Lepakshi Temple bike ride

Day: Sunday - 09/01/11

First ride of the year 2011,     
       The plan was to ride to Lepakshi Temple, Hindupur in the morning which was about 120km away from Bangalore. Saturday night filled up the tank and check the air pressure of both the tyre and went to bed anxiously waiting for the night to over.
       Got up early in the morning and freshen up & called madhu to check out at what time he might be reaching my place. I packed up the tools and went to check out the bike. Oh god! to my surprise front tyre had gone flat, it was 6 am in the morning no chance of finding any puncture shop. Madhu reach after 10 mins, went to look out for any puncture might have open, shop owner had put a  board saying 9am to 9pm. Dejected came back and planned it to push it till the nearest petrol pump. Informed the gang that we will be joining on the way. filled the air in front tyre and checked if any leakage is there, air was leaking from the valve pin so filled more air and planned to get it repaired on the way.
       It was already 7am when we started from Ganganagar. We were 1 hr behind the schedule, so planned to ride slowly and join them near the breakfast point, Kamat-Chikaaballapur on NH 7. On the way we spotted one puncture shop open in morning for business, check the tyre and replaced the valve pin and all set to roll once again. The roads are totally covered with dense fog. The visibility in some places was very less, so driving around 30-40 km speed. The weather was too chilled to ride but were enjoying the fogy ride. In fogy roads people used to drive keeping blinker switched on, it feels like light bugs are flying and we were chasing them on our bull. As the traffic was less after crossing Devanahalli, i asked madhu if he wanted to ride the bull. He was very much interested to tame the bull. Slowly the fogy roads were clearing and were into the clear sky, sun kissing the skin softly. We were enjoying the sun warmth after the chilled weather. We reached Kamat Restaurant by 9:am, already all the bulls are parked in the parking lot, still few more bull on there way.

Bulls resting!

We were too much hungry after pushing the bull early in the morning for 2km, I order for 1 plate idli-vada, 2 vada and then kesari bath, now i was feeling fully satisfied. 

       Now everyone all set to started the ride, once again i checked the tyre pressure to make sure it was not leaking anymore. All the bull running in 2by2 formation, thundering the NH7 with there thumping sound.

Riding in  2by2 formation

After driving for another 40km, after crossing the RTO check-post take left turn for Lepakshi road. This road is small one so we formed single row once entered the road. Lepakshi temple was around 16km from the NH7 junction.

driving in single line

We reached Lepakshi Temple by 12pm, parked the bulls where ever we find space to park in the parking lot. 

Few snaps of Lepakshi Temple

After temple visit started back for lunch. On the way we stopped to take photo of the Nandi. 

 

Nandi

Once again we regrouped  and started our ride back to Kamat Restaurant. We reached the lunch point by 3pm. I ordered for north indian thali, it was good. After finishing lunch we gathered for photo shoot. 

group photo

Once the group photo shoot session was over, all were ready to hit the road. Once again we drove by forming 2by2 formation. Royal Knights official photographer - Navin will always goes ahead to look out for location from where he can take lovely pics. 

We reached near Hebbal flyover by 4:30pm, we stopped there for last meeting point before saying goodbye to fellow riders. We were very thirsty, i had 2 tender coconut to quench my thirst. After say goodbye to rest of the rider everyone move to there final destination- sweet home. We reached my place by 5:30pm, madhu was too tired so he planned to not to take rest and head back home. Years first ride was good but my ride without any misfortune can't be completed. Ah....eagerly waiting for the next ride!

See you soon!

Route: Bangalore-Chikkaballapur-Lepakshi Temple-Chikkaballapur-Bangalore

Distance Covered: 260KM

Shravanabelagola bike ride

Sunday Morning bike trip to Shravanabelagola with Royal Knights Motorcycle Club. This was my first ride with any Royal Enfield motorcycle group. The group starting point was at Mekri circle by 6 am. Madhu was joining me as pillion rider, he came early in the morning from his place and then we left for Mekri circle.

By 6:30 am 16 bikes and riders were present and ready to ride. Naveen was acting as the group captain and rest of biker will follow him. NTR as the sweeper and the photographer. The road till Jalahalli crossing was in bad shape as metro works is going on, after that road is very good till Nelamangala, this stretch of the road was newly built 6 lane for congestion free traffic. Took left turn near Nelamangala for NH48 and stopped for first pit stop for tea break.

Tea time

bulls taking break!

After good tea break once again we hit the road, from here NH48 roads were under construction for 4 lane so some parts of the roads are good and some are still under construction. Now when ever we got good space we tried to form 2 formation for riding, it was a good experience to ride this way and maintain good average speed.

When the ride was getting good my rear tyre got punctured, i couldn't know it - Giridhar was behind me he spotted low pressure and asked me to check it out & and turned out a iron nail has rapture the tyre. As the trye puncture repair shop was 3km away we disengage the rear wheel and took to the repair shop. by that time one fellow rider also joined us there. Once the repaired trye was put in place and tested it, found out rear wheel was wobbling. So planned to ride till the next puncture repair shop and get it repaired. Due to improper trye adjustment the rear trye was wobbling, once again flattened the trye and filled it with air, fixed it back & now it was good without any wobbling.

let's roll

Once we were near Kunigal, the roads were in very bad condition because of road widening. Once we reach the outskirt we stopped for breakfast. Kunigal is famous for its big idli's( tatte idli), everybody was so hungry with in few mins we were running out of idli's, had to wait for the fresh idli's to be served. Most of the travelers who pass through Kunigal always stop here to taste the tatte idli. After awesome pet puja once again we were on the road. we drove for another 1 hour and took the second pit stop before  Channarayapatna town.

2nd pit stop

After good 15 mins break we started the ride, we  reached Channarayapatna and took left turn for Shravanabelagola. This road is small and goes through the villages but in good shape with few traffic.

 single line formation

driving for another 15km we reached Shravanabelagola, and parked our bulls little bit away from the park space as it was filled.

We have around 2 hours in our hand for temple visit. Few of them stayed back so that they can look for any restaurant for lunch and rest went for temple visit.

Few clicks

We spent good time clicking lots of photos in and around the temple. As we could not found any good restaurant near by planned to stop near Cafe Coffee day after crossing Channarayapatna town. Once we reached the the spot and parked our bulls in parking lot, headed to order for lunch. On the menu we could only get snacks and some rice item which took around 20mins to cook. It was a mistake who order for rice item they waited impatiently for the order to be served. when we finished our lunch it was already 4pm.

It was time for us to head back to Bangalore. We gather for the group photo shot.

group snap!

 After group photo shot finished, few people fueled up the tank and we were back on the road. Once again luck run out, it was not my bike bye the way. One of fellow riders rear trye got punctured, so we had to called for pit stop. Once again we have to take out the rear wheel, but this time it took lot of effort to take out the wheel as the bolt was slipping. Any how mange to took out the rear wheel and took it for repair.

 trying to figure out how to remove the rear wheel

prized possession took be Navin

 Because of it we got delayed by another 1 hr, finally we fixed the tyre and headed back to Bangalore. On the way once again stopped near Nelamangala Junction for tea break. After the break all gather and decide which route they wanted to take and get back home. Few of them took the NICE road, while few took Yeswantpur road and said goodbye till the next group ride.

    It was great experience to ride with Royal Knights. Now eagerly waiting for the next ride!

Kanyakurmari-Rameshwaram bike ride -Day 7

Day 7: 05/11/2010

Wish you Happy Diwali!

Woke up early in the morning by 4 am, it was raining heavily. We thought lots of devotee will be present on the occasion of Diwali but because of the rain few people were able to reach the temple. We were inside the temple by 4:30am for darshan.After the temple darshan decide to head for DhanusKodi  at 6.15am. 

 On the way to Dhanuskodi

road to infinity

Reached the check post, where we asked for permission to take the bike till Dhanuskodi but with our own risk. The toughest part of ride was going through the sand till the sea side.

The toughest part to ride on sand!

Dhanuskodi was around 4-5km from the check post, usually people go to Dhanuskodi by bus or fishermen vehicle. If you are interested to go further you have to heir a jeep from Rameshwaram. we have to follow the tracks of the bus & ride till Dhanuskodi.

ocean ride!

After riding for another 5km reach the ruined city (Ghost town) - Dhanuskodi

remains of the ruined city

ruined church

Spent the time roaming around the ruined city, saw the old railways station, the broken rail track, old school building .....where ever you see all broken building, temple and church submerged in sand. the Government declared the town as ghost town and unfit for living after the storm.Only few fisher-folks now live there. Planed to go further to see the coral reef, but local people advised not to go by bike as it was high tide most of the jeep tracks will be submerged. So finally decided to head back. Stopped in few places on the way to take photos.

Normalize effect on the photo!

 The Man & the Machine!

We were back in Rameshwaram by 9:45am, spent time roaming around the city exploring few temples. Had lunch and planned to head back to Bangalore, original plan was to pass through Madurai - instead we planned to go to Trichy. We left Rameshwaram at around 2pm and headed for Trichy. On the way we stopped at Pamban bridge to take photos.

Pamban bridge!

  Railway double-leaf bascule bridge section that can be raised to let ships pass under the bridge

Once we reach the ECR raod took the diversion into NH-210 which goes toward Trichy. Once we crossed Devakottai we could see the black clouds on the horizon heading towards our path, we stopped and prepared our self to tackle the rain. It rained cats & dogs. We didn't want to stop & wait for the rain to stop so slowly moved ahead. Most of the road was submerged in water, when we entered a small town, roads are almost not visible knee deep water was flowing in it, we just ripped through the running water, people were thinking we have gone mad. After driving for almost 3hrs fully drench in rain we reached pudukkottai. Oh boy! people are happy as the rain stopped and everyone are ready with there crackers to celebrate Diwali. Now we were driving carefully as most people are bursting cracker in the middle of the road. This was the second diwali i spent my time on road trip. We reached Trichy by around 8pm, then decided to go to Srirangam and stay there, visit the Sri Ranganathswamy Temple in the morning. We got a lodge near the raja gopuram, had dinner and went to bed.

Route: Rameshwaram-devakottai-Puddukkottai-Trichy-Srirangam

Distance cover: 250km

Kanyakurmari-Rameshwaram bike ride -Day 6

Day 6: 04/11/2010
          Left Kanyakumari early the morning and reached Vattakottai by 7:10am. We didn't know that the fort gate opens at 9am. We requested the the care taker to let us in, we paid the entry fee. Vattakottai circular fort is a seaside fort built in 18th century as a coastal defence-fortification and barracks in the erstwhile Travancore kingdom.

few pics of Vattakottai fort

       We left Vattakottai by 8am as the care taker has to go out to town. We planned to follow the road which goes by the sea side, most part of the ride was like roller coaster ride as the road was too uneven. But the road was in good condition without much potholes. We were driving mostly alone in this road as the traffic was very less, occasionally few vehicle cross. 

we hit the magical number!

When we were nearing Koodankulam we saw more traffic and many people waiting to go for work. This place is famous for Nuclear Power plant, this the 9th power plant in India. After driving for another 25km our luck run out once again, rear tyre got puncture. we were just 10km away from Tiruchendur, people advised us to go back 5km to find a puncture shop. It is difficult to ask help in the plane area where people are afraid to stop. after trying few times one guy stopped and helped me to take the rear tyre to near by puncture shop. This time i was adamant and asked the guy to check it thoroughly, found out that from inside the tyre was teared. I asked him if i can get a new tyre, he told me that he going to put one extra tube inside so that it will protect the main tube, asked me to get the tyre at Tuticorin. I couldn't get anything to return back, so hired on jeep that dropped to the point where the bull was parked.

      Now we were driving very careful not to hit any potholes or stones. After 4th puncture you will always feel like anytime the tyre may flatten out. So decide to have lunch at Tiruchendur, had lunch and were ready to start for Rameshwaram when a guy came up & asked "Are you willing to sale the bike, will pay you in cash". This guy was asking the bull for his son, who was on top of the building beside the restaurant, supervising in construction. Asking his father from top to ask us weather we will sale the bike. That guy took our phone and said once you reach back will give you a call. Once again we hit the road and reached Tuticorin by 1pm. I searched many shops for ceat tyre but couldn't find anywhere so decide to put a Dunlop tyre, after bargain we got it for 1500 bucks. We went to near by puncture shop got it replaced and left Tuticorin by 2:30pm. We stopped near Sayalgudi to tank up the bull. We didn't knew the route, so we were checking the route on google map, but it doesn't show the road which we were traveling. We came to know that this was the new ECR road that goes up till Chennai. 

New East Coast Road

      The ECR road is still under construction at same places. We didn't go to Ramanathpuram instead we took the ECR and took a right into NH49 which goes to Rameshwaram. Driving for another 56km we reached Rameshwaram by 7:30pm. Once again we started to hunt for a good lodge, finally got one which was recently opened for Rs 500 for double room was too good, where other lodges we charging more and rooms were not good. Finally settled and went out to take dinner. by 10pm we hit the bed, as we have to get up early to visit the temple.

Route: Kanyakumari-Tiruchendur-Tuticorin-Rameshwaram

Distance covered: 350KM

Kanyakurmari-Rameshwaram bike ride -Day 5

Day 5: 03/11/2010

          Got ready early in the morning and headed toward the beach to see sunrise. It was almost dark when we reach there, tourist were occupying there spot to see the sunrise. Slowly most part of the beach was filled with tourist occupying every space available, it was like a Mela!

  Everybody was there before 5:15 am .....occupying there seat to see the sunrise!

  wide angle view of Vivekananda rock memorial & Thiruvalluvar statue

view of Vivekananda rock memorial & Thiruvalluvar statue

 sun rays creating beautiful effect at the back of Thiruvalluvar statue!

After that went for beach walk, went to see the Kamarajar Memorial. We had breakfast and went to the lodge, rested for hour. Then took an auto to the place where we had left the bull parked in front yard.

Back tyre got punctured the previous night at 10pm, 4km away from Kanyakumari...not single shop was opened at that time, had to park the bull in front of this house and went to Kanyakumari to search for lodge. Photo was taken next morning.

Just few blocks from the house was the puncture repair shop. We thanked the person who helped us and it was already 11am so decided to go to Boat ride to Vivekananda rock memorial. There was long queue for the boat ride, till kill boredom started taking photos.

fishing boat

The boat ride was very short, reached the place took the ticket and went on for photo shoot. Few photos from Vivekananda Rock Memorial and Thiruvalluvar statue.

Vivekananda rock memorial

 

 Madhu waited long time to get this shot!

view of Vivekananda rock memorial from Thiruvalluvar statue

We spend almost 2hr to see the beautiful and shrine Vivekananda Rock Memorial and Thiruvalluvar statue.

  view of Vivekananda rock memorial & Thiruvalluvar statue from the beach

 Then went to have have lunch and planned to rest at lodge & go to see sunset. We didn't the exact place to see the sunset, asking for direction to sunset point we finally make it to that place, by the time we reach there sun was already covered with clouds. We spent some good time enjoying the soothing winds. 

After that we headed to Suchindrum Temple, which was 12km away. We reached there by 6pm, puja was being performed when we entered the temple.  The temple`s musical pillars and an excellent statue of the Hanuman are the main attraction. 

We went back, had dinner and went to bed early.