I looked for R1, tried to feel the R1, but my mind could not take that and said, you fool it is a Pulsar.

More in the pipeline?? more than enuf to drool

@rossi: wow amazing pics out there, now its time to read the log i guess

You had been to the places just what I was thinking to visit very shortly... Nice write up, and also the pics.

Which is the DSLR you are using?? There seems to dust on many pictures..I suppose it requires a sensor cleaning.

Watching your post,, keep it coming..

Wow! Quite a few things that I noticed.
5 year old Pulsar doing 116kmph True speed.
Why are you unsure of your rear tyres? I thought you kept your steeds in decent condition!

I never knew that there were so many falls with so much water going down them at such force. I had seen the photographs earlier as you know. But I did not realise this till I read your log. It is really a pity that the DOT ignores them to such an extent. With a little bit of an effort and investment these can become good revenue earners.

And I hate snakes!

If you are a "tummied city slicker" then your knees would not touch your chin! But they did!

This ride and log read and sound like written by someone who is wounded indeed and I can see the red flowing in the photographs of the falls. You have my full mental and psychological support.

Ps I noticed that you are a stressed person. You can edit this part out if you want.

nice one brother.... waiting for more those are very small leech one has to be quite careful isnt it

Nice ride there and good pics . Do post more .

Nice photos there!

Day 3 started off on a lazy note. The home stay pampered me and I was treated to a lavish breakfast comprising of the local food. I had a very heavy breakfast since I was planning out a long day and hotels in the area are few.

Plan for the day: Siddapur-Unchalli Falls-Burude Falls-Bennehole Falls-Jog Falls.

Waterfalls Ride Day 3 - Motorcycling - Everytrail

Distance: 200 kms (approx).

I started off at 10, one hour past my planned departure time. Just how crucial this one hour turned out to be, came to light only the next day. None of my gear, jacket, gloves or boots was dry. I chose to ditch my jacket and gloves because I wouldn't be going very far and I wanted them to be dry and usable for the longer, high speed ride that would follow the next day. I put my feet in plastic covers and got them into boots, and within 5 minutes of riding, the cover on my left foot developed a leak and let the water through. I was riding with one wet foot and the other dry. Felt sort of weird.



I started off towards Unchalli Falls, which is close to the Siddapur town. This sounds repetitive, but I found the route to absolutely brilliant and full of twisties.








The kind of roads I had encountered so far was just too hard to believe, seeing as how I was expecting the worst.






Anyway, I was enjoying the ride, and got to Unchalli Falls soon. Again, another example of total neglect, except here, it was much worse. There were steps leading down to what I thought was a lookout point, but to my shock, the steps just led off a cliff into nothing! It was pretty scary and funny at the same time.






As for the falls itself, to my disappointment, it was totally fogged out and I could barely see the water. I waited it out, but unlike earlier in Magod, there was no respite from it. I took photos of whatever could be visible, and I left the place.











My next target was Burude Falls, and I rode back to this little village called Heggarne that I passed while coming to Unchalli. I stopped for a drink of coconut water and some chocolate, and I asked for directions to this place. It was apparently very close to Unchalli, from what I had heard, and the shopkeeper there told me that it was a bit far, and that it is inaccessible by bike. Not wanting to repeat the situation that happened in Lalguli Falls, I took directions and headed off towards my destination.

I was basically heading back towards Sirsi, parallel to the road I had taken the previous day. Except, here I was taking a narrower road, and it wasn't so good. Anyway, I touched the Sirsi-Kumta road at Aminahalli, and as per the instructions, I took a left turn towards Kumta. Then I relised that I was given the directions for Bennehole Falls, and not Burude Falls. Since I was committed in this direction, I continued on and reached the turn to Bennehole Falls.

There was a guy selling coconut water at the turn, who told me not to go because the route is not accessible by bike. Told him I'd manage, had some coconut water and took off into the road. The road from the highway to Bennehole Falls was pure slush, and covered by leaves which made it a little more slippery. I was having fun and after about 15 minutes of offroading I reached a fork in the road. I made my choice and 2 kms down that road, I ended up in some sort of a hillock with the trail just ending there. I turned back and took the other fork and immediately after 500 mts I came across some more forks. There was absolutely no directions or whatsoever and I just kept going on my hunches.



Finally I came across a small marker showing the direction towards Bennehole Falls, with the distance marked as 0.5 kms. This distance took me almost 15 minutes to cover, as there was a stream of water flowing towards the falls on the road. Needless to say, my rims got a nice wash, and at one point, I put my feet down to give my bike a push out of slush and the water was icy cold.

It was then that I looked around and realised where I was. In the middle of a thick forest, with no soul around, on a bike with electrical issues, and on a trail which was meant for trekking. Life could not get better than this, and I was savouring every moment of it. Finally, I reached a point on the trail where it was covered by a tree and some bushes. I could not go further so I left my bike parked there in the water and walked down the trail. I was sure that I would be engulfed by leeches, but having come this far, I didn't care much.



After about a 10 min walk, I reached the waterfalls. I realised that I was on top of the waterfalls, and very close to the edge of the waterfall. It was pretty scary, because I was on a rocky ledge covered with moss and algae and whooshing water beyond it. I went as close to it as possible, and took some photos, of whatever I could see. I sat down on a log to take the place in, and then I noticed some sort of a vague movement on the ground right in front of me. It was like the moss/algae was moving, and then when I had a closer look, I saw hundreds of leeches collectively moving towards me in their unique way of movement, and I got the scare of my life. I decided to move out quickly, and began the hike back to my bike.







After about 5 min or so, when I was closing in on my bike, I saw these 3 guys pop out of the woods out of nowhere and scare me. They continued on towards the falls after eyeing me and the bike for a bit. It was a bit spooky after not having seen a single person anywhere in the place or on the way for the last hour or so. Anyway, I started back, and used the trackback function on the GPS to find my way through all the forks and turns while heading back to the main road.

I reached the main road, and the coconut seller enquired if I saw the falls, and I told him I did. He said the next time, I should hire a jeep from Sirsi and try the route. For sure, the route on a nice 4WD would be huge fun, but I wouldn't do it any other way I suppose. I started back to Sirsi for lunch, and I reached in moderate time, about 40 later. The Sirsi-Kumta road isn't so good, surprising because it is also the way to the famous Yana caves. Anyway, I reached the hotel, the same place where I'd had lunch the previous day and sat down to eat something. This time, the place was packed because I had reached at around lunch time. So when I settled down for a few minutes, I felt things wriggle all over me and I realised what was happening. I went to the toilet and began getting the leeches off one by one. I counted 12 and by the time I'd got rid of all of them, I'd lost my table and I had to wait for some more time. As I was standing in the hotel entrance, the cashier pointed to my back and said I had a big bloodstain in the back, and I went again to the loo to get the damn leech out. By now, it had become full and just fell away. The location of the bite also meant I couldn't stop the bleeding properly, and it freaked people out when I was having lunch. By then I couldn't care, and I finished my lunch and got out


I started back to Siddapur, and hardly 1 km from the hotel, a car pulled up beside me and pointed at my right leg. I looked down and saw my raincoat edges and pants all bloodied. More leeches. I stopped, tended to the bites, and took off again. The slow pace was killing my plan for the day. By now it was 4.30, and it would be 5.30-6 by the time I reached Jog Falls. I scrapped Jog Falls, and headed back to the home stay for an early end to the day. On the way, I relaxed my pace and stopped frequently for photos. I was enjoying the rain, and the effect it had on the crops around the road. Everything was just so much more green and beautiful. To visit the South, and see its splendour, one must visit during the monsoon.





I reached the homestay, dried my stuff out, checked my leech bites, and took a nice hot shower. I got myself some coffee and just relaxed watching the rain come down over the plantation (the homestay is within an areca nut plantation). Napped till 8, had dinner and planned the next day out. I was planning to head to Madikeri to meet nfsnfs, and the route I was taking would take me a long time. I had planned to go to Kalahatti Falls, and Hebbe Falls, near Kemmangundi. So it was a long day ahead the next day and I would have to get an early start, as I still had to visit Jog Falls and Dabbe Falls in the morning and then leave for Madikeri.

As I didn't have any Band-Aids, the homestay caretaker kindly patched up my leech bites which hadn't stopped bleeding, with insulation tape over cotton It was kind of strange walking around the place with red insulation tape "X"s all over my arms and legs







I spent some time talking to the caretaker and went to bed. It was a very comfortable stay and I would be leaving the next day. I have a strong attachment to that region around Sagar and Siddapur, having seen the beauty of the place, and the hospitable people. I'm quite sure I'll return once a year to this place.

End of Day 3.

No of pee breaks on the road Prabhu, not in total

Everybody need to prove that to themselves I guess.

Eh? Says who? Look closely, it's a modified R1.

Yes the camera has now gone in for cleaning. Plenty of dust apparently

I have a D40X, which must be regretting the day it rolled out of the Nikon factory.

1) Wasn't confident about the rear tyre because it was/is a temporary choice of tyre, as my Michelin had a sidewall tear from a nasty nail. It's a brand called Maxima, which nobody has heard of.
2) Some of the snakes were kind of friendly Ken
3) Thanks for the help Ken. I am now fully recovered and back on the saddle. Thanks to this ride and my friends/family who stood by.
4) I am a stressed person, only when I don't get to ride my bikes often. It sort of builds up and explodes in the form of trips like these

To the guys who posted their appreciation about the triplog/pics, thank you so much. I'm still writing in the rest of the logs as soon as I can, will post more today. Thanks again!

I HATE LEECHES!!!

Seriously - I was supposed to be a part of this ride and I wussed out at the prospect of riding from Mumbai to Yellapur in non-stop wet conditions without earplugs, riding jacket and gloves.

So Akhil braved all these conditions alone...and now I am sort of jealous because I'll have to wait 1 year (gives me time to deal with the leech issues...).

But riding with wet feet sucks toes and I don't think it is terribly healthy either. Plus I have an inexplicable tendency to want to pee whenever I feel water between my toes...

Never go swimming with me

A good trip there, Akhil! You are so much generous that you donated quite a lot of blood to those leeches.

How much weight did u loose Akhil? It would have been useful for the leeches if GS had tagged along!!!

Whats that? Your shoes don't fit you anymore? Getting too big for them?

Assess that for urself when we meet. In fact its the other way round!. My shoes have gotten big for me. Exercises u see!!

Simply awesome! Photos are a treat for the eyes and it is quite an adventure you've had.
Can't imagine being alone in a forest, all alone!! How the hell did you manage to get off those damned leeches? That too a dozen of them?! Amazing trip anyway ...