Team-BHP - Where do you go for a drive to unwind?

A few drives in the direction of Mysore have shown me some very very good B-roads to drive on very close to the city. These roads are through the calm and peaceful countryside, with the window down and fresh air, through small villages, with greenery and flowing rivers and streams around, and very little traffic. I have enjoyed these drives more than the newly built expressways with lots of traffic.

I also enjoy late night drives through the empty city streets.

I haven't done any off-roading and driving flat-out on a track so no opinions there.

Enjoying these drives has also got to do with the N-Line - a small hatchback with enough power and a good exhaust note (in the city and the countryside).

All these pics were taken very close to Bangalore, at the max, at Ramanagara, and some before Bidadi as well:

Where do you go for a drive to unwind?-gridart_20230517_165604785-1.jpg

So what kind of roads do you prefer to drive on?

Some of my favourite roads that I drive frequently-

1. Mumbai Pune Expressway- 5-7 AM, there’s an Irani Cafe in Baner that I go to for breakfast.

2- Vashi- BKC- Sealink- Marine Drive- Eastern Freeway- Vashi between 12 AM and 5 AM with good music and the sunroof open.

3- The Old Pune highway towards Saltt, Karjat or all the way to Lonavala- best during weekdays in the afternoon

4- Malshej and Tamhini Ghats during Monsoons- Take a SUV sometimes given the road conditions

5- Poladpur- Mahabaleshwar- Takes quite a bit of time to reach the road, usually clubbed with an overnight stay at Mahabaleshwar and a return journey via Wai.

6- Igatpuri/Sula- This road is a hit or miss given the road condition and traffic on the route.

7-Palm Beach Road- It used to be a good road to go for a casual drive to relax after a hectic day. However, people drive like fools there nowadays late at night so I only go there if one of my cars is sitting for too long and needs to be driven.

Guilty Pleasure- NH348/JNPT road- sparse traffic, butter smooth, 6 lanes, no sharp corners to speak of, bet you can figure out the rest ;)

Hill roads. Being a resident of Eastern India, specifically, Calcutta, the hilly roads of North Bengal was, is and will be our "go - to" driving destination.
The car of choice for these drives is always a naturally aspirated compact hatchback. An MpFi Zen or a Honda BRIO.
Turbo's are a big "no-no".

There are so many lovely roads in the lap of the North Bengal hills one cannot imagine. Darjeeling side, Kalimpong side, the sinewy tarmac along the Dooars forest belt etc, etc.
The old Hill Cart Road to Kurseong is one of my favourite.
Recently re-surfaced and devoid of traffic, (as the bulk of the tourist traffic goes up via the alternative Rohini route which is shorter), it is technically challenging as well as aesthetically pleasing to sore city eyes & nerves.
The road from Ghoom to Siliguri via Mirik has also been resurfaced. Try that at the dead of night, preferably on a full moon night, and you'll truly understand what goes in to make "Live To Drive".

Since I am short of time most of the days because of a toddler at home, weirdly, I do a late night or early morning drive to the airport and back. It totals to around 70 kms and it helps a lot in de-stressing. Towards the airport is usually a sedate drive due to traffic, but the return is when I have fun, especially if it is early morning.
During the lockdown, I used to sneak out towards Kolar and since traffic was almost non existent, I could do a quick drive or ride up to Hoskote and back and enjoy it as well.

If I have the time and the energy for it, I go on late night rides/drives to the airport and back. The roads are good and post 11pm, there is hardly any traffic. Makes for a great relaxation session. Drive up to the airport, have a cup of coffee from Hatti Kaapi and return makes for a good 110km trip.

I live in Erode. I have a 80 km stretch which is from Home to a town called Sankagiri, there on to Bhavani, on to Perundurai and then home to Erode. The first 20 and last 20 are state highways and the 40 kms in the middle is NH. No toll booth though and i do it between 4:30 to 6 am thrice a week. This is when I don't get to travel and i do this for cracking stress. Twice on my Interceptor and once in my Thar. Cleans my head thoroughly!

I do plenty of weekend drives to unwind from the week's hectic schedule. I enjoy both the expressways as well as countryside roads. Both offer different kind of driving experiences and both are fun. I enjoy both.

My ideal weekend driving circuit includes some fast highways, some scenic countryside roads, some hill drives, some forest drives, and then finally a stay somewhere in deep jungles away from the chaos of the cities. Thankfully, Bangalore has access to many such weekend drives. A drive to Coorg or Chikmagalur offers all of what I said in one simple weekend. I do plenty of such weekend drives in a year.

Therefore, I voted for the first two options in the poll, which cover my above-mentioned driving patterns.

Moving forward, who knows? Just a week ago, I bought a new Thar, and that now opens up the possibilities of off-road trails. Therefore, if I were to answer this again in a year's time, I might say I do off-road trails too. I will have to wait and see how this unfolds now :-)

Awesome thread!

- Early morning is my first preference as I am an early riser. Compared to late nights, early mornings give you superior visibility, empty roads & no drunk drivers.

- Also love night cruising around Bombay.

My ideal local drives:

1. Early morning drive to Lonavla. Beautiful expressway, lovely mountain roads, yummy misal pav for breakfast.

2. Early morning drive to Shahapur / Igatpuri. Good tarmac, no expressway. Fun only early in the morning as traffic picks up later.

3. Early morning drive to Pawna Lake as my sibling has a beautiful place there.

4. Early morning around South Mumbai. Marine Drive (sit & view), Colaba (breakfast), Gateway, Ballard Estate, then top it up with the Freeway to come back home.

5. Late evening or late night around Bombay. Could be anywhere = Bandra & Pali Hill, T2 Airport Road, Sea Link, Marine Drive, Freeway....

For me it has to be the highways/expressways as well as Country Roads.

I absolutely love driving to Hampi, especially on the NH-50. Had a smile plastered across my face throughout the journey. Driving on any highway, as long as it is within the speed limits and with no agenda on mind, results in a soothing experience and helps get rid of all the stress the city traffic and madness has created.

Sometimes, we take offbeat roads or take a turn into an area we've never explored and have found some of the most scenic roads and areas. Driving here, with the windows down and listening to the surroundings, is an experience in itself!

Living in Hyderabad I can say the ORR. Sometimes it's from Gachibowli to RGIA or sometimes the entire loop around the city. Taking the leftmost lane with windows down early morning at a 70 mph cruise locked, this helps me unwind from all the work stress and reboot the mind.

My driving/ riding has come down significantly. Ever since I moved to Bangalore I don't find the kind of trails that I prefer, which is valley roads predominantly. Destinations now seem to look far and fatigued. Riding looks overtly dangerous, driving out in a car alone does not seem to be prudent anymore.

Voted country side roads and off-road trails.

If it's a drive it has to be country side roads for me. I just love driving with windows down and slowly soaking in the nature and listen to soft music at low volume. I also ensure that I stop at few places and just sit quiet doing nothing. Not even fiddling with the phone and checking out social media. I do click pics if I see the frame up to my expectations. Else there were many drives where I did not click even a single picture. For me it is the mind that captures a lot more beautiful pictures and I live the moment.

If travelling to hometown then I intentionally choose route via Madikeri because I get to avoid busy four lane roads.

If it's a ride then I love heading to off-road trails on the weekends and hills during the monsoon. Nothing can beat this for a biker.