I was intrigued by the infamous ditch at Anmod, located on a stretch of road that is part of the Bangalore Goa highway. It is a monster and cannot be taken even at slow speed.

BHPian rajathv8 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

The Anmod car breaker:

I was intrigued by the infamous Anmod ditch so I clicked a few pics here to document it. It is indeed a monster. This is not a ditch that can be taken at slow speed. The drop is too much and it WILL hit even at crawling speed. My A-Star took a hit as well - 170mm GC and lightly loaded. It all depends on the approach.

Easy - it is at the turn to Doodhsagar Jungle Resorts.

Set Doodhsagar Jungle resorts as a stop on Gmaps and watch out for the deviation from the main road to identify the spot.

Without the above, it is not easy to identify the location. I witnessed many sudden braking incidents during my recee - it scared even the likes of XUV700, XUV500, Hector and an Endy. The 500 kicked up quite some dust while braking but none of them got a hit.

Anatomy:

There are 3 points of interest:

• This is the car breaker. It is a sharp dip from concrete to a sloping mud surface with ditches. It is the worst of the three and the one where most cars were getting hit. In the span of 15 mins I was taking pics, a Jazz, Punto and Alto got severe hits. The Alto took a hit between the wheels and another one on the rear overhang.
• This is the rise while going towards Goa. Its not as bad as above.
• This is a gentle transition towards Doodhsagar Resorts turn and is the preferred approach to take. It does not have a sharp drop.
• The 150 feet stretch had many deep potholes and ruts. It was not motorable by cars. So the cars had to resort to the 80 feet stretch. To avoid the car breaker, follow the 3->2 route. On return journey take 2->3 route.

Look for annotation in the images:

Notice the Doodhsagar Jungle Resorts board on the left:

More images:

Notice the marks on the concrete edge and the broken car parts visible:

Closing thoughts:

This spot is in a densely forested area with significant rain and truck traffic. The optimal approach will change with time so best to walk it out of required.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

After 1.5 years of riding & a few pandemic breaks in the middle, I've shortlisted some of the most scenic and cycling-friendly (unfriendly, too) routes around the city.

BHPian vinya_jag recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Had been planning this thread for a while now. All of this started around a year and a half back, when we started cycling, for fitness, and formed a small group. None of us knew much about cycling, not sure which cycle to buy, how much distance to ride, where all could we ride to, etc. However, after a year and half of riding, and a few pandemic breaks in the middle, listing some of the most scenic and cycling-friendly (unfriendly too) routes around Bangalore (North).

Hennur Bamboo Forest

• Place: 5
• Cycling inside: Allowed sometimes
• Route: 3 (Via Hennur road)
• Difficulty: 3 (Watch out for traffic on Hennur road)
• Eateries around: None (Pack your food)
• Notes: Google Map destination leads you to a dead end. Stay on the main road to reach your destination. Each season has a different colour to these trees. If you are lucky enough, you might spot a peacock or two.

Route

Place

Avalahalli Forest

• Place: 5
• Cycling inside: Allowed always
• Route: 4 (Via Presidency school)
• Difficulty: 2
• Eateries around: None (Pack your food)
• Notes: Best place around Bangalore for Cycling forest trails. Mountain Bike or Hybrids are preferable. However, I have taken my road bike there. With a little difficulty and a little carrying around, you will be able to make the circuit of around 3-4 Kms within the forest itself.

Route

Place

Hesarghatta Lake

• Place: 4
• Cycling inside: Allowed always, Need to carry cycle and cross a couple of small gates
• Route: 4 (Via Avalahalli)
• Difficulty: 3.5
• Eateries around: Darshinis a few kilometers away (Pack your food for the lake bed)
• Notes: There are multiple routes to this place. Choose the Avalahalli route for easy access and fewer inclines and declines. Still a medium difficulty route with sparse traffic and scenic roads. You will find a lot of cyclists smiling at you along the way.

Route

Place

Hesarghatta Lake Via Rajanukunte

• Place: 4
• Cycling inside: As above
• Route: 5+ (Via Rajanukunte and KMF)
• Difficulty: 4 (Distance)
• Eateries around: As above
• Notes: Best road for cycling, or walking or anything. The KMF to Hesarghatta stretch is picturesque

Route

Place

Devanahalli Fort

• Place: 5
• Cycling inside: Allowed. Need to carry cycle up a few steps to reach the fort wall
• Route: 4.5
• Difficulty: 3.5 (Crosswinds)
• Eateries around: Along the way, you will find a few
• Notes: Airport road is a cakewalk on any day, stay on the flyovers and you will have uninterrupted cycling for hours. Distance and crosswinds while coming back make the ride tough.

Route

Place

Hennur bamboo forest & Chokkanahalli forest, Mandur bamboo forest

• Place: 5
• Cycling inside: ALlowed sometimes, but this route goes through Chokkanahalli forest
• Route: 4.5 (Via Airport road, Razak Palya road)
• Difficulty: 3
• Eateries around: None
• Notes: This is a circuit road, choosing the best routes for cycling

Route

Route pics

Continue reading about vinya_jag's cycling destinations for BHPian comments, insights and more information.

Constant construction activities in the locality create fine dust that gets deposited on the cars. I've to clean this abrasive layer every single day.

BHPian saikarthik recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Say you are on the outskirts of a bustling metropolis and the locality is under development, you would totally feel this. Now, every ordinary citizen who lives in such an environment would find difficulties with the ongoing construction of basic infrastructure or buildings. But there are some more problematic nuances for some who are like the people on this forum.

I am not posting against the development or with an intolerable mindset of the problems around, but just to pen down a couple of observations and also to get some more from you guys. I am not disclosing the exact location, but this is around the Whitefield-Hosakote road. The street I reside at now is pretty close to the main road and also the old Madras road, the place is full of residential apartments, roads are partly laid, sewer lines, gas pipeline, optic fiber and electric poles are being laid, almost every month or so one by one. This situation is experienced by almost everyone like each department or corporation decides to dig and fill a freshly laid road, they won't even coordinate like removal of debris. What's new?

But, it depends on how long one locality can endure this, especially when the street is on the path to vast, open, undeveloped land. There are agricultural fields behind our apartments and even they are being converted as plots for sale. Whenever we think this is over and we can live peacefully, some other plot gets sold and the whole "Khadda khod" business starts. Let me list down some of the issues to keep this thread crisp and to the point.

• Constant construction of buildings which create fine dust which gets deposited on the car - have to clean this abrasive layer every single day apart from reduced quality of breathable air.
• Noise from the construction site from the machines, and material loading unloading.
• Unsafe and clogged streets due to increased traffic - flying rocks from tire squeeze, unruly driving, parking irresponsibly and blocking exits.
• Nails, debris, shards of glass, unwanted material dumped and whatnot on the road.
• Broken roads, manholes, sludgy roads during rains.
• Interruption of power due to new lines, or moving old poles.
• Unusable road sections - poles not moved, manholes are either deep or protruding.

A recent example is, we used to buy fresh veggies from the farmers behind the apartment, but now a large private corporation has bought it and they are filling the land with mud, using large trucks which are too heavy for this road. Take a look at the land which was used to be farmland, rich with water and a lake nearby. Also, the roads which lead to it where we reside.

The company has promised to relay the surface and also replace the broken manholes, which is the best they could do and I am glad they promised. But this is a pain we have to endure for at least another 5 years or so considering all the fresh plots that are being made and sold.

What are your experiences and any suggestions?

Here's what BHPian Akshay6988 had to say about the matter:

I can feel your frustration as I am also facing this menace of dug up roads! The arterial road joining to the main road from my society is about a kilometer in length, half of which didn't exist at all - it was going through a private property and the land owner wasn't budging to give up that area. After lots of follow-ups and speaking with local politicians, finally, that road was constructed in last August. And now the municipality decided to build the remaining half of the road. One would say that's a good thing, getting good roads and such. But the thing is, these people "forgot" to lay down drainage pipes under the newly built road. Yes, that is what the contractor said when asked why he was digging up an already made road.

As if this wasn't enough trouble for me, they dug up the side of the road thrice in the last four months - to lay down the gas pipeline, underground electricity cables and street lamp poles. In all these instances, they did the work over the weekend and promised to fill in the pit the same day, but that didn't happen. My house is parallel to the road so I couldn't take out any of my vehicles for two days. It is really frustrating to see the tax money we pay, being misused and wasted by these incompetent folks, at the same time giving trouble to us.

Here's what BHPian am1m had to say about the matter:

It's not just the outskirts, Bangalore city center too was 'under construction' for a long time for the smart city initiatives. It's all completed now and looks great, but I fear it's only a matter of time before they dig up everything for some other project!

Here's what BHPian Raghu M had to say about the matter:

I think we are all part of the problem, aren't we? Before you moved to that location, the already existing neighbors might have felt exactly as you do right now. New localities are always full of activity. I don't think there is any place in cities when we can relax unless there is every inch is taken up. My area was peaceful 5 years ago, now it is home to some big real estate ventures. Roads are in bad shape, are being dug every now and then. Apart from getting frustrated once in a while, there is very little we can do.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

Speed breakers are the trademark or signature dish of Namma Bengaluru. You will find humps of all mathematical and geological varieties in the city.

BHPian venkyhere recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Rants of a car commuter in Bangalore:

As a gentleman, you maintain distance from the rear of the vehicle ahead, not for paying obeisance to the motor vehicle act but to use him as a pothole-alert decoy. But the uber-cab / auto beside you thinks "who is this moron" and squeezes in front of you. And as you gently press your brakes to restore your vision of the tyres of your brand new decoy, BHAAAMM... your suspension just exploded with expletives that trace back through several generations of your lineage. You are filled with pity for your struts and strut mounts, but rage for the moron who did this to you. You pass on the lineage questioning expletives via brain telemetry to the guy who just did the equivalent of the middle-finger salute that Venkatesh Prasad gave Aamir Sohail.

Speaking of middle fingers, the road infrastructure of Bangalore is, in summary, BBMP showing the middle finger to you - yes, we will take the highest registration tax in the country, and give you a multi-course cuisine in return. What..what? , you may ask.

This:

• Pothole type A - torrential (strike that) 30 minutes of rain-induced multilayer-concentric-rings-birthday cake pothole: looks like the drone shot of an iron-ore mine.
• Pothole type B - sinkhole style base-erosion driven geological anomaly. Underneath the tar, the road contractor put biscuit wrappers instead of crushed stones. Poor chap must have been left with a meagre 1 trillion dollars, after picking up a contract worth 20 trillion, because the bribe-network payoffs ate away 19 of those, for a 5km road laying contract.
• Pothole type C - unfinished business. Cauvery water pipe laying, airtel fibre-optic cable laying, Natural gas pipe laying, I-like-digging-so-im-laying-some-leftover-PVC-pipes-from-the-next-hardware-store pipe laying; all artfully done. 4-5 layers of surface excavated, and 1 layer of mud added after the pipes are in. Job done - a giant portal to "paatal lok". If you notice carefully, the depression is not exactly longitudinal or transverse to the direction of travel of vehicles. If longitudinal, the size of the depression is widest, where the road is naturally narrowest. If transverse, it's always diagonal, to ensure each wheel feels an independent jolt, instead of having a partner wheel to share if it were anywhere close to being 'roughly straight across'. Genius craftsmanship, I say.
• Protrusion type A - manholes. The word 'hole' is a misnomer here because the size of the manhole cover is the size of the dish antennas at space observatories. And they are specifically designed such that there are sharp edges (yes, sharp edges on something that is shaped like a circle, go figure) on the 'concrete platform' on which the manhole cover sits. Yes, concrete is stronger than that used for home/apartment construction in Bangalore city (which, if you notice, cause buildings to collapse like a house of cards). No, no, manhole covers must be made from titanium grade concrete, and not from the variety used by building contractors.
• Protrusion type B - pizza toppings. Yes, even the biggest, costliest, all-in, cheese overloaded, heart attack ready pizza from the swankiest fake-Italian eatery in Bangalore, won't match up to the sheer density of toppings delivered by the 'patch work' contractor, on those roads which are 'repaired' after lots of public unrest and candle marches and paying obeisance at the lotus feet of the corporation ward member of that area. These pizza topping roads are equally feisty as the potholes, in extracting expletive-laden curses from your suspension.
• Protrusion type C - humps. The trademark, ISI mark, Agmark, the signature dish of Namma Bengaluru. Inverse dome, inverse semi-dome, inverse parabola, inverse trapezoidal ramp, grand canyon walls, Karakoram mountain range - you will find humps of all mathematical and geological varieties. Sometimes, it goes beyond math and geology, into the realm of a military level surgical strike: where, after your wheels have climbed over mount Kilimanjaro, they immediately land in the Mariana trench. The hump-followed-immediately-by-pothole jugalbandhi. The stuff of engineering genius, ensuring that even if you drive a monster truck, you suffer an underbody hit nevertheless.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

The new rule applies to both 2-wheelers and 4-wheelers and can attract a fine of Rs. 1,000.

Last week, the Bangalore Police announced a new rule banning the use of Bluetooth devices or earphones.

The new rule applies to both 2-wheelers and 4-wheelers and can attract a fine of Rs. 1,000. Listening to music or attending a call using Bluetooth while driving a car will also be illegal. However, the police have clarified that using Google Maps will be permitted if there's a phone holder installed.

The 2-wheeler helmet manufacturers association has opposed Bangalore police's move to penalise those using Bluetooth devices while riding or driving. It stated that hands-free technology is used widely all over the world and is a much safer alternative to a hand-held device.

Bluetooth devices have gained popularity in recent times and is widely used by riders to listen to music, answer a call or get directions. The technology comes integrated into most new vehicles, cars and bikes alike.

However, am a fairly new driver with no experience driving on hilly roads, sharp hairpin bends, narrow roads with cliff on one side, ghat sections etc. As confident as I can be with my skills and my car, driving there without an experienced driver alongside would be ill advised.

BHPian sen2693 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Me and my wife have decided to take a short trip in this 3 day weekend. However, am a fairly new driver with no experience driving on hilly roads, sharp hairpin bends, narrow roads with cliff on one side, ghat sections etc. As confident as I can be with my skills and my car, driving there without an experienced driver alongside would be ill advised.

Hence, am looking for suggestions around Bangalore where driving on hills would not be a requirement - which seem hard to come by if I look around in the internet. Mysore is one suggestion but it is more of a city atmosphere which I am not interested in.

One place I am considering is Sakleshpur. But from Youtube road trip videos, and all I am not able to confirm if that is a hill station or not. If it is a small climb then I think I should be fine.

Also, any opinions with regards to safety? Is it safe to travel on such roads as a couple?

I will be driving a Rapid. I was hoping a sedan would provide better driving dynamics around corners, although can't deny the low seating position disadvantage.

Suggestions welcome. Thanks in advance.

Here's what BHPian speedmiester had to say on the matter:

Sakleshpur is not a proper hill station though the weather is very pleasant out there. Roads are in good condition for most part, except for the one under construction section between Hassan and Sakleshpur. You won't find many road sections with steep climbs and drops on the sides.

Here's what BHPian Rajeevraj had to say on the matter:

Chikmagalur is an option. Although it is called out as a hill station, you don't need to climb up to it as the main town and surrounding areas are not at a significant elevation compared to Bangalore and is a fairly easy drive. Sakleshpur is similar but from memory, Chikmagalur maybe an easier drive. If you intend to go sight seeing, then of course it involves hill driving.

You can also go to the Bandipur, Mudumalai, Masinagudi, Kabini areas. Will be fairly easy drives and do not involve any hill driving.

Half of Bangalore will be headed out to these areas most weekends. So you do not need to worry about safety on the road. But do understand the covid protocols at your destination and adhere to the same.

Here's what BHPian androdev had to say on the matter:

To be honest, most holiday places off Bangalore have regular roads unless you go seeking out proper hill stations. Coorg, Bandipur, Chikmagalur, Sakleshpur etc. have pretty good highway-like roads. Even if you go deeper into ghats, you just have narrow roads that require you to be alert about oncoming traffic. The scary hairpin bends roads are relatively rare.

In a modern car like Rapid, you don't have to fear hairpin bends etc. You are not driving a Tata Sumo. As long as you don't get aggressive about overtaking, you will do just fine. Review Google maps route for hairpin bends etc. Yellow colour roads in the map are perfectly safe. White colour roads with hairpin bends can be avoided if you want to be extra cautious. Govt has done a great job of making such roads safe. They are slow and require extra caution but do not require any fancy skills. Avoid night time driving and peak holiday periods. It's the overconfidence that causes most accidents.

Or you can try going towards pondicherry, hampi, etc.

Here's what BHPian Kosfactor had to say on the matter:

Mysore is a good place to start with, its not too far and hotels are plenty with good approach roads. Mysore is a very pleasant city to visit places around it, not crowded these days, weather is good too.

You could wake up early morning from your Hotel in Mysore and go for a drive through Bandipur forest \ Nagarahole \ Gopalswamy betta etc

Its not just the hill roads that gets you, often the approach road to homestays and resorts are in very bad shape. You may reach the hill station on time, but to reach the place of stay can take an hour or two in some cases.

Start early, drive slowly and ofcourse, call places ahead to check if they are open due to weekend lockdowns in certain cities and towns bordering KL.

Here's what BHPian Dr.AD had to say on the matter:

Be very careful and cautious, but as long as you know the basics of good driving and have some driving experience, hill driving is nothing extraordinary. In fact, the best way to learn that is just by driving. I learnt my hill driving by just taking out my car on a solo drive and slowly but carefully exploring the hills and mountains. You do not have to be fast or aggressive. Just be slow and careful, take your time, and drive well.

Besides, flat four lane highways are not automatically safer for a new driver. Plenty of driving mistakes happen by new drivers (I see it all the time in my highway drives) on flat highways too and due to the fast speeds there, those mistakes can be very dangerous. Slow hilly drives are maybe safer than fast highway drives for new drivers.

Of course, this is just my point of view and you are the best judge of your driving skills. So please take the safe and right decision as per your own thoughts.

Places like Chikmagalur have only some mild hills. There are no sharp cliffs or anything like that there. They should be pretty easy and safe to drive even for new drivers.

However, if you strictly want to avoid the hills, then Hampi is one destination. It is flat and wide roads all the way from Bangalore to Hampi, with no hills whatsoever anywhere.

Again, be very careful and drive well whether you go on hills or flat roads. Roads to Hampi are flat and wide, but speeds are usually high so do not let your guard down just because it is not hills.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

Named as Tesla India Motors and Energy Private Limited, the registered address is located in Bangalore.

Tesla has now incorporated in India. Named as Tesla India Motors and Energy Private Limited, the registered address is located in Bangalore.

The directors of the company are Vaibhav Taneja - Chief Accounting Officer, Venkatrangam Sreeram - a Bengaluru-based start-up entrepreneur and David Feinstein - Global Senior Director of Tesla. Karnataka Chief Minister also tweeted that Tesla would start its India operations with an R&D Centre based in Bengaluru.

Last month, we had reported that Tesla could launch the Model 3 in India by the end of the first quarter of FY2021-22. In the international markets, the car was launched back in 2017.

In India, the Model 3 is likely to be introduced as a completely built unit (CBU) and could be imported from China's Gigafactory. The Tesla Model 3 has a range of 354-523 km depending on the variant and a 0-97 km/h time between 3.1-5.6 seconds. The car is offered in single and dual motor configurations.

MotoFarm is a purpose built dirt racing circuit near Bangalore, offering a mix of motocross, enduro and flat tracking formats.

MotoFarm is located at Venkatarayanadoddi, near Kabalamma temple, Kanakapura, Karnataka - 562138. The track features wide long sweeping corners, tight, twisty and banked sections as well as jumps. The track surface varies from hard packed to clay to loose soil. Other track features include table-top jumps, a rhythm section, single and double jump and a big finishing jump.

The facility also has a practice track. There are track marshals all around the course. They are trained in emergency resuscitation and first aid. Besides, there are on-site paramedic and trained medics as well.

MotoFarm offers bikes ranging from 150cc - 250cc for rent. They charge Rs. 2,999 to rent a Hero XPulse for half a day. The cost includes fuel and riding gear. Track rent varies from Rs. 999 for Flat & Enduro, Rs. 2,499 for Moto Cross and Rs. 6,999 for Train Day.

Click here For bookings and pricing

Thanks to BHPian vishwasvr for sharing this with other enthusiasts!

According to a media report, sales of cycles have gone up in Bangalore.

It is said that enquires for cycles have gone up by 60% compared to pre-lockdown days. 50% of the enquiries are reported to have been converted to sales.

A cycle store typically stocks cycles ranging from Rs. 6,000 to Rs. 80,000. However, replenishing stocks sold could be an issue as there have been no shipment of cycles for the past 3 months.

Most customers pick up entry-level bicycles as they want to get into cycling for exercise after sitting at home during the lockdown. The trend has been picking up as gyms and swimming pools are closed and as commuters are trying to avoid using public transport.

According to a media report, Bangalore is the most congested city in the world in terms of traffic. The city came first among 425 cities across 57 countries according to a report by TomTom.

Drivers in the city can expect spend an additional 71% of their time stuck in traffic. In 2019, commuters spent on an average, 243 hours in traffic, while driving in peak hours. The highest congestion (103%) was reported on August 20, 2019.

Bangalore-ites spent up to 5 hours a year extra for a 30-minute commute when they left their offices on Friday between 7-8 pm, which were the worst rush hours for the city.

Indian cities like Mumbai, Pune and New Delhi featured in the fourth, fifth and eighth position respectively. Between 2018 to 2019, congestion increased in over 239 cities, while only 63 cities had a small decline in traffic congestion among the cities surveyed.

Source