BoyGoku

It was my basic instinct which asked me to do a long distance lonely drive to push myself to complete a 750 KM ride in 10 hours.

Hi guys,

Although this is not my first long ride this was one of the rare rides i had till now. And this is my first trip log in xBhp

The destination: Bangalore - Trivandrum & back
The Ride: Yamaha R15
The Riders: there was no 's', there was me and my bike
Total Distance Covered: 1510 KM
What was the one side distance?
750 KM (via Palakkad), 760 (via Madhurai)
Time taken (including breaks): 10 Hours (via Palakkad), 10.5 (via Madhurai)
Top Speed: 148 (on speedo)
Milage: No Idea
And the route?
Bangalore - Hosur - Krishnagiri - Salem - Coimbatore - Palakaad - Trissur - Ernakulam (Cochin) - Alapuzha - Kollam - Trivandrum
Came back through?
Trivandrum - Nagacoil - Thirunnalveli - Madhurai - Dindigul - Karur - Salem - Krishnagiri - - Hosur - Bangalore

An accident happen on 2008 on my Pulsar 180 kept me out of touring for a long time. Even i have to sell my bike and lived in bangalore about 7 months without a bike. Its was really hard. Although there where short distance trip on my friends bike and on car i never find the real me in those trips.

I felt like i wanted to be alone, without any one there to complain about things, or to advice or to tell you what to do. I wanted to see how it will be if i push myself. Thought of going many places but none of them came closure when i thought about having a visit to my hometown.

It was a surprise for my parents and friends, only two of my friends knew that i was going on a bike. More over i wanted to see how quick i can reach my home town. So in every sense it was exciting.

When i planned the trip i decided i will not stop anywhere to take any photos, at least while going to trivandrum. More over it was raining all the way to trivandrum.

On july 3rd the day before i started from bangalore, i was not able to get a proper sleep. I was awake till 1.00 am and 2.30 AM next day (4th of july) the alarm started ringing and immediately i went for a bath. Packed everything and started at 3.30 AM in the morning.

Immediately after crossing silk board (bangalore) i started increasing the speed, soon my speed most the time was between 100-130 Kmph. I reached very quickly to Krishnagiri and then Salem. The roads are really good and there is not much traffic till here. Had a short break there and had a tea then started towards coimbatore without touch E-Rode or salem city. The roads were good till the salem. And from Salem to coimbatore you need to cross few small cities and few patch work is going on the 4line highway.

Just before reaching coimbatore stopped in between for a fuel refill. Aaah "the small 12L tank of R15" is not that good for long distance travel without timely refuels. After the refill i headed toward coimbatore. After crossing the Karpagam College junction i was on to the L&T highway towards Palakkad.

As i was cruising in that straight line highway i could see the vegetation changing from the rough tamilanadu to the greenish kerala. Till that time roads where really dry but then in long distance i could the rain clouds. As soon as i realized that i was closing towards kerala the rain started. I was well prepared for that.

Once i hit the valayar check-post there was a sudden urge for me to push even harder. May be its the greenery and the chillness or may be its my love and passion about Kerala. I realized then Kerala was very close to bangalore

I stopped palakaad for breakfast and then started again towars thrissur

On the way to thrissur i was accompanied by a few bikes which included pulsar 220, a puslar and an apache. Hmmm may be good thing to have a company, but suddenly i noticed they where more interested in showing there bikes power. It was fun for another 1 hour. We separated when we reached thrissur. The roads till thrissur have a few potholes in between but the main thing to watch out for is the slippery surface due to heavy rain. Apart from that it was good.

I was not at all looking at the watch, as time passed i maintained top speed always and finally reached Ernakulam. Being careless about the direction signs i landed on to Ernakulam City which was hectic in the rain with all the bad roads and traffic stretching for Kilometers. The ride through Ernakulam City took close to 1 hour.
Finally managed to get out of EMK city and went towards alappuzha through the Chertala Highway. The road which was one of the good highways in Kerala lost its crown and was somewhat poor in shape. Although it was not that bad, frequent potholes in road caused the speed to comedown.

After again stopped at Alapuzha i finally reached Kollam and then TVM.

In no way i was feeling any tiredness other than the usual Wrist Pain while riding my bike. I always try to adjust the riding position but then again the pain is still there. Especially on the right hand. But have to say there was no back pain even with the sporty riding style. It was comfortable. The performance of the bike was awesome. After the 750 KM ride the bike showed no performance degrade or no clutch rising nor any top end drop. It was pure pleasure riding my R15 till TVM. It took me around 10 Hours including the stops.

I didn't took any pictures on the way to trivandrum. But when i came back to Bangalore on 13th July via Madhurai i managed to click some snaps which i am attaching below.

The return journey was really hard through the staring 4 line highway. You will be in tamilnadu most of the time and it was dusty, hot, and was boring. The road through madhurai to bangalore is good if you are riding in a higher end bike with more top speed or in a car with friends. On the way back there are not enough places with shade where you can have rest.

But before reaching Dindigul i was managed to find a coconut farm which was like a heaven during that scotching heat. I met two guys there who were very kind enough to offer me tender coconut from the same farm. The farm also has a bore well and a natural spring. It was a nice feeling spending time there.

While i was coming back the the side wind was so fast i had to manage the bike really hard. A small mistake will definitely cost you.

Attaching some pictures taken on the way back to to Bangalore. Some of the pics where taken while i was spending time at the coconut farm.

Attached Thumbnails

         

         

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Aryan

Topic Approved.

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ravi@17bhp

Nice title, very striking The pics are superb. Let me go through the log.

DevilisH

good ride man !!!

Bhaski9836

Nice stuff:carry on

goatiguru29

Good ride there....trying to set new record....or practising for iron butt challenge...

rohitabc

Amazing Pics

hitanshu

Amazing ride, AWESOME pics.

Which cam dude?

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suvo

Nice trip...Nice pics...

aarunn

Great.... even i have done the same trip (tvm-banglore) many times during my college days (in my Old rx135 )....But never achived the distance in 10 hours.... hats off man........