:-): July 2016

MY FIRST SOLO ROAD TRIP

Having bought my favourite Royal Enfield Classic 350 I couldn’t take it out anywhere for a road trip. I bought it at a time when my work pressure was at its peak and I could ride it only for a day’s trip or so.

Finally the gruelling deadlines ended and I planned for a 3-4 days road trip. I called only very few of my friends and none of them were in a position to come at a short notice. Google maps helped me explore few routes.

I have been to Kerala few times and a road trip in Kerala fascinated me. After a few phone calls with my biker buddies I finally decided on the route. My good friend Sarath offered to give me company for a short distance in Kerala and I was all set to leave.

Day 0 - CHENNAI

Transported my vehicle through SRM transport to Madurai. It was supposed to reach Madurai next day by 11:00 AM.

Day 1 – Madurai to Munnar via Theni – Bodinayakanur (175 Kms)

As expected the vehicle arrived on time. I took it to a local mechanic and ensured that all the spares are fit & proper so that there are no breakdowns. I started off from Madurai by around 12:15. The weather was hot and my riding gears made me sweat like hell. Being a state highway the road until Bodinayakanur was really good and there were green covers all around.

There was a huge U turn at Kottagudi which marked the beginning of the hill road to Munnar. The road was well laid and literally there was not a single soul in sight as it happened to be a weekday. The road was serpentine and the views of the sprawling mountains from the roads were awesome. I stopped to have lunch at a small town which was 30 km away from Munnar. If you are a veggie then Kerala cuisine can be a huge setback. The menu didn’t have anything much except veg biryani.

I was in for a rude shock as my biryani was made in thick Kerala rice and not from the usual basmati rice. That was the worst biryani I have ever had in my life. The owner of the restaurant pissed me off further by saying that Elephants might be lurking in the ghat roads.

Reached Munnar by around 5 PM. Sarath was on time and we met almost after 2.5 years. Quickly we checked in at our homestay and ventured out to explore some local places. After a mini ride in & around Munnar followed by a sumptuous dinner the weather was getting cold. I felt the work pressure getting off my head and the feel good factor engulfing all around. After bitching about our work lives we crashed for the day.

Day 2 – Munnar to Valparai via Athirapally Falls – (257 Kms)

We packed our stuff’s and started from Munnar by around 9:00 am. I made up my mind that I will be visiting this beautiful hill station more on a leisure note. The day didn’t start well as I cut my skin with blade while cutting a rope. The bleeding didn’t stop until I had to arrest it with a band aid.

We stopped at Adimali for breakfast and had delicious parota with Rajma before starting to Athirapally falls.

I have read a few blogs about the ghat stretch from Athirapally falls to Munnar. Majority of them have stated that the forest cover is a thick one and possibilities of sighting wild animals on the roads especially elephants & snakes are very high. Thinking about it sent me shivers down the spine as Sarath will be accompanying me only until Athirapally falls. In order to be doubly sure about the condition of my bike I took it to an official Royal enfield service centre at Perumbavoor and got the vehicle thoroughly checked. I replaced the clutch & accelerator cable and changed the fuse.

We reached athirapally falls by around 3:30 PM. We couldn’t go near the waterfalls as it was already late for the day and the ghat roads are closed by 5:00 PM. I bid adieu to Sarath and started to Valparai.

The entrance to the ghat road had a huge check post and every person entering the ghat road will have to register his name, address, mobile no & vehicle no with the forest guard.

Once the gate was opened I felt like as though I was entering Jurassic Park. No sooner I drove half a mile the thick forest cover was evident. There was a sign board which read as 'Wild animals cross the roads, drive cautiously'. The board irked me a bit. As I drove further I saw elephant's dung lying in the roads.

The dung marks were present along the stretch and it made things scarier. On driving further there was a sign board that the stretch was a place for leopard crossing. That made my fears worse.

There were blind turns and one couldn't spot out if wild animals were roaming in the roads even from a distance. Every blind turns gave me jitters. I had this thoughts if elephants were waiting in the corners to charge me head-on.

At some crisscross I noticed the head of a speeding car. I was happy that i had company. Suddenly the head disappeared even though the road was visible for quite some distance. I feared if it could be a wild elephant. Quickly I took a U-turn and stopped my bike and turned around to see if any elephant is approaching. I was ready to speed away in the opposite direction if the elephant was to charge me.

Thank god my fears faded away as it was only my imagination. I even had a thought if I was hallucinating.

After a few minutes of ride there was an opening I saw a couple of cars & vans and few people standing on the road. There were a herd of elephants grazing some 20 meters away from us. I quickly snapped them and got going on my way.

On proceeding further I noticed that my vehicle was producing some whistle kind of noise. I thought it to be a bird. The noise kept appearing when I accelerated and ceded when I decelerate. I thought if my bike stops anywhere, this was it and that my fate will be decided in this god forsaken forest for sure.

I got my breath back on seeing the check post after an hours ride without any major glitches. It took two hours to get out of the ghat road. The entire stretch of the ghat road was well laid and the roads were maintained in excellent condition.

The fear of wild animals and the prospects of where my bike breaks down I would be stranded in the middle of nowhere with possibilities of outside help being very minute sent shivers down the spine.

It was around 5:15 pm when I reached Valparai. It was a 75 Km ride from Athirapally falls. I made up my mind to never ride in such dangerous stretches alone. With outside help being remote one can get in serious trouble if our vehicles are to create some mechanical problems. Riding solo in this stretch is a big no.

I dumped my bag at a lodge and went for a walk. Valparai is very small and doesn’t have much places to check out. The weather was cold. I went for a long & refreshing walk in the cold streets of Valparai. I spent my time reading books and thinking whether I should drive all the way to Chennai or pack my vehicle to Chennai from Coimbatore before crashing for the day.

Day 3 – Valparai to Chennai – (704 Kms)

I decided to drive all the way to Chennai as packing my vehicle at Coimbatore and collecting it in Chennai 2 days later is a boring task. I quickly started from Valparai at 6:30 am. I was excited to drive through the ghat roads leading to pollachi. The route to pollachi has 40 hair pin bends; the second largest in Tamilnadu after the 70 hair pin bends at kolli hills.

Driving early in the morning in the ghat stretch was amazing. The roads were completely deserted, birds chirping and fresh breeze were blowing across my face. The roaring sound of my beast was the only one in the vicinity. The winding ghat roads were simply one of the best I have ever driven so far. After stopping for a brief period at Aliyar Dam I proceeded further towards Pollachi.

From Pollachi I took the route to Chennai via Karur-Trichy-Villupuram-Pondicherry-Chennai.

I reached home around 8:30 PM and I would say that this was one of my best road trips ever. The State Highway between Karur to Trichy was butter smooth and resembled that of a national highway. Cruising through Trichy took me down the nostalgic lanes which only made the trip more pleasurable. Every aspect of this road trip fell perfectly in place. I clocked 1136 km totally with 704 km alone on day 3. The beast cruised really well on the butter smooth roads.

My first solo road trip opened up lot of avenues. My joy knew no bounds as my day 2 experience received more than 100 upvotes in quora for the first time :D. Indeed it is true that spending for travel is an investment as it broadens your mind. Just looking forward for more & more amazing solo road trips in near future.

Sharing a few pictures shot during the trip: