Goa Bike Trip : Bikomaniacs 2014 - Part 2
At Yelagiri Foothills |
High, through the mountains climbing
twisting, turning further from my home.
Young, like a new moon rising
Fierce, through the rain and lightning
Wandering out into this great unknown.
And I don't want no one to cry.
But, tell 'em if I don't survive
I was born free!
I was born free
I was born free, born free
From Kid Rock "Born Free" album.
Few important things I forgot to tell you in part -1. We had difficult time in finalizing the itinerary.
Route 1: Bangalore- Mangalore
– Udupi- Karwar- Goa: West Coast Road 720 kms
(Bangalore to Mangalore~ 350km +Mangalore
to Goa ~370 Kms)
Many roadies dream about this scenic west coast Konkan
drive. I too had. Tested that route last November by car. Disappointed – if I
had to summarize it, in a single word. There was a bad patch of about 40 kms
while crossing the western ghat near Mangalore – Shiradi ghat. Bad patch is an understatement. I remember the
horrendous crawling on that shaky snaky ghat roads. Tar road was entirely
ripped off by monsoon rains- left with only mud and wide, deep potholes. We had
to drive in a zigzag manner and search for a better potholes to test our car’s road
clearance. Many trucks carrying oil to and fro Mangalore Refinery, were seen
broken down due to this. We were drifting by an average ten km per hour speed
(?!) and it took us four hours to cover that stretch.
The dream of beautiful western coast line, never became a
reality. Sea was mostly unseen from the road other than for a few hundred
meters distance. Neither two lane ordinary roads did make our journey a
memorable one. I expressed my opinion on whatsApp when Shankar and Arvind had
similar dreams of cruising along picturesque west coast roads.
Three routes - Four minds! |
Bangalore- Shimoga –
jog falls – Karwar 637 kms (Bangalore – Shimoga 302 km through
Channarayappattana: Shimoga – Goa 335 km through Sagar, Honnavar)
Last year while returning from Goa, we chose this way. Major
attraction was Jog falls. I felt
this was better than Mangalore- Goa road in regard to road conditions and
pretty views.
Bangalore- Davangere-
Hubli- Goa 592 kms (Bangalore – Davangere 262 km: Davangere – Goa 330 km)
Another popular route. None of us ever travelled through
this. The Information we got through web was promising. This one is NH - four
lane. The best among all, as far as road conditions are concerned. But as a
roadie I wanted to go through small villages, farming fields and ghat roads.
Our aim was not only to reach the destination but enjoy
the journey too!
Out of the blue
Columbus- Arvind discovered a fourth route!
Coimbatore- Kozhikode-
Kannur- Mangalore- Udupi- Karwar – Goa.
Karthi was skeptical about Kerala roads and their rash
driving. He had personal experience.
With so many available options and four smart (?!) brains
working on it, we were going nowhere. Even one week before our departure we could not finalize the onward journey.
In a democratic way, voting was done. Disadvantage of
Fabulous Four; it was a tie 2-2! (Karthi and I for Shimoga, Shankar and Arvind
for Mangalore)
Finally after some Google search, half-heartedly both
Shankar and Arvind agreed for the shimoga route.
Again there was a tie regarding the starting point: Mysore or Bangalore???
This time a compromise plan was hatched. Shankar and Arvind
would stay 31st night at Mysore. I and Karthi would stay at Bangalore
and both the teams would meet at a common point, at Channarayappattana on day two- Nov 1st.
Choosing the Name - Bikomaniacs
Bad boys, Roadies, Highway
Hippies, Highway Crusaders…all were considered. Shankar was adamant on Bikomaniacs.
We had to give up (pona podhu, pavam chinna paiyan)!
Weather alert from “whatsApp vingyani” Chinna - Cyclone Nilofar
Chinna pressed the panic button! Frantically sent us a WhatsApp message
regarding this cyclone’s landfall on Nov 1st near Gujarat. Hardly 15
days back HudHud devastated Vizag; too early to disappear from anyone’s memory.
Most of us were aware of Nilofar. Did not want to create fuss and acted as if
we were unaware of it. Mainly wanted to hide it from our family. My fear was
this should not aggravate the anxiety of the family members, who were waiting
for some genuine reason to stop this overambitious trip. If they had got one,
the trip would have got cancelled forever. Through Chinna’s NASA contacts, we
got every details about Nilofar and other weather forecast details, not only
for earth, for Mars too! (Hallucination???!!!- Murali konjam Chinna va kavani).
Why Goa?
Goa’s image got beaten up heavily by our movies. Going to
Goa??? Okay …Okay…Enjoy! Everyone stared winking at us. (Enna kodumai saravanan
idhu!)
We chose Goa for different reasons. (saami mela satthiyamaa!)
Roads, Charming views, Beaches, Karnataka’s weather… etc.
Coming back to where I left in my last post…
Early Morning start
After Midnight packing and sleepless tumultuous mind, I woke
up at 4:30 am. I was thrilled and ready at 6am.Felt like a warrior with the
heavy Riding Jacket. Like me my metal- tiger RE was also eagerly waiting to be
liberated; started singing/roaring … thud…thud…thud with happiness; my heart
beat joined with that.
I could not hide the joy of going for the first Bike tour.
Pranjali swiftly recognized the rare sight of big smile on my face and took a
snap to freeze that historical moment!
She did not feel nervous or show anxiety about the trip. I
remember- she even promised once – “if you don’t get friend’s company, I would
come with you for long Bike tours!”
With so many uncertainties, anxious moments till the very
end- felt relieved and happy to start. Posted that historical picture on
whatsApp. Informed Karthi about my departure. I was the first one to start from
our Bikomaniacs group.
Started from home at 06:15 am. Plan was to cheat the city
traffic and sneak away, by early start.
When I hit the roads felt like I was set free from a cage;
released from the claws of concrete jungle Demon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bu3rsha1ZtI
The first thing struck me was the vastness of the space and the enormity of Mother Nature. Cramped city life makes your mind narrower; you are forced to fight for the space everywhere; at home, roads and work place. True caged life, windows shut and covered - polluted air and water.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bu3rsha1ZtI
The first thing struck me was the vastness of the space and the enormity of Mother Nature. Cramped city life makes your mind narrower; you are forced to fight for the space everywhere; at home, roads and work place. True caged life, windows shut and covered - polluted air and water.
Lazy Sun, still enjoying the morning winter sleep, was just
peeping part of his face out of the cloud blanket and smiled at me- Good
Morning!
I loved the drive from Kancheepuram to Krishnagiri. Four
lane national highway, empty roads, post monsoon lush green fields; Yelagiri
foothills added to the delight. Mesmerized by the beauty, I stopped for a while
in a desolate road side near Vaniyambadi. Sat on the bike facing Yelagiri Hills.
Enjoyed the complete silence. Distilled fresh breeze was soothing my mind and
body. Closed my eyes. Gently blowing wind whispered in my ears-you belong here,
leave the concrete city madness; come and live close to nature!
Part 2 ends here. Will meet you in part 3...
Cheers!
04-12-14,
Chennai,
7pm.
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