[Ganapathy]

There is some eerie affiliation between December and my frenetic yearning to score one off my (still too long) bucket list. As the calendar year draws to a close, somehow the very act of the year ticking over seems to reinforce the finiteness of life. The Doris Day poem “Its later than you think” seems to ring louder in my ears. The irrefutable fact that my biological clock is ticking as well, seems to shake me out of my deep slumber and fuels a frantic yen to indulge in an adventurous (reckless, in the opinion of near and dear) journey to shake off the monotony of decades of corporate drudgery and rekindle the spark of life.

For far too long, I have been dreaming of driving down in my Dominar to Dhanushkodi, the south eastern tip of India, almost a stone throw away from Talaimannar in Sri Lanka. However, my partner in crime, Vicha is busy with his daughter’s wedding and hence could not be disturbed. My other friends looked at me in abject disbelief when I broached the subject, akin to saying “you need to get your head checked”, or maybe “you seem to have lost it old man”. So, an all too familiar story - deja’ vu.

Since December /January are the only months, wherein, one can contemplate a long motorcycle drive, in and around Chennai, in less than terribly hot hostile weather conditions, I was faced with the dismal prospect of letting go, of one riding season with nothing to show for, or do the unthinkable a solo ride again. Well, I decided to push the envelope. A solo ride it was going to be. I broached the subject of a holiday with the family and maybe because they could not take time off for a road trip themselves, wife and daughter did not offer much resistance to this idea of mine. Hence it was time to bring down the riding gear from the cupboards and dust them off. I planned to start off on Monday the 27th and sat down to plan my itinerary.

The first day, I would halt at Thanjavur and visit the temple there. The next day the plan was to reach Rameswaram and visit Dhanushkodi. Then I would return the following day with a stopover enroute. The route map would be like this.

Most of Sunday was spent getting the riding gear dusted and cleaned, packing clothes and other stuff required. My mobile holder, which, I used as a dedicated GPS holder on my bike, gave way and I made a hurried trip to a bike accessories shop nearby and purchased a mobile holder. I had an old phone, which I used as a GPS device during my previous trip. I charged it up and did a trial run on my bike in the new mobile holder to check if it was working well and it was perfect. However, Murphy’s law struck. Late on Sunday evening while charging, the mobile’s display started flickering. A rush to the nearby mobile phone service centre confirmed my worst fears. The phone had crashed. I was getting desperate, when a phone call to my sister to check if she had any old phone, not being used currently, drew an answer in the affirmative. I dashed to my sister’s house to retrieve the phone, charged it and thank God the display lit up. Downloaded offline Google maps and checked if the navigation was ok and sure it worked well. It was quite late by this time and I packed my bags and crashed for the night. As is the case, before any road trip, I could hardly sleep and I tossed and turned all night and woke up before my alarm went off.

Monday – 27th December.

I loaded the bags on to my Dominar, which took longer than expected, as it had been quite some time since I had loaded the tank and tail bag on to my bike. I put on my riding gear and was ready to go. My wife and daughter were kind enough to flag me off and my daughter clicked the first photo of the ride. It was 5.40 am and still dark as I switched on the Dominar and the engine purred to life.

I decided to go through the city, as the traffic would be lean at that time and as usual the spectacle of a city awakening from its slumber did not fail to fascinate me. Since this was a Monday and the beginning of the week there seemed to be an additional frenzy in the action unfolding. People seemed more desperate to get to work, as if, they were harboring some feeling of guilt, at having lazed through the week end and wanting to make up for lost time. Almost immediately, my phone GPS started acting up and I stopped and tried to rectify the situation. Not wanting to waste time at the very beginning of the ride, I decided, that I would try and sort this out during my breakfast halt at Thindivanam.

I continued to cut across the city as it woke up. The familiar scenes of the utilities service providers driving irreverently cutting across lanes, the frenetically accelerating car desperately trying to get to the airport on time, and me chugging along with my full riding gear attracting the odd stare. I met up with an unexpected traffic snarl at Tambaram bus stand and once I crossed this, it was a clear road ahead.

The first rays of sunlight trying to break through the haze of the December mist, made me reach and switch off my headlights and I opened up the throttle. A Baleno passed by me, too close for comfort and this made me wake up mentally and I promised myself, that I would keep to two-digit speeds throughout my ride and be cautious. As I crossed the Chengalpattu toll gate, the traffic thinned considerably and it was open road ahead.

This was riding at its glorious best. Open sheets of smooth asphalt, the sun trying to break through the morning mist, a chill breeze blowing across and the dewdrops glistening in the morning sunlight rays and to top it all, the deep growl of the Dominar as it responded instantly to every twist to the throttle. I was enjoying this to the hilt. I made reasonably good time, till I decided to halt for breakfast at Thindivanam. A few of the big fancy restaurants wanted me to park far away, which I was reluctant to, as my luggage was far from secure. Hence, I decided to stop at a smaller restaurant.

After my breakfast, I finally sorted out my GPS and with its guidance started on my way to Thanjavur. The roads were great and traffic lean. I made good time and halted for another tea break around Tholudur. Chatted up with the boys hanging out there. It felt really good, seeing the sort of attention the Dominar was attracting, wherever I stopped. I then drove ahead and took the left turn near Veppur and sped along a two-lane road which was in good condition. Traffic increased as I neared Thanjavur and I stopped at the busy market place to check on hotels in the area. A couple of bystanders were kind enough to guide me to a location near the railway station, wherein, with the help of google I was able to locate a decent hotel which would more than suffice for my overnight halt.

After a shower and a sparse lunch at a nondescript hotel nearby, I went to the Brihadeeswarar temple in Thanjavur and was awe struck by the sheer grandeur of the architectural splendor in front of me. This temple dedicated to Lord Shiva is one of the largest Hindu temples in South India and was built by the King Raja Raja Chola around the year 1010 AD. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site and has one of the tallest temple towers in South India. I sought the blessings of the almighty and retired early that night after a quick dinner.

Tuesday 28th.

The early start that I had planned, was delayed due to a glitch in the hot water system in the hotel and I left the Hotel at half past six in a rather grumpy mood.

Soon I was on the highway to Rameswaram. Once again, the scenery was breath taking and elevated my mood. By the time, I stopped for breakfast at a small road side eatery somewhere near Karaikudi I was feeling quite good. The Dominar was pulling effortlessly and I was in a good mind space. It was nice to see the quaint old practice of customers removing their Banana leaves themselves after they finish eating.

I sped along towards Rameswaram and made good time. I stopped at the edge of Pamban bridge and took some photos. I was lucky that a train was passing and could capture a few snaps of it as well. I met a couple of Bikers who had come from Tiruchi and exchanged pleasantries with them. They obliged me, by taking a few photos and I was on my way again.

I passed the Abdul Kalam memorial and soon decided to stop for a sandwich at a nearby bakery. On a whim, I just decided to be a bit adventurous and halted at the temple Yatra Nivas. This is sprawling campus built on a huge area and has a separate block for Family Rooms, Individual rooms and Dorms. Since I was travelling alone and am not very fastidious, I was okay with a clean sparsely furnished room which most importantly had a functional geyser.

I freshened up after a shower and was on my way. First stop was the APJ Abdul Kalam Memorial. Looking at his meagre belongings, which he had in his possession on the day he passed away at Shillong, just blows your mind away. That such a man, ever made it to the highest echelons of power in this country and still remained untainted by even a semblance of impropriety, monetary or otherwise, makes one feel humbled and thankful that we were part of the same generation. It is a nice memorial, well maintained and I came out with a good feeling. Despite it being a bit warm, I decided to go to Dhanushkodi, With the help of the GPS, I was soon on my way. It took me half an hour or thereabouts to reach there. I met a lot of traffic enroute, a lot of vans and mini buses were carting loads of tourists over.

For the uninitiated, Dhanushkodi is a beach at the tip of Rameswaram island, where the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal merge at a place called Arichal Munai in Tamil. Dhanushkodi was a vibrant town till it got wiped away by a cyclone in 1964. It is now a ghost town. Another point of tourist attraction is the Ram Sethu point/ Adam’s bridge, which as folklore goes, was where the bridge was constructed by Hanuman’s army as per Lord Rama’s instructions. For me, the main attraction was this perfect strip of asphalt with beaches on both sides and straddling the Indian ocean and the Bay of Bengal on either side. As you drive down to the edge, it gets quite windy and you can see the waves on both sides. The road is in perfect condition and at the very tip is the pillar with the Ashok Chakra on top denoting probably India’s rights on the south eastern extremity of the peninsula. The ride was great, the scene was a spectacle and the crowds were just lapping it up. I got a photograph by the professional there and sought his help in getting some photos of mine closer to the ocean,

The person very willingly obliged. Srilanka was pretty close. I started my journey back. I stopped by, to look at the ruins of the Church and other buildings very briefly and then made a dash back to my room. I had a shower, changed into more appropriate attire and headed to the Arulmigu Ramanthaswamy temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. I sought the Lord’s blessings, had a light dinner and returned home.

The trip back home would involve an almost 10-hour drive (around 555 Kms) and I intended to stop over at some place when I got tired. However, I planned to have an early morning start at about 5.30 am and retired early. I tossed and turned all night and had a terrible time. The pillows were very uncomfortable and I was terrified of spraining my neck. It got to one stage, when out of sheer desperation, since I could not sleep and was scared of lying down, because of my neck, I decided to get ready slowly. I had a shower and by the time I had packed it was still only quarter past three. I now toyed with the idea of starting off and riding in the dark. I have been one of the fiercest critics of night driving, even for four wheelers and the idea sounded ludicrous to me for a two-wheeler. I just sat around, and then to get rid of the boredom loaded my tail bag and tank bag on the Dominar. In a moment of sheer recklessness, I decided to start, promising myself that with my aux lights on, if I drive slowly and carefully, I should be ok. So, I settled my bill and as the clock at the reception ticked over to read half past three, I started out, based on, what I hoped would not turn out to be the stupidest decision of my life.

Wednesday - 29th

As I got out of the hotel compound and turned on to the highway, it was pitch dark. Not a soul in sight. Even the watchman at the compound gate was curled up under his blanket fast asleep. I nervously started out, peering into the unnerving darkness The bright headlights of the Dominar along with the aux lights lit up a passage in front of me. I drove nervously for the first 15 minutes or so, watching out for the barricades on the road, which leapt at you from nowhere. There was absolutely no traffic leaving Rameswaram, though, I did encounter a few vehicles approaching in the opposite direction. The headlights dazzled me, forcing me to slow down to a crawl until they passed. Slowly I got used to the absolute silence and the total darkness round me. There was a chill breeze blowing which made me zip my riding jacket all the way up and I slowly gained confidence and even started enjoying my drive in almost total silence. Even though I was not driving very fast, I still made good time and by half past four I had turned into Ramanathapuram. I had covered in excess of 60 Kms in close to an hour and I stopped at a tea shop in the middle of nowhere. There were a couple of old men who chatted me up, trying to find out what made me tick, after they realized, I was on my way to Chennai at this ungodly hour. I cleaned the visor of my helmet, washed my face with cold water and after a refreshing cup of hot chai, I set out again.

If, it was pitch dark before, this was worse. Not a being in sight. A spooky silence, just the white LED light streak of the Dominar, cutting through the darkness and lighting up my way. I focused hard and kept going. Half an hour later I knew something was wrong. Google maps was asking me to take a right turn when there was none. I went straight for some time and the road became rough suddenly. I realized that this road was under construction. I slowed down and inched slowly forward until I could confirm visually that the bridge in front was still under construction. I turned back and once again google maps asked me to take a left turn now where I could see none. I moved to and fro until I could see that there was an old road going down to my left. I had great difficulty in finding out, how to cut across to it. This small delay got me sweating, as it was very dark and I was getting just a bit worried. Slowly I got back on to the main highway. After a few minutes of a bumpy ride, I heaved a sigh of relief as google maps once again agreed with the reality on the ground.

A few minutes later, in the total darkness, I missed a left turn. Google maps indicated I was driving parallel to the road I should be on. I realized the error and slowly did a bit of off roading to get on to the main highway. Now this was enroute to Karaikudi and seemed to have been recently constructed. It was possibly, some sort bypass, as there was no human habitation in sight. For the next 40 Kms or so I did not see any vehicle crossing me on either side. Just the shaft of light in front of me, the throaty growl of the Dominar as it ate up miles at a healthy pace. The roads were brilliant, though they were unmarked at places, which made it a bit tricky. The darkness and silence all around, got through to me and for the first time I started cursing myself for having decided to start the ride back home in the darkness. To while away the boredom, I started humming to myself and contemplated stopping, to connect my phone Bluetooth and listen to some music. Honestly, truth be told, I was scared to stop in the total darkness. What if the engine stalls I thought, in the middle of nowhere? So, I kept humming to myself as the Dominar kept munching the miles with effortless ease. It was past six, close to Karaikudi, when signs of human inhabitation were more visible, that I virtually heaved a sigh of relief. It was great to see small villages waking up, people tending to their cattle. Slowly streaks of daylight appeared and at about half past six am, I stopped for a refreshing cup of tea. I chatted up with the owner of the bakery and he assured me that I was less than two hours away from Tiruchi.

With daylight breaking and despite visibility being still restricted by heavy mist, I accelerated and tried to avoid peak time office traffic while entering Trichy. I still encountered peak time traffic, which slowed me down considerably. I refueled after crossing Trichy and stopped for a light breakfast. If you are in a generous frame of mind, I suppose, you can forgive a person who makes one stupid decision in a lifetime. However, an individual has to be really idiotic to make more than one imprudent choice in a span of 10 hours. Well, ”yours truly” is definitely a moron who desperately needs to get his head checked. I then took what I think was the second reckless decision of the day. I decided I would avoid a stop over and make a dash for Chennai non-stop. I started off from Tiruchi and stopped at Perambalur for another tea break. I was cramping up at my legs and started making brief halts every three quarters of an hour to stretch myself. I reached Thindivanam close to 1 pm and had a light snack. I refueled for the last time at a HP bunk, strapped up my tank bag and it was then the home stretch.

Traffic became dense and I was cramping up quite badly and struggling to concentrate. I had a minor scare on the Tambaram bypass where out of the blue a buffalo came darting across. I just swerved to avoid it and then eventually reached home at quarter to four.

I had made it safely 12 hours after starting from Rameswaram. I said a silent prayer to the gods above, thanking them for having my back and helping me make it safely home. A pat on the back for the Dominar as well, for behaving impeccably throughout the journey and not letting me down. While the jury is still out on the decisions I made, to start driving early in the morning and driving all day, “All’s well that ends well “and at the end of the day I did score one off my Bucket list.


As the years pile up and you become a senior citizen, you suddenly realize that, it is indeed later than you think and you are running out of time. So, to all you guys out there, Please! Please do make time for yourself and follow your passion for.

It’s better to look back on life and say I can’t believe I did that, than to look back and say” I wish I did that” – Unknown

So, Adios Amigo! and wishing all of you, great rides in the New year

[camitesh]

Nice crisp solo ride travelogue. Reminded me of my drive to Rameswaram and Dhanuskodi few years back. This is one beautiful place to visit and I surely wish to ride there again someday.

Just out of curiosity, why didn’t you consider ECR in your itinerary while going or coming back. I know you can ride on the beautiful ECR anytime but personally i like to start or end my long trips with most scenic / memorable routes possible. The Chennai Pondicherry ECR is right up there on my list of top roads to ride in India

[Ganapathy]

Originally Posted by camitesh

Nice crisp solo ride travelogue.

Just out of curiosity, why didn’t you consider ECR in your itinerary while going or coming back. .....

Thanks a lot camitesh. Actually, I had planned to take the East Coast Road on my way back. However, the sudden early start changed everything. I really did miss an opportunity to drive down the East Coast Road as it would have been quite an experience..

[silverstreakcbe]

I have been contemplating a ride to Dhanushkodi for sometime now. Will do soon and share my bit. Keep riding!!

[HTC]

Originally Posted by Ganapathy

As the years pile up and you become a senior citizen, you suddenly realize that, it is indeed later than you think and you are running out of time. So, to all you guys out there, Please! Please do make time for yourself and follow your passion for.

It’s better to look back on life and say I can’t believe I did that, than to look back and say” I wish I did that” – Unknown

So, Adios Amigo! and wishing all of you, great rides in the New year

Thanks for sharing your ride experience. It made an interesting read.

As you summarised well, it's important to pursue your hobbies and passion instead of regretting later in life. Finding that fine balance between family responsibilities and hobbies is a fine art in it's own way .

Night bike rides are real fun, provided you have a bike in great shape, good lights and fellow riders for company. Its blissful feeling where it's just you, your bike and empty roads for company. Though I would not encourage doing solo night rides as our roads are dotted with danger in every corner.

I have Rameshwaram in my ride plan. Let's see when it happens.

Ride safe , have fun.
HTC

[SilverMachine]

Hats off to you sir! Most people think about doing great things but never start. You, on the other hand, are an inspiration!

[clementw]

Nice trip, well written. Kudos. Happy road trips in 2022!

[ComeOnTiger]

Absolutely Fantastic write up.!

I really loved reading it and felt like a co-traveler.

Wish you many many more kilometers of happiness.

[searacer932]

Really outstanding travelogue capturing beautiful memories! How was the road condition between Thanjavur and Rameswaram?

[emmenhr]

Quote :
As the years pile up and you become a senior citizen, you suddenly realize that, it is indeed later than you think and you are running out of time. So, to all you guys out there, Please! Please do make time for yourself and follow your passion for.

It’s better to look back on life and say I can’t believe I did that, than to look back and say” I wish I did that” – Unknown

So, Adios Amigo! and wishing all of you, great rides in the New year[/quote]

Great write up Ganapaty. your write up made me remember my drive in my Punto from Bangalore to Kanyakumari. I agree that one has to create memories & age is just a number if one wills it.
As for the night driving, its better not done than braving it out. When adrenaline is pumping one often gives caution to the wind. It happend to me in 2015 when a group of friends & I did the Leh/Ladakh trip on our bikes. We miscalculated the time to traverse the road from Manali to cross Rohtang La. We were on Rohtang Pass in pitch darkness and to boot it was raining and it was slushy and we were slipping here and there. To this day,we regret that night and have sworn that we will never ever ride after 7 pm.
Cheers
Krish

[Ganapathy]

Originally Posted by silverstreakcbe

I have been contemplating a ride to Dhanushkodi for sometime now. Will do soon and share my bit. Keep riding!!

Thanks a lot silverstreakcbe

Originally Posted by HTC

Thanks for sharing your ride experience. It made an interesting read.

As you summarised well, it's important to pursue your hobbies and passion instead of regretting later in life. Finding that fine balance between family responsibilities and hobbies is a fine art in it's own way .

Night bike rides ...... Though I would not encourage doing solo night rides as our roads are dotted with danger in every corner.

Ride safe , have fun.
HTC

Thanks HTC - Spot on - Finding that right balance is not very easy. Yes! that decision to ride in the dark was not a vert smart one . Will avoid it in the future

Originally Posted by SilverMachine

Hats off to you sir! Most people think about doing great things but never start. You, on the other hand, are an inspiration!

Thanks a lot Silver Machine for your kind words. Take care.

Originally Posted by clementw

Nice trip, well written. Kudos. Happy road trips in 2022!

Thank you clementw

Originally Posted by ComeOnTiger

Absolutely Fantastic write up.!

I really loved reading it ....r.

Thanks a lot ComeOnTiger for your kind words of encouragement

Originally Posted by searacer932

Really outstanding travelogue capturing beautiful memories! How was the road condition between Thanjavur and Rameswaram?

Thank you searacer932 for your kind words of encouragement . The roads between Thanjavur and Rameswaram were great through out, except for some very brief patches.

Originally Posted by emmenhr

Quote :
As the years pile up and you become a senior citizen, ......
So, Adios Amigo! and wishing all of you, great rides in the New year

Great write up Ganapaty. your write up made me remember my drive in my Punto from Bangalore to Kanyakumari. I agree that one has to create memories & age is just a number if one wills it.
As for the night driving, its better not done than braving it out. When adrenaline is pumping one often gives caution to the wind. It happend to me in 2015 w....... To this day,we regret that night and have sworn that we will never ever ride after 7 pm.
Cheers
Krish[/quote]

Thank you emmenhr5227668 for your kind compliments. Yes! that decision to drive on, in the dark was not a great one and one I will not repeat

[AtheK]

Precise, crisp and to the point, was completely hooked to your narration style. Congratulations on striking off one more task from the bucket list, wish you many more miles of safe riding.

[shravansp24]

Originally Posted by Ganapathy

at the end of the day I did score one off my Bucket list.


As the years pile up and you become a senior citizen, you suddenly realize that, it is indeed later than you think and you are running out of time. So, to all you guys out there, Please! Please do make time for yourself and follow your passion for.

It’s better to look back on life and say I can’t believe I did that, than to look back and say” I wish I did that” – Unknown

So, Adios Amigo! and wishing all of you, great rides in the New year

Hey Ganapathy, that was a very fruitful and adventurous trip you've done. One of my 2022 resolution is to do a Chennai - Dhanushkodi trip and this thread just enlightened my mood. Cheers

[Ganapathy]

Originally Posted by AtheK

Precise, crisp and to the point, was completely hooked to your narration style. Congratulations on striking off one more task from the bucket list, wish you many more miles of safe riding.

Thank you for your kind words AtheK.

Originally Posted by shravansp24

Hey Ganapathy, that was a very fruitful and adventurous trip you've done. One of my 2022 resolution is to do a Chennai - Dhanushkodi trip and this thread just enlightened my mood. Cheers

Thanks shravansp. I am sure you will fulfill your resolution of a Chennai - Dhanushkodi trip this year. Best wishes