Wonderfully penned Akhil and its always a pleasure to read your detailed logs and pictures.

Waiting for more

So how is the Pilot Road behaving in rain, got any chance to ride them on wet?

Seeing a triplog of your's after a long time.

Really like the simple language you use in your logs, and the vivid memories from the ride.
Your Kanyakumari ride triplog has got me fixed on that destination. Sometime soon.. .

btw, did you pen this down now (3 months after the ride)? If yes, let me compliment you on your great memory.

Waiting for Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, & finally Day 7 logs..

wonderful photos...although didn't read the huge log completely..its very nice....keep it coming

Day 2:



A walk through the areca nut plantation with Vignesh:



This place will be totally green in a couple of months



The place where I napped, under the tree



I woke up late, having planned a very small riding plan for the day, and had a relaxed breakfast. After breakfast, Vignesh took me around to the still-under-construction villas coming up on the property, and also the rest of the plantation. I found an awesome spot under a big tree, overlooking paddy fields. This would be an amazing spot to just relax and snooze all day. I did just that for some time and then I woke up to a cow grazing nearby. Looked at the time and I decided to head back to the room and have a shower. I showered up, had lunch and I napped again. Woke up at 2 to head out to Sagar town, the Hasirumaggi ferry spot on the Linganamakki backwaters, and then the Ikkeri temple. All put together would take about 4 hours or so. I geared up and headed out on NH206 towards Sagar.

The start of the riding day.. at 2!



The road was pretty bumpy and was undergoing asphalting in some parts, which made the surface a bit tricky.

I got to Sagar around 3 pm and straightaway headed towards the ferry point. From what I remembered, the road was pretty bumpy, narrow and had lots of potholes. Luckily, the road was again freshly tarred, and it was even being tarred when I got close to Avinahalli.

In particular, there was a long left hander, almost a kilometre, and I let it all hang out to the best of my abilities. It was huge fun and I’d be making sure to let loose again on the way back.

I crossed Ikkeri temple and entered Avinahalli, and from Avinahalli, to Hasirumaggi is about 8 kms or so. This stretch, is not used at all except by the people who commute on the ferry. This includes 3-4 buses which ply between Sagar and Kollur everyday, as a result of which, it hardly gets any maintenance. Even so, I forgot all about the bad road after the initial few kilometres, when the road synced up with the banks of the Linganamakki reservoir. This road closely follows the reservoir till the ferry boarding point and little beyond it as well.

Being an odd time, the place was totally deserted and I got off the road onto the grass and rode across the bank towards the reservoir as far as I could. I shut down the engine, parked up, got my gear off and looked around.

Absolute silence, and desolation.

There was a rusted old decommissioned ferry to add to the effect of being all alone in a rarely visited place. I kicked my boots off and walked into the water and just stood there for a few minutes, enjoying the cool water and allowing the soft silt to seep in between my toes.

After a few minutes, a fisherman went past in his boat at a fairly quick clip and glanced at me standing in the water. At that moment, I would’ve given anything to be in a boat like that and zipping around the reservoir

By the banks of Linganamakki reservoir:









I got out of the water, and rode over to the point where the ferry loads/unloads the vehicles and made some enquiries about the route to Kollur (which was where I was headed the next day) at a small petty shop there. The people there advised me not to take the Jog Falls - Kargal - Kollur route, as it was very bad, and desolate etc. I wanted to take it because I’d heard the scenery would be stunning and the route had a lot of twisties. These same people told me that Kollur, about 45 kms away would take me about 1.5 hours and the road was very good according to them.

The landing/loading point for the ferry:





I decided to take the ferry the next day and stick to the route the locals advised. I had some tea from the shop, and watched as the ferry came over from the other side and unloaded some cars and a bus. People got onto the ferry and it soon took off. The shop owner said that the ferry was gaining in popularity as it is a shortcut to Kollur and a much faster route compared to the alternatives. I wasn’t surprised at this, but at the same time, I was irritated that my getaway spots were slowly being usurped by people. First it was Ladakh, and now this place as well. The upside to this is that now I have to ride longer to newer places to discover new spots for me to unwind.

I geared up and began the ride back to Sagar town. On the way back, I made an impromptu stop in Ikkeri Temple, and spent some time there. This again is a very very peaceful area and it is immaculately maintained by the ASI. It is a functional temple, with a lot of symbolism in terms of our history. This temple was raided multiple times by the Mughals and the damage to this date is well preserved by the ASI for the sake of posterity.

The parking area of the temple:





Inside the temple:






Immaculately maintained lawns and premises:











I entered the temple, and walked around inside the Sanctum.

After about half an hour or so, I walked back out to where I parked the R1 and found the usual curious onlookers. These people were nice enough not to paw at the bike and annoy me, but were patiently waiting for me to come out of the temple, so that I could fire it up and they could hear what it sounded like. I took the chance to enquire about the area, and what else I could see in these parts. They told me to go to Keladi as well, north of Sagar, and Banavasi as well. Having seen both, I wasn’t really too keen and I decided to head back to Matthuga.

The ride back was very relaxed, and the sun was now behind me, lighting up the road ahead and ensuring clear visibility on the way back. It was then that my mind began to wander again, thinking about what a nice place this would be to live in. My own little house bang in the middle of a coffee/areca nut estate. I’d have my bikes parked up in the porch, and make time stand still for longer periods of time.

I snapped back to reality when I registered a crowd ahead blocking the highway, and I slowed down and tried to find out what was happening. Turns out, I was passing through Talguppa and the weekly shopping market was set up right on the highway. This ensured lots of people walking back and forth the road, and not paying any attention to the fact that it was a National Highway and there’d be lots of vehicles going back and forth. I honked incessantly and worked my way through the 1 km stretch of the noisy market, when curiosity got the better of me. I parked the R1 some ways up the road and walked back to the market to see what would be on sale and whether I could pick up anything.

Most of the stuff being sold, were Chinese plastic goods and toys, which did not interest me at all. But then there was this chap selling little curios which he claimed to have collected over his trips deep into the forests of Western Ghats, bartered from tribals etc. I spied a piece of tree bark shaped like a goat which would make for a nice keychain once I drilled a hole through it, and started bargaining with him. I was talking to him, and I heard a horn go wild to my left. When I looked towards the direction of the sound, I found myself facing off a KSRTC Volvo, because I was standing right in the middle of the road bargaining with the shop owner. So much for practice before you preach.. I quickly got off the road and picked up the keychain and got back to where I had parked the bike. By then, the R1 was swamped by kids who could not get enough about the size of the tyre and the underseat exhausts. I had to make my way through, while answering a barrage of questions and tried to make a quick getaway as quietly as I could.

I reached Matthuga and was greeted with a cup of coffee and chips. I was informed that I would be only guest staying that day, hence I will be fussed over and taken care just that little more. I kicked back and watched the sun set.

End of the riding day:



Vignesh surprised me with some freshly crushed sugarcane juice, almost two litres of it, and insisted I finish it off all by myself!



My vacation was nothing short of perfect. Two beautiful riding days, with nature and absolute calm. What more could I ask for?

More riding of course!

End of Day 2!

Good going, Akhil!
Now, how far is Sigandoor from Day 2?
BTW, when are you gonna complete 'Waterfalls ride' trip log?!!

Thread approved.. LOL

Man, I'm trying to post as soon as I can. Trying to make time somehow.

And sure buddy, we'll ride soon.

Thanks Ajay

Thanks mate

My favourite riding partner appears out of nowhere Thanks Mithun!

Thanks Haroon! Am glad to be back and so is the R1

Yeah dude. Want to help me? LOL.

PS: thevoiceoverguy?? What's that about??

Thanks!

Yeah man. Come monsoon, I'm going to be there on the Pulsar. It's a magical place during the rains.

Thanks Phanikar! Hope you're doing fine buddy..

Thanks

James!!

Thanks Ajay, and I haven't ridden the Road 2 in the rain yet, although I think it'll do the job well.

Thanks for the words Tibby! And yeah, I'm writing it down from memory. I usually don't forget things that happen on my rides.

The other days are coming soon.. one day's log every day

Thanks mate!

Waterfalls ride logs are a writeoff man.

The other days logs are coming soon.. Thanks for the patience and your encouragement Makky!

Day 3:

Day 3 was when I was due to leave Matthuga Homestay, and move on to the coast to Malpe Beach (close to Udupi). The distance wasn’t too much at all, and I’d planned it out to be a 4-5 hour ride at the maximum. So it’d be another relaxed ride, taking in the scenery and the roads.

Wall at the homestay, showing the map of the area



I showered, had a hearty breakfast and coffee, and packed up. I loaded the bike up with my bags and checked the coolant levels for safety, and tyres for any punctures, and it was then I noticed the rear had degraded quite a bit. The high speed blast up NH4 had worn this tyre out more than I expected. I’d have to keep an eye on the tyre over the next couple of days, but luckily I wouldn’t be covering a lot of distance and it would be at slow speeds. So it wasn’t all that worrying.







I bade goodbye to my hosts, and left by 10 am, so that I’d be in time for the 11 am ferry from Hasirumaggi. Adding ten minutes for fuel in Sagar, I’d have to hurry up.

I hit Sagar in about 15 minutes, fuelled up and sped along the same road that I’d taken the previous day.

I crossed Avinahalli, and came upon an obstacle in the road in the form of an F650 Funduro parked smack bang in the middle of the road. I stopped to check up and I saw the rider, a German enquiring about the route to Jog Falls. I sent him back to Sagar with proper directions and went my way.

I arrived at the ferry rendezvous point all set and ahead of time, when I saw the ferry already loading up cars and vehicles.




I honked and the ferry guy gestured towards the right side of the ferry and made me park up right behind some other bikes and next to a Tatamobile pickup. I got off the bike and began setting up the camera for some pics and videos.





The ferry soon began chugging away from the bank, and just then a guy on a bike came honking madly and flashing his lights, wanting to get on the ferry. The ferry guys didn’t bother stopping and getting him on, and we were treated to some of the choicest insults in Kannada with the Uttara Kannada accents and dialects

The ferry turned about and started for the other side, making good time chugging across the blue water. I began taking pics and videos, and started chatting up the other passengers.







This being a short ferry ride, only about 10 minutes or so, we reached the other side quickly and the ferry turned around to back into the bank and wedge the ramp against the mud. First off the ferry were the bikes, your truly included

I collected some water in my lower fairings because the ramp dipped down into the water a bit before it wedged itself against the bank, and I stopped to see if the chain was wet as well. It was wet and I set about drying it and spraying it with some lube. Just as I was about to do this, the last vehicle on the ferry, a Tata lorry seemingly full of cargo, was preparing to leave the ferry and it rolled off the ramp and got onto the mud. The driver lost momentum as he was rolling off the ramp, so he gassed the throttle and dumped the clutch. The sudden burst of torque from the lorry, while being half on the ramp, and half on the bank, meant that the ferry got pushed backwards into the water!

What followed was a comic sight, with the rear of the lorry dropping into the water and the ferry guys losing balance and sprawled across the ferry’s flatbed. After the immediate shock of what happened passed, the ferry guys gave the lorry driver an earful, and they all set about getting the lorry onto dry land.

All this while, I was watching with my mouth open and the chain spray in my hand. It was like watching a comedy track unfold before my eyes

Anyway, I lubed the chain up and set off towards Kollur. The road to Kollur, is reasonable in condition, although very narrow (20 feet in width in some stretches), from this point passes by the turn off to Kodachadri at a place called Adugodi. I stopped to take some pics at this turn off and got going just as a gaggle of trekkers descended down this road. Kodachadri, for the uninitiated, is a haven for trekkers and nature lovers. And of course, bikers So, at any point of the year, this place has a few trekkers visit.



I continued on towards Kollur and the road opened up a bit allowing for some cornering shenanigans But this was short-lived, as I hit some super-tight ghat sections just before Kollur. The tight corners were bordered by thick forests and sunlight was struggling to get past the thick canopy overhead. I was enjoying it because the temperatures had dropped, and my senses were all the more sharp owing to the tight blind corners and the quietness in the forest. I was glad that I had left the A&R baffles back home, and I began using the engine to slow up into the corners going downhill. A few kilometres into this routine, I encountered a tourist bus which was climbing up the ghats and had wedged itself into a corner, unable to make the super tight hairpin bend. He had turned in at such a weird point and angle that he couldn’t back up (trees right behind the bus) to make a multiple point turn. I stopped and shut down the engine and waited to see if he’d sort himself out. But the driver, cleaner and some enterprising passengers were busy plotting their angle of attack, either forwards or back. It looked like it would take some time, so I decided to ride over some shrubs just squeezing by the trees and the bus.

I did exactly that, and thanks to the turning radius of the R1 at low speed, I found myself heading for the tree lining at a fantastic speed of 5 kmph. I stopped, backed up with some difficulty, and made a multiple point turn myself and left the spot.

From here on, the road began widening as I approached Kollur, and the entry into the town was a bit sudden - From a thick forested area into a bustling temple town. I followed the same direction, not turning anywhere, and rode out of the town quickly after taking a quick photo.

Kollur town:



https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-d7Z2J3Dcpnw/TYnu46jscpI/AAAAAAAAKjc/5APiSkAlcj0/s640/20022011096.jpg[/IMG]

I rode a couple of kilometres out of town, and stopped for some water and a quick leak.






I stretched myself up, as I was feeling a bit stiff from throwing myself around the twisties, and relaxed for about 15 minutes. From here, the road to Udupi was straightforward, although I had quite a few options. I could head straight for NH17, syncing up with it at Kundapura, and head south to Malpe, or I could continue on this road past Vandse and Haladi, joining NH17 a little further south just before Brahmavar. I had heard NH17 isn’t in great condition, and that the traffic would be insane, so I decided to take the inner roads itself.

As I kept riding along, I began noticing the air getting thicker and the humidity kept increasing as I kept getting closer to the coast. I paid attention to the R1 to see if it was getting affected by the change in humidity, and so far, the FI seemed to be coping with the change, and the premium fuel from Sagar wasn’t posing any problem in the form of knocking etc.

I rode past Vandse, a little hamlet and after some time I came across a junction with no marking. I continued on the road, and came across another junction, this one being a lot bigger and it seemed to be carrying a lot more traffic. It was then that I realised that I had hit NH17 at Kundapura. I had somehow missed the road going to Haladi and Brahmavar.

I didn’t feel like riding back, so I decided to ride ahead on NH17 itself and began heading down towards Udupi. The traffic, like I’d heard, was annoying with a lot of ill-mannered motorists swerving back and forth in the opposite lanes. One guy in a taxi even came close to rear-ending me because he was following so close to me. Coupled with the not-so-good, under construction roads, I wasn’t enjoying myself too much. Maybe the fact that I was in the wilderness and absolute calm the last couple of days, the traffic, and the busy highway was adding to my irritation.

Anyway, I pressed on, and started looking for any signs leading to the place where I’d called ahead planning to stay. This place was called Silver Sands beach resort, and I was having doubts about this place even when I was calling the owner of the place to book a cottage. The place was right on the beach, and had a few individual cottages. The owner of this place would never come on the line, and even when he did, he sounded totally disinterested. Anyway, accommodation options in Malpe is quite limited, a safe, and the only option being the expensive Paradise Isle resort right on the Malpe beach. I took the turnoff towards Malpe and suddenly found myself on a narrow road riding along the beach, which had a lot of fishing boats on it.




I stopped to take a few photos, and called up the resort owner. He gave me the directions and I rode along the beach road, into a narrow gravel which twisted and turned till I came across the resort. I parked in, and walked into the reception, which was actually just a house with a dude sitting in the balcony. I spoke to him and he told me that he was the owner and after a lot of deliberation and looking me over, he told me that the room was ready. This was starting to feel weird, and I walked out of the house towards my cottage. The location was nice, being right on the beach and the cottages were set in the midst of coconut trees. The guy opened up the cottage and set my stuff down, and that’s when I saw the place. It was a dump, and nowhere worth the money I was paying. I have stayed in worse places, and it’s not like a 4-5k per night room is unaffordable, but I just wanted a simple relaxing experience while on vacation. This place just could not give me that, by the looks of it.

The “deluxe cottage”:





I called up gsferrari, got him to book a room in Paradise Isle and got my stuff back on the bike and rode back to Paradise Isle, where I checked in.

Paradise Isle was a paradise indeed. I got a sea facing cottage at a throwaway price (relatively speaking), and was just relieved to have found an alternate location to hang out for two days. I settled down in my cottage and let the Mangalore chaps know that I’m in town. Just when I was settling down, I noticed that my left boot was falling apart. This same boot had been repaired during my September 2010 ride in Ladakh, and it didn’t look like it could be repaired again. So I decided to junk them. RIP my faithful Stacy Adams, they served me well for a good number of years.

I had a nice lunch, and hung out at the seaside bar guzzling some beer. The weather was just perfect, nice and cool. Good food, beer.. what more can a guy ask for?



I spent some time looking at the sea and waited for Abhishek and Meghan Naik to show up.





They came by after some time and we spent some time chatting on the beach. I also synced up with Zahin and Vivek talking bikes and it was nice of the chaps to drive up an hour or so just to hang out with me. Props to the four guys

Later on, Abhishek and Meghan took me around Malpe and we went to the harbour and the shipbreaking yard. I didn’t take my camera so no pics, but I did shoot some videos. It was awesome watching these huge ships being broken down bit by bit. We left and I stopped by Woodlands to pick up new boots. We grabbed some dinner and the guys dropped me back at my hotel.
Thanks to the Mangalore guys for keeping me company!

End of Day 3!

really nice pics of some owesome places and nice writeup .hooked to this thread for some more.and main part of touring is r1 .means how many tour on super bike .got remember of ken do who has ridden his r1 more than 25k..

Memories refreshed about Malpe, Udupi and in an around areas... Hope you had covered Manipal too.

BTW nice pics and writeup...

Very nicely written triplog. Almost every footfall of the rider has been accounted for in detail. The pictures are very nice and blends to the story of the day.

The story took me back 2 decades when I did this route on my RX-100. All the more interested with this triplog b'cos I come from Kalasa, Chikmangalur. There is not a mile which goes by without a picture perfect scene.

Looking forward for rest of the story. Regards.

We are waiting for 'Day 4 & onwards' Akhil..

Thats one sweet triplog! Makes me want to get up and get out there. Having been a resident of Manipal for 2 years it was great to see the view from the joint by the beach where we have spent many a sunday afternoon

Nice log & pics. R1 has always been my dream bike. Eagerly waiting for the remaining log!! Also, on first day your bike was overheating, what was the reason for the same?

Akhil Boss after ages a travelogue from you, and its completely beautiful and awesome.... R1 taking a Ferry ride she must be delighted... i am hooked on and waiting for more now.

Thanks buddy She is delighted, and hankering for more!

Thanks! About the overheating bit, I never really did figure out what was happening. I think there was some air in the system because of which it was acting funny.

Thanks mate It is a beautiful area no doubt!

Coming up soon Tibby!

RX tourer eh? And you come from a wonderful magical area. Wish I could live there.

More coming Prashant!

Thanks man