Day 2 greeted us with this view from our room.
The plan for the day was to ride on the Valparai - Chalakudi road and visit the beautiful Athirapalli and Vazhachal waterfalls. This would ensure we touch the 3rd state of the trip - Kerala. Post this we planned to start back to Bangalore.
As we took our own sweet time to have breakfast ordered in the room and get moving, it was 9 AM. We filled up in the bunk right next to our hotel and started towards the Kerala border. Soon, we were welcomed by glorious, vast tea estates on both sides. Every corner seemed worthy of a stop to take pictures, but we were already on a tight schedule.
Soon, we were at the Kerala check post where the entry formalities were made, bike numbers and names noted down. After a small stretch of bad roads for a couple of kms, the road quality was blissful throughout. However, it was narrow and curvaceous for the next 80 km! These are thick, dense, tropical rain forests and the place is known to be home for elephants and leopards. It was so narrow in some places that we had to come to a halt if we encountered a bigger vehicle from the opposite lane.
All this meant we could not average more than 30 kmph for these 80 kms and we took a good 2.5 hours to reach Athirapalli falls!
The Niagara of South India - Athirapalli Falls
As we decided to head back from Athirapalli to Valparai, it started pouring down. Due to rains and lack of time, we could not spend much time and take pictures of Vazhachal and Charpa falls. Vowing to get back again with a more leisurely schedule, we started the journey back to Valparai. On the way back, near Sholayar dam, we posed for a few pictures.
ATGATT Ambassadors
Exactly at 4 PM, we were back to Valparai. Although we did have thoughts of pushing the return to next day, the thoughts of the next day's commitments and the wrath of home ministers sent us scurrying to saddle up and move.
By 5 PM, we were ready to start after refilling ourselves and the bikes. We had already done a 180 Km, 6 hour ride on the day and had a further 480 Km to cover. It was definitely going to be a test for both the rides and the riders.
The plan was to hit the multi-lane National Highway before it gets dark. I was quite confident that life will get easier once we hit the NH from Avinashi. However, we still had to cover about 140 Km on the undivided State highway which also included the 40 hair pin descent from Valparai.
On the way down from Valparai, we couldn't resist taking pictures of the view.
View of Aliyar from the 12th Hair Pin!
Sundar and Chida were a little apprehensive about night riding as this would be the first time they would be doing so. It was decided that at any point of time, me and Adi would lead and sweep and the other two would stay between us. By Sun down, we had reached Pollachi. We had another 100 Km to cover to reach Avinashi. As expected, the TN buses showed us absolutely no respect and we did have a couple of close moments. However, we took it slow, responsible and sensible, decided that we'll take as many breaks as we want and have no time target to reach Bangalore.
After a couple of breaks, we were at Avinashi and took the entry to the Coimbatore - Salem NH. After the narrow State highways filled with trucks, private buses with lights of all possible colors, Wild driven State Transport buses and chaotic 2 - wheelers, the NH was a welcome change. With experience on my side, I still insisted a constant speed of 80 - 90 Kmph even though the NH might tempt us to do higher speeds. I had learnt that the top speed does not matter on an endurance ride, but the consistency and fatigue-free method of riding does.
By now it was around 9.30 PM and we stopped for dinner at Saravana Bhavan at Vaikundam, a few km before Salem. From here on, we were in absolute sync with each other. The boys rode like champs. Proper indication of lane changes, perfect overtaking manoeuvres and speeds according to the situation. The important thing was to avoid monotony. So the plan was to keep talking to ourselves or sing songs, read the sign boards and observe traffic behaviour - basically keep yourself alert. Adi had carried packs of electrol and that helped keep us hydrated and active throughout.
Break at Dharmapuri Toll booth.
Soon, we took the tricky deviation which is the Salem bypass towards Bangalore and were less than 200 Km away from Bangalore. Here on, we stopped at every toll for breaks. The formation continued. At one point, Chida exclaimed that he never thought night riding would be this awesome! By 2.30 AM, we reached the EC elevated highway where we split to head home.
So, after 2 days, 1100 Km of NHs, SHs, forests, curves, Hair Pins, Rain, Sun and Winds, we were back in Bangalore. The intense euphoria and the sense of satisfaction is tough to explain in words. The spirit and coordination the boys showed was commendable and is a fine example of
biking brotherhood.
I am sure I have skipped a lot of stuff that my co-riders will pen down over the next few days!
Until the next one, Adios! Ride safe. ATGATT.
Some Statistics and Details: Route on Day 2: Valparai - Athirapalli - Valparai - Pollachi - Palladam - Avinashi - Salem - Dharmapuri - Krishnagiri - Bangalore. (640 Km)
Complete route: https://goo.gl/maps/79dUAeF5RjP2