Thanks for the comments Krishna. Lol, haven't you got any words from dictionary yet (just kidding)

Thanks Rahul. I used Nikon P7100 and Panasonic Lumix LX3 for the photography. Most of the times (80%) P7100 did the work.

Pictures are amazingly awesome.

I've always been begging you to include me in tours

Re: Exploring and Wandering the Mighty Western Ghats for 9 Days

Thanks Dasu babu. I have announced about this trip in Xbhp Hyderabad. You misssed it. What can I do? :-D

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

Ravi Bhai superb pics, gone thru thole of the thread just now .. and I must say some REAL GOOD photos..

Thanks Inder bhai. It was easily the most memorable ride for me and enjoyed to the max. Glad you liked the pictures. There is still one more day left to finish the entire log. Will do it in a day or couple of days.

It does look to be your best trip! Awesome weather and nice landscapes were a treat to see

Hi Ravi/Pavan I dont knw wheather u remember or not....on ur way bak 2 banglore u were at hosur petrol bunk @ 11 40 PM.then icame and talked with u people...did u remember that?

Hello Ramprasad, I remember. I stopped there initially to fill fuel. Shortly Pavan joined and he spoke with you, and I didn't (was feeling energy less). From that place we had to ride back to Hyderabad directly.

I remember you were having a puncture issue at that time. Hope it had been repaired that night.

Last day - the longest journey of the entire trip.

At last, the time is now for completion of the log, - The longest journey of the entire trip.

Route Map:

Maharajamettu - Meghamalail - Chinnamanuru - Theni - Salem - Krishnagiri - Bangaluru - Anantapuram - Kurnool - Hyderabad = 1150 kms


Woke up early in the morning 5:30 a.m. and we got ready by 6:30 a.m. The geyser not working and we skipped the bath conveniently as we had bath last night. I came out of the building, it was chilling cold, and never felt so cold in my life. This was the scene I encountered as soon as I came out.



Complete mist everywhere. Our Chennai xBhpians, except 2-3 members were still sleeping, tired of yesterday’s ride. Srigopal showed us the way to check out the lake surrounding the guest house. We roamed around in chilly weather with beautiful tea estates surrounding. We have been seeing the greens for the last 5 days, yet this one was very very refreshing. We never thought our trip to Meghamalai was one of the highlights of the entire trip.

Thick mist everywhere.



Mesmerizing and soothing green carpet everywhere.



A beautiful flower amidst the greens, wet with fresh dew.



Pavan walking around; you can see the guest house in the background.



Breathing pollution-free air, engrossed in the landscapes around, far away from maddening towns and busy life – The rejuvenating moment



The two machine souls, enjoying, engrossed in beautiful climate.



We walked back to the guest house and found Sriram and Ananth just walking down. We went to the small, one-and-only, hotel there and had fresh cup of tea.

This cow found some interest in Sriram. Look at the expression on Sriram’s face.



We told Ananth our plan to leave by at least 9 a.m. Ananth finally was able to convince us to ride along with them for 16 kms one way to check out the beautiful place there. Ridden so long from a distance, why should we skip the places? I should be very thankful to Pavan for agreeing finally; he badly wanted to be in Hyderabad by Sunday morning, but agreed for the ride. We planned to start from Meghamalai around 12 to 1 noon and reach Bangaluru by night.

Had some awesome (truly) breakfast, with fresh Dosas and Idli. Then we checked out the bikes, chatted about the previous rides, our experiences, and it was a nice to know like-minded people.

That’s Sriram, all smiles for the pose.


That’s the effect of the roads.



The fantastic four; Ravi (me), Sriram, Pavan, and Srinivasan Rajagopalan.



At last a photo with Captain Miles, Praveen Mathew.



Praveen’s buddy Antony, the pillion rider for the ZMR, a very nice gentleman.



So, it was the time for the off-road; yes, there was literally no road for 16 kms one way.



This leg of the journey was simply fantastic, riding through visual grandeur. For once, we completely forgot about the no-road. Yes, we never felt that the road was horrible; such is the beauty of the location and everyone was completely involved in enjoying the beauty around


Thats our True Wanderer, Mr. Ananth.


A group photo on a bridge.



We reached a small lake after two hours of riding. Stopped for sometime and there happened this group photo with everyone there.

This one captures the lighter mood of the gang. Everyone thought the photo was over and started moving.



We started moving after sometime and reached Maharajamettu. There comes stunning visuals. We were looking down a kilometre, from an altitude of 2000 meters. The Periyar reservoir near Thekkady was visible from there.


Praveen Mathew and Antony Mathew at Maharajamettu.


Last photo in Meghamalai.



It was already past 12 noon, and after spending around 10 minutes there we had to say goodbye to the Chennai xBhpains and start our longest return ride. We were running short of time and Bangalore was around 500 kms from there.

We started riding back without caring for the surroundings. As soon as we departed it started to pour. It was really painful and tiresome riding in pathetic road while its pouring. After around 1.5 hours, we reached back the guest house. We were completely wet, and had our lunch there just sitting with wet pants.

We started after the lunch, in rain again. As we entered Meghamalai at night, we couldn’t recognize the proper route in daytime, and we took wrong turns twice, and with the help of some locals we were finally back on proper route. Thanks to Pavan for his navigational skills. J

We crossed the thick forest and rain subsided. We were just flying on the bad roads, using all our previous experience. After crossing the forest, suddenly, it was all dry and sunny. Never saw this kind of separation of of extreme climates in just a small distance. You can see that in the following picture.



These were the potholes we crossed yesterday night.


We reached Chinnamanur by around 4 p.m. It took us just 1.5 hours from Meghamalai to chinnamanur. We started cruising at 80-90 kmph and Pavan felt some problem with the bike wobbling at high speeds. Also we felt some excessive heat from both our bikes. We decided to check air and then replace the engine oils at Theni. I was carrying a can of Sprinta 5000 FS with me for my bike. We bought oil for Pavan’s karizma and replaced the oils. Later we found the cause of excessive heat that we felt. Our trousers were wet and it was the first time we entered hot sun after longtime. So our cool legs were feeling the heat from the engine.


To be continued…

Ravi - Amazing to see those pictures of Meghamalai brought back wonderful memories. Definitely the place look out of world. Due to less affected by pollution, the entire place looked heaven. We experienced pure air, undisturbed flora and the fun with the group.

What I liked more about Meghamalai is the virginity. Its far away from crowding, commercialism, and is virtually noise-free. On a cloudy day, its more and more beautiful than other places. Maybe I was lucky to visit the place at the last moment; its not often that we ride to such long distances at right time.

The last tiresome leg of the ride to reach home.

At Theni it was almost 5 p.m. by the time we fill engine oil, checking chain slackness and lubing, and Bangalore was another 450 kms from there. Tiredness already entered our mind and body. We started from there and started to cruise around 80-90 kmph. The road was single lane with lots of traffic. Here comes the horrible evening; the roads were being widened and the current road was dug and there were lots of diversions with huge traffic pileup. On top of that, it was twilight and the headlights from buses and lorries compounded our troubles. It rained just before and the gravel road became slippery. Me and Pavan got separated for sometime. It was the most horrible part of our entire ride and by the time we reach Dindigal it was 6:30 p.m. and we were completely tired. We had to cover around 390 kms to reach Bangalore. The good part was that it was four-lane all the way to Bangalore, and it motivated us to ride. Took a small brake before Karur and freshened up. We were cruising at around 90 kmph on the four lanes in dark. The roads have considerably good amount of traffic. All we had to do was just ride for hours and hours.

At around Salem, we saw a horrible accident with three bodies strewn 50 feet away. Some lorry hit a motorcycle and then hit some other fourwheeler (we guess so). The bodies were distorted and blood everywhere (spot dead case). This jolted us and I started riding slow with more caution. It was not enjoyable riding after seeing that horrific accident. We soon got over it and somewhere near Dharmapuri we had our dinner, roti and curry. It was around 10:30 p.m. We were more and more tired. We calculated that this way we would be reaching Bangalore by 12 to 1 a.m. After dinner, we started riding again, and as I was riding slow around 80 kmph, Pavan went ahead of me. I couldn't find him till Krishnagiri, and thought he would be waiting for me there. But, he was not there, and I ranged his mobile. He didn't pick the call. I continued riding, and to my horror, there was six-lane work in progress and the road was uneven with lots of diversions. I had to be very alert as there were no proper signboards. On top of that, the fuel indicator showed no bars and I had to fill fuel. All major fuel stations I found only on right side and kept on looking for one on left side, but couldn't find a good one. For the fear of empty tank, I started riding at 60 kmph for fuel economy. At one point, I felt I got a call and stopped and checked the mobile. A missed call from Pavan, and when I called back, I didn't pick the call. I waited for sometime expecting a return call but it was not. I started riding again and reached Hosur by around 12:30 a.m. I remember a fuel station on the left side when I came last time, and I exactly stopped there. Luckily they were accepting the CC too. I filled full tank. Got a call from Pavan and I thought he was ahead of me, but in fact he was behind me. At some point near Krishnagiri, he stopped for a leak and zoomed past him unknowing. After some time he came to the petrol bunk.

Here we met Ramprasad, an xBhpian. He recognzed the blue Karizma of Pavan on xBhp and spoke to Pavan. After sometime, we started towards bangalore cruising at 70 kmph along with many lorries. We took the elevated expressway paying a toll of 15 rupees per bike. The elecated expressway was completely empty and it was a nice experience. I felt dragging at one point and stopped to check the rear wheel. It was rotating a bit harder. Thought the chain became tight or problem with bearings. We took a snap here on the elevated express way.




Actually, I was supposed to meet my xBhp riding buddy Ravi Kiran on the return and take back my helmet. But when we were having dinner, I called him up and said I will be meeting him in the morning before we start for Hyderabad. He messaged me all details including mile-by-mile turns in Bangalure so that we reach Hyderabad NH7. With ease, we were able to ride on to Hyderabad highway. After crossing Hebbal, we stopped at one point and discussed about the plans. It was already 2:30 a.m.

We were terribly tired, and we needed to rest. We looked for any lodges a few kms on the highway and unfortunately we couldn't find any. We thought its not a good idea to go into Bangalore city again for night accommodation as it was already 3 a.m. So, with lots of difficulty, we decided to skip looking for accommodation and ride directly to Hyderabad. We thought we stop if we feel sleepy and sleep at any bus shelter. We had tea and washed our faces with cool water and got freshened up. Now, we need to ride 600 kms. For the first time, I put on ear plugs and started listening to music, to avoid passive sleeping, cruising slowly at 70 kmph. Pavan went ahead of me and we couldn't answer phone calls in time, and I was able to meet him only after Kurnool at around 10 a.m. in the morning.

It was the most painful ride back home, without sleep. We had been riding continuously for almost 700 kms by that time, and another 500 kms to cover. I slowed and stopped whenever I felt a bit sleepy and freshened myself. Took some pictures of sunrise before Ananthapur.



I was worried about Pavan, as I was not able to see him for more than 300 kms. Finally I met him after BP Ghar Dhaba after Kurnool. We had breakfast with our tired-looking faces. Filled up fuel there, and then started riding back with some energy. But, it proved the other way around; after eating, I started to get more sleep, and the morning Sun aggravated the sleepiness. I stopped at a dhabha and had two cups of tea, and then put loud music and started singing myself to keep me awake and alert. Again Pavan and me got separated. We saw some beautiful sunflower fields and stopped there for clicks.





We finally reached outskirts of Hyderabad at around 11:30 a.m. We were energy less and with sleepy faces. But, the thought that we were near to our comfortable home kept us motivated.

This is the condition of our bikes at the end of the 3200-km ride, covering four states in varied climates and terrain.






Last click at the departing point.



We got separated at Samshabad and I took left towards Kukatpally, and Pavan went ahead to reach LB Nagar.

Finally I reached home by 1 p.m. exactly. And, we covered 1150 kms in 23 hours, riding most of the time at 80 kmph. We thought we could have easily done saddlesore on any other day. Anyway, I was not always interested in speed runs and records.

After untying the luggage from bike, I directly crashed to bed, which was much needed after the tiresome journey.

This is the end of our 9-day adventure ride, and was happy, I could complete such a long ride without any issues, thanks to God and my well wishers. Except the tire puncture in Sholayar forest area, everything went well, though I could repair the puncture myself, thanks to TL tires. At that point I understood the importance of carrying TL repair kit and the foot pump, without them we could have faced danger in the thick forest.

This ride was possible first because of Pavan, an avid tourer and good companion for rides. The tour went smooth because of many xBhpains across the regions who helped us everyday at every moment, without whom we wound't have completely this ride successfully. I have mentioned all those who helped us in the first post of this log.

And thus, my dream of riding down to south in monsoons came true; and I am sure I would cherish this for my whole life. Luckily, we were able to visit all the places at right time, and could enjoy to the maximum without any disappointment. Visiting Meghamalai unexpectedly at the last moment turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip. Would look forward to ride again to these places.

Hope you guys enjoyed the pictures.

being a wildlife lover mudhumalai and bandipur are my favourite spots to ride to, haven't really got time to get there till date.
You made it from Hyderabad!!
Highways, corners, hair pins, hills, off roading, dirt etc. What didn't you do on this trip??

So refreshing to see the pictures of meghamalai. Good to have you with us, and glad you did not miss seeing the place

You would have saved time skipping Meghamalai, but you know what you would have missed :-)

Shall plan a similar trip, pretty sooon!!

Thank you! It was a wonderful ride and will cherish for my life. The ride went smooth because of xBhp. Met many fellow riders from other places who helped us at every point.

Fully agreed Ananth. It was a memorable ride with you all and I was honored to ride along with you. I must thank you a ton times for convincing us to come to Meghamalai, and accommodating us at the last minute. It was a memorable G2G with you all at a beautiful location.