Re: A ride to the great white Rann-Recovery of the long lost key to happiness

Travelogue Approved

Re: A ride to the great white Rann-Recovery of the long lost key to happiness

What a start, Great ride to Rann of Kutch. Waiting for the detailed report and lot of pics.

Re: A ride to the great white Rann-Recovery of the long lost key to happiness

Thanks for approving the log @The Monk

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Day 1-Kochi-Kollur

Then came March 4^th the D-day … I got the bike transported to Mangalore by railway parcel service and I boarded the following train. Reached Mangalore by around 11 AM on 5^th, Collected the bike. Wow…….. not a scratch. I was really worried hearing the previous stories of damages that had happened to various friends’ bikes.

Journey officially begins. Ahh Wait….I forgot something. When I was informing my colleagues that am riding to Gujarat they were giving me lot of advises... (They always comes cheap ).One was asking what if the accelerator or clutch cable break? I tried to argue that those things never breaks in my bike and only speedo meter cable gives up. But they don’t agree and keeps arguing with me ...”Anything can happen in the trip why take risk Etc...Etc...” Now that these guys who are much muchh…muchh experienced than me in advising people, I decided not to take a chance .What if someone had an evil tounge?? I headed up to the Kanchana Honda dealership in Mangalore and got two spare cables. Both Accelerator and clutch, got some fuel, and yes. We can start the journey now…

Reached the city outskirts by 12:30 PM and headed towards kollur through NH 17.All 4 lane roads minus the traffic in KL roads. My bike was happier than I was.



Cruising at around 100 KM/h, reached Kundapur in no time .Decided to have a water break in my usual place.



This bus was resting for a lunch break at kundapur and is one of the longest operated Non Volvo buses of KSRTC. Damn fast and covers little over 700 KMs in around 18 hrs. (inclusive of all the breaks). Mostly through KL roads.

What to do now?. I have plenty of time. Need to be at kollur only by 5:00 PM. Ahh!!!, the Maravanthe beach. I have seen this place in a lots of travelogues and was kind of mesmerized by the beauty. Reached Maravanthe by around 2:45 and what do I see…NH 4 laning work has torn apart the place. The beach side seems intact but the other side is all tampered .I understand that it’s all part of development and for a bright future. But still am sad. The place will never be like it was earlier. I left the place with a heavy heart…


Reached kollur via Byndoor…it’s almost 4:00 PM.



Still have time. Checked into the hotel and had a quick bath…Now what..? Time for a nap? Ohh... wait, I am starving-I have not eaten since yesterday afternoon. Had a quick meal in a Keralaite hotel and came back for a nap.

Woke up at around 6:00 PM and saw a couple of miss calls. No time for that now – Have to go for darshan and I am late... (Anyways it’s not from family. They know and will not call this number while am riding). Went to the Souparnika Ghat and had another bath and entered the temple. There was no rush at all and I was inside within 15 mins. Spent my own sweet divine time inside the temple and it was the best 'darshan' I had in years… Came back to the lodging to call it up a day-A couple of surprises were awaiting…As usual I performed a routine inspection of the bike which I do at the end of each day of the trip so that I can avoid any surprises in the morning. And guess what? The auxiliary lights are not working. Some short circuit happened but luckily it did not affect the other wiring, I quickly disconnected and insulated the wires. Thought of connecting it back but did not want to take a risk, which meant no more aux lights for the whole trip…How do I deal with the notorious truck drivers and cars of the konkan now with a 35/35W halogen bulb? Anyways... Has to live with it now..No point in crying over it.. .Rest everything seemed fine with the bike. Back in room I saw a few missed calls more-Friends!!. Quickly got out of the room as signal was a bit weak.Called the family 1^st and then my friends who had to join me tomorrow. They should have started from Trivandrum now. I was bit worried if they have started earlier when they called. If that’s the case the timings might not sync at Mumbai. Called them back with the phone at a distance from my ear. (You know why ).To my surprise. Govind was very cool and asked me to congratulate him. I did not understand why, but I did and then asked why?

And he says

”I have a situation. In fact we both have a situation.. I will give the phone to fatty (My other friend Syam)”.
We had a discussion on the same and I asked

Me: Are you guys serious

Fatty: Do we sound like we are joking?

Me: Does that mean you guys are not coming?

Fatty: Will decide and get back to you….

Now what? Are they no coming? Couldn’t see even one percent of chance that they are coming. Two options in front of me-Either roam around for a week in KA and return or proceed to GJ.A good night sleep will help to think better. On the way to my room I see my host and asked him if he could wake me up by 3:30

He asks why?

Me: Need to leave by 4 AM

Host: Why do you plan to travel that early?

Me: Only then I will be able to cover my destination for the day by night.

Host: You better leave by 5

Me: Will there be any elephants in the road?(Last year an elephant chased me for a KM in Nagarhole)

Host: No No , There are no elephants but there is a possibility for tigers…

Me: GASP!!!!

Host: Last week we had an incident where in a local guy in a bike had a narrow escape.

Me: OK will leave by 5:30 then

Host: Great. Good night

Me Good night

And then I thought logically. The temple township resides in Mookambikai tiger reserve, It’s the summer and scarcity for food and water is increasing and there are possibilities of wild animal attacks. Though the tiger will not get anything other than bone and skin from me… Why take a risk?
And finally set the alarm for 4:30 AM and called it a day…

Distance covered: 156 KM+ 400 on train-556 KM

Re: A ride to the great white Rann-Recovery of the long lost key to happiness

Hi.
Great travelogue so far. I thank the Almighty that XBHP exists which gives us this platform of sharing things. Thats what the biking spirit is there for . Help and get helped.
I got help from some previous travelogues and you got help from mine. Your will help someone else. Thats awesome.......

Regards.

Re: A ride to the great white Rann-Recovery of the long lost key to happiness

Lovely start. Looking forward to the rest.

Reached Murudeshwar at around 6:45 clicked couple of shots for fun and proceeded.



I had no time to waste. By around 7:00 AM I was back on highway and cruising on the legendary NH 17 again. Reached Karnataka border by around 8:45.Took a break and started cruising again.

^stst

Re: A ride to the great white Rann-Recovery of the long lost key to happiness

Very nice ride-logue buddy.

I am very interested to know how the Unicorn performed on riding long distances, since I ride a Unicorn too.

Cheers.

Re: A ride to the great white Rann-Recovery of the long lost key to happiness

Day 3-Thane to Ahmedabad.

Slept like a baby and I woke up at around 9:30.Had a black tea, Finished my daily routines and hit the ghorbunder road by 10:30.Destination-Ahemedabad.Filled up at an Indian Oil pump and continued on to Ghorbunder road again. Seemed like I was a little low on air after all that tackling through NH 17.

Went in a couple of bunks and guess what! All those air pumps were kept as scarecrows. Finally having no other choice I decided to get onto a puncture shop. He did not ask for anything and before I could utter a word he filled in about 40 PSI’s of hot air into my rear tires. And another 35 in my front. Upon seeing the attitude of that guy I did not utter a word and quietly paid up Rs 5 and left the scene. Rode for a couple of Kilometers and stopped to check the air pressure. Took out my air gauge and Good God!! it was 42!!!!I started to slowly deflate the rear tire till 36 as it was expected to be a six lane smooth road for the whole day. Turned down the front tire pressure to a 31 and started again .Hit the NH 8 to Ahmedabad.

I reached Maharashtra border in around a hr. Stopped for a water break and proceeded. The road was one of the most boring I ever traversed…If the traffic was a little lesser I would have dozed off many times. Picked up a veg burger for noon at Vapi MC’d and rode on. Around 50 KM’s passed on and suddenly I felt dehydrated like anything. What happened? I had had some water at Vapi.. Anyways...Time to rest .Found the shade of a tree and I decided to have that burger. For the past two days I had not had any solid food in the day time. It suddenly became difficult to eat…All I had was a half-liter of water .grrr…I somehow ate that burger and drank up all the water I had. Rested for 5 minutes and hit the road again. Now I should make another stop to refill my water supply and that was an immediate requirement. Luckily found a wayside restaurant around 10 KM from Vapi outskirts and stocked up enough water.
Around 3:30 I reached the Sardar Patel Bridge over Narmada. The usual Traffic jam was there, but Yeah bikes are indeed privileged class. Most guys gave me way without even honking and I covered the bridge in 20 minutes and crossed the city by 4:00 PM. Vadodara came in by 5 and there was the next confusion. I am a biker and am proud of that. But if there are places where we are treated as low classes other than 5 star hotels it’s the express ways. GOD I hate them while am on a bike. At least interstate travelers should be allowed some concession...my thoughts went like this and suddenly I remembered Mr. Parvez Ghadiali’s guidelines. He had sent me a detailed link of the google map which gave me a clear pic of which route to take.in front of me lies one bliss of a road 6-lanes, Freshly tarmacked and well-marked with all signboards for a biker to concentrate in his ride…Thank you NHAI for this one. Reached Ahmedabad outers by 6:30 and started looking for a hotel. Squared up one room for Rs 700 via OYO, had some street food for dinner and called it a day.

Day 4:-Ahmedabad-Patan-Dholavira-Bhuj
Started by around 6:30 and the main destination for the day is Dholavira.

The Bullet cart




Reached the Rani Ki Vaav and had a quick peek and proceeded to Dholavira.
Reached Dholavira by 1:30-A guide came to me but I politely turned him down. Went to the excavation site and then to the museum –

The cradle of human civilization



Has to admit it. Some fine pieces of craftsmanship there...




Started back by around 3:00 PM. The salt pans were beautiful. Mesmerizing…



Rode very slow and reached Bhuj by around 7 PM. found a decent hotel and checked in had some Gujarati Thali and crashed for the day.



Day 5 Bhuj and around

Started for Narayan Sarovar by around 8. There was this guy Murali whom I met on the way. He was a game developer and quit his job to explore India. Lucky man…

Murali and my Bike



Reached there by 11:30.Explored for some time



Western most photographable check post of India



Narayan Sarovar..All dried Up



One of These gentlemen/ladies almost succeed in crossing my way ..like in 70 "yish" speeds...lucky i missed them by inches....Pity i did not have a helmet cam



and proceeded back to Bhuj .

The Qutab Minar of Gujarat (May be a signal tower)



Murali told me that I could obtain the pass in DSP office at Bhuj Collectorate. Bad luck…Lunch break when I reached there.

Next stop-Dhordo



Started from the hotel around 3:00 PM and I was at Bhirandiara check post around 4:15 PM-The officer says that I am the 1^st biker for the day. Luck is in my favor this time. There is enough time now .I have to be there just before the sunset only. Rode slowly looking for some tea shops so that I can have some small bites other than the regular water intake.

Found a small tea shop and had two tea’s from there.


His stove was interesting. He was curious about my jacket-Whether I was feeling cold. Etc. etc… He did not say much when I said it was for protection. May be bikers don’t stop there much.

Anyways proceeded form there and reached the White desert…Finally!!!!!…I showed the permits and they let me in…Tried to go to the view point and suddenly the camel cart Walla’s stopped me stating private vehicles are not allowed. Oho..I said no problem. I will check with the BSF and come back. And returned. Sadly the BSF guys also said that I cannot go there. Seeing my face they directed me to a different track and asked me to follow the truck tracks. Being obtained their permission I decided now to go back and see whats there in that view point where vehicles are denied. Walked two KM’s and found that it was just a place with a watch tower/stand for chartered tourists to view the white desert, comment on its beauty and take selfies. Walked all the way back and started the route which BSF guided me to …This is what I wanted…Oh my…I am reaching the destination…After three days and 2100 KMs on road. I finally am at my destination. I shouted loud and sang my favorite songs. Patted my bike on the tank. Solitude in its purest form…No body anywhere as far as eyes go... Happy like anything….



Roamed around for some time and Oops…The bike is stuck .Same thing happened in Dhanushkodi as well. But had a companion there. Here am solo and no help is coming unless I walk for some 8 KM and look around for it, had moved quite some distance from the check post. Then I decided to try and get it out. Started to tilt the bike towards sides like I read in some one else’s log and Whoa…That helped…..with a round 5 minutes of experimentation and hard work. I got her out from the slush and moved on. The sunset was approaching and I wanted some pics of the same. Clicked and sat there in that salt for some time

Sunset,Me and Night Fury....




…Its night now and there is no point in waiting for moon rise as its almost the new moon…So I headed back slowly but carefully through the salt on a steady pace and in some time hit the truck tracks ,then followed all the way to the check posts. Thanked the BSF Jawan’s there and started my return journey to Bhuj. Reached In a couple of hours, had the bath,dinner and dozed off…happiness has been recovered …….

Day 6 Bhuj-Ahmedabad-Mumbai:

Started at 7:30 AM-I never knew this was going to be the toughest day of the ride.

I started slowly from Bhuj-The destination for the day is Thane. Reached bhachau by 9 and had a tea. Proceeded to the highway and suddenly something was on road which I couldn’t maneuver away from.
There was a loud thud and the whole bike was on shaking but I quickly regained the balance and stopped. Examine the tires and under the engine. Nothing is wrong. So I proceeded. This time I opened up the throttle and was able to keep a steady pace of 90-100 KM with very less traffic on road. Only the cross winds were to be feared. Got stopped by police twice and upon seeing my plate they let me go immediately. I Think cops in GJ are used to interstate bikers. I reached a small town named Sanad by 11:30 and after a couple of speed breakers I started noticing that the sound has changed.it started increasing and I thought may be am a little low on oil and decided to top up. There was no shops anywhere and I had just passed a Honda dealership at Sanad town. Seeing the traffic I did not want to go back and get oil from there. Decided to try some dealership in Ahmedabad which was 5 KM ahead, and reached the outer ring road. And the sound kept increasing .Now that’s something else…I parked my bike to the side of service road and had one more thorough examination on the bike. Great!!!!..The exhaust is broken at the joint before heat shield...

Panic!!!!!!!!!!

What do I do now? Lost my cool and waited for 5 minutes there. Then started searching for the Honda dealerships near me…Touch screen not responding…WOW…!!!.Tried switching off the phone and waited or 5 minutes more. All these while I was thinking of various possibilities to get out of this situation. What if Ahmedabad did not have a silencer in stock? Should I call HVK forum out for help… (I do not have any contacts out there in GJ), If not what are the options for parceling the bike to Cochin? Etc etc..... And then slowly I regained my cool and decided to go back to the Sanad Honda dealership some 10 KM back. Reached there and requested for a fix. As expected they did not have a stock-They made a couple of calls and the other dealerships also did not have. I asked them what to do I have to reach Mumbai tonight and Bangalore by tomorrow eve. They were surprised that I was from Kerala and riding solo to Bhuj and all…Now one of the mech’s there gave me an alternate option. He directed me to a welding work shop. Inside the town. With no other option I proceeded there. Reached in some 5 mins and that guy seemed to be a very busy man. Was welding the center stand for a passion when I reached there and a couple of other bikes were in line. Seeing ay attire and appearance he asked me why I came and I explained my situation. He assured that he will fix it for me and as soon as he was done with the passion he politely requested the customers in line to wait and to my surprise they agreed. All of Gujarat was very courteous to me from the day I entered…He fixed it in 10 mins!!!!Now I was taken aback with this kind of efficiency and politeness.

This guy keeps water in front of his shop for the elephant to cool off.So the Hathi stops there daily...Respect...




Back home I would have to book an appointment and remove the silencer with the help of a mechanic and get it welded. A day’s job done in 10 mins. Asked for the rate and he demanded Rs: 50 –and I gave a 100 rupee note. Thanked him (+a 100 times in my mind) and while he went to get change I left quietly. God bless and let him have more business day by day.

The sound is normal now. But I felt that I should top up my oil and tighten the chain. I went to Ashapura Honda and gave the bike for the Chain to be tightened and oil changed. They asked a lot of questions and I patiently answered. Later on when I received the bill I was again surprised. Only spare cost of oil and spark plug charged.NO service charges…People at GOA rajee charged me Rs 200 for a cable change and now this was a very good gesture indeed. My respect for Gujarati’ people increased.

Left there by 3:30 PM. Thank God that am not stuck in Ahmedabad. I can still make it to Mumbai.
Anyways I have lost time. So I decided to get some sweets as per my sister had requested. Found a sweet shop in Ahmedabad town. Rajasthani sweets from GJ .

Hit the highway back by 4:00 PM.I cannot take a risk again, so keeping her under 90, Vadodara came in by 5:30 and Bharuch by 6:00.

This time I decided to go via the golden bridge. And had some snacks from a shack just after the bridge.



My lady is also starving.
Filled her up from a BP pump just after the bridge. Hit the highway and started riding. By around 10 PM I was some 120 KM from Mumbai. Decided to have a tea and they were serving hot parathas there. Had one for the taste and burppp…am full. Started riding again but on a slow and steady pace. Reached Ghorbunder road by 11:45 and what to do I see. A long traffic jam which lasted for around 3 KM towards thane. I bowed in my mind to the patience of those truckers. And bus drivers and proceeded to thane. Reached my destination by around 12:15 and had examined the bike thoroughly and went to the room .Not a bad day at all...

KM for the day 840

Day 7-Mumbai to hubli

Started from Mumbai by around 11:30 PM and reached hubli by around 8:00 PM in night, The original plan was to take on Bangalore but that did not happen. I had a lot left In me but then I will be reaching Bangalore by around 3: AM or so and that will not suit my plans. Had some shopping there.so stayed at hotel Dhammangi comforts in Hubli.

KM for the day :580

Day 8 Hubli to Cochin:

Started at around 8 and riding all the way taking a few water breaks and fueling up at Chitradurg -I reached Bangalore by around 3:30.Completed my shopping I the EC fly over by 5:30 and decided to proceed for Cochin. Next stop was Salem which came in by 7:30.had a 5 mins break at the Saravana Bhavan haven near the toll gate at Sanakari-after Salem. Bought some water and proceeded. Next stop was the CCD near Angamaly at around 12:00 AM. and i realized that it was my fastest ride from Bangalore to cochin- Only 10 KM’s to home. I did not want to be that over confident, so decided to take a break at the CCD. Had a cappuccino and a toast and spent a hour there, Need to the avoid home stretch syndrome. Finally around 1:30 AM I started making sure that the Tourer is back in cage …reached home in another 10 mins. People are fast asleep. I quietly untied my luggage and hopped upstairs. That’s it. .A 5600 KM journey has come to an end,

KM for the day :940


Afterword:

This was my 1^st long distance trip on two wheels. I mean something that went beyond KA and AP towards north.Successfully covered without a scratch Due to the lack of time there is a shortage of pictures and my narration style is a bit unattractive. Will try to improve. A special thanks to @Hoodibaba who was my inspiration for the whole ride.Anyways happiness is back..

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She was a solid performer as usual....Only problem i got was wit the exhaust due to some external factors which is narrated above.it was rusted a bit and broke upon hitting stone. Even after that she did not let me down and performed well all the way down till cochin without causing any issues. Please note that she is 8 years old with 1.2 Lakh KM on ODO .

Re: A ride to the great white Rann-Recovery of the long lost key to happiness

What an inspiring ride. Hats off

Re: A ride to the great white Rann-Recovery of the long lost key to happiness

Thanks mate..

Re: A ride to the great white Rann-Recovery of the long lost key to happiness

Any issues with the motorcycle throughout the trip except the ones mentioned?

Nice travelogue

Re: A ride to the great white Rann-Recovery of the long lost key to happiness

Oh man... Thats an epic of a ride on a humble bike. Wonderful bike-ologue.

Cheers.


Edit - Can you please share some pics of the extra fog lights that you had on the ride? And some details on where you bought them?

Re: A ride to the great white Rann-Recovery of the long lost key to happiness

Thanks Mate..And no issues other than the mentioned silencer issues..A butter smooth ride all the way..on and off the roads..

Re: A ride to the great white Rann-Recovery of the long lost key to happiness

Below are a couple of images of the lights.



below is a link to the same..

Sans Led-11 LED Headlight With Bulb Price in India - Buy Sans Led-11 LED Headlight With Bulb online at Flipkart.com