Cloud Valley - A trip that took my trip

The title borrowed from Haren’s ride report, borrowed because, I deserve it more than anyone else.
Life is always about squeezing a little more. No, no I don’t mean to sound like your boss, but hey, my wife is not a HR Manager for nothing. Anyway, what I was getting at is that, there was a helluva lot of traveling happening in the last 10days Bangalore-Cochin-Alleppey-Chennai-Bangalore and then I was off to Coorg again!
But the annual RTMC pilgrimage to Cloud Valley in Coorg is a guaranteed un-winder, I needed a strong dose of that one!

It would also be Shreya’s first overnighter with the bullet club and we started the Saturday, 29th May with gusto. We are both sufficiently cramster-ed now – mutually gifted riding jackets, saddle bags and waist pouch to carry everything from nail polish, comb (new additions to the luggage, or was it eye liner) and the usual – running shoes, sunscreen and spares.
The getting there:
We joined about 25 bullets at Bangalore Univ campus at 6:30 or so. Just so there is no serious problem, I had given my bullet for service last week. First puncture in 20km from the start. In about 30mins with help from Horny, Tampon, Conrod and Dicso we replaced the punctured tube with a new one from Conrod.
The rear shocks creaked like an old iron cot that creaks when you ‘sleep’ on it as you went up and down even on a slight bump.

Group rides do provide a fair amount of insurance against break downs, accidents and other variables on the highways. The entire band of bulleters waited at McD for us to catch up, a quick breakfast later, we were highway bound again towards Srirangapatana.
I totally enjoyed the good roads to Madikeri, cruising at 80-90kmph. We reached Cloud Valley at 1pm and welcomed by Uday and his family. The inevitable pandi curry meal happened over ride stories and some poor jokes.
Those of us who weren’t high yet, made our way to the Cauvery river bed at 5, bathed and rode back. Some more ride stories and papad mama jokes kept us entertained around the camp fire right through the night.
The place:
Cloud Valley itself is awesome. You should see my earlier report on this here. It is a nice report, go read!
Apparently, the best time to visit is when the flowering season when the coffee seeds come into bloom and look like snow! The Jasmine-like aroma also fills up the entire region.

The run:
So, I made quick enquiries in the evening with Uday ‘where can I go for a jog in the morning?’. I have become some kind of a fan of these runs - where you have no clue what’s in store, no idea of how long you are going to take to get back, where (if ever) you will find some water, civilization, etc. But I headed out on the path that had taken us to the river the previous evening. It was 6:30 and it was perfect for a long run. The trail took me on some serious uphills along winding coffee estates. There was not a single soul to ask for directions, you knew you were trespassing when the dogs barked louder. After about 4.5km, the path brought me back close to where I had started. Nice! I ran into the trail again, so I could finish a perfect 10!

The story of a Tired Tire:
One-a-puncture, two-a-puncture, three-a-puncture, four!
I am the rear tire of KA04-EM 1983, you have seen how I was born, right. It is here if you want a flashback. I have nearly done 15000kms on road now and my predecessor had taken care of the rear for about 40000kms. My owner is a nice guy (yes!) and he takes care to ‘fill me up’ with 30psi always. He likes to take me on good roads, bumpy roads and very very bumpy roads, but I like adventure too.

I have been very loyal and have not disappointed him on any of his long rides… so far.
So yesterday, just as I was warming up, something happened and suddenly there was air all inside me and in another moment the wheel was hurting me. That local tube inside me had a puncture. My owner should have known better not to buy a local tube from the “Aslam Bhai” mechs on the road side.
Anyways, my owner, a big fan of DIY, fitted a new tube (Original!!) inside me, and I was happy again.

My owner’s missus is a light lady and I have usually no problems with carrying both of them. But they stopped at this place where the milestone said ‘Hunsur 10’. There were people selling jackfruits. They are those big, heavy, thorny (I hate thorns) things that people like to eat.
My owner should have put this in the front and the that lazy front tire should have taken some load. I must add that front tire is a senior one (55k kms), but had not worn out at all, because he does not do any work. He only takes the load of my owner’s arms and has good suspension to pass on the shocks from bad roads. If you ask me, the jackfruit should have been showed right through his valve.
But, we hard workers are always made to ‘squeeze a little more’. That is life – as my owner says it.
So the jackfruit came into one side of the saddle bag and the rest of the stuff was rearranged.

Now when the owner started to ride, the mud guard started to flirt with me. It started to come so close and rub me in the wrong places. I started getting hot.
Even the original rubber was able to withstand this and our safety was compromised near Bidadi. I tried to hold on as much longer as I could (I am very conscientious tire, you see), so it a while for my owner to realize the puncture. Luckily, I went fully flat near a ‘pancher’ shop. But the pancher guy was drunk and sleepy and despite taking all care, he patched the not-original rubber tube (remember the old one that punctured yesterday) very carelessly.
I anyway didn’t like this duplicate rubber tube.

So far it was still ok. It was still about 4pm in the evening. But we had just started the motions again, some 20k and then bam, one more flat. By this time, the wheel had started to bang me from the other side and it was slightly bent I think. I was feeling wobbly also. This time was terrible. My owner left his wife on the side of the road (very unsafe place) and put all his weight on the tank, standing on the foot peg and leaning in front and road me without air for 2km to get a puncture shop.
This guy was ok, he put the puncture and in about 30mins, owner went back and picked up his wife. There were dark clouds and I am sure he wanted to get home before it rain. But, I like rain!
So we started off again, the jack fruit load was still on me and I think I was dizzy because of the bent wheel. Anyways, it was now dark and we went another 20k and came to the NICE road. It is a very nice road and I was happy because there are no thorns, potholes or nails on this road.

But just after the toll was paid, I went flat again. Promise, this was not my fault. It was the duplicate tube. I was focusing on my job and not paying attention to the mud guard also.
This time there was more problem, it was raining, there were no puncture or pancher shops open (it was a Sunday) and my owner had to do his circus stunt again for 2km. But he was getting good at it, I didn’t feel too much load at all.
I over-heard him tell his missus afterwards that he had only 260 bucks and the tube cost him 270!

Four is too much, I say. But, there was one good thing, that jackfruit went off to the front in the end. That lazy front tire also took load. Then he rode me very very slowly, the last 30kms to his home. I felt very ashamed of myself. I will not do this again. I will not do this again. I will not do this again.

Of Clutch Plates, Laal Ghoda & Mavathur lake

Date: 18th - 19th July 09
The 5in5 routine of the previous week had left a slight bad aftertaste. My silver bullet (all of 49000kms now) was not responding normally when I opened the throttle. There were also incidents when it would take me forever to start the bike, the kicker offering no resistance to the kick. I was determined to get it back into business on Saturday and hopefully make it to the RTMC announce ride on Sunday to Kabaldurga.

Early on Saturday I called Gurunandan to get it fixed. With Nandan nursing a collar bone injury and Tiger, his Man-Friday off on his monthly drinking binge, I had to roll up my sleeves and get my hands dirty (literally) and provide the much needed TLC for the clutches.
Nandan immediately pointed out that it was a case of smoothened clutch plates and that it was straight forward repair job. I got some gyan over the phone and waited till the brats (my nephews - Rishabh and Aryan) were at home to begin to remove the nuts and bolts.

Symptoms:
· The first sign of clutch-slip is, not being able to reach the top-speed you earlier could. Frankly, I didn’t see this coming
· Kicker does not offer any resistance to the kick and goes through easily. I even tightened the kicker nut thinking that had come loose
· When you are in say, the third gear, upon turning the accelerator, the bike revs, the rpm shoots up, but there is no corresponding increase in speed, speed may sometimes kick-in after a lag

Likely problem area:
· Clear indication of the primary drive not transferring the power, suspect the clutch plates
· Clutch slip will be due to one of two causes - insufficient spring pressure or insufficientfriction between plates due to excessive slipperiness
· Worn out fiber-faced clutch plates (can be found by applying pressure on the fiber plates using fingernails, if it feels like a tile and not like rubber , it’s time for replacement)
· In my case, all the bolts holding the springs had come very loose

Solution:
· Roughen the steel clutch plates with sandpaper (emery paper) or a file
· Increase the spring pressure a bit by inserting washers under all three of them or by using stronger springs. In my case, one of the bolts had a shake despite tightening it (possibly because of wearing of the threads), I used Teflon tape before screwing it back
· The oil that needs to be filled is light weight oil to increase friction, the cheapest one available is Laal Ghoda

“Most motorcycle problems are caused by the nut that connects the handlebars to the saddle”

I put back the primary case & the footrest and all that remained to be done was to pour back the oil into the case through the nut. But try as I may, the nut would not budge. With the edges of the nut already well rounded, there was little hope even with my new acquired adjustable spanner. So this nut (read me!) in a sudden flash of brilliance, figured that the engine oil flows into the primary case and poured the oil from the clutch case to the engine!!

It took some undoing after a call to the bullet doctor, Nandan. I went out and bought the Laal Ghoda, took the bike to a mechanic (yes, I had to succumb) to loosen the nut and filled in the Laal Ghoda.

By evening, I had more oil & grease in my finger nails than between those clutch plates.

Ride to Mavathur lake:
The Laal Ghoda did it’s job, washing away the guilt of neglecting the bullet and on Sunday morning at 5:30AM, I was saddled up to join the newbies on the announce ride to Kabaladurga.
When I landed at Khoday’s at 6:30AM, I suddenly felt like an outsider. There were small groups where riders were socializing, but there were only new faces. This was not the RTMC that I had known at all. But what had not changed was the time keeping – Goop joined in sometime, the ride captain, Biscuit, came in at 7am.

We had an early breakfast stop just outside of town within 30mins of start and one pit stop later we were near Kanakpura. We were looking for Mavathur on the map which showed a pretty lake off the highway. With the confidence on my bullet growing, I took over as the point from here on. As we turned off the highway into Mavathur, into the narrow village roads, it was yet another of those freeze-frame-RTMC moments – in the rear view mirror, the entire roads seems on aglow with headlights of Bullets - the village roads, the fields adding to the view.
We reached the far end of the lake and after making a few enquiries found our way to the bund on the other side. The lake bund was build in the 80s and there is hill at one end of the bund. A few of us climbed up the hill to get a better view of the surrounding (quite spectacular) landscape.
After a round of introductions, we rode back via Kanakapura & Ramanagara to get on Mysore road. I continued to be the point till we hit Mysore road and broke away from the main group to get back home for lunch with a visiting cousin from UK.
Total distance covered: 180km
Pics courtesy: Ajai Kamath… more here, here and here
For more gyan on clutch plate maintenance visit here

Thalli Ho - A different High

Bangalore has suddenly gotten into the grip of a ‘wow’ weather, it has this multiplier effect on the outdoor fun experience.
With the training for The Great Tibetan Marathon in full swing, I couldn’t have asked for more. I finished off a 35km run at 11am, last Saturday with the sun still behind the cloud canopy.
The Silver Bullet has been catching a thick layer of dust for awhile now (thanks also the oil leaks from all possible seals). With the Hampi ride right around the corner, a test ride with RTMC seemed like the best way to optimize (that’s Manoj, the consultant) the conditions.

Vodka aka Harish Shivaram had thrown open an invite to do a recce of the area to the south of Bangalore. There were 8 of us in all – vodka, Abhi n Kavita, Prateek, Santosh and others, started off from Shoppers Stop at 630 RTMC time.

As soon as we got off the Banerghatta road, I settled into a neat relaxed mode. It was a truly chillax ride, perfect for a lazy Sunday morning. We snaked through villages and wrong turnings taking breaks at will, stopping to relish the breezee countryside, slowing down till the goats cleared the roads, waving to wide-eyed kids, chai breaks, scaring cattle away, Abhi even giving a loving tick on one calf’s rear!!

The winding well paved roads opened frequently into some amazing greenery. Check the hues of green on this one.

We got back to Aishwarya Parkland (!) on Banerghatta road by 1pm to some Beer and lunch! Perfect weekend!

Directions (thanks Vodka):
Bannerghatta Circle - Anekal Entrance Fork – Anekal Bus stop - Thally Road (Right Turn) - Thally Outskirts (Left Turn before town) - followed shortly by a right turn - Hold steady course – Maralwadi town centre - Take "straight road" to Thattekere - Ride through Thattekere, and join highway to Jigani – turn right - Bannerghatta Circle.
If you tried following these directions, remember you didn’t read it here!! ;)
Photus here
An earlier FSR ride report here
Abhi’s version on bikeszone here

Anniversary Ride - Horsley Hills

Tarun Tejpal, in his Alchemy of desire, amongst many erotic scenes also finds space to discuss the ‘rat-race’ which he likens to a greased pole.

“The office is a well greased malkhamb pole, with everyone slithering up and down the shiny wooden pillar. Right at the top, as in a ship, was a crow’s nest, a comfortable cupola where one man sat. The idea, I gathered, was to get as close as you could to the cupola and the one man. What happened then I has still not figured out. Quite clearly the man was not going to pull you into the cupola. You stayed on the greased pole. But, going by the ceaseless frenzy, something did change.
Matters were not helped by the cupola man’s conduct. Every now and then he leaned out and slopped some more grease onto the pole. It had the immediate effect of sending the ones nearest to him into a panic of slipping and sliding. Boot-on-face, boot-on-face, boot-on-face. All the way down the pole the climbers went grinding boot-on-face.
Then the frantic climbing began again.
There were some very smart people slipsliding away on that pole. Their clothes were dirty, their hands stained, their faces shone with grease, but in their eyes was a fervour. Their sights were set firmly on the man in the cupola, and the more grease he slopped on the pole, the more boot-on-face he unleashed, the more they became convinced that up there – in the cupola – lay the answers to the riddles of their life and career.
Some very very smart people. Faces shining with grease. Slipsliding away. ”

My colleague and batch-mate, Ashwin’s wedding provided a break away from this greased pole and I was saddled up to Chennai on Friday, the 18th of April.
Before I leave the greased pole behind, albeit only figuratively, tell me… is philosophical musing simply an excuse for inaction or worse… incompetence?
(save the dil pe matt le for the comments section only!!)

I started at 5:45 on Saturday morning from my cousin’s house in Chennai (Porur-Guindy road) to meet the Madras Bulls’ Arul, to ride some 280kms with them to celebrate the MadBulls 6th Anniversary at Horsley Hills.

We stopped for breakfast at IOC Nandini Restaurant, near Chitoor Bypass, better than most I have seen on this highway. The MadBulls ride with far more discipline than my own club, RTMC, we rode in a staggered formation, maintaining constant pace for long stretches.

To reach Horsley Hills from Chennai, one needs to take a right off just after Palamner (196kms) and head to Madanpalli (+53kms) to Horsley Hills (+30kms). The hill itself comes from like nowhere and a short ride with 3-4hairpin bends take you to the top.

We were a large group of bullets, we had to pit stop a no. of times. After traveling some 280kms to reach the Hills, to reach a place called “Harita?” was pretty sadistic joke. Harita? in Kannada means “is it torn?”, use your imagination to figure out what body-part it refers to!! We were to stay at Harita Resorts on Horsley Hills.

I loved the place: Harita is the only resort on top of the only hill around the region. It’s not much of a hill station, but the resort makes up for the lack. There is a decent pool, play grounds, good party area and well stocked bar. There are enough cottages to accommodate last minute travel plans. There is nothing much to do there, but if that is your idea of a holiday, its just 160kms from Bangalore!

What was disappointing was that the only event that was ‘organized’ was the party. Tam item numbers provided lungi-clad sweaty guys enough motivation to gyrate like some belly dancers, some even looked choreographed!!! This song is a must hear, it captures most of the spirit. Click to hear music file Thanks Dosai.


We left Horsley hills on Sunday morning at about 9am. I rode mostly with Anil and Hosey… it was a fantastic route, that took us to Chintamani, H-cross, from where we took right to get to Devanahalli and were back home by 1130.

Now get back to the greased pole, will ya…

Head West, Head East

1300kms, 40lts of petrol, 1 breakdown, 27 highway hours, 29Sep-02Oct’07

It’s one of those rare phases in life now - a very pendulous phase, with contrasting emotions that are hard to explain. A depressing morning lending itself into a refreshing lunch break, the dangling blue ear-ring erasing the etch of static cubicles and walls, the locked battle of the convict and the romantic. While outwardly, nothing has changed at all; I am still the IIM grad, employed in a MNC, still single and happy, internally, I have been traveling miles and miles of agonizing turmoil putting each of these superficial statuses to risk, every single day.

The idea of a matching physical torture probably brought in an iota of sadistic pleasure to my melancholic mind. And I was tricked into ‘looking forward’ to a weekend of long rides, long run and friends.

Either I could head west, travel 270kms to Madikeri, to the RTMC 6A party, or head east to Pondicherry, travel 330kms to meet the gang. The pendulum of indecision put its ugly head up again, I was unable to decide which of the two to let go. Unlike life, though, riding on a bullet provides at least some answers - the answer was simple, ride west, then east. Maybe all answers are indeed simple, my optimist-self reassures me that, there would be a su-someone who would add the rang (color) to my meandering existence. (Are you listening??)

T h a t was the mood as the weekend began to roll…

RTMC 6A at Madikeri

The Anniversary rides are the biggest and promising events of RTMC, the Bangalore Bullet Club. It seemed like yesterday when we partied all night long at Yercaud for the 5A. There were some 40 bullets that lit up the roads as we left Town Hall at 640am. The high point was the participation of Mr. Bose, the grand old man of Bullet racing, even after 50years of riding, there is a sparkle in his eyes when he talks about his Bullets. There were quite a few from the Madras Bulls (MadBulls) who had already traveled 300kms to join us. The regrouping points were at Kamat Lokaruchi and at Srirangapatana, they had to be long to accommodate all varieties of riders and Bullets. There were patchy stretches of bad roads near Periyapatana. We took the deviation to Siddapura.

Its always such a pleasure riding in Madikeri, the roads are narrow and winding, foliage thick, the routes green and the climate cool. And despite all this, my thoughts kept swinging back to the workplace mischief, bringing a boyish grin inside the visor. And somewhere on the highway before Hunsur, my Bullet passed yet another milestone - 30000kms on the odometer, yoo-hoo!!

The RTMC party was at Capitol Village about 3kms from Madikeri on the Madikeri-Siddapura road. The place has a rustic feel to it, with a small lake, tiled cottages, corgi-styled balconies and decent view of the fields. For want of space, a few of us were booked at Crystal house, a hotel at Madikeri. There were 100 bullets which made way to the party.

My Party in the wild

Long before the party was set to start late evening, the preparation had begun – liquids of all colors being concocted into the cocktail, grass being rolled to give the various degrees of high.
I had my own plans to get there – my dope of endorphins was waiting for release; all I needed was my pair of running shoes to inject the pain.

I ran down from the room to Capitol Village and looked conspicuously out-of-place at the party in my shorts and dry-fit tee. But the short 3km run had already gotten me hooked, I wanted to do more. I borrowed Shakti’s torch and even as the blaring music began to play to the head-bangers, I started to pound the roads.

As I left the party behind, at 915 in the night, the mist and eerie darkness welcomed me to my first night run. And what a run it was, the ghostly silhouette of the tress, backlit by the grey skies and mist, the firefly trail decorating the dark shrubbery, the cool air swelling up my lungs, the crickets chirping incessantly at the unusual visitor.
I had only planned to set out to my hotel to change and get back to the party. But by the time I reached Madikeri, I was deeply engrossed in my thoughts. I turned back to face the hazy and obscure road, praying and begging for some clarity, some light to pierce this mist, some answers to the questions that haunt me.

And like pure magic, in the middle of all this, the naughty smile kept coming back, briefly translocating me to my office cafeteria. A sharp loud (in that silence, even the pitter patter of my shoes could be called loud) barking of two dogs, snapped me back, sending a chill down my spine and the barking grew louder and nearer. It started to rain on the second lap, and I tempted to abort my run and head back to the resort at the end of this loop. As I neared the resort, my ears picked up faint rock music in the distance; my party was not over yet. I turned back to the road, I needed all of those endorphins, pain is what I have to get used to after all. Is that the answer, well, maybe not, but hey it always helps to experience the possible worst-case. From there, it can only get better.

And better it did get, literally. When I got back to Capitol at 1045, the beverages were flowing, the dancing souls were subdued and I attacked the food and desserts with delight. That is one run I will not forget in a hurry.

Madikeri to Pondicherry

Sunday turned out to be a full day of riding, nearly 14hours from start to finish. I started from Madikeri at 7am with Sumanth. The route from Siddapura was so good, I was tempted to try to shoot the stretch of the ride on my Nikon S10. I managed a bit, check it here, any guesses how I managed this stunt?
Breakfast happened at Maddur Tiffany’s and all was going well as hit Bangalore well before noon. I pulled over at R1 Plaza just outside Hosur at 1pm for lunch. With just under 300kms to go, 6pm at Pondi seemed very possible and I extended the lunch break to 2pm. But just as I started from there, as I was settling into a cruising mode on the fantastic highway to Krishnagiri, the speedometer started to behave erratic like the Indian cricket team and the Bullet came to stop. It was a definite problem with the electricals and I tried a bit of troubleshooting for the next 30mins. When nothing happened, I pushed the Bullet a good half a km or so to a mechanic. A loose connection in the coil in the clutch case was the culprit. It was 4pm when I rejoined the highway again. I decided to ride non-stop for the next couple of hours to make the max of the daylight. And when twilight faded, I still had to cover 95kms from Thiruvanamalai to Pondi. Braving high beams, flies and fatigue I reached Pondi at 8:30, it still took me another half hour to get to Le Club, where Raghu, Raaji, Ada, Tima and Shamji were chilling out.

Forth is deceptive. There is this one kind of it, when served chill in a mug is supposed to refresh (I personally think it is the world’s biggest hoax, let’s discuss this over a beer sometime). Ok, the other forth – bubbly and unconstrained, until it comes in splashing all over your face. Yuck, salt it is. We sat on the rocks on the beach at 12 in the night soaking ourselves, trying to stare the waves in the eye (yeah, what!!). But it’s amazing how when you are pals, any froth – salty or bitter tastes so sweet, no.

Aurovil Ashram

The place is fantastic, independent cottages built to give it a rustic feel that makes you feel at home, instantly. It’s a great place to stay if you are planning an extended holiday at Pondi. So much silence and peace of mind at that kind of price is a steal.
The real holiday started on Monday, the real holiday is when you don’t do nothing. You should read about our other real holiday here. We undid some millions of years of evolution, re-evolve or something (I think it is called revolution, I know that word from somewhere) when turned hunters and liars again (Charles Darwin would never tell you they were liars, it would have created a revolution, I think). We played bluff for as long as I can remember and then went hunting for food to the Aurovil village. It was some Seethusamudram strike in TN and Aurovil is in TN and not Pondi (not a bluff that one) and we literally had to hunt around for grub. For dinner we had to get back to basics – fruits, bread, jam and omelets minus oil. I don’t know, we started off making half boiled which became omelet and then started off making omelet which became scrambled eggs. At 230 in the morning, no one complained. It was a difficult night as we discussed issues close to my heart (wink). Words, laughter, advice, serious debate, thoughts, spirit and bluff filled all the space between us friends. Friends… what can I say, you guys are great!!

My Bullet needed a little attention in the morning, some welding and a visit to the mechanic for some peripheral work and it was back to being great.

Road Humps Ahead!!

I like this road sign the best and always look out for the humping when I pass it!! But in this case, the road hump was inside the Ashram, sans the sign. Well, the ashram is a place for solace and silence not for some cheap rallying thrills, he he. All that makes sense till you break the rule once. In the night, when Adarsh and I were getting back on the Bullet, we tried a bit of wheeling… we nearly had orgasmic pleasure (eeikes) taking the bullet off the road over a couple of steep declines in the road within the ashram. We came back to do some more in the morning, its so much fun to do it in the morning (lol).

We slept through the spectacular sunrise at the beach but woke up in time to leave the ashram by noon. We had brunch at Pondi and hit the highway by 1230 or so. Shamji took up the pillion seat for the first 50 odd kms, from then on Adarsh and I rode together, enjoying some good music, decent roads and pleasant riding conditions. I stopped a number of times en route and shot some high energy videos of some kids in the villages in an attempt to make a short congratulatory video for a friend.

The road trip has probably not done anything to make the blue earring any less elusive, but the smile that it will bring to my lips would surely have broadened by some unforgettable memories from there.

Sunken Spirits at Cloud Valley

I am drifting about wildly in a swirl called the ‘quarter life crisis’, trying to find some direction to my life. The mood has definitely been depressing during the last few days; I am simply not able to get rid of the lump in my throat. The group ride to cloud valley at Coorg, set in this gloomy backdrop, was an attempt to clear up some of the obscuration.

The ride started the usual RTMC way, bullets pouring in at town hall till 630, and more guys joining in all along till Bidadi. The initial plan was to ride to Madikeri along Virajpet with the breakfast point at Bidadi. Anil’s 500 which was ridden by bladyphul packed up even before the ride had begun and then a few of us, including the new mod, Centhil, overshot the breakfast point at Bidadi. We finally stopped for poori, dosas and pongal at the coffee day outlet.
To reach Madikeri, take a right off Mysore road, a little after Srirangapatana. Another right turn after about 5-6kms will take you to Hunsur. From Hunsur you can either take the route via Kushalnagar to Madikeri. Or you can ride about 30kms longer route via Nagarhole forest, Titimati, Gonigoppal, Virajpet to Madikeri.
Going against our earlier plan, we took the Kushalnagar route on the (ill)advice of a local. There were bad stretches of potholed roads adding to the traffic on the ghat section; the ride was anything but footrest scrapping. When we regrouped at Madikeri, we had our first casualty. Arun aka naayi roast and prasy had a minor fall on the ghat section, no broken bones, just some dented fuel tank. He managed to dent it in the area where the two thighs meet each other, the tank and the seat ;-)
To reach cloud valley from Medikere, you need to ride along the lush green ghat route to Cherambane and take a left turn off Mithra wines. Cloud valley is an estate about 2kms from there.
At 230pm, the starving riders were treated to sumptuous meal. The non-veggies freaked out on pandi and koli curry, I settled for the pulav and daal and some very refreshing RC beer.
Meander to Misadventure
When the evening came, Prashee suggested we ride down to the river bed. 6 bullets took off, mindless of the dark clouds brewing up. The off-roading experience was awesome. We had to ride down a muddy lane leading right into the river bed, and ride across in silencer deep water. When all the bullets were over on the other side, the skies opened up. In coorg, when it rains it pours. Within minutes we were drenched completely. A lot of the slope we had used on our way down started to slide into the river and we decided to ride up whatever was left of it, before it became too slippery. Imagine this, a bullet is stuck half way up in slush, the rear wheel is high on rpm and spraying a thin sheet of slush around… and the rider needs help to push through. I got a first hand experience of what it feels like to have mud in your balls, rain in your eyes and ride like a maniac.
When we reached base, we were a sight to see!
Madikeri, like any other town, shuts down early. Pimpley and Prashee kept us transfixed with anecdotes of their rides even as the electricity flickered on and off. I had an early dinner and slipped into a slumber even as the story telling, the partying, singing and dancing continued well into the night.
I can’t curse myself enough for sleeping till late and missing a wonderful opportunity to ride at the crack of dawn with vijayraghavan and sam, in the mist to Talakaveri. I woke up at 8, not discerning if the thumping was in my head or in the frontyard.
Uday and Hem, our hosts at Cloud Valley, were at the top of hospitality ensuring that we were comfortable. Breakfast of Puttu and chutney, went in easily, round after round.
With naayi roast, having to fix a puncture, the start was delayed slightly, and we left the estate at 11.
A series of disaster events followed. First, the group was split, we got lost, and as we were back tracking, Tiger’s earthing wire burnt out, leading to one hour delay before we could get back on the right road. If that was not bad enough, naayi roast, who already had more than his share of bad luck, had another major fall. The rear tyre of his thunderbird, burst while he was doing good speed, sending him and prasy crashing on the highway. Although he riding gear protected him, prasy and the TB could not escape the impact, fractures, bruises on both of them.
The Highway is no more mine
I had left the larger group by this time and after a samosa break at Hunsur, had made it almost non-stop to Mandya. Mysore road had heavy traffic of cars and bikes all the way to Kengeri and to add to this were the sand laden trucks, spraying sand as you pass by. Maybe it’s a good idea to throw some paint pellets on their windscreens when you overtake them. Back home, my apartment’s interiors are being done and I had to get back early to be able to meet up with the carpenter. I rushed back without a break and was home by 530.
Although, there were some memorable moments on and off road on this ride, the mood as I hit the sack that evening, was no less depressing than what it was when I started.
Hot baths are good cures for depression. I should have just tried that in the first place. Sometimes it takes a tankful of fuel before you can think straight.

photos courtesy Centhil (aka Bakery)

Devarayana Durga

Butt..er (that’s me at RTMC, click here to see why) figured 25th in the unending list for the Devarayandurga ride. Factoring in the RST (RTMC stretchable time), I reached Mekhri circle at 6:45, just as Tiger was setting the rules for the ride.
We were 41 bullets that thumped the roads as we headed on NH-4 towards Hosur. What was surprising was the turn out of the regulars, easily out-stripping the newbies. As the first lot arrived at Pavithra Hotel, just after the second toll gate, looking for yummy tatte idli, we were welcomed by drawn shutters.

We had to settle for the regular idly, vada, dosa breakfast at one Kamath Hotel opposite to SIT college. One thing when you are being ‘led’ in a group ride, you don’t seem to remember the route too well. We took a right at Tumkur, the road that leads to Mahugiri. It was a spectacle to see the trucks and cars wait for the train of Bulls to pass. The next regroup point, albeit unplanned, was when Kripa (now chota KS) punctured the rear wheel. We took a right turn off that road and yet another right turn at the dead end. I can’t remember too well but there was a sign board that then led us to climb up to the temple atop DevarayanaDurga.
A few others had found other shorter route to the top. It was blazing hot by the time we got there. We stuffed our riding gear into Rakshas’ car and climbed upto the temple. The view from the top is awesome, but the heat made enjoying the view, impossible.
Close to noon time, we headed back. While the group stopped over at Namada Chilume Park for the RTMC circle and introduction rounds, I headed straight back alone, riding via Kyathasandra and NH4.

There are a lot of places to visit in this zone. This map displayed near Namada Chilume is very useful.

Date: 24 March 2007
Total Distance: 150kms
Route: Various (look at the map alongside).

Value Lanes

Event: RTMC meet
Location: Value Lanes

There is always a wedding ceremony every weekend that my parents want me to attend. All the more reason for me to jump on saddle and ride out. I did just that, on Sunday morning after promising to attend the reception party.
At RTMC we were having our annual meeting at someplace close to Manchinbele dam. I couldn’t make it to the starting point at the appointed 930. With no mobile signal at the venue, and unaware of even the name of the venue, I had to rely on the ultimate signpost – Bullets!!

“Look out for Rajarajeshwari Dental college, an International school on the left side about 5-6kms later and then a right turn leading to $&^% village (name changed upon request, ha ha) off Mysore Road”, “the rest I don’t know, coz we haven’t got there yet”, was all I could get before the signal died down.

Some amount of riding up and down ensured that I found the turn to take. What next? There are two things I knew – the place was some kind of a resort and the track was warm with Bullet marks, at least 25-30 Bullets were supposed to have preceded me. One ruralist said there was one resort belonging to Upendra. Half-baked ones are easy to mislead and from then on, I was asking for Upendra’s resort. While one took a lift in exchange, another zealously enquired if superstar Upendra was in the MUV that had just passed. Fortunately, I caught up with Rakshas who had all the directions to the venue and put those direction-(mis)adventures to rest.

A stretch of dirt road opens to the glassy reservoir of Manchinbele. The backdrop of beautiful hills reflecting off the still waters was truly transcending. The place is more appealing on account of its conspicuous absence of humans.

Value-Lanes

Simply superb place, I say. It is an ideal destination for any rugged outdoor / team building activity. The hospitality of Major Kapoor who runs the place is the cherry on the top. To know more, click here.

The meeting went on in a very civilized (by most standards) manner indeed. I can’t quite say the same thing about the lunch.

We rode back through Manchinbele dam and Big Banyan tree. A great off-roading location and ‘the’ place if you are looking for a quiet Sunday not far away from home.

An announce ride called BLUFF

Bluff

intransitive and transitive verb pretend to be confident: to pretend to have strength, confidence, or the intention of doing something, in order to deceive somebody





I should have guessed this when RTMC announced a ride to Bluff aka Shivanasamudram. Bluff 1: It was supposed to be a ride on road, not off-road.
Bluff 2: Since when did you call tender coconuts, “Breakfast”
Bluff 3: It was supposed to be a waterfall that we were riding to!!!

It was a good turnout at 7am at town hall – Sam (on his F650) and Sumanth, were doing the ride captain honors. Boom, Cup, Anand, Dom (Jawa 350) and Karna joined in. There were lots of newbies – couples, dhoni hairdos, shutterbugs, 19 bullets in all.

First regroup point was Khoday’s Breweries on Kanakpura road. Roads were reasonable till Kanakapura. The restaurant before Kanakapura was closed, the Plan B was to call the ride a diet ride and continue.
As we headed towards Malvalli (root mal = bomb?, halli = village), we were in for a surprise. No bombs and what should have been a road was more like the test bed for rover, the moon explorer! After this one, am sure we won’t be seeing as many pillion riders in the future. Amidst all this, there was this one newbie couple chatting incessantly. Parks (not rides) are places where you go if you want to talk, at least you wouldn’t slow down the sweep (read, sam on the F650) to those miserly 40kmph speeds.
The next pit stop was at Malvalli, Hotel Nisarga (?) for food. Following the principle of Henry Ford, the hotel offered “any customer any dish ordered, so long as it’s a dosa”.
About 15kms from Malvalli, there is a road going to the left. Gaganachukki falls is about 5kms.
It sure was a bad time of the year to visit the falls and we were disappointed (talk about sharing water with TN now). The falls is quite a sight when in its full majesty. Sam gave the hamari paramapara talk at the circle, and intros went around.
We headed back via Maddur and got along full throttle on Mysore road. Lunch happened at 3:30 on this quiet place behind Café Coffee Day on Mysore road. The last regroup point was opposite KaduMane.
In all, yet another good ride with RTMC!!

Total Distance: 140kms
Route: Bangalore > Kanakapura > Malvalli > Shivanasamudram > Maddur > Bangalore

5A on the Highway

I saw…
…One Hundred Bullets parked away neatly
…Undying spirits dance away to the drummin of drunk village drummers
…who only a while ago, sat in rapt attention as http://rtmc.info/ was clicked open
…A hundred hangovers ache at once
…All this and more as RTMC completed its 5 years on the highway.
5A on the Highway at Yercaud!!

Between 1st and 2nd October, about 94 bikes (largely bullets, 5 RD's, 2 BMW F650's and a CBR 900RR, 1 Jawa 350 and a few Yamaha RX's) some 130 leather clad bikers from Bangalore and Chennai, rounded up at Shevroys Resort, Yercaud. Yercaud is this serene hill station about 2000mts above sea level, just outside of Salem.
Day 1: Ride to the Pardy
We started at Bangalore on Sat morning, about 40 odd bullets. The road from Bangalore to Yercaud, for 3 days, was littered with Bullets, what else with 100 odd bulls taking that road. The Krishnagiri road is a speed daemon’s heaven, the RD’s and the beamers freaked the bullets out.
Breakfast happened at the HP station, just after Hosur, we cleaned the restaurant up. There were loads of old-time RTMCians in full attendance – prashy, charul, Adrian, Bumboo, muthu, pp. VC, girish, vodka, vakeel, etc, etc. It was quite an uneventful ride all the way up to Yercaud, except I was caught red-handed (open-mouthed actually) gaping at Dj’s girl friend in the Scorpio as it went past.
At Shevroys resort, Small Moe was doing the watchman duty, getting in some parking discipline. The agenda for the day was registration and pardy! I was sharing the room with Shakti (biscuit) and Ajith pinto. Yercaud had its season of late evening downpours, which pushed the party from the lawn into the hall.
Dj set the dance floor going, the only pain was that the bar was not at the dance hall and one had to pre-mix in mineral water bottles. Bisleri was in ‘high’ demand.
Day 2: Trek, Tech and cha-cha
A few early birds, went on a short trek to savor the estate plantations. Ajith, an almost localite, took us to a ridge atop his sister’s Arabica coffee estate. We then rode a little more to a small water fall nearby.
There were loads of events lined up to Caman The Enjaiment. An?l did the mass Ayudha pooja for all the Bullets – some capacity this poojari had – 100 bullets in one shot!
Then there was a slow biking race (wouldn’t qualify to be called a race, I guess). After the race Sultan and I rode down a bit for some pictures, well, I went with my camera and returned without it. Yes, despite my hazzar efforts this year to keep the lost-n-found list short, I lost it!!
The lost-not-found list for this year is:
Rayban Goggles
A pair of Nikes
Undies (what the…)
Camera
And loads of irretrievable self-confidence
(if you are still wondering what to present me this Diwali, read the list again)
After sulking over the camera and consoling myself that it was depreciated many times over anyways, doc (re-christened toothpick), boom, tiger and I went on the loop ride – 30kms of looping ghat roads.
Then there was this Kabbaddi match, RTMC vs MadBulls, à la David vs Goliath, only this time, Goliath had the sling too!! Our guys literally had mud in the face when they finished 0-2. We should have an online Kabbaddi contest next time (Xbox, take note).
What followed the savage match was a totally citified tech session. Mr. Subash Chandra Bose, the veteran bullet racer, now working in the R&D of Ucal, shared some gyan on the mechanical, thermal and volumetric efficiency of bullets. At the end of this, everyone now wants a BS-29 export-only carburetor.
Soon after, there was this official 5 Anniversary ceremony. Amidst lot of nick-name shouting and start-the-fcuking-show shouts, RTMC video was played, the rtmc.info website inaugurated, the 5A cake cut and duly smeared on the moderators.
Then the chicks hit the dance floor – gurl friendies, wifeys, side kicks – they sure knew how to shake their booty. You were all too bootiful I say. And then we heard commotion at the entrance to the hall. The dance floor had shifted and there was confusing noise. Enter, half-drunk drummers doing the dank-a-naka beats and they hijacked the dance floor. For the next half hour we were head-banging (after a point, literally) to the drummers’ beats - live band, RTMC ishtyle.
Day 3: Bang Bang Bangalore
We started back from Shevroys on the 2nd morning at 9 or so. Not before we stuffed ourselves with pooris, idlis, pongal and bread. An?l had a puncture down the ghat section, 3shoeL and I carried on at sedate speeds, while the rest of them stayed behind. All was fine till I got to Richmond circle, but hey, after having done 250 odd kms since morning, with just 10kms to reach home, “phut” the engine went off. I parked the bullet at the Agro showroom for the night and rikshawed back home.
The weekend was in so many ways the celebration of the undying spirit of freedom which RTMC epitomizes. May you have many more Anniversaries.
Caman the Enjaiment!!

Nandi Betta and Nidhi Bete - Part II

Ok…after a lot of prodding from my good friend Manoj, I’ am finally writing my first ever-blog entry…as a guest-writer on Manoj’s visorview (road conquests??) blogsite!

The event: Nidhi Bete 2
Date: 10th Sep 06
Organizers: RTMC
Participants: 22 teams (solo or with pillion)

As a precursor to the events to follow, the first task was difficult enough….meet at 7.30 am at Sarovar, Lavalle Road. Now, for heaven’s sake, this was supposed to be a Sunday, ain’t it meant for catching up on lost sleep???!! Anyways, I was determined not to ditch my dear friend Manoj (ask him for my track record on this one!!)...so woke up by 6.45 am, quick shower and after a lot of searching & directions on the phone, finally reached Sarovar at 7.45am. I thought I was late, since the flag-off was scheduled for 8 am, but I should have known better!!

After a quick round of introductions to the other participants, my ‘pilot’ (read: Manoj= Kuruda) and I broke our fast on a helping of 2 idlis and a vada each.
I changed over to the t-shirt (covered in the 300 bucks as entry fee), a couple of quick smokes, and bingo…we were ready to zoom….it was 8.40am…

Oh, btw Aetos (the eagle!!)..gave a brief on what we were to expect and he did mention that he wanted to see our butts when we got back after the ‘grueling’ ride….should have paid heed to that a little more seriously, but what the heck…aren’t we the daring sorts, come what may kinds… so bring it on!!!

After a series of bikes were flagged off…our time came and my pilot and I were on our way! The first clue was easy, because it was a part of Bangalore I know well ( Jayanagar ) ….but there was a hitch…Though we were bang on the right track, we happened to ask a person for re-confirmation. In his eagerness to be helpful (??), he confidently veered us back to a place we had already passed by….there goes 5-7 minutes!! Anyways, we recovered, rather realized our folly quickly enough and I was very soon dashing into the Royal Enfield showroom where we were supposed to pick up the visiting card of the store-manager…The guy actually stood up from his seat, handed over the card without even asking a word, realizing that I meant business and didn’t have time for small-talk.. And yes, I did take down the reg. number of the bullet from the poster there (I realized it should have be the reg. no. of the bullet with the side-car only later!)

Now, we were well and truly on our way…the next clue was to take the Hosur Road and get to the road to the place which means ‘Elephant Stone’ in Kannada…Bingo, my Kannada is good enough to decipher that as ‘ANEKAL’…but found that in the next clue the same was mentioned (was that a mistake on the organizers’ part??) Anyways, once on that road we were supposed to take the deviation to the place, the clue for which was an anagram – ‘INJAGI’. That’s an easy one…of course it has to be JIGANI (thanks to one of my many initial jobs, I had been to that place and knew it existed!)… Got the deviation easily enough (when in doubt-ASK…and that’s precisely what we did..ask an auto-rickshaw guy to reconfirm),noted down the name of the hotel there, picked up a red-looking stone and proceeded to our next set of clues, which included getting the name of a school (Royal School- at some injalwadi pass on the way), a charitable trust (forgot the name) & an organic products plant ( Kumar Organic Products, whose byline is ‘a positive chemical reaction’….good, na??!!) ….all pretty much sequentially on the way.

Next up was to find a school which resembled Hogwarts (Harry-da-puttar, anyone??!) on the Bannerghatta Road, just some 10 kms from the Zoo (All cats here, what r u doing here, u dog??).The school turned out to be ‘Savodaya Birla International School’ and thankfully we were not too far when we stopped by to ask, only to realize we had passed it! Anyways, these things do happen, don’t they?? Of course, the symbol on the board of the school resembled a Sun (that was a question in the clue-sheet) and I got down from the bike momentarily to look for a ‘white cock feather’ in the grass around...but could not spot one. Not wanting to waste too much time, my pilot said ‘yeno ondu white irodu yettko maga’..meaning ‘pick-up something that is white man’…I did as ‘boss’ said (anything that would save me some trouble!!)…hopped on as pillion and off we were again. Manoj happened to know exactly the destinations of the next few clues since he had done this route before, so I was like..’Ok, cool…we’r almost there’…only to realize that the tough part (read: bad roads) had just begun!!

Of course, the only respite was the NICE road…on which my pilot was in fullu josh..ripping at 120kms/hr (he thinks we did a max of 115kms/hr, but I was watching the Speedo all the while).The good part over, took the deviation to the “Big Banyan Tree “ ( ‘brother to the underwear’ , or so the clue said!!). I took a much needed pee-break while Manoj a.k.a Kuruda took down the landline number of the studio there and picked up a dry leaf….I thought I could have a smoke in peace, being stationary(after all, we had made it until here in good time, hadn’t we??), but I was wrong L The ‘boss’ was like let’s go, let’s go…so off we were again ( BTW, did I mention I also bought 2 beedis at the shop there, much to the bewilderment of the shopkeeper??!!)

Next up was Manchinbele post-office (we had to count how many pillars it stood on, and the answer was 4, but alas, we forgot to mention that on the clue-sheet!!), we noticed it, thanks to ‘Bamboo’ and pillion standing right in front of it….it was also a sort-of re-affirmation that we were indeed on the right track! We were running out of gas, but thankfully found a shop which sold petrol, filled 2 litres which cost us Rs. 130 ( who said fuel was expensive only in Bangalore??!!) and off we went to our next destination…the Deer Park at Savandurga. Got my ass off the bike (was that a relief or what, albeit for only 2-3 minutes!!), to enquire with the shopkeeper there about the number of Deers in the park. Once we had the answer (none), and after having noted the ‘who’ in the statue, we were gleefully on our road back to Bangalore…

Before I proceed to the last stretch, lemme take a minute to mention here that the stretch mentioned in the last para (Big Banyan Tree – Manchinbele – Savandurga) was probably the ‘super specialty stretch’ that Aetos mentioned in his intro before we left Sarovar…and boy, was it special??!! You could hardly call them roads, let alone good or bad….we were constantly in and out of ditches, going left and right to avoid some, and then in cases where it was inevitable to avoid one, my pilot and I used to just let out a shout in the anticipation of the pain it would cause our backside!! Whew, Manoj/Kuruda must’ve cursed the organizers for this, and what’s more, they even had the cheekiness to collect Rs. 300 as entry fees!!

Anyways, glad with the anticipation of the last stretch and lunch, we zipped back to Magadi, took a right turn…and hurray, we were on our way back to namma Bengalooru!! But, well, all good feelings must end, ‘coz just then we noticed a milestone saying “Bangalore – 48 kms” …48kms….crazy or what??? Haven’t we already endured enough??? And by this time, my ass as burning….and my pilot didn’t help (!!) by not being co-operative enough to stop for 5-10 minutes and recuperate…It came down to me almost begging him to stop for 10 seconds, which he did, only once!! He just kept saying “ let’s finish it off “…..well, I knew he was right, but when ur ass is literally on fire, does reasoning ever help??!!! But still, I braved myself to endure the pain (btw, I think I heard Manoj say something like iron-ass….hmm…!), no matter what and ended up trying to find various postures (given the limitations) that would help my backside, even just a little bit!

Finally, after a little bit of guidance from one of the shopkeepers (god bless them), we reached our starting point, Sarovar, at around 1.35pm ….hurray..we made it, and boy, were we glad!!

We submitted our clue-sheet to the organizers only to then realize that we had missed 2 clues on our way back….picking up ‘kadlekai’ on the Magadi rd – Bangalore route and finding out who maintains the clock tower at KR Circle, but who cares, I was just glad that I could stand still after 5 hours of almost constantly riding pillion (roads, did I hear anybody say??)…and Manoj cover-up line was “we don’t believe in bribing!!”….Still, we were docked (I think) 20points….Well, whatever….

Finale:

Cut to scene of having lunch and then results….

Aetos announcing ….” The third place goes to team O…Manoj “ What the $&^&??….Anyways, Clap clap clap!!!

Checkered Flag at Sriperumbadur

This is the defining moment, one that leaves an indelible mark on the memory.
The hands of the tower clock push max angle between them; 12:30 on a hot Sunday afternoon on the Madras Motors Sports Club Race Track at Irungattukottai, Chennai.
I see nearly 10 other bullets through my visor, ahead of me on the grid. There are spectators on the sidelines wanting to catch the start; the lenses zoomed in, larger crowds gather on the two towers overhead.
A Marshal runs up with a “Three Minutes” Placard. A bead of sweat slides down from within the helmet, the breathing gets deeper, and all senses coalesce on the five red lights up ahead. There is a deafening thundering roar as the bikers rev up their variously modified bullets. “Two Minutes”, “30seconds” and “5 seconds” cards come and go, in quick succession; the 20 odd bikers looking ahead in enervating anticipation. I pull the clutch lever and shift into first gear, rev hard and keep it there. Five red lights go on, one after another from right to left… one, two, three, four, five opening the floodgates of adrenaline in sync. And then they go off, all at once… my race has just started.

Rewind quickly three days to find out how I landed here. The fourth leg of the Ucal Rolon National Road Racing Championship was adding (after nearly 10yrs) the Bullets and (other?) superbikes class to its 110 and 160cc categories. The invitation was extended to RTMC, and after re-affirming with Mamadi and Prashy, I decided to check out the track myself. In the hindsight, if I had even a semblance of what was in store for me, I swear, I would have chickened out.

There were a few easy-to-overcome roadblocks. Get the bullet in shape – replace the chain and sprocket and removed the main stand. The plan to go to Chennai was made over hot Mysore filter coffee at Java City at the club’s meeting. The forms were filled and everything was in place. I had to put lotsa gas to convince folks at home, this time I have stretched limits, I reckon. I applied leave on Friday (yes, contrary to most cases, my weekends are spilling over my work days and I, for one, am not complaining).

Mama, Anil and I left to Chennai on Friday (1st Sep) at 7 in the morning. Riding steady 80kmph on the bare Krishnagiri-Vellore route, we reached Sriperumbadur by 1:30pm, some 340 odd kms. The vroom vroom sounds of the 110 and 160cc bikes as we entered the MMSC race track, brought the first signs of doubts if I wanted to be among these mad men. We were welcomed with bad news at the pits from the Rolling Thunder Assault Team, Prashy and Abhi, out two leading racers had a crash, Prashy’s piston had two holes, exhaust valve broken and wrecked the head & tappet rods and Abhi had crashed trying not to run over Prashy on the track. All this on the very first day, two more such days to go!

The Madras Motors Race track at Irungattukottai was the first of its kind in India was inaugurated in 1990. The grand prix run a full 50 laps here. I was sapped out for a mere 5 laps, the 110cc and the 160cc classes ran 8 laps.
In the next 24 hours, I rode to Chennai, met up my relatives, caught up with two batch mates from IIML, Kamal and Krishna at Tidal Park.
I had to do a lot of “------- (replace by name of place) yenge?” to find my way around. “straight pongo sir, last le, right turn panna, ange iruku”. Meaning “go straight, and take a right turn in the last (end)”. You would not go any further on a straight road if you knew you had to take a turn, right. The road will continue, and hey, I don’t know where to go (if you get any of that, you are either a Tamilian or a genius).

Anyways, I got back to the race track by 3:15 on Saturday afternoon, with the practice for the bullets starting at 4:30. I thought I had enough time to take off my crash guards, mirror, tape the indicators, etc. Wrong! The bullets were already on track and there was 15 mins left to get any practice.
I was ushered into the track on my fully loaded TB, just managed to take off my tank bag. As I entered the hot lane, instruction given to me was simple, “Ensure you don’t fall, you have too much glass”.
For the practice, the bullets shared the short loop with the super bikes – Ninjas and CBRs. I was glad I had the mirrors on, to make way when the super bikes sped past. There was one rider who was flashing headlights and all, I caught him on my rear view mirror. After burning some fuel and rubber (off my foot peg only) on the wet track, I got back to the pits, 6 short laps later. The veteran racer, Subhash Chandra Bose, gave us some valuable tips on lines to take, there is so much more to learn.

After the practice, most of us headed back to Chennai. After checking out the MadBulls Shridhar's office (half of RTMC used the office to crash for the night), I headed to Porur, my cousin’s place.

On Sunday morning, I reached the race track at 8, hoping to get some more practice early in the morning. The rest of RTMC was late, sleeping over the hangover from Bikes n Barrels the previous night. Unlike the previous night, there was scrutiny of the bikes and riding gear. I was under clothed for the race, no full gloves, no knee pads. Prashy had pulled out of the race, despite an overnight engine rebuild and I got to use the champ’s riding suit.
The races for the moped class, 110cc and 160cc class went on till noon. By now my ears for-ever reverberating to the sound the mopeds and bikes revving on track or testing in the pits. The 50cc mopeds race at 100-90kmph, throttles locked at max.
At noon, the announcements for the bullets sounded. I said a silent prayer, the idea of backing out did cross my mind once, do I really want to go out there! Hell, I was not going to chicken out now.
We wheeled the bullets to the cold lane and waited as instructions were barked out. When the bullets came out into the track, one after the other, it was almost like the gladiators come out into the Roman arena. I started among the last four on the starting grid, feeling like Narayan Kartikeyan. By the time the first curve (MRF curve) was taken, there were 3 bullets behind me and one close ahead. The qualifying was my best race, for a large part I was catching up with the heavily modified (it had a double silencer) No. 1 bullet ahead. I got him on three occasions on tight inner line, but was unable to keep the lead. I had to keep my nerves tight, especially when the lead was taken from me.
For most part of the race, my strategy was to move from the outer to the inner line. I really loved most corners:

MRF Corner – Took this one mostly at 90-100kmph. The straight provides the chance to clip and take the curve at nearly fully throttle.
GoodYear Corner – The straight before this is a long one, I would consistently hit over 100kmph before braking and gearing down before the Goodyear corner.
The Never ending – This is one I loved most. Keep the throttle open, tilt the bullet till the rubber on the foot peg scrapes the camber, take the inner line and keep going and going and going, never ending really. I hear the super bikes take this at 220kmph!!
The Bridge Corners – I hated these, the S-shaped corners were where I scraped my pegs and god-knows-whatever else most. Couldn’t do any speed on this either.

There is so much to learn to be able to take these corners with élan, to make the curves work for you. But when you clip on those curves, the bullet tilting to hug the curves, and every part - the eyes, hands, thighs, knees, ankles working in sync, you forget the world.

I finished 15th out of 19 bikers on qualifying almost feeling like Narain Karthikeyan. It was a good race for Abhi from RTMC, who finished first on the 350cc category and second overall.
The next race was at 5:15 or so. In the meantime, the super bikes who took to track, to the delight of the crowds, also had a major crash, also to further the delight of the crowd. Ordinary packed vegetarian food tasted great, maybe also because it was covered in the 100 bucks you pay for the registration.
The race in the evening was a replica of the qualifying – only this time around, I didn’t have the No. 1 guy running in front and had the track for myself after the first lap. I tried to catch up with Sultan on his 500cc, but fell short of power.

At the end of the race, all the bulleteers were given mementos – a trophy to take home and show-off. I had to fit back my side stands, guard and lights in a hurry to make the bullet highway-fit.
We left the track at 6:30 in the evening. Boom was at the point, ripping at 100+, sultan and I formed the sweep. After Krishnagiri, we had to slow down, to stay with Manan, who had a loose chain. But the whole road is simply awesome and a great one to do at night. Got back home by 1am – 935kms of bliss!!

As I type this entry, I am being driven on bumper-to-bumper traffic on Airport Road and I am translocated, so much that I almost smell rubber.

Some race track terms that I googled:
parade lap
When the bikes in a race travel around the track before the start of a race. Done to warm up the bikes, particularly the tires.
camber
The roll, angle, or canter of the road surface left and right from the direction of travel. Often corners are angled or banked in favour of the driver; when angle is unfavourable the road is described as off-camber.
cold lane
Lane in pit where bikes wait to enter track. See "hot lane."
hot lane
Lane in pit used by bikes exiting or re-entering track. See "cold lane."
green flag
Track ahead is clear for driving at speed.
yellow flag
Standing or held steady, it indicates there is a minor hazard on track ahead or perhaps a bike off-track. Use caution. When the flag is waved, it means there is a major hazard ahead; so use extreme caution.
marshal
A person working at a station along the track, usually a corner. They monitor and report the condition of bikes and the behaviour of drivers. They will display flags to provide information or warn a driver. They maintain contact with the chief marshal or "track steward."
decreasing radius
A corner that tightens. It requires increased steering input after the apex. Very challenging. Opposite from an increasing radius.
deep into a corner
Braking later into a corner, usually to overtake a bike. Often needed when taking an inside line. Also referred to as "going deeper."
inside line
If attempting to pass in a corner, race drivers will often attempt an inside line or "groove." They move to the inside surface of the track before a corner, then they attempt to outbrake their opponent by braking later but harder. If done successfully they will shoot by the bike driven the racing line and be ahead at the apex. This often causes the aggressive driver to early apex giving the defending driver a better line at the exit. See "outbrake," "the line."
in slow, out fast
A reminder that your overall or exit speed in a corner will be faster if you're slower at the entrance. A driver that exploits this is described as being "quick in the corners."
line, the
An imaginary line around a track that permits the highest speed. Through corners this is the greater arc from the outside edge from the end of a straightaway (turn-in point) through the inside edge of a corner (apex) to the outer edge at the end of the corner (exit point). This is often visible on a race track as a darker region from tire residue. This is not necessarily the shortest distance around a track. Sometimes referred to as the race line or dry line. See "wet line," "off-line," "inside line."

Weekend Beat

As a part of other events being run along with the Ucal Rolon National Road Racing Championship the track will now reverberate to the sound of the thundering Royal Enfields. The Royal Enfields are returning to the tracks on such an occasion after over a decade.
Guess who's going to burn rubber there this weekend!

The Venue: Madras Motors Sports Club, Sriperumbadur

To MadhuGiri with Tatte Idly

Date: 09 July 2006
Distance traveled: 250kms
Route: Tumkur - Madhugiri
Some basic stats:
37 bikes (the highest ever on a ride)
45 people (the highest ever on a ride)
11 Women (the highest ever on a ride)
11 Announce riders (the highest ever on a ride)
5 Announce riders cleared for membership (the highest ever on a ride)

This ride had its share of some witty one-liners.
“We need to see you come before we hear you come.”
PP started off with something that can very well go into the history books for children to learn by rote. It helps explain a rather sanctified RTMC rule of keeping your headlight on while on a group ride. (And I always thought it was just meant to help you see the road better).
“We need to see you come before we hear you come”
This profound explaination, am sure will bring absolute clarity to us RTMCians and would also placate the curiosity of the bewildered country policemen.
On the last two rides (Penukonda and this one) cops stopped the battery of bullets, “Adella OK, aadre headlight yaake??” Trying stopping us next time fellas.
If you were to ponder some more, you will realize how this is aligned with the human anatomy too. We do have eyes before the ears!! And then nature seconds this philosophy too – Lightening is seen before thunder is heard, Bingo!!!
And all the sexoholics would concur, we do need to see them come before we hear them come, right (?)

There was a lot of ‘diversity’ on this ride. The lone female rider must have inspired this one, “Everyone has to come down to his knees here.”

My tappets were making noise giving my bullet a chopper kind of feel. I could hear it over the racket of the other bullets and even inside my helmet. Nandan (my Bullet doc) had taken me through a course on tappet adjustments the previous evening to make sure I wouldn’t be stranded on the highway. It’s all here if you need to know more. And then I had to get back in time to catch my flight to Delhi. I still wanted to do the ride.
My initial plans were to join them till breakfast and then ride back. Breakfast happened at the world-famous-in-tumkur Pavithra Idly Hotel at Kyatasandra. This place just outside Tumkur is famous for its Tatte Idlies (tatte = plate). (Plz check out the recipe at the end of this post). It was 10am when we were ready to ride again and I was saying the goodbyes. PP and doc edged me to carry on another 30kms to Madhugiri. ‘To Madhugiri’ on the title of a blog sounds better than To Tumkur and so I went. Now we were riding on the state highway, first gear-second gear-third gear-fourth gear-fifth-speed breaker-repeat was the sequence for all of the 30 odd kilometers.
We reached Madhugiri by 11 or so, a few others were delayed because of a leaking tank on one of the bulls. I waited for the ride captain, Sumanth to join up before I started my way back. With the fear of loose tappets (or God knows what) at the back of the mind, I was glad I made home by 1:30, well in time for lunching, packing and boarding.
The next one week will be spent in the pink city Jaipur.

Before I leave... it wouldn't be fair, if I didn't give you a chance to experience it yourself, so here goes...
Finger-licking Tatte (plate) Idly
Ingredients:
Idly rice (Ponni rice if possible)
Urud dal
cooked rice
Fenugreek seeds(Methi)
Salt as per taste


(Disclaimer: The writing on the wall in the photograph above is purely co-incidental and may(?) not have any bearing on the taste whatsoever)
Method:
Soak Idly rice and Methi together in water for about 5-6 hours.
Soak urud dal in water for 3 1/2 hours. Drain the water from urud dal and grind it in a wet grinder with little water. Fine grind it until the mixture is frothy. Keep aside. Now drain water from soaked rice and methi.
Grind these along with cooked rice and little water in the grinder.
Now mix the ground items and add salt. Allow it to ferment for 16 - 18 hours. Then make idlys in the idly steamer. The flour is poured into the tattes (plates) and piled in a neat circular arrangement.

This is then transferred to the steam chamber. Steam the idlys on high for 10 minutes.
Steaming Tatte idlys are served best with coconut chutney and hot sambar. Surrup…

24 Karat Action - Penukonda, Timbaktu Ride

Date 14th May 2006
Total Distance traveled: 330kms
Destination: Timbaktu
Objective: Andhra Meals
Route taken onward: Bangalore-Yelahanka-Doddabalapur-Hiriyur-Gouribidanur-Hindupur-Penukonda-Timbaktu.
Route taken return: Timbaktu-Penukonda-Chikkbalapur-Bangalore
Photos uploaded at http://100kph.fotopic.net/c957887.html


24 Karat Action
One more ride with RTMC. In mid May, if one ventures out to Andhra braving the heat, the reason better be strong. ‘Genuine’ Andhra meals was promised and all of 24 Karat Action happened. (The inspiration for the title comes from the movie poster for the gult pillum Bangaru – 24 Karat Action). To avoid having to ride in the afternoon sun, we decided to start late, lunch and rest in the afternoon and ride back in the night.
For this ride there were almost no newbies from the announce group, but for this one techspan guy who was running in his bullet supposedly. We were some 15 of us, who started off near the HP petrol pump near Hebbal at 11 in the morning.
Dhak-Dhak Roads
We were warned that there were craters on this road that were visible from the moon. Right side or left side, road, off-road, ride sitting, ride standing, slow/fast/medium - just keep off the pot-holes!!
There were two regroup breaks – at one we emptied a tender-coconut vendor off his stock and on the second occasion, finished off the last drop of Buttermilk at Gauribidanur.
I was plugged to my Network Walkman mouthing some old Kannada songs – SPB, Annavru, Ravi chandran songs.
K I T A
Thanks to all the dhak-dhak roads, my nuts came loose, literally. (If you think you read this joke, in my previous blog, you need to know I’m an advocate of recycling, jokes and girlfriends included). I had to pull over some 10kms before Penukonda. One kick in the butt (read silencer) every 2-3kms and the bullet was back to highway fit. Reminds me of Prof. Mulky’s KITA motivational technique (KITA acronym for Kick-In-The-Ass), who says management principles don’t work on Bulls.

Genuine Andhra Meals
It was some 230 when we reached Penukonda. Now the group split, the non-veggies settled for a Highway restaurant and about 5 of us headed to a Mess near the Penukonda fort. It turned out the guy was a Kannadiga, and he was serving Andhra meals without Parpu (Gun Powder). So much for ‘genuine’ Andhra meals.
Andhra meals typically has rice in the first course. Here you need to add about 2 liters of ghee to it, and then add one more spoon, then add parpu pudi to it, till it becomes light orange in color. Now mix this with Pappu. Pappu is the staple food of Andhra but keeping in view the global food shortage (esp. in the neighboring state of Amma) Pappu is served in a small quantities only using a tea spoon (the govt has not objected to this practice because of the employment it generates).
As you are getting done with the first course of rice and pappu, there is the second course of rice and sambar, then the third, with rice and rasam and the fourth, with rice and curd.
As we were finishing off our four course rice meals, the rest of the guys came thundering down. Because of chicken flu (or because the chicken flew) non-veg food was not available and they had to settle for the four course meal.
For 2 rupees, I got a nut for my silencer, and it solved my KITA problem.
Kumbakarana
Post lunch, we went to pay our respect to Kumbakarana. A bench mark for most Gults, Kumbakarana, the brother of Ravana, slept for 6 months a year, ate for the remaining 6 months and had a huge pot belly. (evidence that Beer dates back to the Tretha Yuga). With a great mines-not-so-big feeling we left to Timabaktu.
There is a Shiva temple 3kms off the highway. The dirt road is good for off roading. The only thing we did was to go there and get back.
I don’t recollect exactly, but it was some 6 in the evening when we started back. Sumanth was point and pp was the sweep. We stopped over at Penukonda again for some juice. Naxalites who:
After Penukonda, as we were getting into the Karnataka border we were stopped by the Ananthpur police. (With those fiber lathis, we had no choice but to stop). Someone had tipped them that there were there 10 odd bullets riding up and down, in that area. The Naxalite prone area that it is, routine interrogation took more than a few mins. An?l went into the police station to settle things out. No one could notice any lathi marks with his Joe-Rocket on.
The group had split into 2 when we reached chikbalapur, but we met up again at 9 near hebbal. It was one of those few rides when we all stuck together till the end.

karat
kar·at [kérrət] (plural kar·ats) noun
measure of gold content: a unit of proportion of gold in an alloy equal to 1/24 part of pure gold. U.K. term carat[1]

Kokkre Bellur, Masina Gudi, Jungle Retreat, Ooty

Places visited: Kokkre Bellur, Masina Gudi, Jungle Retreat, Ooty
Distance covered: 650kms
Date: 15-16th April

Highlights: In a lot of ways this ride was an overdose of nature for me.
First, at Kokkre Bellur you have pelicans and storks that fly 1000s of miles, all the way from Russia, Siberia to spend these few months at this one small village, year-after-year.
Second, the forest of Bandipur, Madumalai Hills – thick foliage in the valleys, the hills standing tall and bald, deer, monkeys, peacocks and good possibility of a leopard, python, bison or a tusker crossing your path.
Third, Nature’s way of saying, “hey, can I join you for the ride?” “How about I send some rain with you on your way back?” The downpour all the way down to Bangalore.

Flagging off: It was a combo ride time at Rolling Thunder Motorcycles Club – RTMC. There were two groups on this ride – both leaving together to Kokkre Bellur in Mandya. The first group riding back to Bangalore and a second group continuing to Masanagudi for an overnighter. In all about 20 guys on 14 bullets, the smallest RTMC participation I’ve seen. We left at around 8am almost an hour after the scheduled departure. Breakfast was at Kaadu Mane before Bidadi, one plain and one masala for me. It helped having a good breakfast, considering lunch happened only at 3 or so.

Kokkre Bellur is a village that is painted white with the pelicans and storks (literally with their droppings) that migrate here. Huge birds, wide wingspan, and in many hues come here during the mating season, hatch their eggs and nurture young ones till they fly back with them.
The birds seemed so much at home there. Even the blaring loud speakers (some festival celebration was on) and all the latest Kannada songs that were playing didn’t seem to disturb them. I can understand if it was Radio City, but latest kannada songs. Maybe it helps coming from a phoren country and not knowing the local language. Or maybe it was to do with the breeding season; you cannot disturb no one during the breedings.

Good write up on Kokkre Bellur here - http://www.nationalgeographic.co.in/explore/otbt/kokkare_bellur.asp.

There is a rivulet that runs outside the village. We did a bit of off-roading, riding along the rivulet till our bullets could go no more. ‘Tiger’ struck a good deal for some nectar-like tender coconuts, 100 bucks for 20. It was tiger’s birthday, the ‘Happy birthday’ song and bums followed. It was 2ish by the time we left the group to head for Masinagudi, 8 of us on seven bullets.

The Sweep: It was decided that I sweep the line (the guy who rides last, ensuring everyone’s ahead). Girish was running in his bike and was doing a max of 70-80kmph. Initially, I didn’t know this guy was running-in, I thought he was a compulsive slow coach. It’s so damn frustrating – you have a sooper bike, nice empty roads, fellow bikers ripping, but you can’t open throttle. I tried a few things to pep this guy to turn that accelerator, ride right up his ass, wroom-wroom there, overtake him then let him pass, etc. But Girish did not give in. I even felt tempted to ride alongside and do the turning accelerator for him myself.
I don’t know if that is the case sometimes in life with a few of us. There are people around you who want to do everything to push you on the fast track. But, somehow, maybe we don’t see it at all. Now, put on the ‘sweep-hat’ for a moment, and imagine how frustrated your mentor/guardian angel would feel. But then, its also important if you are the mentor, to see behind the facade and find the real reason. In this case, he was actually sacrificing short term urge to rip, for something more enduring.
Lunch: After all that food-for-thought my body went off balance and I had to soon provide some food-for-tummy. We were hungry like mad by the time we reached the outer out-skirts of Mysore. We stopped at some small udipi restaurant and polished off some tasty parotas, meals and chapattis.
The forests: More wildlife from there on. We crossed Bandipur, Teppakadu and Madumalai. There were lots of monkeys and deer. I enjoyed this stretch most, going real slow, taking in as much as I could. We reached Masinagudi at 6:30.

Jungle resort: Jungle retreat is a superb resort. Almost from any point in the resort the view of the hills is breathtaking. When nature has done her bit of art, Rohan Mathais and team have matched it with a good resort, making max use of the view – with cottages, tree house, pool (both kinds – the swimming kind and the kind that features in most porn movies) tasty food and beverages. The long weekend had drawn quite a crowd, at times I felt as if we were dining at some restaurant at koramangala.

PP had booked a 10-bed dorm for us. After the sumptuous dinner and a few rounds on the pool table, hit the bed at mid-night. Ads and Grease joined us in the morning having left Bangalore at midnight.
There are a few things you can do, apart from chilling out at Jungle Retreat. You could trek into the forest, do a safari ride to say hi to a few tuskers. You got to do this early in the morning, though, for some reason. Maybe the tuskers are not courteous later in the day. So we ruled that out. Instead we decided to ride up to ooty on the Kalhatti ghats. The view is supposed to make up for the difficult to ride and the very steep hair pins. The view must have been good, didn’t have too mucha time to look around.

Heavens Open: There were dark clouds brewing up and we were riding straight into it. And from there on it was simply a rainy tale. The rain that started as we reached the top of the ghats never let go till Bangalore. Huge droplets (I figured that was because at 2000mts above sea level you are far more closer to the clouds) and hail stones. When we left downhill, there was gushing muddy water and stones on the road and it looked like all of ooty was rushing downhill. Somewhere near Bandipur and Gundelpet, the rain actually stopped and we were dry briefly. But it caught up with us again. I had to get back to Bangalore early to attend two wedding receptions – Deepak’s ann Akshay’s. I left the group at Nanjangud, continued without lunch, caught up with Trishul and tiger after Mysore. I was at Kengeri by 6:15 and home by 7. My leather jacket weighed some 10kilos by the time I got out of it. One helluva ride it was!