Thanks a lot Nagesh...sure rest will be up soon...

beautiful pics..
particularly loved the first teaser pic..

Day-2: Manipal to Madikeri (Coorg)

Route: Manipal-Udupi-Mangalore-Puttur-Sulya-Madikeri
Distance: 200+ kms

Time was 12pm, it was still pitch dark around, ZMR was going at 160Kmph on the express highway of Puttur-Sulya, one more gear left, I was crouching on the tank and zipping through the twisties scraping my knees. Suddenly I hear some sweet music very near to my ears, stopped my bike searching the source of music. Oh sh**, Its 7.30am, that was my phone ringing under the pillow and I was dreaming a fantasy till now. It took around half a minute for me to regain what happened last night and realized that we are on a ride and supposed to go to Coorg today. Ani was still hiding under the blanket in his own world. Woke up him, it was already around 8am when we are out of the bed, so no taking bath, nothing, just freshened up and came out of the room within in no time.

We are hardly going to ride around 200kms today but roads are no way going to match my dreams. So planned to have breakfast on the way and moved on from there. Came out of Udupi city and 4 lane was under construction all the way. Finished Breakfast somewhere in the middle, tanked up and moved on towards Mangalore (Ani took pics at breakfast place with his mobile cam but unfortunately he lost his mobile, so no pics here ). Road was under construction till Mangalore and we were riding at a pace where local buses overtook us with ease. . Crossed Mangalore, B.C Road and there we came on to the 6 lanes again but it ended as soon as it started, we were at Mani where the road diverts towards Puttur and coorg is just 100kms away from there. The very first piece of road welcomed us with a patch of potholes giving us a clue on the how the roads going to be further. Crossed Puttur with a lot stress on our back. It gives a hope once in while with good tarmac but again the same story.

Road conditions:

Bad Roads:



Average Roads:



We were fed up of the bad roads and found a nice place for much needed Butt break, In fact its not only the butt but the entire body and brain from those irritating patches.





Ani, Checking if his backbone is fine or not



Time for a pose now





Thats Sulya, 21kms from there.



I think the politicians doesn't even come this way once in 5 years. May be the voters count is less here :dunno:. Rubber plantations all the way from there and road was as worst as it can get. A weak body would definitely need a spare spinal-cord by the time they reach Sulya. Stopped there for lunch and finally could see some good roads after that. A big relief for us and even bigger was the wide and freshly laid roads from Sampaji, Awesome piece of curvaceous road till the Talakaveri diversion just before Madikeri.

Time to Scrape your foot pegs.







Moved on from there and Madikeri welcomes us . From there Road till the city is in very bad condition, around 3-4 kms.





It was 4.15pm and the bad roads have taken a toll of our back, found a hotel near bus stand, dumped our luggage, rested for sometime and moved on for some local sight seeing. Raja Seat it is. We reached there pretty early for sunset, so couldn't get any proper view and the time for sunset was two meters above to the hills.

Whatever we could see









When the sun was ready say good bye for the day



We had hell lot of time in our hand for dinner and Anirban's bike had an issue, I found his chain tensioner screw has fell down somewhere, wheel got misaligned and was touching the chain guard. Went searching some local mechanic and got it fixed in his own way. I don't want to mention the well known spare parts crunch for ZMR. Hail Hero Honda. But stupid, I did mention it

Now time for dinner.



I think along with our bodies, even our brain was retarded. We ordered so much and ended up in loosening our belts to push the stuff in. Yesterday's boozing impact was still there so a BIG no today. Weather got chilly outside and we found a cheat code by tucking inside rug tightly. Good night people

Thanks a lot Pranav

Hey, Beautiful pictures there mate! Sulya route was much worder during the monsoons, it doesnt really look that bad in your pictures

Nice routes & I know what it means riding on those bad roads when I've done it personally twice (and still hope to do more for the love of KA)

Two questions...
1. Why's the black ZMR's RVM's always folded?
2. Is that a custom make of xBhp.com sticker on blue ZMR?

Nice ride Jayakrishna and thanks for sharing.

Dont worry, non bikers would never understand that every once in a while, we bikers attain nirvana when its just us, the bike & the open road. Nothing else in this world matters to us at that time.

Thanks a lot Ananth. If we had gone in Monsoon, it would have took 5 days to complete the Puttur-Sulya stretch


Thanks a lot Aargee..

My answers in Blue

Thanks a lot Haroon.

Me the likes...

Crisp pics Jayakrishna

'For some there is therapy, for us there are motorcycles', the Others will never get it

KTM - Keep Touring More

Hey Jay great to see another Log from you! Nice Pics... And More nicest ZMR.

Those who wish to control their own lives and move beyond existence as mere clients and consumers - those people ride a bike.

Really nice trip guys...this is the way to enjoy life!

Thanks a Lot Ajay...Exactly... others will never get it..

Thanks le..

Thank you Sarvajit...

Day-3: Madikeri (Coorg) to Ooty

Route: Madikere-Hunsur-H.D Kote-Sargur-Begur-Bandipur-Gudalur-Ooty
Distance: 275 kms

Now that the extension has been done, today we are heading to appraise the real Riding wonder. Woke up around 7.30am as usual and a typical Winter night in Coorg has freezed most our body parts. All stressed out muscles have tightened up as if we were kept in a fridge. . Both Perked up with little energy, took bath, had breakfast and headed out of the hotel. Initial kms of the road from Madikeri is still in bad condition, but thats just a small bit and then it takes you to the reality as how good the scary SH 27 has become over an year.

Pics to Justify. (some from my solo ride)









Adrenaline rushed out after a exhausted ride through the bad roads yesterday, took revenge on myself by opening the throttle and all I can see is those corners zipping past my RVMs like a fast forwarded video. Ani took his own sweet time to pass through and I had slowed down before Suntikoppa. Our next destination was Golden Temple at Bylakuppe which is one of the Buddhist settlements down South. Ani was very keen to click the temple and I had a sense that we can meet our fellow bikers who is on their way as a part of winter ride to Coorg today. Soon we reached there and the timing was perfect, all of us landed there the same time. Some of us were interested in belting Momos rather than clicking while I was busy being one of them Ani went inside to test some of his skills out there on those colorful arts.

(Pics from my solo trip)



















Never knew the time chit chatting and we had to move on. With loads of best wishes coming in, Bid adieu to our fellas and moved on from there.



Crossed Hunsur and there comes the diversion towards H.D Kote, Sargur, Begur. I never knew this route condition and had no one in my friends to suggest. So, we were all set to take however it is. Initial part was a virgin tarmac till the board where it shows to take right to Nagarhole and straight is what we have to go. Our struggle with bad roads started on Day-3 as well, this was even worst compared to Sulya. A 7 feet wide road with shattered tarmac in between the pot holes, scorching sun, no views around what so ever. This made me to think all the way that we just voted this route for the name sake of our country. Worst part are the KSRTC buses racing through those roads leaving dust and sh** all around, they look like sliding down with chassis in one direction and the body in another direction. Not to forget the tractors!! they are even dangerous with amateur kids driving them.




Crossed H.D Kote, Sargur with a never ending hope of getting better roads but got a damn and a Dam in between.

Nugu reservoir:







After this, it was all elephant attack prone area which means we are nearing Bandipur forests. With a big grin on our face passed through Begur and started ripping on the NH 181, It took a long 3 hours for us to do those 78 kms. Crossed Gundlupet and soon we reached the Entry gates of Bandipur.



This Aged welcome board is no more



Spot and count the Deers









We couldn't see any elephants this time but took this one from my last trip with my legs shivering. . Kept the bike ignition on pic so that I can escape . But it was insane, lazy and lost in its own world.





Pardon me for the pic quality, clicked from my mobile.



At Theppakadu, Ani stood on one leg that he cant do those steep 32 hair pen bends through Masinagudi and wanted to take Gudalur route. His bike clutch plates had some problem and I also agreed considering that low pick up might cause issues on those bends.





Lunch break at Gudalar around 4.30pm and I was pretty sure that Ooty is not possible in sunlight being 55 kms away with twisty uphill. Sun was right in front of the visor making it very hard to see the road even with a tinted visor. If we concentrate too much, all we get is headache, moved on with no hurry letting the sun go down.

Butt Breaks:







Dear Sun...Go to Mamma please.









Night riding in the forest, it was actually easy to ride the ghats at night than at days, at least we can predict the on coming traffic with lights.



Reached Ooty, checked into the same hotel where I stayed before and we were feeling the real drop in temperature. 13 Degrees it was. We didn't want to wake up with blocked noses by going out for dinner so ordered food in the same hotel, slurped it and what a best feeling when we can keep ourselves warm in a chilling weather outside. Dozed off under Silk alike bed sheets while most of the Ooty was celebrating Christmas.

Day-4: Ooty to Munnar

Route: Ooty-Coonoor-Metupalyam-Coimbatore-Polachi-Udumalpetai-Chinnar-Marayur-Munnar
Distance: 250+kms

7 am and it was time to wake up, suddenly a question arises!! are we in Ooty or Kashmir ??? a frigid day welcomes us to a real winter in Ooty asking us to doze off for some more time. But the clock says its time to move our butts.

It was this cold!!



Came down to inquire if the Munnar route is open or not but absolutely no one were helpful to get the exact information. May be, we didn't get the right person. We are still unsure of the conditions but some hope kept us pushing. Checked out from hotel and our next destination was definitely Doddabetta which was left as undone in my list. 10 kms of uphill with 3-4 kms of very bad road at the end, we reached the peak in quite sometime. Parking was a big concern again, we didn't want to leave our luggage unattended, so shift pattern comes in, Ani went first to the view point while I was guarding our bikes and Luggage and Vice versa.

View of Ooty from Doddabetta peak









Moved on from there as the breakfast was waiting for us at Coonoor. Those 18kms of curves down from ooty is an absolute bliss as always. Lot of traffic this time but it will remain as one of my favorite stretches in India.







Reached Coonoor and had to wait for Ani as always, he simply follows the rule "Slow and Steady wins the Race", good boy . Luckily this time I got to see one of my childhood fantasy, yes the "Toy Train". Nevertheless, I didn't want to miss an opportunity to watch and feel it closely, rushed into the station, jumped onto the track right infront of the engine to snap but the driver thought me as a terrorist looking at my attire and blowed the horn "Loud and Long" damn!!! I went deaf for sometime.

Finally managed to capture, brushing a moving train.



Bubbye!!!



Moved on to have breakfast and finally we found a person who was very helpful in every aspect. Its the hotel owner, he made us to sit and have breakfast peacefully, had a look on our luggage outside, plotted a map for the route ahead and assured that the "Munnar road is open through Chinnar, Marayur" and we can easily do it by sunset. At that moment, we see him as a Santa's gift for us. Thanks was just a word to appreciate his help and we moved on from there.



Descent to Metupalyam was very busy with all means of road transport. From Insane bus drivers to struggling two wheelers with blind corners and narrow roads. No!!! it wasn't that easy to tackle. I too switched to Ani's mode of riding. Final conclusion, road is good but not the drivers.





Beauty!!!





Wildlife!!!



Finally done with the twisties and I can very well feel the raise in temperature by now. Back to sweating hot from freezing cold within couple of hours.



From there on the fight with traffic starts. Crossed Metupalyam and headed towards Coimbatore. Ani was the one who knew this route and he himself was lost somewhere before Coimbatore. Almost waited an hour for him to catch up and it was already 3.30pm. I was a bit pissed off with the Moronic local riders, most of them be in a perception that nothing is coming behind them and take a turn from extreme left to extreme right without any indication and the other way as well that too on a Highway. God!!!, save them. Roads were good, double lane with few bad patches just before Coimbatore but need to beware of the above highlighted things.

Crossed Pollachi with same kind of traffic and roads got better towards Udumalpettai, less traffic and wide roads.





Few Confusions with roads inside Udumalpettai but localites helped us to get through towards Chinnar. Soon we reached the Checkpost and the Security guy there demands for money to let us go (Hail Annaji), when I asked him why, he emotionally asked atleast to give something as Christmas tip. Rs.70 makes the pole to go up and we were inside the Tiger Reserve.



Amaravathi Resorvoir



Aaah!! here they come finally, blocked our way for around 20-25 mins. Height of frustration was when my memory card got full just after 2 clicks. so missed their complete action before I could change the card.







Finally reached the border, we were feeling as if we are going to cross Wagha and getting into Pakistan. Dam issue seems absolute media hype that all roads to Kerala are blocked. Officials at the border were behaving that the issue is unknown to them. All good for us and finally the risk paid off.





Localites inspecting Ani's bike



Entering into Kerala



Butt Breaks in the no man area.





No, that ain't a Elephant...













Amazing vistas all the way..





No!!! we cannot race on these roads, not just because of the road condition but its the view around. One will be definitely tempted to stop, no matter how far the destination is and how late you are going to be. Crossed Marayur and our destination is getting closer.





God knows the source of this waterfall from the tip of a hill...May be that's why it is called "God's Own Country"





Time for some profile pics...



Sun was well set after this and again the night riding in ghats starts. This time it was more easier as there were hardly any vehicles.



Reached Munnar around 7.45pm and Ani knew only one hotel where he stayed during IS G2G earlier this year. So went straight away to "Sujatha Inn", got ripped off Rs.2000 for a double room just because we were lazy to search one on our own. Most of us know the hotel condition so I need not to explain it again. Took a long refreshing bath and there comes a call from home saying my Grand mother is in serious condition and doctors gave up. No option left for me than heading back home because if I get deep into Kerala it would not be possible for me get back home in 1 day. So told Ani that I might have to head back home tomorrow, he told that he will also come back with me as he cant trust his bike clutch plate and risk alone for the rest of the ride. Had dinner and slept with a hope that I can hear some good news tomorrow and can continue my journey. Whatever decision will be taken in the morning. and yeah!! the happy news is we have now "Appraised the World's Ultimate Riding Wonder"

Ooh la la Ooh la la...