The Dravidian tale: Karnataka - Tamil Nadu - Kerala

I have understood that I should play with creative drama in the posts only if the trips aren’t really interesting and since I am not that great with that part of blogging, I decided to improve on the things I am good at (Yeah that is riding by the way in case if you had no idea about what to guess). So I will just get straight into the business and tell you about one of the awesome trips I have done so far and I will try not to bore you much. The 1280Kms trip started and ended in Bangalore and went through Salem – Namakkal – Theni – Kumili – Kuttikkanam – Idukki – Kannur – Wayanad – Bangalore. I had been thinking about this trip ever since we went to Kodaikkanal early this year. And by the way, the blogging experience so far has made it clear to me that the people visiting my blog are generally not much interested in the crap going on in my head and they are rather curious about the places and roads. So let me take you through the ‘itinerary’ step by step.

BANGALORE –SALEM

This is one obvious expressway that every south Indian will be familiar with and one of the best roads I have seen so far (By build quality, speed and safety). Bikers may not find the expressway appealing because, for us, the roads start getting beautiful the slimmer it gets. But trust me, I had fun on this road despite it being a three lane road because I was riding when it was dark. Now I wouldn’t recommend rides in the dark because the chances of danger increase as the lights get dimmer. The bike headlamps have comparatively low vicinity as to that of four wheelers and other bigger vehicles and one may not notice in case if animals or people jump in front (people jumping on to these high speed roads are just monkeys who can talk and wear clothes). Even though there aren’t any potholes or bumpy roads, there are chances that things fell off trucks and other vehicles might pose a threat.

However, you can still ride this road in the dark if you are confident enough and cautious. Here is the raw technique that will help make the night rides slightly easier: “Identify a car moving fast enough and follow it at a breakable distance.” And when I say breakable distance here, it only means “the damn breakable distance”. You keep following it by its tail and you shove your bike up his ass the moment he slows downs or breaks for some reason. You have to do this (the technique of following i mean, not the shoving part)only if your lights are not powerful enough and you should do this only if you are responsible and careful enough.

SALEM – DINDIGUL

I reached Salem by dawn break and it was quite sunny by the time I entered the Salem – Dindigul highway. I had my breakfast at Sharavana Bhavan and headed to Dindigul. Man, this was an awesome stretch that go dancing around the hills and the empty lands and is surrounded by beautiful landscapes all around. My only regret is that too many butterflies had to end their lives on my helmet and I could do nothing to help it. The view of the Kaveri River on the expressway is another beautiful thing to see.

·         Why Salem – Dindigul Exp way is 100 times better than Bangalore – Mysore highway

1)      This is a real expressway ( :p )

2)      Dividers are wide enough with sufficient space for vehicles to take u-turns without interrupting the moving traffic

3)      No cows, bullock carts etc. on the roads

4)      Relatively very less people jump in front of your vehicle

5)      Very long vicinity

6)      Lot less cow dung on the road than the Karnataka ones

Aminadhaap Vasanth

Special name right??? Yeah the guy too had something special about him (maybe because of his awesome beard. I should have taken a snap :( ) and I am glad that I made a new connection on this trip. I had a strong feeling that I would meet a rider on the way and I wasn’t wrong about my instincts. I met him just before I crossed the river Kaveri and I waved at him and he returned the gesture. We stopped at a coffee shop and had a nice chat for quite some time and altogether I felt very nice. We discussed about our bikes, the riders we know, the clubs we know, interests, riding styles, preferences etc. during that short time and I liked this guy for some reason. Maybe because he told me about his best friend’s fatal accident without much exaggeration and melodrama and it sounded much like the genuine feelings that one can have for a close friend. 

DINDIGUL – THENI

The ride on the expressway ends by Dindigul and the awesomeness begins once you divert towards the Theni road. This is a beautiful stretch with moderate curves and traffic and this is the same road which you take while going to Kodai. The neighborhoods are relatively more inhabited and this will give you a feeling of slight congestion but there is no reason to think that the riding experience will be bad. Considering the Sabarimala festival season, the traffic could not be considered as a bothering thing and I think the roads will be even less occupied once the festival is over. 

TN-64-D-7xx2

How will you feel when a bunch of young guys speed up and overtakes you just to cheer you up?? I felt like a celebrity and I returned the gesture of courtesy when those boys in the Figo waved at me in appreciation. Thanks for the love anonymous people.

THENI – CUMBUM

This is the stretch that is often alleged by motorists for its bad condition but trust me it is nothing like the opinions that you see in crappy forums like team-bhp. Yes it is true that there are patched regions in a few places but they shouldn't matter to bother you unless you are a chubby broiler kid who only enjoys the comfort of air-condition, smooth suspension, stupidity and arrogance. All the patched stretches might add up to 20Kms and this is not a figure that can bother someone who is travelling a 500+Kms distance on a single day. Plus, these stretches are only inside the towns and not on the other areas. It is like you ride through smooth roads and the road ends right before the town and starts again right when the town limit is over. 

The last snap before the ascend started

Velmurugan

The encouragement didn’t stop with the boys in the Figo and I met my next ‘fan’ at a petrol bunk after Theni. His name was Velmurugan and he striked a conversation by asking the price of my knee guards when I stopped at a petrol bunk to fill up the tank. I told him the cost in broken Tamil and then came his next question “Where are you coming from?” Yeah that is right, in pretty good English he asked me everything he wanted to know and that kind of English is not usually expected from someone riding a Splendor with slippers, lungi, and a shabby shirt in a remote village. That was a moment when I felt proud about our country’s education system (now you might say that it could be an exceptional case but being a south Indian I know this was not a mere exceptional case. I wish the same quality of education gets established in the northern states as well in near future).  In the end he told me this much: “I appreciate your courage and I wish you all the best, enakku vanthu cumbum varekkum ride panna mudiyale, you are doing a great job”.

CUMBUM – KUMILI

You say goodbye to the planes and start ascending the Ghats slightly after cumbum and then you are entering the scenic beauty of the renowned “HIGHRANGE”. ‘Highrange’ is the alias for the Ghat regions of Idukki. The journey through the thick forest and the hairpin bends is a beautiful thing but it is highly advised to do this stretch during day time. You will experience the most unique border crossing experience when you enter the Kumily town from Tamil Nadu because it will be like looking at two opposite color gradients in a matter of few seconds. Kumily is a town built right on the border and the wall of the last building in the town is the beginning of Tamil Nadu while travelling to the opposite side. You will also notice the difference in life style and people right at the moment when you enter Kumily town. 

KUMILI – KUTTIKKANAM

You just stick to the one highway which you see in Kumily and that will be the Kottayam – Kumily road. You will have to take an exit to the narrow ‘Kattappana’ road if you want to go directly to Idukki. One thing I always say about Kerala roads are that they are sexy and seductive and equally dangerous. You might even feel like doing a knee drag on the curves, because they are that damn beautiful, but suddenly a truck or bus will appear from nowhere. Be extremely careful and stick to the extreme left of the road all the time while riding anywhere in Kerala. Just remember that the private bus drivers do not care about anybody’s life (not even theirs) and therefore don’t take a chance. The ride through the tea estates amidst the mist is an experience that can only be felt but not described.

KUTTIKKANAM – IDUKKI

This is not an interesting stretch because the roads are uneven and filled with patch works and there is nothing great to see on the way except for the engineering marvel of Idukki arch dam. The Idukki Arch Dam is a beauty that everyone must see at least once and this will be open only during Onam, Christmas and Easter for visitors. You can also go for a boating inside the reservoir (if you really have the balls to imagine yourself in the middle of the country’s second largest and world’s 22^nd largest dam).

 Meter reading at the end of day 1 :)

That is the highly sophisticated navigation tools I used during the trip :p

IDUKKI – KANNUR

This was a speed run with just the thought of reaching home and this is the stretch where the worst things in my life happened. First of all, I had to experience a traffic congestion like I have seen never before anywhere. Secondly, my first major accident happened on this road during the ride.

That is her last picture in good condition before the accident :(

 In Calicut. Travelling through Kerala will always guarantee you a great treat for your eyes

Beautiful numbers on the meter when you end the day's journey :)

KANNUR – BAVALI – MYSORE – BANGALORE

The Kannur – Bangalore roads through Wayanad are all equally beautiful and the Bavali road is a must ride road for every rider. Wayanad will always welcome you with a blissful treat for the eyes and if the roads were a drawback of this beautiful hill earlier, now even the roads have been made so good. Needless to say about the wild life that you get to see in the Bandipur Reserve, but you have to be really careful while riding through the forests. Stopping is not advisable because the behavior of wild animals are obviously unpredictable (even though not as worse as humans :p).

If you don't like these roads, you will never like any good road on earth

Feel like twisting your wrist a bit?? ;)

And you wouldn't get to see wildlife so close in any other sanctuary roads

THINGS ABOUT THE TRIP

·         Longest single ride so far

When I completed my day one at Idukki, I had done 611Kms in 11 hours and that was the longest distance I have done so far in my riding life.

·         First major accident

Yes you heard it right. There is this saying that it is easier to meet with an accident in India if you obey the traffic rules and that is what happened in my case. I slowed down when I saw the light turning from green to yellow and it was still yellow by the time I reached the signal line and stopped. I had fixed my feet on the road and took my hands off the handle to relax a bit and might have had passed a good 5 seconds when it happened. BANG on my back and first I hit the road with my face down and my bike hit its left side and on the next toss the bike was on my body with its right side over me. Me and the bike had gone for a toss of at least 5 meters and trust me it wasn’t really a good feeling.

People and the cop who ran to the scene first thought I was seriously injured and they carried me to the road side (People in Kerala are very nice and sensible in such cases that they will make sure that an accident victim gets immediate medical help). Bike wasn’t a complete mess except for the fibers. By god’s grace all that happened to me was just one burn due to silencer and bruise on my leg and nothing else and I will always be thankful to god for safeguarding me. The people who gathered there were about to rush me to the hospital but I convinced them that I was alright.

I appreciate the fact that the traveler driver stopped and realized his mistake and apologized but was disappointed to realize how negligent vehicle drivers are about two wheelers on road, once more. Anyway I didn’t make a big fuzz out of it for two reasons, one that I survived the accident with minor injuries and the second one that the guy earns his bread and butter through that one van.

·         Longest time spent on the bike at one single stretch

It took me 13 hours to reach home from Idukki and this was the longest time I spent on my bike ever on a single day. I had only completed halfway when the accident happened and riding the bike after taking the tetanus injection and the bruises on my leg wasn’t an easy deal. My hands were paining and ass had gone numb ( :p ) by the time I reached home and to be frank this was one time I really got tired of riding.

·         Longest trip by far

I did a total of 1273Kms by the time I reached back to Bangalore and this will be my longest ride until I set my next personal record.

THINGS I LEARNT

Well, no trips end without having taught you a few things worth to remember and yeah this one, too, did.

·         Take sufficient breaks and rests

Long rides are fun but make sure that you take adequate breaks and give yourself some rest when you are tired. I had reached Theni in 6 hours and I wanted to finish the first day so quickly. But my pushing beyond the limit had its effect on me and by the time I entered the kerala border, I was tired like shit and had to stop every now and then and I could feel the loss of concentration also. My concentration drop was pretty serious that I took a wrong turn and travelled an extra seventy Kilometers.

·         Ride for your own happiness

It is never about the speed or style or sound or anything because it is just about what makes you happy. You like riding slow? Ride slow, you like riding fast? Ride fast? Just remember that never ever ride your bike to show off because you will be doing it for someone else then.

·         You got to fall a hundred times before you learn to walk

Yes you fall down. You might fall many times. Like the saying goes, your failure is when you are scared to get up and walk again. I am not boasting but I was not scared to ride the remaining 200+Kms after the accident and the first thing I checked after the accident was if the bike was still in riding condition. Maybe I am crazy or stupid or something but my fear also went for a toss along with the accident and I am still proud of my parents for dealing it with exceptional courage. Bad things happen to your life only to make you fit for the events yet to come and they are never meant to bring you down. Hold on and keep the fight going till the end. Never give up.

·         God has got a plan for you and it is for your best. Keep the faith

Yes I do believe in this. I am not hear for any argument or explanation but I am just so happy to experience the love and protection of my savior. Just keep the faith.

 The route Map

END NOTE :p

They were coming from Guntur, AP, and they are pushing the chariot to Sabarimala. I met them at 250Kms from Bangalore. The devotion deserves a salute.

That is where the stolen water is going ;) :p. Pen-stock pipes carrying water from Mullaiperiyar to Vaiga reservoir

This is the beauty of Ghats

Lower Periyar dam

That is Kabini at a distance

So here are the damages