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You start the game with a full pot of luck and an empty pot of experience... The object is to fill the pot of experience before you empty the pot of luck"
Ever since my friend Srivardhan and me took our bikes to Coorg from Bangalore in November 2012, both of us have been itching to do a larger tour, 1000+ kilometers, multiple cities towns, and an epic destination. This is the story of our trip from Bangalore to Kanyakumari and back.
The participants:
Vasu (19 years) on a 2010 Fazer 150
Srivardhan (19 years) on a 2012 Apache RTR 180 (with an annoying free flow exhaust)
The original route: http://goo.gl/6fFf8
What actually happened: http://goo.gl/maps/c7ESF
27th June 2012, Prep Day:
28th June 2012, D-Day: (390 km)
Bangalore>Mysore>Ooty>Kotagiri>Coimbatore
Fueled by some oily masala dosas and more coffee we turned towards our next destination, Ooty through Bandipur. Road to Bandipur is two lanes in good condition, but that is not necessarily a good thing as everybody is ripping. We found ourselves being harassed by buses trying to overtake us at 90 km/h. Nevertheless we made it to Gundlupet and filled up the Fazer. It should be noted that this is the last place to fill up before Ooty. The ride through Bandipur and Mudumalai was uninteresting and made uncomfortable by the neverending speed humps. At Theppakadu we decided to take the back road into Ooty (36 km) and were soon regretting it. Horrible, narrow roads, potholes and cars. And finally the ghats! Massive uphills and tight hairpins that take you up to Ooty in 10-12 km! Often we needed to pop 1st gear and the bikes felt underpowered, so steep was the climb! The heat gave way to chills and a light sprinkling of rain. A little bit put off by the tiny ghat section we had lunch at Hotel Quality (great lunch buffet for rs. 150!).
Leaving Ooty a little damp at 130 pm we headed towards Mettupalayam/Coimbatore only to find the road closed and the detour was 25 km longer, through the ghats. And this was the best thing to happen to us. The roads between ooty, kotagiri and mettupalayam were glorious. Stunning views, both tight and sweeping corners, smooth surface and enough traffic to keep you on your toes. Was loving the big tire on my fazer as my boots hit the ground a number of times, and the free-flow on the RTR awed both tourists and locals. The descent was a touch hairy at times, mostly the wind and crazy Tamilian villages, but no serious incidents.
Rest of the tour to come...
Ever since my friend Srivardhan and me took our bikes to Coorg from Bangalore in November 2012, both of us have been itching to do a larger tour, 1000+ kilometers, multiple cities towns, and an epic destination. This is the story of our trip from Bangalore to Kanyakumari and back.
The participants:
Vasu (19 years) on a 2010 Fazer 150
Srivardhan (19 years) on a 2012 Apache RTR 180 (with an annoying free flow exhaust)
The original route: http://goo.gl/6fFf8
What actually happened: http://goo.gl/maps/c7ESF
27th June 2012, Prep Day:
28th June 2012, D-Day: (390 km)
Bangalore>Mysore>Ooty>Kotagiri>Coimbatore
Fueled by some oily masala dosas and more coffee we turned towards our next destination, Ooty through Bandipur. Road to Bandipur is two lanes in good condition, but that is not necessarily a good thing as everybody is ripping. We found ourselves being harassed by buses trying to overtake us at 90 km/h. Nevertheless we made it to Gundlupet and filled up the Fazer. It should be noted that this is the last place to fill up before Ooty. The ride through Bandipur and Mudumalai was uninteresting and made uncomfortable by the neverending speed humps. At Theppakadu we decided to take the back road into Ooty (36 km) and were soon regretting it. Horrible, narrow roads, potholes and cars. And finally the ghats! Massive uphills and tight hairpins that take you up to Ooty in 10-12 km! Often we needed to pop 1st gear and the bikes felt underpowered, so steep was the climb! The heat gave way to chills and a light sprinkling of rain. A little bit put off by the tiny ghat section we had lunch at Hotel Quality (great lunch buffet for rs. 150!).
Leaving Ooty a little damp at 130 pm we headed towards Mettupalayam/Coimbatore only to find the road closed and the detour was 25 km longer, through the ghats. And this was the best thing to happen to us. The roads between ooty, kotagiri and mettupalayam were glorious. Stunning views, both tight and sweeping corners, smooth surface and enough traffic to keep you on your toes. Was loving the big tire on my fazer as my boots hit the ground a number of times, and the free-flow on the RTR awed both tourists and locals. The descent was a touch hairy at times, mostly the wind and crazy Tamilian villages, but no serious incidents.
Rest of the tour to come...
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