It’s been eleven months since I had got home the KTM Duke
200. Since then the bike has only been put to use as a commuter – the weekday
office ride of 7km and back. The bike is capable of doing much more both on
track and highway and I was feeling bad that I hadn’t put it to better use. The
feeling would get aggravated when after looking at the odometer, the guy at the
service center would ask if don’t ride the bike much. I wouldn’t fault the man
as approximately only 1000 km were being added every four months (service
interval).
The only remedy for this - long rides! The monsoon was past its
prime and the summer was still some way off – perfect weather for riding. The
only problem was that I hadn’t done anything more than couple of hundred
kilometers before and even that was ages ago. With a lean week at work
anticipated during Thanksgiving and a truck load of un-availed leave at hand, I
decided that there could be no better time for the ride. I looked for possible
options for the route that would notch up about a thousand kilometers and
shortlisted Bangalore-Wayanad-Calicut-Mangalore-Coorg-Bangalore. I split the ride into four days with three
halts for the night. Not many I know would have immediately warmed up to a bike
trip and even if they did, matching calendars and preferences would have been
hard. Therefore without consulting anyone, I decided that this would be done
solo and booked accommodation! The dates – 25 November 2013 to 28 November 2013
(Monday- Thursday).
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| The route! |
No matter how capable a bike is for highway touring, you
would need to beef it up to carry luggage for long duration travel. After
looking at many options and reading reviews I chose to go for the KTM speedbags
by Dirtsack (
http://www.dirtsack.in/).
They have a dealer in Bangalore and I planned to go and pick it up in person
rather than order online. But as luck would have it, I fell ill the week before
the ride and missed the shopping plan. The bag was sold out when I called up the
Wednesday before the ride. That left me with no other option but to order
directly from the manufacturers in Mumbai who did a remarkable job in getting
the bag delivered to me by Saturday (Thanks Jaydeep, Mandar!). Also on my
shopping list was a puncture repair kit, but I forgot about it till it was too
late. I had to hope for some luck!
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| Duke with Speedbag mounted |
It was soon the first day of the ride. The bags were packed
the previous night – back pack with the DSLR and paperwork; the new speedbag
with clothes, additional lenses and a lot of room to pack in stuff I wanted to
pick up. The speedbag was a breeze to mount on the bike and a perfect fit with
no movement. After having a quick
breakfast, I set off at about 07:15. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t
nervous and the feeling got heightened when I realized I was not very familiar with
the exit from Bangalore! I had researched the route from Mysore and had
believed getting till there would be a no brainer. I have mostly been on the
back seat on trips via Mysore and never really internalized the way to exit the
city. But soon enough I managed to recall how to reach Mysore road and that conundrum
was laid to rest!
After making past my way through early morning traffic on
the Bangalore end of Mysore road, it was open, smooth highway ahead. That allowed
a stress free cruising at around 100 kmph. It was a tad boring though and I
chose to hum along
Lokadi Kalaji to amuse
myself (What! You haven’t heard this Raghu Dixit number yet? Check it out at:
http://youtu.be/zx4faCyoB8o.
If you like it, buy their new album!). Also, I kept my senses on alert by
trying to work out which vehicle or pedestrian would do something unusual
J
The roads in and around Mysore were a little patchy and
slowed my progress, but on travelling further towards Gundlupet, the roads were
smooth once again and cruising resumed. The Gundlupet route was a familiar one
having been on it during my first long (group) bike ride to Ooty. I remembered from that trip that Sultan
Bathery (Wayanad) was a right turn at Gundlupet. It was good that I remembered this bit as I
would have missed it if I weren't on the lookout for it. The Sultan Bathery
road was equally smooth and devoid of traffic and in no time hit the reserve
forest area. The road through the forest was like driving through alien country
– well marked twisty roads replete with signboards. The only things that
brought me back to India were the numerous speed bumps. The jungle was serene
and my bike must have created quite a racket!
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| Entering Kerala |
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| Duke in the jungle |
After making my way past the forest and bits of
civilization, I reached Sultan Bathery town and soon found my pre-booked accommodation
– Hotel Mintflower Residency. As I was
trying to cross the road, one of the taxi/jeep drivers from the parking lot
adjacent to the hotel walked up to me and asked if the helmet I was wearing was
air-conditioned :D I guess the vents on it make it look that way (I later realized,
mechanically it is “air-conditioned”, channeling internal air flow from the front
to the rear). After dropping of my baggage in the room, I had a quick lunch at
the attached restaurant. It was a thali with a difference, full of Keralite
preparations like avial, kootu curry instead of typical south Indian ones. To
make the meal complete there was payasam and boiled water to drink!
It was just past 14:00 and I decided to have a short rest
and head towards Banasurasagar dam at 16:00. I had seen some pics of the lake
near the dam and had read the sunsets there are worth the visit. I did not fall
asleep, which I would have preferred and at about 15:30, I could hear rain. I
thought this would bring an end to my plans but the rain was short lived. Just
past 16:00, I set out towards Kalpetta from where I had to take a deviation. After
the initial traffic and diversions at Sultan Bathery, the road leading to
Kalpetta was sublime! The initial stretch post the deviation at Kalpetta was
horrible, but soon turned into a narrow, twisty, undulating but pothole free
road that was a thrill to ride on. Soon it started to drizzle and that made it
more fun; the Duke handled these roads marvelously. The mobile network in these parts was
impressive too as I had to constantly look up maps to aid my ride.
The dam was an anti-climax! It had some impressive Civil
Engineering credentials but I was looking for aesthetics! At the gates to the
dam complex, I was told I could not take my vehicle inside. The only thing to
do inside the complex would be to get a closer look and walk on the dam. I was
not interested. I asked the security if there was a lake around (in Malayalam).
He told me that if I took a right at the previous junction, I would find one.
He used the word, “valthote” meaning right in Malayalam. At that time I couldn't
immediately translate the word. But I thought I would get slapped if I asked
for translation! He had also gestured right with his hands, but I have come
across numerous occasions when gestures and words don’t match :D
So I did take that right turn and a couple of kilometers
down that road, I reached what appeared to be the reservoir behind the dam. I
took a narrower cross road that appeared to lead closer to the water. It did
and I ended up abruptly next to the water body. The view was awesome and I spent
some time photographing. After satisfying myself, I headed back the way I came.
The same awesome roads, this time in darkness and with some notorious Kerala buses
for company! I reached the hotel’s basement parking lot and discovered the bike’s
steering lock was not working. I took my chances with the hotel security and
left the bike unlocked for the night. I
felt spending too much time there would only attract unwanted attention.
Earlier that day, I had discovered that I had forgotten my mobile charger. The receptionist
at the hotel had kindly lent me a spare charger. After a light dinner, I picked
up a cheap local charger from a nearby shop as I still had three more days on
the road.
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| The reservoir behind the Banasurasagar dam |
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| When we ran out of road! |
The next day found me making my way past the same roads
towards Kalpetta. This time around, I would travel further on to Calicut
(Kozhikode). Originally my plan at Calicut included only picking up the famed
banana chips. But the bike lock problem I discovered the previous night made me
include a quick stop at the KTM workshop there.
The route to Calicut was scenic – full of plantations and a ghat section
with eight hair pin curves. There were some breathtaking views from the hill
side as well. I reached Calicut city by 12:00 and with help from GPS made my
way to West Hill KTM. The lock issue turned out to be a non-issue! It turned out that the
handle bar had to be in a particular position for the lock to work. I had not realized
this in the 11 months I have owned the bike! Since I was at the workshop, I
decided to give the chains a clean and lube job.
I had not realized that riding to the workshop had taken me
away from the city center. Since I was travelling in the “right” direction
towards Mangalore, I continued on. I soon realized my folly. I had wanted to
pick up the chips and moving away from the city would mess that up. It was also
past 13:00 and I was beginning to feel hungry. I decided to re-trace my path to
Calicut city to grab a bite and the chips. That’s when I got lost! Lost is not
the correct word for I knew exactly where I was, thanks to the GPS. But I was
neither finding a decent restaurant nor a seller of banana chips (the kind
which make them on location). After
making my way past numerous diversions and one-ways, as if by some unearthly
intervention, I stumbled across a name I was looking for – Kumari Chips! This
place was reputed for making and selling the chips I was after and I had just
passed it (having glanced at the name from the corner of my eye). It was in a
very busy part of the city and I had to go some distance to find parking. After
parking, I walked back to pick up the chips. It was 14:30 by then and my next
destination Mangalore was 250 km away. Having found the elusive chips, I
decided to munch on some biscuits for lunch and make some progress towards
Mangalore. The chips in the bag had me in good spirits; it felt like having
done the undo-able J
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| At Calicut, with the bag loaded with chips! |
The ride towards Mangalore via Kannur was uneventful except
for a couple of stray incidents. First an auto rickshaw driver who decided to
bring his vehicle to a halt right in my path while crossing the highway.
Second, a brave gentleman who chose to cross the highway from the opposite end,
reached midway and upon seeing me coming made some abusive gestures as I
stormed past him J
I reached Kannur by 15:00 and decided that I should take a
break as there was still about 150 km to go. I popped into a restaurant for
some late lunch and after that had a look around outside at the surroundings for
familiar things. Kannur is the district my parents belong to and I had been to
this very place about 15 years back. The only thing I remembered was Sheen
bakery, a place from where we often packed chips and cake as we prepared to
board the bus to Bangalore.
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| Sheen bakery, Kannur |
The ride from Kannur to Mangalore was a mixed bag. The initial
part was full of elevation changes and was fun. Yet, a slight drizzle had made
the road slippery and it also seemed to have a layer of oil on it that glistened
in sunlight. Post Payyanur, it was mostly flat with some sections of twisty
hill roads. But the worst was at the door step of Mangalore. It had gotten dark
by then and there seemed to be no road. The bike’s suspension and my bones were
getting battered and I was blindly following the vehicle ahead, occasionally
checking GPS to see if I was on course. After what seemed liked eternity in
hell, I made it to my next pit stop – Ginger, Mangalore. I was too tired to
head out post that, ordered food via room service and called it a day.
The next day was planned with minimal riding, about 140 km.
The bike looked rather dirty and the chain that was lubed 250 km ago also
looked dirty. With over 400 km still to go to reach Bangalore, I felt I should
make a quick visit to KTM Mangalore and get these sorted. The cleaning and
lubing took up more time than expected. By the time I got started towards
Madikeri, it was 12:30. The exit from Mangalore was the other extreme of the
entry the previous night -twisty roads downhill that were a pleasure to ride on.
I got so engrossed in it that I missed the deviation to Madikeri and continued
onwards to Sakleshpur/Bangalore! J
I realized this at Upinangadi. I knew this place was on the
route to Saklespur from my previous visit to Mangalore and took corrective
action. I chose a deviation to take me to Puttur, a place on the Madikeri road.
I thought this deviation would be a mistake, but that was far from the truth.
That road was a 12km stretch that had its share of bad patches but was mostly
alright. What followed after I joined the road to Madikeri was horrible, worse
than the Mangalore stretch. One and half hours on under construction and beyond
repair roads with some incredibly good sections in between started to get me
sick. The trauma ended as soon as I entered Coorg (Kodagu) district. The scenery
and the roads reached the other extreme – it was biking heaven!
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| The scenery and the road conditions upon entering Coorg |
The stretch upto Madikeri town was better than the forest
section at Wayanad. The sharp twisties uphill were a delight. The markings and
signboards were perfect and so was all the scenery around. It felt like being
in a video game! As the milestones counted down the distance to Madikeri, I
wished it would never end. But you don’t get everything you wish for and I landed
smack in the middle of Madikeri town! From there I opted to use the GPS to find
my way to the homestay where I had booked my accommodation. But its location on
the map was inaccurate and I had to call my hosts to guide me to their place. I
got to Alpen Glow at 15:30. My hostess was shocked to see me ride in on a bike,
all alone!
After a short rest, I decided to go pick up some spices. The hostess had asked me to fill up the registration form after I am done with my
rest. I ventured to their house next door and she offered me delicious upma and
coffee while I filled up the form. Her husband told me they also had an option
of an estate stay outside the town. I then ventured out and picked up the
spices and thereafter decided to have an early dinner. I wanted to eat Biryani
at Hotel East End. I have eaten there before and their Biryani was the best I
have ever tasted and therefore desired to eat it again. But as luck would have
it the Biryani chef was on a half day leave and Biryani was not on the menu
that night! I had to settle for lesser things!
The next morning my hosts served me breakfast. The hostess
also offered some packed Coorg special sweets for me to take home. I bid adieu to my hosts and started off on
the home stretch at 09:00. Some more of Madikeri’s mystical roads and
thereafter I was cruising on flat stretches; that meant more Lokada Kalaji J The uneventful ride took me
to Mysore and then an equally boring stretch brought me to Bangalore. After
negotiating some Bangalore traffic, I was back home by 14:00. 1227+ km, 4 days,
3 nights, a memorable and enriching experience!
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| 1227 km (the meter was reset at 999.9) |
