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Day1 continued...
Like any other hill-station in summer, here too it was very sunny, but not hot. There was always a cool breeze.
After lunch, I packed my bag and headed to Emerald.
Smooth roads, with never-ending twisties and min traffic. What more can I ask for! Tested the limits of NS and myself. NS did a good job here and gives a lot of confidence in corners. I converted the tank bag to a backpack coz, as a tankbag it was moving a lot and din't give much of confidence while cornering.
There was always a dilemma...whether to stop for clicking some pics of the amazing sceneries, or to enjoy the roads. And I dint feel like stopping at all.

Reached at the top and found that the gate to Emerald dam was locked, so proceeded towards the lake. After seeing the lake, I could only imagine how it would look just after the monsoon.



I was the only human being around in that area. (And no tripod, which explains my absence in the pics)
Next destination was Avalanche. The routes were getting better and better.
A view of what is in-store

Reached the top and realised that the jeep trip to Avalanche and back would take 2hrs and I didn't have time. I decided to leave for the Kundah.

Stopped at a tea shop just near the dam. The lady which runs the shop turned out to be a Malayali, she realised that we we speak the same tounge when i ordered for "Parippuvada". She told me that Red hills is further up from Emerald, and Upper Bhavani is around 35kms one way. So I decided to head back to the town as it was already 5:30pm.
Stopped for some clicks



While returning, my eyes caught the board marked 'Lovedale' to the right. Without a second thought I took that deviation, the roads were very narrow and slightly bumpy for 5-6kms. But that was it, the good roads returned and I was in front of Lovedale railway station. Here I met 2 guys on an R15 V2 coming from Trishur. Felt sad for the pillion.

Ooty was just 5kms from there. Back in town, did some Chocolate shopping and had dinner from the Side Walk Cafe. That place is not worth the hype. Had better wood oven pizza from Pascucci in Bangalore. Side Walk Cafe dont even serve Non-veg
End of Day1.

Lovely pictures there mate. Ooty on a bike is making me drool from the corner of my mouth.

How does 200NS perform offroad? I have been eyeing it and the Duke, but Duke's offroad capabilities are disappointing as far as owner's have spoken

I havn't done much offroading but with my limited experience i can say that NS's offroad performance is not great either (but better than Duke), mostly due to the stock tyres. Better tyres will make it a good offroading machine. Cornering is a bliss with NS

Wow, the pics are really tempting enough to take a ride !! Cheers, you are lucky

Thanks . I may want to trash someone else's bike before I buy one.

Hooked to this thread for updates!!

Nice trip and enjoying the crisp pics. Keep it going.

Nice ride and pictures Rohith ! Yes, after the rains the lakes fill up and the greenery blooms ! But it still is a lovely place and always a pleasure to ride to.
P.S. "Parrippuvada" happens to be a favorite snack of mine

Ride On & Ride Safe

It holds up pretty well in offroad terrain but the ride will be bumpy

Awesome brother...bumble bee is looking smokin hottt...loved the pics....ride safe...

Thats a nice ride there Rohit ! Loved the pics, just amazing

Awesome pics of an awesome place. Waiting for the rest.
BTW, what's the model name of that LS2?

I have no idea about the model name. It's just the basic full face matt finish one.

Day 2: Ooty-Kotagiri-Coonoor-Mattupalayam-Sathiyamangala-Kollegal-Bangalore

Checked out of the room @7am. It was chilling cold and I had to wear a sweater under the jacket.
Riding in the hills at daybreak is a different experience all to gether. The roads from Ooty to Kotagiri was one of the best. Twisties..twisties and more twisties, and no traffic.



Reached Kotagiri town, asked for direction to Kodanad view point. It was time for breakfast, but i was is no mood to stop before reaching Kodanad. Again, the roads were just awesome and by far the best riding experience I had.
Reached the top point and my jaws dropped. Let the pics explain what I saw


closer view



There was a restaurent at the view point itself and my plan was to have breakfast from there, but they served only for the guests who stayed there. Clicked some pics and started my journey back.





Was feeling hungry, so pulled over for Sneakers break.



Back in Kotagiri town, I had breakfast and fuelled up to full tank. The plan was to go straight to Sathiyamangalam and head to Lower Bhavanisagar dam. So I din't stop anywhere in Coonoor. From Coonoor, the traffic started. There were a lot of vehicles coming up from Mettupalayam. Once the descent started, the temperature started rising. Stopped for refreshment in between.

After riding through those superb roads in the Nilgiris, riding through the small town in TN was not exciting at all. Just before Sathiyamangalam, I took a break for hydration.
I dropped my plan to stop at Bhavanisagar as the Sun was not in a good mood, it started getting hotter. There were a lot of vehicles stopped just before the Dhimbam ghat section. I was wondering why all the vehicles have stopped here, as there was nothing there other than small shops selling cool drinks. I got the answer soon...the next 70 odd kms were just forest.
The jungle was all dry and din't spot any animals, but the roads were in good condition.

Greener part of the jungle


I didnt click any pics after this.
The moment I crossed TN border, the road condition changed. It was no more the smooth well laid tarmac, but not bad either. Crossed the reserve forest and the SH passed through small villages. The road threw surprises in the form of patches and humps which were not cool @90kmph+ speeds. All the way I was searching for narial pani and couldn't find one till I reached Kollegal. Stopped at least 3 times after Kollegal for drinks. Finally after wading through the not so heavy Sunday traffic, reached home by 6pm.

Pulsar 200NS is an excellent touring machine, dint have a single issue. Off-road rides are bumpy, the stock tyre bounces of the stones and I felt the suspension was a bit stiff for bad roads. But then, my previous ride was a Thunderbird, so not a fair comparison.

Thanks for reading!