Re: Day Rides

After crossing the Tamil Nadu/Kerala border check post and entering the forest area we made a quick tea stop and to check how far Orchid Trails Resort was.



It turned out that we weren't far and shortly we had arrived.



After a warm welcome by the manager and staff we were upgraded to a cottage room each which was done gratis by the manager. This stay defined the meaning of hospitality in my books. The resort is situated amidst a large coffee & pepper plantation. A few pictures around the hotel.



There are separate areas for badminton, volleyball and a games room.



A member of the hotel staff turned out to be a fan of the Bonneville series of Triumph motorcycles and wanted to show us a painting that he had made on a wall. It is always a heart whelming experience to come across such people in our journey.



Some pictures of the cottage room



After a delicious lunch of chicken curry rice which had generous helpings and served in the restaurant area we relaxed in our rooms for an hour.



Washing the bikes down by the poolside over a cup of tea.



The evening was spent outside the room chilling with some beer, snacks, reminiscing about the day's ride and another scrumptious dinner. This was by far the best and most enjoyable stay at a hotel from the entire trip down South.

Re: Day Rides

This video is from the footage taken from Pondcherry via ooty and then Sultan Bathery.

Re: Day Rides

We began our ride the next morning at around 6.30 am and our destination for the day was Madikeri in Karnataka. Although the ride was only 150 km it was slow going because some part of the roads were through forests and towns. The road surface was patchy in some places which slows down the ride.



A few pictures along the way between Sultan Bathery and Wayanad.



A memorable morning ride on a cool day at Tholpetty Wildlife Sanctuary.



Check out this small town somewhere before Virajpet with a large banner paying tribute to Argentinian guerrilla leader Che Guevara.



We reached our hotel Hill Dale Resort (Crystal Court) in Madikeri at 12.30 pm. Fortunately the hotel was situated just off the main highway which made it convenient to find and exit the next day.



When in Coorg, one must sample the delicious pork.



After this satisfying meal, a visit to the land of nod was on the agenda. The evening was spent prepping our gear for the next day's ride and an early dinner served room service washed down with a cold beer. The last of the snicker chocolate bars that we had picked up in Ooty was dessert.

Re: Day Rides

After a restful night of sleep we began the return leg back home of our "South Bound Again" ride. The destination for the day was left open, depending on the time we took till Tumkur after which we would decide whether to stop for the night at Chitradurga or Devangere. The preference was to push for Devangere.



On this note, we began our ride early on a cold morning just about the break of day.



As there was no tea available by the hotel that early in the morning, the first order of the day was to score a cup-of-cha. A couple of kilometers past the hotel we stopped for a hot cup of tea.



Somewhere along this route we got somewhat lost and then began the difficult task of asking people for directions (language barrier) and referring to google maps. Eventually after riding literally past a few backyards in a village, going off-road for a bit. This picture was taken just after we got lost and stopped for something cool to drink.



We rejoined the main road which eventually put us on the Belur Cross road where we stopped for a snack and something to drink.



We crossed crowded and traffic congested Tumkur around 1 pm and then joined the Mumbai - Bangalore highway AH47. Despite the episode of getting lost, we had made good time and so we decided to push for Devangere. Genesis resort was selected and called to book two rooms for the night halt. Enroute we stopped at CCD for a sandwich lunch and cold coffee. We reached the hotel in Devangere which is situated bang-on the highway. We were pleasantly surprised to see the sprawling hotel equipped with a sports bar, lawn and swimming pool. The rooms are fairly basic though. After wiping our bikes down we settled in the lawn for an early dinner of rara rara kebab, butter garlic chicken and a cold beer.



We left early the next morning amidst really cold morning weather and stopped for some tea enroute. We were once again negotiating past the many diversions that have cropped up between Devengere and Hubli, annoying!



A little before Hubli we stopped for a south-Indian breakfast.



The rest of the ride was smooth brisk riding and apart from a quick stop for lunch at MCD Kolhapur in Maharashtra I got home at around 3.30 pm having been out on the road for ten days and my head swimming like a kaleidoscope with rich memories.

Re: Day Rides

This video is the fourth and the last one in the "South Bound Again" ride series. I hope you have enjoyed this travelogue and it has been informative for the reader/viewer wishing to tour down South India.

Re: Day Rides

This video is from a super ride with Chezian on his Honda Africa Twin and Gopal on his Triumph Thruxton R. A couple of weekends back, we were able to catch up after a long time and had much news to exchange over coffee and breakfast.

I hope you enjoy the video which recorded these memories from this ride.

Re: Day Rides

Yesterday's Sunday morning ride to Malshej ghat was changed along the way and impromptu to Nasik, a 430 km day ride. The road past Narayangaon is in good condition with scenic views of mountains on both sides and coupled with wide sweeping turns which makes for a close to perfect ride. We met up at 6.15 am at Koregaon Park and reached Nasik at 9 am. The coming back was much slower due to traffic but nevertheless we made it by 1 pm.

Re: Day Rides

Holi Riders

Day 1

Gurpratap and I set off on Sunday 8th March for a ride to Goa over the long Holi weekend. The weather was cool esp past Satara after which we stopped to refuel the Thruxton and have a cup of tea.



We then stopped for breakfast at Nipani which is in Karnataka and just after Kolhapur in Maharashtra where we had a hearty breakfast of eggs on toast at hotel Satyawati.



We had decided to try the Amboli ghat route after hearing from some others that the road had been relaid with fresh tarmac. The first few kms in around 2 km stretches are bad with road repair work still going on and some patches had been relaid and which were really smooth. Be careful of the camber on some of the curves as they are off and can easily lead the rider into making a mistake. We passed the small town of Ajra and stopped at the Amboli ghat crest which kind of resembles a street from some old western movie.



After descending the ghat which was so-so and not consistently bad or good (if you know what I mean) we stopped for a chilled glass of lassi as the weather was now warm and turning humid.



A short while later we entered Sawantwadi and after negotiating our way around the pretty lake we hit the numerous diversions that have plagued Goa for over the last two decades. After reaching Mapusa, we put on Google Maps and rode past some beautiful rustic winding roads to reach The Grand Leoney Resort at Vagator, our hotel for the next two nights. After securing some safe parking spots within the resort premises which was away from prying eyes, we checked in to our well appointed, air-conditioned and comfortable rooms.



After a wash and change of clothes into shorts and T-shirt it was time to put on the feed bag. The restaurant at the resort was the only sore point of our stay. The food was mediocre, small portions and over priced and served with a dollop of indifference. But do not despair for those planning to visit this resort in the future as there are plenty of good eating options available just a short walk outside the resort gate.



A short nap was the next order of things after which in the early evening we joined the swarm of resort residents for a swim in the pool which was super refreshing. Later after a shower and dolling up we headed out to Antares on Gurpratap's bike for the remainder of the evening. Antares is a fine dine restaurant situated in the Vagator area and is close to the beach with a super view of the sea from a distance above. The food is terrific, the live band rockin and the crowd hip and trendy. Definitely recommended for a fun evening in Goa.

Re: Day Rides

Day 2

After a restful night's sleep we awoke lazily the next morning and hot footed it to the lousy resort restaurant for some breakfast. Having finished with that and a little R&R later we left for Baga beach. Enroute we stopped to refuel the Thruxton.



After a leisurely ride with the wind blowing through my hair we wound our way through the Goan roads covered by palm trees on either side to arrive at Baga beach. The main event for the afternoon was to spend a relaxed time over a meal at Brittos restaurant.



After an outstanding meal we roamed around a little bit at Baga beach reminiscing about the various trips I had made to this part of Goa over the years, the places we stayed and the great times I had.



It was around 3 pm with the sun at its zenith when we left from Baga for our resort at Vagator and the craving for something cold & tasty was gnawing at our insides. So, we stopped for some Gelato ice-cream opposite a church. Yum yum



Came across this poster



In the early evening and after a short nap we had another refreshing dip in the pool amidst the sun setting in the background.



Afterwards we walked over to a bar situated on the road just a short distance from the resort for some cold beer and some short eats. This made a nice way to soak in some of the local flavor of Goa.



We called it an early night as we had to hit the road before the crack of dawn the next morning.

Re: Day Rides

We began our ride early at 5.30 am from the resort at Vagator and stopped for fuel just before the beginning of Chorla Ghat. We stopped for some tea after refueling.



The roads are patchy on the climb up till Delta and so we rode carefully and kept the throttle down. The weather turned a little cooler as we ascended the ghat which was a welcome relief after the sultry morning in Goa. Another quick break for tea and to irrigate.



We began rolling some video footage and kept shooting in various angles during this lovely stretch of road that always makes one come back for more and more.



A quick stop just before entering Belgaum.



Once we were back on AH 47 after crossing Belgaum we were able to crack open the throttle and reached Mac Donald Kolhapur in time for a late breakfast.



I hope you enjoy the video of this memorable ride and at this difficult time of COVID 19 I urge my fellow bikers to Stay Safe.

Re: Day Rides

This picture was taken from last weekend Sunday ride to Lonavala. Our favorite joint Ramakrishna is closed due to the pandemic Covid-19 situation, so we camped out near Tiger Point and tucked into some vada pao and chai.

Re: Day Rides

After our last ride in March to Goa which was Pre-Lockdown, Gurpratap and I seized the opportunity to set out for a two-day spin on the bikes to Goa Post-Lockdown. We began the ride on Mon Nov 16 amidst a cool morning here in Pune at 5.15 am. The road conditions between Pune and Satara are not good with numerous diversions, new flyovers constructed over the last couple of years are already riddled with potholes and overall this stretch is turning out to be dangerous. Once past Satara, the road conditions improve till Kolhapur. Later and a little under three hours, we stopped for a cup of tea at Sai Inn Kolhapur.



Further on we refueled the bikes after crossing into Karnataka and shortly thereafter we stopped at Hotel Satyawati, Nipani for breakfast of egg omelette on toast washed down with some more tea. This time around we took the Amboli Ghat route which is patchy and has many speed breakers so one has to constantly slow the bike down just as some speed is attained, grrr, irritating . The cops had blocked the main road so we had to take a short detour to eventually rejoin the main Amboli road. Somewhere along the way we stopped to refresh ourselves at a small roadside restaurant.



The road condition past Sawantwadi (lies on the Mumbai - Goa highway) till Mapusa is in pathetic condition and is a chore to ride especially with the high humidity levels that plague Goa. For a state that used to be known for its good roads in the yester-years, this doesn't speak well for its present infrastructure at all.



Nevertheless we made it to Fat Fish for lunch after a eight-and-a-half hour ride and I tucked into the fully loaded fish thali that this restaurant is famous for.

Re: Day Rides

After this scrumptious lunch it was a drag to ride the bike till the Hotel Aldeia Santa Rita situated at Candolim just past the Kingfisher villa and before Taj Aguada. After checking-in I made a beeline for a quick shower and siesta. We headed out for dinner to Antares in Vagator where we spent a wonderful evening over a delicious meal and some beer.



This was followed by our favorite "meetha" of ice-cream from Baskin Robbins which we took back to our hotel room.



The following day, Nov 17, I awoke lazily after a restful sleep and joined Gurpratap who was wiping his bike down and therefore feeling guilty seeing him I had to also get a cloth and clean my bike as well. Despite the morning chores, the positive side was that an appetite was built up for breakfast which we had in the hotel restaurant.



A few pictures of the hotel room



After chilling for a couple of hours, having a shower, we set out for lunch close by to the hotel for Palms & Sands which is on Candolim beach. A refreshing watermelon juice for me and a really tough chop later we headed back to Baskin Robbins opposite the Taj. Since there weren't many tourists around (Goa not issuing tourist visas) the beach was more or less empty and beautiful to see.



After lunch we shuffled over to Newtons for some shopping and then to Baskin Robbins for some more of that yummy ice-cream.

Later that evening around 7.30 pm we went over to Calamari which is situated at Candolim beach. We were joining Pravin Patil and his family who were also down from Pune for dinner. The evening was delightful as we relaxed, chatted, ate and drank the evening away. We called it an early night as the ride back to Pune beckoned the following morning.

We began our ride from Candolim at 5.30 am and headed towards Chorla ghat. This picture is from the pump just before beginning Chorla and petrol was around Rs.78/- per litre.



Even though we had heard that the roads were bad, we had decided to grit our teeth and use this route. There was almost no road for 20 km till Delta restaurant and though the going was slow we had made it in not too bad shape. A quick stop for tea at Delta and a moment to collect our thoughts, we made tracks for Belgaum, then Mcd Kolhapur. A little after crossing Satara we bumped into riding buddy Chezian and his wife who were also returning from Goa on their Honda Africa Twin.