[aviorp]

Fantastic pictures, Ananth. Loved every snap. You seemed to be setting new standards for yourself. If I have to guess, what you intend to do next, it would be a ride to K-Top. Bring it on.

Btw, did you really have a saddlesore?

[MadBiker]

Originally Posted by aviorp

Fantastic pictures, Ananth. Loved every snap. You seemed to be setting new standards for yourself. If I have to guess, what you intend to do next, it would be a ride to K-Top. Bring it on.

Btw, did you really have a saddlesore?

Thanks aviorp!

I have been to Ladakh last June, So done with Khardung La, Marsmik La and the dreaded Agham - Shyok route. I would still want to go there again, but if only my company gives me a 2 week vacation again

And I did feel sore, but was perfectly fine the next day.

Originally Posted by abhinav.s

Oh wow!! Was just getting over the SS1600 post of yours and here comes another Maha trip in every sense!! Amazing Ananth. You are a true biker and kudos to your spirit.

Please bring on the rest of the log soon Can hardly wait to read it and also the wonderful pics that you capture are just too good!!

Thanks abhinav.

Originally Posted by Ride_4_Fortune

@Madbiker : Excellant travelogue. I am a fan of your biking travelogues and pictures. Eagerly waiting for further write-up and photos.

Ride Safe !

Thanks Sir! Will post in more today hopefuly.

[MadBiker]

Day 2: 04 September 2011 : Go Goa!

The New and affectionate friends from Mangalore were a welcome surprise. We slept late, and i wasn't comfortable in a super comfy room! I haven't slept in the last 40 Odd hours. I was tired, full of pains and even took a tablet (Not an iPad, but a medicine) to get back to normal. But could hardly sleep and it was bright and sunny again. We slowly got ready and it was about 10:30 AM when we checked out of the hotel.

Goa, Thats where we are headed!

We had to skip breakfast since we were already running late and decided to have it on the road, I suggested Udupi and Udupi Idly's it was. The Road conditions were decent. Lots of potholes and maddening town bus drivers. We took about a hour and a half to reach Udupi. After some delightful breakfast, Idly's and Dosa's and some Udupi special Dishes we were all set towards Goa.

The road conditions started deteriorating and soon we had to dodge the roads in between gravel and boulders. The Ninja heats up pretty fast and riding in single digit speeds in the middle of the day can be irritating to say the least. As the roads improved from boulders to only gravel, at-least to let us go past 30 kmph, something happened with my bike - The Fuel Injection (FI) warning light started glowing. Rajiv sped away fast as soon as he saw some tarred roads leaving me puzzled what to do. Sudharshan was trailing behind me and stopped a while later to checkout what happened. We could not solve anything as yet, called in Rajiv who was waiting some 10 kilometers ahead. So, I decided to take the plunge - to ride the next 10 kilometers slow and steady and not to strain the bike. Around 12 PM, We parked the bike in Kundapura (Near Marvanthe) and tried to do some “Do it Yourself” activities that we could perform to analyze the problem. Even after wasting a good couple of hours, calling people for help - searching Ninja Wiki etc etc nothing really worked. The service guy in Chennai did not pick up the call as it was a Sunday and we were still sort of stranded to even think of any more ideas.

The newly met friends from Mangalore offered help, by locating a Bajaj showroom owner and a Mechanic to look up on the bike. The Mechanic tried his best, but could not know anything. He offered his help saying “If the bike breaks down anywhere from Kundapura to Karwar - Call me i will send in a pick up truck, Else get it rectified in Goa” It gave us some confidence, for the bike’s performance did not go down but there was something internally wrong which throws up an warning light.

//Trying out DIY stuff//

We started riding, for the initial bit i was riding slow - roads were a mixed bag of goodies, some really good sections, few off roading stretches and lots of potholes. I would try to test out if the bike is performing well or not where ever we saw good roads. Had a quick stop at Marvanthe beach for photographs. The Bike did not heat up nor feel under powered. A sign that it is not something severe, but just a warning. We rode another 65 Kilometers Non stop. Few sections have been re laid, and sections like Bhatkal - Mavalli which throws up beautiful elevation changes and awesome scenery kept us hooked. Stopped by Mrudeshwar for some snacks. Opposite to my last visit, food was horrible and weather too wasn’t so pleasant. We rested there for a while - We had close to 250 Kilometers to ride for the day and almost 50% of the roads were not dependable. We decided to take a call once sun goes down, and till then all we wanted to do was : Ride.

//Photoshop Effect, For the love of Red Ninja//

Our breaks were limited, but when ever we stopped we saw to that every one were energetic enough to carry on for the next leg of the ride. And with good roads, Me and Rajiv would maintain about 80 - 100 Kmph and Sudharshan would be around 60 - 80 Kmph. We would wait for Sudharshan to join us at every other stop / diversion so that no one is lost. I was adviced to visit Gokarna which had a beautiful beach, some temple, etc. We reached Madangeri, where the diversion to Gokarna starts. The sign board read : Goa - 140 Kilometers and Gokarna was 17 Kilometers. It was gloomy, and at that moment - 17 Kilometers sounded too far and Goa was just 140 Kilometers away! By then Sudharshan Joined, and we checked with him if he is OK to ride to Goa or wanted to settle in Gokarna for the night. It was around 5 30 PM and we wanted to see the Sunset from the western coast. But Goa sounded more tempting, Sudharshan said “Screw it! Lets Ride!” Precisely the reason you need to ride with like minded folks!

As soon as we skipped Gokarna and rode further, the skies opened up and started pouring down as heavy as it could. We stopped and rested under a road side slab hut. It felt as though something wantedly stopped us from going further. We had to patiently wait for it to stop, and thankfully it did stop after some 15 minutes. Riding on, we spotted a fishing hamlet. Stopped only to see how enthusiastically they carried on the fishing activity. The other side of the road lead onto a mud path along the backwaters from the sea. We took a detour and rode on the mud path and found a place for ourselves to relax.

We spent a good 30 minutes or more - we did not do anything special, but to take photographs and see the fishermen try their luck catching fishes - Kids running around with their fishing rods and elderly women relaxing at the shore. It did replenish my long gone enthusiasm and energy levels. We were even more eager to ride and the next 120+ Kilometers looked all the more interesting. Darkness fell and we needed to push off, the roads turned out to be better than we anticipated. Roads turned out to be super good after Ankola, barring a few random stretches it was all good for a delightful night ride. 50 kilometers since our last stop - we reached Karwar by 7 PM or so. The beautiful sea side town could not be witnessed in it true colours, but we could smell that the sea was so close and yet see nothing. We searched the whole town for a good non vegetarian restaurant and still managed to ride into a Udupi restaurant!


A delightful dinner in karwar left us pampered and wished we could rest down there for the night. But the bug called Goa bit us strong. With less than 90 kilometers to go to reach the Goa border, we got back on to the saddle in no time. The roads after Karwar, after entering Goa were splendid. It was more like a track day for us - With just our headlights to focus on - the zig zag roads kept us thrilled to say the least. The rain was pouring down but that did not bother us at all. We were so enjoying the ride that kilometers went down the drain as fast it could. We stopped in Cuncolim - We have ridden 330 Kilometers approximately since Mangalore and yet the Low Fuel light did not throw up. Stopping in the middle of nowhere, pitch dark conditions, enjoyable weather and just your own motorcycle for company. Life is good, I told my friends who were also dripped in enjoying the scenery, roads and the beautiful road.


Panaji was 50 Kilometers away, So close yet so far. There was hardly any one on the streets. It was very unlikely we thought only to know that we have not entered the proper Goa yet.Our energy levels were down, but we were adamant to reach Goa. We got a few contacts from friend on where to stay and some phone numbers to help once we were there. We passed through Margoan and after much struggle fighting with ourselves we reached Courtalim. Now what? Where to go in Goa! Enquired in the taxi stand and we were asked to go to MormuGoa or Baga for better stay options. Mormugoa was nearby but was adviced that stay would be too costly and Baga would be better. I saw the list which had the list of hotels in Goa and 75% said Calangutae. So Calangutae it was, But it was another 35 Kilometers away! It felt as though it took us ages to reach where we were and we had another 35 to cover. The roads were mainly deserted except a few intersections when we had to cross through towns. 390 Kilometers since the top up, the low fuel light came in for Rajiv - we tried our best to get premium fuel in Panaji - but in vain we filled in normal fuel and left towards Calangutae. We were sort of blazing past the empty roads of Goa, with Police way too drunk to stop us and a fresh breathe of breeze waded through us.


Calangutae was full of energy and we reached the area at its peak time, 00:30 AM! We did not know where to go, and kept riding on and landed at the beach.. The Baga beach. We rode back the same way and checked onto Ronil Resort. Nothing else had safe parking, and the room was super cozy and close to the beach. What else could we ask for at 00:45 AM. Quickly checked into the hotel, dumped the bags and settled for a well deserved round of beer. What else could one ask for after riding 15 hours in a day. We were soon asleep, with incredible and interesting experiences. The Party continues..


Road Conditions:

Mixed Bag of worries. Roads from Mangalore to Karwar is decent, but with a lot of potholes and untarred roads. Karwar to Goa is Awesome!

[MadBiker]

Few Other Pictures..

[MadBiker]

Day 3 & Day 4: In Goa..

Day 3 : 05 September 2011

I was feeling sick, I could not sleep properly the whole night. When i woke up the next morning - I was all in pains and it was not a state of hangover but some sort of stress. It could have been because i have not slept properly ever since i left Chennai. I decided to rest the whole day, Rajiv & Sudharshan would go around Goa if needed. As it turned out i slept the whole day, atleast till 5 PM when some !@#$ kept on calling on my mobile to ask "Do you want a personal Loan?" Wonder how these happen even after using the DND facility and stuff!

I came down to see if i could resolve the FI Warning light issue. Called up the Bajaj Probiking Service person, he was kind enough and interestingly pointed out to an blown fuse in Radiator fan even before I explained the problem. I opened up the rear seat to check for Fuse and tada, Radiator fuse it was! I replaced it with a Spare and i was all set to go!

The evening was spent relaxing in Baga Beach, which happened to be so close from our resort. After trying out 6 varieties of Baskin Robbin's ice cream it felt as though i came back alive from being dead. Rajiv pointed out i might have had low sugar / glucose which made me tired / restless. We were roaming around till late evening, had a nice meal from the resort and crashed even before we knew.

Day 4 : 06 September 2011

We were supposed to leave to Ratnagiri today, But Rajiv felt we needed to explore Goa and we have not utilized the time in Goa. So we agreed to spend one more day in Goa and then see what can be covered in Maharashtra. A lazy Tuesday morning, after having a delicious breakfast - We went out to see if we could wash our bikes which was super dirty.

We rode out of Calangutae, spent time in Aguada Fort, Tried going into Aguada Jail - But we were refused to enter a Jail. Little did we know that it was a Jail with inmates still there (that's what we were told of!), and not a tourist destination! Rode to few other beaches, had more ice cream and food - Relaxed as much as we could. Evening went to Panaji City to catch a glimpse of the night life, the party on the boat, etc but it was a total disappointment as there were just a few boats roaming around with not much buzz happening. It was late, and started raining. We rushed back to our hotel, It felt as a second home for us - thanks to the super comfortable room, food and location.

Tomorrow, We head into Maharashtra!

Some Pictures...

[navan49]

Mad biker great travelogue.The photos are of good support for your thread. It would have been much better if you could have avoided one or two blurred photos. You photography is nice. What camera did you use for your trip. If I happen to go on a trip to Goa, I will use your travelogue as my guide.Thanks for the post.

[Surprise]

Excellent travelogue with beautiful pictures. There are lot of guys here managing to clock KMS like anything without much of sleep, which might be possible because of their PASSION to drive.

[lancersfx]

Superb writeup and more stunning are the pics. My longest roadtrip on a bike has been only Blr to pondicherry on my famed Boxer CT. I have a passion for different kind of biking now.. where the engine is "you" ;-)