It was mid December, 2012.
It had been a while since we had been on a nice long trip. Christmas weekend would soon be upon us, and we would be committing an unpardonable sin if we did not plan a long getaway. After many telephone calls and e mails, the plan was fixed. The destination was G okarna and Dandeli. There would be two groups. Siva Chaithanya, Mathew Paul, Atasi G iri and I would get there from Pune on our bikes. Kunal Bhagi, Febin Sagir, Soumyajit Sarcar, Kaajal Bhatia, Supali Hom and Erum Amir would drive down in Kunal’s Toyota Qualis from Bangalore
Our route map: Pune-Hubli-Gokarna-Yana-Dandeli-Doodhsagar-Goa-Pune
It promised to be a fun-filled
five-day adventure. We could hardly wait! This ride would be very different
from our previous long rides. There would only be two days of long distance
riding, and we would transform into tourists in between. Siva and I had ridden
together before, but this was the first time we would ride with a third rider –
Matt. The bikes were pampered and prepared the previous week, and we stocked up
on important consumables such as Engine Oil and chain lube. Saddlebags were
arranged, and a basic medical kit and tool kit was organised. A lot of time was
spent gathering information on routes and stopovers on team-bhp.com and
xbhp.com.
But this was only one half of the
preparation that was needed. The more important part was to prepare the body
and condition the mind. I strongly believe that irrespective of the experience
that riders might have gained through years of riding, it is always absolutely
necessary to remind ourselves of the basics before a long ride. We need to tell
ourselves what we should and shouldn’t do, and be aware of the dangers and
challenges we would face on the ride. Experience sure does build ability and
confidence, but knowingly or unknowingly, slowly but surely, experience always feeds human ego. This needs to be
completely deflated before riders venture onto the roads, and we made sure we
did just that during the run up to our ride.
Day 1: Saturday, 22nd
December 2012
1300hrs
Pune to G okarna:
The plan was to leave as early as
possible and reach G okarna the same
night. We finally settled on 1300 hrs as a good time to leave, but due to
various work related issues, it was already 1400 hrs when we finally
congregated in front of Tata Motors, Chinchwad.
Matt clicks his CBR all ready to roll, as he waits for us impatiently
Matt hadn’t had his lunch yet,
but we though it was advisable to clear all the Pune traffic before stopping
for lunch, so that we would have a clear road ahead of us post lunch. The 45
kilometres from Chinchwad to Khed Shivapur along the Pune bypass took a full
hour, and it was almost 1500 hrs when we pulled into the McDonalds outlet near
Khed Shivapur tollbooth. The sun was shining down, and the meek ventilation
pockets in our riding jackets were no match for the sun’s might. We were soon
sweating profusely. Our slow riding speeds only made matters worse.
A quick lunch later, we were back
on our saddles, all set to gobble up the NH4 that lay between Pune and Hubli.
Lunch Break at McDonalds
At McDonalds, we run into another
couple who were on an RE heading to Mahabaleshwar from Mumbai. We wished each
other luck and set off. Atasi shifted from my P150 to Siva’s P220 pillion seat.
After lunch the heat was more
bearable, as we were cruising at triple digits. Though still sweating, the tiny
wafts of air that made it through the jacket made life a lot more comfortable.
We crossed Satara ghat, and continued on towards Kolhapur . We took a short break after about
150 kms, which had taken us 2 hours to cover.
Somewhere on the NH-4
As we reached Kolhapur dusk was falling and the western sky was a splendid riot of colours. Matt was itching to whip out his DSLR and set up his tripod for a few clicks, but time wouldn’t permit that! As we crossed
Dinner Break
A quick call was made to Kunal,
and we were informed that the early morning start from Bangalore had afforded
the entire gang the luxury of relaxing at Om Beach, and they were enjoying the
sunset. Cursing our luck for having to work on Saturdays, we settled down for a
quick light dinner. I was a little concerned about my engine consuming oil as
it was kept at 7 to 8k rpm throughout, but a quick inspection revealed zero
reduction in oil levels! Buoyed by this, we set off after dinner, aiming to
reach Hubli soon. Atas now shifted onto Matt’s CBR250, and was impressed with
the comfort of the pillion seat. Traffic levels dropped considerably after dinner
and the two and half hours that it took to cover the 170 kms distance to Hubli
was largely uneventful. The night was cool, and the three of us rode in
staggered formation with a healthy gap between the bikes.
The only excitement was just
before Dharwad, when we encountered a stupid guy on a bike who was coming in
the opposite direction in our lane.
Worse still, he was well above 80 kmph, and thought it was perfectly fine to
ride right next to the divider. In some parts, the plants on the divider aren’t
very tall, so in case there is a bend on the road, the oncoming vehicles appear to be on our lane. Only when the
road straightens out, and the vehicle comes pretty close to us, do we realise
that they are in fact in their own lane, across the divider. The douche of a
biker was in our lane, and thankfully
we noticed him well in advance so that we could move to the slow lane, well
clear of his way.
It was almost 2200 hrs as were
crossed the treacherous single lane road between Dharwad and Hubli. We stopped
by the side of the road and figure out where exactly to turn off the highway
towards Ankola, and after asking a couple of folks, we found it pretty easily.
It is a very well marked left turn that goes back below the highway and heads
out to the West.
The NH4 had been brilliant,
almost boringly so. But, what lay ahead was exciting. Hubli-Ankola is 140 kms
on the NH67. In fact, while planning this trip, we had inhibitions about doing
the stretch at night, as we though it might be a little lonely, and lest we
encountered any trouble with our machines, we dint want to be stuck along the
edge of the Anshi forests. We posted on many a forum, and our fears were laid
to rest when the legendary Team BHPian HVK sir replied to my query saying that
it was not only perfectly safe, but also very enjoyable.
So, we started on the NH67 at
2215 hrs. Initially, there were a few trucks and buses to give us company, but
the traffic thinned as we rode further away from Hubli. The moon was waxing,
and it was dashami or the 10th
day of the cycle of the moon. About 10 kms before Yellapur, we pulled over to
the side of the road, and killed our engines.
“Inner Peace” The relatively narrow road wound its way through
heavily wooded forests. The moonlight filtered through the leaves and scattered
off the butter smooth surface of asphalt tarmac. As we got off our bikes, and
took in the surroundings, the stillness of the forest consumed us. It was one
of those moments when you forget all your troubles, which are made to seem
miniscule in front of the sheer beauty of the creation that now confronted us. We
ceased thinking. We just were.
Enjoying the moonlit night in the middle of the forest
Atasi “Iron Butt” Giri snorts at me as I give my butt muscles a massage
Rejuvenated by the short break in
the middle of the forest, we continued our journey, and wanted to reach G okarna soon, so that we could have a decent night’s
sleep before the next day’s plans. So, we set off on our final leg, riding
through the forests at good speeds. I had got into my clear visor for the night
ride, and this afforded me a clear view of the roads ahead. We came across
quite a few Volvo buses that crossed us travelling in the opposite direction.
These buses seemed pretty scary as they zoomed around the curves at high
speeds. We ensured that we stay to the left of our lane, lest the buses
understeer and eat into our space on the roads. The ride was a dream. It was
getting pretty cold, but the supersmooth surface that took us around killer
curves kept the adrenaline levels up. We made good time as we reached Ankola
and turned left towards Kumta.
We quickly completed the
remaining 20 kms to G okarna, and
pulled into the “Kamath Lodge” where Kunal and the others were already fast
sleep. We shut off our engines at 0115 hrs, which meant we had done 616 kms in
just over 11 hours. We then patted our bikes down, whispered our thanks, and
put them to sleep, before crashing into our beds. It had been a typical first
day of a trip; full of energy, vigour and hope.
Day 2:
Gokarna to Yana to Dandeli
Gokarna to Yana to Dandeli
The day began lazily. We were
tired out from the first day’s ride, and rose pretty late. We freshened up and
immediately headed to Om beach, and found a table at the Paradise
Café, right on the beach. We met up with Kunal’s colleagues from HSBC –
Soumyajit “Swamiji” Sarkar, Kajal Bhatia, Supali Hom and Erum Amir.
The entire gang, at Paradise Cafe
It was 1130 by the time we
finished a sumptuous breakfast, and went for a short hike from Om beach to
Kudle beach. The pseudo trek required us to cross a small hill over to the
Kudle beach, and it took about half an hour. The picturesque Kudle beach
perfectly complemented the lazy early afternoon, as we relaxed at a café. The
girls preferred to bond on the beach, and spent a good half hour letting the
sea water tickle their toes.
Picturesque Kudle beach
Chilling at one of the beach-side cafes
As it was nearing 1300, we
decided to head back, as we had to ride to Yana en route to Dandeli. It was
1315 as we left Om Beach and headed to Yana .
To give our bikes some respite
from dropping power to weight ratios, we removed our saddled bags and
transferred them to Kunal’s Quails. We then set off on the short ride to Yana . We went upto Kumta, and headed left on the
Kumta-Sirsi highway for about 15 kms before turning left towards Yana . Here, progress was slow because of the extremely
narrow roads. It was just past 1500 hrs when we reached Yana .
We enquired from locals and figured out that it was a further 2 kms to the
actual rocks of Yana . We were pretty hungry,
so we grabbed a few biscuits and started off on the walk. The trek wasn’t very
strenuous, but it wasn’t a cake walk either. It took us more than an hour to
reach the base of the rocks.
En Route Yana
As we laughed and chatted our way
up Yana, Matt suddenly stopped dead and declared that he couldn’t find his bike
key! We had been walking for almost 45 min now, and we were pretty far from the
parking spot. With an overcoming sense of foreboding, Matt sprinted back to the
parking spot. We continued on, and reached Yana soon thereafter. After clicking
a few customary pics, we decided to head back, when we saw Matt run up again, a
smile on his face. He had run all the way back to find that he had left his key
plonked on the bike! Luckily for him, no one had spotted it, so all was well!
In any case, Matt ended up doing the trek up Yana
twice!
Different views of the rocks
As we finally headed back down,
the sun was inching towards the horizon. Eager to reach the NH17 soon, we left
from Yana at 1700 hrs.
Ideally, we should have taken the
route from Yana-Sirsi-Yellapur to Dandeli. But Kunal and co. and been on the
Sirsi-Kumta stretch on their way to G okarna
from Bangalore ,
and they had found it pretty bad. So we decided to go back via Gokarna and
Ankola, which would add a few kms to our journey, but would ensure that we had
good roads. It was almost 1800 as we turned off the NH17 towards Ankola.
It was the butter smooth NH67 all
over again, but this time it was during the day! The prospect of doing the
Ankola-Yellapur stretch during the day was exhilarating. The very thought of it
was enough to get us high! So, with no further ado, we set off towards
Yellapur, maintaining speeds well in excess of 90 kmph. The curves were to kill
for – beautifully banked, with a clear view till the end of the curve that
would help us avoid nasty surprises mid way. All 3 of us thoroughly enjoyed the
cornering fest.
As it became dark, I had a
problem. I had my tinted visor on, and my clear visor was in my saddle bag in
the Qualis, which was far behind. I was unable to lead the group with my
failing vision. So, I pulled over and we decided that instead of waiting for
the Qualis, I would ride behind the others. Siva took the lead, with Matt
following close behind. For the first time in the ride, I rode last in the
group, and it was magical! The headlights of the P220 and the CBR were so good
that I hardly had a problem, even with my tinted visor. The procession of bikes
looked brilliant from behind. As we approached corner after corner, the beauty
of seeing each set of headlights bend into the corner, equally separated in
space and time, was truly amazing. I had a very relaxed ride till Yellapur, as
the group rode in perfect coordination, doing good pace, yet with minimal
danger. After having the time of our lives, we pulled into Yellapur which would
be our dinner break. I though that we would have to wait quite a bit for
Kunal’s Qualis to catch up, but I had to eat my words, as he came upon us
pretty quickly. Kunal claims he never crossed 80 kmph on his Qualis, but I
highly doubt that! The roads were of a kind where speeds are dwarfed but the
quality of the roads, and the scenery that surrounded it.
We were ravenous. The simple
south Indian dishes of Dosas, Puris and Rice seemed better than any feast as we
gorged on the tasty dinner. After calling and confirming our reservations at
Dandeli, we set off on the final leg for the day – 64 kms from Yellapur to
Dandeli through the heart of the forest.
Wolf Eyes
It was an eerie ride, where the headlights threw up scary
shadows. Wierdly disfigured trees looked like shape shifters, and the road
seemed to lead nowhere. The imagery was perfected by the deteriorating roads,
which lent an almost paranormal charm to the ride. We rode in a convoy, making
sure we stuck together – the 3 bikes in the lead, and the car bringing up the
rear.
We finally reach Dandeli by 2200 hrs and pulled up in front
of the Kamat Yathri Nivas. We were then led another 2 kms towards “Dandeli
Nisarga” by one of the chaps from Kamath Yatri Nivas. Our guest house was
nestled inside the Indian Plywood Factory’s premises, and a very inviting camp
fire was burning as we pulled into the parking. We quickly unloaded our luggage
and found that the rooms had actually exceeded our expectations both in terms
of size and comfort.
What followed was a night of
blatant “irresponsibility” by a
certain old monk in our group! And many others weren’t far behind smirking off
at weird flavours of orange. All in all, it was a night to remember, with
random walks in the night, discussions and duels regarding colors, “red-lit”
houses and ghosts running around with hair let loose.
Day 3:
Exploring Dandeli
Exploring Dandeli
The next morning was marked by
the arrival of another fellow madcap from NITK. Febin Sagir had deemed it necessary
to give the first day a skip to stay back in Bangalore and organise sessions of downing of
liquid. Little did she realise that she could have done the very same thing in
Dandeli, albeit with the different group, the previous night! In any case, the
trip acquired a whole new dimension with Febin, who managed to convince Siva of
her bike riding prowess and conned him into letting her ride the P220 around
for a bit!
After goofing around all morning,
we set off to Dandeli town for breakfast. We decided to give our bikes a well
deserved brake, and piled into the Qualis for the day’s travel. We were 10 of
us, and it would be a squeeze, but we had hardly 10 kms to travel, so we
thought it was manageable. As the group had breakfast in a quaint little
restaurant on the one main road that Dandeli has, Kunal and I went up to our
host at Kamath Yatri Nivas to plan the day’s activities. We booked our place
for white water rafting in the afternoon session, which would be at 1400 hrs.
So, we still had 3 hours to go, and we headed to “Nature’s Nest” about 10 km
out of Dandeli. Here, there were various activities taking place – Zip Line
(Also called Flying Fox), Burma Bridge, Kayaking etc. Febin and Erum tried out
the zip line, which turned out to be too slow to be any fun. Febin even managed
to extract a second go on the zip line for free, but it came to a naught as her
glove got stuck mid-way!
Zip Line Attempt 1 After mega fail attempt 2
This was followed by Burma Bridge
Burma Bridge
Monkey Business
This done, we headed to a nearby
lake for Kayaking. Atasi, Kajal, Matt and Erum ventured into the Kayaks, as the
rest of us relaxed, taking in the relaxed atmosphere away from the hustle and
bustle of our respective lives. Old friends caught up and new friends bonded.
In the midst of all this, Erum managed to find a bit of snake skin which she
was fascinated by, but much to her dismay, the other girls decided that the
snake skin will NOT enter the car!
All in all, it was a fun morning
full of relaxation. It was now time for white water rafting. We decided not to
eat lunch before rafting as it might make us uncomfortable. We signed a few
forms and set off to the start point in a Bolero pick-up. The bunch of us that
got into the open top load body had a blast, as the driver took us around some
beautiful roads to the Jungle Lodges Camp. We lost all inhibitions and laughed
and sang our way to the Camp. Everyone seemed like small kids on their first
ever picnic!
Thanks to our guide who made sure
we left really early for rafting, we were the first in the queue. As soon the
gates opened, we were taken river side, and given lifejackets, helmets and
paddles. We were introduced to our guide for the day, Mr. Amit Naik. Amit got
all 10 of us into a raft, and pushed off into the still waters. We first had a
briefing session where we were taught the basic actions. Paddling forward,
Paddling Reverse, and getting into the raft in case of emergencies, were all
taught and practised. Then, he got all of us to jump into the water, so as to
get us used to the water, and develop confidence in our lifejackets. After
lazing around in the water for about half an hour, we got back on and geared up
for the real deal!
The entire course is about 13 kms
and takes close to 3 hours. It has over 12 rapids, some small and some huge!
The best rapid is undoubtedly the
first one. Things seem very serene initially, but all of a sudden the rapid
speeds up and before you know it, you are hurtling through a narrow passage
between rocks! Amit made us paddle effectively, making sure we make the best of
the rapids. There are many spots en route when things calm down, and become
tranquil. We came across trees hanging over the riverside, and drifted into
many such locations.
The first rapid
Overall, the rafting experience
was unbelievable. It was physically exhausting yet totally gratifying. We
humans find it so difficult to hold our own, even in the tiniest of Mother
Nature’s playgrounds – it serves as a lesson in perspective, helping us realise
really how small and insignificant we all are, in comparison to our
surroundings.
Staying at the mouth of a rapid.. one hell of an effort!
The final rapid was quite an adventure in itself! Amit wanted us to stick at the mouth of the rapid and stay there. It took a herculean effort in paddling, and despite trying repeatedly, we were unable to do it. Most of us had given up, but Amit was quite the taskmaster. As we approached for a final try, our monk came into his own! Having come over to the front of the raft, Matt leaned over and held onto a rock with both his hands! This made us hover at the mouth of the rapid for quite a while, and Amit was very impressed. It was quite amazing from Matt who earned the well deserved title of “The MAN!” after this act of heroism!
White water rafting... check!
As we go off the raft, we were
well and truly spent! The rafting experience had left each of us lighter in our
pockets by 1300 bucks, but it was totally worth it. The Bolero that had dropped
us at the start point was waiting for us at the end as well, and we hopped on,
and sped back to “Nature’s Nest”. It was 1800 hrs and it was soon becoming very
cold. We were dripping wet, and the 6 of us who were in the open top of the
Bolero had quite a task at hand! Thankfully, the drive was short enough for the
adrenaline from the rafting to last us till we reached. Having thus survived
potential hypothermia, we quickly changed into dry clothes and headed back to
Dandeli for a sumptuous feast. After dinner, we headed back to our guest house
and settled the bill with the guest house. We would leave early the next day,
and so we wanted to finish the formalities the same night. It was Christmas Eve,
and Kunal and the girls summoned enough energy to go to a nearby Church for
midnight mass. However, Matt, Siva, Soumyajit and I were too tired, and crashed
as soon as we finished dinner!
Dandeli had been EPIC!..
Day 4:
Dandeli to Doodhsagar to Panaji
… but we weren’t quite done yet!
Early next morning most of us managed to drag ourselves out of bed and headed
out for an early morning jungle safari. Matt and Siva opted to sleep in, and so
the rest of us trooped into the Qualis and left for the Jungle Camp at 0515. We
had a 16 km drive through unknown roads early in the morning, but thanks to a
neat little map we had made the previous night with the help of our caretaker,
we made it to the camp without getting lost. We quickly paid up 400 bucks per
head for the safari and climbed onto the open back of a jeep, waiting for the
gates to open by 0600. Frankly, our expectations weren’t that high. Even though
Dandeli is a tiger reserve, we dint really expect to sight tigers. It was just
as well, because all we managed to spot were a bison, a boar, a sambhar and a
few kingfisher birds! But the jungle safari was far from being a total waste.
The forest was mesmerising. We started when it was well and truly dark, and the
forest had a sinister charm to it. As we slowly crawled through the jungle
trails during dawn, hoping to catch a glimpse of animals in their own habitat,
we immersed ourselves in the sounds of nature. As dawn broke and the sun rays
started to filter in, we saw the various moods of the forest – it slowly
transformed from being silent, dark, unknown and almost creepy into a colourful
mass of chirping birds and welcoming trees. Our trail had numerous overhanging
trees and shrubs, and we had a good time bending backwards “Matrix” style, just
enough to see the tip of the leaves just graze our nose! We then got to a
viewpoint that afforded us a splendid view of the thick forests, and after a
few clicks, we were on our way back to Dandeli.
At the jungle view point
A good breakfast later, it was
time to part ways with the gang from Bangalore .
They would head back to Bangalore
through Dharwad, and we would continue towards Doodhsagar falls before heading
to Pune via Panaji. It had been an amazing holiday, and it was time to say our
goodbyes. Having made plans to “surely meet up soon”, and “do this kind of
thing again!” we went our separate ways.
The men and their machines
Our saddlebags were reunited our bikes, and we were all set for the short ride to Castle Rock station, from where we could go to Doodhsagar falls. The distance was about 70 kms, but the Dandeli-
Going crazy on a random road
Atasi tries out the CBR!
Siva with his girl – totally at peace
Yours truly
Matt “The Man!”
When we reached Castle Rock
station, it was already noon. Doodhsagar falls is a 13 km trek from this station.
It isn’t very tough as it is along the railway track, but as we would discover
later, railway treks come with their own challenges! But before that, we had
more pressing problems. Until now, we had had the luxury of dumping our bags in
Kunal’s Qualis and forgetting about them. But not anymore! The Castle Rock
station is tiny and has no cloakroom. The station master refused to keep our
bags in his room, and so we were in a major quandary. The plan was to trek to
the falls, and take the solitary train back to castle rock. This train left
from Doodhsagar at 1700, and if we missed that, we’d have to trek all the way
back, in the dark!
Just when we were getting
desperate, we found a G ood Samaritan
who agreed to help us. Mr Raghu was a railway guard on duty who had a small
rest room nearby. I guess he sensed the desperation in our eyes, and agreed to
hold our bags at his place. We quickly thanked him, and unloaded all our bags
and riding gear in his room. After taking his contact number, we started the
trek from Castle Rock Station by 1300 hrs.
…And we were off!
We figured that we could complete
the trek in 2 hours, but as we soon discovered, progress was slow. Walking on
the stones soon tired our ankles out. This, combined with the mesmerising
scenery forced us to take quite a few breaks! The entire trek is along the
“Braganza G hat”.
Walking along the tracks
Through tunnels
We crossed 10 tunnels en route,
and treated our eyes to mind blowing landscapes. We drank water from nearby
streams as we had not carried any bottles.
Quenching our thirst
Halfway to Doodhsagar, we passed
Karanzol station. A goods train that was also heading to Doodhsagar had just
passed us from behind, and the railway guard at Karanzol informed us that had
we reached 10 minutes earlier, he’d have put us on the goods train! But never
mind, we continued on towards Doodhsagar. We passed many bridges built over
deep gorges, and marvelled at the seemingly impossible creations of civil
engineering.
The tunnel cuts through a HUGE rock that makes Siva and Matt seem tiny
Beautiful Vistas
We also came across a couple of
derailed goods containers that still had the cargo they were carrying – coal.
With the derailed goods coaches
… Was an approaching train!
When we finally made it to
Doodhsagar station, it was already 1630 hrs. We had half an hour for our return
train, but to our utter dismay, the folks at the station informed us that the
actual falls was a further 2 kms ahead! In the condition that we were in, it
was impossible to conceive of trekking 4 kms in half an hour. So, we consoled
ourselves and collapsed at the Doodhsagar station waiting for the train to
come.
At Doodhsagar Station
Utterly Exhausted Waiting for the
train to come
The train came a few minutes
late, and as we boarded on the train, the sun started setting behind the hills.
The sunset was so serene and tranquil, that is almost made us forgot all the
aches and pains that we were suffering from.
A Serene Sunset
And before we knew it, we were
back at Castle Rock Station. The distance of 13 kms that we had painstakingly
covered by foot, and had taken us more than 3 hours, had been gobbled up by the
train in a matter of minutes.
For the past few days, we had
been on our bikes, cruising at 100 kmph with utmost ease. We had gobbled up
almost a thousand kms, and anything less than 100 kms seemed a minuscule
distance, almost unworthy of consideration. I guess the almighty must have
sensed our building sense of superiority, and promptly made us realise what we
were actually worth, without artificial power propelling us forward. Thus
chastened, and with a new found respect for distances, we got off the train at Castle
Rock Station. It was just after sundown, almost 1830 hrs.
We quickly thanked our gracious
friend for his timely help. As a token of our memory, we left him a keychain,
an impromptu gift that was hardly indicative of the enormous gratitude we felt
towards him. We hope that the gesture makes him smile, and will stay to remind
him of the four mad caps that he had lent a helping hand to!
Gearing up to ride to Goa, with Mr. Raghu’s house in the background
We set off to try and find a good
place to spend the night, somewhere near G oaG oaMandovi River G oa
At Hotel Ria Residence, on the banks of the Mandovi River
The streets wore an extremely
festive look, and we crossed a couple of churches which had large groups of
people singing carols. There was an air of festivity and gaiety about. The
boats and cruises on the river Mandovi were tastefully lit up, and the Casinos
flashed their welcome signs. Unfortunately, we were a little too tired to enjoy
the atmosphere to the fullest. We checked into our rooms and quickly freshened
up. I was too exhausted after having woken up early at 5, and then done the 13
km trek. Siva and Matt, who had slept in late were a little more enthusiastic
and wanted to go for a walk down the streets of Panaji. Atasi continued to
astound us with her fitness levels, as she Matt and Siva went out for dinner,
followed by a walk. I barely managed to set my alarm for the next morning
before passing out for night!
Dinner at a riverside cafe
Day 5:
Panaji to Pune
The alarm rang out, shattering
the silence of the room. A quickly shut it off, and lay back, staring at the
ceiling. The trip had been picture perfect thus far. We’d faced no issues
whatsoever, and it had been extremely smooth sailing. Today was the last day,
and would definitely be the most strenuous. I uttered a silent prayer wishing
for things to end without a hitch, and quickly jumped up and went for bath. By
the time the four of us woke up and got ready, it was almost 0630. We had
planned to leave at 6, but since all of us were tired out the previous night,
we decided to take it a little easy. We finally filed out of the hotel and loaded
our bags by 0700. Today’s ride would be extremely challenging. No more
mile-munching on four lane national highways. We would take the road less
travelled, and try and ride right along the coast from G oaNorth G oa , and turned left off the NH17, and
travelled another 15 kms to reach Querim. Here was where the MSH4 began. And
How!
We rode right into a ferry!
We covered a distance of 1 km
from Querim to Terekhol on a ferry! They have a very convenient service. As we
approached the beach, the road suddenly vanished into the Terekhol River
On the ferry
On the ferry
Riding off the ferry and onto tarmac
As the ferry docked at Terekhol,
we rode out of the ferry, and were ready to take on the Konkan coast. We were
pretty hungry, and so we decided to fill out tummies as soon as possible. We
pulled into a hotel, and placed our order, and as the food took a while coming,
we used the time to lube our chains, and check our oil levels. Once both man
and machine were well fed and primed for performance, we set off.
Terekhol to Vengurla and then to Malvan took longer then expected. The roads were full of dangers – random villages, blind corners and sudden ascents and descents. But it was also extremely picturesque. It was a welcome deviation from the boring four-laned NH4 that we had gotten used to. There was a typical pattern to the ride. We would climb a hill, and it would turn out to be a table top, with a huge plain area atop it. We would then descend back into the “valley”, and cross a bridge across a river/backwater before climbing another table top.
Terekhol to Vengurla and then to Malvan took longer then expected. The roads were full of dangers – random villages, blind corners and sudden ascents and descents. But it was also extremely picturesque. It was a welcome deviation from the boring four-laned NH4 that we had gotten used to. There was a typical pattern to the ride. We would climb a hill, and it would turn out to be a table top, with a huge plain area atop it. We would then descend back into the “valley”, and cross a bridge across a river/backwater before climbing another table top.
Replenishing our fluids, riding in the sapping sun
One of the backwaters
Some ‘Alone’ time
The road quality was
unpredictable. At one instant it seemed decent, with well tarred roads, but all
of a sudden things would turn pathetic. But throughout the ride, the roads felt
very wavy. We were now almost 1300 kms into the ride, and the saddlesores were
starting to show. The wavy roads didn’t help that one bit! We finally reached
Kunkeshwar by noon, where we came across what we had been waiting for. The road
curved around a hill that was right next to the sea! It was a breathtaking
view. We found a tiny path towards the beach and headed towards the sea. As we
approached the beach, the sand was too soft. But the sight was too beautiful to
sit back and accept fate. Matt decided to take the plunge and headed out into
the sand, and needless to say, he was well and truly stuck! Siva and I shed our
riding gear, and went about extracting the heavy CBR250 towards a small mound,
that would be perfect for a picture. It took three huffing and puffing guys,
and a partially burned clutch to get this picture.
Overlooking the sea
All of us, at Kunkeshwar beach
We relaxed and took a few more
pictures before we left Kunkeshwar. Now, we were getting a little tired of the
demanding roads, and wanted to gobble up some distance. So, we changed our
plan, and instead of riding on to Ratnagiri by the MSH4, we decided to cut
across back to the NH17, which would let us cover distances more easily. All of
us had to work the next day, and so we wanted to return well before midnight.
It took an hour to reach Kasarde on the NH17. It was now almost 1345, and the
sun was blazing down with the humidity living up to its coastal reputation.
But as we turned left onto the NH17, things became so much better! The road surface was absolutely flawless. Our bikes that had thus far been restricted to sub 70 speeds roared back to life, as we twisted our wrists and let our engines rev! And soon speeds became meaningless. The road was absolute heaven for some high speed ripping. You could easily maintain speeds on the better side of 100, but the beautiful well banked curves that appeared every now and then ensured that there was some foot peg scraping action as well! All of us spent a good hour and a half taking in the corners at good speeds. We were quicker than most vehicles, and overtaking was done in groups. All of us ensured that the rider behind us stayed in our rear view mirror, thus ensuring that the group never broke up. We came across the occasional SUV that was faster than us, whom we gracefully let past. All in all, it was an amazing stint of focused, safe yet fast riding by all riders. As we drew into a hotel at Pali by 1600 hrs for lunch, all of us were smiling from end to end inside our helmets. We got out and high-fived each other, before ordering lunch. We wanted to leave quickly, as we yet had another 90 kms on the NH17, which would need our utmost concentration. Lunch was kept short and light, and we set off on another session of adrenaline rush. After a repeat session of cornering fun, we reached Chiplun by 1800 hours, where we tanked up and turned off the NH17. It had lived up to its reputation, and had been truly mind blowing.
Towards the end of all long trips
comes a time when the riders are totally spent and tired out, and the roads
begin to become monotonous. Riding speeds fall, and concentrating seems that
much tougher. Fatigue catches up, and the saddlesores are having a field time.
Chiplun to Umbraj was one such stretch. It was dusk, and visibility wasn’t
great. The road quality had deteriorated compared to our NH17 adventure. We
were now climbing back on to the deccan plateau. Just as we started getting
pissed at our predicament, the moon started shining! The entire valley lay bare
before us, bathed in the full moon’s bright light! We succumbed to temptation
and put off our headlights… and wow! The sight was stunning. Nature truly does
find ways to alleviate our sorrows and troubles... Or in this case, our saddle
sores! Slightly happier now, we started tackling the ghat with gusto. Once
safely across, we crossed the village
of Patan G od
was testing our resolve to go that last mile! 10 kms before the highway, we got
extremely frustrated with the potholes and pulled off for a break. We all had a
very good laugh at our predicament, and got onto our saddles, determined to
reach Umbraj quickly. As we came upon the four laned piece of beauty that the
NH4 is, we let out a cry of joy! We were now only 150 kms from home, and we had
stunning roads to complete that distance. Totally rejuvenated, we set off
towards Pune. On Matt’s advice, we reduced our riding speeds to around 80 to
90. It was just as well, as many accidents happen towards the end of long
trips, when rider’s reflexes just aren’t as good. Still, we made good time, and
it was about 2115 hrs when we reached a village called Khandala, some 50 kms before
Pune. And then, just when we thought we were almost home…
Twist in the Tale
Matt had been leading, and had
pulled away a little. Siva, closely followed by me, was about a minute behind
Matt. Suddenly we noticed that Matt had pulled over and was standing by the
side of the road. Instinctively, our hands went to our indicators, and we pulled
up alongside him. The look on Matt’s face said it all. He woefully pointed at
his rear tyre. He had a BENT RIM! He had been following a bus, and a huge
pothole had suddenly appeared from below the bus. With no time to respond, Matt
had no option but to hit the pothole at speeds of about 90 kmph. Poor ol’ Matt
was pissed with himself, and started apologising to all of us for spoiling what
had hitherto been an unblemished trip. But there was nothing he could do about
it. And isn’t the fact that we can help each other the very point of riding
together? So, we consoled him the best we could and set out to find a solution.
We could we do? It was 2130 hrs. We found out that we had just crossed a small
village, so we slowly headed back to the village, with the hope of finding some
help. After two failed attempts, we found a 24 hour puncture shop, which was open,
a further 1 km behind the village. So, we slowly and carefully took the bike
there, and set about finding a solution. The rim was pretty badly bent. The
only option was to try and put in a tube of the same radius and inflate it, and
try and get to Pune with it. This puncture chap had never got his hands on a
CBR before, so we sat and figured out how to remove the rear wheel, and change
the tube. It took almost two hours to get our work done. Hero came to Honda’s
rescue, as we now had the tube belonging to the front tire of Hero Honda Splendour,
in the rear tire of the Honda CBR250. To reduce the load on the CBR, we loaded
all of Matt’s stuff on our bikes, and left from there by midnight. We had to go
real slow, as the CBR was pretty unstable. The slow speeds made all of us very
drowsy, and we considered stopping for a quick chai. But soon Matt gained a
little confidence, and we pushed the bike upto 60 kmph. Slowly, but steadily,
we reached Pune, and stopped near Chinchwad flyover at 0130 in the morning. We
got off, hugged each other, and parted ways with Matt. Shortly thereafter,
Siva, Atasi and I pulled into our parking lot, and killed our engines.
It had been a legendary journey.
All of us had discovered a little something new about ourselves during the
trip. We had been through it all; breathtakingly fast and painfully slow,
unbearably hot and biting cold, thunderous laughter and peaceful contemplation,
being on cloud nine and sliding down into the dumps – all of this had been as
if to remind us of a Universal truth. For every yin, there has to be a yang. And
they are part of a mutual whole. We now realise that the bent rim at the fag
end of the trip did not blemish it; on the other hand, it completed it.
Ride Stats:
Total Distance (kms)
|
1565
|
Riding time (hours)
|
34.25
|
Average Speed (kmph)
|
46
|
It had been quite an experience!
It’s amazing how such a journey can transform what was otherwise a monotonous
flow of routine into an exciting world of challenges. Travelling across various
states and meeting various kinds of people really helps widen our perspective,
and lends a whole new outlook to life. Each travel is never an isolated
experience. It is instead, something that leaves a small, yet strong mark on our
personalities. It is no wonder that Miriam Beard famously remarked:
“Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change
that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.”
