[prashkul]

Originally Posted by ampere

Good find! Did not strike me! The roads are good!

Check this out:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ml#post3346173

At least we now know : Pargi-Sedam-Gulbarga is good.

Cool. So I'm almost certain I'll be taking Anantapur-Mahbubnagar-Kosigi-Sedam-Gulbarga. There is a chance I may go to Kodangal for a quick darshan if time permits. In that case, it will be Mahbubnagar-Kosigi-Kodangal-Sedam-Gulbarga.

Travel is planned for next Thu and Friday. I will be sure to report back on the road conditions post my travel. Thanks all!

[prashkul]

Based on two trips done this year in my Fiat Palio (Petrol), I can say with full confidence that Bangalore-Mahbubnagar-Gulbarga is the best route. Just wanted to update this info for everyone's reference.

This has been discovered after trying out couple of options and enduring lot of pain -

1. Bangalore-Anantapur-Gooty-Adoni-Raichur-Yadgir-Gulbarga. - Never ever again!!
2. Gulbarga-Sedam-Kodangal-Mahbubnagar-Anantpur-Bangalore.

Lots of toll money on the NH, but totally worth it.

To expand Gulbarga-Mahbubnagar stretch:
Gulbarga-Sedam-Kodangal-Husnabad-Kosigi-Gandeed-Mohammadabad-Mahbubnagar.

In April, I didn't do this route. After taking Darshan at Kodangal, I had taken some other route to reach Mahbubnagar which was not good. Now I know above is the best route from Gulbarga to Mahbubnagar.

[Arvin_86]

Recently we did a road trip to Gulbarga, and based on the suggestions given in team BHP we opted for the NH7 route through Mahbubnagar.

Bangalore > Chikkaballapura > Ananthpur > Kurnool > Mahbubnagar > Kodangal > Sedam > Gulbarga

Majority of this route is awesome, but there were small hiccups in the stretch

• Once we deviate from NH7, we need to take SH23, which passes through the Mahbubnagar. I must say after seeing the traffic culture there, bangalore traffic felt like angels.
• Things worsen if the railway gate at Mahbubnagar is closed.
• Few stretches in between Mahbubnagar and kodagal, where the road works are going on, its a single lane with roads with numerous deep broken edges.
• There is also a stretch which is dug up.

Apart from these, even though undivided two lane road, it is smooth and fun to drive. While coming back from Gulbarga, as we were nearing Kodangal it was raining heavily and we did not want to risk the muddy or the single lane stretch, so we took a little longer route:

Gulbarga > Sedam > Kodangal > Pargi > Shadnagar > NH7

Though this stretch route is 50kms longer than the previous one, this is an absolutely beautiful stretch, the road especially after Kodangal all the way till Shadnagar is beautiful. Recommended route to take, atleast till the work on SH23 is over.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Arvin_86

Recently we did a road trip to Gulbarga, and based on the suggestions given in team BHP we opted for the NH7 route through Mahbubnagar.

Great update. Especially the return part. Actually the Shadnagar option makes much more sense. For such a long distance, 50km wont matter if you get good roads all the way.

[mvp]

I am starting from shahpur to Bangalore on 10th may around 3 pm. Which would be the best route to hit NH7? As an alternate. is the route via Raichur a good option too?

[kaushik60]

Originally Posted by prashkul

This has been discovered after trying out couple of options and enduring lot of pain -

1. Bangalore-Anantapur-Gooty-Adoni-Raichur-Yadgir-Gulbarga. - Never ever again!!
2. Gulbarga-Sedam-Kodangal-Mahbubnagar-Anantpur-Bangalore.

Originally Posted by Arvin_86

Bangalore > Chikkaballapura > Ananthpur > Kurnool > Mahbubnagar > Kodangal > Sedam > Gulbarga

Majority of this route is awesome, but there were small hiccups in the stretch
.
.
.
Gulbarga > Sedam > Kodangal > Pargi > Shadnagar > NH7
Recommended route to take, atleast till the work on SH23 is over.

Hey!

I will be riding from Bangalore to Gulbarga on Tuesday night (1st Sept). I will be riding solo on my P220, and it will be an overnight ride as I have important work in Bangalore on tuesday, but absolutely need to be in Gulbarga on wednesday. I plan to start from Bangalore (Hebbal) by 6 PM.

1. Solo, night ride - how is the safety on the route, especially after diverting from the Hyderabad highway? Is either of the two routes preferable with respect to safety?
2. Since I will be reaching Mahbubnagar only around midnight, traffic there shouldn't be a factor. If the road work on the Mahbubnagar-Kodagal stretch is done, will it make sense for me to go by the shorter route and save 50 km?
3. Given that I will be leaving at 6 PM from Hebbal, what time can I expect to reach Gulbarga using route 1 and 2? I generally ride steadily around 90-100 kmph (assuming the roads permit it) with 10 min breaks every 2 hours.

I do not have a problem riding at night (in fact, I prefer it). What is important for me is safety, road condition, distance (in that order of priority)

Please advice

Thanks!

[condor]

Originally Posted by kaushik60

I will be riding from Bangalore to Gulbarga on Tuesday night (1st Sept). I will be riding solo on my P220, and it will be an overnight ride as I have important work in Bangalore on tuesday, but absolutely need to be in Gulbarga on wednesday. I plan to start from Bangalore (Hebbal) by 6 PM.

Any reason for this big risk of driving overnight on a bike ? Just take a Volvo - there are enough buses going to Gulbarga from Bangalore. Or even do a Tatkal booking for a train journey.

Seriously, night driving for 600km, on the highway on a bike without rest the previous day ... ?

[kaushik60]

Originally Posted by condor

Any reason for this big risk of driving overnight on a bike ? Just take a Volvo - there are enough buses going to Gulbarga from Bangalore. Or even do a Tatkal booking for a train journey.

Seriously, night driving for 600km, on the highway on a bike without rest the previous day ... ?

Hi Condor,

The thing is, I'm going to be in Gulbarga for a month, and I'll be travelling a lot locally there, which is why I really need my bike. I concede that there is risk involved, but I am okay to ride at night, especially when I ride to Pune or Chennai (or to any place that has a 4 lane highway for most part of the journey). My routine is always to sleep in the afternoon for sometime so that I'm well rested before I leave.

So I'm well aware of the risks of any night ride, and have a few personal rules that I go by. If there are specific safety issues on this route, I will definitely reconsider..

[ampere]

Originally Posted by kaushik60

So I'm well aware of the risks of any night ride, and have a few personal rules that I go by. If there are specific safety issues on this route, I will definitely reconsider..

With points from both of you withstanding, at least you are on 4-lane till Mehbubnagar before exiting for Sedam.

Please also note: Gulbarga is also referred as Kalaburagi in Google. You may also ready know that. But still mentioning in case you don't. So that when you in search in Google, you don't look away!

[Arvin_86]

Originally Posted by kaushik60

Hey!
...
I plan to start from Bangalore (Hebbal) by 6 PM.

Are you sure? That would be the peak time in Bangalore and you will be deviating from NH in the middle of the night.

Originally Posted by kaushik60

1. Solo, night ride ...... safety?

I am not very sure about safety, NH will have decent amount of traffic. Post you deviate towards Sedam, traffic will become lesser and lesser ( I wonder if there would be any, we travelled at around 9 pm and roads were pretty empty). I would have preferred to hit this stretch at dawn. Mahbubnagar - Sedam - Gulbarga stretch is about 170 kms, and you should be able to cover this in about 3 hrs.
Also be sure to take the correct roads at the junctions.

Originally Posted by kaushik60

2. will it make sense for me to go by the shorter route and save 50 km?

This route might have been completed by now. Please update us if you take this route. Even otherwise, the small stretch would not be much of a bother on P220, unless it has rained heavily the previous day.

Originally Posted by kaushik60

I do not have a problem riding at night

Ride Safely.

[kaushik60]

Arvin_86,

Thanks a lot for your inputs.

Originally Posted by Arvin_86

Are you sure? That would be the peak time in Bangalore and you will be deviating from NH in the middle of the night.

6 PM is my outer limit. In all probability I will be on the road by 4:30 - 5 PM. I actually assumed that since I'll be starting from Hebbal and climbing on the airport flyover immediately, I'll beat most of the traffic. But yes, I will be deviating from the NH around midnight. Another alternative is to leave by midnight so that it'll be dawn when I reach Mahbubnagar. It's a good suggestion, I'll definitely consider it!

Originally Posted by Arvin_86

This route might have been completed by now. Please update us if you take this route. Even otherwise, the small stretch would not be much of a bother on P220, unless it has rained heavily the previous day.
Ride Safely.

Thanks, I will

[kaushik60]

Originally Posted by ampere

With points from both of you withstanding, at least you are on 4-lane till Mehbubnagar

Originally Posted by condor

Any reason for this big risk of driving overnight..

Call it an instinct, or anything else - I decided to postpone my commitments and not ride overnight after all. I'll now be leaving tomorrow by noon and reach by around 10 PM. But then, I just found out about the Bharath Bandh. I obviously cant make it to Gulbarga on my current full tank. I so hope that petrol bunks will be open on the highway tomorrow. Any idea if they will? Else I'll have to reschedule again :(

[condor]

Kaushik - the bandh is said to be till 5 pm. So if you tank up now, and start with full tank tomorrow afternoon, then you should be able to make it half way by evening when the bandh ends. Would suggest to drive not too fast, so that you dont use up more fuel as happens when riding at high speeds.

[kaushik60]

I completed my Bangalore-Gulbarga ride yesterday.

Route: Bangalore (1400 hrs) -Ananatpur-Kurnool-Bhootpur (turn left off NH44(old NH 7))-Mahbubnagar-Kosgi-Kodangal (left turn)- Sedam-Gulbarga (2230 hrs)
Total Distance: 652 km
Riding Time: 8.5 hours.

Due to the bandh, traffic was practically nil, which is why I could make good time. The only traffic I encountered was in Mahbubnagar town.

Originally Posted by Arvin_86

This route might have been completed by now. Please update us if you take this route..

Roads were brilliant pretty much throughout - but for a few exceptions:
1. Bhootpur - Mahbabnagar: Watch out for potholes and unmarked diversions. 4 laning has mostly been done, but there are a few bridges which havent tbeen done yet, so the road narrows to 2 lanes multiple times in this 13 km stretch.
2. Mahbubnagar-Kosigi-Kodangal: Roads are rough and patchy inside the towns/villages. But between towns the roads are new and well laid with paint and reflectors.

Overall a very enjoyable ride. Kodangal-Sedam-Gulbarga was very comfortable to ride post sun down - Roads are painted with reflectors and the few speedbreakers are well marked. Thankfully petrol bunks were open despite the bandh.

Thanks to everyone for their help and inputs!

[Santoshbhat]

I've got to visit Gulburga this month. Have never visited the place and what's more I'll be doing Belgaum - Gulburga and then Gulburga - Bangalore.

Google maps gives the foll routes

Belgaum to Gulburga
Belgaum - Bagalkot - Bijapur - Gulburga
Total distance = 376 km
Travel time = 6 hrs 31 mins

Gugburga to Bangalore
Gulburga - Sedam - Kodangal - Mahbubngar - Bangalore
Total distance = 640 kms
Travel time = 9hrs 8 mins

Google's average of about 55 kph and 70 kph for the two legs suggests that roads are decent. I generally average about 15% faster that g maps over long distances.

I am actually attending an engagement ceremony. So the idea is to depart early morning about 4 am from Belgaum and reach Guburga by 11 am. Attend the function and depart by say 2:30 pm and reach Kurnool by about 7 pm and halt at Kurnool for the night. Kurnool - Bangalore is about 4 hrs. I better watch out for stray animals on this stretch!

I would appreciate inputs on road conditions and any better options that I could take.

Also if there are some good overnight options at Mahbubnagar, I would prefer to halt there for the night, as it would divide the driving between the two days more evenly.

I'll be taking my X3 which has just come out of BMW body shop after front bumper replacement caused by a dog hit on the Kurnool - Bangalore Team Bhp mega drive meet!