Pune Ganpatipule

Onward Route: Pune-Tamhini Ghat-Nizampur-Mangaon-Mahad-Chiplun-Niveli Phata-GanpatiPule
Return Route: Ganpatipule-Guhagar-Chiplun-Mahad-Mangaon-Nagothane-Pen-Khopoli-Lonavala-Pune

Start time : 5.30am
End time : 9.30pm

Distance :734Km

The pics are at -
http://picasaweb.google.co.in/sachink.vertex/Ganpatipule#

The long weekend was approaching fast and I did not have a plan for it
With two days to go before the holidays began on Friday, I shortlisted two plans 1. Ashtavinayak and 2. Ganpatipule
After a lot of deliberations Ganpatipule won out and I decided to do the Ashtavinayak at a later date.

On Thursday, I packed my bag for a 2 day trip and also made sure the bike is in good condition.
I was also "camera ready" and rearing to go. (I do hope to be actually camera ready some day)

Started early at 5.30am because wanted to do most of the riding before it got really hot.
Surprisingly, it was pretty chilly until I reached Tamini Ghat.
The sun had started to rise when I was around Mulshi lake. I stopped for a while to witness the night make way
for the day. In most of my rides so far, I've always ridden into a sunrise and no matter from where I witness it it always fills me with a sense of unfathomable calm.

Soon I could hear the chirping of the birds and except for that there was no other sound. It was very very scenic and serene. After a couple of snaps I was on my way. The road thro Tamini ghat was under construction in many places and bad in other places. From there till Mangaon via Nizampur the roads were pretty good.

The ride on NH17 from Mangaon to Niveli phata was awesome with more than one ghat sections. Parshuram ghat and the section between the Ratnagiri-Pune border, especially, was full of twists and turns and I enjoyed them every bit. Mahad-Khed-Chiplun were covered in no time and soon I turned at Niveli phata towards Ganpatipule. From this point on the landscape was barren and the soil was dark except near the edges of the road, the earth was red. It looked as if the roads were laid on a red carpet.

Luckily I reached in time for the Arati and was the last person in the temple before the gates were locked. I clicked some snaps of the temple and then had prasad: Rice, boondi and pickels. Very tasty.
I lingered on the beach for some time and then decided to head back instead of staying on for a day. The "short-cut" to Guhagar from Ganpatipule was deserted and devoid of any sign boards.
One could easily get lost in the maze of roads in that area. Luckily for me I ran into a motorcyclist, and trucker and two village kids at all the points where I had to decide which route to take.
Also, these were the only people I saw on the entire 50km stretch.
I was expecting to ride by the ocean at least at some places on this route, but nothing like that happened. Instead it was a narrow road thru the forest and hills.

Thing did no go as per the original plan of visiting Srivardhan via Dapoli camp from Guhagar. There was a petrol bunk some place before Ganpatipule, but I had not tanked up there. Now, I was on the verge of switching to reserve and I could not locate even a single petrol station.
On enquiring with a passing motorcyclist, I learnt that there are none in the area and that petrol is sold illegally in some shops. Also that I would have to pay a very high price since I was not a local.

This was my crap out point and I decided to head back to NH17 intersecting at Chiplun. There were two petrol bunks at a town called Neli (I think). I tanked up and headed to Chiplun.
All this petrol shortage etc turned out to be a blessing in disguise because I was treated to one of the most beautiful roads ever. It was wide, well marked, and had sparse traffic. Riding to Neli to Chiplun was awasome.

I took a long break at 5.00pm and decided against taking the route thro Tamini Ghat home. The other route, that I knew, was via Panvel. I was around 170Km+ short of Panvel and from there my place would be another 100km or so. It was going to be a long ride back home. Next stop was at Mangaon for a wadapav and I was almost tempted to go home via Nizampur.
But it was already getting dark and the stories of dacoits and ghosts on the Tamini ghat kept me going straight ahead.

I crossed Nagothane after sunset and was 75km short of Panvel when I saw a way to Khopoli via Pen. Kohpoli was only 48km or so from here. Without a second thought I turned. The route up to Pen was good but from then on it was a nightmare. Mostly the roads were under construction and had only the gravel laid out. Riding on the gravel was worse than riding on bad roads.
I entered Khopoli via Shil Gaon and was looking at the final approach. By time I was seriously tired and aching all over.

I reached Pune (Aundh) at 9.30pm, had food and crashed at around 11.00pm.

neat eh?