[phoenix.rider]

4300 Kms, 6 States, 6 Days and 1 manic machine story: -

Gurgaon → Jaipur → Kota → Bhopal → Nagpur → Hyderabad → Mumbai → Bengaluru

I am a motorcyclist and I like taking long touring trips. I bought my first bike almost 1 year back and after that, I started taking small touring trips. I started with the easiest one from Delhi to Rishikesh (one-way 250Km). Once I completed my first trip I know that this makes me happy and I like being on the road, exploring new places. I went to Rishikesh in March 2021 and just after that India was struck by the second wave of Covid-19. All of our lives became stagnant, and we all had to cancel our travel plans. After sailing through the second wave, I wanted to go on more road trips.

Rishikesh Trip:-



I wanted to push myself more and go on long road trips. In Sept 2021, I went on a Delhi Chandigarh Kasol trip. We were 3 friends and we had 2 bikes. One was RE Thunderbird (we rented it from stone head bikes in Delhi) and the other was my 2019 Gixxer SF250. This trip was about one-way 600-700 km and I had a lot of fun riding through twisty. This trip gave me some perspective on how to manage time on a long trip because it took us 3 days to reach Kasol. After all, we started our trip very late in the day from Delhi.

Trip to Kasol:-





After this trip, I wanted to do more of a similar length trip through the mountains. I went to do the Dayara Bugyal trek on 25-Dec-21. It is in the UK (you know which one). Trek starts from Barsu (base camp for the trek). Barsu is around 550 km from Delhi. I could have reached there in one day but it took 2 days because I stopped in Rishikesh to meet some friends for a day. It was a 3-day trek with a stay in camp for 2 nights. It is an all-season trek but I did it in winters and it is magnificent.

Trip to Dayara Bugyal:-
















This was a small digress from the main topic. Let’s get back to the story. After all these trips, I felt prepared to take on a behemoth road trip. I wanted to meet some of my college friends whom I haven’t met after college. They live in Hyderabad. I told them about this plan and they all were shocked and were under the impression that I will chicken out. I said if I come you have to pay for my fuel (best way to get trip sponsors) and that’s how I decided Gurgoan to Hyderabad will be the 1st phase of the trip.

Once I fixed my destination, I was unsure about the dates because summer was starting and it was getting hot during the day. So I decided to start the trip on Holi. It was a long weekend during the 2022 Holi and couldn’t be a better time for me to do the trip because I get to experience Holi on the road and get to see the celebration in different parts of India.

One piece remaining was Route. I didn’t want to just reach Hyderabad but to explore places and meet people. The shortest route between Gurgaon Hyderabad is by Gurgoan –> Agra → Gwalior→Jhansi → Nagpur → Hyderabad. I have been to Agra and I couldn’t find much in Jhansi.

I decided to go by the Rajasthan route. I have a few of my college friends living in Jaipur and I could also play Holi with them. So my first stop was Jaipur.

Day 1 (Gurgaon → Jaipur → Kota → Bhopal):-

I started my trip early in the morning (around 4 pm). I reached Jaipur around 8 am. I have been to Jaipur many times but the Holi celebration was quite lively there. When I reached, people were already celebrating. People came out on the roads and were roaming on bikes looking so colorful. I met with my friends and played Holi with them and then left for my next destination.

Jaipur:-






My Next destination was Kota. I wanted to go to Kota for 2 reasons. One was due to the Rajasthan tourism Ad and 2nd because I used to live in Kota when preparing for IIT Advance and I always wanted to go back to Kota to get the nostalgia.

There was this Ad where 2 foreigners were travelling by cycle and they reached a place near Kota and they were stunned by seeing the view. I was also stunned by just seeing the Ad and wanted to go there. That place is called Garadia Mahadev. It is a cliff from where you can see the Chambal river taking a U-turn. I reached there around 2 pm and it was really hot but the view was great. One piece of advice would be to visit this place during the monsoon because it is much greener at that time.

Garadia Mahadev:-







I used to live in Kota from 2013-2015, there were like a billion students at that time. You would have seen IIT Advance coaching banners on every street and corner. But now everything has changed after Covid. I could not find any banners on any big corner or street. There were no students on the roads. There was no celebration in the city. I reached the main coaching institutes area and saw most of the big coaching institutes are non-existent now. Vibrant coaching building was bought by Aakash, Bansal classes building is running on lease and “Bansal classes” name is replaced with “Reliable” which is a completely new institute out of Resonance Coaching. It’s a completely changed city now. After visiting my hostel and institute, I moved toward my next destination.

Kota:-





Somewhere in Rajasthan:-



My next destination was Bhopal. Roads are really nice between Kota and Bhopal. On the route, you can find a lot of small forts. Rajasthan is really one of the best places to explore on a bike.

I reached Bhopal in the night around 10 pm and the city was still lively. People were still roaming on streets and you can find a lot of food stalls beside the road. I ended my first day after 1000 km, 18 hours of travel and I was still not tired.

Day 2 (Bhopal → Sanchi Stupa → Panchmarhi → Nagpur):-

The next morning I woke up early to explore the City. The city is clean and has nice roads. Street art was also nice. I went to Upper lake and it is a very nice place to start your day. After this morning ride, I started my 2nd-day journey towards Nagpur. There were 2 places which I wanted to visit between Bhopal and Nagpur. Sanchi Stupa(UNESCO World Heritage Site) and Panchmarhi Hills in Satpura Tiger Reserve.

Bhopal:-




Sanchi Stupa is around 60-70 Kms from Bhopal. Try to Reach this place early in the morning because the crowd will be less and you won't feel the wrath of the sun. It is a peaceful place. One suggestion will be to please take a guide because without a guide you wouldn’t understand the significance of this place. The main Stupa has 4 gates and each gate represents a significant story about Buddhism.

Sanchi Stupa:-





After visiting Sanchi Stupa I departed towards Panchmarhi around 10:30 am. Since MP is a tribal state, most of it is Behad. There weren’t many good restaurants on the route between Sanchi Stupa and Panchmarhi. There is this one restaurant chain Midway Treat by MP tourism which serves really nice food and has good accommodation. I did my dinner on Day 1 and lunch on Day 2 in a restaurant from this chain. So if anyone is planning a road trip through MP, they can watch out for these restaurants. Once you approach Satpura Tiger Reserve, you will find roads becoming more and more twisty. Last 30-40 Km till Panchmarhi are proper twisties and I enjoyed them a lot. I reached Panchmarhi around 3pm. One can do a lot of things in Panchmarhi like jungle safari, ATV rides, trek to sunset/sunrise point or waterfalls. Since I reached later in the day, I didn’t have time to do a lot of things, so I just visited the bee waterfall. One has to trek around 2-3 km and then take a lot of stairs to reach the waterfall. You can see monoliths during the trek. After visiting the waterfall, I started my journey toward Nagpur. I stopped in between because the Sunset was really nice in these hills. Roads were nice when I started my journey toward Nagpur but the last 100km stretch was really bad and due to this I reached Nagpur around 10 pm late the night. I was feeling tired at the end of the 2nd day. I end my 2nd day after 700 km and 12 hours of riding.

Panchimarhi:-









Day 3 (Nagpur --> Hyderabad):-

I didn't want to feel like I am in hurry to get from point A to point B. It takes the fun out of really being in the movement. So I started my 3rd day a little late because I wanted to give my body proper rest as well. I was looking for places around the Nagpur to explore but could not find much. Maybe others can help me with the places for the next visit. One interesting thing about Nagpur is that it is in the very centre of India. There is this zero mile point from where Britisher used to measure the distance of different parts of India. Since there was nothing much to see around in Nagpur, I had the time to meet one of my friends. I went to his place and meet his family. Finding home food on such a trip is nothing less than a treat. One very fascinating thing is poha served in Maharashtra and MP are quite different. Poha in MP is a little bit on the Sweeter side and in Maharashtra is a little bit on the spicy side. After having breakfast, around 9 am I started my journey toward Hyderabad. I did not plan to visit anything between Nagpur and Hyderabad because I did not know which places to visit. So I just started riding towards Hyderabad. Roads are really well laid between these 2 cities but roadside amenities are not developed. I was unable to find any good restaurant along the road so I had to stop at dhabas which served very basic food. Most of these dhabas are used by truck drivers only. I interacted with a few drivers and they all were very interested in my journey. It felt really good to talk to other people on the road when you are travelling alone. After having lunch, I got back to riding. It was really hot during the day. Temp was around 39-40C. When I was around 200-250 Km before Hyderabad, I started to notice a waterfall poster by the road. I immediately stopped and asked locals about these waterfalls and they said there are a lot of waterfalls on the route. After seeing the poster I was so excited to take a bath to get relief from the heat. The poster had such a nice photo of the waterfall, I was happy but when I reached the waterfall it was completely dried and a very tiny stream of water was flowing but I still ended up taking a bath. After this enjoyment, I started again towards Hyderabad. I reached Hyderabad around 5 pm. This was the last day of the first phase of the trip. I ended my day after 500km and 8 hours of riding. I stayed with my friends for next couple of days.

Somewhere between Nagpur and Hyderabad

Happiness is finding a waterfall on a bike trip:



Disappointment is getting this:-



Enjoyment is still taking a bath in whatever is available:-



After phase 1 till Hyderabad (2100kms and 3 days):-

[phoenix.rider]

Hyderabad:-

I reached Hyderabad on Sunday evening. I stayed there for coming weekdays and worked from my friends place. Since i was in notice period i couldn't take day off so i had to explore in the morning only and had to work during the day. Due to this, exploration was only limited to places where there was no opening hours.

I visited Hussain Sagar lake in the morning. It is a very nice place to explore in the morning. Sunrise we really beautiful. Street art is also exceptionally good near the lake.

Sunrise at Hussain Sagar:-







Street Art:-





White i was in Hyderabad, I came to know that xBHP is organising a meet in Mumbai and new KTM bike will be unveiled in that event. Suddenly i became very excited about this hopping that bike could be 2022 KTM RC 390. I was planning on going to Mumbai after staying 2 week in Hyderabad but due to this event i decide to prepone and couldn't explore more in Hyderabad.

[phoenix.rider]

Hyderabad to Mumbai

After Hyderabad, I started my journey by Solapur Pune to Mumbai. It is about 800Km from Hyderabad to Mumbai. I started my day a little late. I started from Hyderabad around 8 am. Roads are butter smooth till Mumbai. You can find good restaurants as well on the route. I stopped for lunch after Solapur. I came across this fabulous restaurant. here is the link.



The staff was very humble and helpful. Most of them were very interested in my journey and clicked a few pictures with me and my bike. After Lunch, I was planning on planning on spending a few hours in Pune exploring places. I reached Pune late, around 4 pm. So I didn't have much time to explore. I shorted my choice to just 2 places. The First was Aga Khan Palace and 2nd was Shaniwar Wada.

Aga Khan Palace
This palace is really beautiful and peaceful. In Aga khan palace get to know about the life of Mahatma Gandhi. It displays a lot of objects related to Mahatma Gandhi and his struggle in different movements for freedom fight. One should check this if you are in Pune.





After Aga Khan Palace, I headed towards Shaniwar Wada but by the time I reached it got closed. I could only witness the massive front gates.



After spending a few hours here, I started towards Mumbai. Mumbai had great plans to welcome me.

For most of the trip, I was travelling by putting car mode on google Maps but the new Pune Mumbai expressway bikes are not allowed and I missed the sign boards. So when I was near the toll to board the expressway, I couldn't see any bike lane and I was confused. A cop was standing on the other side of the toll plaza and he let me pass through the toll. He stopped me and now he said bikes are not allowed on this route you have to pay a fine. I was like you should have said the same thing to me before the toll plaza I could have gone back. I paid him the fine and then crossed back toll plaza to go by the old Pune Mumbai highway by Lonawala. For bikes, I would say this old highway is best even if bikes were allowed because it is full of twisties. It was dark when I started on this highway. I couldn't experience the beauty of the route but the route was very enjoyable.

I reached Mumbai by 9 pm. Roads here are like a maze even with google maps. I was heading towards Worli. I took one wrong turn and I was back on a road where bikes are not allowed and cops were waiting at the exit. I was again fined and this time they didn't give me a challan receipt. kept all the fine to themself only. After getting a great welcome the best gift was still waiting for me. After all this, I was about to reach my friend's place in Worli but this magnificent city had another gift for me. I was standing at a red light in Bandra and a bus driver came from behind and hit me. I and my ride were thrown forward. My rear tyre got burst, both rims got bent, gear shift bent, clutch lever broke but nothing serious happened to me, just some bruises. I had to drive for the next 5 km to my friend's place with bent rims and struck in 2nd gear. I was recovering from all this and I remembered that I had come to Mumbai for a bikers meet-up. I will be the first to go into a bikers meetup without a bike in a cab.

The next day I reached the meeting point in a cab. The best thing about the bikers community is people are very helpful and nicer to each other. I meet a few people and they were happy to give me a ride. we rode inside the city to one of the KTM showrooms. After reaching the showroom, I was peaking around to figure out the bike being unveiled. xBHP unveiled the bike and it was a 2022 KTM 390 adventure.



Once this meet up was over, i came home to greater problems at hand. I had to buy new tyres, submit my bike and complete the paperwork to get my ride repaired under insurance. Service centre gave me 30 days till the bike gets fully repaired because part had to ordered.

I stayed at my friends place for next few days and explored the city with her and then headed back home.

Marine Drive

[phoenix.rider]

Mumbai to Bangalore:-

I was in my hometown waiting for a call from the service centre. My bike was supposed to be repaired by the end of April 2022, but I went back to Mumbai on 23 April. I was very eager to back on the road, and coming early served me 2 purposes. One of my college friend's birthday is on 23 April, and I could also push the service centre a little to get my bike repaired early.

I went directly to the service centre to check the bike's status. My bike was in an almost ready state. That day I also realised that seeing your bike again after a long time makes you happy.

I got the bike back on 29 April 2022 and started riding towards Bangalore the following day. My special thanks to "Viva Suzuki Authorised Service Centre" for helping me deliver my bike on time.

My journey from Mumbai to Bangalore was divided into 2 days. Before reaching Bangalore, I planned to explore Mahabaleshwar in Maharastra and world heritage sites in Karnataka.

I started around 6 am on 30 April from New Mumbai towards Mahabaleshwar. It is around 200 km. I took the route by Pen-Mangoan. The roads were brilliantly made and very smooth. You will start seeing a scenic view from about 50-70 km before Mahabaleshwar. You will get some of the best twisties. I enjoyed it a lot. I also shoot a video of me going through some corners. One thing I realised while shooting the video is that it takes a lot of effort to create a 5-10 mins travel vlog. The whole process of getting a good shot takes a lot of thinking and action. First, you have to place the camera and check the angle. Once you place the camera, you must go back and come in the frame with the right speed and moment. Once you exit the frame, you must stop and check the footage, and if anything goes wrong, you have to do it again. I got my shot right the first time lucky one, I guess .

Route to Mahabaleshwar:-



Twisties and frame from my shot:-



I went directly to the Venna lake in Mahabaleshwar. I sat there and searched for places to visit. There are a lot of viewpoints around here. I don't remember all the viewpoints which I visited. Mahabaleshwar is like a mini Shimla. The weather is super pleasant compared to Mumbai. The thing I like the most about this place is that it is full of dense green forest. You just take your bike and ride through the forest on the twisties. It will make you super happy. I also found 2 riders from Pune, and I tagged along with them. It improved my experience because nothing is better than finding like-minded people to share your travel and lunch. I stayed in Mahabaleshwar for 3-4 hours, then moved towards Bangalore. I wanted to cover as much distance as possible today so that I don't have much left tomorrow. I reached Kolhapur, had my dinner, and spent the night there.

Venna Lake:-



View Points:-





Kolhapur to Bangalore:-

The next morning, I started my journey from Kolhapur to Bangalore. On this route, I was planning on visiting the world heritage sites Pattadakal and Hampi.

Kolhapur is near the Karnataka border, so after some KM, I entered Karnataka. I experience a completely different scene of Karnataka on this side. This part near Maharastra is a cultivated area. Far farming lands with windmills. Karnataka has so many different terrains, and I was stunned by the early morning beauty of this part.

North Karnataka:-





Twisties in North Karnataka:-



I reach Pattadakal around mid-day. Pattadakal is famous for its temples. This place has temples of both architectures. The Northside temple became narrow with continuous curves, and the south side temples are made block-wise narrow. This place is also full of historical stories engraved on the pillar and walls in pictural form. I took a guide to tell me about his places. I found one of our childhood book stories engraved in the pillar. We all have read that story of the monkey and crocodile where the monkey used to give the crocodile Jamun, and one-day crocodile's wife asked the crocodile to bring the monkey so she can eat him. the story is engraved in the pillar. I was actually stunned, and it gave me the perspective that we have a lot of history to explore if we want to. I advise anyone visiting any historical place to take a guide for the tour because I wouldn't be able to discover all this without him.

Pattadakal:-



I departed from Pattadakal and went to another similar place nearby. There are a lot of places of historical importance near Pattadakal, but I couldn't visit each. I started towards Hampi. After starting, I realised that Hampi is 65 km from my way to Bangalore, and if I decided to go, then I wouldn't be able to make it to Bangalore before dark. So I skipped Hampi and started directly towards Bangalore. Around 200 KM before Bangalore, I stopped for a break, and I found another bike travelling to Bangalore. I asked him and asked if I could join him. He was happy to tag along. On a bike trip travelling together is completely different. You are still travelling alone, but you are also travelling with someone. That feeling of being alone is gone. We both rode till Bangalore. Around 100 KM before Bangalore, I started to feel that I was near home again, and Bangalore welcomed me back with the best weather(one of the heaviest rain).

Before Bangalore:-





It gave me a feeling of immense achievement after completing this trip. I just love my manic machine to never break once and always be there with me to make the difficult journey. I thank each and everyone who contributed to making this journey come true. Especially my parents for agreeing on this without too much argument:cold sweat
Thank you Somi for sponsoring my fuel till Hyderabad, Golu, Vinay and Aashi.

[Aditya]

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

[100Kmphormore]

One of my close friends who bought a gixxer SF250 a month ago said this bike is not meant for touring. Must show this to him. It’s a fantastic bike at its price point. Great trip and pictures

[mohansrides]

phoenix.rider…. Let me be the first to congratulate you. Almost 5k kms in as many days is no mean feat. Also I have never heard anyone say that roads near or in Mumbai were good. So, congratulations on the level of positivity that you maintain.

You have set new benchmarks for solo riding. The motorcycle is a gem. Never get rid of it. The way you are smiling in all the pics, I can only imagine the delight you drew from this lovely ride.

One request though. Could you plot your route on a map and post it? Will give the rest of us some reference points.

Keep riding and stay safe.

Cheers

[phoenix.rider]

Originally Posted by 100Kmphormore

One of my close friends who bought a gixxer SF250 a month ago said this bike is not meant for touring. Must show this to him. It’s a fantastic bike at its price point.

I think is a very good sports tourer and i am in love with it. I have done around 30K KM on this and 20K KM are pure touring. It gives me a lot of joy every time i go out on a ride.

No bike is perfect and neither is this but you just need to embrace the things any bike offers.

Originally Posted by 100Kmphormore

Great trip and pictures

Thanks you very much.

[Sangwan]

Awesome ride phoenix! It’s so pleasant to see Rohtak registered bike roaming all over India. And I too had HR 12AJ series on my Triumph ( now sold). Hope to see 6344 making rounds everywhere.

Cheers
Sangwan

[phoenix.rider]

Originally Posted by mohansrides

phoenix.rider…. Let me be the first to congratulate you. Almost 5k kms in as many days is no mean feat.

Thank you very much.

Originally Posted by mohansrides

Also I have never heard anyone say that roads near or in Mumbai were good. So, congratulations on the level of positivity that you maintain.

Haha may be because i am used to living in bangalore

Originally Posted by mohansrides

You have set new benchmarks for solo riding. The motorcycle is a gem. Never get rid of it. The way you are smiling in all the pics, I can only imagine the delight you drew from this lovely ride.

Yes, this bike is gem. It is the reason for the smile.

Originally Posted by mohansrides

One request though. Could you plot your route on a map and post it? Will give the rest of us some reference points.

Noted sir, I am newbie to writing travelogues but yes a good route map will bring out the story more and the scale of the trip.

Originally Posted by Sangwan

Awesome ride phoenix! It’s so pleasant to see Rohtak registered bike roaming all over India. And I too had HR 12AJ series on my Triumph ( now sold). Hope to see 6344 making rounds everywhere.

Cheers
Sangwan

Thanks Sangwan. you will see 6344 roaming on Canada road down the line

[gauravanekar]

Greetings from a fellow Gixxer 250 rider!

Can you elaborate on the technical details like your usually cruising speed, the fuel economy you get, what luggage gear you use, which engine oil you prefer, tyre choice over the life of motorcycle. How do you find braking performance. Thanks

[mac13]

Congratulations @phoenix.rider on your journey and reading the travelogue was a treat!
Did you ride all those kms wearing those red sneakers with a mesh top? Your left foot must be made of steel to handle all those gear shifts!

[Pun_Dit]

It was an inspiring journey you did with your two wheels and reading it in a go was almost like riding together. Kudos to your determination and courage to complete this journey, specially after that Mumbai incident.
SF250 is a trusted companion on long journeys just like CBR250R used to be. Wish you and your ride lots of such journey.

[phoenix.rider]

Originally Posted by mac13

Congratulations @phoenix.rider on your journey and reading the travelogue was a treat!
Did you ride all those kms wearing those red sneakers with a mesh top? Your left foot must be made of steel to handle all those gear shifts!

Thanks @mac13. Yes I did this journey in normal sports shoes. I haven't invested in shoes but I am planning on buying shoes in coming time.

Out of 4300 kms, 80-90% were highways and gear box is smooth. But yeah I might have developed some biker muscles

[phoenix.rider]

Originally Posted by gauravanekar

Greetings from a fellow Gixxer 250 rider!

Can you elaborate on the technical details like your usually cruising speed, the fuel economy you get, what luggage gear you use, which engine oil you prefer, tyre choice over the life of motorcycle. How do you find braking performance. Thanks

My cruising speed was between 90-110. I also rode in the night on some days. At night my cruising speed was around 80kmpl or less.

The fuel economy I got was around 35kmpl. Gixxer is a superb machine for fuel efficiency. It can deliver up to 38-39 kmpl if your cruising speed doesn't cross 90.

I have a Biking Brotherhood saddle bag which fits Gixxer perfectly. The issue is that they are not waterproof. When I entered Bangalore, it was raining heavily, and all my stuff was wet at the end of the trip.

I have yet to give a lot of thought to which engine oil to use. I trust Suzuki's fully synthetic engine oil, and the same goes for the tyres. A manufacturer usually chooses the best tire for the bike. Since Gixxer is not a track weapon, stock MRF Revz works best. They have good tire life as well as grip.
I got a new set installed after Mumbai's incident. I have done 9K km on them, and they still have a lot of life left. I also took this bike on the track with these tires. The tire grip needs to be improved for track use, but I still enjoyed a lot with these tyres.

My motto is to stop worrying and ride.