[AltoLXI]

Drove to Sirsi from Bangalore on 25th Dec '10 in my humble Alto. Covered 460 kms in 12 hours with around 2 hours breaks in between and a total of 1200 kms from 25th to 28th.

[Fauji]

My longest so far has been Bangalore - Kolhapur - Pandharpur - Aurangabad - Shirdi - Pune - Bangalore. A total distance of 2500 KMs approx. Comfortable drive spread over four days. The longest single day drive was from Shirdi to Bangalore 1100 KMs approx comfortably in Scorpio.

[paragsachania]

Pune-Bangalore way back in Sept 2009 spanning distance of 850kms.
Decision taken almost without any thoughts as buses were full and flights were costly.
Just started driving from Pune at 1pm and reached Bangalore at 2am after braving incessant rains from Belgaum till Bankapura taking on the flooded Hubli bypass giving me those scary moments.
It was only next day I learnt that the same rains caused havoc in North Karnataka.

[nandans2005]

i did a solo from Bangalore to Goa and back.

it was about 600kms and odd oneway. I did it purposely for the sole reason that i wanted to be alone, think and also listen to my favorite music.

Total distance covered was about 1450 kms.

[Janjua]

Hello fellow BHP-ians,

Well, I just did a Chandigarh-Kanyakumari-Chandigarh road trip, solo all the way.
The total distance travelled was 6283 kms in 8 days.
I started from Chandigarh on the 24th of December '10 and returned to Chandigarh on the 31st of December '10 after covering Kanyakumari.
I will post the details of the trip in the Travel-query section very soon, with pics.

Warm regards,
Sandeep Janjua
Chandigarh.

[ACFT]

Driving solo is definitely a very different experience and I've had it twice:

1. My longest solo drive was from Udaipur(Raj.) to Tarapur(Mah.)

• Date & Time : September 2010, 07:30am
• No. of Breaks: 2 (yes, you read it wright, only 2) totalling 20mins.
• Total Distance: 740 Km
• Total Driving Time: 13.50 Hrs

It was a smooth drive, as usual, from Udaipur to Vadodra but, that is where the game was spoiled by cyclone clouds pouring very heavily right upto Tarapur(yes, the wipers were continously working for more than 7 hrs). Visibility was hardly 50mtrs., the stereo was just not audible, and just when I could reach 60 Kmph, the water filled spots would drag the car down to 40Kmph. The drive was so tiring that I slept for 12 Hrs that night.
But, I've learned that its just not wise to drive solo for long distances that too in rains. Definitely not recommended.


2. My other solo drive was from Jaipur to Udaipur

• Date & Time : May 2010 (weather was quite hot)
• No. of Breaks: 1 (for 5 mins.)
• Total Distance: 450 Km
• Total Driving Time: 4.50 Hrs
• Learnings: i.) Keep eating and drinking(of course not alcohol!) something at regular intervals (of say 1 Hr).

ii.) Firstly avoid drinking water/fluids while driving and, if unavoidable, use only a sipper and NOT the regular wide mouth bottles without straws. The sipper will let you keep your eyes on the road(while drinking) and also the fluids will not get spilled in the car!

iii.) The traffic discipline from Bombay(Mumbai) to Udaipur(via Gujrat) is still acceptable but, from Udaipur onwards to Jodhpur, Kota and jaipur, you got to be very cautious about the traffic coming on wrong side, in your lane, right into your face, which you just cannot judge from a distance of say 90 mtrs. It includes pedestrians, cyclists, two-wheelers, tractor-traillers and what not .

iv.) Now a days, it has become a norm of overtaking from wrong side. Should be strictly avoided to avoid getting brushed or even squeezed by, sudden lane changing, long/extra-long heavy vehicles.

[kj302]

Done in excess of 750 km many times (Bangalore - Pune, Mahabaleshwar, Trivandrum)

Tips: Drink plenty of fluids, avoid smoking, no alchoholic drinks of any type, take regular small breaks (even 5 minutes will do).
If the drive starts to get boring, I have a little trick. I start counting the vehicle of particular type or model, that i overtake and keep a target. Keeps me focussed and engrossed for hours together. Once during our GQ run, while in UP, i told my friend that I will handover the wheel, once I spot a KL (Kerala registration) vehicle. I had to drive for another 3 hours :-))

Originally Posted by ACFT

iv.) Now a days, it has become a norm of overtaking from wrong side. Should be strictly avoided to avoid getting brushed or even squeezed by, sudden lane changing, long/extra-long heavy vehicles.

Sudden lane changing of other vehicles can hurt you even if you overtake from the right side. In four laned highways, i don't have any other option but to overtake from left, as many of the slow moving vehicles stick religiously to right and don't give way. You can do two things here. a) Honk/Flash lights till other guy gives way which can take a lot of time, b) give slight indication and overtake fast from left; of course common sense is your best friend. Most of the time I opt for the latter.

[KishoreC]

I just established my highest last week. Driving from Bellandur, Bangalore (Karnataka) to Navsari (Gujrat) in one spell without rest. Started at 2 PM on 23rd Dec and Stopped at 2 PM on 24th Dec.

Distance covered : 1250 KM As per google maps. Original 1400 KM approx.

[Velmurugan]

Recently I drove Coimbatore- Chennai-Coimbatore. Total distance of 1158km with 2 hours of rest in Chennai.
That was real hecti drive in My Indigo Manza. My Manza did quite welll & did not let us down anywhere.

[naveensree]

Trivandrum - Cochin, 200 kms on my Manza (Diesel)

[jaysmokesleaves]

Drove solo about 4500kms round trip Mumbai - Raipur - Bhubaneswar - Vizag - Hyderabad -Bombay with some in between tripping in 5 days.

[kartikk]

Drove Banglore Mumbai Bangalore with a halt in Pune for a meetup with friends, also took my bicycle along, so actually did about 2200 km with 4 wheels and 60 km with 2, spread in 4 days.

The avatar pic with my bicycle is somewhere off Haveri.

[sanjaybhatnagar]

I traveled from Delhi to Chandigarh and back with only about 1 hr's halt, car was Ford Figo, may 2010 model, a distance of about 500 Km was covered in 9 hrs ( oof The Traffic on NH-1)

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by KishoreC

Distance covered : 1250 KM As per google maps. Original 1400 KM approx.

Is google maps are not accurate? +/-5% is ok but this is too much!

[issigonis]

>>>

My latest drive is the longest solo that I have done so far.

Dec 24th - Bombay to Udaipur
Dec 25th - Udaipur to Manesar
Dec 26th - Manesar to Ranikhet

I have to check my logs but the distance would be approximately 1850 kms.

The most abiding memory is my drive from Pantnagar to Ranikhet, with boulders, tall sal trees, some sections with rock and rubble from the last monsoons characterising the route, an occasional car or lorry hurrying home [ 'Ships that pass in the night..then darkness and a silence] in the cold night ( 1850 m above sea level, around 2-3 degrees C,I saw no soul during the last thirty kilometers).
Terrific.
Absolutely.

Regards, drive safe