None enjoyed the Pool or the pool disappeared?

Guys, keep your calendar free for another funfilled trip in coming month.

Day 2: Sunday August 15

0600: I had asked to Tarc to wake me early on sunday morning so that I could accompany him for some early morning shoots. But when he woke me up I remember to have said something along the lines of, "zzzzZZZ wha zZZzzz yo carzzy on" . I do not know what happened between 6 and 8.

@Others, please post your logs/stories during this period.

Srini and Tarc, on the other hand were enjoying an early morning ride.

Pandi.. Bullet Pandi


This is one of my favorite pics of the lot. The sunlight kissing the exhaust


Two completely different bikes


Around 0820: After waking up I proceeded to get ready for breakfast. Alas, there was no power and I saw myself facing a task that required heavy balls of steel. Shower in Cold Water! Something that can make even the strongest of men out there go whimpering behind their mom. I just said, 'Fsck it!', and took a bath in cold water with a loud wail! By now everyone had gotten ready for breakfast.

0900 - 0920: The breakfast was the usual South Indian fare. Idly, Pongal, Dosai, Chutney, Sambhar, Potato Masal with passable coffee and a slightly better tea rounding it off. I noticed that the cooks here have a strange fetish for Chillies. People with sensitive tummies, beware.

These guys OTOH don't have a sensitive tummy


From the left: Uncle Amit, CBZ_Extreme and Srini


The bikes having some rest in the parking lot


Nope, not taken with a DSLR


1000: We decided to go to the rocky slopes for some off-roading which Rajesh and I had ridden the previous evening. Being Independence day, Tarc brought tricolours for all the bikes (15th August btw is the day we got Independence from the British Raj). You can ride for about 50-60 metres of bare rocks after which the hills dip. As I said in Part 2, be wary of broken bottles. They are f'in everywhere. I think it was Srini, who was wondering on where the heck those 'sea shells' came from.

This is also an appropriate spot to test if you are in a dream by jumping off the hills .

The sun, meanwhile came down beating on the hills with dark cloud formations in the distance.

As Thiruvalluvar once said, "Enna koduma saar ithu?"


Our Parking lot


CBZ_extreme: "Guys, Is that Bangalore over there?"


From the left: Rajesh, CBZ_extreme, Sriram, Srini and Amit




The rocks aren't that hard to walk on as long as you are wearing a good footwear with a firm grip.

Mr.Bullet Pandi


If you want to show off your badass'ery there are some 'adventure sports' to try out. The hills have rappelling too, which is something I want to check out in the future. The others went to check out the view point and the swimming pool while I did one more quick sprint down the hills.

They seem to be safe enough


Zorbing: Wheeeeeeee..blerg.. baaarf


1200-1220: We were ready for the trip home after some tea and biscuits. The weather gradually turned overcast with dark clouds. We were certain that the rains would hit us en route. Our plan was to reach the relatively safer 4 lane highway after Ranipet before it gets dark.

Getting ready for the trip home


The route home was as follows,
Horsely - Palamaner (skipping Madanapalle) - Ranipet - Home.

There is a new by-pass which that can be taken to skip the busy town of Madanapalle. There are no markings, so its easy to skip this road. If it weren't for a friendly local, we would have missed this bypass. Just look out for the road branching off to your left, just before entering the median-split road to Madanapalle.

Deepak confirming the route as we look on. Note the ominous clouds


The road was freshly laid, with the open plateau on the sides. This road cuts down the travel time to Palamaner considerably. If only we had known about this road on Saturday. There are a few bumps on this stretch, but they are easy to ride over.

The rains coming towards us from the horizon


The C500 sweeping us


Near Palamaner it started to pour down more heavily! My underpants were completely wet within 10 - 20 seconds (No, I didn't take a leak silently).

Rains!


With only tail lights in front as our respective beacons, we took the ride real slow. By the time we left the outskirts of Chitoor, the rains had eased to a tame drizzle.

1845(?): At Ranipet, we had an early dinner at a cheap restaurant (The name anyone?) with good food. After gobbling the food ravenously we proceeded towards Madras.
Sriram's bike, however had plans of its own. The bike stalled just after the busy Ranipet Market and we were stuck there for almost an hour since all the mechanic shops in the town were closed for the weekend. In the end, it came to life and after some celebrations, we reached the GQ.

Group riding in the night is a completely different ballgame as opposed to riding in broad daylight since the bright headlights in the mirrors can be disorienting. There was some confusion when communicating about lane switching, but we worked it out eventually during a tea break after Kanchipuram. Srini took up sweeping and I must say, he had to ride hard for most of this stretch. The traffic was heavy with some insanely stupid drivers.

Goodbyes and tired handshakes:2200: We stopped near the Maduravayol junction and bid adieu to each other. Srini and Sriram would reach their homes via Porur-Guindy while CBZ_Extreme took the left to Perambur. Tarc, Rajesh, Amit and I took the Chennai ByPass.

After a quick goodbye, Tarun and Amit split from us at the base of the Irumbuliyur junction. I said my goodnight to Rajesh after MCC and proceeded towards 'home-sweet-home' where a hot shower, warm milk and a cozy bed would be waiting for me.

2320: Thought to myself, "That indeed was one heck of a weekend. The distance may not be huge and the destination may not be that exotic but it sure was fun riding in the rains and putting the legs down on the twisties. A weekend well spent with some good people". 20 seconds later I was sleeping like a baby, assured of the fact that my little red FZ was taking a well deserved rest in my garage as well.

Epilogue:

Monday Morning, Aug 16, 0900: The phone lets out a distinct hum of the alarm tone. Only this time it wasn't Amit's impatient SMS. It was the alarm giving me a gloomy reminder that I had to haul my ass back to work.

One thing i would like you to help me out...Amit (if i am not mistaking) was wearing a Fox Bionic Protector...Can you help me out in terms of pricing for the...I seriously need this info as i don't have proper riding gear except for the LS2 & alpinester Gloves...

Thanks dude

Throttle all the way.....

Hi Zaphod


Nice Trip...Good log...with better pics.....keep it up....seems you guys have really enjoyed the Independence Day.....One thing i would like you to help me out...Amit (if i am not mistaking) was wearing a Fox Bionic Protector...Can you help me out in terms of pricing for the...I seriously need this info as i don't have proper riding gear except for the LS2 & alpinester Gloves...

Thanks dude

Throttle all the way.....

@argee
appreciate your writing skills which managed to convert a boring office commute into a racy thriller good fun to read.

Lets respect this forum rules and regulations.

Excuse me