the NH7 vai Salem to Madurai, but Melur is on NH45... right? or am i missing something?

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