Hello everyone,


I promise I will keep it short !

"The mind wandered
where it should, and should not,
yearning to break
into the temptations it desperately sought

the devil whispered,
its power over me,
I knew, someday, someday soon
I had to be free

Trying to get away
from this world that was cynical,
myriad of moments, they swayed
on my path to the pinnacle

But , what was this peak ?
this summit above,
it was and is, freedom from the control
that my demons seek
A thousand strong , or ten thousand may it be,
I hope I persevere, I hope one day,
One day I live, to be free."



I made my first solo trip to Chikkamagaluru and wanted to share the Journey with everyone here. However, more importantly I wanted to have some advice and journey tips from the x-bhp family.


1 week prior to the Gandhi Jayanti long weekend decided that this would be the most apt time to increase the bond with Hannah (my bike). So I decided to go for a small adventure with her to Chikkamagaluru as it was a familiar place and route. I had started prepping her from few weeks back so that she would be ready when the time would come.

This was the initial plan




However, after reaching there, plans changed, I guess that happens and the actual trip was something like this



Lesson#1 – Plan properly, the places you want to visit
Advice or tips on Lesson#1 : Please let me know

Anyways 2 days before I start the journey I know that just having a tail box is not enough , I had some clothes etc etc that I will need for this trip. So I decide to visit Decathlon and purchases a 50 Litre trekking back pack, sleeping bag, sleeping mat, 4 bungee cords, a small rope, and an extra rain cover. I totally wasn’t sure what all I will require. I didn’t plan it well. The other important thing I needed was a good Helmet. The helmet I had at the moment was the Free-of-cost Open face helmet by RE. I was searching for a good helmet however I was not 100 percent convinced by any helmets out there except maybe a Scorpion EXO -1400 Air – Legione blue and red combo. Anyways, I didn’t want to pick that up as yet as I want to see and exhast all other options and then do thorough pros-cons analysis before finalizing one. However since time was short I decide to pick up a sub- 10K helmet for the time being and decided temporarily or finally on an NHK Helmet costing about 5500 INR which satisfied few of my criteria.
A day before my first solo ride I started packing the things haphazardly, took the following Items

1. Sleeping bag
2. Sleeping mat (very light weight and excellent option from Decathlon)
3. Extra pair of Jeans
4. Track suit
5. Inners
6. A Book
7. First Aid +
8. Few rags of clothes ( I thought I would clean the bike in between)
9. Some basic packaged food
10. Hydration backpack while riding

Items that I missed. I wished I carried.

1. Chain Cleaner + Chain Lube + Brush
2. Torch light/ Head mounted light
3. Phone Mount

Lesson #2 – Learn from experience and read Lesson #1 again
Advice or tips on Lesson#2 : Please let me know

Anyways, I started the journey on Friday , Oct 1^st morning around 6.45 AM from my House, and soon hit Nelamangala and around 8 AM decided stop for breakfast. Stopped at a random place in between and had Idli Vada.





After around around 30 -45 min, made my way from there and realized my lesson #5 (will come to that in a bit). The best thing I liked about bikes was that tolls are so easy. For cars stopping at tolls was so pathetic, especially a packed toll booth. After this I decided to do a stupid thing. I decided to stop and remove my jacket as I wanted to enjoy the fresh air. Anyway soon I made it to Hassan, where constantly I stopped for checking maps, as the route after Hassan involved few turns from the straight route. I made it to my destination around lunch, only to realize later that I had a bit of a sun burn.
Lesson # 3 : Keep your riding gear on ( not because of the sun burn), but safety
Advice or tips on Lesson#2 : Please let me know, what you do in case you feel hot or humid

Few pics that I took enroute







My plan was to just stay cooped up in the tent and go for walks in and around the place and have a relaxing weekend which I did. I did a night drive , which was a bit scary and maybe a tad reckless especially if alone. Not going to repeat that.
Lesson #4 : No night rides , if driving alone
The next day was pretty much at the home stay



The final day I decided to leave early as I wanted to visit Kalasa Hanging Bridge and Panduranga Coffee works before heading to Bangalore











Met few amazing random strangers.







[Only in the cradle of the Darkness, do we reach out for the Light, that otherwise was taken for granted]

The return of the Journey was particularly long. I stopped on the way for lunch at Hoysala Resort newar Hassan which was extremely good place for lunch but the time it took was too much. I spent probably 2 hours there.
Lesson #5 : Plan your meals and places for meals and also hydrate your self periodically.
Advice or tips on Lesson#5 : Any particular places around Bangalore 100-150 Km mark , which is good for breakfast/lunch. And how do you generally plan your meals while riding.
Few other pics of the journey with Hannah.

Went up few high places







[COLOR=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)]A futile attempt to take a time-lapse with my phone
[/COLOR]


All in all I reached home at 8PM on Sunday and slept like a baby. The next day was also tiresome and I slept very tired as well. Now just got the energy to write and post this journey here. This is why I have decided to actually keep it short.




I had quite a few questions other than the previous ones and I would really appreciate some good advice. I have come about these questions based on my first ride.

Q1. How on earth don’t the bums hurt after 300 odd Km ?
Q2. What else would you carry with you which I have missed ?
Q3. What you wouldn’t carry which I did carry ?
Q4. I have to purchase some gear. What would be your order of priority ? I am listing them in my order of priority. Most important to later

1. Riding Jacket – REV It( with all guards). Currently all I have is a Denim Jacket
2. Riding Boots – TCX or Gaerne
3. Riding pants – Undecided
4. Phone mount (RAM mount. Sheesh.. its so expensive)
5. ?

Q5. After the ride, today I went to the RE service center for chain clean and lube. While riding I felt something off. Anyway the mechanic tightened the chain and did clean and lube and I felt it made a lot of difference. So would you suggest me doing clean and lube of chain during rides ?
Q6. How do you plan your rides, especially if you are planning solo ?
Q7. Have I missed any important point? Please advise and share.


That's all folks...