[deehunk]

Alsuda,
With no knowledge of the accident on Shiradi ghat, Saturday afternoon I had changed all the tyres to Bridgestone 185/65/R14 profile, B290 series before entering the NICE Road. I was not happy with the quality of stock tyres from Apollo. I really don't know whether the stock tyres would have survived, but as I observed the Bisile ghat is more of a very rough stretch unlike the big craters. It was very dark and at only one point I saw a sloped concrete surface in front of my vehicle and there was a small disconnection between the surface I was standing and the slope, the vehicle scraped at this point. This point was towards the end of Bisile ghat but no major damage happened. For me the only source of information about Bisile was what I had read on Samurai's thread earlier and it was my first drive on this road. I did stop the vehicle 3 times en-route, twice to check what was ahead and once at a hair pin bend. I totally relied on what was to my right side as left side was completely dark. I was happy with the head lights on Rapid with stock bulbs and I maintained a steady speed sticking to the right lane. I now feel this car is worth every penny I spent compared to my previous cars. I will definitely plan a ride again in day time to see where I had driven.

[tharian]

After reading about the accident in the papers, I realized that I hardly have seen a Bullet tanker(LPG) between the depot near Nelamangla and Mangalore in the last few trips on that highway.

I remember doing bike rides on this road before the expressway was built and having to overtake these tankers back to back.
Even on a ride to Mangalore last December, I probably saw one or two.

What is the reason? Do they travel only after dark now or is there a pipeline between the refinery and the depot?

[procrj]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Well, my Dashan timings may coincide with your visit if it is at end of April.

Can we make it a mini meet? I plan to be in Udupi on 26th & 27th April and @byndoor 28th to 1st May

Also wanted inputs on road conditions for the Mangalore > Udupi > Kollur > Murudeshwar stretch.Want to visit Kollur and Murudeshwar during the stay and hence have been thinking about a couple of options

Option 1: Start early morning 6 am from Udupi and reach Kollur, finish darshan and drive back. and then do Murudeshwar separately

Option 2: Will be staying at byndoor. start early reach Murudeshwar come back to Byndoor, Leave around 3 PM, reach Kollur finish darshan and get back to byndoor

Also thinking of visiting the botanical gardens in Pilikula Nisargadhama. Anyone here been there?

[Gokrish]

Originally Posted by procrj

Can we make it a mini meet? I plan to be in Udupi on 26th & 27th April and @byndoor 28th to 1st May

Originally Posted by Samurai

Well, my Dashan timings may coincide with your visit if it is at end of April.

I will be in Ambagilu, Udupi starting from the evening of 29th April till the afternoon of 2nd May. I will be visiting Udupi for a function to attend to. Look forward to a mini meeting there. The Udupi and Mangalore I know of late 80s and early 90s, has undergone a sea change just like Bangalore.

[nma83]

Hi,

I am back with the standard query on the best Bangalore-Udupi route (I have asked 3 times over the years in this same thread!). I want to avoid Shiradi though it looks like it is the fastest route as of now.
How is the condition of this route?
Bangalore-Hassan-Belur-Mudigere-Kalasa-Kudremukha-Karkala-Udupi

[ampere]

Originally Posted by nma83

How is the condition of this route?
Bangalore-Hassan-Belur-Mudigere-Kalasa-Kudremukha-Karkala-Udupi

Its a much longer route. Good roads but about 10-15 km around Kalasa is quite bad. Instead you should :

Mudigere-Kottegehara-Charmadi-Ujire-Belthangadi-Bajagoli-Karkala-Udupi.

Kottigehara-Kalasa-Kudremukh-Bajagoli is a detour.

[fast_elegance]

Any update regarding the gas tanker accident in Shiradi? Is the ghats open for traffic?

[nma83]

Originally Posted by ampere

Its a much longer route. Good roads but about 10-15 km around Kalasa is quite bad. Instead you should :

Mudigere-Kottegehara-Charmadi-Ujire-Belthangadi-Bajagoli-Karkala-Udupi.

Kottigehara-Kalasa-Kudremukh-Bajagoli is a detour.

Thanks ampere, looking at G maps, Charmadi route *seemed* a bit longer.
I hope Charmadi roads are in good shape for now.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by nma83

Thanks ampere, looking at G maps, Charmadi route *seemed* a bit longer.
I hope Charmadi roads are in good shape for now.

Check a day before. If Shiradi is clear, why not stick to Shiradi itself? Road conditions are very good. Any reasons for change? Also note Charmadi ghats at some places is steep and the road is narrow. Need to be careful.

[nma83]

Originally Posted by ampere

Check a day before. If Shiradi is clear, why not stick to Shiradi itself? Road conditions are very good. Any reasons for change? Also note Charmadi ghats at some places is steep and the road is narrow. Need to be careful.

My worry with Shiradi is the unexpected accidents and blockage (have been stuck twice in the past). Also never tried Charmadi before and wanted to do it once.
I did go to Kukke couple of months back and was impressed with Shiradi's condition. Will take it if I hear no negative news on that day .

[ampere]

Originally Posted by nma83

My worry with Shiradi is the unexpected accidents and blockage (have been stuck twice in the past). Also never tried Charmadi before and wanted to do it once.
I did go to Kukke couple of months back and was impressed with Shiradi's condition. Will take it if I hear no negative news on that day .

+1.

That was the same point on which I was also referring on the route options to South Mangalore. viz Kasargod/Kanhagad/Bekal etc. If Shiradi is cut-off then there are no options to even back track. The only way is to come back to Sakleshpur and then drive to Mudigere for Charmadi or Kodlipet - Somwarpet-Madikeri for South Mangalore.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by procrj

Can we make it a mini meet? I plan to be in Udupi on 26th & 27th April and @byndoor 28th to 1st May

Originally Posted by Gokrish

I will be in Ambagilu, Udupi starting from the evening of 29th April till the afternoon of 2nd May. I will be visiting Udupi for a function to attend to. Look forward to a mini meeting there.

Well, if you can agree on a common date, we can think of having a mini-meet with Udupi BHPians.

Originally Posted by procrj

Option 1: Start early morning 6 am from Udupi and reach Kollur, finish darshan and drive back. and then do Murudeshwar separately

Option 2: Will be staying at byndoor. start early reach Murudeshwar come back to Byndoor, Leave around 3 PM, reach Kollur finish darshan and get back to byndoor

You can easily do Murdeshwar and Kollur on the same day even if you start and finish at Udupi. Byndoor is not required, unless you want to stay there.

Originally Posted by nma83

My worry with Shiradi is the unexpected accidents and blockage (have been stuck twice in the past). Also never tried Charmadi before and wanted to do it once.
I did go to Kukke couple of months back and was impressed with Shiradi's condition. Will take it if I hear no negative news on that day .

Shiradi is the widest of all ghats in this area. It is always preferable to others during summer.

[speedsatya]

Just now reached mangalore. The ghat is still not open and they are asking vehicles to take the Kadumane road or the one via mudigere.

I did the mistake of taking the first one at around 1030 pm !! Needed 2 hours to do 30 kms. The Amaze managed it somehow , but at some places , the underbody did hit a few boulders.






Sent from my mobile phone , please excuse typos

[deehunk]

As I have mentioned earlier, Kadumane estate option is not all that great and there is opposite direction traffic once you touch Sakleshpura-Mudigere road. The roads are very narrow and diifficult to manage if a big vehicle comes from opposite direction. I have seen many times these guys never move an inch and force us to step down.

[addyhemmige]

Originally Posted by speedsatya

Just now reached mangalore. The ghat is still not open and they are asking vehicles to take the Kadumane road or the one via mudigere.

Can you remember the exact road you took? Did you enter Kadumane estate or bypass it? Where did this route join the main road (Kottigehara/Mudigere?)