Saddle Sore Ride -- Nandi Hills (140kms round trip)

One heck of a week it has been with all work. Couldn't manage to sleep last night as I had been thinking about nandi hills.. the route conditions.. whether my hawk could manage it and all the repair kits that were needed. Ajay and I were the riders. We agreed to meet at Krishna Rao park and headed towards KR Market Avenue road and straight to Windsor manor ...all the way till just a few kms beyond new airport to turn left to Nandi hills. In true 127 hours style Aron Ralston style I switched on music, headlight, tailight and a hankey to cover my nose and mouth.(air filter) The excellent roads were like a cherry to an ice-cream. Stopped on NH-4 to capture some pics. Hardly any stops were made till the base. I was quite confident that the climbs could be taken with stride... A huge blow to confidence when I made the first stop within 10 mins of start of ascent. Someone from Bikezone forums had completed the nandi ride from base to hilltop in under 30 mins..I wanted to finish by 40 but was able to manage by 1hr as I HAD to stop many times gasping for breath. The hairpin bends were full of scrapes on the tarmac indicating some serious stunts by bikers. When we neared the last hairpin bend I did manage to catch a glimpse of a watch tower/doom  which marked the entry to Nandi Hills. A couple of delicacies to the eye were 3 bullets modified as chopper with high profile wide slick tyres with loud exhausts. And 3 Intruders which had awesome exhausts cruising one after another. also saw 2 R1's with REPSOL decals. A foreigner joined the Nandi ride from the base of the hill. He unloaded a lovely bike the innova which looked like merida. And soon left us behind. While we were about 2 kms to the summit he was descending at quite a good speed. This sight just added more namak to thoughts.... I am already in a dilemma whether to opt for a BTsport 1 or Trek. The competition was beaten to the bushes by just looking at black beauty. Hmm couldn't tell you how much road bikes inspire me. There were a few more foreigners who were preparing for an offroad journey but I couldn't spot a trail. Maybe the local guide knows about it. An exhilaration ... celebration with two sweet tender coconuts and our batteries recharged we were ready to descend.. You might be wondering at this point. what ?? you guys didn't enter nandi hills or visit the view points inside?

NOPE .. Absolutely not. This was all a test of strength stamina and endurance. I'm quite happy with both our performances. Maybe if i had to leave head faster I'd have shaved off a few minutes from the 1 hour for the climb but I'd be twice as tired and dehydrated. Anyway,  we did start our journey by about 10AM and I had to be very careful as a few strings from the rear brake cable had cracked at the start of the journey. I totaly relied on the front brakes and the moment i see a curve ahead the braking started. But Ajay zoomed way ahead of me and reach a lot faster than I and waited at the base for a quick dose of refreshment. Thought about the return miles that lay ahead and we had to kill this thought as it was getting our morale down and making us think about our saddle sores. Solution :: Listen to music. This seemed to work great till we hit the NH-7 back again when the heat started to take a toll so the number of stops increased and so did the the tender coconuts..!! I saw a lady on a on a road bike which looked like a fomas road king but it wasn't. Damn.. didn't capture the name yet again. Anyway she just waved a quick hi and was on her way. As Ajay's beast ever so slowly ate up the miles I slowed down as much  as I could to match up. We were at the Nrupatunga circle by about 1:30. A quick round of thank you's  TA TA's we were parted ways and headed home for a much needed nap for the tired body and adrenaline pumped soul :-)

Odo meter :: 140 kms round trip from Jayanagar 5th block to Nandi hills summit.
Route Taken :: Jayanagar 5th Block >> Basavanagudi >> Avenue road/KR Market >> Windsor Manor >> Mekhri circle >> Yelahanka >> Devanahalli >> Nandi Hills.

Average Speed from Blr - Nandi Hills :: 22kmph
Average speed on return trip :: 20kmph (strong headwinds)
Total time taken 9 hours including all breaks.

Fastest ~58kmph by Ajay's Cannondale F9. ( My hawk @ 50kmph)
Cadence :: Some body help me with this !!!!

Fuel consumed ::
5 Tender coconuts
2 Munch bars
1 Center fresh bar.
~6 lts of water
2 plates of lemon rice
5 Idly ( The super soft idlis were simply superb)
About 5 PSI of air by Ajay's cannondale F9 and 10 PSI by my hawk

Jayanagar-Chikka Tirupati ....Half day warmer(11-Feb-2011)!!!!!!!

The cycle "Fever" had set in and hard to fathom the lengths one can go to fulfill desires. So is my case. After becoming a member at Bikeszone forum, I posted a request for a ride to chikka tirupati and the plan for 25th. No reply for a couple of days. Probably because I had planned the ride on a Friday morning. Anyway, I managed to tighten the nuts n bolts that were loose and checked air and also tested the new BTwin mini hand pump. With another 12 hours to spare I managed to get a PM from Ajay from Bikeszone forums that he'd give me company. Alrightie then, spoke to Ajay and we decided to start by 5:15 in the morning. Woke up by around 4:45 and finished the morning chores and was ready by 5:15. Met Ajay who was waiting at the 5th block bus stand. A quick round of intro and we kicked off the ride at 5:30. Quite a cold morning start and we cycled at a normal pace, chatting most of the way and were averaging about 28kmph as per the GPS on my nokia. As we reached Decathlon the cold air started hurting our fingers but the thin faint light gave us hope that dawn would break the night skies and we'd no longer need the torch that was being used as headlight. The first stop was at the deviation to the left at Sarjapur. A quick stop for banana's and a photoshoot session. After 10 mins we were off to the destination which was 11 kms away. The morning sun over the fields was really a treat for our eyes. Butter smooth roads to add to the beauty of the trip. Another half hour of riding got us to our destination. We relaxed for yet another 15 minutes and started the return leg. Stopped on the way @ Sarjapur for breakfast. 3 Idlis per plate for Rs.15. Weaving in and out of the Silkboard - Jayanagar traffic we reached by 10:00 AM. This I consider another prep ride for the big one ahead. Will be posting about that in the next travelogue. Until then ... ADIOS..!!!

Pre-requisites for the next trip ::

1. Headlight and taillights.
2. Proper high energy foods.
3. Lime juice (Salted).
4. Extra holder for water bottle instead of carrying it in the bag.


Total distance covered ::

Jayanagar - Chikka Tirupathi :: 37.3 kms
Round trip :: 74.6kms
Fuel consumed :: Bananas + Water + Idlis.

Hosur Hawked - My first Century Ride (04-Feb-2011) !!!

Start time :: 5:18 AM
Start point :: Jayanagar 5th block.
Finish Time  :: 8:45

Breaks :: First at  BETL lay-bye for a quick photoshoot. Next stop @ Bangalore Toll booth. Both for 5 mins each.

Hosur Hawked - My first Century Ride !!!

The Cycling Bug had bitten me hard... when I say hard real hard and this trip marks the first side effect :-P. I was surprised that my mother nodded along with my plan. As usual the thought of the long ride kept me awake late night and I finally dozed off after setting up everything necessary for the ride. A list of items i took include  ::

1. Portable hand pump.
2. A quechcha torch.
3. Puncture repair kit.
4. Extra brake wire.
5. A multi-utility tool from btwin (with torx/allen key and regular bits).
6. Water bottle that came along with the hawk ( 1/2 ltr)
First aid kit ( A little turmeric powder + cotton).

All this in the goodie bag that I got from the cyclothon ride just over a week ago. Set the alarm for 4:00 so I could start by 4:30. Zzzzzz!!!!

Trrrring..!!! My alarm was sounding weird i woke up and then realised that it was my office cab waiting. Informed them it was my week off and looked at the time 3:45AM reset the alarm for 4:15 and due to my head succumbed to the forces of gravity. Alarm went off again and this time it 'was' the alarm tone and woke up, finished the morning chores or .. should i say Early morning chores and was ready by 5:15. Strapped on the new BTwin gloves (nice soft n comfy) and soon i hit the silk board junction. Then it was NH7 all the way. Started cruising on the BETL and just before the toll gate changed my cycle to the main stretch (didn't want to face any condescending questions early morning by the toll gate employees. A smooth ride till old chandapura. Time to reflect on my earlier regular trips to electronics city had made me strong and given enough strength to endure this ride. During the last E-city run I had pain in the right knee but no signs of pain during this trip. Spending some quality time on the bikezone forums did help me a lot. I raised the saddle height after which the ride became more of a pleasure. Got to understand what cadence is all about and better experience at shifting gears at the precise moment so you don't pedal slow stressing thigh and calf muscles or pedal fast n wasting precious energy. Touring is all about utilizing the energy to the optimum levels as distance to cover is more imporant than the time taken. Crossed the bangalore Toll Both after a 5 min break. Little did I realize that the water was Icy Cold.. The first sip and my mind opened up. It was all yellow rickshaw's and tamil hoardings which marked the "Welcome to Tamil Nadu". Plan was to have breakfast at the Hosur Bus Stand but once I reached I didn't feel hungry so I took a quick tour of the newly constructed bus stand (well maintained) and stopped for about 10 mins for another sip. Then off to Bangalore. There were some gradual steep stretches of gradient 5Degrees were to be taken in 3rd or 4th gear. Tried to draft one of the trucks but was able to do so only for about a km. I am not sure whether to call it successful or tiresome. Either I was trying a bit too hard to cope up with the truck getting tired a little to quickly or maybe i was a little too slow on the up slope. Took the BETL tollway again and this time it was mostly down slope to get me in top gear pretty quick. Reached home by 8:45. Marked the completion of the trip by a couple of snaps from my mobile. Enough of the text and let some pics do the talking..

 

BSA-Cyclothon 23-Jan-2011

It has been long since I've established myself as a Go Green enthusiast and here was a chance to prove it in public. So here goes my 2 cents on the deal....

The adrenaline cycling really caught up only after buying a Hero hawk. My cycling days started with a rented avon blue for about Rs.2 an hour. Those 2 Rs. certainly meant a lot. Then I graduated to a BSA-SLR ladies cycle given to be by my uncle from madurai. At this point you must be wondering hehe... a ladies cycle what an idiot but i was in about 7th/8th STD and this cycle was quite fast as it had thin tyres and I had the experience of stopping it sideways by using only the rear brakes and kick up some dust. The next cycle in the list was HerculesMTB Canon Barrell. This I'd say was a lovely cycle. (any cycle being owned by a cycling enthusiast is the best ;-) for him ). When I say lovely, I meant the ride quality the smoothness. With 6 gears it was tried and tested on almost all possible terrain in bangalore. Anyway the next and current cycle turns out to be my m-hawk (thats my Hero Hawk which had naming ceremony even before the purchase). I must have easily clocked about 800 km on this bike in all.

I see an article regarding the BSA cyclothon in paper and also the website(i dont know how I ended up there but what the heck.. I'm contributing to a go green program so its all good). The next thing I did was called Deepak as he is go Green guy ( AS green as Jim Carey in  "The MASK" :-P ). Sure as it turned out to be he was registered in for the corporate ride. I missed the due date by 2 days else I'd have checked with my manager for sponsorship for the ride. As last date to register online was 20th, I registered with the BIB no # 1749. Since the distance between my home and the start point was 27 kms I decided to leave the bike a day earlier at my colleagues house in whitefield. This morning I started from my home at about 6:40 and reached my friends house in about 45 minutes. A quick inspection of the cycle and a strange noise while pedaling. My heart missed a beat..!!!. I quickly leaned down to check if the derailleur had some issue but i was able to figure out someone had fiddled with the front derailleur and shifted to the top gear. Shifted down and everything was  "Tested OK". Left my friend's house and reached the entry spot just in time. I did get a chance to follow the professional cyclists in the elite racing. After the ambulance followed the last cyclist I tried to keep up with them but I was no match. I met Deepak at the site who was all pepped up and game for a start. There were quite a few Hawks that I spotted but they were overshadowed by the huge number of meridas, firefoxes, BTwin and Hercules MTB treks. As I was an individual participant, I started with the first batch which kicked off the non-competitive marathon. What a feeling to be at the start line with the crowd cheering and two cameras pointed direcly at you. (1 overhead and other still) With a ... Woooo..hoooo!! we left the start line at 8:40. I was able to maintain a good pace and kept overtaking quite a lot of cyclists. There was availability of water enroute at 3 stops and I managed to gulp in a couple of bottles. A sea of yellow helmets leading and trailing me looked like construction engineers on the run. The helmets were strong but no thermocol inside and the neck strap was too tight. One might actually choke as they are only elastic without any adjustment. I managed to finish the two laps in a comfy 50 minutes. The thrill of entering the finish line is indescribable. I imagined the professional cyclists who get to experience the thrill from the crowds cheer and support.  I would count myself in the first 100 who finished the marathon. All in all a hearty experience with about over 5000 participants. Attached are some Pics I managed to click at the event.

 

My Friend Deepak..!!

 

Category wise gathering..

 

Thats me...!!!!

 

At the KTPO start point of cyclathon..

Ready set Go...!!!

Pondicherry - 1 day roundup...!!

Date :: 1st August
The travel bug had bitten us all and we were on a roll. We had the choices for wayanad chikmangalur etc. Due to monsoon chikmangalur and almost any part in kerala would be a wonderful place but we'd be confined to the hotel due to torrential rains. After a small chat we zeroed in on Pondicherry. The hottest place where you sweat even without moving a muscle. One would expect cool air sweeping pondicherry's terrain due to the proximity of the ocean but the humidity has the upper hand.

Booked SRS 10:30pm airbus with madiwala as the rendezvous point. All were on time and so was the bus. It turned out to be a new bus from Tata's Stables. The journey was very comfortable. The real test was beyond krishnagiri when the smoothness cease to exist. The suspension took the real beating when travelling over ~ 2 foot potholes. We reached Pondicherry by 7 and took an auto till the beach road and we started walking along the beach for about 20 minutes. Time to decide if we were to go to kalapet for booking one of the beachside huts for stay or to stay at a guesthouse about half km away from governor's palace. The latter was the one to choose as we were there only for a day. Checked in to Sri Krishna guest house and were ready in about an hour. Rented two pulsars for about Rs.250 each and we were off to auroville beach and auroville (Matri Mandir). The ride from ECR road to auroville is a beautiful one as you are covered by greenery all around. We didn't visit matri mandir because the vising hours were nearing closure time ~ 1 pm. The boys were hungry and headed back to guest house. We had lunch at a hotel nearby and off to an aftnoon nap. I headed out for a walk to shop for chocolates and cakes then headed straight to the beach. Sunday's scene at the beach is like a madhouse .... just too many people. With the three musketeers awake by 6 pm it was time for an evening stroll and lazing in the beach. Chats prevailed about the current job market and the need for EJP's. by about 8 pm it was time to return the bikes. Finished dinner at a chettinad hotel. Where surprisingly we had chettinad chilly parota and kothu parota. I (the veggie of the group) did the goof up of ordering kothu parota which actually was prepared with egg. With a cheeky grin I swapped with Geet who was happier with kothu parota. :-) I had booked the tickets for the return journy while the musketeers were recharging their batteries through the evening. Boarded the KSRTC Volvo by 8:30 and reached bangalore in 7 hours. Another trip added to my picasa.arsenal .... Yippeeee....!!!!

http://picasaweb.google.com/lancersfx/Pondicherry

Summer Camp.....Reclaiming Yercaud

Weekly offs in common, the spirit of adventure, and  the ecstasy of appreciating nature is all it takes to hit the pedal to the metal and gobble up the makhkhan miles.

Here’s how it all started. As my offs for the week are Friday and Saturday,  Friday was wasted – basking in the balcony of my new quarters.  The same evening was dedicated for a rendezvous with friends. The uncanny presence of Kingfisher ignites the deep dark insides of the brain!! Or so did I think. I expected to be back home late night after dinner. After dinner I could hear talks of a road trip to Yercaud. Though no shots of kingfisher were taken but I certainly did feel the kick. First off, I got to convince my mom about this ( I could already see the rainbow that might unfold) and secondly I had to go to office sunday morning. I guess it had been a long time since the “Bull” from Bajaj’s stables had been taken by its neck and shaken to life. Sam was all set in no time. I had to return home to leave my loyal Boxer ( serving its notice period) because it’s no longer got the get-set-go juice in its veins.

We started from Jayanagar by 1:50 AM. The highway is always a treat and considering the fact that  there is no Toll fee for Bikes. What a joy it is when you glide past all those cars who stare at you thining “Hey we’re waiting in queue and so should you” ………and I’m like “Scrooo u” and Vrooom past the the toll in a jiffy. We reached the first pitstop on our journey just a little beyond the Krishnagiri flyover. Time for a breather and quick sip of tea to alert our senses. Calling…Rider swap. I immediately took over and the smiles just got wider. The open tarmac called for some good speeds but that was limited by the high beam from a those nasty trucks and buses. The 4 lane highway is definitely a boon to the night travelers. We reached Dharmapuri in about 90 minutes and stopped for a ‘leak’ and also our Gluteus Maximus heaved a sigh of relief. To give you a perspective of what a short break must mean for long bike rides.. consider this.. What does a Truck/bus/lorry do when they stop for a break after a long drive ………..CHUSHHHHH!!!!!!..... I’m sure you must be familiar with that sound but that’s exactly how we felt.

Next we headed to the thoppur Ghats and straight through to Salem. Another toll and a huge grin on my face…!!!!! Miles rolled by and we stopped a few miles before the diversion to yercaud for another T-Break and a Rider change. Sameer took over and it soon became clear that we have reached at a precise time to take on the Ghats. Beautiful curves invited some sleazy riding but we enjoyed every stretch of it. Could feel any loss of power in this long black beauty. Soon we reached the summit and now comes the truly fun bit of our journey. Both had to empty our tanks and our brains didn’t quite repond as it normally would. So my mind was ready to take any damn hotel/resort. Thanks to Sam’s patience I kept my mouth shut. After a search of all the major hotels and resorts there we found that all were full and booked well in advance. Holy moly.. the only option was to get to the Sterling resorts which has been constructed on the edge of the cliff so when you open the balcony door you get a breathtaking view. Charge for this Wowwiness – 2400 + tax. The lodge owner took so much pride in saying  Plus Tax as if he was throwing in a bonus with the package. It wouldn’t make sense opting for that because we would be staying for hardly 10 hours.  So as we stopped at another Home-Resort just at the entrance to yercaud and checked out a few hotels there and one of them was in the woods. PERFECTO… Time to empty our tanks…. After being eco friendly with nature we were happy to quench the thirst of two trees. Now we can search with empty tanks and idle brains. Just as the decision was about to be made to book the Sterling resorts my eyes preyed upon a Homely stay resort – The Royal Resorts in Nagalur Road. Looked good from the outside but we were soon laughing once we saw the room. There was a double bed and an upper berth. The toilet was more like Alcatraz kinds. Anyway, this was sufficient for a day’s stay.

Quickly refreshed and got ready for breakfast. Headed straight to Hotel Malar adjacent to Shevaroys Resorts.  The unmistakable aroma of drumstick sambar, dosas was refreshing to us  weary travelers.

With the tummies loaded we headed out to the Kiliyur falls but we got to know from the locals that there wouldn’t be any water during this time of the year. So we decided to walk down that path as it covered with thick undergrowth.  We returned to the lodge as we found no point in walking all the way to the falls and also the temperatures were rising. Time for a nap. Zzzzzzzzzzz!!!!!!

Woke up by 4 and it was time for lunch. Checked out a different hotel and god it was full to the brim. So we went back to Hotel Malar and to our disappointment there were only two options , Parota or veg Biryani. We settled for Parota and it was goodie good with the tasty “kurma”.  It was then time to visit the viewpoint at the “Lady’s Seat”. Ride to the view point was just perfect with a mild welcome drizzle. One gets a full view of salem city and the sight is best seen late evenings. We started the journey back to bangalore by 6pm and stopped at the restaurant Meenakshi Bhavan in Dharmapuri. It is known for its “Sambar saadam” Sambar rice. It turns out that it is available only during the noon. So we had to settle for a “Paper Roast” and “Chilly Parota”. Sam savoured every last bit of sambar so it was more like dosa was the side dish. Reached Bangalore by 11:30 and off to bed.  I hope to take on Kanyakumari or Mangalore the next time .... and I hope to do it in a bullet probably by June or July,....

Until then.. Adios.....!!!!!!

Koti-Lingeshwara :: Divinity Quantified..!!!!!!!!

Trip to Koti-lingeshwara (Divinity quantified…!!!!!)
Date::18-Jan-2010

The entire Sunday (17th) Jan went by just getting the car checked as there was a radiator leak. Unfortunately the radiator repair guy “in shift” and was expected to be present only early next day. Came back to the garage with hope from the mechanic that he would try and fix the radiator. ( put a smile on my face so I don’t have to visit him again tomorrow for another wasted weekend.)


Now to the main part .. oh yes.. the trip..
How ?? Now that the car had to be tested, I just couldn’t just make rounds for a couple of kms and say “AAL EEZ WELL!!!!! So Koti-Lingeshwara, here we come.

Who ? My mother, brother and I. Brother had college late morning so distance mappings had to be done and I also was worried about the road conditions. I had been there once on bike with my friend but the roads were horrid after the right at the level crossing just beyond Hosakote on the way to Bangarpet. Wondering about the alternatives and covering this notorious stretch, we started by 5:30am.



Route
Kavalbyrasandra >> Outer Ring Road >> Old Madras Road >> towards Kolar/Hosakote >> Right at the first level crossing >> Bangarpet >> Kammasandra >> Kotilingeshwara.
Hand on heart, I feared the worst and headed for the highway. For the next couple of kms the roads were giving a good fight to my car’s handling ability and my driving skills. Then voila!!!! the road turned out as smooth as Makkhan. Newly laid tarmac was an absolute treat. I was seriously considering reaching Mulbagal and taking an alternate route from there though, it is a longer detour. But I’m glad I didn’t. So we reached Kotilingeshwara at 7:00am. As per google search results a couple of websites mentioned the distance to be within 70kms. But what was the final Odometer reading ?? 200Kms.


Why Koti-lingeshwara? My mother’s request to see the temple.
Quickspecs on Kotilingeshwara - As on 2008 there are about 87 lakh lingas. You could do a Linga Pratishtapana for Rs.3,500. (Installing a linga within the premises. Please pardon my technical jargon.) Now a trick with the count of the linga.





In the picture to the right, each linga contains smaller lingas embedded on the main structure, so each one counts.














This is the big statue of Nandi facing the giant linga.














Goddess Santhoshi's shrine inside second partition of the main temple.












This is the big nandi facing the giant linga.











Started for bangalore by 9:30AM and reached home within 11:30AM. Stopped on the way to shop for vegetables. Was a little tired so relaxed for a while and watched a telugu movie Oye. ( remake of A walk to remember) and slipped into a deep slumber. A nice place for a half a day out!!!!

Trek to Sakhleshpur - The Indian Amazon....

I reluctantly tear myself away from my laptop in order to redeem the long lost ‘Econess’ in me….!!!! After going through the ordeal of making numerous plans and cancelling them at the last moment (you might be thinking the trips are getting cancelled due to my friends declining at the last minute.. The fact is I am also one of the “Friends” who chickened out at the last moment)… we were tired of it so finally all of us put our foot down and looked forward to start by Friday night (19^th-Nov-09).

With the due date nearing and the checklists tallied we boarded the KSRTC bus 11:45 and it took nearly till ~1am to exit city limits. We hit the highway and halted just on the outskirts of Hassan for a break. Got a refreshing cup of coffee and then back on bus we reached Sakhleshpur in a couple of hours. It was decided that we walk till Donigal.. ( and in Top Gear manner our expressions were …How Hard Can It BE?). We finished our morning chores at the bus station and left there after about half hour. As we crawled on the highway and we found a KSRTC bus heading towards kukke subramanya which had a flat tyre and was being fixed. To our luck we boarded the bus and reached Donigal. Sure, the walk to Donigal would have been good, as we were away from the bustling city & human traffic but we would have run out of energy and missed out on all the fun that lay ahead of us. At Donigal we found a small bridge below which were the railway tracks. I was confused as to which route to take.

I truly admire the adventure spirit of Nana (aka Daryl but he sure is a scale model of Nana Patekar) who promptly said “Chal rey…Aisey hi utartey hain na”, to which most of us were wondering what he meant by “Aisey" Because we found no proper way to get down. There was a ditch to cross and it was quite steep. Anyway the other 3 of us started to view the possibilities of getting down to the tracks during which time Nana had reached the base first and called out for us. What a jumpy start!!!!…

Now onwards it was pretty much follow the track. Now..what is the expectation when you see a railway track ? …… Guess … Guess………………………………..You’re right a train. Sure enough, once we were on the track sameer changed into the proper gear and so did Nana and Deepak. Got the camera’s ready and the distant roar of the engine and the horn ensured that we got off track in a jiffy. As the train neared we found that it was just two engines but god .. they were loud and the vibrations were good enough to give us a hint of the powerhouse inside. The horn was loud enough to tingle all your senses.


Time Check :: 7:00hrs 20-Nov.2009. All of us were packed and ready to go. It is a known fact that the beauty of western ghats can be enjoyed when you are riding the Train to Mangalore. But trust me on this.. the trek alongside the track comes no way close to enjoying the view while on a train. The train journey can be compared to watching a movie but, the trek is like reading a book (great attention to detail). As we treaded along, the landscape gradually changed. All of us were excited when we spotted the first bridge (at 52/0) and we did the obvious.



To capture proof that we’d been there and done that.

It certainly was a magical place. The morning mist gently skimming over the forest canopy. Birds chirping and no vehicular nonsense to distract your undivided attention to the nature calls!!!!!


A couple of kms ahead we spoke to a line maintenance engineer and found out that a permission from the forest dept. was a must “Gulp!!!!!” But there was no point in going back just to get permission so we continued and looked forward for the next bridge/tunnel. We reached Km-61where there is a small river and there are two ways to cross this stretch, one is to continue on the railway or there is a way down so you can refresh yourself with the cool waters. And then walk over to the other side. In the following pic we see the track on the bottom left corner and the other way is via the smaller bridge. We relaxed here for about 20 minutes. Refuelled our tummies with bread n biscuits. Sameer, Deepak and I got to the stream and the cold water was like a coolant. The first splash to the face and the sound in my mind was Chushshhhhhh!!!!!!!! Heavenly…!!!!!. As we started packing up to continue our journey, another train made its way back from mangalore. This was a goods train carrying petroleum. Let the pics do some talking.

The next treat awaits in the next km as we crossed this bridge (2^nd) we were excited all the more because we were about to go right thru the first tunnel which is 600m in length at 55/400 mile stone. After this it was pretty much going through bridges and tunnels. I didn’t manage to keep a count because we were at a such a place that everything can’t be accounted for. The lush green forest cover on both sides of the track. The longest bridge we encountered was the 600m bridge immediately after the bridge from where you could see the rapids. We spotted snakes twice on the way but before we could capture them on our camera’s they disappeared into the thick undergrowth.



I was quite amazed to spot a crab ..What!!! a CRAB… ??? You must be kiddin…..!!!! Nope and I know this would be the thought on ur mind so here you go..

More wildlife ::--- Courtesy Deepak and Daryl

One of the beautiful and brightly coloured bird from the bountiful forest canopy.

Another bird from the same forest canopy. Only an SLR with a good lens could do justice to the images.









Probably the best pic of a bird captured in the trip.









The touch of an Nikon SLR.











Nature's true Colors captured in a Nikon D40 by our photo phreak....







The snails on a trail....I think the snail without shells are slugs.. Maybe but I'm not sure.. Just some food for thought....!!!!!!






All that matters is what object is in focus in order to capture the best out of a moment..Deepak knows how and when.

We halted at Yedakumari for the night and found that we could stay at the signal operator’s house just next to the station. After a not so pleasant experience with that guy (hmm not pleasant… ???) ok let me explain. All of us were happy that the station operator agreed to prepare dinner anna-saaru (rice-Sambar) and late evening it started raining heavily and he was kind enough to let us stay in his house nearby. There was another group the BMC Bangalore Mountaineering Club who were a huge group of 42who stayed at an open lobby at the station. So comparatively we were on the better side or so did we think. Now comes the part where you are so pissed off that you want to beat the ….. out of someone but, all you really have is bottle opener!!!! This idiot… I really do mean it “IDIOT” woke us up early morning. Don’t you ever think early means 6 or 5am (cuz for us Bengaluru boyz it is still midnight,) but 4AM. After a trek of over 25 kms on the first day we needed good rest to proceed the next day. But it turns out this guy was drunk in the morning and started demanding for more than what he deserved. He started arguing that the logding in kukke subramanya was about 3k-4k and at that point, even in that sleepy misty Sunday morning I couldn’t help but laugh wondering if there is a TAJ in Kukke Subramanya. Now that all were totally pissed off we decided to pay this guy and sleep in the open lobby for maybe a couple of hours more and then start trekking again sometime by 6 or 7.

But as the saying goes.. whatever happens … happens for good.. right?…. Here’s the part 2 –

We had heard overnight, that the BMC group were planning to leave by 4am by train to kukke subramanya and due to the group size not all could board within the 5 minute interval the train had stopped. So about a dozen were left over. The BMC leader Aravind said they were going to trek to a point and then take the route downhill to reach a village called Gundya which would lead to the NH48. So we joined the BMC group and travelled another 10 more kms from where we were supposed to get a diversion that would lead us to the river, crossing which would take us to the NH-48. Arvind and I walked for about a km beyond the point and checked if there were any alternate tracks but couldn’t find any. So as per the directions by a track maintenance engineer the diversion should be before the 600m tunnel. So we started walking in the other direction and just at the start of the bridge (At km 79/500) we found a very narrow and steep path. Since this was the only path in sight everyone were excited and started down. Our convoy of 4 were like the Jumpers and sped down for the first 15 minutes and then we had to take a break to catch a breath but nana has no word of such in his dictionary. No breaks or brakes…. I forgot to mention that we also call him the stick insect because he scales steep gradients effortlessly. Hundreds of leeches on the way which were trying to grab a hold of us. I was so concerned that, every 50 mts I would jump, dust my pants and check the socks. I did get a couple of leech bites and now, officially a member of the Leechbyte club…. ;-).

Another laugh on the way, we spotted a Elephant Cow-Dung. I have seen Elephant Dung but this was new so I rushed when Deepak made the call pointing the dung. It indeed was Elephant Cow-Dung…. See for yourself…

Nothing goes as planned though you are careful and have taken the necessary precautions. Deepak lost an expensive cap and Nana lost a pair of rechargeable Kodak NiCd batteries. Once we hit the NH 48 we heaved a sigh of relief. Spotted a mallu hotel by the highway and savored on idlies and appams. We boarded the KSRTC bus (Karnataka Sarige) at about 11am and the shiradi ghat was in a horrible condition. After Hassan the roads were very good and the bus was able to maintain good speeds.


Some more pics ... enjoy....