[vasanthcullen]

“Tell me one last thing," said Harry. "Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?"
"Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”

Inside my head, in the fog of King's Cross station, you wake up. You look in all directions and see nothing but the fog. You wonder what's up with this weird title. A conversation ensues

"Destination Don't Care?" you ask of the fog, looking in no specific direction
"Yeah! You like it?" replies a voice

"To be honest, I don't really care. I meant, what is this post about?"
"A lot of things"

"Nope. That's not what I meant at all"
"Happens. Sometimes even to the best of us. Rephrase the question?"

"Rephrase the question? How do you not understand "what is it about"?"
"You can think about that. Or, more productively, you can think about different words to use for your question"

"What is even happening right now?"
"It will take a long time to answer that question. I'm afraid you'll need another lifetime"

"What? Fine, I'll try different words. What's the worst that can happen, right?"
"Oh! You have no idea!"

My only question to you is, who are you talking to?!

I wanted to write this article, about my road trip, here on team-bhp. I don't know why yet. I enjoy writing. So, I went ahead and wrote this anyway

Why am I even thinking about this, you ask? I don't know. If you have ever thought like this, let me know what you found

This is a road trip. This is about the road. This is about the journey. This is me not leaving home thinking these are the places I'm gonna go visit. I start my bike. I ride it. I like it. I blip the throttle when I shift down. I love it! I like smoothly paved roads. I like dodging traffic. I like rough roads. I like dodging potholes. I like rural roads. I like dodging butterflies. I like the wind. I like beautiful roadside sceneries. I like just standing there and taking it all in. And at the end of the day, I like how easily and happily I fall asleep

I'm in Hyderabad now. I just came from Bangalore, so that route is out. Everywhere else is fair game. 12hrs a day feels like a good distance to cover

All the places I've read about start flashing before my eyes. Igatpuri. Western Ghats. Malshej Ghats. NH222. Driving through a waterfall! Ooh, what about Jog falls? What about Dudhsagar falls? Goa! Yes, Goa! Goa, 13hrs away, has very well rated hostels available for 300 per night. Awesome! To Goa and back it is. Goa means beaches. Sunset-on-the-beach! Means a 4am start to catch the sunset? No thanks. I like me a good night's sleep

After due diligence, the onwards route was gonna be Hyderabad - Humnabad - Kalaburagi - Bagalkot - Belagavi - Goa. Let me take you through the two days now

[vasanthcullen]

When I woke up on the dull, grey Tuesday our road trip starts, there was nothing about the cloudy sky outside to suggest that strange and mysterious things would soon be happening all through the road trip. Yes, I love Harry Potter!

After a good night's sleep, it was a cool 0730 when I left the house. I set off on the Mumbai Highway (NH65) towards Humnabad. But not before filling just enough petrol to get me 200kms, cos 200kms will get me comfortably into Karnataka, cos petrol in Karnataka is 83/l while in Hyderabad it is 87/l

The Mumbai Highway starts out as this six-laned awesome thing. Vehicles are all over the road as it was still city outskirts. Its okay. There's enough space for everyone. I'm cruising happily on the fast lane. Weirdly, all the vehicles dart away from the fast lane. Then, I see it too. There are 3-foot high orange sticks planted bang across the fast lane! Not unlike what you see on the platforms by the side of the road to prevent two wheelers from riding on the platforms. The sticks are planted from the beginning of my side's fast lane till the end of the other side's fast lane. The so called fast lanes have now become dead slow u-turn only lanes

Some countries have on-ramps to bring merging vehicles to highway speed. We have speed breakers on the service road to bring merging vehicles to a dead stop. Some countries have underpasses so that crossing vehicles don't affect movement on the highway. We have barricades so that movement on the highway doesn't affect crossing vehicles. Some countries drive on the right hand side of the road. We drive on the left hand side of the road. I guess the orange sticks too are one such thing and I have to dodge them now

I settle on the slow lane. And you guessed it, all the vehicles dart away from the slow lane. What now? Only a whole temple where the lane was. Gives a whole different meaning to right-on-the-highway, huh? I gotta dodge this now

You're thinking I should've stayed on the middle lane. Yeah, I thought the same too. Too late! The road is becoming four-laned now


This is a typical Indian highway scene. All sorts of vehicles parked on the side. A two wheeler going the wrong way. Man-in-the-middle, anyone? After I crossed this place, it started feeling like a highway proper. The traffic thinned and the plot thickened. Mumbai only 644? I can get there in 12hrs! Should I go there then? What about the hostel reservation I have in Goa? Payment at the property only. I haven't paid yet. So no big deal

But Mumbai traffic? One time I went to Mumbai, I reached Panvel by 1900, then it rained, then I reached Carter Road by 2200. One other time I went to Mumbai, and it didn't rain this time, I had some 7 hrs to kill and I thought I'll go check out Daman and Silvassa. So, I take a right from the Thane - Versova road onto the bridges across Vasai creek. There are two two-lane bridges across Vasai Creek. Funnily, the vehicles on the other bridge are also going in my direction. If there are so many vehicles getting out of Mumbai, where are the vehicles getting into Mumbai? The answer was waiting for me at the end of the bridges. The two lanes towards Mumbai were blocked with barricades and there were traffic police standing next to the barricades. But why? Those lanes are chock full of stopped vehicles. People are getting out of their vehicles. Walking around. Having a cigarette. Chatting with their neighbours. I keep on driving. 5 mins. 10 mins. 15 mins. Its the same story! I realise I might not make it back to Mumbai in 7hrs even if I abandon my Daman/Silvassa plan and turn back immediately. But, that's a story for another time. So I decide, Goa it is


As my thoughts cleared, the civilization cleared too and the wind was nice. I could see rolling hills on either side. I stopped for a few mins

I saw a Mahindra Tractor Plant on the highway in Zaheerabad. I've dreamed of plant visits. In my dreams, its always a car or a bike manufacturing plant, complete with test tracks and what not. I see my vehicle get made. I take it for a test drive. On the test track no less! But this one here is a tractor manufacturing plant. How do they test the tractors? How long does a tractor take to complete one lap of the test track? I wonder if they even have plant visits. Out of sight, out of mind. The tractor plant has entertained me for a few seconds


Smooth sailing till Telengana-Karnataka border. Immediately after the border there is flyover construction going on. So, take diversion for 200m or so. Then back onto smooth four-laned highway

Only 100 or so kms in, I've crossed into Karnataka. Now I can fill the tank up with sweet sweet 83rs/l petrol. The petrol bunks near the border looked shady. My bike can go for 100kms more and I decide to look for a non-shady looking petrol bunk further up. So, onwards I go. I'm crossing Humnabad. No petrol bunk looks good. "Kalaburagi Exit" a big board announces. I have to take the service road next to the flyover and take a left. Ta-da! A crowded, dusty, but non-shady looking petrol bunk. I fill the tank up. I wanted to pee. The toilets were stinking and stained. I decide that I won't use these toilets or this petrol bunk again. Where would you guys tank up first thing in Karnataka?


Turning off the Mumbai Highway is the end of four lane roads till I get to Goa. Humnabad - Kalaburagi stretch of NH50 is very inconsistent. It starts out rough. Becomes good. Then becomes rough again. Then becomes good again

I was riding behind a Creta. The road was just going straight. The Creta started slowing down. I started to slow down too. But then it braked more and more and came to a halt right in front of me. Over the years, many vehicles I've been riding behind have come to a halt right in front of me. I've expected and managed those situations just fine. Somehow, I wasn't prepared for this Creta coming to a dead halt. I had to slam the brakes. The bike stopped just short of the Creta

I noticed, that this piece of the road I'm on has a lot of dust and small gravel and then, a speedbreaker. So, thats why the Creta guy stopped on the highway! Bad braking technique, though. If he is increasing the brake pressure as he is slowing down, then he's not leaving much buffer if he misjudges. Who am I to talk, right? If my anticipating technique was fine, this Creta guy wouldn't be taking up two paragraphs of my road trip

Summary : Dirt on road. Gravel on road. Emergency braking. Didn't scare myself
Moral of the story : ABS good


And then suddenly, like a movie cutscene, I'm on top of the world and I see green till the horizon


Well, I'm not on top of the world. Look, there's a green hill here. I can go higher still!

The terrain is made up of these round round stones just like the ones cutting across halfway through the picture. Turns out it is difficult riding on this terrain and this is as far as I went. If I use a little too much accelerator, the stones just roll away and I don't get any grip. I had to stand and straddle the bike and accelerate carefully. Also, while parking I had to find a nice immovable stone to set the side stand on. The stone had to be a little raised above the tyre level too. Parking on an incline is always like this. Needs helper stones

Then my bike crosses 50000kms

Then I have to cross Kalaburagi

The idea now is to take Afzalpur road till Chowdapur, then take a left, go through Gangapur and join NH50 at Jeratagi. Google maps suggested this over Kalaburagi - Jevargi - Jeratagi which is how NH50 runs. I'll find out why. So, first, I take a right onto Kalaburagi Ring Road. It is a four laned bad road. Many speedbreakers. More potholes. Dirt all over the road. There's a flyover construction going on over the railway tracks. So, a very very bumpy diversion over narrow dirt roads and an underpass. The underpass is not tall or wide. Bigger vehicles should take a left on reaching Kalaburagi Ring Road. The flyover is completed that side. Anyway I survive this bumpy 5 min ride and a few mins later take a right onto Afzalpur road. This road is good. Two-laned with shoulders. Looks like they recently paved it. And looks like they paved over the previous road and its speed breakers too!

In lot of places, we lay roads on top of roads. When we dig up these roads, one look at the cross section of our roads tell us about the many many generations of roads that came before them. Our roads preserve history

Because we lay roads on top of roads, the road level is going up all the time. Is it bad cos it sends rain water into our houses and causes stuff like inconvenience? No! Lets look at the bigger picture here. Scientists say sea levels are rising cos of global warming. Our road levels are rising just to keep up with the rising sea level. So when global warming hits, we can all just start living on the roads! You know global warming is real, right?

Apart from providing me with life truths, Afzalpur road provided me with fun too. The road looks flat. But suddenly I'll feel a jolt of thunder! Then I'll remember that this road is a speed breaker graveyard. Then I'll forget it and then it'll happen all over again. Made me smile every time

Once I took a left towards Gangapur, the road was a narrow two lane. It was very old. It was falling apart. My teeth were chattering


The road through Gangapur was just dirt and stones that once were part of the road. Its a very small town. I crossed the town in 2-3mins and then there's a bridge across Bhima river. The road was so uneven where it joined the bridge, I was wondering if my bike will make it onto the bridge without scraping! I made it onto the bridge slowly slowly without scraping


To the right I can see the river full of water. To the left I can see all kinds of vehicles and people on the river bed having a fun time on the very little water that was there. I realised the bridge also serves as a dam whose shutters were down. You know I had to get down there


I take off my shoes, walk into the cool water and splash my face with it. Felt so good! Did I mention it was scorching hot? Did I mention my riding gear made it hotter still? I walk around. Stretch my legs. Spin my arms like I'm gonna punch a villain's sidekick who'll fly 50m into the distance. You know how a wet dog gets water off of its coat? I do that kind of thing. Basically, getting ready for the next leg of the journey. I had forgotten all about breakfast. So, I have half of the big dairy milk silk that I carry for every trip. It is shaping up to be a nice break


I get ready to leave and then I see these bunch of trees right next to the water. I had to take take a picture of my bike there

I didn't notice when I was going down to the river bed, but it is full of sand. I'm getting wheelspin and no grip when I'm trying to get out. I had to stand and straddle the bike and accelerate carefully. I've done it before, you know. But, to no avail this time! I had to push using my legs too to get the bike moving. Quite a workout it was for a few minutes. And then I get up to the road and then for the second time, I slowly slowly get onto the bridge without scraping


In a few mins, the road has become a narrow, well paved and well marked two lane which is a joy to ride. It was not flat by any means. Tiny undulations everywhere and it was fun. Kinda like the speedbreaker graveyard. It stayed this way till Jeratagi where I had to take a right on to NH50


This stretch of NH50 is a really good two-lane road with shoulders. I cruise happily till Devar Hippargi from where Google says take a left

And I do. And what do I find? An amazingly bad one lane road. I slowly make my through the town. Small town, again. 2 mins I've crossed it. Now there's a fork where I have to take a right

I'm thirsty now. I see a Nimbu Paani stall. I've learnt my lessons in life and now I always ask how much before ordering anything. So, I stop and enquire how much for a glass of nimbu paani? A cold glass of masala nimbu paani costs 10rs. Awesome! I'll take one. My thirst is nowhere near quenched. One more please? Still not enough. Then I notice he has a jug of drinking water available. Free to drink. Ah! Water is free once you get out of big city shops. Everything is as it should be. I pay him 20rs and have that sweet sweet free water


I resume my journey and this is the sight that greets my eyes. So much fun to drive on this stretch. I'm driving very slow but as fast as the road would allow


Then I enter windmill territory and suddenly the road gets better. There is no rhyme or reason to which roads are good and which roads are not. Then a repeat of bad and good roads. Then I'm crossing NH50 that runs from Vijayapura - Hosapete. Flyover under construction so I have to take left, go on the highway till the flyover ends and then make a u-turn and come back till the middle of the flyover and take a left again


By this time I'm hungry. I see a roadside stall. Ask how much for egg rice. 30 bucks. Cool! I'll take one. Except he adds so much chilli powder to the rice! I wonder if I'm going to feel like Jayam Ravi in Unakkum Enakkum. The egg rice turns a mellow yellow instead of the scary fiery red. And it arrives like this on the plate. It is spicy but not as much as I worried. The lemon and the onion help too. Then back on the saddle and back on to not-so-good two lane road till I get to Kolhar. I take a left on to NH52 towards Bagalkot here. There is road expansion work going on. But the road is not too bad. I can maintain decent speeds. I saw on the map that I'm going to be crossing a huge water body soon. And that it extends till Bagalkot!


But, nothing prepared me for what awaited. It was like a sea! Water as far as I can see. I think it had rained recently. There was so much water that ran till the road and I spotted some trees in the middle of the water. It was surreal!

Soon, I have neared Bagalkot. Now I have to take a right towards Belagavi. This road is good. In places very good. I'm crossing NH48 in Belagavi in 2hrs. I have to cross Belagavi now. I'm on the NH48 service road now, along with so many other vehicles heading into Belagavi


Google maps asks me to take a left before all other vehicles do. I double check and then I do. It is a narrow one lane road. I cross the railway track soon. Then it is just a walkable path on dirt! Did I make a wrong turn somewhere? But the only turn I did was to take this road in the first place. I check Google maps. It says all is well and go on straight. Yeah, right! This is a dirt path wide enough for one to walk, too uneven to put both feet down in places and it is right next to the moat surrounding the Belagavi fort. Don't wanna fall into the moat now, do I? I try to make a 29 point u-turn and suddenly my left foot can't find level ground. Nope, u-turn not happening. I go reverse on my bike and make a u-turn in a more suitable spot. I cross the railway track again and find myself on the NH48 service road again

I follow the buses this time. If a bus can go, so can my bike. Then Google maps asks me to take Patil Galli, join Khanapur road near the Belagavi railway station. I checked, there were vehicles bigger than me plying on this road. I take this road and then join Khanapur road. Khanapur road runs just along the railway tracks for quite a while. I was so happy. I have seen this road from the windows of the train before. This time I was on the road. I have now lived how the other half lives. My life is complete!

Once I get out of Belagavi and its outskirts, the landscape starts to change


Green fields everywhere


The Ghat road experience begins now


Hey big guy


The sun is getting real low


The making of a ghost-on-the-road picture


Foggier than Slughorn's memory

The fog you see in this picture is when the bike is stopped. When I start moving, fog behaves like wind and rain. The intensity of the fog increases with speed

The all new and improved LED headlights for 2018 do light up the night. But they are useless in these ghat roads cos still they can't make light rays curve. We, as a species, figured out how to curve bullets way back in 2008. How difficult can light rays be? Put some effort in Honda!

I was driving around 40kmph, which was too fast cos suddenly there was no road ahead and I had to stop. Yeah, the road turned but I couldn't see it. All I could see was the fog ahead. Thank you light rays! And Honda. Visibility was very poor. If the white boundary lines on the road were not there, I have no idea how I'd have driven this stretch. So, I reduced my speed to <30kmph so that I can stop in milliseconds. That is until the broken roads came. The roads were as broken as you'd find them near water-lorry depots. Huge potholes where the entire bike has to go into and come out of. Some of these potholes were on turns too. Strictly first gear only. Then came the stretches with cement blocks. The cement blocks were dusted with a coating of sand. I don't know why there is sand on top of a mountain. It didn't make sense while it did make the road slippery. No more than gear two. After riding in 1st, 2nd and 3rd gears only for what seemed like an eternity, came Goa border. By this time fog had gone bye bye. Civilization, traffic and driveable roads returned


At Sanquelim. Surprise surprise! I must say my bike was pretty excited. I guess Ross would be pretty excited too

"That’s the mark of a good house-elf, isn’t it, that you don’t know it’s there?"
--Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington

All this time, while I was complaining about sand, roads, light rays, bullets and poor vision, something has been working like a good house elf right in front of my eyes and I didn't even know it


Yes! I'm talking about the pinlock insert!

I was midway through having an ice cream and a pista milk shake at an Amul Ice Cream parlor run by a nice chap. There was no menu. He let me order off my own imaginary menu. I had a blast. We even started chatting about bike rides and stuff

That's when I noticed my helmet. Notice how it has fogged up all around the pinlock insert, but not on it? Let me tell you, this was almost 30 mins after I crossed all the fog. Imagine how bad it could've been through all that fog

Then I reached my hostel. Radha Guest House, Anjuna. This place had more than 50 ratings on booking.com and the score was 9.something out of 10 stars. That's why I chose to try this place. The host, Maddy, was a nice guy. He asked that I get comfortable first and then he'll need to see an ID. I asked him for an early check out time, cos the website mentioned a checkout time of 1000-1200hrs. He said no problem. I can leave anytime I want. I can leave as soon as I wake up. I can stay and enjoy Goa for a week and then leave too. Its all cool. I was feeling very comfortable with the whole thing already in a matter of minutes. I can see why everybody gave such good ratings to this place

My hostelmates were all foreigners. Someone said hi. I said hi back. We exchanged a few sentences. Given the small amount of small talk skills I possess, I was proud of my achievement!

Time to sleep now. The hostel had four rooms I think. My room was tall with a /\ shaped roof on top of a regular height wall of 7 or 8 feet height. The side of the room opposite to the door was taken up by the bathroom. The bathroom was as high as the wall. There was a regular single bed running along the wall to the left. There was a bunk bed for two running along the bathroom wall. The kicker was, there was one more bed on top of the bathroom! You get to that bed from the top of the bunk bed. I kinda felt like a kid in a candy shop. But, sadly it was the single bed that was mine

I could hear live guitar playing from some pub nearby. They played some songs I like too. There is something about hearing a guitar live that makes even the best of speakers/headphones pale in comparison. It helped that all the live guitar I've heard was really really good too. I had to call my friend cos it is his guitar I have previously experienced live. He said he wants to go to goa too. I said when. He said soon. I said cool. I slept soon after that

[vasanthcullen]

I had a slightly disturbed sleep cos of the mosquitoes. There was a fan and a mosquito repellant on. But, they weren't enough. I decide that I will take Odomos with me on my future trips


I still woke up refreshed. Beats me how. If I had to go to office today, I'd have woken up feeling tired no matter what. The mind works in mysterious ways I guess. I get ready. I take a walk to the beach which is like a 100m away. The beach was cleaner than Chennai/Mumbai beaches. Then I get back to the hostel and pay the 300 bucks and check out. I'm ready to explore a different route back to Hyderabad

Before that, Goa being Goa, I decide I'll fill up petrol here, then hypermile as much as possible, try to delay filling non-Goa petrol as much as possible. So, I go to a petrol bunk in Mapusa


73rs per litre! What!? How is petrol here 10rs cheaper than Karnataka? Peterol in Pondicherry is only 3 or 4 rs cheaper than Tamilnadu

Goa is making quite an impression on me. Let's see. As soon as I entered Goa, the distance board was a pleasant surprise. The guy in the Amul Ice Cream parlour was a nice chap. I enjoyed the roads from Mapusa to Anjuna. I enjoyed the stay. The people there were nice. The beach was nice. Also, there are many many beaches for me to explore. And most roads are ghat roads around here. And on top of all that, petrol is 10rs/l cheaper! Goa is awesome! I decide Goa is where I should move to when I move next

Now, time to leave though. I decide I'll take the other route to Belagavi now, namely Mapusa - Assonora - Dodamarg - Tilari Nagar - Parle - Patne - Yashwant Nagar - Belagavi

So, I cross Assonora and I'm riding towards Dodamarg. The roads were interesting. I've taken ghat roads that go up and down. But these straight roads were new for me


This straight road only went up


This straight road went down then went up


This straight road only went up


Whats off the road was nice too. I wish this was how my regular parking lot looked. Then I'd like even parking the bike. Then I'd walk home through the grasses. It'll be like Gladiator!

Dodamarg - Tilari Nagar in pictures











































The ride from Tilari Marg - Belagavi was uneventful. Then I took Khanapur Road again. Rode along the railway tracks. This time I crossed them and entered Hotel Niyaaz



Hotel Niyaaz is my regular food stop in Belagavi. Ordered Belagavi Chicken Biryani, Lime Soda and Chicken Sheekh Kebab. Didn't take a picture of the Biryani, cos I started eating the Biryani the moment it arrived

Then I left. Onwards to Bagalkot then. Google maps took me through the college district of Belgaum. So many bikes parked on the roadside. I spotted a CBR or two. Then I had to take a left and right and what not and I got lost. I somehow ended up facing Bangalore instead of Bagalkot. Not to worry, now I know if I go straight I'll get out of Belagavi and onto NH48. At least I won't get lost again. So, I did that and got on to NH48's service road

Now, the route according to Google maps was Alarwad - Shindoli - Bagalkot Road


The road went straight up


Then there was a lake by the side. I wanted to get into the lake, just like the buffaloes. Then I remembered that I'm scared of water and on I went

Then I get onto Bagalkot road some 45 mins since I first wanted to

But I've already taken Belagavi - Bagalkot route. Time to try something new. I decide I'll take take a left from Yaragatti towards Mudhol. I reach Yaragatti. I input Mudhol into Google maps. It says go straight towards Bagalkot and take a left from Lokapur. Nope. I'm going left. I'm gonna go left

So, I take the left. In one min the road turns one laned and very bad with big potholes and a lot of dust and it became clear why Google said go straight. I think may be I should turn back. But, somehow that doesn't feel right. I decide I'll go straight and see how the road is

In some mins the road becomes better. But, it is still broken. I cross Hulkund. There are windmills everywhere. The broken road means I can't just drive straight. There are huge potholes, a million goats crossing and then a bus that takes up the whole road. It was like an obstacle course. So much fun! Then I cross Yadawad. A right and a left takes me to Mudhol road. This road was a better two-laned road. Then I get to Mudhol. A left and then after a little while a right takes me to Jamkhandi road. This road is a really really good two-laned road with shoulders. And it twists and turns and goes up and down. Then I reach Jamkhandi

Then a right takes me onto Vijayapura road. This road is very rough. A few surprise speedbreakers here and there too. Then after a while, I reach Vijayapura Ring Road. I take a right. Then there's a flyover construction going on over the railway tracks. So, I take a diversion towards the left. There are roads here unlike Kalaburagi

Then the railway crossing gate is down! Cool! 11140 Gadag - Mumbai CST Express flies by. Then I join the ring road again. Then the ring road joins and becomes one with NH50. A Toyota Yaris on a test drive flies by. 6 airbags on the base variant doesn't mean you can fly through an intersection, I think to myself

Then NH50 separates itself from the ring road and takes a right. I now have two choices, go straight to Solapur or take a right and in 50 or so kms join the route I took to go to Goa

I check Google maps. The route through Solapur will take a lot more time and I'll be sleepy by then. So, no. I take a right onto NH50. I'll diverge from the already taken route somewhere. The scenery of rolling hills is beautiful. Wondering why I didn't take this route en route to Goa, I had now reached Sindagi bye pass. The darkness is starting to creep in and I park my bike to the side of the road and I have a walking dinner of the Chicken Sheekh Kebab leftovers from lunch

Then I reach Jeratagi. If I take a left that will be the Jeratagi - Gangapur - Chowdapur - Kalaburagi the route I took en route to Goa. So, I decide I'll go straight. Jeratagi - Jevargi - Kalaburagi fully on good old NH50. I was right about the old part more than the good part

After a banked left that excited me stupidly, a bunch of bad patches, a stretch of road that kept going up and up and up I thought I'm gonna see ice forming on my visor soon, more bad patches and then even more bad patches I didn't wanna take NH50 even if it meant another banked left


I had to stop somewhere to get drinking water and this is how the scenery looked

I had had enough. I asked Google google on the wall, which is the best road of them all? It said NH50. No, I screamed. I shall not accept it. I'll find a better road I resolved. I started browsing the map myself. This town Sedam caught my eye. I've seen Sedam before!

I was exploring trains out of Hyderabad at that time. If I wanted to take the Bangalore Rajdhani to Bangalore, I'll have to first go to Secunderabad. If I wanted to go to Secunderabad, taking the MMTS from Lingampalli is the easiest option from where I was. All this to catch the Bangalore Rajdhani that passes through but doesn't stop at Lingampalli. This will bake my beans. I'll go mad. I'm not designed do things like this. I have to always go in the right direction. In the right direction, Sedam is the next station where the Bangalore Rajdhani stops

If a Rajdhani stops, it must be a big town, which must mean good roads. So, I input my location to Sedam to Hyderabad and Google showed me multiple routes that will take even lesser kms but around 20-30 mins more. Okay, not exactly time for the evil smile to return to my face, but time to say bbye to NH50

I checked out all the routes. After Sedam, I didn't know any of the places the routes pass through. So, I decided to tank up at Jevargi and that should take me to Hyderabad easy-peasy

I have to take the torturous NH50 for some 10 kms after Jevargi, then I turn right towards Shahabad - Chittapur - Sedam. Taking the right felt so right. It was a two lane road so well paved. It was a dream to ride on

I had to wake up from the dream as I neared Shahabad. The road turned left and dusty. There were lorries everywhere. The speedbreakers and potholes too were lorry sized. Then I follow the broken roads and lorries for a little while and then I take a right which felt so right again. This stretch was really good. But, it soon disappeared. The lorries never did. The two lane road was replaced by a one lane road. But, the dust was only replaced by more dust

Then came Chittapur. Then came Malkhed. Then came Sedam, the reason why I chose this route. I must say I was very disappointed with the whole thing already as the only thing that didn't come so far was a good road

I checked Google maps. There were two routes. One which kept to Karnataka for as long as possible. If I take this route, then I may get a chance to fill cheaper petrol at the last town in Karnataka. So, I decided to take this route that passes through Nidgunda and next to Chettinad Cement Kallur Plant

After riding with lorries and dust for some more time, I felt hungry. I stopped in a tiny town where there were some lights and had the other half of the dairy milk silk. I was starting to get used to lorries by this time and even liked how most of them dimmed the lights regulary for me, and even before I dim mine sometimes. It was cool!


I rode for some more time and I was passing by the above mentioned Chettinad Cement Plant. There was this strange thing I noticed in the skies. It was like light rays, but it was a cloud. Hanging low all around this area. It was fascinating to watch how the structure of this cloud changes as I drove by

A little after the cement plant, there comes an intersection. I had to go straight towards Shadipur - Kunchavaram - Kakhoda - Mominpet


This road was a dream! Arrow straight, well paved and not another vehicle to blind me with its lights. After a while I noticed there were no lights anywhere in the surroundings too. Okayy. Whatever


In a few mins, the well paved dream turned into two lanes of undisturbed dirt. Cruising at 30kmph on this dirt, I wonder why is this dirt undisturbed? Does no one take this road? I ride some more. I'm not sure if I'm on the right road. But Google says I am

I ride some more. Now, the piles of dirt on the side have taken over a lane and I'm left with only one lane of dirt. I see a road roller parked between the piles of dirt. The dirt is still undisturbed. Why is it undisturbed? Where are the vehicle tracks? Where are all the people? Aren't we a country with a 100 billion people? What happened to all of them? Should I turn back? Doesn't sound like an attractive proposition. Also as you know, I'm not designed to go in the opposite direction. So, I ride some more

Now there are stones spread all over the lane. The kind of fist sized, sharp edged stones that you put as the base layer of the road. I have to reduce my speed to 20kmph now. Note to self : Also reduce the trust put on Google maps. I ride some more

Then comes the ghost of the previous one-lane road that died some 50 years ago. At least I can ride a bit faster now. Then comes Shadipur. Some 10 houses and 5 lorries make up the town. One more run of the story with the dirt and stones later comes Kunchavaram. This is a bigger town. There is an Essar petrol bunk which is closed. Good that I filled petrol in Jevargi


I open Google maps and somehow it has forgotten the route it was showing before. I had the internet turned off to preserve battery. So, I wanted to find the route just by looking before turning on internet. I see Kunchavaram, yes there is my blue dot. I remember the route went straight. But, there is no road there! What?


Then I turned the internet on and zoomed in to the max. I could almost see some faint white lines where I expected the route to be. I wasn't sure if I was seeing things or if they were really there. I typed in Hyderabad and Google maps said go straight. I was feeling a little bit more confident then

So, I go straight. One lane road. I reach a junction. I have to take a right and go through this town Turmamidi and then take a left towards Kakhoda. I take a right and the roads are so broken and there were cows on the side, it felt like I was driving through somebody's farm. I checked Google maps which said there is a road there and also there's a branch to the left which I have to take. Okay. I'll try, if its scary I'll turn back I decided. After all the dirt and stones nothing scared me. I could already see the left turn. I take it and I see that these roads must be very very old. They are so pale. There is tall grass growing on either side of the road and the grass is leaning towards the center of the road. So, nothing bigger than a two wheeler has ever driven on this road. Cool!

I ride some more and I spot a wild hare! It was slightly bigger than other rabbits I've seen. It was grey in color. It had rear legs like a kangaroo's. It hopped along the road for a few hops and then disappeared into the grass. Then the road suddenly did a vertical u-turn and there was no road at the bottom of the u, only potholes. A bunch of thuds later, me and my bike emerged unscathed and rode on. Saw a few more wild hares that all ran along the road for a few hops and only then disappeared. I couldn't see much of the terrain, but I could see it was becoming a rolling hill kind of terrain. A few more wild hare encounters later, I emerged on to a two-lane road and I see a lorry. I was so happy!

I take this road till Mominpet and there I take a right towards Shankarpally. Bad road. Rough, broken and surprise speedbreakers and potholes. I reach Shankarpally and one confusing underpass later I emerge onto a four lane road

There is no marking whatsoever on this road. The road is wide and dark. Even the world's best headlight can't help you see if all you can shine on is black tar. All I can use for reference is the median. But, the road is arrow straight. I rode on for 5 mins and then I see a lake in the distance. But, no lake is supposed to be there in the route! I check Google maps and realise I had crossed the turn I had to take some 5kms back and that what felt like 5mins had been 20mins. Haha. I'm not complaining. Google gave me another way home


I get home and then I realise, I've left a piece of my heart in Goa. If you find it, do let me know

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[sagarpadaki]

Wow! what a roller coaster ride. You are a true adventure seeker!! Loved reading and visualizing the scenes in my mind since I am from the part of Karnataka that you rode. And glad to hear the way the baby Ceeber took all the beatings that were thrown at it.

BTW, did the front number plate cut off during the trip?

[vasanthcullen]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Wow! what a roller coaster ride. You are a true adventure seeker!!

Thanks! The credit goes to Google Maps too I asked Google Maps for a route that I have not taken. And it decided to give me an adventure

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Loved reading and visualizing the scenes in my mind since I am from the part of Karnataka that you rode

I enjoyed riding there. Glad you enjoyed reading it

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

And glad to hear the way the baby Ceeber took all the beatings that were thrown at it.

BTW, did the front number plate cut off during the trip?

Yeah. The number plate is whole in some of the pictures I took. I dunno when exactly it cut off. The front mudguard hits the number plate if I take a pothole or a speebreaker a little too fast. There are many scratches on the front mudguard that can attest to that. I guess the number plate cut off because of this. Also, this is the first number plate for my bike and has been taking hits for the last 3 years

[bblost]

Originally Posted by vasanthcullen

This is a road trip. This is about the road. This is about the journey. This is me not leaving home thinking these are the places I'm gonna go visit. I start my bike. I ride it. I like it. I blip the throttle when I shift down. I love it!

Beautiful words.

After due diligence, the onwards route was gonna be Hyderabad - Humnabad - Kalaburagi - Bagalkot - Belagavi - Goa. Let me take you through the two days now

Good choice on the road. Looks like you had a lot of fun.

Thanks for sharing the trip.

[Thermodynamics]

This is a very different travelogue. I enjoyed it. Although I admit, at some point it felt just like you

Originally Posted by vasanthcullen

I wasn't sure if I was seeing things or if they were really there

[vasanthcullen]

Originally Posted by bblost

Beautiful words.

Beauty is in the beholder's eyes Glad you like it

Originally Posted by Thermodynamics

This is a very different travelogue. I enjoyed it

Glad you enjoyed it. As for it being different, yes it is! I'm waiting to see if someone out there is gonna say "I did something very much like this!". Who knows, right?

[iamahunter]

WOW man, that's one great travelogue.

What most I could relate was to the bike, I've just got myself a new CBR250R.
I believe you've changed the headlamp to the new LED one.
Hope the light is enough for a night ride. I am yet to try it at night.

I had taken a small solo run-in 600 km trip over the weekend.
Not much of a writer but, here's a pic I took somewhere en-route.
Someday would like to ride together.

[vasanthcullen]

Originally Posted by iamahunter

WOW man, that's one great travelogue

Thank you

Originally Posted by iamahunter

What most I could relate was to the bike, I've just got myself a new CBR250R

Congratulations! One thing I want to tell you is, cleaning and lubing the chain every 1000 kms or so makes a world of difference to how smooth the ride is

Originally Posted by iamahunter

I believe you've changed the headlamp to the new LED one.
Hope the light is enough for a night ride. I am yet to try it at night.

If not riding on ghat roads, then the LED headlamp is brilliant. It lights up the night

It has a V-shaped spread which is just not enough for ghat roads. And the fact that the cutoff is abrupt for an LED headlamp makes matter worse. Outside of the V, everything is dark. It is difficult to even see how much the road turns to estimate how fast I should be taking that turn

Originally Posted by iamahunter

Attachment 1813697

Bike looks good! Is it a matt-finish?

Originally Posted by iamahunter

Someday would like to ride together

Let's plan

[Karvel]

Wonderful write up. Brings out the meandering spirit in everyone. Would say daring at times as well to roam around in roads(?) never travelled. Had planned many times to get lost like this, but never materialised.

Keep up the road trips and keep discovering more. Keep sharing as well.

[vasanthcullen]

Originally Posted by Karvel

Wonderful write up. Brings out the meandering spirit in everyone.

Originally Posted by Karvel

Keep up the road trips and keep discovering more. Keep sharing as well.

Glad you enjoyed it Thanks for the kind words. Will do

Originally Posted by Karvel

Would say daring at times as well to roam around in roads(?) never travelled. Had planned many times to get lost like this, but never materialised.

Haha. Wanna get lost? Just ask Google maps for alternate routes. It worked out for me

[Venkat_Figo]

Great journey, I love riding solo & when someone does it, I am all the more happy. That last part where its just you & no lights, later the undisturbed dirt, I would have been nervous. Happy riding forever.

[vasanthcullen]

Originally Posted by Venkat_Figo

Great journey, I love riding solo & when someone does it, I am all the more happy.

Originally Posted by Venkat_Figo

Happy riding forever.

Thank you!

Originally Posted by Venkat_Figo

That last part where its just you & no lights, later the undisturbed dirt, I would have been nervous.

I was nervous too. I thought of turning back many times. But, somehow I never did. And you know, at least this was well paved dirt

A few years back, Google sent me and my friend on what was supposed to be a narrow road. It was narrow alright. But it was no road. Just dirt and gravel. There were two ruts where the wheels go. These ruts were getting deeper and deeper as we went. Then came a narrow bridge just a little wider than our car. Once we crossed the bridge, this dirt and gravel road started going up. The incline coupled with the deep ruts were too much for the car. We heard the car start to scrape and we had to go back