A solo ride on my bike was really a very long awaited task of joy just lying there in the cold storage begging to be executed. I bought the Avenger 220 for the purpose of travelling long distances but alas three years have passed and the only long ride was to the airport of 45 Km.

Many plans were made to travel to Leh, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh but alas all of them failed due to multiple reasons. I lost all hope of any solo ride when like a cloud cover in mid day summer a rather non-exciting opportunity to travel to Bengaluru has come up. My wife pushed me to fulfill that solo ride itch I had, but I was rather reluctant to ride on such long straight stretches where the only challenge is to stay awake.

The bike was prepared with a proper foam wash, brake check and installation of auxiliary lights because let’s face it the stock avenger headlamp is stuck in the not adequate in the city environment leave along the highways.

I have made plans with one of my close friends to ride till Yercaud for a one day trip since I desperately wanted to try out his Duke 200 for a long ride. However, no travel is done without some mind games.
The plan to ride v/s the plan to drive was always hanging in my mind till the last 30 min on the D-day thanks to my low self confidence and also the fact that I had a sprain neck the previous day.

Day 1: D-Day
Alarm set to three in the morning, all set and done, still in the dilemma ride or drive? Sat down for 5 min and gave a deep thought.
Ride: A new experience, No TOLL, Less Expenditure, Tiresome = More breaks, Uncertain on my ability.

Drive: Expensive, Tolls = Expensive, Much more comfortable, No thrill factor.

My eyes woke up, the decision was made, to drive I may get multiple opportunities, so RIDE shouted the decision making slot in my mind.
The ride from my home at Nallagandla to my friend’s home at KR Puram showed 9 hrs in Gmaps translating it into 11 hours of real time travel.

The time was 3:30 AM, the bags have been tied, the lights have been checked, the starting to Bengaluru messages have been sent, the thumb was set on the ignition, the left leg on the gear lever, the left hand on the clutch, ‘clunk’ came the sound as I engaged the first gear the time read 3:38 AM, Hyderabad. My first solo long ride is on the course of reality in few seconds, the clutch was released, the accelerator twisted, the engine revved and the torque pushed the machine and the man on it forward. This is it, no more looking back I thought. My first solo ride has begun.

The LED lights were guiding my path along with the friendly halogen, the familiar city roads soon gave way to the service road where the road was smooth but like life, the road had a group of back breakers placed strategically to discourage you from keeping your bones intact. After around 50 odd minutes and multiple speed breakers finally made it to Shamshabad. Sun was yet to arrive at Hyderabad and the high beams were welcoming me to the highway. The LED’s were of no use with the incoming high beams but moving forward with the high beams got reduced due to the blockers.



Break Time after riding for more than three hours. I have just packed Snickers and Gatorade to keep myself light, energetic and hydrated. The rest of the journey was uneventful covering good distances, where near a place called Penukonda in Anantaphur District, I witnessed the construction of a car factory. It was huge and there were many sign boards written in Korean language, but three letters written in English caught my attention KIA. There were super markets and townships exclusively built for the Koreans. Waiting to see how they catch up with the Hyundai’s.

The sign boards changed their language, their color and their name, my phone welcomes me to Karnataka. 120 KM shows the Gmaps. Crossed many places without paying much attention as exhaustion was taking the better of me, in midst of this ride I observed something strange, the speedometer was showing that I was doing 120KMPH but real time feel was nowhere near. Checked in the mobile app to see that there was 40 KMPH variance. What might be the reason?

Took a left turn near Devanahalli to enter a rather rural side of Bengaluru outskirts, after navigating for around 20 minutes was able to see the airport approach road since my friend stays at KR Puram Gmaps has navigated me through the interior road rather than the regular Hebbal road, the lack of coordination between the civic infrastructure and private infrastructure in Bengaluru was seen where there was a 35 storey luxury apartment complex surrounded by non-existent road. Finally at 2 PM reached my friends house at KR Puram. Day 1 was exhausting, exciting, fun, and in the later part of the day hot.

Met him after a long time and he also like me likes riding but could execute the desire to reality. He owns a KTM Duke 200 and it was from long time that I planned to take it for a spin. After torturing Gmaps and trip advisor for an hour we squared in on visiting Yercaud in Tamil Nadu to experience the 20 hair pin bends and also since it was the nearest from his place. Since I will be using his KTM he rented a RC 200 for the ride. I hit the sack soon much to the joy of my muscles.


Day 2: A 500 KM Test Ride
Day 2 started with a lazy wake up at 4 AM, both our bodies were aching and the will to move was nil. Somehow we woke up and I was in two minds in traveling a long distance of 233 KM on way owing to travelling almost 600 KM the previous day, checked Gmaps for some more nearby places like Mysore, Shivanasamudram and surroundings but nothing appealed. Finally, we pushed ourselves to go to Yercaud, a decision well made.
The previous day I had the fortune to ride the duke in the legendary Bengaluru traffic and coming from riding the avenger this was one pain in the back and other parts, I even gave a thought of using avenger to travel to Yercaud.
All geared up, went down and looked at both the Avenger and the Duke.
Avenger: Hey, come on lets go, we are already late.
Duke: Hey there, want some aggressive riding experience?
Avenger: Don’t listen to her, she is tempting you, she is danger, I am more comfortable and safe.
Duke: Uhoo!!
Avenger: Dude, control!
Duke: Vroom!
Me: (Gulp), sorry my dear Avenger. Duke, suit up.



I have always looked at KTM’s as maniac machines that only thrill you for some time and become boring then after adding to the perception that they are not safe. Boy! I was wrong.
We started off at 4:30 AM and crossed the usual Electronics City, surprised by the toll for bikes. My friend who was accustomed with KTM drove at good speeds while I needed some riding to get adjusted to seating position and the acceleration it was capable of. Once we crossed Karnataka and entered Hosur the 6 lane highway cutting through the hills was a treat to the eyes, the engine, the brakes and the lens added to the fact that the sun was yawing made it really special for me, such sights were new to me as the self driving/riding bug bit me recently. It was sad that I couldn’t capture it in its full glory.



The highway pushed up my confidence to twist the throttle and boy KTM loved me with her full might. Hitting 90 KMPH was like sipping water in a lake. The riding position was initially a concern however it became a part of me and in fact I found it more inspiring to ride than Avenger (sorry buddy). The ride continued traversing through beautifully laid tarmacs with lush rice paddy fields on either side and might green hills in front. WOW.
Being a long weekend the number of cars on the road were high and they drove quite dangerously cutting lanes like the Pani Puri guy cuts the onions. Soon we covered around 100 KM when the stomach acids became excited and Swami’s Restaurant tamed them with taste.



Occasionally the hard seat made me stand up and move to be more comfortable, but the ride stability, the ease of acceleration and the pleasant weather made it up. I could easily ride from 60 KMPH all the way to 110 KMPH in the 6^th gear itself, was surprised by the range. By the time we reached Salem, it was late in the day the sun was having brunch with our stamina, some coconut water later, the 20 hair pain bend road welcomed us.













It was a pleasure to ride the KTM on those twists especially trying to bend the bike and to whatever extent I felt safe. Multiple photo stops were written in the constitution and had to be executed. One thing that bothered me is the radiator fan going off while ascending may be KTM has taken care of it in the 2017 edition.

The return ride was uneventful with butt pains and exhaustion until we were around 50 KM from Bengaluru when the clouds matched colors with the tarmac, the wind blast has now increased its direction and its temperature, and the liquid cooling of the engine began getting some help through water cooling from the sky.



Being only 50 KM away we thought of continuing forward but the wind blast has other ideas and rain was hitting us for being so stupid. A couple of breaks and couple of hours later the intensity has reduced and we started moving at crawling speed, the same highway which inspired high speed in the morning is looking ever deadly with rain and fast moving cars that threaten to bathe us in various flavors of water.
The stretch after crossing the border of Tamil Nadu was surprisingly dry with no hint of any rain while we got information that KR Puram area was flooded. With dry roads we picked up pace and bypassed the Electronics City Express way owing to more travel time and were able to reach KR Puram by 8 PM exhausted and battered but satisfied. Our backs were aching but our hearts were pumping. Closed the day with some awesome Shawarma.
Day 3: A rather normal day
The next day was off for riding where I took the cab to attend my cousin house warming function in Hebbal and the rest of the day was spent there. Closed the day with a fun night at Tipsy Bull.
Day 4: Back to base
With a slight hangover from the previous night started the long boring journey back at 3:58 AM from KR Puram, the idea was that I would reach home faster since the route was known and there was no need of experimenting with the SJCAM for angles and any other photos. But it was more tiring than the onward journey taking multiple stops for food and nature calls.







The ride got restless after entering Telangana as the heat was increasing and so was the mental state that home would come sooner. However multiple breaks ensured with butt pain and general fatigue. Finally, made up my mind to not stop till I reach Shamshabad, the last 75 KM were the most painful till I reached Shamshabad where the board Welcome to Hyderabad greeted me like hot food. But the pain has not stopped yet, another 40 KM to my home at Nallagandla through the back breaking multiple speed breaker laid service road.



The time in the clock was 1:20 in the afternoon, I was getting increasingly restless, made a quick stop at Dominos in Narakramguda and the pizza coke combo did some repair work. Finally reached Nallagandla at 2:20 PM and the ride came to an end.
Take Home Lessons:
Keep Hydrated.
Long straight highways are good, but a bike needs curves.
Need to reduce a good amount of weight for a more comfortable and less tiring ride.
Don’t just rely on snickers, it does not always work, take light but fulfilling food.
Highways are safer than the city.
Somehow found the KTM much better highway machine than the Avenger.
Avenger did deliver the goods, never expected much from it in terms of speed and stability. However, it exceeded many expectations. Oil cooling showed it power in good heat.
Solo rides are good, but I am not cut out for it. A ride with friend(s) is more fun and less stressful.
Realized I liking riding more the driving.
Looking forward to more rides in the future.