Topic Approved.

Yay!! Finally the logs and the pics are up . Beautiful preview to whats in store.

Thanks for the approval Aryan.

Nice snaps, guys. And the seperate log is doing well i hope

Is it an airstrip or just a Helipad?

Few pics from my side.. I dint use my camera very much. Was just having it for backup purpose.

Rajesh at Ramar Padam.





Sriram.




And this is where Rama kept his feet when he came to Vedaranyam.

rest of the pictures ? Tarun didnt click with his new camera ?

Tarun was the one clicking a lot of pics. including the ones i posted. trip log will be posted in a couple of days

Its just a helipad.

Ride De Point Calimere

Prologue:

We wanted to ride out. Some where. The whole gang was some how had the same mindset towards a relaxed trip, something like a vacation on two wheels. I had already ridden with few other members to Point Calimere last year & knew what to expect out of the location & decided in all to spend 3 days on the shores of Point Calimere.

The plan, Itinerary, Stopping points, breaks, etc were chalked out well in advance. The dates were decided as 29th to 31st October 2010. Surprisingly there were a lot of members who were interested to be a part of it. As the D-Day came close, the usual drop-outs were there & the monsoons were set in TamilNadu wonderfully well, giving us one of the best weather to look out for the season.

Previous Ride Thread: http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/tourer/8...oast-ride.html

The Ride:

The Riders & Rides were:

Special Thanks to Dinesh & Sudarshan for joining us till Pondicherry. Dinesh was too kind enough to join us again at cuddalore for our return ride.

Route Map:



Day 1: 29 October 2010:

It was raining Cats & Dogs as we were about to start. 0400 AM, Still dark as a Dungeon, I set out from my home with rain pouring down with a brutal force. By then many had assembled in our usual meetup point, others to join us at the next tag point on the highway. 0500 AM we set out on the highway with the rain slightly fading away with time.

I was leading the pack of 10 Bikers and the Scorpio with our very own Sunny & Deva. I was really sight to inspire for me, for every corner i took, It was a blessing to see 10 other bikes corner at the same time & in near perfect co-ordination. The rain somehow started to subside a bit, our average speeds gradually increased. Sunny may have thought he was lucky enough not to ride in such a wet weather, but i still consider he was unlucky to have missed out riding in such awesome weather!

We stopped a few times to regroup, pee, butt break clear our visors & ride again. 0700 AM, We reached Pondicherry, one of the major stop overs for the ride. We all tanked up, for petrol is almost 5 rupees lesser per litre!! We rode into the city in search for a hotel & eventually got into Hotel Suruguru! The events / incidents happened in the hotel is something not to forget for a few years to come. "one vada, make it two.. three.. four... make it eight!!" is something even the hotelier wouldn't have heard


We spent more than 3 hours in Pondicherry, to tank up, to eat, and buy few things cheap in Pondicherry! Sudarshan & Dinesh left back to Chennai & By 1000 AM, We were out of Pondicherry, riding / driving in dense traffic & hence got lost within the narrow roads. We decided to regroup at Cuddalore & rightly did.

Some river around Cuddalore:


We continued riding, for the next two hours with limited breaks. The weather was pleasant giving us some relaxation from usual humid conditions down south. Eventually, the group got lost in the middle & we were waiting for every one to join in. Later, Sunil called in say that Sriram's ride is down with some problem & they are fixing the issue. So another 30 minutes we were doing nothing but take rest in the middle of nowhere.

Yes, This is Me! :P

super narration and thanks for the log da .

Day 2: 30 October 2010

Day 2: 30 October 2010

A Day planned for relaxation. Steve woke us up at 5 AM, to ride into the beach - To watch & photograph the beautiful Sunrise on the Coast. I was down with the effects of Mr.VAT69 from last night & succumbed into the bed, so did almost 5 of us. Steve, Tarun, Pratheep, Rajesh & Sriram rode into the beach.

Few Pictures from the Morning shoot:


After they all returned, We grouped up together for breakfast, The same old Idly - Vada - Dosa, for nothing else is available there! After breakfast, I went back to sleep - Hell yeah, I was so dehydrated. Meanwhile, Few others went around Point Calimere, to see the Salt Pans & the Holy place of Ramar Padam, Where Rama climbed a hill to get a view of Sri Lanka. Few hours passed by, We were still chit chatting around & not really doing anything interesting. Time for lunch & many of us skipped it as the food wasn't anything to write about.

Around 3 PM, Steve called in to ride into the beach again. I had to go, Otherwise It would be so stupid of me riding 400 Kilometers & doing nothing. I woke up, got into my heavy woodlands, and started up towards the sea shore. The first view was totally different from what I saw last year, The beach seems to be elongated / the sea has protruded into the land leaving us a shabby loose shore for the most of it.

It was another casual ride, on the shore & i happened to like for no big reason. It was pleasant weather, cool breeze from the sea and the sun behind the clouds most of the time. The sand was loose, we could hardly maintain 20 kmph (where we maintained 60-70 kmph last year). We settled to relax on the shores, almost the end of Point Calimere. We sat around, talking about tomorrow's plan till next years Leh trip When it was time, we rode back to the room, chasing Eagles to Painted Storks. Tarun, Our In-House photographer was kind enough to take out his Tripod & chase birds

Evening was dedicated for a round of boating into the sea, But unfortunately after 10 minutes of sailing into the sea, The fishermen wanted to return back to the shore seeing the naval patrol far away. Since these kind of sailing into the sea is Illegal & Sri Lanka was just 40 Kilometers away, We did not take much chances but to return back to the room around SunSet. All in all 100 bucks for a beginner ride into the sea was worth it! :P


The Sun had already set in & skipping Lunch was not a wise thing to do for us.We were almost starving as the time stroked past 7 PM. We decided to ride to Vedaranyam for dinner. The better part was, There was just only one hotel in the town. Again the usual, Idly Vada Dosa in other varieties. Anyhow, we all had a contentious dinner.

Now comes the funnier part, The locals were amused seeing a group of 10 bikers suddenly storming the hotel. They mistook us to be a film unit, who have come there for a film shoot. Tarun with his BIG Tripod was adjudged 'CameraMan', Sriram with his French Beard, was rewarded Villian & I was the Hero (Don't ask me why, or how -They were from a village after all) :P


We returned back to the Guest House, My room was stinking like hell. Some one has kept an Omlet open for the last 2 days & the smell was intoxicating. Me & Tarun took our beds to the next room, leaving the room empty. We slept almost early for the day, for we had to start a bit early for the long & boring ride back to Chennai.

** Pictures are taken by Tarun / Steve - I had only Post Processed / Resized the imaged with appropriate watermarks.

Thank you Rajesh.

Day 3: 31 October 2010

Day 3: 31 October 2010

Steve along with few others wanted to visit Steve's ancestral home around Veilankanni. They started much early, even before Sun wanted to get up. Steve, Tarun, Pratheep & Nishant were long gone when we woke up. Around 6 AM, we finished off our coffee, well set for the ride back home. It did not seem like it was raining, but so many calls from my parents just warned that there is so much rain in Chennai for the last few days.

We started around 6 30 AM, and told Steve that we would reach Veilankanni by 8 30 AM. I expected they would reach there before us, but open roads & pleasant weather made us reach Veilankanni much early. We reached there by 8 AM & Steve n co. were yet to start, we decided to take a few snaps around the basilica & proceed for breakfast.


We patiently waited till 8 30AM, for Steve to start, but even then he did not start, so we went straight into a hotel to eat. Idly, Vada, Dosa one more time. 9 30 AM, We were still on waiting for Steve n co. to join us - but they were still busy with something & agreed to catch up on the highway.

We rode/drove ahead, shooting a lot of video's from the car & clicking random pictures - we rode very slowly and we almost started getting asleep while riding. 10 30 A, Steve was yet to start, a little pissed up - We told them we would tank up & wait in Karaikal - A union territory (cheaper petrol). Sriram's bike started giving problems again. The same air block from fuel pipe, It took us a while every now & then to sort it out.

We waited at Karaikal & every other town after it - but they were still lagging behind by a huge margin. We decided to ride to Poompohar beach & see what heritage is left behind. We could not even stand there for a minute. The stinking smell of rotten fishes made us move away, within minutes. We rode back towards Pondy, expecting to catch them up midway


Finally, we took a long long break just after Chidambaram to let them catch up & meanwhile we were at our snack break. We spent time along the pleasant green agricultural fields. Though it smelled pathetic, It was a sight to enjoy.


Steve & others joined us after the Chidambaram bypass, some 45 minutes later. Called up Dinesh who was waiting for us at Pondicherry to ride further & wait at Cuddalore. The next few kilometers were fast action packed ride, zipping past the odd traffic. Upon Reaching Pondy, It was already past 3 PM & very little hotels would have opened up. We decided to goto some pizza outlet & fill up our empty stomachs. Long waiting , improper service & not a bad pizza made our lunch complete only around 5 30 PM.

Images from Steve's ancestral village:

* Images taken by Tarun / Steve - I have just did some basic PP / resized the same in PS.


We again tanked up at Pondicherry & set back on a wonderful Night ride to Chennai, all of us tailing the mighty Scorpio. I'm not sure how many cursed me for leading the pack, but i thoroughly enjoyed tailing the Scorpio. We reached the outskirts of Chennai around 9 PM. The rain was about to set in, thankfully just warning us with very little dew drops. It was a very pleasant ride, no mishaps to forget & wonderful memories of riding as a group for a long time. I take this opportunity to thank each & every one for being a part of the ride & making it a success. Special Thanks to Sunil for the Car & acting as a baggage carrier & Deva for taking the video's.

Thanks for reading.
Cheers!
Ananth