Been a long time since I've posted something here. It is semester holidays now and I am dead bored ever since exams got over. And yeah, now that there was a new acquisition I also had to do run in rides. 570 on the odo and I had a long way to finish run in. Thought I'll do ECR but dad suggested Thiruthani will be good to ride to. So made quick plans and started yesterday morning around 7. There are some memorable incidents I wish to share that happened during this small tour. The first one being at the fuel station. I did see two bikers on FZ's; might have been xbhp people. I gave the attendant the money and when I kept the change back in the purse, I noticed something peculiar. I had visa card, bank card etc etc. Then I realized I had taken my dad's purse!! Rushed back home and swapped the purses and out I was again. I rode slow till Sriperambathur say 60-70 kmph. The route from Sriperambathur till Thiruvallur was scenic with moderate traffic. After a point there were some diversions till Thiruvallur. As I entered Thiruvallur I saw a big compound with huge tipper like vehicles inside. I was shocked to see such big vehicles. No sooner I discovered that it was Caterpillar's Factory. I think I saw the Tipper Trucks and a few other earth movers. Had breakfast at Thiruvallur. It looks like every town or city in tamil nadu has a Saravana Bhavan. I knew very well it wasn't the original one but still it looked a little decent. The food wasn't great though. As I continued towards Thiruthani, I begin to see boards in telegu & APSRTC buses; no sooner I realised I was nearing Tirupathi. I saw the distance board to Tirumala. Of course you know what was going on in my mind now. The same thing happened a couple of years ago with my beloved KB100 where I decided suddenly to visit Thekkady.

And oh yeah I ride a Karizma R now


K to the A to the R to the.....


The EMU train to Arakkonam


Isn't he the only kind?


Caterpillar Factory at Thiruvallur



Plain smooth roads


No sooner I was heading towards Andhra Pradesh. The four lane conversion was going on throughout the route.
And boy oh boy!! There were a 7-8 diversions per km!! It was like I was on plain flat tarmac for 15 seconds and then 15 seconds of agonizing off road adventure. I would do 80 at the tarmac and then down to 10's. This continued almost till I reached Tirupathi. I suggest bikers to avoid this road till the work is over. Not that the bike or biker cannot do it but it is not that pleasing a route. Had I planned earlier, I might have taken the Tada route. Anyways every journey can turn out to be an experience. All this time I kept asking myself only one question while riding. Why did you drink so much water? I had to take breaks frequently thanks to the climate. I kept repeating to myself Sheldon Cooper's dialogue(If you know which one I mean). Then I came up with a thought. Summers piss me off and winters make me piss!!

R for Reliable!!


At Tirumala


Entrance at the Foothill


The Toll booth


A good population knows Tamizh at Tirupathi so finding places is not much of a problem. There was traffic in the city but moving fast enough. After reaching the foot of Tirumala had to stop at the toll booth. They do check bags and visitors for any problematic possessions. Anyways I only had one backpack to carry water bottle and a few snacks. The toll fee to my surprise was Rs.2!! I was checking again and again if I had misread. After a long time I was about to experience a hill ride. The one way roads made the uphill ride pleasurable. I was able to do 70's frequently at the the start. I must now mention how well the bike behaved. I was amazed by the way Karizma pulls even from 40 kmph @ 5th gear. And handling, like everyone says, was very user friendly. APSRTC drivers are really well behaved in terms of driving. At no point was I put to a threatening situation when near their buses. It reminded me how I was overaken by govt buses in the hills when I rode to Thekkady. There are some points on the way where one can stop(mostly bikes) for a quick click.

The uphill road


One of the few spots to click


This is a must click spot!!


The last uphill section


After about 20 minutes I reached Tirumala. Parked the bike and went around to see what this place looks like since I was told how good the maintenance is. It was very much evident throughout. There are all facilities a person requires and all of these are very good at serving their purposes. Luckily this isn't the season and there was minimal crowd. Now honestly; I wasn't here to pray. Not because I just came for a biking tour but for I am an atheist. But I do enjoy going to places say it be religious or historical or natural on my own. There is so much to learn everywhere. Went around looking for the actual Sri Venkateshwara Temple. Discovered that it was way far than I actual thought it would be. Had hot lemon tea at Indian Tea Board outlet. Must tell, it was one of the best I have ever tasted. And at Rs.6, I was ready for one more. I did ask a stupid question to a person which made him and me laugh. "Can I get the original laddu somewhere outside the temple?". He replied,"If you get one then it is definitely not original." We got into a small conversation about ourselves. After loitering around a little I decided to leave at 1pm. The downhill ride was a little tiring since I had some traffic along and the annoying car drivers who kept honking to give them way at hair pin bends. Also there were abrupt & frequent turns. The final section of the downhill route is fantastic. On the way down there are some small temples and a deer park too.

You rest now buddy


The free shuttle bus


Lemon [email protected]!


Downhill ride


Tirupathi city


The last downhill section


After reaching Tirupathi I set out and in my search for the route to tada. I lost direction and got into Renigunta. Reminded me Renigunta reddy from Vivek's comedy sequence. I had to ask someone now. I was near the railway station and did see a station master. I asked him and he replied in telegu but I could make up what he said and thanked him. After following directions to Chennai I found myself at a junction which I had seen before!! I was like nooooooo(voice fading away)!! Time was running out and I knew I could not experiment myself with new routes for if it gets dark I will be doomed, thanks to the 35W headlight! So took back the same route. I decided to have lunch somewhere after Tirupathi. BIG MISTAKE. Not a single hotel I could see on the way. After a long wait I stopped at hotel which read APTDC. It was a great relief. They had nothing but meals. At Rs.75 it was very well worth it. Refreshed a little and headed back home. It was the same routine I had to follow before; on road off road on road off road..... Now there were a couple of sugar processing plants on the way. One could see ridiculously large bundled loads being carried on lorries and mostly tractors with trailers. At one particular off road stretch which was steep, such a tractor was not able to make it and was slowing down. Eventually the tractor stopped and started moving backwards slowly. For a moment my heart froze. The cars behind me were honking madly and begin to back off. The tractor driver
brought the tractor to halt somehow and I guess then engaged first gear. By the time this happened, I had overtaken him and was watching what was happening next. And lo! I saw the tractor doing wheelie!! It almost became upright but the driver would not give up. Eventually he made it up to the tarmac. There was one more tractor behind him. Pity the traffic behind! After a while of riding I heard a very small noise from the bike. Was not sure from where it was coming but yeah I was sure it was from the frontal area of the bike. I tried to re-position the key chain but still no clue. Then I saw the visor vibrating a little and held it. And it was gone. Then I realized that the multi-off road sessions must have caused the visor damping to lower. But the sound was not there when on plain tarmac.

The bad sections


Indian stonehenge!!


After reaching Thiruvallur I had to speed up since it was already half past four. Since this section had only few diversions I was doing 80 constantly. At one particular stretch which was about 10kms of straight road, I decided to do 100 kmph for the first time in my bike. A twist and I was already at 100 from 80. It felt like I owned the world or something. 100 kmph is so good in Karizma that it was hard for me to keep my speedo needle below 80 after tasting 100. After reaching the Chennai-Bangalore expressway I was doing 80+ and held 100 for about 2 mins once. I knew I was becoming a Karizma addict now!! Even at such high speeds I was not able to see any major vibrations or stress signs from the bike. Later, after I had slowed down to 70, a discover guy with pillion kept overtaking me and then slowing down to let me overtake. I don't understand how this would satisfy his ego. This went on for 3 times. The fourth time I overtook him, I made sure he would never see me again. Close to city I expected the traffic to pile up but then it struck me that it was a Sunday. Almost close to my home I saw a Duke zooming past me. He was fully kitted with saddle bags behind. Anyone from Chennai xbhp? I reached home at around 6pm. That means I took a full 5 hrs for both to and fro of this 360kms journey. I did learn a lot from this ride.


Obseravtions:
*Karizma is definitely a great touring bike and I have not made mistake in buying the same.
*Karizma has fantastic disc brakes.
*I need to start planning better at least from now!

For Karizma Fans.....


I sincerely thank my parents for gifting me this wonderful ride.