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

Somanathpur

Somnathpur at EveryTrail

Map created by EveryTrail:GPS Geotagging

Somanathpur is a small village about 17 kms from Bannur in Karnataka. The roads from Bannur to Somanathpura are in a state of disrepair (as of dec ’08). Private and State transport buses run from Bannur to Somanathpura with a semblance of regularity. Private transport or taxis are a more convenient mode of transport. Motorcycles are even better ;) If you are traveling from Bangalore, the best way to get there is from Mandya. The Mandya to Somanathpur is approximately 29 kms of which 22kms are good roads.

At Mandya ask for the road to Bannur. At the end of 20 kms from Mandya this road meets the Bannur – Malavalli road at a “T” junction. Take a right turn here. About a kilometer ahead you will find yet another T junction. You are now about 7 kms from Somanathpura - take a left turn here.

As one approaches Somanathpur from “T” junction mentioned above the road curves to the left at the entrance of Somanathpur. On the right you will find a colorful temple complex and a large peepal tree offering much needed shade. This is also serves as the village bus stop. It will be a good idea to park your vehicle here – unless you want to pay Rs 10 or Rs 5 for a non-existent parking lot. The Keshava temple “ruins” is less than 100 meters from the bus stop. One must buy tickets to enter the temple – the usual ASI issue tickets priced at Rs 5 for Indian Citizens and Rs 10 for “others”.

Do not expect to find the temple in ruins; the ASI has done a commendable job maintaining the complex in near pristine condition. The lawn is very well maintained too, although the palm trees look a little out of place. No prayers are offered at this temple since the idol is/was broken, or so my grandmother says. The idol, we found, isn’t broken, but seems to have been reconstructed, so must have been broken at some time. Despite the no prayers status of the temple, one is supposed to take off one’s footware outside the Mahadwara. There is one unmanned shoe rack, and no charges for utilizing this facility. I guess the uniformed and stern looking policeman at the Mahadwara severs as a deterrent to wanna-be footware thieves. I didn’t spot any monkeys here.

Architecturally, the temple is similar to those at Belur and Halebid – built on a platform, star shaped, circular pillars – no two being alike, elephants at the bottom of the temple, horsemen, musicians, dancers, different avatars of Vishnu, the incomprehensible ability to consistently sculpt a straight line across stones etc etc. The construction material is similar - soap stone.

The Keshava temple at Somanathpur was constructed by a high ranking officer in the Hoysala dynasty (named Somanatha), unlike the Belur and Halebid temples which were constructed by the kings themselves. The temple was constructed sometime during the 13th century. The architecture is similar to the Hoysala temples of Belur and Halebid. Among the three, Somanathpur is the smallest – but that in no way diminishes the beauty of the temple.

Halebid boasts of housing one of the largest and most beautiful Nandi’s and Belur boasts of the once upon a time revolving pillar. Somanathpur however has no such apparent claim to fame. There was only one guide at work, unlike the numerous that one finds elsewhere. He was busy with another group, so had to be content with our own interpretations of the sculptures. I am sure some vital information is missing thanks to this “un-guided” nature of my visit.

The single guide on duty is perhaps indicative of the lack of tourist interest in this particular temple. Also indicative of this misfortune is the sole tender coconut water vendor and a solitary beggar outside the complex.

Is it worth going to? Yes. It most certainly is.
If I could choose only one of the three complexes to visit then which one would I choose? Halebid.
Time taken from Bangalore: 3 hrs

Somanathpur

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
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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.

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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

Pearl Valley / Chickatirupati - RTMC announce ride Dec 08

Chickatirupathi to Muthalya Madavu (pearl valley) at EveryTrail

Map created by EveryTrail:GPS Geotagging

Pearl Valley is a not so famous seasonal waterfall south of Bangalore near Anekal. It is hardly 30 odd kilometers from South Bangalore. The environs are pleasant. The lone hotel run by the Govt. of Karnataka is clean, serves edible food, and reasonably priced. I am sure the view of the water fall must be stunning, when the water level is sufficient.

One needs to descend almost 200 odd meters from the parking lot to view the waterfall. The curious ones from our group found a trickling stream. What else could one expect in December?

Chickatrupati is in the Kolar district - we took a dirt road from some where outside of Varatur to reach this place. We didn't visit the temple, had some food at a road side joint. Some crazy bunch of riders we are :)

A funny incident transpired earlier in the day. We had assembled just outside the HAL airport. We as in 38 bikes. On a cold December morning. Barely a week after 20-something year olds had unleashed terror in the streets of Bombay. Needless to say our cops were edgy. Apparently there was a security threat to Bangalore. Two cops came up and asked us all kinds of questions - "Who are you?", "Where are you going?", "Are you all together?", "Do you have permission for a road rally?", "Where is your road permit?", "Did you take permission from the Police commissioner?". I couldn't help howling like a hyena :) :)

None of their questions made sense, but we do appreciate their concern. I hope they remain vigilant, if only for a few days.

A big thanks to the ride organizers and all the junta who showed up. Xie Xie.

Pearl Valley / Chickatirupati - RTMC announce ride Dec 08

Magadi - Savandurga - Ramnagara

Waiting of ages at endless traffic signals, or weaving through slow trucks, inhaling their toxic spew isn't exactly what I like. But, that is exactly what I have had to go through, every time I've taken the Nellamangala route towards Hassan. I don't favour potholes either!

That's why, last November, Kudz and me decided to "explore" other options. This was on the Diwali ride to Mangalore. And we "discovered" the Kunigal-Magadi-Ramanagara section. In July '08, we "discovered" the Bangalore-Magadi route. It was perfect announce ride material. Short, beautiful, and well laid.

So, when someone on the RTMC forum wanted to know if we would have an announce ride this September, and if yes, then where to, I had no hesitation in suggesting our "discovered" route. And, that is the route we took today.

We started from ISKON at 0630, with the almost customary 30 minute delay.

Took the Chord road - Modi Road - 1st/9th Cross Road route to join Magadi Road.
Since we were moving that early in the morning, we did not face the usual hustle bustle that one normally associates with the narrow Magadi Road. The road opens up after the intersection with the NICE road. A few patchy stretches here and there, but nothing one feels like complaining about. The road has enough and more turns, blind curves and even one hair pin bend! The environs were green and the cool air added to the feeling of being somewhere in the western ghats :) Ok, now maybe that was a bit too much...

The first regroup point was the old bridge on a right hand turn. The photographers got out their equipment and did their thing. The people who had to pee peed. Those who wanted to smoke smoked. Those who did not want to do anything did just that. Those who spotted the chai-shack had the chai. One micro-mini cup of chai for Rs 2. I remembered that "singular" event involving a similarly priced coffee while riding back from Belum, and the subsequent refund.. hehe... Anyways, we resumed after the Kutti chai break.

The 2nd regroup point was the at the left turn off towards Savandurga and the 3rd at Savandurga. At Savandurga, we didn't trek or do anything very Savandurga specific. It was just another regroup point. We found a clearing a couple of hundred meters away from the temple at the base and had our announce ride intro session.

What happens at these sessions, is that a regular RTMC rider introduces RTMC, gives the usual gyan about how we are a non-profit, non-affiliated, non-political, only-for-fun biking group. The two step eligibility criteria etc. etc. Then all the riders introduce themselves, after which the new riders ask their questions which range from who is the best mechanic to where do I get that riding gear :) Ditto for this ride. The other highlight was the distribution of - "Bharat Parikrama" DVD (A journey around India). Kart got a bag full of these DVDs to give away.

We decided to have breakfast at Kamath Loka ruchi, so headed towards Ramanagara on some more kickass windy roads. We halted before the Ramanagara - SH13 junction to allow everybody to regroup. We reached Kamath at 10.30 am. Breakfast was nothing out of the ordinary. A couple of glasses of watermelon juice, puri bhajji and some gup shup.

We left Kamath Loka Ruchi at around 11.30 am, and regrouped at The NICE road-SH 13 intersection. We were waiting in the boiling heat (in our boiler suit) when we recieved an SMS from Menon- "Vijay's bike tyre punctured. you guys proceed." So, we took a group snap, Ok! a couple of group snaps (Will post that up once I get it), shook hands and thanked each other for the safe ride, and went our separate ways.

The route -
Start: Bangalore, ISKON temple 0630 hrs
Via Point 1: Old bridge on Magadi Main Road (38kms)
Via Point 2: left turn off to Savandurga on Magadi Main Road
Via Point 3: Savandurga
Via Point 4: 500m before merge onto SH-13 at Ramanagara
Via Point 5: Kamath Loka Ruchi on SH-13 CAUTION: Turn right towards Mysore!
Via Point 6/End: SH-13 - NICE intersection (Kengeri)

The route was a little over 150 kms, including the city riding.
The good things - no one rode dangerously. No one belted the usual patrang way. One rider had a minor fall. But, we all got home safe. And that, is very important!

Magadi - Savandurga - Ramnagara

Cloud Valley

One kickass weekend to remember! Will give the updates slowly, the usual style :) But in the mean while here are the GPS tracks from the Bangalore University to Cloud Valley in coorg. The points are truncated for your viewing pleasure, but if you need the entire set, feel free to ask me ;)

Here is the link to the website maintained by the owners. The pictures are in no way reflective of the true beauty of the place... very green... very quite... and extra extra super trooper onlee!

To Cloud Valley in Coorg at EveryTrailMap created by EveryTrail:GPS Geotagging

Cloud Valley

Madhugiri - RTMC Announce ride

For many reasons, yesterday's ride to Madhugiri will be one that I will not forget too soon. It was perhaps one of the best one day rides I've ever been on.

I reached the designated start point 20 minutes late, and with barely enough petrol in the tank. Felt lousy, making the entire group (31 other bikes) to wait for me to tank up. This is the first and last time that my tank was/will be empty before I head out.

Madhugiri - RTMC Announce ride at EveryTrailMap created by EveryTrail:Share GPS tracks

The traffic jam from Yeshwanthpur to Dasarahalli was hellish, it took us almost an hour and half to negotiate that stretch. Mostly in first gear. We were, I am certain, the center of attention for other similarly disgusted and stuck occupants of the road. One couple were heading towards Goa - and they made sure they told me about it. Weird, how suiting up, makes utter strangers roll down their windows and chit chat genially at traffic signals. "I wish I could swap places with you"; "I hate these jams"; "Are you all together?"; "Where are you guys headed?", being the usual theme. More often then not, it'll be an older gent or a young girl, initiating such an across-the-window-conversation.

May isn't exactly pleasant to ride, and worse to be stuck in a traffic jam. I was cursing all those buffoons who didn't fill fuel or arrived late - including myself. I just hoped that it'd all be worth the wait.

We regrouped outside A1, just before Nellamangala the toll gate on NH-4, only to realize that we should've regrouped after the tollgate, an error which was quickly resolved.

Breakfast was at Kamath's near Dobspet. Nothing spectacular about the place - it could accommodate all of us; and at the same time, that was the biggest plus point. But service, was a little slow.

From Kamath's we headed towards Kortagere, bypassing Tumkur. The route was scenic and fairly engrossing - you never knew when a pothole or a muddy patch would catch you off guard. Things improved after Kortagere, and in no time we were at Madhugiri. Soup, had arranged for a very interesting reception party for us - full flower, garland and the works! Undi got the Kuthagie mele Flowers treatment, the rest of us were offered a red rose - Chacha Nehru style. One band-baja troupe was missing onlee :P



The next stop was the black buck sanctuary. A place, one assumes, relegated to an obscure appendix of a neglected register placed in a forgotten corner of a dusty government office. Many of us got to spot a black buck, some of us... ahem ahem.. a few of us got to trek through the park with a guide, who showed us some more black buck - brown though and a wild boar. A naturalist ( Krishna's pillion) among us also pointed out the presence of the brain fever bird. Very interesting bird, called the hawk cuckoo chirps "brain fever". Didn't spot it, but certainly heard it. Learn't something new!

Lunch was arranged at "Bakkar Saab ka Bangla", a structure from the Raj era nestled in the midst of a forest, approachable by a muddy road from a non descript turn off on the Madhugiri-Sira state highway. Seldom you'll find off-roading part of an announce ride, but this one sure included it :) The guys loved it. The food was fantastic. Soup did a fantastic job of organizing the whole thing.

Madhugiri - RTMC Announce ride at EveryTrailMap created by EveryTrail:Share GPS tracks

After the usual round of introductions, we started back by 5 pm. The return leg was fairly uneventful. We did have one bike with a broken accelerator cable, something I had no clue how to fix. But then stepped in Shayam and the KA-18 and KA-19 bike dudes, who did a great job sorting out the mess. On the way back, after Kamath's, Kudz and I clipped in the dark, and whatafun it was! I must say, Kudz rode great, kept sufficient distance and yet didn't lose me!

Caman the more rides onlee!

P.S. GPS tracks from my blue tooth GPS unit + E51 :) and pics from the lousy cam on the E51

Coincidence - Almost 3 years ago, I burnt my shoe on Deverayana Durga, and this time I burnt my jacket on Madhugiri... and never in between - both in the same vicinity...
http://su-on-the-road.blogspot.com/2005/09/burnt-rubber-loose-rivet-and-docile.html

Madhugiri - RTMC Announce ride

What Caves?

It has been more than four months since my last bike ride. Didn't even go to Mysore! But then, that doesn't mean I haven't gone anywhere since Nov' 07! Had been on a Kumara Parvatha / Pushpagiri trek. Then for a Goan X'mas, which turned out to be a tragic trip. I intend to chronicle the KP trek, someday.

To fill in the blanks - a lot has changed in these past few months, professionally that is. As a direct consequence, I can see myself riding or traveling a lot less, compared to last year. But then, fingers crossed!

Anyways, four months is a long abstinence from riding. Looking at the RTMC mailing list just makes me feel J. All over the place. So, this time, when the guys posted a ride to Belum Caves, I just had to, had to say yes. Can't explain that feeling.

The little bit of Googling and Wikipedia has revealed

• Belum is 100 kms from Kurnool and 270 kms from Bangalore
• It is a 3 km long underground cavern, with stalactite formation.
• The only acco, is a 32 bed dormitory run by AP-Tourism Development Corp.
• Must see the musical cave, where the seven notes can be produced by striking the stalactites.
• Don't know if we can camp nearby.
• These caves have been discovered, ok rediscovered, as recently as 1982 and thrown open to public view only in 2002.
• The nearest towns are Banganpalli and Tadipatri.

My favourite map site - mapmyindia, sorry Google Maps - you are no. 2 now, has revealed that Belum is 297.6 kms from Bangalore, which is what the RTMC mailing list claimed. The site, unfortunately doesn't let me display the route on my blog, so it will suffice to say that we head north on NH-7 towards Hyderabad, and then take a right on the Anathapur bypass to travel 84.7 kms on inside roads to Belum via Tadipatri. Unfortunately, I will be getting the GPS unit only in the week following the ride :(

Yennyways! Can't wait till the new weekend.... Itching to go onlee! Caman the rides! Caman the enjaiment!

Update -
Route map with google maps

View Map on Google Maps - Did you know blogger has a bug with google maps?

What Caves?

6A - Pardeee time at Coorg

29th Sept
Almost couldn't sleep the whole of last night, the excitement was way too much for me to handle. Darn! I didn't feel that excited even the night before we left for Khardung La.. All I could keep thinking, while asleep (is that possible?), was - "Pardee! pardee! pardee!" or "100 bikes, 100 bikes", with the characteristic bullet "thump thump thump" echoing in the background.

The initial insomniac tendency was soon overshadowed by Kumbakarnatites, and I "Snoozed" my alarm (set for 5:30 am) at least five times before I realized I was running late. Off late, I seem to have been bitten by Shenoy's time bug - i.e. my time management skills have stepped into a bottomless abyss, achieving newer depths every passing day. 5 minutes magically stretches to 20, and 20 becomes an hour and so on, so forth... Anyways, I tried to redeem myself by hurriedly getting ready. Did things like never pealing my eyes off the 100m water proof wrist watch while in the shower, reading only one article while on the throne, giving each molar just two quick swipes etc, etc, etc...

At 6:30 I left my hall, hoping to be at town hall by 6:35; cursing Puttanchetti for having donated so much of his wealth to build a structure, where I, of all people, would arrive late; wondering whether the folks would take the NICE road or Mysore road to reach SH-17, if I didn't find them where they would have been 5 minutes earlier. With this mental trauma raging in his orange juice fed brain, his highness ties his gloves to his jacket and sets off at 80kph to town hall.

I was elated to see so many bikers still at town hall. Long live IST. Sim-simply and all I had taken off tension, very much against my "Tension leneka nahi, khali dene ka" motto. After a brief round of hellos, I decided that it was time to zip up. The jacket. Zip up the jacket and glove the hands.

The glove retrieve function was returning error. Nah, some thing wrong with function call I decided. Checked again. Shoot! I was one glove short. I was 110 percent sure I had Velcro-ed both the gloves to the jacket before leaving home. Tooblight! I had dropped one glove on the road. Somewhere. The loss of a glove woke up the dormant miser in me, inspired by recent readings of "The Undercover Economist" and "Blink". One glove wouldn't do anybody any good, unless they had only one arm. That too only the left arm - it was the left glove that had un-Velcroed itself. The finder of my fallen glove would have to
1) be a right arm amputee (good left arm)
2) know a person who was a right arm amputee in need of a glove, or confident of selling to a right arm amputee
3) have a single (matching) right glove,
to be compelled to keep it. Very slim probability, the orange juice fed brain concluded was blitzkrieg speed. Go get it!

So, I went looking for my lost glove. Should I retrace my path all the way home? or should I make educated guesses? Educated guess was the gut feel. Now, should I check after Canara Bank, or after Minerva Circle or after Krumbigal Road, or after RV teachers college? The gut spoke again. More like screamed out loud! "RV teachers college, RV teachers college". So I went with the flow, RV teacher's college it was. And, and, ya, ok you win. I am predictable, I did find that darn glove near Lalbagh. It was on the road, waiting patiently to be reunited with its beloved hand and yada yada yada. Yeh janam janam ka bandhan hai.. Bladdy saved 800 smakaroos, my gut feel and ultra smart thinking. Oops forgot ultra quick.

I headed back towards town hall. Late, but hand firmly in the glove. I reach, only to see that there are only a hand full left. Mahesh a.k.a. "Bra"*, was looking for an elastic a.k.a. bungee chord, to hold his bags firmly in place. I was sure I was carrying a spare bungee, so I momentarily got his hopes up. Only "chur chur ho gaya"...

* RTMC guys have funny nicknames

Nothing spectacular happened till Kamath's, the first regroup point. I took the customary Pee stop after Bidadi. Didn't pee though, just sipped on some Litchi twirl, waved at a few passing bikes, blew kisses at all the girls waving at me and waited for a train to pass me by. Then, chased it till Chennapatna, where it unfortunately stopped.

At Kamath's I met Toothpick, Sai, Lokesh, Manan, Sajan and Jispa. A few rounds of Tottu, Vada, Chai/Coffee and Rava masala dosa later, we left for the 2nd regroup point - the U - a couple of kilometers ahead of Srirangapatna towards Hunsur. And, this is where things picked up on the interesting scale. I tagged along with my new breakfast buddies, and we set, what I thought was, a blistering pace on the busy dual carriageway. Somewhere near Maddur, I spotted a very familiar figure walking away from a bike - it was Conrad a.k.a. Con-Rod and slightly ahead was Sushil Mishra. "Cool! More people from the Bheemeshwari ride!", I thought as I rode on.

After a boring and rather surprisingly quick passage of 2 hours, during which a bus tried to run me over, which culminated in me giving him the biker salute, we reached the next via point - the U-turn Mysore bypass. Here, I was reunited with my dear old friend - the train.



I also met the other guys from the Ealagiri ride (not chronicled) - Biscuit, Bhupinder and Haren. We were one of the last guys to arrive at this spot, and we made a habit of it ;)

From then on the narrow bypass road was full of surprises - a pothole here, a pothole there; a little bit of loose sand strewn on the road; the odd cyclist attempting to emulate Johnny Walker; the bewildered dog; and the paddy spread on the road in the hope that some passing vehicle will de-husk it. The good times unfortunately didn't last long enough, for we were soon on yet another dual carriage way - the new Mysore - Madikeri state highway.

I had at some point separated from the group and was coasting along at 80kph on the sparsely populated road, quite contently. Then, somewhere in the distance, far far behind me I spotted a yellow dot in my rear view mirror. We ride with the head lights on, so that we can differentiate who is riding with us and who isn't. So, I figured it was some body just chilling on the road like me, so I throttled up and found a new rhythm at 90kph. The single yellow dot became bigger, and two more appeared. A giant sun and two planets. Then I heard them. Yoops! I was about to be overtaken. Its fun riding in a group, so I decided to keep pace with these folks and maxed the throttle. My thunderbird reached its vibrating crescendo at 110 kph and insisted that I just wouldn't go any faster. Fair enough, because I wasn't lagging behind this time ;)

The vibrating reverie didn't last long. Mechanical limitations of our bikes hooted it. Literally. Jispa's horn detached itself and did a few cartwheels on the road. That is, till I ran over it! hehehe... I slowed down to inspect any possible damages, luckily nothing much had occurred. What am I talking! Nothing had happened. So I started back again, and sighted them ahead halting for a pee + sutta break. I slowed down to appraise Jispa of his missing hooter :P, he was in the know and also in the process of disposing his rear crash guard which was threatening to unfasten itself any moment. So much for the "continuous high speed" that RE insists we will enjoy with our bikes. hehehe... Quite a few bikes passed us, plenty of TN bikes - Mad Bulls passed us by. These guys ride hard, real hard...

After the slight elevation, at the base of which we stopped was the third via point. So again, we were one of the last fellas to arrive :D

And the estori will continue I say... break ke baad...

6A - Pardeee time at Coorg

Back to the Koorgee!! PardeeMC's 6A meet

The discerning reader will remember that Paapi Yak, Howda Tatti, Super Fast Charger and Shaart Cirkit had painted the southern tip of Coorg yellow (the color of you know what) around the same time last year, on their yet to be chronicled, super duper ass numbing ride through Coorg and Kerala.

This time one of the four... a.k.a. me (no.. no... don't do that enky pinky ponky to figure what i call myself) is heading back to Coorg!! Woohoo... ain't I lucky? Sadly, neither of my other three comrades are joining me, rather willingly not joining perhaps... muhuhaha. evil weevil ;)

But, what the heck. This will be my first big ride with the RTMC guys... Yipee! The well informed will know that RTMC, also known as PardeeeMC thanks to their superior party arranging abilities and even more extraordinary partying skills, is having its sixth anniversary (6A) celebrations at a classified top secret location in Coorg this weekend.

To indulge in the aforementioned kickass festivities we are all heading out to Coorg very very early tomorrow morning.... err 6:30 am to be precise... looking forward to a pleasant ride and a rocking pardee!!! In the pardeeMC parlance - Caman the pardee, caman the enjaiment!

Back to the Koorgee!! PardeeMC's 6A meet

Bheemeshwari - My 1st RTMC announce ride

Bheemeshwari is a sweet little place nestled in the hills bordering Cauvery, or what ever is left of her, as she meanders downstream from Shivanasamudra. There are quite a few trekking trails to explore, if one has the inclination. I am quite certain, camping is possible here, given the proximity to water and blah blah. Alternately, one could book with the Jungle Lodges. Catch the Masheer, or get snapped at by a Maggar. Not that we did either, but we could have, but we didn't... get the drift? ;) Anyways...

Route - Bangalore - Kanakpura (NH 202) - Sathnur - Muthathi - Bheemeshwari
Distance : <100 kms
Road Quality Index : 6 on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the Mumbai-Pune express way and 1 being the Shiradi Ghats - Sakleshpur to Uppinaangadi


View Larger Map

Vatsa and I were planning a short ride before the Leh trip. At around the same time I received a mail from the RTMC announce list about their ride to Bheemeshwari. In the few years that I have been doing my trips, I have never been on one with a club. So, I did the 1 + 1 = 3 calculation and we joined the RTMC folks. First time with these folks, and hopefully not going to be the last :)

Although, bumpy and windy, the route is quite scenic. Water tanks abut the road at many sections. Where there are no tanks, the road is lined with Gulmohar tree. They were in bloom! The red petals were strewn alongside all along. As if nature had rolled out a red carpet welcome to all those who cared to travel. A very Royal treatment indeed for the RTMC riders! There is something with red that makes me... hmm... well... feel good... must be the red carpet... hahaha...

Then, there were the assortment of fauna that crossed our paths. Swooping kites, rummaging dumping grounds near Kanakpura. Green parrots darting from one Gulmohar to another. Mongoose scampering across the road. Confused looking jungle quail scurrying into the sanctuary of thick bushes. Herds of cattle and sheep. We actually drove through at least three different herds of Hallikar Cows. Imagine floating amongst a sea of horns - each 2 feet long, and quite capable of disemboweling you with a quick flick. Hehehe...





The forest department, or whoever, has done a neat job by erecting watch towers - which incidentally, are not accessible to the general public. We were trespassing. We weren't aware of this transgression until a few weeks later, where one from the group was chased away by forest guards.

To reach the watch tower we had to do some off-road riding :) It is actually quite a (short) trek from the main road. Once up in the watch tower, we could see the rains lashing Shivanasamudra, upstream. A constant reminder of the wretched ride back from Badravathi. That apart, the watch tower provided a 360 degree view of the surrounding hillocks - which anyways isn't much of a deviation from the purpose for which it was built!

After a round of intros etc etc... we headed back to Kanakpura for lunch... then to good ol Bengaluru...



At 198 kms, this has to be the shortest weekend trip ever. Nobody was complaining though, except for the pillion riders... lolz... The Thunderbird pillion seat is just not designed to carry an adult body!

Bheemeshwari - My 1st RTMC announce ride