13 March 2010
The day was decided and the time was set. The home-work was done; maps studied and the ride was going to be A-OK. It was going to be a Saturday ride; all day long. It was known that there are very few hotels to stop at once in Karnataka, so sandwiches from Marz-O-Rin were packed too!The plan was to leave home at 04:30, exit Pune at dawn and cover as much distance as I could in less traffic. I overshot my departure by more than an hour, and it was almost 06:00 by the time I was on my Apache and riding out of the city.
The roads were not too crowded and I was at the Katraj viaduct pretty soon. Crossing the viaduct in dim light is quite a different experience than in full daylight. Reminded me of NFS; it always does!!!Low light makes for not-so-decent riding conditions and it took me time to adjust to the dark once I left the viaduct and was passing Kapurhol towards Shirwal.After some time I suddenly heard a low thumping sound; gradually increasing in volume. "Could it be?" ... "Yes!" ... One glance in the rear-view mirror and my doubt was confirmed… They were a couple of Bullets! That noise could only be from Thumpers. I did the only correct thing to do and got out of the way. Rode along with them for a few kilometers but it got quite boring after about 15-20 minutes. I had to go far ... couldn't hang about riding at such a slow speed ;) and so I pushed off, wishing them “Cheers” and good luck for their journey.The Khambatki ghat is always a pleasure to drive through. Not having the sun bearing down on you makes the ride even more soothing. The “ascents” on this ghat are quite steep and one gets to do quite a few “footrest-grazers”.Hotel Sangam at Karad is a customary stop... and it was breakfast time! I had traveled 166 kilometers so far. Two hours and forty minutes was pretty slow to reach Karad. A quick breakfast, a few snaps of the speedometer, and I was out of Hotel Sangam and back on the road.The road from Karad to Kolhapur is amazing… and 150 cc doesn't do justice to the road. Many sections on this road have proper fencing/bushes on either side which gave me a good sense of security and I kept going at 90-100 kmph for many minutes at a stretch.This road is quite familiar to me by now and all I was waiting for was to pass Kolhapur. My friend, Tejas, and I had done a “practice” run to Kolhapur (and back) two weeks ago and there were not going to be any surprises here. But going past Kolhapur took me long… a lot of traffic at the exits. Once past Kolhapur, it was only a few kilometers before I approached the Kagal/Kognoli toll booth.Entering Karnataka was very (very... very...) noticeable. I realized that I could see the road for kilometers at a stretch and very few people on the road. No groups of people suddenly shooting out onto the highway to cross it… no cattle happily wandering on the road… just the open road!As I approached, and passed Nippani … I knew this was one of the moments I had been waiting for on this trip. As I passed Hotel Satyawati Palace, I made a quick mental note of the fact that this was the farthest from home I had been on the NH4 on the bike. This tiny little achievement gave me the boost to press on without taking a halt.I didn't realize how my bike was gobbling up the kilometers on this amazing stretch of road. The last time I had seen the odometer it was 270 and now I was suddenly staring at 310 ! “Where did the kilometers go?” That's a question that I am asking myself till this day!
The road is something to write poetry (or prose) about. It is roads like these which make one go “Wheeeee!!!!” and run all around. Four-lane, flat, and excellent surface is how highways should be!!!By 11:00 I was about 62 kilometers away from Dharwad. Riding for two hours straight had taken a “mini” toll on my back. 'twas time to stop and and take a break. A few stretching exercises and I pressed on further.It was 12:15 and I was about 10 kilometers outside Dharwad at a place called Hotel Swagat. This was a really “Welcome” break and it was time to refuel; the bike and me! Two cups of tea and few sandwiches (Marz-O-Rin) was just right to recharge the batteries!While I was refueling the bike I had a pleasant conversation with the attendant about how I had left Pune in the morning and that I was on my way to Bengaluru. He was quite surprised that I had done so many kilometers already and that I was planning to do some more … and that too in the same day.
When I checked the distance I had covered, I felt as if I had been through a time-warp. “I couldn't have traveled nearly halfway in just six hours and a few minutes”, I thought. This would mean I could be in Bengaluru in 13 hours?! Wishful thinking was what it turned out to be. 13 hours from Pune to Bengaluru was not going to happen. The “dream run” (read excellent road) had ended here!
The road between Dharwad and Hubli is two-laned and not too bad, but without a divider… so I had to be really, really careful. Not only did I have to watch out for pot holes but also for the trucks racing each other and occupying both sides of the road! One can't do much except stop, if a 20+ tonne truck is barreling down towards you.Further on, as I passed Gabbur, there were a lot of diversions, and I wished that I could see something to take my mind of the road. The diversions had got to be very irritating and my back didn't like it at all. The saving grace was that the road on either side was pretty wide and in good condition. “Once this road is done it would be a riding pleasure”, I thought to myself.
Soon I was near Ranebennur. The bypass is not complete yet and I had to pass through the city. The noisy trucks and buses passing through the town must be annoying for the townsfolk, I thought. “Once the bypass is done, it should be much better”, I thought again.The road diversions continue past Davanagere and upto Chitradurga. The hill ranges around Chitradurga are a sight to be seen… windmills as far as your eye can see on either side, quite breathtaking! I wished I could stop and click a few snaps of the windmills but there was nothing else except “Push on!” in my mind!Having gone over the routes on the maps many many times helped as every small town, although seen for the first time, felt familiar and gave me a little boost to keep going. The scenic villages were quite a nice change from the barren roads seen before. Coconut trees huddled together and swaying in the breeze was a very enjoyable sight indeed!Past Chitradurga, the road get much better and I was soon approaching . A lorry had toppled on its side in the middle of the road, cutting off all traffic on the highway. Back to the last exit along the service road and I was able to continue the journey. The roadblock provided me with an empty road for quite a few kilometers and I was able to make good time, uninterrupted!
There was a bit of traffic approaching Tumkur, but that wasn't too much on my mind. What was on my mind was that I was fast approaching 800 km mark on my journey! Woohoo!!!
Once I reached eight hundred km just after Tumkur, I had to take a break, although it was just about 70 km more to go. My hand was aching, my arm was aching, my back was aching, my coccyx was numb and the slightest movement needed deliberate thought! “This is fun”, I mused, as I made myself a Glucon D + water drink and guzzled down half a liter of the stuff.
Took a quick snap of the setting sun; it was about 18:30. The destination was near, or so I thought! I made a few phone calls informing people that I had reached the 800 km mark as I rested my back, my arm and my hand.
It was getting dark and I was not at all ready for what I had in store for the next hour. As the sun set, driving on the highway got quite impossible; no street lights!! I was very hesitant to even go upto 70 km/h. As I trudged along, Bengaluru seemed to be a destination far-far away. Just then, an ambulance made its way past me heading in the direction of Bengaluru. “This is my chance”, I thought, and I chased it. Thankfully, the ambulance was doing 100+ and was quite easy to follow even in the pitch dark as the traffic was giving way!
This “ambulance chasing” must have continued for the next 50 odd kilometers because I was soon close to the “flyover construction”, near? and past Nelamangala. Not knowing exactly where I was, was a bit disconcerting and I took the opportunity to ask a traffic policeman for directions. My destination was near Hebbal Lake (via the Outer-Ring Road) so I was just asking one question … “Outer Ring-Road-Aaa ???” (The last “Aaa” was to make the phrase sound more “Kannada” :) :) (no offence meant).
I didn't want to miss the Outer-Ring-Road junction, so I was asking for directions quite often. At one point I saw a couple of guys on Karizmas and I thought to myself that maybe they could give me better idea as to how far I was from this mythical Outer-Ring-Road signal. As it turned out, I was about 8-10 km away and one of the “biker dudes” was helpful enough to lead me upto the signal junction.
From the signal to Hebbal Lake was pretty smooth. Getting home from there was also pretty straightforward thanks to the excellent directions given to me by my brother-in-law (Mukul).
I was at home (in Bengaluru) by 20:40; it had been “only” 14 hrs 40 mins and 868 kilometers ago that I had left Pune! It was photograph time with congratulations all around. It was time to take a hot bath and go off to sleep. After dinner, of course!
Some other uninteresting pics:
