Re: Day Rides

In the TSD rally that concluded on 17th June, riding buddy Ashok Naidu (xBhp Biker of the Year 2013) was awarded 1st runner up in the Club Class at the Pavilion Mall. His last participation was in the year 1988 in the Himalayan Car Rally of route 3000 KM's in the north region.

For those who don't know Ashok, he is an avid and competitive biker who even though is in his late sixties spends most of his days out on his bike (Jawa and RE) touring the north eastern states of India and other places as well. I wish him many hearty congratulations and many more accolades in the future.

Re: Day Rides

We got out on Saturday morning for a quick spin to Wai. This was a mucky rain filled ride though the vistas were lush green and the air cool and fresh. The diversions which lie beneath the under construction flyovers are crumbling and riddled with potholes. Hopefully these get fixed once the incessant rains this side of the world subside.

Re: Day Rides

I had been to Wai (Dhom dam) on 25th Aug. Nice place.

I was on a ride to Kas & Mahabaleshwar on 24th & 25th. Need to go again once the fog clears up in Sep/Oct.

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Personally, I eagerly await the end of the rains and better roads, after which I can get out for my long rides this coming winter season.

Re: Day Rides

Gurpratap and I left from Vimanagar at 6.15 am for Smile Stone on Sunday morning. The weather was a cool 19°C and perfect for riding and most importantly there was no rain but clear skies. The road is a little wavy till Ranjangoan thereafter which the highway is smooth with some sweeping fast turns which we thoroughly enjoy. Smile Stone is approximately 100 km away from Pune and just 20 km shy of Ahmednagar. It is a sprawling restaurant, popular with people traveling this route to places like Shirdi etc. It was good to see some other bikers as well from Ahmedabad and Pune out riding and enjoying dry tarmac after ages. We were back by around 10 am after a spirited ride and a smile on our faces.

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Great going Akshay bhai!

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Thanks. Have a look at the short video from Sunday's ride. Unfortunately couldn't get any footage of myself as there was no camera mount on Gurpratap's lid or bike.

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Went for a spin to Smile Stone on Sunday. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride with new oil and front brake pads and off course the opportunity to spend some quality time with my daughter who joined us for this ride.

Re: Day Rides

Gurpratap and I went for a ride last Sunday morning to Amby Valley. The video below is the first footage from our new ThiEye camera that was purchased for the South India ride planned in November. Unfortunately, the camera mount was rickety and the road conditions towards Amby Valley have badly deteriorated leading to shaky footage. I hope we can find a suitable alternate for a mount on Gurpratap's bike.

Re: Day Rides

This is slightly off-topic, but this informative video broaches the topic, Are Millinials Riding Less?

I began riding a bike 14 years ago by which time I was in my mid 30s. This video got me thinking and is thought provoking enough for me to share.

Re: Day Rides

interesting read. But don't think it applies to India. In many ways it's exactly opposite of the US and other western motorcycling countries.
Here the opposite is happening. People used to see bikes as a very cheap commuting option(in fact all we know were bikes/mopeds). But now increasing number of potential buyers are buying for lifestyle/enthusiast reasons. My brother in law bought a Harley street recently. He is almost forty so that made sense

Btw good to know someone took up biking so late.I went through school and college without ever thinking about bikes. Took to it like fish takes to water when one of then colleagues changed jobs and went to Pune but gave me his Bajaj discover to keep for 2 weeks as he had not sorted shipping etc .I was 25 then and the rest is history

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WHEELS SPIN, A RIDE TO SOUTH INDIA

This travelogue is from a fabulous and much-looked-forward-to ride down South India with riding buddy Gurpratap (GB). The ride took us to hill stations like Munnar, Valparai and Ooty. Preparations for this ride began a month before we left with purchases like a new Rynox claw bag for Gurpratap, ThiEye Camera, Motul small-sized Chain Lube & Clean etc.



Day 1 : Nov 3 (Sat)

We began our ride from Pune at 5.15 am and our destination for the day was Tumkur, which is a little short of Bangalore, for a night halt. We stopped at Sai Inn before Kolhapur for a chai break, visor change and fuel for GBs bike. Curious travelers here seeing the bikes with luggage began asking us questions as to where we were headed etc.



A little later we stopped for breakfast at Hotel Satyawati, Nipani and I relished what is known in my parlance as "bikers food" which is nothing more than 2 fried eggs, toast & butter. The roads so far had been smooth to top-notch past Kolhapur and in the Karnataka section. We carried on and our cruising speed picked up till Hubli where the road becomes two-lane for about 30 kms. Somewhere after crossing Hubli, I suddenly heard a loud "thunk" noise and excruciating pain in my left foot which operates the gear shift. I was quickly dehydrating and so I sped up and asked GB to pull over. Apparently a spanner left on the road was launched by GBs bike tyre and flew like a missile, seeking my foot as its target. The foot was swollen up but fortunately nothing was broken. It was a painful exercise to just put my boot on and even more painful to up-shift the gear. I was thankful that the Ninja pulls clean even from low speeds of 50 kmph to its top speed which helped me tremendously. A little later we stopped for lunch at a CCD near Davanagere and the staff there were kind enough to provide me with some ice, which after applying to my swollen foot. gave me some relief. A smoked chicken sandwich and coffee helped even more.



It began raining just after a refueling stop around 70 km before Tumkur and I got chased by a lunatic woman who was driving with children and an old man in her car. I managed to get her off my back by complaining to the highway patrol car which was stationed just after a toll plaza who then pulled this jackass to the side for rash driving. Despite all these mishaps during the latter part of the first day's ride, I was determined not to let anything spoil my mood for this trip. We reached our hotel Citria Star in Tumkur a little later at 5.15 pm having clocked around 800 km for the first leg of our ride. The hotel staff arranged for some Enzoflam tablets and Volini spray. We spent a quiet evening on the terrace of the hotel which was set up for our dinner with a table and some chairs, enjoying the cool breeze, some cold beer and a scrumptious dinner consisting of prawns masala & chicken pepper fry.

Re: Day Rides

Day 2 : Sun (Tumkur to Munnar)

We left the hotel from Tumkur at 5.30 am and after a quick cup of tea shortly thereafter we hit the NICE ring road to bypass Bangalore and take us towards Hosur. My foot was feeling much better with the swelling significantly down and soon this issue was out of sight and out of mind.



We stopped at A2B, Hosur for a breakfast of the most delicious dosa and filter coffee. Enroute, we came across a lot of bikers heading out of Bangalore and there was a group of super-cars that pulled up at A2B consisting of a red color Lamborghini, and 3 Audi R8s. After a chat with them and their confessing their first love being bikes, we got back on the road towards Salem.



This part of the highway from Hosur to Salem is well paved and with lovely scenery on both sides, we bombed this stretch. We crossed the busy town of Salem after which you have to turn right towards Dindigul and stopped for a short break of tea and water. These pictures were taken here.



We then proceeded non-stop maintaining triple digit speeds on this open traffic-less stretch of highway to stop for a break before branching off from the highway.



Surprisingly, the internal road conditions towards Pollachi were in terrific condition and after stopping for a quick cup of tea, visor change and asking directions we were ready to hit the hills. We had traveled a long way for this moment.



The entrance to the hills heading towards Munnar begins with a tiger reserve which is decently paved and thereafter once the road begins to climb, it progressively deteriorates to become riddled with potholes all the way to Munnar and beyond towards Kochi, disappointing! We began this stretch at around 2.30 pm. I shall let the pictures do the talking.



We eventually reached Munnar hill station which was pretty crowded with tourists and then after asking for directions, were told to take the road to Kochi. Our hotel for this 2 night stay was Dew Drop Farm resorts and is situated 20 km away from Munnar town. The sun was just about to set as we arrived at our destination. After the bikes were cleaned by a couple of hotel boys, we unpacked, had a shower and settled down for an early dinner. Getting beer in this area is a pain and so we settled for a soft drink and some nicely prepared chicken pepper fry.



This video is from Day 1 and 2 footage. Please subscribe to my channel for further updates.

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Day 3 : Munnar

We woke up relaxed after a much deserved night's sleep and two days of hard riding. After some tea and breakfast at Dew Drop Farm Resort which is situated amidst 370 acres of lush forest area and offers its guests guided trekking tours. A few pictures of the hotel



Our plan was to head for Top Station for a day's ride which was a distance of 55 km from our hotel. We would be passing through some exquisite tea estates, Mattupetty lake, Echo Point, Munnar Top Station View Point etc and most of all we were informed that the road condition was good. There were a fair amount of tourists out as the Diwali holidays had begun and the various places of interest were buzzing with activity. The irony is that the view from the "view point" is zilch due to low hanging clouds which obliterate anything worth seeing but the ride to that point more than makes up for the disappointment.



We then rode back to Munnar town and had some lunch at a small roadside eatery and thereafter went to see if we could score some beer before heading back to the resort from the only TASMAC outlet in Munnar. There were over a 100 people lined up outside this dingy looking outlet and so we resigned ourselves to our fate of being teetotalers for yet another day.



This video is from a day ride to Top Station in Munnar. On Day 3, you will be taken through a journey amidst some magnificent tea plantations, beautiful corners and the most beautiful blue sky.

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Day 4 : Munnar to Valparai



We began the ride to Valparai from the resort in Munnar at 5.30 am and more or less followed the same route till Manupatti where we came in from. The descent had been slow due to the patchy road however we seemed to have covered it faster as there was probably little traffic at the time. Before leaving Munnar town we had stopped for a cup of tea and to refuel GBs bike.



A view from the descent



The roads from Manupatti till Aliyar forest check post were in good condition and made for brisk riding where we stopped before the entrance to Aliyar Dam to take a break and refresh ourselves before beginning the climb to Valparai. Whilst taking a break, we suddenly were surrounded by a lot of enthusiastic youngsters to check out the bikes and take photos, ask questions etc. Little did we know that our ride was plagued by squids who were racing up and down the hills to Valparai. The number of modified RX100s that I saw was unbelievable. Later at the top we were greeted with bonhomie and the biking brotherhood that resides in all of us despite the kind of bike one rides. Heartwarming & sporting stuff indeed, especially after I put the fastest & most persistent one through the paces in the twisties to leave him out of sight. This stretch of road is what we had come for and believe me it did not disappoint. The roads are in super shape all throughout, every corner opens a breathtaking vista and cool weather as well, biking paradise in my books. At one of the hairpins when we had stopped for a short tea break, Arun on his Harley Davidson came by and introduced himself to us. Arun is a HOG member from the Coimbatore chapter and is also a keen wildlife photographer. He was informative and pointed out the various attractions that Valparai had to offer. I shall now let the pictures narrate the story of this unforgettable stretch of tarmac.



At around 3 pm we reached our hotel Saravana, which is nothing but grand, but was one of the few places within our budget. It began to rain just as we parked our bikes and did so continually for the next three hours. We were ecstatic that we had finally made it to Valparai especially after not being able to from the P2K=3K ride in 2016 due to the demonetization event. The best places to stay, but expensive, are in the tea estates. Nevertheless, the hotel had safe covered parking which is something we are particular about. Being Diwali week, the hotel restaurant was closed for 2 days . Fortunately, the hotel opposite was open and had a terrific restaurant and a seedy bar. We made a dive for the restaurant and tucked into some super local fare of fried prawns.



The evening was spent chilling out in the room with some more food from the restaurant opposite and some rum which tasted like benadryl syrup. The highlight of the evening was when we took a walk down to the main road and had some ice-cream sitting on the steps of a closed restaurant and soaking in the Valparai atmosphere.