Re: Ashtavinayak Ride..... 8 temples, 6 riders, 800kms and 5 mean machines.....!!

Travelogue Approved

Tuned!!!!

Re: Ashtavinayak Ride..... 8 temples, 6 riders, 800kms and 5 mean machines.....!!

Sometimes rides are best enjoyed alone. Seems like a temple ride. Bring on the rest.

Re: Ashtavinayak Ride..... 8 temples, 6 riders, 800kms and 5 mean machines.....!!

Thanks Monk...!!!

yup solo n group both have their pros n cons.....!! I wouldnt have come back half way from the ride...but my dad never stops me from any of my tour...instead he helps me plan for accomodation n route....but this time he said no riding solo.....so without much discussion.....i was back home.......!!!

Re: Ashtavinayak Ride..... 8 temples, 6 riders, 800kms and 5 mean machines.....!!

So, you didn't complete the ride? There is always a next time.

Re: Ashtavinayak Ride..... 8 temples, 6 riders, 800kms and 5 mean machines.....!!

Hahaha.....!! Keep reading to know bro whether i did complete or no:-)...!!! Suspense......;-)

Re: Ashtavinayak Ride..... 8 temples, 6 riders, 800kms and 5 mean machines.....!!

You went Solo? Shaby??

Re: Ashtavinayak Ride..... 8 temples, 6 riders, 800kms and 5 mean machines.....!!

Got it!! The title says it all.

Re: Ashtavinayak Ride..... 8 temples, 6 riders, 800kms and 5 mean machines.....!!

Pavan bhai...wait for the rest of the log to come up...U will know:-)
EXACTLY.....:-)

Re: Ashtavinayak Ride..... 8 temples, 6 riders, 800kms and 5 mean machines.....!!

Glued to the thread for rest of the log...

Re: Ashtavinayak Ride..... 8 temples, 6 riders, 800kms and 5 mean machines.....!!

After my first unsuccessful attempt I did many rides in and around Maharashtra….Lavassa, Lonavala, Saputara, etc…till a few days ago…when I again planned to complete my Ashtavinayak ride….Now I had a big group of riders in our group….all riders who came together from different G2G’s I attended…and we called ourselves the RoadRunnerz….!! I asked everyone if anyone wanted to join in for the Ashtavinayak Ride….and there were 8 confirmations….and melwyn was one of them the rest were…Pramod, Kedar, Aatish, Chetan, Ronit, Subhash and myself..!! Subhash decided to be my pillon and Chetan was to be Pramod’s pillion…..This time not much of planning was required as I had already studied the details a few months ago..it was just a revision that had to be done….!!!

A rough ride plan…!!


A rough ride route map.!!


The ride posted on the RoadRunnerz (RRz) fb Group..

The ride date planned was 20^th and 21^st of April 2013. With all excitement I finished all my work in office quickly on 19^th Friday, and got back home….till then subhash calls and says he wont be able to make it…as he had lots of work pending in office….!! So now we were down to 7 riders. I was still okay……packed my tank bag with all essentials…but forgot something important……we’ll get to it later…J a final text to the whole group before I slept and all gave a thumbs up for the next day’s ride..!!


Stuff Packed..!!

3am alarm rings…I get up….Pramod and Chetan too get up (They decided to come over to my place in the night so we could leave together). I sent a text to the riders asking if they were all awake…got all confirmations except Melwyn’s…I thought he must have set an alarm for a later time. All three of us got ready..and in the meanwhile I was trying to call Melwyn but he wasn’t receiving….I finally gave up…!! Now Ron (Ronit) and Kaddy (Kedar) were to ride from Borivali and meet us at a place near my home. Atish was to meet us at Vashi toll naka. Kaddy n Ron reached the place…and buzzed me…it took a little time for me to get ready as I wasted a lot of time trying to call Melwyn…but then at 4.30am…(Our decided time of departure) we caught up with Ron and Kaddy. They both were waiting for us since 30 mins..and kaddy was also trying to call Melwyn….But then we decided to send a last text to melwyn saying we have to leave him and move on for our ride…..it was around 4.50am….i sent a text to Atish that we were leaving from Sion and would reach Vashi toll naka in 15 mins….He gave a confirmation and we left…..Finally I was on my dream ride…..A holy pilgrimage where I wanted to ride with Snowy….!!


Screenshot of the conversation..!!

In no time we reached Vashi…and Atish wasn’t der..i called him he said he was waiting somewhere else and said would reach our location in 2mins..!! He was there in less than two mins…We greeted each other…Ron was new to the group as he had never ridden with anyone from this bunch of RRz riding to Ashtavinayak except me before…all got friendly….now atish still doesn’t know how to tie his bag with a bungee so I have to do it for him all the time on all the ridesJ…I got his bag secured on the tiny rear seat of his R15 V2…then he hands over a huge…blue colour plastic bag filled with something….i asked him what was there in it…and he said…Fhete…(Traditional Maharashtrian turbans)..i was like….”Jhhakaaaasss…..” and strapped it on the rear seat of my ZMR with the extra Bungee that I always carry.
Ohhh I forgot to introduce the bikes for the ride:-P
Ronit- TVS Apache RTR 160
Pramod with Pillion Chetan-Bajaj Pulsar 220
Atish- Yamaha R15 V2
Kedar- RE STD 350
Kshitij (me)- Karizma ZMR
Okay lets continue now….:-)
Now we were finally on our way to our first destination PALI…via NH17….i was leading and Ronit I think was on trail….we followed an amazing formation and were swift along the way….!!! We reached Wadkhal naka…took a left turn and got onto NH17….it was here when Pramod decided to take lead….and the formation shuffled but still we all followed each other in a straight line….!! We reached Nagothane from where we had to take a left to reach PALI…..Pramod was the first to reach and indicated us to follow suite…we all took the left turn..and again went in a formation…now this route from nagothane to Pali is full if twisties and good tarmac…pramod increased his pace to get good curves and everyone else did the same…..now I realised that Atish wasn’t that good on curves…and was not in my rear view mirrors vision….i let Ron go ahead and waited for Atish…but he was not to be seen…I sensed some mishap and turned back….and rode for about 300 mts…to find Atish standing besides his bike …I stopped by and asked him…” did you have a fall??” he said” yes a small one…I just mis judged a right hand curve and entered in the gravels to my left and then due to panic breaking skid to my left…But im alright…only the bikes gear lever is bent and fairing scratched”


Pic clicked after we mend the bent gear lever…!!

I gave a close look at it….Now Pali was around 10 kms from where we were…I asked him to carefully shift gears and suggested that we reach Pali and get things resolved as everyone else would be worried…!! WE rode slowly after then…and reached Pali, Ballaleshwar at around 7.30am…where all others were waiting for us just outside the temple…I told them about the fall….and it was not major…and both ride n Atish were perfect..with just a few scratches on the R15’s left fairing….:-( we all parked our bikes and decided to visit the temple in groups so there were few riders taking care of luggage while others went for darshan…!! It was Atish,Ron,Kaddy and myself to enter the temple first..as soon as I entered the temple the memories of my incomplete ride came alive….and I finally said to myself…here I was once again at the beginning and this time we would do it…we had a quick darshan….ofcourse with the Feta’s onJ clicked a few pics and got back to the parking so Pramod n Ravan(Chetan) could get darshan…!! Now in the meanwhile I got out my tool kit and tried to straighten the R15’s gear lever..but it was too hard to be bent…only hollow pipe could do it….but I feared that if it was cabon material..it will break…but then still we had no option other than trying….but all in vain….till then Pramod n Ravan were back..we decided to get it mend at some garage nearby….we got geared and starting heading towards our next destination Mahad, Khopoli.


The Pali temples Huge bell….A gift from Peshwa to the temple..!!



As soon as we got out to the highway we saw a local mechanic shop….Atish went there to get the gear lever done…and we decided to have some road side Bhaji, vada Pav and chai…Actually our breakfast was planned after Mahad Darshan..but then all were hungry…!! We had a quick breakfast R15 was all set to go….!! And we left Pali at around 9am…..now again the roads were just amazing…with a little twists so we got to good speeds….Ron, kaddy and myself got to good cruising speeds and cruised together….while pramod stayed up with atish….Kaddy had to fuel up…we found a HP fuel station…where kaddy fuelled his Ride…we clicked a few pics…and we got back on our saddles…


Atish!!


Kedar..!!


Ron….!!


Me…!!:-)


Baap..ka Raastaaa..:-)


Rides..!!!

Now this ride was around 30kms…so I thought of making it quickly…..We rode at good speeds enjoying the curves the scenic beauty of the early morning village life and the feel of our happy engines….!! We finally reached Khopoli….Ron,Kaddy and myself made it first..and Pramod and Atish came up after say 5 mins….and then Atish once again did a blunder on the way which Pramod narrated….he had some money in his riding jacket’s pocket(around 600 bucks) and forgot to close the zip there were a good amount of Re.10 notes and a few 100 rupees notes. Pramod was trailing behind Atish and could not figure out what was flying from Atish’s pocket….to only notice a Re.10 note in the air after a few kms later…he finally raced to overtake Atish and told him bout it…but then it was too late…his pocket was now empty and the money quite a many kms away…we all had a good laugh at this and then Atish never forgot to close the zip of his jacket ever …and gave all his money to me to keep it safe:-P.



While we wait for Pramod and Ron to arrive….!

We then got back towards our destination….now I had been to this place a few months ago…so I knew a shortcut to reach directly to the temple…I escorted everyone via that route…a little off roading….and in no time we reached Mahad, Vardh Vinayak….parked our bikes and again decided to enter in groups….!!similar group formed….we entered the temple…got darshan..Now I had read a lot of thesis on the Ashtavinayak temples so knew the story of how each temple came to existence…so at the temples I told my mates about the story as we walked by the lake behind the temple….clicked a few pics..and got back….pramod n ravan went in for darshan…..got back and we left for our next destination.


Panoramic….vardha vinayak surrounding..!!



Auto mode….:-)

Now our next destination was around 130 kms from Mahad……it was Theur, Chintamani. Now to reach theur we had to cross lonavala, kamshet, pune and then reach theur…..we rode in perfect formation….crossed all the miles stone perfectly to reach the crowded city of Pune….!! It was really crowded and signals everywhere….all of a sudden we turned down to become street racers..gushing through the traffic…and the star of the lot was Ron on his KnN installed Apache RTR160….the grunt it made….moved away the thickest of traffic clot….we went through a lot of Signals…we did obey all traffic rules …but then as we entered deep into pune city…I somehow got away from the pack…and lost kaddy from my vison who was riding in front of me…Now I knew I had to reach Hadapsar and then take the solapur highway to reach Theur…I rode for a few kms….and in traffic asked an Uncle for way to hadapsar….he guided me perfectly….i reached Koregaon park and managed to stop by the road in heavy traffic…called Ravan (pillion with Pramod) he said they had crossed Pune railway station…I told them to meet me directly at Hadapsar…!! We got riding again…and I was lone now…as in lone from my gang….orelse I had tooo much of company all over the place:-P….i some how reached Hadapsar in some time…and again called Ravan ..he said even they are at hadapsar….i tried to locate the place where these guys were but all in vain..many fone calls….little riding and then again calls etc etc….finally I decided to meet them directly at Theur temple….the message was passed…and then it was mission Theur…..i got to track…rode for a prolly 45 mins and reached Theur, CHintamani…and the gang had just arrived 5 mins before me…I came via some other route and others took some other route…anyway we were together again..!! now we had some refreshing Kokam sarbat…left our bags with the Kokam sarbat uncle…and all enterd the temple with our Feta’s on our head….we lookd more like celebrities with people staring at us J…we took darshan…and even the pujari was happy to see us in the feta attire…a little conversation with him…and we came out of the main temple…and to Kaddy’s delight …we saw a mahaprasad lunch being offered only for Rs15 per person….now again it was around 1.00pm and our decided lunch place was Ranjangaon our next destination…but we all just paid the price (Rs 15/- for unlimited food) took coupons and entered the huge dining hall….pople continued to stare at us looking at our attire…clicked a few pics in the dining hall…and then it was showtime….amazing food we all ate till the food reached our throats..and then we finally came out of the temple to our bikes again…!! Everyone decided to have some nice refreshing sugarcane juice!! I clicked pics as I don’t like sugarcane juice that much….and then with happy belly’s we left for the next (4^th Temple) Morgaon.

RRz Storming the streets of Lonavala and Pune…






Chintamani, Theur reached!!!!







Next destination Morgaon…Moreshwar!!….which was around 60 kms from Theur and along the same Solapur highway….we all rode in formation again…and the average speeds really rose…too around 90kmph but safe….we covered the distance verrry quickly…got to the right turn that we had to take from Patas and then it was arnd 20 more kms to reach Morgaon…..that last 20km patch was just amazing tar…..straight roads….i even crouched to hit 124kmph on those empty smooth roads….and then we all came together in a pack and got to the temple…got to the temple in groups again….there was a bus that had got yatris for ashtavinayak darshan and so it took time for us to finish darshan…but by the time our fellow mates went for darshan it was all empty again…!! We quickly got saddled and rode to our last destination that was again 70 kms away from our current location….5^th and last Temple for our day as per plan..Siddhatek.

Morgaon….!!






We left for Siddhatek at around 3.30pm…we had to ride back to patas…then take a right and follow solapur highway and then take a left turn to get on to the way towards siddhatek…!! That road was too long…..very narrow…and passed through small villages…still we managed to reach Siddhatek,Siddheshwar by 5.30pm…now we had reached our final destination for the day…and had to find place to stay….but then as we enquired the village did not have water….and no proper place to stay…and we were already ahead of our scheduled time….so we got together and discussed..and then decided to ride to Ranjangaon on the same day…we had a nice darshan at Siddhatek…and back on track we were…



now we had to take the shortest route to reach Ranjangaon…that was 100 kms away …so asked a few localites and got a good route..that went through villages names…Kashti then Srigonda and then ranjangaon all this via SH10 I think….we reached Srigonda…and it was 7.30…and still 75kms left a little discussion between me n pramod…pramod insisted to reach Ranjhangaon….i suggested lets take a hault as it was dark…but then all said lets ride to Ranjangaon…..we asked a localite for way towards Ranjangaon…with perfection he suggested us the route…we got back on track rode for about 25kms and took a left before a railway crossing as told to us by the wise man…. But now the roads was horrible…all under construction…..it really took toll on all of us….we somehow rode another 25kms to reach the Bombay pune highway ahead of Pune again…and we decided to take a break…it was 8.30pm…we had some missal Pav…cold drinks and water etc…Now from here the temple was just alongside the highway at a distance of 25km….so we thought lets just put up at the nearest cheapest but good lodge….we just saw a lodge on the opposite side…Ravan n myself went for enquiry….we did not like it..and then decided to ride to ranjangaon……after about 20kms..we stopped and asked a guy for a place to stay…he with a smile said….that there were many good places within the ranjangaon temple compound…we all were delighted…we reached the temple at around 9.30pm…it was amazingly lit up….we went through a huge ARC with elephants on both side…and parked our bikes and found many lodging boards….ravan n myself got to one place…and ron and pramod went to another…we got a deal for 800 Rs. For 6 ppl for a night….and Pramod got a deal for Rs.600…room was decent the hotel guy also said he would give us an extra bathroom in the morning so we can split and get ready faster….now everyone unloaded their luggage and reached the room…the room was amazing…very breezy with a balcony facing the temple…..but then there was this keertan that was going on in the temple…it was relly good…but then it exceeded the comfortable hearing decibles…and went very harsh on the ears coz of the loudspeakers…we asked the hotel guy when would it get over…he said by 10.15pm….everyone changed into shorts…and then I realised…….I have forgotten to get my short pant…remember in the beginning I forgot to pack it…..there I was in a towel wrapped…got fresh…and again into my cramster velocity riding pants and we stepped down in search of dinner…walked a small distance and found a nice non veg serving hotel Pramod said he wont have non veg…rest all were okay as we were to have bath next day and then visit the temple….the food was amazing….@Rs. 100 per person……a nice refreshing much over a meetha pan…and then we get back to our lodge…bid gunnite to our rides and go off to sleep……..!!!!


The huge arc….!!!


Ranjangaon….Mahaganapati…!!

Day 1 of the ride complete…..Day 2 to be updated soon…….Stay tuned…

Re: Ashtavinayak Ride..... 8 temples, 6 riders, 800kms and 5 mean machines.....!!

Nice Ganapati Bappa Morya God bless

Re: Ashtavinayak Ride..... 8 temples, 6 riders, 800kms and 5 mean machines.....!!

Hey Kedar, remember me ? :-) Ryan from Netcore .... Good to see you on xbhp :-)..... when did u buy the 350 ?

Re: Ashtavinayak Ride..... 8 temples, 6 riders, 800kms and 5 mean machines.....!!

netcore? u mean the rajesh jain company @ peninsula, lower parel?

Re: Ashtavinayak Ride..... 8 temples, 6 riders, 800kms and 5 mean machines.....!!

Right.... I have sent u a PM