[bf1983]

Just a heads up to avoid the Nashik route for the next few months. The roads are absolutely horrible now. Tons of massive potholes that can end your life if you are carrying a lot of speed. Plus the traffic is horribly bad in the evenings so you will be stuck in jams a few miles long if you come back a bit late.

Only upside is that the scenery is beautiful and once you climb to Igatpuri it becomes even more beautiful.

[no_fear]

On a lighter note, for our Mumbai bikers...

[sunilch]

Originally Posted by no_fear

On a lighter note, for our Mumbai bikers...

Attachment 2189481

And make a stop to have some Anda Bhurji Pav

[doga]

I haven't done too many rides recently but did few of the routes mentioned by various members above few years ago and it was OK. Frankly, save the old Pune highway, I couldn't find any route which had awesome tarmac south of Mumbai. Do not have too much experience of roads to the North as I am based in navi Mumbai and the thought of using the western expressway highway to hit those roads sends chills down my spine, so never mustered the courage. So honestly the only stretch of roads around my place where I know I'd find great roads is Palm beach road followed by the right turn to newly laid smooth tarmac over Ulwe towards JNPT, but it soon deteriorates after Ulwe due to truck traffic. A recent pre monsoon ride to Lonavala did reveal that the old Pune highway is still in decent condition, although that would be a thing of the past with all these new residential projects coming in the vicinity of that highway- car traffic would rise in next 5-6 years surely.
I'd be keen to use some of the suggestions in previous posts here as soon as the monsoon relaxes towards end of August although been remarkably dry for a week here.

[Axe77]

I did a 350 km loop ride yday (350 for me door to door I mean).

Circuit Ride to Dhabosa Waterfall (Thane - Kasara - Jawhar - Dhabosa - Vikramgad - Manor - Bhayandar).

The ride back into Bombay via Dahisar and most of WEH until airport was predictably AWFUL. For the falls too it was just a view point from top.

But the B roads we encountered were absolutely fabulous. Lots of twisties and great quality tar roads. Below is the map link if anyone wants to do it.

While we had a mix of various adventure bikes from 310 GS to Tiger to 1200 GS (and one DCT Africa Twin) we also had a Speed Triple and a Bonneville T 120 that did just fine. Just for reference that you can take pretty much any bike you want on this route. There are very few bad patches.

https://goo.gl/maps/xby5RwVamEDsb7xY6

Some pics from the ride.

[sunilch]

Went to Malshej Ghat this Saturday. Started at 10:00 am as I had some household duties in the morning

The onward journey was taxing until Murbad - took Thane-Shahpur-Murbad road and the road condition was terrible from Shahpur to Murbad. This I took after a local recommended me to take this one instead of Shenva as the Shenva road is in bad condition according to him.

Big mistake it was, as realized later. This road was totally under construction with concretization being done in parts. For some stretches, you get concrete stretch with regular undulations (after all this is MH road so how can there be no undulations on a concrete patch?). But for anyone who has a ADV, this is a good route. You will enjoy your bike.

After reaching the Ghat, I relaxed at a restaurant for a couple of hours. The rain gods smiled and it started pouring cats and dogs. That is when the real fun of the visit started. Enjoyed the return journey and after some ask-around, decided to take Saralgaon-Shenva-Shahpur route. My god, this was a fabulous stretch of tar. Empty, smooth, well laid. Every sportbike and sedan lover will enjoy these 35 Kms. Even the breakers on this route are well made and small in size.

The main Mumbai-Nasik highway is terrible with too many potholes everywhere and heavy truck traffic almost throughout after/till Kalyan.

Note for bikers: Please be aware of Dogs. There will be many en route and they will do what they know best. They will chase you and beat the crap out of you for you will fear for their and your own life if one of those creatures come below your bike. But don't worry, they won't actually. They are used to chasing bikes. The moment you stop the bike, they will ignore you just as a staunch vegetarian ignores a meat dish. They will just move to their next target.

Sorry but no pics. I don't use GoPro and carry a very basic Nokia for such rides

[Axe77]

We went last weekend for a ride to Tungarli Lake, near Lonavala. Its a really nice location for riders from Pune as well as Mumbai. You can ride up till right next to the very serene lake and if you're inclined maybe even have a picnic like breakfast by the lake if you can carry basic sandwiches or similar.

[bf1983]

Had ridden to Malshej ghat via Kasara recently. The roads till Kasara were quite bad with lots of potholes to dodge. From Kasara there is a turn off and the roads post that are good with some very beautiful scenery on the way. We kept stopping to take photos

The roads till Malshej was pretty good with just a few bad patches but nothing major. Unfortunately the roads in Malshej just a little ahead of MTDC onwards are horrible and you have to crawl.

Return journey was via Mhasa and Karjat. The road to Mahasa was one of the best 20 km stretch I have ridden in a while. Not a single pothole in sight there and beautiful tarmac. Unfortunately post Mhasa till Karjat the road is concrete and while surface is ok its uneven which makes riding very bouncy and not at all confidence inspiring.

[sunilch]

Originally Posted by bf1983

Had ridden to Malshej ghat

Nice. I drove to Malshej with family yesterday. Had kids and hence took regular Shahad route (pathetic for 4-5 Kms) onward and the trusted Saralgaon to Shahpur during return. What a wonderful experience it was at the top and the at the lake (except for the Sunday rush). Kids visited for the first time so they enjoyed it thoroughly

[Axe77]

Rode up with two Street Triple RS for company on my Multistrada to the Tansa Lake area today morning.

The last mile section is nice with some lovely twisties, nicely tree lined single lane road with numerous picturesque spots to halt at. Take a left a little ahead of Shahapur, around Atagaon to reach this road.

[Axe77]

Nothing special from a route standpoint. Did the rather mundane Bbay Lonavala Bbay route today, since it’s getting hotter and we wanted to be back home by 10 am. Went up to Aamby, stopped over for some clicks, had brekker at the Starbucks @ Lonavala and back, all by 10 am!

Was nice to see plenty of Comrades trainees doing their long run on the Aamby route. Saw some familiar faces too from my running circle in Bombay.

Its amazing how much this route’s beauty transforms in the monsoons though when it’s completely enveloped in mist. No specific ownership thread to post this on (my bad entirely), so I thought I’d leave it here.

Somewhere on the Aamby route
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No Sunday ride is complete without venturing off Tarmac, however marginally
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Bought a superbike, rode to Starbucks!
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