[paragsachania]

Not sure on the first leg since I normally dont take this stretch but the second leg from B'ghatta till Tumkur Road exit is exactly Rs. 84 which I do atleast twice a week.

[sirajbose]

Supplies bought for the trip:

+) 6 bottles of water + 3 bottles of Gatorade
+) 2 Nutrition Bars (ATM) and 4 packs of Britannia NutriChoice 5 Grain Biscuits
+) Essential Medicines

Bags are packed - 2 Suitcases, 6 plastic bags, 2 Laptop Bags and 1 Camera Bag

Car has been throroughly inspected and serviced, wheel rotation / alingment and balancing redone, all glass areas cleaned with a glass cleaner to remove all dirt, fuel filled to the brim and air pressure checked to 32 PSI - 16 GB USB loaded with music from every possible genre - if I'm in the mood - the music will be there. 2 phones charged - my daily use Blackberry and my Nokia N82 (for the google maps and GPS).

Goodbyes said to the office staff - however its temporary as I will be working out of Chennai every month for atleast a week.

The trip begins in the next 4 hours...

[MX6]

Ok. So we are having a live log now is it? will check in the morning for updates. Are you planning for non stop drive to Mumbai?

[razorBlades]

all the best for the trip mate! see you around in mumbai

[coolclouds]

Best wishes for your trip. Have a pleasant and safe drive !!

[canonguy]

So after all the enquiries, did you finally try the NICE Road? How did you find it?

Let me know.

[sirajbose]

Started from Chennai yesterday at 300 AM - Reached Mumbai at 900 PM yesterday. Used up around 80 litres of diesel and for 1350 kms, works out to around 17 kmpl FE and the average speed was 75 km/hr.

The best roads were in Karnataka - the tolls were reasonable as well. The worst roads were in Maharashtra and the tolls were the highest as well.

@CanonGuy - Yes, I did take the NICE road. It was awesome apart from the part where you take the detour to Bangeretta Road. The specific instructions you provided really helped.

Unfortunately could take very few snaps as I just stopped once at the windmill place and then directly at the McDonalds once you enter Maharashtra. Had I had a co driver / passenger it could've been a different story. Apart from this there were two very quick fuel stops. I wanted to rest a while at Lonavla, however, by the time I reached, it was already 800 PM and was already dark so drove directly to Mumbai.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by sirajbose

The best roads were in Karnataka - the tolls were reasonable as well. The worst roads were in Maharashtra and the tolls were the highest as well.

You think so?

Of course the best stretch till date had been the Dharwad Exit all the way till Kagal Check post.

What about the Harihar-Haveri Stretch which is still 'under construction'??

On the return you'll find the quality of road between Pune-Satara a little bumpier and then its concrete all the way till Kolhapur which is much better. (This was laid new mostly while converting it to 4 lane while the Kolhapur-Pune corridor was relaid over the existing one IIRC).

Second best is between Tumkur and Chitradurga but is often marred by reckless truckers and folks driving in the opposite direction on 2 wheelers at dusk.

The stretch in Maharashtra could've gone bad due to recent rains but would still like to know what makes you rate them "Worst". For a driver, the "worst" factor comes from the fact that Kolhapur to Pune section is heavily densed with too much of traffic and one cannot drive with a peace of mind which otherwise is the case with most of the stretch in Karnataka's NH4 section.

In most of Karnataka's NH4 , you can do a Inky Pinky Ponky to select the gate of your choice to pay your toll as they are mostly empty (Barring Hubli Bypass, Tumkur and Nelemangala one).

If you take the stretch in Maharashtra in the night, it is a delight to drive and a driver gets the feeling of driving on a highway with ample traffic, good number of places to eat till Kolhapur and loads of 24/7 Fuel stations. The moment you enter Kagal, you feel isolated with traffic almost becoming nill and hardly any fuel stations!!

[MX6]

He's reached mumbai at 9 pm. Hence he has crossed satara around 3:30 pm and pune around 6 pm. With hinjewadi chowk going crazy and traffic swelling in this part of NH4 between satara and pune, guess it's not the right time.

[canonguy]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

In most of Karnataka's NH4 , you can do a Inky Pinky Ponky to select the gate of your choice to pay your toll as they are mostly empty

This is so very true! I've found KA and TN to be a driver's delight. Not because of impeccable road manners of the traffic but because of absolute lack of traffic (comparatively). It's a real pleasure to be able to cruise at high speeds safely as most of the times the roads are devoid of traffic. Not only is the KA portion of NH4 a treat, but also the NH7 to Kanyakumari from Bangalore. I was able to safely maintain 87 km/hr average between BLR-kanyakumari when I travelled last month. One of the most thrilling road trips I've had so far!

[goandude]

Siraj, when you recover from the grueling 18 hr run, do tell us about the haveri chitradurga stretch. Esp the ranibenur bypass.

[vinod_namakkal]

Siraj, Just read your thread late. I was traveling chennai - Mumbai train the same day for an official purpose. I woud have joined as co pilot. Point 3 point 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, anything was ok for me. just missed.

[jagxf]

@goandude: chitradurga-haveri stretch is pretty good, there are 2 places where flyover work is going on,other than that it is pretty good, just came back from savanur, but be on the lookout for speedbreakers without prior info!
@srirajbose: brilliant travelogue! hope you enjoyed it!