Topic Approved

Sorry for the late approval but you can still get some help for your return leg

plan postponed by two weeks

thanks for approval. plan got postponed by two weeks due to office leave approval and family function. so now i have some time to discuss it in detail.
please help.

anybody aware of bangalore-pondicherry route? how is the road condition?

Good; rideable condition

thanks aargee, can you please just have a look at my plan, and let me know any routes which are avoided or altered. thanks
~satya

Day 1 - You can easily do Pune to Bangalore; so its little easier on day 2; spend some evening time at Pondicherry

Day 3 & 4 are fine

Day 5 - Its little difficult to start by afternoon from Kanyakumari & reach Kochi by night as the roads at Alapuzha are not so convenient. Keep aside 5-6 hours for non familiar roads

Day 6 - Are you not staying at Munnar? If not, Munnar - Kodaikanal is quite possible, Madikeri...whew!!! not really sure if you guys can make it; sounds too much hard riding + they're hill rides. You don't want to miss Top station at Munnar.

Day 7 - Madikeri to Gokarnam...possible, if you ride hard enough

Day 8, 9 - Ok

If I was in your state I would have planned more time in the hills rather than the coast . I had a sketched a similary itinerary for same time frame but had excluded pondy from my list as I had already visited it when I was in chennai. As far as the route is concerned , I see you would be having two days of straight non stop NH4 . Wouldn't it be boring ? . If you can exclude pondy from the list you can look at some wonderful hill stations off karnataka , TN & kerala. A point from my side :
1. Madikeri -- Mangalore -- Gokarna . Not advisable to do in a day. Not sure about the current road conditions post Sulya & NH17 . If I consider them to be like what we had before , it would be really damn tiresome !

If you can exclude pondy let me know , I can put up a little different itnerary

Cheers & Ride Safe,
Pai

Answers in bold

thanks pai, i had visited pondy 2 yrs back, and it was awesome experience! but my companion wants to visit pondy. but you can suggest a route, so that i can discuss it with him. btw i hv considered little flexibility in change of routes. so i would really love to appreciate your plans/suggestions.
regards,
satya

thanks Phanikar, thanks for your reply, i really dont want to celebrate b'day on this trip.. i can consider krishnagiri route.
yes, i looks like kochi madikeri routes has to be split in two days.. i need your help to finalise it, i dont want to miss coorg to munnar via ooty, as it got awarded one of the best road to ride by shell advance survey.
it would be great help in split the route// i do clean carb, air filter, repair tubeless tire punctures for my bikes. regarding papers, its all clear.
i am spicy food lover...thanks for your words mate..
regards,
satya

I have been saying this as soon as it was nominated buddy . There is no such thing drastically good about the route, its just like any other route that passes though hills.Its not like you fall head over heels after you have done this stretch, but thank god for being alive. Also as i have always said, "Coorg is good,Ooty is good,Munnar is good" nothing in between.

For 9 days in hand :

Day 1 : Pune -- Shimoga ( reach by night & next morning visit tavare koppa wild life sanctuary )

Day 2 : Shimoga--Sringeri--Balehonur--Aldur--Chickmaglur(Awesome roads through tea estates . Can visit sringer temple on the route )

Day 3: Chickmaglur--Belur--Halebidu--Sakleshpur--Gundya--Subramanya--Bisle--Somwarpet--Madikeri(Lots to cover on this route , on my recent trip the twisties from hassan all the way till gundya are superb . Bisle roads are bad but the view from the Bisle view point surrouding all the mountains compensates for the bad roads )
There is a shorter route for madikeri too , but its less scenic as compared to the previous one..
Its Chickmaglur -- Belur--Halebidu--Hassan--Ramnathpura--Bylakuppe--Madikeri . Road conditions are not so great post hassan till madikeri. And roads are super smooth from chickmaglur till hassan.

Day 4: Madikeri--Kushalnagara--Iruppu--Waynad
(I have done the route till iruppu , but not sure further post waynad)

Day 5 Onwards you can plan your journey towards TN & return leg.

I have just suggested this route cause the first 4 days would go with super ease & totally admist the forests , twistes. As phanikar said , summer ride on the coastline would be way to cumbersome. But afterall thats where fun lies in , stay hydrated stay happy . Also if you follow the plan given above , may be your return journey would be a run back home i.e ride , ride & just ride .

i am pakka confused now but i have considered above mentioned routes and planned down new route:
tried to minimise coastal area, but still dhanushkodi is place to visit once so i have considered it. new route is like this>
1st day, Saturday: 6pm> Pune> NIpani 270kms (its office day, will take half day leave )

2nd day, Sunday: 6am: nipani > shimoga > madikeri: 620kms
3rd day, Monday: Madikeri > ooty > Munnar 474 kms
4th day, Tuesday : Munnar > kanyakumari 370kms
5th day, Thursday: kanyakumari > rameshwaram > dhanushkodi > rameshwaram :320kms
6th day, Friday: rameshwaram > Madurai > salem : 425kms
7th day, Saturday: salem > Bangalore > Pune : 1058kms
8th day, Sunday : Buffer/ rest day

bold letter are halt locations..
anyone who has done this route before? or similar/ or part of it? please update//

can anybody sum up name of the hill stations in karnataka/ kerala on
this route:
1st day, Saturday: 6pm> Pune> NIpani 270kms (its office day, will take half day leave )

2nd day, Sunday: 6am: nipani > shimoga > madikeri: 620kms
3rd day, Monday: Madikeri > ooty > Munnar 474 kms
4th day, Tuesday : Munnar > kanyakumari 370kms
5th day, Thursday: kanyakumari > rameshwaram > dhanushkodi > rameshwaram :320kms
6th day, Friday: rameshwaram > Madurai > salem : 425kms
7th day, Saturday: salem > Bangalore > Pune : 1058kms
8th day, Sunday : Buffer/ rest day

karnataka/ kerala frnds plz help me to split this route..