[Aakarsh Gupta]

Prologue:

I love cars.

More than that, I love motorcycles. A lot has already been written by far better writers than me about the way two wheels move your soul, and there’s no need for me to elaborate on it any further. All I know is that to ride is to be free, and to be free is to live.
Good luck explaining that to my family though. Long rides on two wheels are still seen through a translucent veil of apprehension in our country and I’m no stranger to it. I’ve powered through it though, and as of now, I’m already a seasoned solo rider.

Around a year ago, I met my then new colleague named Vishal (hereafter referred to as ‘V’). He shared symptoms like mine, and we bonded over it. Fast forward to July of 2023, he’s bought a brand-new Honda H’ness, that suffers a great similarity with my CB350 RS. We started planning for this ride before he got his new partner in crime, and he’s excited about it. It’s his maiden voyage and my first ‘group’ ride. On the 23rd of December 2023, we work through our hand gestures, and off we go.

Day 1:

I'm a stickler for time and ensured that the ride began at 6 in the morning as planned. V was supposed to join me near Wagholi and duly did so on time. We set off towards Solapur.


Bon voyage!

The morning was slightly chilly and there was very little traffic to contend with. We made good speed and were already 100 kilometers in when we decided to stop for some breakfast.


Yours truly.


V.

A bunch of breakfast riders came along at the same spot sporting a lineup from something as modest as a Classic 350 to as flashy as a Z900. We finished our breakfast and rode onward. We planned to take a right turn before Solapur and towards Bangalore. We had Hosapete as our stop for the day and it seemed well within reach with the weather so fair and the spirit so high.




Somewhere on the highway.

We had a couple more stops in between and passed by many trailers carrying wind turbine generators and blades. I'm always amazed by the sheer size of these things and I'm pretty sure anyone with megalophobia would be scared witless if they see these things up close. They're amazing creations though and beautiful to look at as far as we were concerned.


The sheer enormity of it isn't justified in the photo.

I spotted a hotel around 50 kilometers before Hosapete called 'Hotel Poorvi' in a place called Uppaldinni. We decided to take a look, haggled for the prices, and called it a day there. In hindsight it was an overpriced proposition, the services were bad and the owner was a bit of a nutcase. Anyhow, it was a good day of riding and a good night's sleep lay ahead of us.

Distance traveled: 496 kilometers
Hours ridden: 10.5

Day 2:

We suited up for the day and decided to leave at around 7:30 in the morning. We had had ample rest and the morning weather was perfect for another round of spirited riding. The roads were great and there was red laterite soil lining the tarmac on both sides. The two-way slightly twisty roads are what I enjoy riding on the most and it was a great high-speed affair for me. We encountered some ghats on the way and there were numerous wind farms on both sides of us. There were numerous other riders on the route and we exchanged gestures with them while moving at our merry pace. Breakfast came and went while we were making good speed. Our stop for the day was in a town called Chamarajanagar, and we encountered a field with a lake across it on the way.


Resting the steeds.


An anomaly in the green.


I like the shadows in this one.

We reached the town and immediately found a nice little hotel for us named 'The Royal Brothers'. It looked welcoming and the price was just fine. We changed into our daily wear, went out into the town market, got something to eat, took a nice hot shower, and slept our asses off.

Distance traveled: 485 kilometers
Hours ridden: 10

Day 3:

We started at around 8 in the morning and today we planned to reach our homestay in Munnar. We were supposed to go through three states today ie. Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and finally Kerala.


Suited up.

The urban jungle very soon gave way to the real one and we were riding through roads lined by trees and loving every second of it. Karnataka gave way to Tamil Nadu and we stopped for our morning tea.


They make the best tea in the world in TN and no one can ever tell me otherwise.

We were feeling great after having a great glass of tea but no one told us it would be very short-lived. The guys doing the roads in TN have an unholy obsession with speed breakers and the road was disfigured by them every 10 seconds. It killed our mileage and the roads that would've been extremely enjoyable sans them were now a chore to ride through. It got even worse a couple of hours later when we were crossing a small village. A local tempo carrier decided to cut into my side of the road without any warning or indication and I barely avoided a head-on impact with it. My shoulder still brushed through his ORVM though. I hurled a few words toward him, but not wanting to create a scene I moved ahead quickly.

We were now crossing through a wildlife sanctuary with very narrow roads but gorgeous views on either side of us.


Catching the sun.

We crossed TN and were soon enough rewarded with the gorgeous view of the Munnar vicinity. There were clouds everywhere and the waterfalls in the distance looked mesmerizing while falling in slow motion.


The waterfall in the clouds.


Mandatory helping of a plate of Maggi.

It was around 6:30 till we reached our lodging and it was indeed a beautiful property called 'Maliyeckal Homestays'. It is vast with the family growing their own spices and such. The aesthetics and the setting of the property are terrific and match the natural vibe of the place perfectly. As it was the 25th of December, they had a few guests in and were celebrating Christmas. They invited us to join in their celebrations and we promptly did so. We burst some crackers and had a bonfire at the end. It was a day well spent.


The moon joined in with the celebratory lighting.

Distance traveled: 290 kilometers
Hours ridden: 10.5

Day 4:

The morning was absolutely quiet and drenched in nature all the way through.


The morning view.


The family has this pretty little thing as their pet.

We had a few places in mind that we wanted to see and set out at about 10 in the morning. The air smelled fresh and we were glad that we got to ride without our whole gear for once with only the helmet on. We were soon passing through acres of tea plantations throughout Munnar and the views looked absolutely stunning in the morning sun.


Tea.


Even more tea.


Stuff you see in the portraits.

We went to the Anamudi viewpoint and caught a glimpse of the highest peak in South India.


Up there in the clouds.

After that, we went to the Lakkom waterfalls. I had visited the same place more than a decade ago with my parents and wanted to see it again. We took a plunge in the icy cold waters of it and stood under the falls too. It was a highly refreshing experience and we spent more than a couple of hours there. We decided to get a full body massage (deservedly after 3 days of riding) and visited an old Ayurvedic center for the same. It cost us a pretty penny but we were left quite relieved post that. We came back to our homestay after sundown and got a plate of a traditional Kerala meal as offered by the hosts.


Lots of variety here.

We went out for a stroll after that and came back and tucked ourselves in for the night. We planned to travel to Wayanad the next day.

Distance traveled: 90 kilometers (approx.)
Hours ridden: 4 (approx.)

Day 5:

Someone should've told us this day of riding is going to be a hellish experience.
I had already taken a look at today's route and I had noticed that it passed mainly through towns and urban jungle barring some parts here and there. To make matters worse, the sun was scorching hot today. We started at around 10:30 in the morning and the initial kilometers were bearable enough barring the heat.


A wild savior appears.

Nature soon gave way to urbanization, and we were crawling our way through traffic now with the sun beating down on us. 10 kilometers felt like 100 and the going was extremely slow. We were dehydrated time and time again and had to make frequent stops to freshen up. Soon the sun went down and we were still around 70 kilometers from our homestay in Wayanad. The nighttime brought great relief from the heat. I make it a point to avoid riding at night due to CB's abysmal headlight performance but we had no other choice. I led and V followed but the going was slow. We entered a ghat section close to Wayanad with heavy traffic and I was expecting to ride in temporary blindness but the people were surprisingly considerate with their headlight control, kudos to them. We reached the property called 'Sahyadri Homestays' at around 10:30 at night and the host Ajay immediately made us comfortable. The property is incredibly well-managed and he was also kind enough to give us an overview of the points of interest in Munnar before we succumbed to our sleep. Today had been a really long and tiring day.

Distance traveled: 313 kilometers
Hours ridden: 12

Day 6:

We considered Ajay's pointers and decided on a few locations to visit.


A serene quarry that we happened by.

The first was the Wayanad Heritage Museum. It's a nice little place surrounded by nature and well-maintained. It demands a very small fee and in return, you can take a look at the culture and stuff from Wayanad's years of yore.


Jewelry from the times gone by.


Weapons from the times gone by.

We decided to visit the Edakkal caves next. It is a cave complex that can be reached by foot, but one has to travel a long and very steep incline to reach the ticket counter, and many more stairs built into the rocks to reach the main complex. We took our time and powered through to the main complex that had very old engravings on it. It's a nice place and the way is lined with small shops of all kinds where you can buy souvenirs or freshen up with a glass of soda.


The main complex was a relief from the sun.

We got down and headed to a place called Karapuzha Dam. We got a look at it from the outside and also visited the public aquarium there.
Drained by the heat now, we returned to our abode and rested till dinner after which we prepared for our return leg to Pune.

Distance traveled: 40 kilometers (approx.)
Hours ridden: 2.5 (approx.)

Day 7 and 8:

These days were spent on rigorous highway rides back to Pune. For day 7 we decided to halt in Hubbali, where we found a decent hotel close to the highway.


Ready for the final day.

For day 8 we passed through Belgavi on the way and the roads ahead were littered with diversions throughout. I knew about this as I had passed through only a few months back, and it was as much a pain in the butt as it was before.


The highest flag post in India stands at around 350 feet in Belgavi.

It was finally time for V to go on a different route just before the new Katraj tunnel began. It had been a fun few days and I'm happy he came along.


Going our separate ways.

We reached home at about 6 in the evening and thus our adventure came to an end.

Distance traveled: 970 kilometers
Hours ridden: 22

A word on the bikes:

Stunning. If your idea of stunning is chugging along at 90-100 without a care in the world, that is. Sadly, it isn't for me anymore. If you ask V, the CB is all the bike you need here in India, and the practical side of me agrees wholeheartedly. However, having done my fair share of touring and city commuting on it, I'm incredibly bored of it now. I desire a bit of oompf from my rides and the CB doesn't cut it in that department. It is embarrassingly slow during high-speed overtakes and darts out of corners with all the dexterity of a misfired arrow.
Having said all of it, these are strongly my personal preferences and I'll state without a doubt that the CB is THE go-to bike in the 350cc segment. It is utterly rugged and reliable and does the job without making any fuss about it. I'll probably never sell it off and it will remain with me till I am. My next bike would definitely not be a single though. Maybe even a triple or an inline 4? Who knows what the future holds?

Epilogue:

If you've made it thus far, dear reader, I'm thankful. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. A word of thanks to my buddy Vishal for accompanying me on this incredible road trip. This was his first long tour, but you wouldn't have guessed it if you had seen him riding. It was a week well spent and I look forward to many more such rides together.

Yours truly,

A.G.

[Rudra Sen]

Mod note: Thread moved to Travelogues.
Thanks for sharing and wish you a happy new year!

[Shur'tugal]

Lovely thread, and it looks like a lovely trip.
I've been planning a trip to Munnar too - can I ask what total expenses (fuel+food+stay) looked like for it?

As a H'ness owner, agree completely on wanting a little bit more oomph for these rides. The bike does such a good job of letting you sit at 90/100, that higher speeds and more power for overtakes feel like they should be possible - making you all the more disappointed when the bike can't push with you.

[Aakarsh Gupta]

Originally Posted by Shur'tugal

Lovely thread, and it looks like a lovely trip.
I've been planning a trip to Munnar too - can I ask what total expenses (fuel+food+stay) looked like for it?

As a H'ness owner, agree completely on wanting a little bit more oomph for these rides. The bike does such a good job of letting you sit at 90/100, that higher speeds and more power for overtakes feel like they should be possible - making you all the more disappointed when the bike can't push with you.

I'm glad that you liked the thread. As for expenses, it was around 40k for both of us combined.