Me and the Road

It was just another saturday night. we were at the tea shop 11 PM at night. We talked about our upcoming (probable) trip to thirupathi. when we all suddenly agreed to go out the next day. Nothing was planned. Got back home, opened google maps and decided on Belur, halebid and shravana belagola. I didnt ve much sleep so I went to bed. Amin and srini were still awake. Sathish said he would join us in the next trip.

Woke up at 3:30 got ready to leave by 4:30. Two bikes. Me on my apache and Srini and Amin on srini's unicorn. The plan is to reach shravana Belagola first then sakleshpur(added overnight) and then reach Belur and Halebid. Overall a 550 kms ride. I was so excited. Going on a long trip after quite some time.

Bangalore was quiet early in the morning and the road was good. We both roared at 80/90kmph. Stopped for tea in the way. morning chilness and tea.. whah.. u will have to feel it to appreciate. By the time it was dawn, we were goin on a 4 lane road cruising at 90kmph. I stuck at 80-90 since my bike was giving some vibration over 90. Don wanna push her too hard. stopped for tea again and reached Shravana Belagola by 8:30. 150 kms done. The road was very good till then.

On the way!

We parked, me and srini went up. The hill was small but the view was great. Went inside and all the statues lukd alike. Got to knw that was a Jain temple.. Thought Buddhist till then :P. And there was some bids going on for 2-2.5K as to who will perform the abhishek.. We tuk some snaps and came down the hill. There were few shops down the hill and only for girls (Caution: Dont take ur wife there :P). The goods were really good and we made some purchases (for fnds and family of course). A lady offered to provide breakfast there. Had decent fud, paid and started for sakleshpur.

Entrance

All the way UP

The View

More views

Many More Views

All to see this guy..

The road to Sakleshpur was very windy. Just kept her at 70 to have good balance. It was a 2 lane road so had to be really careful. When we entered the forest area, it was totally different. Just when I was planning to take the helmet off to feel the breeze, it started raining.. yupp.. The view was really great. Shame we didnt take any pics there. These guys were nowhere to be found. I reached the town and waited for them. They came, and we went to a Manjarabad fort nearby. Got something to eat and were chatting all the way..

Just guys..

Reincarnation..

The solo king srini..

Mr Romantic AMIN

The fort was awesome especially with the cool breeze that was flowing. Tuk several snaps and came down. On the way there were several shops selling small furnitures arranged with wooden logs. They were really beautiful and cheap.. Would ve got some had we gone by car. There was a mini falls nearby and tuk a small break there.

Having a break.. (Without a kitkat)

The next place was belur. Just 40 kms away via a shortcut.. And wat a shortcut it was.. I ve seen that road only in my childhood at my village. It was very narrow and full of sharp stones. There was a very beautiful natural lawn. We had to stop the bikes and just lie down there.

The sun was up again and we had to leave. Reached belur soon. It was around 4:30 when we reached. Went inside, offered prayers, tuk a round and few snaps. Bought couple of stone lamps each for home. Time was 5:20. Someone told us Halebid closes at 6PM. We had to rush. Covered those 18 kms in 20 mins.

Belur

I like the space there..

Spelling mistake??

Halebid was in quite poor shape. maintained just for tourist purpose and not as a temple. Spent some time on the lawn and started r home. The return trip was 230 kms and I knw with high beam on at night it will be very difficult. Wanted to cover as much as possible with natural light. Sped of at 90kmph towards hassan. The road was good and reached Hassan around 7. It was already sun down.

I called these guys and they have already taken the Bangalore highway while I got stuck at traffic inside Hassan. Tuk quite some time to get out. It was a 2 lane road from then on for quite a while and with these high beams coming opposite, it was really very difficult to see. I have ridden in these conditions before but the sudden diversions in the road due to 4-lane road work, it was impossible to know where the road ends. I stuck to 60 and tried to watch out for signs on the side for diversions.. It was quite some time and I just wanted it to end.

After around couple of hours of that, the 4 lanes begun and was cruising at 90 again. Wanted to catch these guys before dinner time. It was around 9:30 and my ass was really sore.. It was 60 kms to Bangalore and I was really hungry. Called up these guys and found they were actually behind me. Around 100 kms from Bangalore. Called up couple of friends to pass the time and it was around 10 when these guys came.

Had a really spicy meal at a dhaba and we were quite tired. By 11:30, started my bike again. Srini was driving a bit slow due to the high beams. I stuck with him. Almost reached Bangalore when I suddenly lost a couple of seconds!! composed myself and after sometime it happened again. I started SLEEPING :D.. Never happened to me while riding before. So, I started singing very loudly all the way till I reached home around 1 AM.

Overall covered around 560 kms in a day while lethargically covering all the destinations. Was very happy in the end and went back to sleep ( office tomo :-( )