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Dead Ends
Another weekend, another chance to explore new horizons.
The plan was decided over the week with Google maps and MapMyIndia to help.
There are quite a few water bodies and dams to North,North-West of Pune. Especially around Kamshet, and as we know, waterbodies
in any form lend themselves to scenic locations. They are always a major stop for any biking route.
Working on this principle, we came up with the following route,
Now, generally the web based mapping services mostly (areas in India) show only the place names, we make up the roads,
and they are mostly correct [
]
Some of the guys couldnt make it this time, so there were only a four of us,
1. Me - RTR 160
2. Nikhil (niks_devil666) - P-220
3. VJ - P-200
4. Sahil (dragking) - ZMA
The plan was to meet up at Chandani Chowk,and from there head towards Paud.
The decided time was 7:30- 8 am.
Me and Sahil reached CC at around 7:45, Nikhil was going to be a little late.He turned up around 8.
We had some tea and breakfast at CC itself, so it took us a bit of time to actually leave.
After leaving from CC, the road to CC was a known one. Me and Sahil had already filled up fuel.
Nikhil and VJ had to refuel. SO we stopped at the Shell fuel pump on the way. The skies were cloudy, but there wasnt any rain around.
After, refuelling, we left towards Paud.
We were to take a right towards Kolvan, which would lead to Pavana dam.The turn came up soon enough. As soon as we left the main road, the
road surface took a turn for the worst.The road now really jagged and unfinished, making for a really bumpy ride.It had started to rain now.
The scenery was quite nice, with greenery and small water ponds to either side of us and the road snaking its way slowly through all this.
After some time , the rain subsided. We soon came to a road where the hills and civilization gave way, and presented a nice view of the
Pavana lake(??).The road was too narrow, so we decided to ride down to the patch of muddy land to the left side of the road.
It was easy enough to get down.And we were soon taking in the beauty of the vistas that surrounded us. Time to draw out the cams.
After an extended pic session, with me and Nikhil both having a field day. We decided to pack up and get back on the road. Easier said than done.
The patch was really muddy and the few rocks that were around, had grown slippery with the moss growing on them.First Sahil tried to get back up.
There was not much room to turn around and go back the way we actually came down. So he tried to take another route back up on the road. This was really
muddy.The wheel got in the mud, and all that bucketloads of torque that ZMA offers,was being expended in throwing mud on Nikhil who was trying to push
the ZMA, as its wheel spun in place. The effort was soon abandoned and wisely too.Sahil finally found enough room and managed to turn his bike around.
It was easier to go up from here, finally Sahil got back on the road, with some help from VJ,who was now the one who got the mud. The smaller turn radius
on the RTR meant it was easier for me to turn around, and with Niks (who got another mud slap from my bike) help, I too got back up.
Not to feel left out of all the mud slinging, I too got into the act helping VJ come back up. The 200 really made a mess of my jacket and denims.
Finally Nikhil get back up as well, this time I was a little more careful when pushing his bike to avoid the mud being thrown up.
Back up, we all looked like we had waded through layers of mud.
From here, we headed towards Pavana dam.After another 20 kms or so, we saw the Dam, from the hill we were descending. The road was much better now.
From here the plan was to get to Kamshet, and cross Kamshet to visit the dams around.The road was good, but we could all feel the rear tyres skid. THe road was a little wet, but it was strange how the tyres were nervous even at low speeds.We crossed and underpass with the expressway right above us.We soon came up to NH4, asking around, they told us to head across the NH4 and across the railway line to get to Uksan.
We crossed the NH4 to get into a crowded town area of Kamshet,moving from there, we finally got to the railway line, we had to wait to cross as some stuff was being moved.
Crossing this lead us to a narrow road that had small farmsteads and fields at both sides. Giving it a very rustic and quaint feel.Admiring all this scenery, we had forgotten much about the road ahead of us,but were soon brought to our senses when all us felt a huge bump on the road. We just looked back to find out that it was a speedbreaker without any paint marks or signs. We had not even regained our composure,when we were subjected to another rude jolt by another one of those secret speedbreakers.From there on, we just kept our eyes peeled for slightest non-uniformity on the road surface.
We soon came to the village, asked for directions to the dams around the area. There were 3 dams around the area, Uksan,Shirota and Kundli.We had to move straight ahead from the village to head towards them.
A few kilometres from the village,we came across a fork in the road. One road heading to the right and the other towards left. Not really having any directions, we arbitrarily chose to go right. THe road here was really patchy,with puddles and loose rocks. Add to that stray cattle wandering freely on the road.We soon saw a small foot trodden path going down the hill to the right,
we followed it to only come to a dead end, this was going to be the trend.
Turning back, we started back on the road we had turned from , we soon came to a village residing at the side of Uksan lake. We went into the village thinking it will eventually open up to give us a nice view of the Uksan dam. But promise was soon stifled as the road just ended in between a group of houses. Just like that.It was another dead end.
Having no option but turn back, we did just that. But this time, just outside the village, we found a small kachcha road to the right going down to the lake.We went a little down the road and parked our
bikes and headed down to near the lake's banks.
Sahil
VJ
After the photosession break, we headed back to the main road from where we had come. We were soon back at the main fork in the road. This time we took the other road to the left.
The road wound up a hill.About 3/4 of the way up the hill, the bushes and tree thickets gave way to present an open view of the Uksan dam in all its glory. I just had to pull over here.
I forgot about the camera as I was taking in the beauty of the scene.Let me go on record here and say that this is the prettiest dam I have seen and I have seen many this last few months.
I mean the setting was just fantastic. Here we were on a hill side, which it self was covered in a blanket of monsoon greenery, straight ahead of was another hill, also green and full of life and it had clouds sitting atop. And in between these two was the Uksan lake and the dam, as the water slowly trickled from its side. It was a heavenly sight indeed.
I have done my best to describe the beauty in my words. But I am sure neither our words nor our cams can capture that in its purest form.
Nikhil tried to convery his appreciation of the scene with words, but he was soon lost for words too and instead settled for a few choice expletives before adding "scenic".I shall honour the sanctity of this forum and not mention those here, even though I would love to.
Never the less, we tried our best to capture it in the cameras.Here is what came of it..
Well, we had to move on. So tearing ourselves away, with much reluctance, we finally moved on towards the rest of the dams. The road continued up the hill.
It had started to drizzle a bit now. Nikhil and Sahil went ahead, with me and VJ bringing up the rear.After a passing a small village we came to another diversion.
One road forked off left. Fortunately there was a guard hut at that point. On enquiry, he said that both the roads lead to dams. The road left would lead to
Shirota and the straight road would lead to Kundli dam. We decided to take left (we always do a BFS) to Shirota.There was a small plain around us with hills in the distance.
We passed a small village on the way.It had suddenly started to rain heavily now.The road eventually lead to an open gate, which signified that we were about to enter some kind of private property, but since there was no guardsman, we went ahead. The road went up and then slowly wound down, as we descended we could see the huge girth of the dam.
It stretched on far as the eyes could see.There were some people there. We wanted to know if this road eventually lead to Lonavla or nearby.On asking, we were told,politely enough, that we were infact on private property and that road was not going anywhere. Another dead end. Another dead end.So we decided to turn around.We soon crossed the gate through which we came in, we then stopped just outside that village, to capture a few pics.
After that we left and were back on the road, we reached the guards hut. From there we continued on to the straight road.The road weaved left and right, through green open plains, soon we came to a gate house, nestled between hills. Inside the gate, we saw the most wonderous of sights.After a period of time, a couple of spouts of water would appear straight out
of the ground. Like a whale coming up for air, or a hot spring erupting from the earth. Coming closer, we actually saw that the water was coming out of a couple of vertical pipes.
Asking the watchman on duty there, told us that some engines running inside the pump house, would spout out water periodically to equalize ressure.When we asked if we could take a picture, he forbade us. We asked if the road that lead past the gate house , lead anywhere. He mentioned that it would lead to village and thats last stop. So it was another dead end that we had encountered.
He also said that, a road we passed on our way there, lead to the Kundli dam, but that there was nothing to see there. Yeah right, like that would stop us,if theres a road, we must explore it.So we turned back and this time took the road left.
But our charge was soon halted, there was a tree fallen (or perhaps placed there with intent) on the road. Nikhil tried to get off the road a bit to circumvent the obstacle, but couldnt. VJ got off and removed the obstacle. We moved on.We soon came to a very narrow road, it was closed on either side with was about 4 feet high and there was water both sides of us.Passing through this narrow passage, we came to a normal road, but that soon ended with an unwelcoming sight of a locked gate.So it was about turn again.
Feeling satisfied that we had probably, explored most of this area. We decided, to head back all the way to Kamshet.It was a long way back, me and Sahil were upfront but we had lost VJ and Nikhil from our
rear view mirrors.Hoping that they would catch up soon, we slowed down a bit waiting for them to come. Soon, VJ caught up with us. No sign of Nikhil.We guessed he must have pulled over for a few pictures.
But after some time, even VJ disappeared.We had by now reached the outskirts of Kamshet. When I got a call from Nikhil.He had a puncture, some distance back.As we were about to turn back, we saw VJ come up.
He had got a call from Nikhil as well.We decided , that VJ would go back for Nikhil while me and Sahil would head into town to look for a tyre workshop. We soon found one. I called up Nikhil, to notify that we had found a shop. He said, he just needed someone to carry the tankbag for him and he could ride there. So we waited for him and VJ to come by.It took them a while to come. The front tyre of Nikhil's 220 was quite low on air. But since, it was tubeless, it didnt take long to get fixed. While the tyre was being fixed, VJ got some samosas and drinks.While we were busy eating it stared to rain again.But it was only a passing shower.
After all was done,we left, through Kamshet,came onto the NH4.We left in the direction of Pune. We stopped over at the Toni-da-dhaba for some lunch. As we had already had some stuff, we werent
all that hungry.After a eating a bit and settling the bill. We left towards Pune.
On the way to my home, it had started to rain again, I got a little wet. But didnt matter as I was home soon. A hot shower later, I was comfortably ruminating on the thoughts of another wonderful ride..
The actual route we took,
The three-pronged devil's trident that you see to the left are the three main dead ends we encountered.
Tracked using EveryTrail, here is the link to the trip,
Dead Ends - Motorcycling - Everytrail
Another weekend, another chance to explore new horizons.
The plan was decided over the week with Google maps and MapMyIndia to help.
There are quite a few water bodies and dams to North,North-West of Pune. Especially around Kamshet, and as we know, waterbodies
in any form lend themselves to scenic locations. They are always a major stop for any biking route.
Working on this principle, we came up with the following route,
Now, generally the web based mapping services mostly (areas in India) show only the place names, we make up the roads,
and they are mostly correct [
]Some of the guys couldnt make it this time, so there were only a four of us,
1. Me - RTR 160
2. Nikhil (niks_devil666) - P-220
3. VJ - P-200
4. Sahil (dragking) - ZMA
The plan was to meet up at Chandani Chowk,and from there head towards Paud.
The decided time was 7:30- 8 am.
Me and Sahil reached CC at around 7:45, Nikhil was going to be a little late.He turned up around 8.
We had some tea and breakfast at CC itself, so it took us a bit of time to actually leave.
After leaving from CC, the road to CC was a known one. Me and Sahil had already filled up fuel.
Nikhil and VJ had to refuel. SO we stopped at the Shell fuel pump on the way. The skies were cloudy, but there wasnt any rain around.
After, refuelling, we left towards Paud.
We were to take a right towards Kolvan, which would lead to Pavana dam.The turn came up soon enough. As soon as we left the main road, the
road surface took a turn for the worst.The road now really jagged and unfinished, making for a really bumpy ride.It had started to rain now.
The scenery was quite nice, with greenery and small water ponds to either side of us and the road snaking its way slowly through all this.
After some time , the rain subsided. We soon came to a road where the hills and civilization gave way, and presented a nice view of the
Pavana lake(??).The road was too narrow, so we decided to ride down to the patch of muddy land to the left side of the road.
It was easy enough to get down.And we were soon taking in the beauty of the vistas that surrounded us. Time to draw out the cams.
After an extended pic session, with me and Nikhil both having a field day. We decided to pack up and get back on the road. Easier said than done.
The patch was really muddy and the few rocks that were around, had grown slippery with the moss growing on them.First Sahil tried to get back up.
There was not much room to turn around and go back the way we actually came down. So he tried to take another route back up on the road. This was really
muddy.The wheel got in the mud, and all that bucketloads of torque that ZMA offers,was being expended in throwing mud on Nikhil who was trying to push
the ZMA, as its wheel spun in place. The effort was soon abandoned and wisely too.Sahil finally found enough room and managed to turn his bike around.
It was easier to go up from here, finally Sahil got back on the road, with some help from VJ,who was now the one who got the mud. The smaller turn radius
on the RTR meant it was easier for me to turn around, and with Niks (who got another mud slap from my bike) help, I too got back up.
Not to feel left out of all the mud slinging, I too got into the act helping VJ come back up. The 200 really made a mess of my jacket and denims.
Finally Nikhil get back up as well, this time I was a little more careful when pushing his bike to avoid the mud being thrown up.
Back up, we all looked like we had waded through layers of mud.
From here, we headed towards Pavana dam.After another 20 kms or so, we saw the Dam, from the hill we were descending. The road was much better now.
From here the plan was to get to Kamshet, and cross Kamshet to visit the dams around.The road was good, but we could all feel the rear tyres skid. THe road was a little wet, but it was strange how the tyres were nervous even at low speeds.We crossed and underpass with the expressway right above us.We soon came up to NH4, asking around, they told us to head across the NH4 and across the railway line to get to Uksan.
We crossed the NH4 to get into a crowded town area of Kamshet,moving from there, we finally got to the railway line, we had to wait to cross as some stuff was being moved.
Crossing this lead us to a narrow road that had small farmsteads and fields at both sides. Giving it a very rustic and quaint feel.Admiring all this scenery, we had forgotten much about the road ahead of us,but were soon brought to our senses when all us felt a huge bump on the road. We just looked back to find out that it was a speedbreaker without any paint marks or signs. We had not even regained our composure,when we were subjected to another rude jolt by another one of those secret speedbreakers.From there on, we just kept our eyes peeled for slightest non-uniformity on the road surface.
We soon came to the village, asked for directions to the dams around the area. There were 3 dams around the area, Uksan,Shirota and Kundli.We had to move straight ahead from the village to head towards them.
A few kilometres from the village,we came across a fork in the road. One road heading to the right and the other towards left. Not really having any directions, we arbitrarily chose to go right. THe road here was really patchy,with puddles and loose rocks. Add to that stray cattle wandering freely on the road.We soon saw a small foot trodden path going down the hill to the right,
we followed it to only come to a dead end, this was going to be the trend.
Turning back, we started back on the road we had turned from , we soon came to a village residing at the side of Uksan lake. We went into the village thinking it will eventually open up to give us a nice view of the Uksan dam. But promise was soon stifled as the road just ended in between a group of houses. Just like that.It was another dead end.
Having no option but turn back, we did just that. But this time, just outside the village, we found a small kachcha road to the right going down to the lake.We went a little down the road and parked our
bikes and headed down to near the lake's banks.
Sahil
VJ
After the photosession break, we headed back to the main road from where we had come. We were soon back at the main fork in the road. This time we took the other road to the left.
The road wound up a hill.About 3/4 of the way up the hill, the bushes and tree thickets gave way to present an open view of the Uksan dam in all its glory. I just had to pull over here.
I forgot about the camera as I was taking in the beauty of the scene.Let me go on record here and say that this is the prettiest dam I have seen and I have seen many this last few months.
I mean the setting was just fantastic. Here we were on a hill side, which it self was covered in a blanket of monsoon greenery, straight ahead of was another hill, also green and full of life and it had clouds sitting atop. And in between these two was the Uksan lake and the dam, as the water slowly trickled from its side. It was a heavenly sight indeed.
I have done my best to describe the beauty in my words. But I am sure neither our words nor our cams can capture that in its purest form.
Nikhil tried to convery his appreciation of the scene with words, but he was soon lost for words too and instead settled for a few choice expletives before adding "scenic".I shall honour the sanctity of this forum and not mention those here, even though I would love to.
Never the less, we tried our best to capture it in the cameras.Here is what came of it..
Well, we had to move on. So tearing ourselves away, with much reluctance, we finally moved on towards the rest of the dams. The road continued up the hill.
It had started to drizzle a bit now. Nikhil and Sahil went ahead, with me and VJ bringing up the rear.After a passing a small village we came to another diversion.
One road forked off left. Fortunately there was a guard hut at that point. On enquiry, he said that both the roads lead to dams. The road left would lead to
Shirota and the straight road would lead to Kundli dam. We decided to take left (we always do a BFS) to Shirota.There was a small plain around us with hills in the distance.
We passed a small village on the way.It had suddenly started to rain heavily now.The road eventually lead to an open gate, which signified that we were about to enter some kind of private property, but since there was no guardsman, we went ahead. The road went up and then slowly wound down, as we descended we could see the huge girth of the dam.
It stretched on far as the eyes could see.There were some people there. We wanted to know if this road eventually lead to Lonavla or nearby.On asking, we were told,politely enough, that we were infact on private property and that road was not going anywhere. Another dead end. Another dead end.So we decided to turn around.We soon crossed the gate through which we came in, we then stopped just outside that village, to capture a few pics.
After that we left and were back on the road, we reached the guards hut. From there we continued on to the straight road.The road weaved left and right, through green open plains, soon we came to a gate house, nestled between hills. Inside the gate, we saw the most wonderous of sights.After a period of time, a couple of spouts of water would appear straight out
of the ground. Like a whale coming up for air, or a hot spring erupting from the earth. Coming closer, we actually saw that the water was coming out of a couple of vertical pipes.
Asking the watchman on duty there, told us that some engines running inside the pump house, would spout out water periodically to equalize ressure.When we asked if we could take a picture, he forbade us. We asked if the road that lead past the gate house , lead anywhere. He mentioned that it would lead to village and thats last stop. So it was another dead end that we had encountered.
He also said that, a road we passed on our way there, lead to the Kundli dam, but that there was nothing to see there. Yeah right, like that would stop us,if theres a road, we must explore it.So we turned back and this time took the road left.
But our charge was soon halted, there was a tree fallen (or perhaps placed there with intent) on the road. Nikhil tried to get off the road a bit to circumvent the obstacle, but couldnt. VJ got off and removed the obstacle. We moved on.We soon came to a very narrow road, it was closed on either side with was about 4 feet high and there was water both sides of us.Passing through this narrow passage, we came to a normal road, but that soon ended with an unwelcoming sight of a locked gate.So it was about turn again.
Feeling satisfied that we had probably, explored most of this area. We decided, to head back all the way to Kamshet.It was a long way back, me and Sahil were upfront but we had lost VJ and Nikhil from our
rear view mirrors.Hoping that they would catch up soon, we slowed down a bit waiting for them to come. Soon, VJ caught up with us. No sign of Nikhil.We guessed he must have pulled over for a few pictures.
But after some time, even VJ disappeared.We had by now reached the outskirts of Kamshet. When I got a call from Nikhil.He had a puncture, some distance back.As we were about to turn back, we saw VJ come up.
He had got a call from Nikhil as well.We decided , that VJ would go back for Nikhil while me and Sahil would head into town to look for a tyre workshop. We soon found one. I called up Nikhil, to notify that we had found a shop. He said, he just needed someone to carry the tankbag for him and he could ride there. So we waited for him and VJ to come by.It took them a while to come. The front tyre of Nikhil's 220 was quite low on air. But since, it was tubeless, it didnt take long to get fixed. While the tyre was being fixed, VJ got some samosas and drinks.While we were busy eating it stared to rain again.But it was only a passing shower.
After all was done,we left, through Kamshet,came onto the NH4.We left in the direction of Pune. We stopped over at the Toni-da-dhaba for some lunch. As we had already had some stuff, we werent
all that hungry.After a eating a bit and settling the bill. We left towards Pune.
On the way to my home, it had started to rain again, I got a little wet. But didnt matter as I was home soon. A hot shower later, I was comfortably ruminating on the thoughts of another wonderful ride..
The actual route we took,
The three-pronged devil's trident that you see to the left are the three main dead ends we encountered.
Tracked using EveryTrail, here is the link to the trip,
Dead Ends - Motorcycling - Everytrail
.
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