Here begins my "blogging" journey on many of my motorcycle expeditions. Many friends have asked me to create a blog on my motorcycle trips. Lets begin with the trip I made to rajasthan by my Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500 in September 2015.
Day 1 - September 17 2015:
I was back from work at the wee hours in the morning, after a load of work and also having lost the data from my work laptop. Loads of tension started mounting on me just before i began the journey. Finally, after coming back home at 3 AM, i decided to take a small nap before starting my journey in the morning. Keeping the journey in mind, i had already kept the luggage ready (2 bags and a saddle bag). After a good few hours of sleep, i was getting ready to ride at 7:30 AM when friend Vidyasagar (long time associate) reminded me of a "house warming" ceremony of another friend (Sudhakar). I rode to the house warming function near Kanakapura Road, and finally began the journey at 9 AM, via NICE road to the NH4.
The day was pretty cloudy and with very little sunshine, making the day pleasant for a ride. Three hours into the journey and just after crossing Chitradurga, the back wheel started to wobble. Realising there was an issue, i asked a few locals and found a small mechanic who helped fix the problem. The back wheel bearing had completely broken. Luckily, the mechanic had the same model bearing size and helped to replace it. During the time I was waiting to get it replaced, rain showered down for a while and just when the motorcycle was "ready" to run again, the rain had stopped.
The next couple of hours went peacefully and I stopped near hubli for filling fuel. A couple of young lads approached me to ask about my "journey" and what i was going to do. One of them even took a ride on the motorcycle around the fuel station and asked to pose for a quick selfie on his camera. I simply obliged, because not everyone gets this kind of attention. My original travel plan for Day 1 was to leave by 4 AM in the morning and head to Goa, stay for a day and then ride to Mumbai from there, along the scenic coast. Unfortunately, with rain being forecasted along the Konkan coast for that day and the next, I had to make a decision fast as I was nearing Dharwad. It was almost 4:30 PM and I new that descending down to Panjim from dharwad would take at least 3 hours, and I would reach Panjim only by 8:00 PM or later and it would've already started raining. I decided NOT to go to Goa this time.
I continued beyond dharwad and toward belgaum. When I reached Kolhapur it was already past 7 PM. My "first" step into a state other than the 4 South Indian States. I was in Maharashtra. I had totally travelled 670 kms in a span of 11 hours. Time for some beer and food before getting to bed.
Bangalore - Tumkur - Chitradurga - Havery - Hubli - Dharwad - Belgaum - Kolhapur
Day 2 - September 18 2015:
I had planned to ride off to Daman on Day 2. The day was a bit gray and I was in no mood to ride out early. I took a small walk upto the Kolhapur bus-stand and decided to get my "beard-moustache" designed before beginning my journey. I left the hotel at 9 AM and continued my journey across a "new" highway that i had never been to before. It was 1:30 PM when I was on the outskirts of Pune.
There was a little rain throughout the journey to Pune, until on the outskirts where it started getting heavy. I went riding through the city and stopped for fuel, when the rain was really harsh. The entire luggage and I were completely soaked. Braving the heavy downpour, i decided to continue to Daman via Mumbai.
As I exited Pune, about 30 kms outside the city there was a huge traffic jam on the Mumbai-Pune highway. Since two-wheelers are not allowed on the expressway, I had to take the NH4 old highway. A river (Indrayani was the name, not sure) was overflowing due to the heavy downpour and running across the highway. At the first junction, the water cleared in an hours time and some vehicles managed to get to the other side of the flooded junction and the journey continued. When crossing the road by wading through the water, the luggage opened up and my bags fell down. A few people helped to pick up the motorcycle, the bags and also helped to tie it up.
After getting to the other side of the junction, the journey continued, but for barely 5 kms and there was another "flood" across the highway. I spotted a small dhaba and parked my motorcycle in a shade parking. The rain continued to beat down and I did not have a choice but to wait for it to reduce. around the same time, traffic started piling up near the dhaba. When enquired, the locals mentioned about another "flood" across the highway. This time the traffic had piled up for almost 7 kms. there was no way i could reach Daman that day. I even tried to take a deviation towards Nashik and head to Daman, which i had to change later as the rain was pretty bad on that stretch and the distance was more. I would've reached past midnight if I had gone by that route.
At the same dhaba, until 7 PM, and having nothing to do, I simply had to wait for the water to clear off the highway. During this "waiting' period, I befriended one "Arun" who was working in Pune, but riding back to Mumbai to meet his family. A brief talk with him ensured that I wasn't alone or bored for those "dreadly" 4 hours. Once the road and traffic jam got cleared, we continued. The rain had gone down, but it was continuously drizzling and we reached Lonavala by 8 PM. Arun and I had Kachori and Samosa, before heading towards Mumbai.
We reached Panvel at around 9:30 PM and I was already tired. I desperately wanted to get to a hotel and settle down for the day. Arun helped me to find a hotel and settle down, at 10:15 PM, before heading home. I had travelled about 390 kms and about 13 hours overall, with 4 hours of "waiting" for the water to clear.
The entire luggage, including my laptop was soaked and I had to unravel everything to "dry" until the next day.
Day 3 - September 19 2015:
Learning a lesson from journey in Day 2, I got some plastic covers to cover my laptop and all dresses in my luggage. Journey to Daman started at around 9AM and the sky was gray, though it wasn't raining yet. I went past Panvel, to Thane, and accidentally went into Mumbai city, completely missing the road to Ahmedabad. A cop helped in finding the way back to Ahmedabad and I was back on track towards Daman at around 10:30 AM. A small meal at a dhaba, around 50 kms from the outskirts of Mumbai was filling enough to continue the journey.
As i continued on NH8 towards Daman, which was about 150 kms away, the rain gods opened the floodgates again by the middle of the journey and I was still left with 65 kms to reach Daman. This time the rain wasn't like the previous day, yet it was pouring. Braving the downpour yet again, I managed to reach Daman by around 2 PM and settled at my friend Rohit's house. Rest of the day went in drying the clothes and getting some drinks, food and a combat video game.
Totally, 165 kms travelled on Day 3.
Day 4 went completely on resting the motorcycle and myself due to a continuous downpour which was to last until Day 5.
Day 5 - September 21 2015:
It was a Monday early morning. I had already packed up the bags the previous night, and was waiting for the rain to go down. I left Moti-Daman at around 6:00 AM and began my journey towards the state of Rajasthan. The drizzle had not stopped and it was severe since day 3, yet I decided that this was the moment to cherish on the road and I continued towards Ahmedabad.
At 8 AM, I took a small breakfast break and continued riding until Surat. On the outskirts of Surat, I noticed a few trucks piled up on the highway. My initial thought was about an accident on the highway or probably a toll gate for the trucks to go. There was enough space for one motorcycle to ride between the trucks and I was slowly and steadily heading, but this continued for about 30 minutes and I realized that I had waded through stagnated truck traffic for almost 5 kms. On to the extreme left of the road was enough slush to skid the motorcycle. In some stretches, I had to brave that and ride through it slowly.
The traffic had piled up for almost 22 kms and it took a good 2.5 hours to go past all that. Some construction work was happening across the Narmada river, which was the prime reason for this traffic jam. It was almost 10:30 AM and I was in the impression that it wouldn't be easy to reach Mount Abu or head towards Jaisalmer. The next 3 hours went on peacefully and the rain gods finally showed some mercy.
At around 2 PM, I had reached Ahmedabad. As I entered the city, I was in a confusion as to which direction to head, to Udaipur or Mount Abu? I finally made up my mind and decided to head towards Udaipur, but did not know the route. A couple of traffic constables helped me with the directions by "leading the way" and riding along with me till where the highway began. From there, I continued towards Udaipur, about 260 kms away. The next couple of hours went by quietly as I reached Shamlaji, a very sleepy little town on the borders of Rajasthan. I was still 100 kms away from Udaipur. The moment I entered Rajasthan and towards Udaipur, the rain came down again. By 7 PM I had reached Udaipur and settled down for the day.
another 670 kms travelled.
Daman - Vadodara - Ahmedabad - Shamlaji - Udaipur.
Day 6: September 22, 2015:
I had already travelled about 1800 kms and it was time to get the bike serviced. I woke up early to get the motorcycle serviced and went in search of the Royal Enfield Service Center, which was to open only at 9:30 AM. The break shoe had completely worn out and had to be changed. This was how my motorcycle was, after riding through all that rain and slush.
When i left Udaipur towards Jodhpur, I had to travel via falna and the distance was about 260 kms in all. I met this young kid, 14 years old, named Laxman. He made some nice tea for me, in the middle of the Aravalli ranges, enroute to Jodhpur.
Just as I touched the national highway (that leads to Jaipur) and stopped at a dhaba, I realised that one of my travel bags was missing. I rode back, 75 kms, until Falna to check if the bag had accidentally fallen off. Unfortunately, I couldn't find it and had to give up on it. When I reached Jodhpur it was almost 10:30 PM and I was desperate to find a hotel and settle down. Luckily, the hotel guys had couple of beer, which I badly needed at that hour.
I had travelled about 420 kms, including the 150 kms that i had to ride back to Falna and back.
Day 7: September 23, 2015:
I headed towards Jaisalmer from Jodhpur, roughly 300 kms away. Just as the day began, I saw a mini-bus burning in the middle of the highway. Police were deviating vehicles to rejoin the highway on the other side, some distance away.
Stopped at this war memorial, on the outskirts of Jaisalmer. There was a nice canteen, and it was lunch time.
One guy offered me a stay at the San Sand Dunes, 40 kms away from Jaisalmer, into the Thar Desert. I didn't have sufficient money and needed internet access to break 2 of my recurring deposits. I had to stay at one of the hotels that had Wifi and use the internet that night.
There wasn't much other than the historically designed buildings to see around town. The motorcycle and I needed some rest until we head to Longewala the next morning.
Jodhpur - Pokhran - Jaisalmer.
Day 8: September 24, 2015:
Since I had to head back to Jodhpur on the 24th, I decided to leave Jaisalmer early in the morning. I left the hotel at around 5:30 AM towards longewala. I took about 2 hours to cover the 130 kms distance.
I stopped to take a visit of the war memorial at longewala check post. Beyond the check post, aother 10 kms and it was the Indo-Pak border. Since vehicles weren't permitted beyond, i spent about 30 minutes and left the check post towards Jaisalmer and Jodhpur by around 8:30 AM. I wanted to go to the Tanot Mata temple which was about 30 kms away from longewala but wasn't sure if enough fuel will be available to reach Jaisalmer, where the next petrol bunk was available.
I gave up on the idea of going to the Tanot Mata temple and headed towards Jodhpur. Around 1:30 PM, I stopped at a small fort converted hotel to have lunch, 100 kms before Jodhpur.
I reached Jodhpur, and saw the half "burnt" bus that I had seen the day before. The place was deserted. I called up a friend (Srinath Nair) and checked into a hotel. Met him for dinner and had a good chat before he headed back home.
Totally 560 kms travelled in the whole day.
Day 9: September 25, 2015:
I continued my journey towards Jaipur from Jodhpur. As the day started, I wanted to visit the Bullet Baba (aka Om Banna) Temple. It was pretty hard to find this small temple on the Pali Jodhpur highway. By the time I went to the temple to see the "Bullet" god, it was about 11 AM. It was time to leave to Jaipur.
I continued on the journey and could view the Alwar Fort from highway. The entire journey took about 5 hours and I reached Jaipur by 5:00 PM. Time for some beer and rest.
Totally 360 kms travelled.
Jodhpur - Alwar - Jaipur
Day 10: September 26, 2015:
I began the day a little late. Jaipur had a lot to see, though I simply chose to see the Jal Mahal and a fort. The fort wasn't very far from the hotel and I checked out at 10 AM and decided to take a walk around the fort.
After visiting the fort and jal mahal, it was time to head to Sawai Madhopur, about 150 kms away from Jaipur.
As I continued the journey, the roads were pretty bad. I reached Sawaimadhopur at 7:00 PM and called my school friend (she is the District Magistrate and Collector). She had arranged for stay at the travellers bungalow. Had dinner with her family and spoke briefly about the journey.
Day 10: September 27, 2015:
I went on a ride inside the Ranthambore tiger reserve, though couldn't spot any tigers. A two hour ride inside the forest and back home. I couldn't meet my friend again as she had to travel out for somewhere.
Day 11: September 28, 2015:
The journey was almost over and it was time to return to Bangalore. I started the day at 5:30 AM as I had thoughts of crossing Jhansi and reaching Nagpur via NH7. As I began my journey, I was at a junction that split, right to Tonk and left to Kota. I made up my mind and headed left towards Kota. As I reached Kota, I was in a dilemma as my friend mentioned that roads in Madhya Pradesh were going to be slightly bad. I decided to take the road to Udaipur and stop at Ahmedabad for the day.
As i left Kota, it was already 10 AM. Udaipur was the next stop that i made to have some tea. I had travelled about 300 kms non-stop. As I continued past Udaipur and reached Ahmedabad, it was about 5:30 PM. I continued till Vadodara and stopped at around 730PM.
I had travelled 820 kms in less than 14 hours, my longest ever.
Sawaimadhopur - Kota - Udaipur - Ahmedabad - Baroda
Day 12: September 29, 2015:
I started late at baroda and decided to enter karnataka by evening. The journey was going to be long. I left at 830 AM after breakfast and hit the highway.
It took about 7 hours to reach the outskirts of Mumbai. I lost my way on the outskirts and began asking for directions. Finally, when i touched the road towards Panvel, it was about 5PM. I accidentally got onto the Express-Way and a cop was waiting to "mug" me off some money in the name of bribe.
After an hours ordeal with the cop and having lost money, I found the road towards Pune and continued my journey.
Almost 7 PM when I arrived on the outskirts of Pune. Time to check into a hotel.
Day 13: September 30, 2015:
I left Pune at 9 AM and began riding towards bangalore. The first leg of the return went peacefully as I reached the outskirts of Kolhapur. A small break for lime soda and I immediately continued riding towards Belgaum. As i crossed Belgaum it was about 2:30 PM.
I knew that reaching bangalore by 10 or 11 PM was easy if I continued without a break. Just as I crossed Hubli an near Havery, the traffic cops had blocked the highway and diverted traffic towards Ranebennur and from there I had to deviate towards Davanagere. When I reached Davanagere, it was almost 630PM, due to the road condition through the villages.
I had a tea and continued towards Tumkur, It was almost 10 PM when I was a few kilometers before Tumkur town. What I hadn't seen in more than a week came back to haunt me. The rain gods came down heavily and the remaining 80 kms to reach home was spent well in getting drenched.
When I finally entered bangalore, it was 1145 PM. I had travelled a total of 940 kms in a little less 15 hours. I was trembling and couldn't stand on my feet as the last day journey had taken a toll on me.
Finally, I had completed a full 6200 odd kms in about 15 days, going through a lot of "hardship", meeting a few friends, visiting a few places and experiencing unknown roads of the country.
It is time to end the blog with a note that everyone should travel to some unknown destination by their own at some point of time in their lives.
Stay tuned until I begin my next travel episode