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**The Monk** · 04-01-2013, 06:12 PM

Travelogue Approved

**experimentalhead** · 04-01-2013, 09:00 PM

RETROSPECTION:

Let me first just blurt out whatever is coming to mind now before I kick start the trip-log. I hope this would be fine with everyone.

In a matter of seconds, a freaky fall, bruised body, battered beast (bike), in a dilemma whether to continue with the ride, bent handle-bar, missing foot-rest near the gear lever, scratches on the fender and the wind-shield, and to top it all quite a few stretches of insane roads ! were they roads ! Surmounting the pain and being at the top of a worth-the hype-peak ! Climbing up was easy. Riding down was nasty! Did I really need this? I could have been on the couch watching a movie; what the hell, would I have experienced all this if I were on the couch. Would I have known that I am also part of a so-called-mad guys if I were on the couch. Hell no! An unbelievable view Soothed my disturbed system. Nice friendly folks and conversation with them put me back in my groove.Riding in the pitch-dark in a Naxal affected region, Cheers, Thumbs-ups, surprised faces, curious queries from college-students-on-a-trip, appreciation from absolute strangers, lodge-receptionist providing accommodation even without ID proof, Medical-store owner taking interest in providing me with the right pain-killer confirmed that I too belong to a special one-of-a-kind breed called Bikers or is it tourer or is it...what the hell, it is people who move their butt off the couch and do the stuff, be it on a motor cycle or a bicycle or a car or just travel with backpacks.
Totally disconnected from what was happening in the world, slept like a dead man and was rejuvenated next morning. Body was still hurting, but mind had found energy. Found peace in temples and the ambiance of holy places. Few more thumbs-ups while riding back. Surprised by thunderstorms! Exasperated with eternal-under-construction highways, waterlogged Bangalore roads, reached home totally drenched. and I was at peace again, which time and again proves my mom right 'No matter where you go, what you do, you find peace only at home. Come back home'. I am happy I returned to where I belong after discovering another side of me and western ghats. Home sweet home

**saquib3005** · 04-02-2013, 02:34 AM

bring it on buddy
a very nice trailer....kinda a long awaited avatar to come out

**experimentalhead** · 04-02-2013, 10:13 PM

FOREWORD:

Last year visited Kudremukh and Mullayanagiri, and was mesmerized by the beauty of western ghats. Been to western ghats before last year's ride. But never on a bike. The breeze in the face, being in the middle of nature and in open air was such a different feeling. The feeling was so different from that of being inside a car. I was by then totally bitten by the bike-riding bug. This pushed me to do Saddle-Sore. I started reading travelogues voraciously. Leh-Ladakh, Rides in Kerala, Rides to Kanyakumari caught my attention. In the mean time started thinking about IBA Bun-Burner. However, for one or the other reason, that's getting postponed. Guess, that's happening for a good reason. Post saddle sore, I did not ride to anywhere for quite sometime. During this time came across many trip logs about Kodachadri and Agumbe, and I was fascinated by the beauty of the places and daredevilry needed to tame tough terrains of Kodachadri, especially on bikes. I discussed with few of my biker friends about Kodachadri and a plan was made to ride to Kodachadri in September 2012. However, due to personal commitments could not join the ride. Narration by my friends about their ride to Kodachadri and Agumbe left me burning with regret for not making it to that trip. The itch to ride was getting stronger as days passed by. Biker in me was beginning to get frustrated. For the first time I was beginning to experience about what it's like when-you-want-to-do-something-but-not-able-to. My younger brother came to my rescue. Even though he is younger to me by age, he has a more matured and calmer head on his shoulders. He enlightened me about joy-of-riding and it does not have to do with a particular destination or the length or duration of the ride. It opened my eyes and my delusion was shattered, and I started riding to some nearby destinations, some really beautiful destinations. I felt that I became a true motorcycle tourer as I was enjoying the ride, the journey more than the destination. I stopped worrying about how long I rode. A beautiful phase in my tourer-life as I spent few weekends just enjoying short and sweet One-Day-Rides. I was at peace as a tourer as I was enjoying the leisurely pace the rides were happening which was so refreshing compared to Saddle-sore madness. Slowly I was getting back to riding habit. During this phase I also followed Wrangler True Wanderer contest closely. I was just awestruck after reading few travelogues. I doff my hat as a token of respect to all those riders and the rides which were truly inspiring regardless of the fact whether they made it to top ten or top three. I seriously feel that format of the contest should be changed. And again there was a long gap in my rides. Again, the name Kodachadri started buzzing in my head. Kanyakumari too started making rounds in my brain. The itch was growing stronger. I also wanted to go to Kalasa and Horanadu temples for a long time and that plan was also getting put off. Finally Kodachadri won. I was excited and read lot of blogs about kodachadri. Decided trip dates to be 30th & 31st March. Planned the route.

**pcgamer** · 04-03-2013, 12:51 AM

Waiting for the main course, bring it on...

**experimentalhead** · 04-03-2013, 11:24 PM

DAY 0 | RESTLESSNESS :

No matter how many rides one does, it's strange that one can not escape the feeling of restlessness. I just could not wait for my ride to begin. I worked my a** off and finished my tasks in advance and got permission to leave an hour before. Reached home. Even though I got my saddle bag last year, never got an opportunity to put it to good use. All my gear was stashed in the cupboard. I was all excited while taking my gear out. I wanted my luggage to be as light as possible and only important stuff to be carried. I like to travel light. Filled my beast's tank to the brim and I ate light. Checked the packing one more time to ensure I did not miss anything. Updated my Facebook status about my impending ride. Tried to sleep. I just could not get any sleep. I guess I have not come across a trip log till date mentioning that a bike-tourer slept well before the ride. I am waiting for that trip log!!! No matter how well I plan, and how well I keep up to my schedule, sleeplessness before ride has become an usual occurrence. I guess the excitement to embark upon an adventure does this to travelers. I managed to be on the bed for about four hours.

**experimentalhead** · 04-04-2013, 12:23 AM

DAY 1 | UNFOLDING THE UNFOLDED

2 AM: First unfold. I got up before alarm woke up. Got ready as if I had all the time in the world. Double check. All set. Ready to roll. Looked at myself in the mirror. All geared up I felt proud first, silly next, funny at last. My brother was ready to see me off. Street dogs had this curious look on them. They stared at me in surprise "How the hell on earth this moron turned himself into an alien in a matter of six hours!" My beast was ready and I started it slowly and smoothly. No roaring. Did not want to startle neighbors who in their half-sleep condition could stone me down. My brother clicked few snaps. And, the events slowly started unfolding at 3.45 AM

**whymail** · 04-04-2013, 10:01 AM

ha ha ha great read there mate.
did it on ur avenger did u?
thats commendable.
ive not been able to take mine out due to unreasonably heavy clutch.
about 50kms in a ride n my left shoulder aches as if nails were pierceing it.
interesting trip urs :-)
way to go...

**ravi@17bhp** · 04-04-2013, 10:23 AM

I exactly did the same trip in 2008, of course from Hyderabad. In your map I joined at Chitradurga and exited at Tumkur. We took Belur-Hassan road in return. From Tumkur we took a route behind Nandi hills and joined Chikballapur and then to Hyderabad.

The first picture is really nice. Waiting for the rest of the log, especially the Kodachadri; would like to see how the road is now. It was a jeep trail before and loose soil and stones. We climbed it at night and it was a scary but adventurous.

**experimentalhead** · 04-05-2013, 09:35 PM

DAY 1 | UNFOLDING THE UNFOLDED...CONTINUED...

I wanted to ride at a leisurely pace. Rode towards Tumkur on NH4. Hardly any traffic. Before Tumkur took a diversion towards Shivamogga. Roads were not so good till I reached NH 206. Pitch dark all around. Hardly any traffic. kept talking to myself. Kept riding at a sane speed of 70 K mph. Did not take any break apart from slowing down at couple of intersections to get the directions right. slowly the sky was changing its colors. A pulsar 220 overtook me at a crazy speed. Dawn broke. Chilly weather. Opened the helmet visor and allowed the breeze to hit my face. Did not stop anywhere to take pics as I did not find anything interesting. All of us must have seen miles of such NH and SH roads. Nothing special about the roads. Before Shivamogga saw the direction-board to Bhadra Sanctuary (BS). Thought of riding to BS one day. Reached Shivamogga at 8.15 AM. It was an uneventful ride so far and I was on track as far as my plan was concerned. Crossed Shivamogga and saw a board saying Lion and Tiger Safari. For a second was tempted to go in. But, time...Got directions towards Kodachadri from locals. Excitement was building up. For last few months, I kind of like riding by country side rather than NHs. Took a diversion from NH towards Kodachadri and entered leisurely and peaceful country side and headed towards Hosanagara. Now, I thought, was time to stop for few clicks

Right after the temple saw a board which stated about crossing a stream on a launch. Kodachadri was still about 37 k ms away. Right near the board some work was going on. Inquired about the launch and was told that it cuts the distance to Kodachadri short by around 15 K ms. Images of some xBHP blogs with bikes on a launch flashed in my mind. I was told that I had to ride about 3 to 4 K ms to reach the launch. I started riding towards launch. The road passed through some kind of a farm and there were lot of bushes by the road side and I was off -roading. Surprised as I started coming across bikes and cars on that road. This was what I saw suddenly...

Answered curious questions of locals- where I am coming from? Where was I heading to? Kodachadri on this bike?? Price of the bike? Mileage? Took a long break at this place before proceeding towards Kodachadri. Did not have a clue about what was coming my way...

**experimentalhead** · 04-05-2013, 11:50 PM

DAY 1 | UNFOLDING THE UNFOLDED...THE FALL

Spent some time after crossing the stream via launch. Resumed the ride towards Kodachadri. Road continued to go through a path surrounded by bushes giving it an eerie jungle feeling and it was mud road through out.

I was ecstatic and continued to ride at a decent pace of 30 to 40 K mph. Even though it was sunny, cool breeze made up for it. All alone, I continued to ride imagining how beautiful it could be while climbing up the Kodachadri peak. At this point, I stopped and removed the gloves as I was frequently stopping now to click pictures. Every time I had to remove the gloves, and then click the shots. And I thought this was time consuming. Moreover, Avenger provides better grip on off-roads than on the tarmac (as per my personal experience) and I was riding at sane speeds. I resumed the ride without gloves. The off-mud-road ended abruptly at a slope and by the time I realized bike was out of control and was kind-of-nose-diving. No time to react, bike went down crashing and I went blank for a second. In a matter of seconds both beast and I were down, and blood was dripping incessantly and my right ankle was stuck between the brake lever and the engine guard. Bike roared painfully for few seconds and shut down. I released my right ankle and found that my left palm had a sever abrasion and blood was pouring out. With none in sight, I slowly lifted the bike up as I noticed the petrol leaking which sunk my heart. Left crash guard was bent and so was left handle bar. Wind-shield and the front fender had scratches which wrenched my heart. I first tried to stop the bleeding and that's when I found that I was not carrying the first-aid. I cursed my utter foolishness. I repented for not making a checklist of things to carry this time and this cost me dearly. I wrapped my hand-kerchief around the wound. There was some minor bruises near the wrist and ankle. I drank water and I was sweating profusely. This bolt hit me from nowhere and my shoulders were down. My joy was shattered. I looked back to see what caused this. The mud/ off road had ended abruptly at a corner from where a newly laid tarmac had begun. Since it was newly laid, there was lot of sand and loose gravel on the road, due to which bike had lost the grip and moreover it was a slope. Loose sand and gravel on tarmac is Avenger's achilles' hell. And my nemesis when I am on my beast. I scolded myself for getting lost in joy and losing focus by taking things for granted. At this point I found that the foot peg near the gear lever was missing and it was broken beyond repair and this depressed me as I thought it's next to impossible to ride for hundreds of miles without the foot rest. Suddenly my mind was filled with lot of negative thoughts. For a moment thought of aborting the ride and head back. This was when second unfold happened. Calmed myself down. I felt I had not fulfilled my commitment to visit the temples at the right time after many good things happened to me last year and as pledged before good things happened and had postponed the visits for petty reasons and this was a test. Looked at the left knee guard which was badly scraped. I could not imagine my knee condition if I had removed knee-guards. Thanked god for that. I told myself "the worse is over and it's time to ride further". I set the crash guard right and checked handle bar and thought it was manageable. Set my gear properly. Cleaned wound to certain extent and wore the gloves. I told myself "Now there is no heading back. I am gonna complete this ride as planned and will cover all that's planned'. Checked where I could plant my left foot and how to maneuver the gear. It was tough but not impossible. Drank some more water and checked if there were anymore damages. Once confirmed that everything was fine, checked the time and it was 11.30 AM. I had lost close to an hour. I again cursed myself for taking a short cut ' Short cut almost cut my journey short'. [ I AM NOT POSTING ANY PIC OF DAMAGE TO ME OR TO MY BEAT AS I NOW THINK WHAT HAPPENED WAS VERY MINOR. YOU CAN NOTICE THAT FRONT LEFT FOOT PEG MISSING IN SUBSEQUENT PICS ]Prayed and proceeded further. Trust me it was painful and very uncomfortable to change the gear by planting your foot on a small nut holding the lever, and I did not want to try any other techniques. Proceeded very slowly and cautiously and it took about half an hour for me to slowly come back to normalcy and I was happy again for being determined to continue the ride despite this unexpected hiccup. I smiled again when I hit the NH and I saw...

**experimentalhead** · 04-06-2013, 12:40 AM

DAY 1 | UNFOLDING THE UNFOLDED...KODACHADRI

I was getting back to normalcy and got adapted to no-foot-rest condition and bent handle bar. Started seeing many cars and jeeps plying on that beautifully laid NH. It was getting hotter. Reached the point where I had to take diversion to left to start climbing the Kodachadri peak. Many jeeps filled with tourists, probably those who had come to Kollur, were climbing the peak. A jeep driver asked me if I was planning to ride on the bike. He double checked 'on this bike!!' He cautioned me about roads being very dangerous now and told me to be extremely careful. I nodded my head, took a deep breath and I knew I was on the verge of lunacy. Right now, I am feeling guilty of blabbering just too much to bore you guys to death. My heart-felt apologies. Let the camera roll

**experimentalhead** · 04-06-2013, 01:18 AM

DAY 1 | UNFOLDING THE UNFOLDED...KODACHADRI DESCENT

I do not think pictures, especially my pictures, can do justice to the beauty of the nature, especially when you are the top of a mighty peak like Kodachadri. I would probably run out of all the adjective describing what I witnessed and I felt the fall, the pain, the grit everything was worth. I must admit that what kept me pepped up throughout the climb was the curious, surprised, appreciative stares and looks-on-faces of tourists on the jeeps, especially, guess I am not crossing the line here, Kerala gals and ladies on the jeeps. I was all dusty and guess to them sure looked like a lunatic-on-the-run. I spent good close-to-couple of hours at the peak, climbing near by peaks by foot and soaking in the nature. A jeep driver kindly obliged my request to take a pic and asked me whether I found it difficult to ride the bike up the hill

I then started my ride back down the hill. Slippery-rocky-dusty road was extremely tough to tame and it was getting very difficult to control the bike leading to couple of skids followed by ooohs and aaahs from tourists on the jeep. I had couple of heart-in-mouth situations. Kept my cool and slowly rode down. Couple of times felt like 'Did I really need this. I could have stayed back and could have been in the couch watching TV'. But at the end of it, the ride was worth every ounce of pain and what unfolded was I could muster up courage and grit and overcome negativity and churn positives out of it. Pat on my back. Can I

Some of you might be feeling good-job-done-mate and some might feel, after going through this post, why on earth is he making a big fuss out of this. I guess after this much of blabbering time for few more pics to roll out...what say...

Finally made it... Hip Hip Hurray...Dream of Kodachadri was realized. I was kind of dehydrated. Body was hurting. But I had new-found energy. Gulped down soft drinks and water. A group of students-on-a-college-trip looked curiously at my bike's condition and my attire. I was asked whether I rode up and down the hill on my bike and how do I feel and was I riding alone

and where am I riding to next??? AGUMBE

**metaphoric.el** · 04-06-2013, 01:51 AM

Wonderful read until now, keep it coming bro !

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