The Monsoon ride

We, THE bulleteers scaled a new milestone few weeks back, riding through the everlasting rain and hairpin bends of the western ghats. The treacherous journey was worth the pain.

It was a beautiful friday morning(3rd of july)..an extended weekend "spirit" had already arouse- all set for long distance driving to Ooty(Ootacamund),TN.

It all started with Arvin, Visakh, Jai, Sunil and others organized by crossworks/travel-life with sponsors like Red Bull and Wranglers.

After preparing a list of to-do items like RC book update, Fitness certificate, Insurance, money, fueling up for the ride, the actual ride! then finally comes the last thing on my list(after the ride) a travelogue about the memorable journey. I have been updating and saving this as draft all these writings during weekends as i didn't have time to complete and post it. You know how worth is a weekend for an adventurous Software engineer like me ;)

Anyway, coming back to the thumping and roaring of engines on the state/national highways.. I should say this was my first long bike trip on my first bike which i had driven less than what 900 odd kms that we covered in those three days. Just a month after buying and riding in city conditions, it's a daring task to climb the ooty hill but with guidance of 20+ other bulleteers it was a good experience. It wasn't a drag of any kind but we enjoyed the ride.

Day 1, We met first in the country club resort on Mysore road,(Next to Raja-rajeshwari dental college, kumbalgod) to munch the breakfast, idli-vada-sambar and sandwich. After fueling ourselves with heavy breakfast we got our bike's tuned for long journey. Our mechanic Mubarak (AKA Mumtaz :P), got our bikes ready for long road ahead. Tighting of break nuts, adjusting of carburetor timing.. we reached Maddur cafe coffee day for our introduction session, then we set to our next destination - Gods own country. True to its name. I have been there 4 times now and trust me, Its the most beautiful place in south India i have seen.
Leaving the tread-marks on the Mysore road we passed through the hump-ty dump-ty roads of Gundlupet where our bikes fork oil(for suspension) got warmed up. Landing in the MC resorts of Bandipur we had our lunch and set out to Panamaram, Wayanad for our home stay called ente veedu (meaning "Our house" in Malayalam). We bikers lost time in fixing up of our bikes and cleaning up of rain water logged fuel tanks(Yup! it rained as hell all three days long) and we had to drive all drenched in rain as we touched the borders of Kerala. Following only the boards available but no one else to ask in midnight we somehow reached the place and thanks to the good roads of Kerala. The best roads ofcourse promotes tourism there than anything else. The worst roads can be found in TN and in Karnataka roads are okie but not at all places though..
Finally reaching the place we found our dorms and rooms very comfortable but some continued merry in fueling themselves up with hot beverages. Of course you know I am non drinker, non smoker and Veggie, So i didn't afford any of the "so-called luxuries"! But a lot of caffeine in Red Bull energy drink had its own side effects in going to sleep. I advice not to drink more than 2-3 red bulls per day or you are gonna stay awake even on bed for more than 48 hours, Losing your brain cells instead of liver cells :P

Day 2, was a really round about way of going to Ooty from Kerala. We missed our route-maps and end-up 120 kms away from ooty after riding for severals hours which was actually more than what we had to cover if we started that properly in correct directions. But it is a part and parcel of every motorcycle diary to get lost in country roads and enjoy the serene beauty around or else where is the adventure without getting lost!? We visited a friend of Visakh whom we foLLowed all the way in Manjeri and Chungam..macha.. Chungam Chungam.. :P ( like I repeat.. repeat repeat.. Funny the way he reapeated every place while answering the phone call) Sorry dude for posting it here.. but you made our day of grand leg pulling!
It was 8pm already and 100+ kms of night driving ahead very few retreated but courage, adventure and challenge took over the fears and we hit the roads non-stop till we reached Ooty hill. It was damn cold and misty all the way up the hill. We couldn't see past each other in the heavy precipitation around. Snake-like taillights ahead on the curvy roads was so good to see.. equidistant from each other we followed each other up the hill to reach our place. As planned we couldn't goto Avalanche, in Ooty as we lost time on the way.

Day 3, Getting up late and relieved of the body pains after refreshing bath, We made our way into Holiday Inn @ Ooty, and occupied the whole of car parking lot! I suppose, We scared away a bunch of people who were having breakfast when we came drenched to the luxurious hotel. Food was awesome and we billed around 7000 for a breakfast! We had made it temporary residence in the morning hanging our rain coats and riding jackets around and helmets everywhere.. :P After a photo-shootout in the parking lot we buzzed again riding down the 36 numbered hair pin bends of the ooty hill to reach Madhumalai forest range, a continuation of Bandipur forests in TN. It seemed like we brought rains along with us all the way back to Mysore, as we could see blue-black clouds on our back heavily loaded with water which showed us no mercy even after getting out of the Ooty! We saw elephants with their cubs, Fox, Lots of deers, wild boar on our way back in the morning which is very rare to see even if we go for night safari! Hitting the Mysore road SH-17 again.. It was pretty pathetic to see youngsters trying hard to race our constant speed Enfields which were going past 100 kmph all the way back till we reached Maddur coffee day again for a break. We cheered the other bulleteers we found on the way enjoying the ride more. At last bidding farewell to all those who accompanied three days, i reached back home at 00:00 hours on monday morning.

I slept on my couch with the thumping still ringing in my ears asking me the question "where next?" I wish to do cross country biking for 20-25 days - K2K ride (Kashmir 2 Kanyakumari), I dream to cover the highest motor-able roads in the world on the way from Himachal Pradesh - Leh-Ladakh, some fine day.. I wish I stay true to my childhood dreams, I wish the biker in me still prevails "for years to come in near future" in spite of escalating fuel price/nagging Girl Friend/Fiancée/Wife ;)

Aloha!