Ramnagar hills - Sholay

Today / Yesterday we've had the smallest announce ride group in a long while. There were 6 main listers - KD, Goop, Toothpick, Rajeev, ADK and KML; and 1 newbie - Arvind T.
KD and Prakash Pai were going towards Ramanagar for the Jan 10th announce ride, and the Jan 3rd announce ride guys were heading towards Kunigal, Nagamanagala, Huliyurdurga and Ramanagar as per the "plan". We were supposed to start at 6 am so we waited till 6.35 am. But there were only 6 bikes. So, the two rides merged into one :)

A cold, misty morning and beltabale roads greeted us once we crossed the NICE ring road. If any of us hadn't woken up, then the short twists, curves, banks and the odd psycho bus drivers made sure we had (woken up). I hadn't ridden a motorcycle in almost 10 months (not counting the last two weeks), so this was joy. The Mysore road trip a couple of days back was nowhere near as good. The roads were good and the "old bridge" was not as scenic as it felt a few years back, perhaps why the point - Mr. Broadband, just kept going. Which ment we missed the first regroup point.

So, the new first regroup point was a chai stop a few kilometers before Magadi. A familiar looking Thunderbird went past, with the rider looking here, and there and front and back, but completely ignoring the line of 5 bullets. We were now 5, because Prakash Pai's ride was not behaving itself, so he pulled out a few kilometers after we started. We waved, yelled and whislted, but this guy turned off towards Savandurga and went off. Shortly, another Thunderbird rolled in. It was tooth pick. After another round of Chai, an aqua marine classic joined the party - ADK.

We stopped at the world famous in Kunigal breakfast point - Siddalingeshwara Tiffen Center for some finger licking good Thatay Idly, Vada, Pulao and Chai Kappee.
Then we proceeded towards Huliyurdurga fort on the same Bangalore Bypass route which we "discovered" for RM9. Some people.... errr one people, went back towards Kunigal instead. So we were waiting for a while near Huliyurdurga. Then we were playing around with ADK's new Classic, when this wrong turn macha appears.
The road from Huliyurdurga to somewere between Madur and Channapatana on the SH-17 is still good to ride, but a bit bumpy. A village lady was enthralled by the aqua marine Classic that she ran in front of it, ADK did the almost skidding and all thing.

30 odd kms later, Broadband, Arvind and I were having some Mazza and waiting for the rest of the guys at a roadside shack at the SH-17 junction. We were jabbering away in Kannada, which apparently impressed the shopkeeper. I know, WTF? We waited for a while, before wondering if something went wrong for the other guys. Apparently the overturned truck which we ignored caught the fancy of our motographing junta. Any way as the other junta arrive, a yellow Alto stopped by for its occupants to take a sutta break. Again the aqua marine Classic exercised its magnetic charm and pulled the PYT driving the Alto towards itself. The poor young thing kissed the silencer with her bare legs while possing for a snap. The pain she will be feeling right now... Sigh.

Rajeev P, the one who we have forgotten to nick, said he needed to download really really fast. Some where out of public view. So we rushed to the closest Highway Highspeed internet cafe with a clean download center, where the cache is flushed i.e. Cafe Coffee Day. So we sat in the AC. Rajeev P did the downloading and flushing (or so we presume) which is why he is now called Broadband ;)

From there we pushed off to Ramanagar in search of the famous Sholay hills. After a few Autorikshaw walla GPS consultations, we were in the right place. A guide, rather the only guide, was booked for next week. And then a few of us trekked up the Ramanagar hill.


Once we came down, Rajeev P a.k.a. Broadband, Goop and KD went off to KD's place for a chill beverage, while Arvind, Toothpick, ADK and I went off to Hotel Taj international and world famous in Ramanagar for Biryani - which btw we didn't get. The Vegis of the world have no hope in this cruel Biryani world. Crap.

After some hajjar Kerala Parotas we left the lunch place and proceeded towards Blr. We seldom crossed 70 kph after this point. Hehe. But we were not sleepy. No sir. Then we split at the University Gates. I was back home at 4.10 pm after 245 kms of riding in one day, and 380 steps up a hill. Boy it felt good.

Thanks guys for turning up for the announce ride and for clubbing the reccee ride with it too. I sure had fun.

Ramnagar hills - Sholay

The Great Bangalore Bypass

Riders riding from up north for Rider Mania 09 can heave a sigh of relief. You can bypass Bangalore without thinking twice - that is unless you really really want to see Bangalore traffic at its worst in Nellamangala a.k.a. Hellamangala. Without beating around the bush…

For your riding pleasure, we had been on a reccee ride yesterday to verify if Tumkur-Kunigal-Maddur was rippable / partrang-able. The answer, as you may have guessed by now, is “oh yeah!”

Distance : 90 kms
Road Quality : Kicka$$ compared to what we were expecting. I’d rate it 8/10.
Traffic : Negligible
Time Taken : 2 hours 30 minutes (including two sutta stops - 1st to fix Jishnu’s seepdo cable and 2nd to contemplate whether it was worthwhile climbing the Hulidurga fort)

The usual riders apply - beware of
a) occasional potholes (especially one, which is “large enough to capture an elephant”-Jishnu)
b) very cleverly camoflaged speed breakers and
c) a new invention called the ulta speed breaker
d) random animals (and humans) crossing the road
e) the occasional psycho bus driver who will try to mow you down

Other than that - totally rippable.

I’d like to thank all the riders for joining at such a short notice - Krishna Chandra, Jishnu, Praveen, Krishna Prasad, V Reddy and Shabareesh It was a super delux ride.

More importantly a very special thanks to our writerray* - Praveen Shankara (Krishna’s pillion) for carefully noting down the visual cues, and for the writeup which needed very little editing and additions Thank you very much!

—————————————–
The Great Bangalore Bypass! - by Praveen Shankara
—————————————–

Land marks for route through Tumkur town to Maddur.

As the NH4 nears Tumkur (coming from Sira), notice

1. A chimney with “SLNT” written on it on the right side.
2. A brick chimney on the right side.
3. Pass under the foot over bridge.
4. Sri Sangama Agro Food Industries on right side.
5. Notice a petrol pump on the left side - IOC
6. Notice two high tension towers on the right side.

Soon after Sai Sangama Agro industries you have to take right turn to the service road on the right side and take left turn.

In the next fork take the left turn and proceed parallel to the high way.

You know you have missed a turn if you see “User Fee road ends here”

Take the first right turn you get, you should be able to see “TATA” on a chimney on your left before taking a right. Notice

1. ASMA MOTORS on the left side.

Proceed straight and take left turn when you reach a “T” junction. As you turn left, notice

1. RIMA Hospital on your right side.
2. Karnataka State Warehouse on the left side.

As you proceed straight on this road, notice

1. TOMLINSON Church on right side.
2. HYUNDAI Trident Showroom on right side.
3. IBP Petrol Bunk on right side.
4. Indian Oil Petrol Bunk on right side.
5. A big Hanuman statue on the right side.

Go straight near Hanuman statue. (Don’t take left turn). You reach a circle where you have to go straight. As you proceed, notice

1. GUBBI VEERANNA CHITRA MANDIR (Theatre) on the right side.

You will now reach a signal at a “T” junction. Take a right turn here and proceed.

1. District Hospital on the right side.
2. Hero Honda showroom on left side.
3. Traffic Signal with mark “KUNIGAL ".

Take left turn here on to the KUNIGAL ROAD. Proceed straight and notice

1. Railway track overhead.
2. State Bank of Mysore on the right side.

In the next intersection proceed straight. The fork here joins and forms a single road later. Notice

1. KUNIGAL 34 Kms board.

You are now on the way to Kunigal.
You know you have reached Kunigal when you see a fenced park and a yellow/cream colored house on the left.

When you reach Kunigal Junction take right turn on to Bangalore-Mangalore Highway. Proceed and take the first left turn to “MADDUR” (Before turning left, notice the Bharath Petroleum Bunk on the right side). Maddur is 51 Kms from Kunigal.

———————————————-

Tumkur-Kunigal-Maddur

Widget powered by EveryTrail: GPS Geotagging
*Person who writes things down - a very popular term in Police stations

The Great Bangalore Bypass

The Big Banyan Tree

I had been to the Dodda Aladha Mara a.k.a. Big Banyan Tree this morning. It is 8 kms North from the Rajrajeshwari Dental college on the Bangalore - Mysore State highway #17

To the Big Banyan Tree at EveryTrailMap created by EveryTrail:Share GPS tracks

As the name suggests, it is just a big banyan tree. Just standing there. Doing nothing. Harming no one. But civilization seems to have been a bit harsh on it. Men have erected a compound wall around it, as if to tell the poor thing that it shouldn't grow beyond those confines. To make things more clear to the old tree, they've built a road around it, abutting that compound wall. Lakshman rekha pei ek aur lakshman rekha. And, when the time comes to widen the road, they may even contemplate cutting the majestic thing down.

As I approached the tree, I spotted plenty of nurseries and plant shops along the road. I told myself that I'd stop on the way back, but never kept that promise - I thought it was pointless to stop. Me on a bike. What if I like a plant, how can I possibly get it back to Bangalore. So, can't say much about the quality... so if you are a plant kinda person, go by car, not by bike.

Back to the tree - as one enters the banyan enclave, and if one is lucky enough not to have a noisy bus or honking jeep go past, one can hear the mynas singing, the squirrels whistling, and the wind murmuring. Stereophonic.. nah... surround sound style - 1001.1 channel. At night, I am sure this would be one scary place. No wonder you find a temple smack in the center, to do what it is supposed to do - ward of any evil spirits :) On the garbage front, the place was fairly clean, couldn't spot any plastic or garbage anyplace, maybe it had to do with the time - 9.30 am.



Sitting on the abundant benches within the "park", one cannot help but imagine oneself as hair lice, infesting the roots and branches of the majestic tree. Think about it... the roots look like hair (Hello?? Remember Dreadlocks?), and I didn't belong there... And no, I sure was't high on crack or grass... Anyways, I could also imagine myself sitting there in the cool shade, reading a novella, or perhaps a novel, if it were that gripping. However, I was currently handicapped - by not possessing either of them, so I chose to just sit down, and do nothing for a while. Which by the way, proved to be quite difficult and being alone didn't help either. If only I was the contemplative kinda guy...

My advice to people going here, or planning to go here - Take a book, an interesting book. Plenty of water and some snacks to munch. Food per se may not be available close by, but you'll find plenty of shops selling biskoots and the likes just outside the park. That said, beware of the rouge monkeys that infest the rootwork.

How to get there? As I had mentioned earlier, there are buses plying this route, and plenty of them. You could get here from either the Mysore road side or via the Magadi road side. Your own vehicle, is what I'd recommend as it'll let you be flexible vis-a-vis timing and other things.

Pics from my Nokia E51. Quality of pics is pathetic, but looks good at this size:)

The Big Banyan Tree