We were supposed to meet up near double barrel around 5:30. Sid was going to come to my place. However, I forgot to lubricate Ninja's chain, so I had to do it in the morning. This took a bit of time and caused us some time before we could actually head towards the rendezvous.I got the tankbag, charged the camera and was all set.

We finally left my place around 5:30. Surojit had messaged me that he was waiting near the toll naka just after double barrel. So we took the Katraj ghat , which is faster and more fun.

We met up with Surojit arond 5:45, without wasting any more time (we had a long ride ahead and were already behind schedule), we started off. Both Surojit and Sid had to fill up.
We stopped at the HP/BP petrol pump on the highway (near McD), but there was no fuel available there. We filled up at a BP petrol pump about 1 km further down.


6:30 AM : After refuelling, we set off towards Kolhapur and were doing good speeds around 90-100, the traffic was light. We were at Khambatki in no time. As usual, there was some traffic at Khambatki, but not
too heavy. After taking the first few corners on Khambatki, all of us learnt the hard way, that Khambatki is no longer cornering heaven that it once was. The road is littered with potholes and many are located
at precarious points on the curves that can easily unsettle your bike and cause a spill. We took it a bit easy after that.So far the skies were clear and the sun was shining through very nicely. We were treated
to wonderful vistas. Rolling green hills basking in the soft morning sunshine. We were tempted to pull over and click a few pictures but this would have broken the momentum we had gathered so far and we wanted to make up for the time we lost so far. So we moved on. We stopped after Satara (about 40 km after Satara), because we saw some rain up ahead and wanted to ensure everything was properly sealed. However, this turned out to be a needless, as we didnt experience any rain for the next 40-50 km. Just near Kolhapur, we came across a slight drizzle which was hardly noticable.

8:30 AM : We stopped over a decent looking place called Sai International about 30 km from Kolhapur. This place looked good and importantly had ample parking visible from inside. We had made good progress so far. About 180 km in 2 hours.After having some breakfast and tea. I checked google maps to check which route to take to Panhala. We had to go from where we were straight ahead for about 21 kms until we came to a place called Shiroli and then take a right from there to head towards Panhala. We left around 9:30 AM.I filled up just before Shiroli, just to be safe if we dont find any fuel stations ahead.









9:45 AM : We came to Shiroli, and after checking with the locals, exit the highway and took a right towards Jyotiba.Jyotiba is the hill next to Panhala which is a famous temple. Now the roads were quite bumpy and the Ninja's stiff rear setup ensured that I got the message.After a few turns , we finally came to the road that went towards Jyotiba. Now this was nice little road that went curving up the hills.

10:30 AM : We came to slight plain to the side of the road that offered a fantastic view of the surrounding country side. It was time to draw the cameras.Now this was a very nice viewpoint and the air was crystal clear and we could see far off into the horizon. There was still no rain about but it was cloudy and very pleasant.





















Continued...

Continued from Post #16

11:15 AM : Going ahead, we soon came to a little town. We were stopped because we had to pay some entry fee (Rs.4 per bike) just at the base of this town called Jyotiba's hill. We went right up the hill and then the road soon began
to descend. This is when we realized that we had taken the wrong road and this doesnt head to Panhala. So after a little asking around we found that we had to go all the way back down the hill and take the road that goes to Panhala from there.
We had come to this fork on our way here, but we missed the signboards and took the right branch instead of left. Nevertheless, we made an unintentional visit to Jyotiba's hill.


11:45 AM : We headed back towards Panhala, it was quite close and soon we were on the road ascending upto Panhala. This is a very nice but narrow road. Surrounded by greenery and canopy of trees. Panhala is about 7-8 kms from the base. On entering Panhala, we again had to pay entry fees (Rs.4 per bike). We roamed around Panhala. Today being Sunday there was quite some crowd. Ninja was grabbing a lot of eyeballs. Lot of people clicking pictures and posing
besides the bike. I had to stand around to ensure nothing happened. One guy was even offering money to allow his kids to pose on the bike.We rode around Panhala stopped at a few spots. The roads inside are very nice and all the spots can be visited on wheels, no trekking or hiking required. Unfortunately, we had planned to leave around 1 PM, so we couldnt explore all of it.














1:05 PM : We left from Panhala, now the next waypoint was Amba and Amba ghat. We had to climb down all the way down and head in the direction of Ratnagiri.The road from here was fantastic. Long sweeping corners, small tight ones, long straights, this had everything.The road snaked its way through farmlands and small hamlets , occasionally giving way to plains stretching far bounded by jagged hills.As we crossed Amba the road started to get wet and could see the mist blanketing the hills. We stopped for a small picture break.





Continued...

Continued from from post #17

2:20 PM : We left for Amba ghat. We knew this was going to be exciting. Not long after entered Amba ghat, we were covered by mist. We stopped immediatetly. It was serene. I see this every monsoon, but each time it is even more enchanting.
Something that unfortunately no camera can capture.WE clicked a few pictures. Just near where we stopped were a couple of tapris. What good fortune that one of them sold tea. We parked our bikes and ordered some hot tea.
Around that point it started to rain and quite heavily too. It was the ideal experience, sitting under the tapri roof and having hot tea. The ride was made pretty much.The rain soon gave way and we left. The roads were wet, we were careful initially, soon picking up our pace.As a sidenote, to all Ninja owners, the stock tyres performed phenomenally well, not just here but throughout the trip. After descending Amba ghat, the roads got drier and drier but no less pleasant. We soon came to a town called Sakharpa.
From here we had to take a right towards Devrukh and from there head to Chiplun on NH17.






















3:45 PM : We entered a ghat after taking a right from Sakharpa. The roads were very wet and very narrow, sorrounded by forest.We soon came to HP fuel station. We filled up before heading towards Chiplun.
The roads here were good and typical of the kind of roads you would find in Konkan. Green vegetation with the starking contrast of the red soil.

4:20 PM : We soon reached Sangameshwar which is on the NH17. From Sangameshwar we took a right towards Chiplun.This was NH17 after all. Nice smooth road full of curves and beautiful views.
This was another fantastic part of the journey. WE made good progress here, but we were still behind schedule so had to hurry.We passed Chiplun around 4:50 PM. WE stopped just after chiplun near large waterfall. From here we had to get to Poladpur and then take a right from there that went to Mahabaleshwar. My cell phone battery was down to the last bar. I had to stop the GPS now to stop the cell from going completely dead. Also, all of us were really hungry. We decided to eat something at Poladpur.
















6:15 PM : We reached Poladpur. Surojit was running low on fuel, so he looked around for a fuel station, but the one he found didnt have fuel. Anyway, the station attendant somehow scavenged Rs.100 worth fuel for him. Good enough for now. WE decided not to eat at Poladpur as there were no good places around and also it was getting dark. We decided it will be safer to finish the Poladpur ghat section while we stil have some light. So we started off from Poladpur. The road was really really bad and some sections of smooth tarmac.
This really took a lot out of us. Especially, the state we were in. At the end of a long ride, hungry and cold. We finished a major part of the ghat section before it became dark. We were treated to some unbelievably fantastic views. I could barely keep my eyes on the road.
I thought it would be safer to just stop and have an eyeful. I stopped but I didnt want to stop for pictures as it would take too long.We reached Mahabaleshwar. We planned to stop at Mapro Garden. All through
cold , dark roads , I was thinking only of the hot soup and sandwich in the Mapro Garden. Finally around 7:45 PM, we reached Mapro garden.

8:00 PM We ordered some hot soup, hot chocolate (which wasnt very hot at all), french fries, Pizza and grilled sandwich (yes we were very hungry). This was our (well-deserved) dinner for the day.
We then started off from Mahabaleshwar around 9:30. Pasarni ghat was pretty much deserted. It was a nice sight in the night, the red reflectors at the road edges, the twinkling lights of the town down below.
Also, the roads were completely wet. After finishing Pasarni ghat, we had to cross Wai and reach Surur before we hit the NH4. This was a really bad stretch, as the roads are narrow and all vehicles
drive with their lights on high-beam, making it impossible to see the road.We finally hit NH4 and from there it was pretty smooth sailing. Surojit had to fill up once.

10:40 PM : We reached Double barrel and parted ways from there. Me and Sid would take the Katraj ghat home, while Surojit had to go straight through Chandani chowk.

It was a fantastic ride. It had everything. Rain,sunshine,ghats, straights, good roads, bad roads and what have you.

Nice Pics and Log, hyper .

I remember one incident, when we were about to leave Mapro Garden. One waiter asked us, that where were we from, and were we heading to Pune? I said yes, and told him about the places that we covered in the trip. He said, thats nice, you have covered a lot of kms.

Then came his million dollar quesition " From how many days are you into this journey ? "

I replied, "from morning.". His Face was worth watching He was like shocked.. lol ...

ha ha... exactly... and more so he wasn't aware of the crazy people of xBhp

and then the guy near the chiplun waterfall
He : "kaha se aa rahe ho?"
We : "pune se kolhapur gaye the and udhar se yaha aaye hai"
He : "Bap re ek hi din mein itna saara wo bhi BARISH mein"
We : "Barish mein hi toh maaza hai "


@hyperion-- nice log n pics... well done

[QUOTE=surojit;446929]ha ha... exactly... and more so he wasn't aware of the crazy people of xBhp

and then the guy near the chiplun waterfall
He : "kaha se aa rahe ho?"
We : "pune se kolhapur gaye the and udhar se yaha aaye hai"
He : "Bap re ek hi din mein itna saara wo bhi BARISH mein"
We : "Barish mein hi toh maaza hai "


Yeah, i remember that guy , he was the one who told us that poladpur will come after mahabalseshwar

Nice log & beautiful ride. Has nyone recorded the route wid GPS, if yes then plz post the link, wanted to go through it once.

Yes. Sorry I actually forgot to post that. Here is the GPS trail, though it covers only 70% of the ride, my battery was really low at the point of time so I had to turn off GPS.

Pune-Panhala-Mahabaleshwar-Pune - Motorcycling - Everytrail

Oh! My God! So many kms!!

Another awesome trip and amazing pics n log to tell the tale. That sounds like a VERY taxing full day trip! Kudos to you guys for making it without any fatigue or hic-ups

Again, great pics!

thanks for sharing the wonderful photos
monsoon makes everything looks so fresh and rejuvenated

Fantastic pictures and log. Wish I was with you guys.

thanks mate... it was taxing .. agreed but the green panoramic view wasn't letting us think about ourselves....

agreed.. and thats the only reason we like to ride MORE in monsoons... u can see greenery all around..

thanks vishwas ji.... chalo phirse kabhi plan banate hai... usme kya hai? :P

Awesome pics.. missed another one there..

nothing to worry.. there will be a number of such short\long runs during the monsoons.. just keep yourself updated....

Nice pics dude !! ......... The whole konkan belt and western ghats region is a nature's paradise during monsoon ....... its beauty can get us bikers lost !! ....... Looking forward for such rides every weekend till september ..... And even if I do, still there will be same number of places left to visit nxt monsoon !!