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The Bangalore/Kerala/Bangalore Ride: The Wife, Our RX 100 and I
Its been quite a while coming, but we finally did it. Had done a similar ride way back in 2001 on our 1987 Yamaha RX 100. As some of our friends at xbhp are aware, the wife and I just love long bike rides but all three of us – The bike, wifey and I are 10 years older, could we do it ? Yes we can we told ourselves. We had done some shorter rides in between, Ooty a few times and ride to Coorg on our Kinetic Honda
The Onward Ride :
Left Bangalore early to beat the traffic. Bangalore/Mysore road up to Bangalore University is still quite pot holed but its fine after that. We had decided to ride relaxed and easy, we were on a holiday after all.
Breakfast at our usual pit stop- Maddur Tiffanys and onward to Mysore. A customary five minute visit to St. Philomenas Church and on to Ooty road.
The Mysore to Nanjagud stretch is in worst imaginable condition. About 25 km of bone shaking road (if you could call it that). After Nanjangud the road is much better and we reached Gundalpet by lunch time having wasted quite some time and energy on the bad stretch. Had a light lunch at Gundalpet towards Sultan Bathery and Calicut.
The Forest Stretch:
Soon after Gundalpet we enter the Bandipur part of the wildlife sanctuary. We rode slowly, the traffic was very thin and there were quite long stretches without seeing anybody. We had to watch out for any animals that chose to cross the road, but didn’t see any. Soon we were at the Karnataka /Kerala border with the many check posts.
Soon we had crossed the forest and entered Sultan Bathery and on to Kalpetta.
The Ghat Section:
We love riding on ghat roads. The hairpins are challenging but exiting and fun. But this stretch down to Calicut was absolutely pathetic. There were huge potholes every few feet and it was a real challenge to keep control and avoid the craters and upcoming traffic. the wifey had to hang on too with a haversack on her back. We finally made it to Thamaraserry and decided to take a break to ease our shaken joints. Stayed over for the night. There were some lovely sights on our descend, but could hardly take my eyes off the road! Decided to break at Thamarsseri to recoup.
The Next Morning:
Got up refreshed and took off after breakfast. Our original plan was to break at Calicut and ride on to Alleppy. Once we reached Calicut , the traffic started. we hadn’t thought about the Sabarimala pilgrimage traffic combined with the school holiday crowd during this time of year. Taxis from Tamil Nadu, Andhra and Karnataka and the speeding maniacal buses literally push you off the road. Decided to change route and plan. Changed from NH 17 on to NH 47.
The bye pass road is beautiful and a pleasure to ride, but once hit the towns, its chaotic again and low gears and frequent braking is the order of the day, taking most of the fun out of riding. We passed Edapal in Malapuram and reached Thrissur and on to NH 47. Though really busy, the roads are mostly fine except for many road constructions on the way.
We decided to head home (Perumbavoor near Kochi) and make further plans for our onward trip. Had originally planned – Calicut/Aeppy/Trivandrum/Kanyakumari but seeing the chaotic traffic and unpredictable road conditions, decided to give it a miss and live to ride another day!
Home!
After Thrissur, Chalakudy, Angamally and Kalady on NH 47 we managed to weave through the sea of vehicles and finally reached home to a mild scolding from mum for attempting such foolhardy things and also a warm welcome followed by a hot bath and home food.
The Alleppy Side Trip
Had planned to ride down to Alleppy and further south at first, but decided to take alternate transport instead. Left early and reached Alleppy, called “The Venice Of The East”. Truly Alleppy justifies the caption “God’s Own Country” Took a short boat ride in the backwaters and after lunch boarded a State Water Transport Boat bound for Kottayam. It’s a two and a half hour ride hopping from small island to island and cutting through various canals. The cost of the trip per ticket is a princely Rs.10/- !!.
The Return Ride:
Decided to return to Bangalore by the other route via Salem. Left early as usual which was a good thing as traffic was comparatively thin at that time. Crossed Angamally, Chalakudy and Thrissur quite easily and had breakfast at Palaghat. Crossed into Tamil Nadu after Walayar on NH 47 and went in to Coimbatore to meet a friend and had lunch with them
The Mistaken Route:
At Coimbatore some one mentioned that by avoiding Salem we could save about 30km. So after Coimbatore we kept on NH 47 up to Avinashi and Perundurai which was fine, then on to Bhavani from where the Salem bye pass is. We continued on to Mettur and Thoppur on some of the most pathetic roads until we touched the beautiful NH 7. Decided to break at Dharmapuri for the night .
The Last Leg :
From Dharmapuri the road is absolutely gorgeous and our RX was raving to open up but
held her to a steady 80. The morning was cool and the ride pleasant and we were nearing
home.
Reached Hosur and entered Karnataka State. The busy morning traffic was a reminder
that we were back in Bangalore!!
Next Ride- Goa in April!
Footnote:
Our many thanks to our friends at Xbhp for their good wishes and encouragement.
@rameshmadhavan, @noor, @praful, @parth, @ksatish, @vkcage
Thanks guys and Cheers!!
Our Bangalore/Goa Ride:
Our Scooter Ride To Coorg:
http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/tourer/1...-rx-100-i.html
Its been quite a while coming, but we finally did it. Had done a similar ride way back in 2001 on our 1987 Yamaha RX 100. As some of our friends at xbhp are aware, the wife and I just love long bike rides but all three of us – The bike, wifey and I are 10 years older, could we do it ? Yes we can we told ourselves. We had done some shorter rides in between, Ooty a few times and ride to Coorg on our Kinetic Honda
The Onward Ride :
Left Bangalore early to beat the traffic. Bangalore/Mysore road up to Bangalore University is still quite pot holed but its fine after that. We had decided to ride relaxed and easy, we were on a holiday after all.
Breakfast at our usual pit stop- Maddur Tiffanys and onward to Mysore. A customary five minute visit to St. Philomenas Church and on to Ooty road.
The Mysore to Nanjagud stretch is in worst imaginable condition. About 25 km of bone shaking road (if you could call it that). After Nanjangud the road is much better and we reached Gundalpet by lunch time having wasted quite some time and energy on the bad stretch. Had a light lunch at Gundalpet towards Sultan Bathery and Calicut.
The Forest Stretch:
Soon after Gundalpet we enter the Bandipur part of the wildlife sanctuary. We rode slowly, the traffic was very thin and there were quite long stretches without seeing anybody. We had to watch out for any animals that chose to cross the road, but didn’t see any. Soon we were at the Karnataka /Kerala border with the many check posts.
Soon we had crossed the forest and entered Sultan Bathery and on to Kalpetta.
The Ghat Section:
We love riding on ghat roads. The hairpins are challenging but exiting and fun. But this stretch down to Calicut was absolutely pathetic. There were huge potholes every few feet and it was a real challenge to keep control and avoid the craters and upcoming traffic. the wifey had to hang on too with a haversack on her back. We finally made it to Thamaraserry and decided to take a break to ease our shaken joints. Stayed over for the night. There were some lovely sights on our descend, but could hardly take my eyes off the road! Decided to break at Thamarsseri to recoup.
The Next Morning:
Got up refreshed and took off after breakfast. Our original plan was to break at Calicut and ride on to Alleppy. Once we reached Calicut , the traffic started. we hadn’t thought about the Sabarimala pilgrimage traffic combined with the school holiday crowd during this time of year. Taxis from Tamil Nadu, Andhra and Karnataka and the speeding maniacal buses literally push you off the road. Decided to change route and plan. Changed from NH 17 on to NH 47.
The bye pass road is beautiful and a pleasure to ride, but once hit the towns, its chaotic again and low gears and frequent braking is the order of the day, taking most of the fun out of riding. We passed Edapal in Malapuram and reached Thrissur and on to NH 47. Though really busy, the roads are mostly fine except for many road constructions on the way.
We decided to head home (Perumbavoor near Kochi) and make further plans for our onward trip. Had originally planned – Calicut/Aeppy/Trivandrum/Kanyakumari but seeing the chaotic traffic and unpredictable road conditions, decided to give it a miss and live to ride another day!
Home!
After Thrissur, Chalakudy, Angamally and Kalady on NH 47 we managed to weave through the sea of vehicles and finally reached home to a mild scolding from mum for attempting such foolhardy things and also a warm welcome followed by a hot bath and home food.
The Alleppy Side Trip
Had planned to ride down to Alleppy and further south at first, but decided to take alternate transport instead. Left early and reached Alleppy, called “The Venice Of The East”. Truly Alleppy justifies the caption “God’s Own Country” Took a short boat ride in the backwaters and after lunch boarded a State Water Transport Boat bound for Kottayam. It’s a two and a half hour ride hopping from small island to island and cutting through various canals. The cost of the trip per ticket is a princely Rs.10/- !!.
The Return Ride:
Decided to return to Bangalore by the other route via Salem. Left early as usual which was a good thing as traffic was comparatively thin at that time. Crossed Angamally, Chalakudy and Thrissur quite easily and had breakfast at Palaghat. Crossed into Tamil Nadu after Walayar on NH 47 and went in to Coimbatore to meet a friend and had lunch with them
The Mistaken Route:
At Coimbatore some one mentioned that by avoiding Salem we could save about 30km. So after Coimbatore we kept on NH 47 up to Avinashi and Perundurai which was fine, then on to Bhavani from where the Salem bye pass is. We continued on to Mettur and Thoppur on some of the most pathetic roads until we touched the beautiful NH 7. Decided to break at Dharmapuri for the night .
The Last Leg :
From Dharmapuri the road is absolutely gorgeous and our RX was raving to open up but
held her to a steady 80. The morning was cool and the ride pleasant and we were nearing
home.
Reached Hosur and entered Karnataka State. The busy morning traffic was a reminder
that we were back in Bangalore!!
Next Ride- Goa in April!
Footnote:
Our many thanks to our friends at Xbhp for their good wishes and encouragement.
@rameshmadhavan, @noor, @praful, @parth, @ksatish, @vkcage
Thanks guys and Cheers!!
Motorcycle travelogues by thousands of xBhpians from across the world.
Our Bangalore/Goa Ride:
Motorcycle travelogues by thousands of xBhpians from across the world.
Our Scooter Ride To Coorg:
http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/tourer/1...-rx-100-i.html
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