TRIP TO WORLD'S LARGEST MASONRY DAM....NAGARJUNA SAGAR DAM!

Hi all friends

Its been more than a year I posted about any trip in my blog. It was a very crucial year regarding my biking life. Many people I met ( the bikers gang in hyderabad), many experiences I had, many people I missed ( vinu sv, my inspiration)  and last but not the least, my bike, I lost it in attempting an endurance ride. I had a miraculous escape out of that mishap. since then, life taught many experiences, pain, sorrow, luck etc..which all kept me away from biking for 5 months. My longing for riding and blogging didn't let me live a life so un happy without rides. So, i decided to ride after 5 months. 

The first issue was bike. I have no bike and need one to make a ride. So, I approached my friends and my senior friend Srinivas lend me his Avenger220 for my ride. I was very happy when i acquired a bike.In two days, I got used to the new bike ( cruiser type)  which i never rode before. The destination I chose was Nagarjuna Sagar dam, the largest masonry (built with stones and bricks) dam which is 170kms from Hyderabad. I acquired the riding gear and all necessary services were done to the bike. But, the day before I rode, I had a very strange feeling mixed with fear, excitement and happiness also. This is not a mammoth task I m facing before, but after the fell off from my bike and lost it, i realized there are also many other factors responsible for one's fate. But I gained confidence because I m riding for my soul, which feels free after many months. 

Everything is set and I started from Hyderabad at 8 am. It was a bit late, but i made sure i have enough sleep as it was a long time i rode. It was sunny by that time and it took more than an hour to get out of city i.e almost to reach Ibrahimpatnam. Till there, the road was four lane with divider and all. After that, the road is state highway double road with average traffic. As i kept riding, amidst trees on both sides, i felt riding is a blissful experience. Though bike was not crossing 80kmph, it was breathing well and rolling smooth. I took some time to get adjusted to the seating position as I toured in sports bikes till now and this is a pure tourer with differerent seating postition. But the comfort of seating is more in this bike only, though i didn't get used to it much. With two breaks in between, I reached sagar around 11.30 am. The topology changes to ghat like sections while approaching Sagar. The magnificient view of the dam for the first time from a distance is very impressive and breath taking. The water behind the dam with mountains spread all over is a lovely view. As one keeps riding down the road, a bridge is constructed across the flow of water from dam. At a distance, the power house and the dam are located. It was more than dry. Only some water was flowing, that too may be from the power generation house i guess. Had some snaps there and kept riding towards a waterfalls 16kms from der. The road to water fall was a small ghat section with least traffic and abandoned stretches at some places. It is ethipothala waterfalls. The water fall is small with less water. There was a AP tourism restaurant where I had a small lunch and started back. 

In the return journey, rain greeted me at few curves and left after some time. At a place, where I stopped for a break, a uncle came and spoke to me asking If the bike was modified or stock. I said it was stock and he expressed his interest in owning a cruiser kind of bike. I was impressed because there are people with different interests everywhere but they lack in exposure sometimes. I rode back to city and then the struggle started. The weekend traffic chaos have tested my patience. It took a very long time for me to reach my flat. With some pain in legs due to seating position and some saddle pain, I completed the trip successfully and i am very happy because my perseverance has overcome the fear. I will be soon back into usual with getting used to rides and trips. 

Few Pictures....from my trip!

 enroute to sagar...

 with sagar dam at a distance....

 the bridge over the water coming from dam....

 the largest dam before the avenger....

 ethipothala waterfalls...

 u like dis trip???

 on the way back...

I wish to thank all my well wishers in general for their support and Srinivas anna in specific for lending his bike. To all those who helped directly or indirectly, thanks and respect!

Thanks and Regards
Bharat R Bhushan

My Dream Come True....:-)

I am a hardcore fan of bikes and this day i bought my first bike in my life...:-)
It is R15 Version 2.0
It is my Dream Come True today...
6th October 2011

the first look of my beast..:-)

a cool shot..:-)

my mom wit ma bike... 

 my self with ma bike..:-)


Thanks & Regards
Bharat. R Bhushan

4 states ridden to view 3 seas meet! My dream trip to kanyakumari!

4 states ridden to view 3 seas meet! My dream trip to kanyakumari!

                Hi friends, I am back with a trip. As I mentioned in my last trip, about my dream ride, I now made a trip to Kanyakumari with my friend on a pulsar220.

Dream is not something which you get in sleep, Dream is something which does not let you sleep.

 Yes , it is true! It was since 8 months  I have been planning a trip to kanyakumari, but was not able to make it. Now, my college is over, got a job offer in hand but awaiting the joining. It was the time when Pavan proposed a trip. We both have only one destination in mind which is miles far away…Kanyakumari! So, we set out on a voyage to tip of Indian peninsula on a bike!

                The last 3 words of the previous paragraph sounded weird, foolish, crazy or whatever to many people who heard us! But for us, It is the dream ride which is not letting us sleep!

                The plan is to go through kerala and come back on national highway 7. We planned our route, noted our places to be covered, the names of the important places in between, distances, terrains to be ridden etc… Made necessary arrangements like helmets, jackets, gloves and shoes – got bike ready – carried a navigator phone- a cam and a bag!

DAY ONE:  30^th June 2011

                                                Early in the morning, before the sun rose up, we rose! Got ready, packed things, geared up and started! The air filter was showing a block, so, had to stop to clean it. Fuelled up our beast and set out on the NH7 towards Bangalore. The bike was breathing smoothly as it is just two months old. The destination for first day was munnar, kerala, 720 kms away from anantapur. The route is through Bangalore, salem on NH7 and then to Avinashi on NH47, then cross border to reach munnar through forest reserves and wildlife sanctuaries. It was an easy ride to Bangalore, but crossing Bangalore was hectic and killed time. Though my stomach was upset and not co-operating, we kept moving on NH7.

                                                It was almost evening when we reached Salem, travelling 450kms by then. We derouted to Avinashi and kept moving on NH47 when it started raining. We had all our things safe in bag and our jerkins helped us out of getting wet. Riding in rain during sunset on a national highway was an awesome experience. The wet road till avinashi and bad roads after avinashi left us 70kms away still from Munnar. So, stayed there for that night in Udumalai in Tamilnadu.

DAY TWO: 1^st July 2011

                                                Morning got up a bit late because of the tiredness of riding 630 kms the previous day and also riding in rain. Got ready, vacated that place and started to the Munnar. 20kms from there, we entered a forest tiger reserve which was a bit like forest and 20kms after, we entered the “god’s own country”, Kerala. It was a wildlife sanctuary that invited us to kerala. Slowly, we were riding high above sea level and greenery started creeping on both sides of road. Heavy mountains with trees on them were giving a visual treat to us. The density of western ghat forests were depicted on those hills. We stopped at a place and had snaps. We spotted many waterfalls in between those mountains. The clouds were slowly touching us. It was an amazing feeling riding on a bike, clouds touching us, greenery on all sides around. It was a moment to cherish for all us three (I, Pavan and P220). The beast took easy even on the ghat roads. It was breathing freely even after munching miles in 4 states. We reached Munnar with all scenic view around, amazing feeling like touching the sky. We felt “who said sky is the limit?’. Clouds covering us fast in minutes, we were cruising in the sky, which is called the limit. Munnar is an awesome place to be, especially during monsoon. Though, it would rain, I promise you wont get locations like paintings anywhere else. We covered only mettupatty dam in Munnar.

                                                It was already afternoon by the time we visited metupatty dam. We had our lunch and started to Kochi, to reach Alleppy that night. Though we wanted to stay in Munnar, we had to move to prevent further delays in the total plan. The road to Kochi from Munnar is an awesome ghat road, with numerous curves and challenging traffic. Rain ( actually we are already riding through clouds and its fog that seems like rain ) started early after our journey started and riding on that road is like a gift to any biker. You get an awesome experience of riding in rain with plenty of waterfalls on both sides, good traffic, sexy curves which teach you a lot. We had to take a video of that road, but rain didn’t permit us to take our cams out. Slowly, the clouds were above and surprisingly its not raining. We reached Kochi around 7 in the evening. Took a small gap and rode to Alleppy on NH47. Alleppy is 50kms from Kochi. One hour after, we were in Alleppy searching for rooms. Got a room in a mean while and we retired for that day. Kerala water in restaurants is light pink in colour and is warm. They prefer boiled and cooled water. The colour secret is some ayurvedic herb which is dipped during boiling water which adds a light pinkish colour. (we came to know it later). That night, only thing I see is the road to kochi from munnar. Such a lovely ride we had. I Cherish it!

DAY THREE: 2^nd July 2011

                                                Good sleep last night and a warm morning in Alleppy. We set out to see backwaters of Alleppy after we got ready and had breakfast. We engaged a boat (chikari boat they call it der) to view the scenic Alleppy back waters. At first, the sail was through back waters in town. Slowly, we entered the stretch of back waters with plenty of coconut trees on both sides and numerous boats sailin. Some of them are city boats (like our city buses), which transport commuters from their houses to work places, some of them are tourist house boats, some of them are chikari boats like ours. The back waters are full of sceneries everywhere. There are houses along it. Each house has a boat, like we have a scooty or bike. There was also a petrol bunk for motor boats. The selling of daily chore takes place on boats along backwaters. The snaps we  took were not enough to explain the beauty of nature we have witnessed on back waters. Even in the bright day light, it was looking great. I imagined this place how it would look when raining and I felt amazing. Two hours passed very soon on back waters. The interesting fact we came to know is that those back waters extend for about 2000kms and there is water way to kovalam from alleppy. Another one is the traditional snake boat race that takes place in month of august. That boat would be very lengthy and hundreds of participants row it to win the race. An amazing place to view nature very closely. After back waters, we headed towards the west coast, the beach in Alleppy. That was the first time we are seeing Arabian sea. It is very calm with low tides. There are some creatures like crabs in the beach. Spent some time in beach clicking pics. Then started to our dream destination, Kanyakumari. The road to kanyakumari is via Trivandrum.

                                                It  is a national highway NH47, the same road we rode till avinashi from salem. This road is a two lane with heavy traffic and many towns alongside. Actually there is no gap between places. Every town is followed by other without much gap. So, the ride was tired both due to busy traffic and also hot climate. Somewhere in between these towns, we missed actual route and rode 10kms, then came to know and with the help of navigator, came back on track and cruised on those busy roads to reach kanyakumari at 9pm in the night. The straight road leads to the last road of the Indian peninsula.  It was the moment I cherish with ending land leading to never ending seas. Our bike’s odo showing 1230kms. That moment is a moment of pride, joy and achievement!

                                                                3 seas meeting to make our country, a peninsula, at kanyakumari. We rode on a pulsar 220  in 4 states to see 3 seas meet! 2^nd july 2011 is the day I got my shot! That night, we retired in a hotel with sea view. Dined late and rode all over kanyakumari with joy.

DAY FOUR: 3^rd July 2011

                                                Morning, we got a bell intimating to watch the sun rise on east side. We rushed towards the east side to view it. We waited there, but in vain as sun already rose up above clouds, which didn’t permit us view the rise. Disappointed, came room, got ready and set out. Found a beach 3kms away on west side. Had snaps and spent a good time in water. Had brunch in the afternoon. Packed our things and started back to Anantapur on NH7. It was sad leaving kanyakumari, but thought I would make trip again to the place ( may be on RE’s or Harleys ). Wish I could do it!

                                                Started back on national highway to reach Madurai that night. It was cool cruising on national highways after two days. The highway has wind farms on both sides as this area had pretty good winds. Our beast was still breathing happily after such a hard ride. No problems with bike! Slowly, without any rush, we reached Madurai in the late evening just after it became dark. A short service for bike ( chain spray etc). We took a room for stay. Roamed about on streets of Madurai. It is a bit unpleasant city with heavy population on streets.

DAY FIVE:  4^th July 2011

                                                Our plan is to visit famous Meenakshi temple in Madurai, so, we visited. It is an amazing temple with lots of sculptures. It has got more than dozen gopurams. It is a very big temple with long corridors and pleasant pujas. It took us one hour to view whole temple and had darshan. We broke our fast outside temple and headed to room to pack luggage and start our final leg of voyage to Anantapur, 650kms from there. It took one hour with the help of navigation to get out of chaotic city. From there, we managed a good average speed every hour on the NH7. In the trip on the whole, we didn’t go for the red line in the top gear anywhere, but managed to munch good miles every hour.

                                               

                                                Afternoon, had lunch outside salem city and cruised towards Bangalore. It was 5pm on reaching the Bangalore city from hosur side. Thick black clouds welcomed us to Bangalore city and rain accompanied us all through the city. Traffic was as usual terrific. We stopped for a bite at dominos and kept riding in rain to cross the city. It killed pretty good time in the city. But falling back on NH, we cruised very comfortably along and reached our place within 2 hours from Bangalore city at 10pm in the nite. 3 hours were dedicated to Bangalore traffic!

                                                Our trip was successful ( ofcourse, successful man!). This is the time we made people think that it can be done to kanyakumari on a bike, if they got passion, composure and determination. 2300kms showing on the Odometer, 900 pictures captured, 4 nights spent in different states, riding across good sections and challenging sections for 5 days in 4 states ( A.P. Karnataka, Tamilnadu and Kerala) to see 3 seas, we, 2 bikers stand proudly with our 1 beast!

Here I come with some of my trip memories......

                                           3 months ago i was in the same spot on zma on coorg trip

 it was then a long distance, but not now!

 

on the outskirts of salem city

   

                                                   a good section of road near krishnagiri on NH7                                                                                                                                                       

 on the route to munnar in tiger reserve....                                                                                     one of the many beautiful falls we came across in hills.....
 

 in the western ghats enroute munnar....
 clouds getting closer...

 in the foggy munnar.....in the clouds..!!!!
 

at mettupatty dam, munnar...

                                                                                                                                                  the painting like view of mettupatty dam in the evening....( courtesy: my sister)

the alleppy back waters 
 the awesome view of back waters....with cocnut trees on both sides....
 
a house boat on back waters

munched miles to view west coast...alleppy beach

                                                   we were on those sands of time....:p

alleppy beach...

kollam, welcoming us!

 the sunrise..actually it rose....

 the view of ending land from our hotel....

the view of vivekananda rock memorial and tiruvalluvar statue....
 no distance too far....i can even ride across...!!!

 jumping in joy...i landed a bit earlier....

view of sea from view tower....

 
 another view of the beast...

the wind farms on either side on highway

 

NH7 to madurai from kanyakumari

model of  the meenakshi temple, madurai

 
south gopuram of madurai temple..

 
south gopuram thru koneru...

 
the long corridors full of sculptured pillars...

north gopuram...

 
relaxing at domino's in bangalore....

Thank you all who helped me out and made my dream trip memorable and un forgettable one...!!!

Thanks and Regards

Bharath R. Bhushan