.

4 states, 3679 kms, 16 days

2011-04-13T19:07:00.001+05:30

Bangalore to Pune

---------------------------------------------

Before I started the ride multiple thoughts were flowing in the mind, how would I spend my first 2 weeks’ vacation? Too many things to do, lot of places to visit, lot of friends to meet. Man this was one awesome feeling to start with. Reached home back from office by 1:15, wanted to start by 2:00 am so that I can reach Pune by 1 pm. To my bad luck last minute packing took a lot of time and finally started at 2:30 pm.

2:30 to 3:45 am: Covered 120 kms and crossed tumkur to reach a toll gate. Here I had my first break, taking a break early and then covering longer distance before the next break has been helping me a lot of the previous rides. I followed the same technique this time as well.

3:45 to 7:30 am: ODO was reading around 320 kms from the time I left Bangalore, met one of the fellow Bangalore biker member on the way who was also heading to Pune, took a nice 30 mins break and got to each other well. We both didn’t had enough sleep in the night, even though I was used to this it was proving to be a problem for the other biker. Had breakfast and it was time to move as the sun was becoming brighter and it will become more difficult to ride during the day.

7:30 to 10:45 am: Crossed hubli and belgaum, I was getting a feeling that I am almost home as this stretch was very familiar to me. Thanks to all the earlier rides I did when I was in Pune. But due to the heat we decided to cover the distance asap, started ripping the bike at a constant 95-100 kmph, but somehow I lost my companion somewhere near Kolhapur. Was feeling hungry, so stopped at a toll gate and had the first vadapav on this trip. Man what a feeling it was, remembered the old days.

3:30 pm: Reached home, parked the bike and thanked god for safely reaching the destination. Visited the HH showroom on the way to get the chain loosened as it was already making noise, thanks to the potholes and speed breakers on the way. It took almost 20-25 mins as it was there lunch time and has to wait. One of the service center guy recognized me as I used to visit the showroom to get my older ZMA serviced. But as the chain was taken care it was time to head back home.

Covered almost 850 kms on that day to reach Pune. Had food when I reached home and took some rest to meet an old friend in the evening.

Pune to Nagpur
---------------------------------------
After spending 5 days in Pune Dad told me that he got transferred to some place in MP state, so wanted to spend more time with him. Decided to start for Nagpur on Wednesday night to reach there on Thursday morning. Later realized that we have a India-Pakistan clash in the world cup semi-finals. Made sure the fridge is filled up with soft drinks and snacks to support team India. As India won the match I have also decided to begin my journey.

11:35-12:45 am: Started off from my place and saw that the scene out there was electrifying. As I approached the University Circle the traffic was increasing and it was almost a dead lock with the traffic coming from bhavdhan and Aundh. Log Nare laga rahe the “bharat mata ki jai aur Pakistan ki haar”. Joined them with the slogans and suddenly people realized that there is an alien amongst them. People started asking where I am heading too, when I told them to Nagpur everyone starting patting my back J. Finally crossed the traffic and covered around 100 kms to take my first break.

12:45-4:20 am: Crossed Aurangabad and Jalna on the way and took a good 20 mins break after a smooth ride covering 360 kms. The tarmac was butter smooth with almost no traffic. But the last 20 kms stretch the road was real bad and sometimes with no road as well. But all in all the stretch was good.

4:20 to 9:30 am: Crossed Mehkar and Wardha, with road being good and bumpy in some places. Now the destination was almost close which means I get to meet my parents after almost 4-5 months. Truckers on the way were surprised to see how a person can travel such long distances on a 2 wheeler which they mainly use to get vegetables and monthly house hold goods. First question you can expect is how much the vehicle cost and what’s the fuel economy :P

10:45 am : Nagpur hasn’t changed much, same old wide roads and slow moving traffic. People were in no hurry and you can easily zoom pass them. Covered 718 kms to reach home at Nagpur.

Wake up and ride to Wayanad

2010-11-03T13:35:00.000+05:30

It was a nice weekend because the plans for an overnight was already on the cards. Came back from office and didn't had the time to sleep even though this trip logs title says wake up to ride.. :(, Didn't had an idea how many guys are coming, where are we staying ect thanks to office work. But here i was at mysore-nice road junction. To my surprise we already have 3 more bikers waiting there for the past 5 mins. Got to know that we are a total of 11 bikers till Gudulur and 8 there after as couple of guys are planning to hit ooty and will be back the same day.

The ride started at 6 am and it was feeling pretty good with 1 zmr, 1 zma, 2 apache's, 2 ninja's, 3 r15's and 1 pappa R1. All eyes were starring at us, thanks to the big heard of bikes zooming past them. Took a long breakfast break and moved on towards mysore after a brief photo session. To our luck there was not much traffic, so were able to cross that one pretty quick. But the real bad roads started from mysore till nanjangud, took almost an hours time to cross those 30 kms.

Reached gudlupet and it was the CCD calling. Had nice cold coffee's and sandwiches. Moved towards bandipur national park and to the bad luck there was no elephant or deer this time. Took a small photo break, as 3 of the guys were gonna split off at the next town. From bandipur to gudulur it was a real nice ghat section, we also had two of the riders who were racers, tagged along with them and was taking curves at 80 kmph comfortably. Took a lunch break and it was time to move towards the destination, were greeted by rains for some time but the road was real awesome. After drivin for almost 12 hrs finally reached wayanad.

After chilling and relaxing there during the night it was time to start back. Not many pics during the way back except for a group pic, had to meet a friend. So after bidding adieu to everyone after crossing mysore city i zipped towards the city. covered the distance of 156 kms in 2:05 mins, thanks to the nice road. Spending some time with friends and having dinner came home and slept tight.

Overall it was an amazing time, will go one more time to kerala and this time its time to visit the backwaters....... :D

Bangalore to Pune

2010-10-19T16:56:00.003+05:30

Bangalore-Pune

============

It was thursday evening and i was all packed, ready and excited to head to pune after a long time. Got the bike serviced and changed the engine oil, but to my bad luck i still had to go to office. With a heavy heart i started for office with only 1 thing in mind, had to leave by 12:00 so that i can start for the ride by 1 am atleast.

00:00- sitting in the meeting and cursing everyone for not wrapping it early. Finally the meeting got over by 12:10 and i was running to get my bag, went to cafetaria loaded some supplies as there was no hope for any shops to be open on the highway. Started from my place at exactly 1:15, i know the route so headed straight towards it. Found the new bangalore-Nelamangla stretch completed and in good shape. By the time i was about to reach tumkur found a 5 km long traffic jam. some how got passed it, but still don't know what caused such a big mess.

2:30 am: still just by passed tumkur, has a long way to go. Crossed chitradurg and reached ranebennur where i knew that the road was bad. By the time i reached davangere it was 5:30 and i have just covered 300 kms. But the road from now on is pretty good, the aim was to cover the distance in under 12 hrs, so more riding and less breaks.

Some place after Hubli

9:00 am: Reached Kolhapur with only 1 break in between as i was starving. Had nice vada pav after crossing belgaum, it was fun having vada pav after a long time. took one more hydration break and had to cover 240 kms in 4 hrs, with ample time in my hand i started slower, but the people started going haywire over the highway, so decided to go a little faster.

12:20 pm: Pune was in sight but before heading home wanted to get the bike ready for return trip, fueled the tank up and greased the chain. Finally reached home, feeling excited with the plans for the next 2-3 days. Had good lunch and it was time to take some rest.

Roaming in & around Pune
===================

Met with old buddies, Nalin and Chinmay over Friday night dinner, decided to do a short ride on Sunday. So nailed the destination down to Lavasa with meeting point being the usual CC(chandni chowk). Sunday morning and it was Dussehra, decided to ride only after performing puja for the bike. Got up at 5:30 and got ready by6, did th puja and was on the road so that i can reach the meeting point well in time. I was shocked to see Nalin already at the meeting place, usually he is the person who always 2nd last... :P. Even Chinmay came in the next couple of minutes and we were off towards Lavasa.

pooja time

As soon as we took the deviaton towards pirangut ghat my sister who was my pillion was amazed to see the beauty, she's never been on a bike trip. Our first break was Temghar Dam, there was a lot of water, thanks to good rains in and around pune in this season. Clicked couple of snaps and we started again towards the destination. Infront of the gate for Lavasa, saw the tapri where we had some garma garam poha and vada pav. It was real nice as its almost 9 and we didnt had any thing to eat. Also learnt that they are now allowing bikes inside the facility. After roaming around for some time decided to head back as i had to go and meet my childhood buddies at JM road. Spending some time with them thought of getting back home, to my badluck it started raining heavily. But finally came back home at around 6, had dinner and was off to bed by 8 pm (thanks to the tiring day).

Pune-Bangalore
============

9:00 pm: Return trip was really simple, as it was raining in pune for the whole day on Monday, decided to take it slow with ample time in hand. started back with heavy heart, took the ring road and suddenly a scorpio guy came storming from behind. Decided not to let him overtake. Eventually this turned out into a race, started ripping the bike at 120 kmph.

12:00 Crossed belgaum and finally saw that the scorpio took a by pass towards the city. It was real fun as i covered 340 kms in mere 3 hrs. Decided to keep the pace as i was looking at a time record for this stretch.

2:15 am : Crossed hubli and davangere covering 550 kms from pune, now i knew that the road will get worse. So took around 2:20 to cover 150 kms of bad roads.

4:35 am : It was almost 7:35 mins total in the ride after covering 700 kms the destination was in sight and the record, started ripping off back again at 120 kmph. Reached malleshwaram by 6:00.

some place before bangalore

It was the time to decide, if i take city route through ulsoor lake then i am spending more time due to traffic. So instead took the outer ring road towards hosur flyover and international airport. the road was almost clear except for couple of vehicles.

6:18 am : Reached home and parked the bike as i wanted a garage to garage record, it was 9:18 and i damn happy with the bike performance. But then i got down the bike and din't feel my bums. Double checked to make sure they are still with me :P.

Satisfied soul, perfoming white knight which deserves all the kudos, all-in-all an amazing trip.......

Gear used:

=========

Jacket : Speed and strength(devil in the details)

Knee gaurds : Alpinestars Bionic knee gaurds

Gloves : DSG and Fieldsheer

Tank bag: Cramster

Haversack : Mountain one (main reason, need some protection for the back for such long ride)

Helmet : AGV & balaklava

Total kms : 1957

Fuel burnt : 53.5 ltrs
Avg: 36.57

All pics at http://picasaweb.google.co.in/vrksin7784/BangalorePune#

zip-zap ride to hognekkal

2010-10-02T17:29:00.002+05:30

Got a call from Parth at around 10 in the night when i was busy working with a customer with his server screwed up, as didnt planned for any rides over the weekend I quickly agreed for the hognekkal ride. I have ridded with him on one of the earlier rides and he is a good rider who can maintained speeds. So even though i had another meetup on sat afternoon, i was fine with the long morning ride. Finshed work, got freshned up and left for the meeting point. It was me, parth and his room-mate on a black ZMR. All set and we started off at around 5:30. As it was early morning didnt encounter much traffic on the busy hosur road. Crossed hosur, the tarmac was butter smooth for crusing at 3 digits. Managed to cover the first 105 kms in 1:30 hrs with couple of leak breaks.

Crossed krishnagiri and took a snack break. Anna at that dosa shop only speaks Tamil, so after struggling for some time we finally were able to place and order and get over with it. By the time we left that place it was almost an hours time (total waste of time...grrrrr). Started towards the destination by 8 and reached the place by 9:30, covering another 80 kms of good and bump roads. The view on the way was breath taking,

After spending some time it was getting hotter, so decided to head back to bangalore. Started at around 10:30 and reached home by 12:30, the return journey was almost a sprint covering 185 kms in mere 2 hrs. Parth's room mate got stuck in traffic before the electronic city fly over, so was parted ways there as i need to attend one more get-together. But it was one awesome ride that i can definately say......many more to go btw.

All pics at : http://picasaweb.google.com/vrksin7784/HognekkalTrip

Ride with the Knights

2010-09-21T02:55:00.000+05:30

It was like a wish come true, riding with people with similar thoughts and machines. We were 4 guys, all with the new Karizma ZMR. Planned to drive to Kanva Dam that was around 65-70 kms from Bangalore as one of the machines was pretty new. So the speed limit was around 50-60 kms/hr, but it was fun as my bike gave me an avg of around 70-75 kms/lt. I was really amazed because a bike of 225 mill gave that much efficiency.

Reached kamat Upachar at around 8 am and had sumptuous breakfast as it was an unlimited buffet for just 80 bucks. After the nice 45-50 mins moved towards the Kanva dam. It was a small dam with just 4 batteries. But it was fun, clicked couple of snaps with bikes parked up properly.

At around noon we decided to head back to Bagalore. Reached the outskirts at around 1 pm but to my bad luck got stuck in the traffic. The last 20 odd kms took me around 1:30 mins. Reached home and it was dead tired, but it was one trip to remember.

Complete pics: http://picasaweb.google.co.in/vrksin7784/KnightsMeetUp#

1st trip bangalore-hyderabad-bangalore

2010-08-24T01:17:00.003+05:30

Bangalore to Hyderabad
=================
3:30 am: Came back from office and the bags were packed. As the trip was for 4 days took out my saddle bad to accodmodate more luggage. It was my new ZMR so was a little tensed as well to avoid scratches on my new bike. Finally got the saddle bad and tank bag on, tank was already filled up, air checked, jacket and gloves on and it was time to leave.

7:00 am: Took my first break after driving 250 kms and tackling blinding rains for more than 30-40 kms. As I got the new NB the road was properly illuminated. I can find the difference in the stock and NB pretty easily. Road was a complete 4 lane till now and it was butter smooth.

7:45 am: Finished breakfast and was busy warding off the extra water on my shirt and socks due to the rains. The SUN came out and no rains after this one, there were couple of streches where construction was going on except for that prett neat road. Bike was zipping at 90-100 constantly. Road between Kunool-hyd was really good.

11:40 am: Reached my sisters place after struggling for more than 45 mins in traffic. There was a nice express way from International airport to close to banjara hills, but unfortunately 2 and 3 wheelers were not allowed.

Time taken (total): 8 hr10 mins
Distance covered: 575 kms
Avg speed: 71 kms/hr
Fuel used: 13.5 ltrs
Efficiency: 42 kmpl

Hyderabad to Bangalore
=================
1:00 pm: Started back after waving good bye to my parents and sister. Spent some quality time with them in the last 3 days and was not really in a mood to come back. It was sunny outside but still preferred to wear the raincoat.

3:00 pm: Took a lunch break as I was really hungry, had to skip the lunch at home due to some heavy breakfast. Had rotis and dal fry due to non-availability of anything else at that place. By this time I had already covered 150 kms and it was a nice feeling as there were no rains.

5:00 pm: After taking a nice 30 mins break got back on the vehicle. By the time i crossed kurnool i saw some nice sun-flower farming, it was a really nice view.

6:30 pm: Reached Anantpur after riding 365 kms, the rains started an hour back but it was manageable. So was able to maintain the same speed. Had a refuel break at that time as the gas was a little cheaper than bangalore. By the time i moved a little further the rains also increased and it was not hard to maintain speeds with rains and low light conditions.

9:30 pm: Reached the bangalore international airport and the bangalore traffic played a spoil sport, it was a real mess as there were rains, traffic and an aching butt because of 6 hrs of constant riding. Tackled the traffic and took almost an hour to cover those 37 kms. Overall it was a nice ride with a satisfied soul.

Time taken (total): 8 hr 30 mins

Distance covered: 585 kms
Avg speed: 69 kms/hr
Fuel used: 15 ltrs
Efficiency: 39 kmpl

Gear used:
=========
Gloves: DSG
Jacket: Speed and Strength
Helmet: AGV
Balaclava
Cramster: Tank and Saddle bags
Shoes: Woodland

Bangalore-Somanathpur-Talakad

2010-07-24T16:51:00.007+05:30

This was a real unplanned trip. Was Sitting alone on a Friday night on the terrace and something just clicked the mind that how about a rainy ride someplace near. It was also a long time that I and White Knight haven’t been on a long ride. Plan was simple, start early in the morning and be back by 4ish to Bangalore.

All packed and ready by 5:15 in the morning as I wanted to avoid the morning traffic on the Mysore highway. Was sure about the road till Malavalli but from there to Somanathpur was completely new for me. I reached my first destination at 9:00 as the roads were a little confusing.

After spending around 30 mins clicking lot of photos it was time to move towards Talakad. This is actually a religious and also famous for river Cauvery taking a nice turn towards other direction. The road from Somanathpur to Talakad was non-existent. After travelling for more than an hour just to cover those 34 kms I was finally at Talakad. After a nice 1 km long trek in sand completed the visit to all the 3 temples.

By the time I was back to where I started from the time was already 11:45 and I was feeling like I didn’t had food for more than a weeks’ time. But to my disappointment the road from Talakad to Malavalli were not that great, so by the time I reached Mcdonald’s it was almost 1:30. Had nice Burgers and French fries and it was time to head back home. By the time I reached Bangalore it was almost 3:30, thanks to the between two ZMR’s(white knight and another black ZMR) . All in all a nice trip, except for the rains that were missing this was actually my main idea for the long drive.

Shivanasamudra

2010-04-24T18:30:00.000+05:30

After 2 weeks of no rides finally planned to visit Hognekkal falls in Tamilnadu. People who were accompanying me were a little scared of the distance and wanted to choose a similar place which is a bit closer to Bangalore, so decided to go to Shivanasamudra. Did some research on it as we changed the destination on Friday. Just wanted to make sure about the road to be taken so as this was a day’s trip with amateur riders.

On D-day there were a total of 4 bikes and 7 riders. Meeting point was next to Karnataka bus stand on Mysore road. We started at 5:30 with quite a number of pit stops in between for refueling and nature calls. Finally took the first big break at 7 am for breakfast after crossing Chennapatnna village.

Reached the first point Gaganchukki falls at around 9:30. It was a splendid view even though there was less water in the falls. Nice view with humid weather and cloudy day. Left for the 2nd fall Barachukki, took us around 1 hour and a nice trek to reach that place.

After spending some time in the water it was finally time to go back. On the way back had some nice lunch at kamat food plaza on Mysore road before finally reaching home at 3:30 pm. A nice day spent with some good company.

Lepakshi

2010-04-07T14:07:00.000+05:30

There was no plan for a weekend ride this time as I had my cousin visiting over on Saturday. Spent the whole day roaming in scorching sun , came home around 9ish. Tried sleeping but there were a lot of bloody mosquitos that spoiled my sleep. Got up in a hush at 3 am with lot of bloodsucker bites on my arms. Now as I was not able to sleep and getting bored decided to go to Lepakshi which was anyways on my mind. Thought about friends, but didn't find it suitable to wake guys up at 3 am. So took bath and left for office at around 4:30am. Had a look at the route and had breakfast.

Miles to go .....

Left office and hit the road towards Old Madras at around 5:12 am and straight away took NH7 towards Hyderabad. It was a straight beautiful 4 laner till Bagepalli. Met couple of bikers on the way at kamat hotel. Did a quick photo session on the way and took almost 3 hours to reach Lepakshi.

The road condition was bad when we take a diversion from NH7 towards Hindupur. But with a 2 wheeler we can easily manage 60-80 kmph speed. As soon as we hit Lepakshi we are greeted by Basavanna(nandi), its a monolithic skulpture made out of single big rock and is now a heritage icon.

Went to the temple, it was cool even though it was hot outside. Spent around 30 mins, clicking pics and admiring the beauty of the architecture. Mind was all refreshed, but as it was getting hotter it was time to leave. Started from Lepakshi and did a non stop route back in 1:20 mins covering around 133 kms. Overall it was a good one dayer and completed it in overall 5:30 hours.

Bangalore – Yelahanka(25 km) – Chikaballapur(63 km) – Bagepalli(111 km) – Lepakshi (128km)

Chennai to Bangalore

2010-04-02T23:40:00.002+05:30

After the tiring day with almost no sleep for more than 36 hours it was almost time to head back to Bangalore. The day was really interesting except for horrible heat and almost losing 2 kg’s after losing lot of body fluids in the form of sweat.

2:30 pm: The plan was simple, reach home ASAP via GQ crossing Vellore and Hosur on the way. Started after saying good bye to Praveen, took the road towards Punnamalai and was able to reach Chennai outskirts in less than 20 mins covering almost 22 kms from Adyar. I remember that yesterday the same distance took me almost 1:15 mins as I took the route through Chennai.

3:29 pm: Took my first break after crossing kanchi (1361 km). The road was almost empty with couple of trucks, but it was really hot and I was sweating even riding at 90-95 kms/hr constantly. So had a bottle of chilled water it was time to move. After couple of km’s there was a board towards Chitoor. As the 4 lane was real bore I decided to take the same route that I took yesterday morning.

4:35 pm: Crossed Chittor and it was again time for a short break. Had a glass of Orange Juice and moved on. The road was good and was ripping easily at 90 kmph even on a 2 lane. Overtaking kept me busy and didn’t feel bored at any time on this highway which was not the case on the 4 lane.

7:00 pm: Crossed Kolar and drove for almost 20 kms, I was almost exhausted. The road was also not good as 4 lane constructions were under way. Driving was getting touch with the lights and dust that was making the roads less visible. The icing on the cake was that there were a lot of diversions which were less visible with the lights falling in the eyes.

7:45 pm: Reached home and it was a big relief. There was a traffic jam because of a railway line near Chakkasandra just before Bangalore. Somehow managed to get out of it because of a 2 wheeler and the bike was at any given point of time above 80 kmph even in the city.

Over all it was a good weekend trip after a long time. Slept for only 4 hours in the last 50 hrs, rode with the bulls, owned my first riding jacket (speed and strength “devil in the details”) and my new pair of gloves (Fieldsheer air perforated). Sorry no pics as I didnt want to waste any time before it got dark.

Pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/vrksin7784/BangaloreTirupatiChennaiBangalore

Chennai (0 kms) -- Kanchipuram (71 kms) -- Chitoor (156 kms) -- Palamaner (195 kms) -- kolar (268 kms) -- Bangalore (334 kms)

Gear Used
------------
1. Jacket (speed and strength “devil in the details”)
2. Gloves (Fieldsheer air perforated)
3. Helmet (AGV)

A day with bulls!!!!!

2010-04-02T23:36:00.000+05:30

A really tiring Saturday, riding from Bangalore to Tirupati and then to Chennai and again having party till 2:00am in the night will not allow you to wake up at 5:00 am and go for a morning ride. But will never regret this as I really enjoyed this trip. This was a day out with the Royal Enfield group “V 40”, around 9 riders turned out and it was me along with my knight in Chennai. The plan was to go and have some dirt track practice in one of the Farms near Chennai on the old Mahabalipuram road.

Something about the V40 group, this group was started by Royal Enfield to spread awareness of safe riding. This is based out of Chennai which includes employees or Royal Enfield as well. So it was a real nice thing to see lot of bulls at one place.

Started with 10 riders and 2 pillions and by the time I flexed my muscles we were already at the destination. It was merely 15 km’s on the highway. So first thing the riders did was to draw the track and then they did some high speed dirt riding.

Bull that got stuck...took around four guys to get it out of there :PPP

KD crashed but nothing wrong with the bull..that what you call "BULL POWER"

This day was interesting with few of the bulls getting stuck and ending with couple of crashes. We don’t see the sight with bull’s crashing when we are riding in the city. Saw couple of bull cowboys which is not an easy sight to see :P…..

Tirupati to Chennai

2010-04-01T04:29:00.000+05:30

5:30 pm: Spent the whole day with Satya Srinivas bava who came back from US with my new Jacket (Speed and strength) and Gloves (Fieldsheer). I was very excited to see them, tried them and they were perfect fit. The day was pretty hot and I was almost sweating like pig. Had some heavy lunch at Mayur hotel and it was time to take some rest as I haven’t slept the whole night. Got up, everything was packed and it was time to leave. Left Tirupati and it was a straight road towards Chennai. This was my first time to Chennai, so was really excited.

8:00 pm: Crossed Puttur and Nagari on my way, these were the state highways but pretty good roads. The plan was to cover as much distance I can during sunlight as this was a 2 lane and didn’t want to cover a lot of distance after dark. Saw a sunflower garden on the way, so it was time for pics.

Took a break after riding for 110 kms and when enquired figured that I have reached Thiruvallur. This was bigger than I expected. The road between Tiruttani-thiruvallur was the most pathetic. Lot of pot holes with narrow roads and water source on one side of the road. These 22 kms almost ate up an hour of precious time. Had a bottle of cold Pepsi as I was really thirsty and was sweating as I didn’t remove the outer lining of my jacket.

10:00 pm: Finally reached Chennai Besant beach after riding for 4:30 hours in total and 1:15 mins in grueling traffic. It was hot even being 10 pm in the night and really humid. At this time Praveen came to pick me up and we went to Sachin’s (Royal Enfield Marketing manager) place. They were having a get together and they invited me as well.

Finally left there place at around 1:30 in night and went to Praveen’s room. I spent the night there as needed to leave by 6 am for a ride with V40 club started by Royal Enfield.

Tirupati (0.0 kms) -- Puttur (25 kms) -- Tiruttani (88.0 kms) -- Thiruvallur (110 kms) -- Chennai (164.9 kms)

Bangalore to Tirupati

2010-04-01T03:37:00.000+05:30

5:10 am: Finished my office at 4:00 and rushed back home as I planned to leave at 5:00 sharp. Left home and took the old madras highway towards Hoskote. Road was real bumpy because of pot hole and lot of speed breakers, finally managed to cross Hoskote. The next point to cross was kolar and crossed it comfortably in 1:30 hrs, there is 4 lane construction going on so lot of diversions.

7:15 am: Saw a CCD and it was a real relief as I was really feeling sleepy due to night shift. Travelled for some 79 kms and took my first break. Had a cup of hot Cappuccino and it was time to leave as I was planning to hit Tirupati before it’s too hot. Then I figured that I have got my new camera and was supposed to take some pics. So here are some first pics using my new Nikon L110 long zoom camera.

9:00 am: Crossed Chittor at this time and I was on my planned time. Touched AP border (119 km) at 8:00 and it was a really good feeling. Now I can talk to locals in Telugu and can find some nice movie hoardings with some known faces. Crossed Palamaner(8:15) on my way to Chitoor, the roads were amazing on the way and was able to cover 105 kms in less than one and a half hour. The bike was new so preferred to keep the speeds under 85kmph. The 6-7 kms before Chitoor was real bad as you leave the Chennai highway and we need to take a left turn towards Tirupati.

10:40 am: Finally reached my cousin’s place in Bhavani nagar (Tirupati). Took the detour at Chittoor towards Tirupati and the road was really good.The bike was a real heard turner with people staring at the bike in traffic. There was a patch that was bad in between but can be managed on a 2 wheeler.

Bangalore (Indiranagar) (0 KM) -- Hoskote (30 KM) -- Kolar (62 KM) -- Palamaner (141 KM) -- Chitoor (184 KM) -- Tirupati (256 KM)

First ride to Nandi hills with white knight

2010-03-10T04:36:00.000+05:30

These are the initial rides that you will really hate becuase you are in the running in period and can not go over 60 kmph. I wanted to finish the running in fast, as my office is just 3.5 kms away i have hardly covered 130 kms in a week. So finally decided to go for a small trip around bangalore to cover as many kms as possible, finalized nandi hills and decided to be there for Sunrise. I was accompanied by Anurag(BN'er) and his colleague on his ZMA-R. Started at 4:00 am and the plan was to reach nandi hills by 6 as i can't go above 60 km/hr.

Waiting for Imran (Anurag's colleague)

The road was pretty good as this was the NH-7 and was a complete 4 lane atleast till nandi hills diversion. from the diversion to nandi hills the road was a single lane but amazingly smooth except for couple of spoil sport speed breakers. on the way there were other bikes who were just zipping past us and i felt really bad as i was not able to do anything about it. Finally reached the place at 5:45 am and saw a big line at the tickets counter. After around 15-20 mins got the tickets and now it was a trek to the top of the hill.

missed sunrise becuase of the clouds

Amazing view from top of the hill

After witnessing the sunrise we decided to sit down for some time, cool breeze was flowing and the weather was really good. there was this group of boys that was making hell of a noise, was feeling just to push then off the cliff :P. After 30 mins or so we finally decided to move on and have some thing to eat. went to the restaurant and ordered for a rava masala dosa to which the waiter replied "saar we have only plain rava dosa but i can give the masala separately". we laughed our hearts out and felt that he just have to put the masala inside the rava dosa.

Took some on our way back and it was time to get back on the highway, now the real tension started. my bike was blinking on the reserve and there is no knob that we usually have it in the carburetted versions. So i was not sure how much petrol was left in the bike and being a new one it was only giving a mileage of around 20 to 25 kms. finally saw a HP petrol pump and that was a sigh of relief. filled the tank and it was time to head back to city's gruelling traffic as it was already 9 am. Even being a weekend the traffic was horrible and because of the fiercing sun the ride was even horrible. Finally reached my sisters place and took bath with cold water to cool the body off. Over all the trip was pretty good, covered around 140 kms and that took my odo to 355 kms.

the Night White Knight comes Home

2010-03-06T01:34:00.001+05:30

It was the D-Day when White Knight was going to come home. Booked the bike as soon as I moved to Bangalore and there was a waiting period of over 1.5 months. But luckily the HH salesperson called me one fine morning and informed that the bike is ready and I can come and collect the delivery of my vehicle.
I was very excited as i waited for almost a month. Rushed to the showroom at 4:00 with my friend Kshitij and got the first glimpse of my sparkling white Karizma ZMR covered in dust. The salesman then sent the vehicle for washing, once done the vehicle was then cleaned and a litre of petrol was poured in so that I can manage till the next available refuelling station. The mechanic there started explaining me the details to which i responded that i had already ridden karizma before and he smiled.

Took the keys, the number was to be alloted the next day but i was not willing to wait for one more day. Kshitij took couple of initial pics using his mobile and then i hit the starter. Engine note was much better than the older karizma and a lot deeper too. As i was riding out of the showroom it was like i am walking on the red carpet, everybody was just starring at me. I had to go to office, but the first thing was to get the blessing's for the bike. So went to pick up satya and rushed to Hanuman Temple to get the puja done. Not like pune, the pujari here took his own sweet time and made sure that the complete puja is done.

I was really happy, offered him Rs.101 along with coconut and some fruits. The best part was he was not even expecting anything and went into the temple after the puja was performed. So dropped my friend Satya at home and headed to office.
On the way back to office everyone was just staring at the bike. Believe me, it was definately a head turner. There was this bajaj pulsar owner who almost hit an indicab as i passed by. Uploaded the pics to orkut, picasa and also shared them with my friends.

....and the Eagle flew away

2010-01-05T01:35:00.025+05:30

It was one of the disappointing days in my whole like as this was the day when i was going to sell my Eagle. I bought it in sept 2007 and it has been a great companion. I still remember how excited I was the day i took the delivery of my stunning black karizma-R bike. Did my first ride to Harihareshwar even though it was still in the running in period. it was an amazing machine and does not tire the rider at all. that day it was raining like hell and still it was just munching the miles as any other normal day.

                                         from the first ride......

            any day..any time...just start the bike and go on, this was how i used to ride it and i dont remember even a single day when it has complained. But as i was moving out of pune and don't want to get into the issues of transferring the vehicle to another RTO i finally decided to sell it. Got hold of a person who is a city commuter and promised me to take good care of my very own Eagle. He was pretty impressed by the way it was maintained.

Rajahmundry-Pune

2009-12-23T23:09:00.000+05:30

This was my last leg of the journey. I was really sad this 1 week spent at village was really good with no tension of work and good food through out the day. The ceremony went really well and my dad was free from the responsibility. Finally he went to temple after 1 year as it was the custom that he should not go to a temple in the first year after my grandma died. The D-day arrived and was shocked to see that the front fork was leaking oil. The oil seal got damaged and I didn’t saw that. There were tensions around Andhra because of the separate Telangana movement and I had to leave AP asap. So went to one of the hero Honda service stations and he said that I can drive the bike without issues for the next 2000 kms as the oil leak was took minimal. Go changed the engine oil and got the tank full as I might not get fuel because of the disturbance going around.

2:00 pm: After having lunch and some rest got back on the bike. Started back and the plan was to reach pune by 7 or 8 in the morning. Again as it was almost 1000 kms ride I took my first break after crossing Vijayawada at 4:15 pm and after 200 kms. I saw the amazingly big lord Hanuman idol and took some snaps.

6:45 pm: Reached Suryapet and it was time to have food as it’s known for tasty food. It was dark by the time I finished my so called dinner and as the entire section till Hyd was a single lane I knew that the journey will be a little tougher. By this time I covered exactly 300 kms and more 140 kms to go.

10:15 pm: Reached Hyd and then felt that I should take a break as my little sister called me and wanted me to spend the night at her place. So took rest at night as the next day was Sunday and I can afford that. So the plan was to leave early morning 4 am for pune and reach by 12 noon. but got up at 5:30.

6:15 am: started back, but the traffic has already started and I knew that I have to cover the first 300 kms in the least possible time as the road from Sholapur was not in a really good shape. So covered the first first 100 kms in 2 hours and had breakfast in Zaheerabad.

Some where after zaheerabad

11:00 am: Reached Sholapur after covering 293 kms with the bike ripping between 100-120 kms/hr. But because of the traffic it was really tough to maintain a constant speed. But still I did well and took a tea break there. After covering another 130 kms saw an accident which got the shivers run down my spine. 2 guys were on the bike and it slipped, one of them died on the spot and the other was serious. After this my speed reduced and the was driving more cautiously. Also the road conditions helped me as the last 150 kms before pune was in a really really bad shape with lot of bigggggg pot holes. Finally saw that the govt has waken up and the 4 laning of the road has started because of lot of accidents happening.

3:15 pm: Finally reached Pune (hadapsar) and met Chaitanya whom I had to return the tank bag which was really helpful during the journey and reached home at 3:45.

Covered a total of 998 kms in this final leg of the journey covering a total to 2698 kms on the entire journey.

Route taken
=========
Rajahmundry—Vijayawada—Hyderabad: 445 kms
Hyderabad—Sholapur—Pune: 575 kms

Time taken: 17 hours and 45 mins (night halt in Hyd)
Avg speed: 58 km/hr
Total: 998 kms

Tirupati-Rajahmundry

2009-12-23T23:01:00.003+05:30

As I came back from Tirumala my aunt had already prepared the lunch by then. Had lunch and it was time to take rest as I had to start for Rajahmundry. Slept for around 3 hours and I was all charged up to start the journey again. Got the things packed up and loaded them on the bike again. I was to ride slow as I had entire 12 hours to cover these 605 kms. I decided to make sure that my avg speed should somewhere between 80-85 kms/hr.

6:30 pm: Started from my aunt’s place and I was pretty happy as this route was pretty good as most of it consisted of 4 lane (500 kms). So got my tanked filled up after I left the city outskirts and started towards Srikalahasti. This part of the journey was not too good as the 4 lane’s will start somewhere near Nellore.

8:00 pm: Reached Naidupet where I had tea, this was pretty busy junction which also showed me Nellore towards left. But just to be sure I confirmed with the person at the tea stall and he asked me to take right which joins the 4 lane by pass (GQ section between Chennai and Vizag). By this time I almost covered 70 kms in 1.5 hours including the break.

11:30 pm: After riding for around 200 kms I was feeling hungry and had to stop by at one of the dhabas. It was ok types by the paratha’s he made were really good. Took almost 45 minutes of break and it was time to start again.

2:40 am: Reached Vijayawada and the odo showed 413 kms. All the shops were closed and not even a single tapri was open. It was really cold and there was fog all around making it tougher to see after a certain distance on the road.

4:30 am: Finally found a tea stall and immediately stopped with a smile on my face. The guy was amazed to see me and started enquiring, where I am coming from and going to etc etc. I was really feeling sleepy, so had a nice nap of 20 mins after having 2 cups of tea and got up at 5:15. I was still to cover 115 kms to reach my village.

6:15 am: Covered the last 115 kms in less than an hour as my constant speed was at 120 km/hr. Reached Podagatlapalli and was really happy to see my parents and all my aunts who came there for my grandma’s ceremony. The entire village and I can see people going to begin their daily routine. Covered 593 kms in just around 12 hours which and I was happy as it went according to the plan.

Route Taken
==========
Tirupati—Srikalahasti—Gudur: 95 kms
Gudur—Nellore—Prakasam—Guntur: 285 kms
Guntur—Vijayawada—Rajahmundry: 230 kms

Time taken: 12 hrs
Avg speed: 50 km/hr
Total: 593 kms

Balaji Darshan (Pune-Tirupati)

2009-12-23T22:16:00.001+05:30

It was time for the long planned leave and the longest journey I have done till now. Got all my stuff on the bike (tank bag, saddle bags etc) and it was almost time to leave to seek god’s blessings followed by grandma’s ceremony. As the journey was long and I had to cover almost 1100 kms my plan was to cover as much as possible without taking my first break.

11:11 pm: Got the bike serviced during the day and the tank was filled to the brim so that I don’t waste time at night. Started from Pune after Ramya (my sister) took some pics and waved me off. According to the plan started almost at 11 pm (11 min’s late :P).

2:20 am: Crossed Kolhapur (235 kms) without taking a break and that too in just 3 hours and 9 mins. It was cold night and I can really feel the coldness in the air even from within my leather jacket, becoz of this I decided to maintain my avg speed at 90 kms/hr. Drove for almost 269 kms when I really felt that I should take a break at around 2:45 am. Filled up the tank after riding for 318 kms in Hattarki just to be sure that I have enough petrol to ride until all the pumps are back up and running.

5:00 am: Reached Dharwad after riding for almost 400 kms and was really feeling hungry as I didn’t had dinner because I had to ride. Stopped at one of the road side restaurants near Tegur and had surprisingly amazing hot wada sambar. The wada was so crispy from outside and soft in the inside that it just melts in the mouth. Started from there and then the roads played the spoil sport. Single road started after the odo showed 425 kms and then there was missing roads which continued till the odo showed 523 kms.

10:10 am: Reached Sira, took me more than 5 hours to cover the last 330 kms. The roads are being constructed and it’s a hell to ride that section. But it was not over, the worse was about to come. After I crossed Sira, the roads till Chik ballapur were all covered with speed breakers and pot holes. Because of the increasing heat and bad roads I lost my cool. Just wanted to ride the good roads again and god heard me. The roads after chintamani till madanapalle was amazing and I also entered into Andhra Pradesh in this section.

4:25 pm: Finally reached Tirupati after covering a lot of bad roads and some ghat’s with the odo showing 1047 kms. My Aunt (Sesha atta) was there to receive me when I reached home. Took bath and was dead tired because of the bad roads.

Just wanted to sleep but as I had to go to Tirumala, I boarded the bus at around 7:30. Reached to the top of the hills and took my room in the Sudarshan guest house which I booked 3 months in advance. Got my head shaved off the next morning 6:00 am after having a very good sleep and then met my elder sister (Aparna) who also visited from Banglore on the same dates.

Before:

After:

The rooms up there were pretty decent as they consist of a double bed with attached toilet and bath. Hot water is available and might be the best service available for Rs.100. 4-5 people can share the room easily.

On the way back down after the darshan which took me around 2 hours saw the amazing ghat roads. That was the time I started regretting that I should have bought my bike along. But its fine as darshan was the main think and it was pretty good.

Route taken:
=========
Pune-Belgaum-Chitradurg-Sira: 730 kms

Sira-Madhugiri-Gauribidanur-Chik ballapur-Sidlaghatta-Chintamani-Madanapalle-Tirupati: 315 kms

Time taken: 17 hrs and 20 mins.

Avg speed: 61 km/hr

Total: 1047 kms

Saoner-Nagpur-Pune

2009-04-15T02:32:00.007+05:30

Route
=========================================

Saoner(0 kms)—Kalmeshwar(18 kms)—Kondhali village(54 kms)—Amravati(164 kms)—Akola(257 kms)--Chikli(374 kms)—Deoalgaon Raja(410 kms)—Jalna(446 kms)—Aurangabad(513 kms)—Ahmednagar(623 kms)—Pune(743 kms)

1:00 pm: The leaves were over and it was time to leave back for the boring life back in Pune. The weather was real bad, it was a scorching heat outside and was really afraid to step out. Started the journey with mom and dad waving off at the gates, this time it was a new route to take on. Took the kalmeshwar road from Saoner and then from there followed the katol road. A left turn 3 kms before katol lead me to bazargaon which is on the Amravati highway. It was a beautiful 4 lane for the next 60 kms which I covered in exactly 26 kms with the bike ripping at 120-130 kms. The road then turned into a single lane but still butter smooth till Akola.

4:00 pm: Reached Akola and took a small drinks break, had a couple of glasses of nimbu paani. Covered 257 kms in 3 hours, it was an amazing run with hot air gushing in from below the helmet and fighting the likes of the whether.

7:55 pm: Reached Aurangabad after covering 256 kms from Akola with no breaks at all. As soon as I crossed the Aurangabad traffic it was time to take a much needed break. Had 3 packs of LMN (Parle product) and a litre of water and started on. It was a 230 kms run and need to make it in as much less time as possible.

10:35 pm: At last I was able to finish the 230 kms in 2:40 hours. The bike was roaring at 120 kms constant with almost the Pune-Aurangabad stretch being a 4 lane. By the time I parked the bike in the parking the engine was emitting smokes and was the same behavior shown by the silencer. Looks like the bike has taken a lot of beating on this day and needs a much needed rest itself. But it was one hell of a trip, enjoyed the most out of it.

Total time needed: 9 hours and 35 mins
Total petrol needed: 23 ltrs
Total distance: 743 kms
Avg speed: 79.9kms/hr
Gear used: Leather jacket, gloves (DSG), Knee guards (alpinestars), helmet (AVG), balaclava, Saddlebags (Cramster)

Pune-Nagpur-Saoner

2009-04-14T22:57:00.009+05:30

Route
========================================

Pune(0 km)--Ahmednagar(120 km)--Aurangabad(240 km)--Jalna(330 km)--sindkhed raja(360 km)--Sultanpur--Mekhar(buldana) (411.9)----Malegaon--Shelu Bajar--Karanja(525 km)--Yavatmal(605 km)--Wardha(682.5 km)--Nagpur(762 km)--Saoner(797)

8:30 pm: Bags were all packed, tank was full of petrol and all the riding gears were on. This was a much awaited ride as I was finally going to home (Nagpur) after more than a year. Left Pune after struggling with the traffic and was on the 4 lane highway ripping at 120 kms/hr. After crossing the first 60 kms finally felt like there is no road ahead, due to the 4 laning of the highway. Crossed ahmednagar at 10:30 after taking a drinks break.

11:00 pm: The Ahmednagar-Aurangabad patch is an awesome stretch with very few vehicles at this time. I was ripping at 110-120 kms when suddenly a Honda city was trying to cross the road. Tried hitting the breaks and finally hit the vehicle at 20 kms/hr speed. No bruises, thanks to the complete gear. But the right side front cowl and the foot rest were broken. Had a small argument with the driver who thinks that it was my fault travelling on a straight road when he is crossing the highway.

1:00 am: Finally crossed Aurangabad as that accident wasted 30-45 mins of the time. The bike was still good except for a broken foot rest which was hanging by a metal wire. Took the Jalna by pass at 1:30, to my bad luck there was not even a single petrol pump and the bike was having just enough fuel to travel another 60 odd kms.

2:20 am: Reached sindkhet raja at 2:20 when I saw a police chowkey, the team was amazed when I asked the directions for Nagpur. They felt like there is an alien sitting on the bike when they saw me with the gloves and knee guards. Also told me that there is a petrol pump which is just 2-3 kms ahead, it was a sight of relief for me. By the time I reached the petrol pump felt like its closed and there were some workers who were sleeping there. When I woke up one of them he turned out to the petrol pump attendant.
Filled up the tank and I was again on the road. Even after riding at above 100 the bike managed to cover 340 kms/11 ltrs of petrol.

5:00 am: Crossed karanja and travelled for around 30 odd kms when I felt like a much needed break. Stopped for a tea break as at this time I was in need of some sleep. Was in office the whole day and riding the whole night. Till now covered almost 590 kms. The road was real bad when I started from sindkhet raja, but then came the dream stretch which was a single road but butter smooth.

7:00 am: Crossed Nagpur and travelled around 35 kms to reach home sweet home. When I rang the door bell saw my dad opening the door. He was really happy to see me and called mom as well. It was a total of 797 kms in 10:30 hrs from Pune to Nagpur followed by Saoner.
Went to the Hero Honda service station and got the bike repaired which costed me a dear Rs. 3850. Spent the next 4 days just eating and sleeping, I just have to name the dish and mom used to prepare that for me.

Road conditions (Pune-Nagpur-Saoner): Pune to Jalna almost 4 lane with few bad patches of 1-2 kms here and there. Jalna to karanja, amazing road with 10 kms of bad patch after Sindkhet raja. It’s a no mans land and won’t see much of a traffic. Might find few tea stalls and puncture shops. Overall the roads a much better than the old times.

Total time needed: 10 hours and 30 mins
Total petrol needed: 23 ltrs
Total distance: 797 kms
Avg speed: 75.9kms/hr
Gear used: Leather jacket, gloves (DSG), Knee guards (alpinestars), helmet (AVG), balaclava, Saddlebags (Cramster)

Hedvi Ride

2009-03-28T10:31:00.002+05:30

Hedvi
5am. Got up and was all excited to ride. Shake myself off the lethargy of the warm cosy comforts of the bed, and get up feeling a tinge of excitement about the upcoming ride.

6am. Down in the parking. Got all fixed up with helmets and gloves. The ipod started playing my best songs. Started off for the meeting point-Chandni Chowk in Pune.

There is something exhilirating about an early morning. Some promise of something grand. A whiff of enthusiasm about a new day. I am amazed to see so many people already on the road - the sky is completely dark at this time. Kids in school uniforms waiting for busses at 6:30am near the Pashan circle as I head up towards Chandni Chowk. As I pass the army area, the chill hits the hands. Wow! The drop in temperature was quite sudden!

6:40am and I am at Chandni Chowk. Jay was there. Vibhu, Rishi and Narendra, were about to reach. Tried to call them up, no response - they are probably on the way. The dawn is just breaking ... and everyone was there to get on the road.

7:00am [ 0 kms ] Finally everyone is here, and we start off. I was to lead the way and decided to stick to 80kmph speed limits as there were new riders. The next stop was for the breakfast. The rookies have been let in on the big plan - we ride without many stops! That’s it, No over speeding, no racing, just very few stops. The traffic on the highway is quite sparse, and we make good time.

8:30am [ 52kms] Stop at Ram Vade Waala for breakfast. This place is crawling with people ! I am stumped - why so much of traffic. Thats when Naren says - probably all going to Mahabaleshwar ... aah ! We quickly assess the route again - do we go through mahabaleshwar and head over to Nh17 or go via Umraj and make a turn to chiplun? We decide on the later. The pleasures of riding with a group - new plans made constantly!

The ride after that was pretty simple. Nice straight highways with the run rising over the small hills on the left side. A few breaks for water and we reached Umbraj at 11:30. Hmm, we should reach chiplun by 1, so we decided to ditch having lunch there and directly go to Hedvi . Called up the fellow in Hedvi and asked him to get lunch ready for us.

Umbraj to Chiplun is ghat roads. Till halfway, the roads are bad, but around 30-40 kms before chiplun they become smooth and are fun to ride on! On the left side is a river ( i dont know the name , and google maps does not show the river) .

Chiplun took us some time to get through. The helpful people there pointed us right at the center of the busy weekend market, where progress was at snails pace. Finally out of it and we chugged along ahead towards Hedvi. Rishi was keeping up with me far ahead in the distance, while the others were bit behind. After asking directions again and again, a few turns later, we were at Hedvi.

13:30 [288] reached the resort in Hedvi. The less I write about it, the better - it’s not something I would recommend to people. Just a room to stay in, with common toilets, sigh.

We wasted no time and called for lunch, South Indian style. Finished that off and decided to take a small nap. Vibhu and Jay decided to take a breather and sleep the afternoon off. Rishi and Naren decided to chill out under the trees near the beach.

Finally around 4:30pm we moved onto the beach. It was still quite hot, but Jay and I were hoping for some good sunset shots - the only damper - the clouds on the horizon. However, it was the same clouds which turned the sky into a riot of colors! Check out the pics because I can't describe it in words.

Evening went in gupshup and another round of dinner which was same as lunch. We also settled our bills there to take care of the early start, and also as we could not bear another round of the food there !

Next Day

Jay was to leave really early, and in the process all of us got up :) .. though we finally started off quite late around 8:30am. I took that opportunity to use the public loo before others ( ;-) ), and also to take a few shots of the dawn. Man, it feels so fresh up at that time. Pity, I don't do it more often.

Breakfast stop was at Chiplun. The ghats from hedvi to chiplun are quite good, but this time, for the first time, Vibhu got a backache, gave him a couple of disprins to eat - which lasted quite a bit almost all the way back home.

After that we followed the same route back. At the top of the ghats, we stopped for a photo shoot. At that place is a police check post - where the guy after seeing us stop called us over to the hut and started asking for our identities etc. Then started filling in info in their book. Luckily for us the first person he asked was Narendra...
Officer : Whats your name ?
Naren : Narendra K
Officer : Na... ?
N : Narendra
O : Fullname ?
N : Write Narendra K
O : give full name.
N : Narendra Katlamudi
O Writes down "Narendra K" ;-)
That was quite funny! Then I asked the cops why they are harassing us when we have stopped and they are not stopping the other people who just zoom past. Officer said that tomorrow is Republic Day so he has to do these things, but I guess by this time he got tired of writing down a single name, so he said ok.

The journey after that did not have much to write about. It was a very hot day though, and we had lots of water breaks. The good thing was that all 4 of us kept together almost thorughout the journey, with a couple of dashes to break up the monotony.

4:30pm [588kms] and we are back at my house. I had to depart as had a prior appointment, parted way just before Pune, while the remaining 3 continued together.

Felt good to have a trip after a long time:D

And then in the evening I went out for a short drive ;)

Pune-HYD-RJY-Kakinada

2009-03-22T14:35:00.004+05:30

I have finally completed the trip today and reached back pune at 12:00pm. Here is a short trip log along with timings and km's,

PUN-HYD (29/11/2008) (Total 554 kms)
====================================
04:00 am: Everything was set, all bags packed, petrol tank full, started from Pune at the time decided. As soon as I left hadapsar it started raining heavily as though like a bad feeling. Covered 40 kms and I had to stop at Yawat due to lack of visibility. Started again after 1 hr when the situation improved. (Trip reading 0.0)14:25: Reached home, touched HYD outskirts (patancheru) at 12:40 but got caught in traffic. The entire stretch of karnataka was pathetic. The road is full of pot holes, but managed to keep the bike at 100Km/hr constant riding on the skirting.(Trip reading 554.6 kms)

HYD to RJY (30/11/2008) (Total 473 kms)
=======================================
03:35 am: Left home and reached suryapeth at around 6 am, had breakfast and then started again. Good road conditions but single lane with rashly driven truck and buses coming on to you. (Trip reading 557.1 kms)08:24: Touched Vijayawada Benz circle (Trip reading 825.7 kms).11:10: Reached Rajahmundry, excellant 2 lane roads, no pot holes and amazing ride. (Trip reading 1031 kms).

Rjy-Kakinada port(07/12/2008) (Total 62 kms)
===================================
15:30 pm: Left Rjy with my sister in car with jiju and family. Amazing roads with nice village side scenary. (Trip reading 1248-1310 kms).

Kakinada to HYD (09/12/2008) (Total 501 kms)
============================================
11:30 am: Started from KKY and took a different route this time via rjy-eluru-vijayawada. Road was bad till Eluru and then it joins the 2 lane highway. Finally reached vijayawada at 15:15pm. (Trip reading 1312-1515 kms)20:17: Finally reached Hyd, it was really a tiring ride due to the heavy traffic between vijayawada-hyd and night riding. Had some snacks at suryapeth at the same hotel I had while going the other way. (Trip reading 1515-1813 kms)

HYD-PUN (10/12/2008) (Total 546 kms)
=====================================
03:45 am: Started from Hyd and straight away started rippin the bikeg. Amazing streatch till Zahirabad, covered 100 kms in 90 mins even though it was a night ride. Reached Umarga at 7 had some breakfast and moved on. (Trip reading 2030 kms)12:00: Reached pune, really bad traffic and morning time you can find the villagers running around with cans in their hand. But managed to cover the distance in 8 hrs. (Trip reading 2349 kms)

Route taken: pune-sholapur--umarga-zahirabad-Hyderabad-vijayawada-Rajahmundry-Kakinada
Total distance covered: 2349 kms
Petrol Required: 79.5 ltrs
Avg kms/ltr : 30 kms (100-120 kmph)