I had planned to ride home for Diwali on my Honda Unicorn. I had done the trip once before in the heat of the summer, in April, but I wanted to do it again in better weather. As usual I had informed my parents that I was taking the train. My father had not brought this completely and when I told him that the ticket was in Wait List and not moving he got my uncle, a senior official in the railways, to flex his bureaucratic muscle and get the ticket confirmed. Now we all know that the building muscle takes time and so does acquiring a ticket no matter how gifted or powerful an individual is. So on Friday night after I had packed for the train journey, I got the call confirming that my ticket could move up only to WL02 and no further.
I was elated. I told my parents that I would try my best that get a seat on a bus to Bangalore. I tanked up, brought a new pair of shoes, repacked, prayed and slept soundly. Me and bikey were going to spend a lot of quality time together.
Day 1 (Saturday 10/10/09) : I told my landlord that I was on my way to Mumbai to catch a flight and left at 6.15am. This time I wore the heavier jacket, which I had worn during the trip to Nagpur a few weeks back. I also carried my lighter demin jacket, a raincoat and a large plastic bag to cover my luggage in case it rained. The weather was pleasant and I was cruising comfortable at 80-90kph, stopping every 60-70kms to stretch and walk around.
The roads were as they were the last time. The only major difference in the trip from last time besides the lack of extreme heat was that there was a lot of greenery around. There were also lots small ponds and rivers, full and almost overflowing, which added to the visual delight. Another major difference was that this time I had a dark visor fixed to the helmet. That made a world of a difference in riding comfort. I did not have to squint if the sun was in my eyes and even otherwise my eyes were always at ease. I would strongly advise all to ride with a dark visor while the sun is up and then switch to a normal visor when it gets dark. Lunch was at a small town called Hirebagewadi. The middle aged couple running the hotel was very courteous and friendly.
The last time I rode to Coimbatore the roads between Hubli and Chitradurga were shot. I was expecting the same this time also but I was completely wrong. There were almost no roads. In the patch starting a little before Ranibennur and continuing a few kilometers past Chitradurga it was all gravel with a few patches of tar left. The lighter side of the situation was that there were no bad roads to ride on. No roads means no bad roads. At times the dust was so much that I was soon covered in it and had to actually stop to dust it off me.
Amidst all the off-roading, a roughish sound from the engine caught my attention. I tried to ignore it at first but when it refused to subside I got worried. At Ranibennur, I had a mechanic check the bike. He said something about the timing chain being loose but assured me that there was nothing to worry and that I could ride on. He also checked the breaks and the drive chain and after some oiling I was on my way again. I reached Chitradurga by 6.30pm and decided to call it a day. I had planned to reach Tumkur if not Bangalore but the bad patch slowed me down a lot. Also, I had forgotten to carry the plain visor at the last moment and it was difficult riding in the twilight but thankfully I had almost reached Chitradurga. Tirumala lodge was not cheap at Rs.200 per night and neither were the people friendly but it was safe and very clean. and only about 50 meters from the highway. I had a dinner of assortments like cake, chocolate, fried gobi, masala bread, mangola and slept soundly.
Day 2 (Sunday 11/10/09): Started at 6.30 when the dawn was just breaking. It was a good decision that I had not started earlier otherwise I might've run into some rain. Breakfast was at 8.30 or so when I also called up my parents to inform them that I would be in Bangalore by 9.30am. On the outskirts of Bangalore there was a jam and there was a very long line of vehicles bumper to bumper and none of them were moving. I was at the end of the line which turned out to be a blessing. An Ambassador driver offered to help me and asked me to follow him. We took a detour thru town Nilamangala. I was in Bangalore at 9.30am and decided to take the Mysore bypass like I had done the last time minus the "riding into an unknown village" part. But there was some kind of cycling event going on and the bypass was blocked. I had to ride thru the town to exit it and it took me more than 2 hours to ride out and reach Hosur.
The city was not particularly crowed but traffic was slow because of the construction of the largest and biggest and longest flyover that I've seen. I lost my way a couple of times but was guided back by the friendly locals. All of them took an interest probably because of the way I looked. I stopped for snacks and fuel a little after Hosur and called my father to inform him that I was on a connecting bus to Coimbatore. At this point he was sure that I was riding and the entire bus thing was a hoax. There was no way I could have got a connecting bus so soon. Nevertheless he probably decided to play along.
As per fellow BMCT'er Dheeraj's advice I had decided to ride via Salem this time, but had to take the Bhavani route since it was raining after I crossed Dharmapuri and the clouds were heading away from Bhavani and towards Salem. I was correct in guessing that there would be no rain over Bhavani. I broke for lunch at Mettur. The rest of the ride was uneventful but there was a major difference between the last times ride and this one.
The last time I rode in April, it was my first 800+ km solo ride. I had been telling myself that if I crossed 800km it would be greater than the ride to Nagpur and thus I would have achieved my goal. That worked until I crossed my mark but then every 100kms after the mark was a pain. Since I was not mentally prepared to make the rest of the journey and had been satisfied with the success of having crossed 800kms. That had taxed me a lot because I was expecting to reach home any moment after the 800km mark, but was actually more than 400km from getting even close to it. The real deal as riding is, one can see the distance covered 100 meters at a time and feel it as much as one wants to. I guess all this is compounded when one is riding solo. There is no escape. This time I had was prepared completely for the fact that I've not reached untill I've reached. There was no "almost there" or "just another 150kms" kinda stuff this time. I was in control and knew exactly what was in store for me.
I reached the Coimbatore bye-pass by 4.30pm and it took me another half hour to reach home. My parents were delighted to see me and so was I. It was evident that my father knew all along I was riding and this time I had been had. It rained for the next 2 days that I was in Coimbatore and I must say I was really lucky that none of it happened when I rode.
Trip Stats :
Distance - 1225 kms.
Average Speed - 58kmph.
Top Speed - 90kph
Cruise Speed - 80kph
Mileage - around 45 kmpl i think)
The picture are here.
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