Prologue: A Rainy Saturday Afternoon
My mobile rings up loudly and i wake up from my nap to see my friend Vinay is calling me.
Vinay: Hey dude..wassup? Its raining like crazy man!
Me: Yea dude..what the hell..getting bored to the core
Vinay: You know..I feel like going out somewhere in the rains man..what say? I was seeing some friends of mine posting pics that they went to trek to Coorg man.
Me: Trek?? huh! no man..lets ride. There is no point going out in the hills now, its crazy out there..lets go to beach..anyways, we been to Chikmagalur last time right? So, how about a beach experience ?
Vinay: Seems kool man..ok lets catch up in the office and we will decide over it.
The conversation was short, but it kept me thinking about a trip plan. I was thinking Mangalore, Udupi, Gokarna etc. Point being i have been to all these places, but never on a bike and i did want to make a ride along the sea shores. Anyways, we met up in the office and after couple of discussions ( i would say couple because we were not able to finalize on the place, some my friend did not like and some I rejected ), we thought of going to Pondicherry. But going only to Pondicherry seemed like a straight forward plan and since i been there couple of times before, i was insisting of making some twists. So we thought of going to Chennai from Bangalore and take the ECR to go to Pondicherry via Mahabalipuram. It was the moment that gave me big smiles (its always when i feel something special is coming up).
So, destination finalized. Now, about the riders. We made some calls but unfortunately someone or the other were busy in office work but we still ended up with 2 other guys agreeing to join us. All set, the plan, the packing, the routemap, at last we were set to kick start our first beach ride as a group.
Let me give a short intro about the riders who took part in the trip:
Vinay. He rides a brand new RE Desert Storm 500.
Ajith. He rides a RE Classic 350.
Dinesh. He rides a brand new RE Bullet 350.
Lastly, me, Suvrajit. I ride a Avenger 180 (seems like an ant in front of the REs eh? ).
Right. that being said, let me share the route map:
We decided to start Saturday, sharp at 04:00 AM from Bangalore and finalized a rendezvous point. Packed my bags, had a light dinner and went off to sleep, putting my alarm for 03:00 AM. Needless to say, i hardly got any sleep that night, i was super-excited! I bet that is normal .
Day One: Enroute Mahabalipuram
I woke up sharp at 03:00 AM (to my surprise, the alarm was still yet to ring!). Got ready and by 03:30 AM i was off to Vinay's house. This time Mr. Vinay had told his mom that he is going to attend his friend's wedding (I just could not stop laughing when i heard that!). Anyways, when i reached Vinay's house, i found Dinesh was already there and shortly we were off to our rendezvous point where Ajith was waiting for us. By 04:00 AM sharp we 4 riders were on our way to Mahabalipuram. Cool breeze, the majestic roar of the 3 REs around me and the empty pitch dark NH4 was giving me a magical feeling i must say! Now, that is the fun of a group ride, isnt it? Sometimes, we were riding one after the other in a single line formation and sometimes we were riding in double line formation.
By 05:00 AM we were approaching Kolar and the NH4 was seeing the first signs of morning light. By 05:30 AM we crossed Kolar and i could not resist myself from stopping on the highway and click some pics.
It was already past 06:00 AM and we were getting hungry. We decided that we would not stop till we reach Mulbagal as we were falling behind our schedule. Honestly i was thinking to make more stops though because the highway was glowing in the sun and i wanted to take more and more snaps. Anyways, by 06:45 AM we were at Mulbagal and we made our first "official" stop for tea, and to my relief i got some time to click snaps (silly me ).
Small dudes on their way to school were gathering around us (mostly attracted by the Royal Enfield machines) and they started to take keen interest in knowing more about these "Built like a Gun" machines. Vinay took this opportunity to click a snap with them though .
Tea break was over and we started off for our next destination, Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh. The road was no more a wide NH, although it was silky smooth highway but we could hardly revv beyond 60 kmph because of the huge truck-traffic . We were running late and hence immediately decided to have breakfast and let the traffic calm down a bit. We pulled over to a decent dhaba at around 08:00 AM and ordered breakfast. It was my turn now to get clicked .
We had a heavy breakfast since we were not sure when are we going to have our next stop for lunch as because we were behind our schedule. We scooted past the trucks (we did not see a single bit of change in the traffic conditions ) and we headed for Chittoor. We reached Chittoor only by 11:00 AM ( i blame the horrible traffic on this road ) and we did not waste time but to continue towards Kanchipuram. It was getting hotter and humid as the day was growing. We refreshed ourselves with tender coconut from time to time along the NH 46. This time, the road was again back to 4 lanes so we could catch up some good speed. Some few clicks along the way.
By 01:00 PM we were at Kanchipuram ( I guess we did make up a little bit ) and we stopped over to have our lunch. By 01:30 PM we were on our way to Mahabalipuram. Again, the road was pretty good and we were able to keep a decent enough speed with less traffic around us. We took our tea-stop at the first signs of a board indicating we are 11kms from Mahabalipuram.
Day Two: Enroute Pondicherry
We were able to wake up next morning only by 07:00 AM (although our plan was to be ready by 07:00 AM) and started to get ready. Our plan was pretty much simple. Check out as early as possible, grab some breakfast, roam around Mahabalipuram and hit the East-Coast Road (ECR) to Puducherry. There are quite a few masterpieces of art around Mahabalipuram and it took us quite some time to finish them off. Below are some of the pics from Mahabalipuram.
We finished off all the visiting places in Mahabalipuram by 11:00 AM and we were able to touch ECR. I read a lot about how great this ECR is, in blogs, in forums and i was really happy to see that every bit of it was true! The ride along this stretch (some 94 odd kms) was simply awesome. I did not feel like stopping on this highway and click some pics, although after quite a distance i managed some. Here are the snaps from ECR.
Anyways, we did end up spending lot of time on this beautiful beach and by the time we were back to our guest house it was past 01:00 PM. We did our packing at a blazing fast speed and we were off to Bangalore by 01:45 PM, deciding to have our lunch somewehere on a roadside dhaba. We planned before our trip that we would be taking the Tiruvannamalai-Krishnagiri route to Bangalore. Reason being people did warn us about the quality of the road being bad and we purposefully wanted to take up this challenge . The initial 60 kms were simply superb and we were laughing at our friends who advised us not to take this route. We had our lunch at a roadside dhaba and continued on our way back to Bangalore.
Soon our smiles faded and there were angry faces all over the place! I can not explain how a road can be so pathetic! This was a road full of pot holes, a road under-construction and where at places there is no road at all! Our luggage fell off our bikes multiple times, there was not a proper road of 1km at a stretch! . It was indeed a tiresome and challenging ride for us to Krishnagiri and by the time we reached the junction of Krishnagiri it was already 09:00 PM. We were hungry, our backs were hurting and thoughts were crossing our mind whether or not to continue today and get back to Bangalore or take some rest in a guest house in Krishnagiri itself. However, we decided to have dinner first and discuss over dinner. It was indeed a looong dinner i must say! . We finally decided to continue as it was hardly some 100 odd kms remaining and it was all NH7 now.
Rest of the ride was just about enjoying, vrooming past the trucks in the night in a star studded silky smooth NH 7. By the time we reached Bangalore it was already past 01:30 AM and we were actually feeling good about the long and awesome trip we had. Dinesh insisted we take a pic at the end of our trip. So, here are the last two pics of our trip.
It was time to get some good rest finally. A memorable trip comes to an end. See you until next time, Riders.
My mobile rings up loudly and i wake up from my nap to see my friend Vinay is calling me.
Vinay: Hey dude..wassup? Its raining like crazy man!
Me: Yea dude..what the hell..getting bored to the core
Vinay: You know..I feel like going out somewhere in the rains man..what say? I was seeing some friends of mine posting pics that they went to trek to Coorg man.
Me: Trek?? huh! no man..lets ride. There is no point going out in the hills now, its crazy out there..lets go to beach..anyways, we been to Chikmagalur last time right? So, how about a beach experience ?
Vinay: Seems kool man..ok lets catch up in the office and we will decide over it.
The conversation was short, but it kept me thinking about a trip plan. I was thinking Mangalore, Udupi, Gokarna etc. Point being i have been to all these places, but never on a bike and i did want to make a ride along the sea shores. Anyways, we met up in the office and after couple of discussions ( i would say couple because we were not able to finalize on the place, some my friend did not like and some I rejected ), we thought of going to Pondicherry. But going only to Pondicherry seemed like a straight forward plan and since i been there couple of times before, i was insisting of making some twists. So we thought of going to Chennai from Bangalore and take the ECR to go to Pondicherry via Mahabalipuram. It was the moment that gave me big smiles (its always when i feel something special is coming up).
So, destination finalized. Now, about the riders. We made some calls but unfortunately someone or the other were busy in office work but we still ended up with 2 other guys agreeing to join us. All set, the plan, the packing, the routemap, at last we were set to kick start our first beach ride as a group.
Let me give a short intro about the riders who took part in the trip:
Vinay. He rides a brand new RE Desert Storm 500.
Ajith. He rides a RE Classic 350.
Dinesh. He rides a brand new RE Bullet 350.
Lastly, me, Suvrajit. I ride a Avenger 180 (seems like an ant in front of the REs eh? ).
Right. that being said, let me share the route map:
We decided to start Saturday, sharp at 04:00 AM from Bangalore and finalized a rendezvous point. Packed my bags, had a light dinner and went off to sleep, putting my alarm for 03:00 AM. Needless to say, i hardly got any sleep that night, i was super-excited! I bet that is normal .
Day One: Enroute Mahabalipuram
I woke up sharp at 03:00 AM (to my surprise, the alarm was still yet to ring!). Got ready and by 03:30 AM i was off to Vinay's house. This time Mr. Vinay had told his mom that he is going to attend his friend's wedding (I just could not stop laughing when i heard that!). Anyways, when i reached Vinay's house, i found Dinesh was already there and shortly we were off to our rendezvous point where Ajith was waiting for us. By 04:00 AM sharp we 4 riders were on our way to Mahabalipuram. Cool breeze, the majestic roar of the 3 REs around me and the empty pitch dark NH4 was giving me a magical feeling i must say! Now, that is the fun of a group ride, isnt it? Sometimes, we were riding one after the other in a single line formation and sometimes we were riding in double line formation.
By 05:00 AM we were approaching Kolar and the NH4 was seeing the first signs of morning light. By 05:30 AM we crossed Kolar and i could not resist myself from stopping on the highway and click some pics.
It was already past 06:00 AM and we were getting hungry. We decided that we would not stop till we reach Mulbagal as we were falling behind our schedule. Honestly i was thinking to make more stops though because the highway was glowing in the sun and i wanted to take more and more snaps. Anyways, by 06:45 AM we were at Mulbagal and we made our first "official" stop for tea, and to my relief i got some time to click snaps (silly me ).
Small dudes on their way to school were gathering around us (mostly attracted by the Royal Enfield machines) and they started to take keen interest in knowing more about these "Built like a Gun" machines. Vinay took this opportunity to click a snap with them though .
Tea break was over and we started off for our next destination, Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh. The road was no more a wide NH, although it was silky smooth highway but we could hardly revv beyond 60 kmph because of the huge truck-traffic . We were running late and hence immediately decided to have breakfast and let the traffic calm down a bit. We pulled over to a decent dhaba at around 08:00 AM and ordered breakfast. It was my turn now to get clicked .
We had a heavy breakfast since we were not sure when are we going to have our next stop for lunch as because we were behind our schedule. We scooted past the trucks (we did not see a single bit of change in the traffic conditions ) and we headed for Chittoor. We reached Chittoor only by 11:00 AM ( i blame the horrible traffic on this road ) and we did not waste time but to continue towards Kanchipuram. It was getting hotter and humid as the day was growing. We refreshed ourselves with tender coconut from time to time along the NH 46. This time, the road was again back to 4 lanes so we could catch up some good speed. Some few clicks along the way.
By 01:00 PM we were at Kanchipuram ( I guess we did make up a little bit ) and we stopped over to have our lunch. By 01:30 PM we were on our way to Mahabalipuram. Again, the road was pretty good and we were able to keep a decent enough speed with less traffic around us. We took our tea-stop at the first signs of a board indicating we are 11kms from Mahabalipuram.
We reached Mahabalipuram sharp by 03:00 PM and we immediately looked out for accomodation (our eyes were on sea-side cheap hotels). To our delight there were some guest houses who charged decent enough. We put our luggages in the rooms, got freshened up and we were all set to go to the beach. The rest of the day was no more riding for us so let me share only the pics of Mahabalipuram with you guys.
We were dead tired after coming back from the beach. We had dinner at a sea-side restaurant and crashed into our beds by 11:00 PM. I was wondering whats in the stock for tomorrow though .
Day Two: Enroute Pondicherry
We were able to wake up next morning only by 07:00 AM (although our plan was to be ready by 07:00 AM) and started to get ready. Our plan was pretty much simple. Check out as early as possible, grab some breakfast, roam around Mahabalipuram and hit the East-Coast Road (ECR) to Puducherry. There are quite a few masterpieces of art around Mahabalipuram and it took us quite some time to finish them off. Below are some of the pics from Mahabalipuram.
We finished off all the visiting places in Mahabalipuram by 11:00 AM and we were able to touch ECR. I read a lot about how great this ECR is, in blogs, in forums and i was really happy to see that every bit of it was true! The ride along this stretch (some 94 odd kms) was simply awesome. I did not feel like stopping on this highway and click some pics, although after quite a distance i managed some. Here are the snaps from ECR.
We finally reached Pondicherry by 02:00 PM. We were all super hungry but after riding past the welcome arch of Pondicherry we sighted one sea beach to our left and seeing that we could not resist taking our bikes to the beach and do some photography.
We scooted off from the beach as soon as we were done with some shots. Reached Pondicherry, looked for a decent guest house, grabbed lunch and we left for the Pondicherry beach. It was already past 04:00 PM and the hot and humid climate was making us tired to the core. We decided not to roam around the city much, rather spend some quality time on the Pondicherry beach road till the evening. I knew about the famous French colony beside the beach road so we headed off towards the spooky lanes and the french-built houses till it started raining heavily and we had to come back to our guest house.
We went off to sleep around 11:00 PM. We planned to go to the Paradise beach the next day as early as possible so that we can head towards Bangalore no later than 11:00 AM. So far, we had an awesome trip and i wanted this trip to end the same way!
Day Three: Back to Bangalore
As decided the previous night, we set our alarm for early morning so that we can get ready and leave for Paradise beach. Unfortunately we were able to wake up only by around 08:00 AM , got ready by 09:00 AM and left our guest house to start for the Paradise beach. The beach is a mere 7kms from the city and i would strongly suggest the folks here to visit this place in case you are planning to visit Pondicherry. Why is that? Let the pics do the talking now.
Soon our smiles faded and there were angry faces all over the place! I can not explain how a road can be so pathetic! This was a road full of pot holes, a road under-construction and where at places there is no road at all! Our luggage fell off our bikes multiple times, there was not a proper road of 1km at a stretch! . It was indeed a tiresome and challenging ride for us to Krishnagiri and by the time we reached the junction of Krishnagiri it was already 09:00 PM. We were hungry, our backs were hurting and thoughts were crossing our mind whether or not to continue today and get back to Bangalore or take some rest in a guest house in Krishnagiri itself. However, we decided to have dinner first and discuss over dinner. It was indeed a looong dinner i must say! . We finally decided to continue as it was hardly some 100 odd kms remaining and it was all NH7 now.
Rest of the ride was just about enjoying, vrooming past the trucks in the night in a star studded silky smooth NH 7. By the time we reached Bangalore it was already past 01:30 AM and we were actually feeling good about the long and awesome trip we had. Dinesh insisted we take a pic at the end of our trip. So, here are the last two pics of our trip.
It was time to get some good rest finally. A memorable trip comes to an end. See you until next time, Riders.
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