Mangalore-Kolkata-Mangalore: A journey with best of riders for 6000 KM

Posted on behalf of Sakshar Ray Chowdhury with his due permission.

Original blog is here: http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/tourer/24389-mangalore-kolkata-mangalore-journey-best-riders-6000-km.html

Who am I?

A biker who rides a royal enfield.

Place?

My hometown is Kolkata. I am here in Mangalore for my naukri.


Have co-riders?

Yes. My friend Aravind from Bangalore and Kaleem Sir from Hyderabad.

Have biking brothers?

Oh yeah. All the way.

What else?

Durga Puja. Revisiting Hometown. Bongland. A complete package of West Bengal trip. And meeting biking brothers.

So?

Lets ride to Kolkata from Mangalore.

How was it?

Scratchless.. 6000kms done in no time...

Day 1: Mangalore to Bangalore

As mentioned earlier, I had two co-riders to accompany me: Kaleem Sir from Hyderabad and Aravind from Bangalore. I am narrating the story with respect to the journey through my eyes.

Day 1:

After reaching office at 5 am and working till lunch hours, I came back home. Slept for two hours and then packed my bag. It was not just a ride, it was a visit to my hometown and lot of personal commitments were also there. So, packed the bags, fitted them well into he ladakh carrier on my bike, made a quick check on my bike myself and set for the ride. I usually carry two cans of engine oil for such long trips.

Mangalore to Bangalore has two possible ways: one via Shiradi ghat and the other via scenic Charmadi ghat. I have chosen Shiradi ghat. The first strech of 22 km was awesome B.C.Road and I crossed the same stretch in 20 min. Took a brief break of 2 min and moved on towards Bangalore via NH 48.







The road was ok to good type till I entered the bad stretch of Sakleshpur ghat. It was horrible beyond my expectation. Every year, after the rainy season, it breaks down, but this time, it was worst. Added to that, lot of dust and traffic. I wish I were riding a BMW GS1200 adventure series. But, my bike did a pretty good job in spite of carrying huge weight on it (Including the weight of yours truly).

The road till Hassan was smooth with lot of traffic. But it was enjoyable one. Loved this ride.

Once I reached Hassan and went towards Bangalore, the road became smother and less scenic. I did not stop much in between. Reached Bangalore in the night.



My co-rider was waiting for me.

Needless to say, I jumped into the bed like a kid. We have a long way to go tomorrow.

Distance Clocked: 401 km

Day 2: Bangalore to Hyderabad

We started off from Bangalore at early morning (at around 5:30 am). The chilling weather at the early mornings of Bangalore is significant to me, as most of my long rides happen via Bangalore.

In the midst of darkness, we were being guided by the Nokia maps. Last time we went to Hyderabad via a separate route, but this time my co-rider happened to trust on Nokia map and followed a different route. Well, we lost pretty two hours of time in that. We stopped for breakfast at around 8:30 am at Devanahalli. Quick breakfast followed by tea and smoke (well, we don't promote smoking and its still injurious to health. Please don't smoke), we headed towards Hyderabad.

Smooth highway:


The road from Bangalore to Hyderabad is boring because of the super-fast-ness of the highway. I tend to follow the maximum speed speed of 80 kmph on my Royal Enfield, be it the best highway of India.

On the way:


Aravind, my co-rider. Bored with the smooth highway:


We were in Ananthpur in next few hours. Quickly got into the Royal Enfield showroom on the highway. Well, the machanic sacrificed his lunch hours and inspected my bike with great care. There seemed to be some issues with my bike's crank shaft pin. But, he assured, there won't be any issue in travelling till Kolkata, but try not to exceed 75 kmph. I believe, carrying a pillion who in fact carried loaded luggages paid me off. But, I must appreciate Royal Enfield dealer M/s Renati Automotives who did not even accept a single penny for the service. "Sakshar bhai, we promote long distance rides, and you are our guest. Please, a big No". Thank you so much.

With the Store Owner: (Thanks Aravind for this click)

We informed XBHP Hyderabad gang in advance about our late arrival. In toto, it was not a pretty good day. A desparate goat has hit the bike in between, though nothing big happened. We reached Hyderabad by evening, and have been warmly greeted by XBHP Hyderabad. Guys, you are awesome. Its a pleasure to meet you all in my journeys. Kaleem Sir, Dheeraj Prakash, Ravi Anna (well, we met for the first time), Sanjay, and the list goes on... and my brother Nabho who recently joined the gang, came along to meet, greet and attend us. Thanks a ton guys once again. Love you all.
Dhiraj was planning for another SS, this time on my TBTS 
"Sakshar, yeah Bullet nahin hain."
"
So, we had quick dinner. I tried Dhiraj's R-15 on which he made Bunburner, and he in turn tried my fully loaded Thunderbird.. well, we are into different segments bonded by the universal brotherhood of biking.

Kaleem Sir trying my Thunderbird

Dhiraj was supposed to join us for Kolkata ride, though he could not manage to get time for the same. I managed to lose my gloves in the dark night. We slept early as we prepared for the next day. Kaleem Sir surprised us with his intention to come down to Kolkata on his Platina. Hats off to you sir.

Mighty Ravi Anna:


Dinner time:



Saanjay and Dhiraj:

Next day, we planned to be closer to Vizag. Well, I was thinking of my loved ones waiting for me in Kolkata and the Durga Puja.. did not realise when I slept off...

Day 3: Hyderabad to Rajmundry

We started of early in the morning. The target was to reach out close to Vizag. The road from Hyderabad to Vijayawada is simply superb. It is possible to cruise at consistent 80 plus speed on a Thunderbird even for hours. I personally prefer to cover a 150-200 km without break rather than taking frequent breaks. As decided by amongst us, we planned to meet each of us after a specific timegap.
We started from Hyderabad at 5:30 am and stopped for breakfast at 7:30 am.Distance covered was 156 km.
Tea and the Sambar was awesome. We spent around 1.5 hours for breakfast. I could smell West bengal as I saw couple of WB registered trucks on the way.
We stopped at a point which was 72kms away from Vijaywada. Well, first time, the countdown to Kolkata started as the board showed :
Kolkata: 1304 km. Clicked it, and uploaded in FB. Before I reached Viajaywada, if I recollect correctly, there were close to half a century likes on the same picture.

We got out of Vijaywada and stopped for lunch. Day end, we were at Rajmundry. Well, Kolkata seemed to be pretty close. But,......

Day 4: Rajahmundry to somewhere close to Behrapur

The zeal and thrill to enter the city of joy during the festivity time can be felt once you are close to it. We were pretty close. Started up early in the morning and stopped for a quick tea. Well, the chai-wala was posing for different pose for preparation of tea and took sweet 15 minutes of time to deliver three cups of tea. We stopped at Annavaram for having breakfast. We stayed around 20 km from Rajahmundry toward Chennai side.This stretch of road is very beautiful
without an issues, specially in the early phase of the day. A perfect road for crusing.




We stopped for breakfast after cruising for 120 km.Quick Dosa, Idli and tea. Loaded ourselves with food and loaded our rides with Petrol. It time to ride.

On the way, we found a few places to stop and shot:


Starting up from the mini-break


What we left behind..


I planned for the same pic since long back. Thank Aravind for executing this plan.

Some roads are so smooth that you feel kissing the road



The Platina had a trouble in speedometer cable and it seemed that there were some other issues. It took three hours to repair the same in Vizag. As it was not possible to stretch much in the dark, we halted somewhere near Berhapur in a Dhaba. It was awesome to stay in a Dhaba with truck drivers around. I always give it a try and this time it was enjoyable too.

Total Distance covered on day 4: 475 km


Dinner time (photo credit: Aravind)
..

Well, we were still 650 km away from Kolkata... friends calling, parents calling, loved ones calling, BIKERs calling: "When will you be here?Come safely."

It was 3:30 am in the morning me and Aravind woke up the next day... 

Reaching the city of Joy

Well, we woke up and got freshened up by 4:15 am. It was too cold. We slept under the open sky that night and could find droplets of water all over my dresses. I did not take off the jacket while sleeping. After a quick tea, we started off. It was a smooth drive and taking into consideration the road condition, we were driving at comfortable speed zone. We reached the place to get the beautiful view of Chilka lake. Well, worth stopping for half an hour. I was ready for some memorable snaps to capture.



Aravind's Karizma:

Kaleem Sir:

Yours truly's:

Got sms from Bhaskar Jyoti Das and call from Satyajit Ray Chaudhuri and from many other fellow bikers from Kolkata. Its always great to be back to your hometown, but on such special occasions when people are eagerly awaiting for you, you really feel good... better... in fact, amazing.


Me and Aravind tried to update our latest location in Facebook to keep our friends updated. We crossed Jaleswar border without any trouble, though we expected a bit. This border area is infested with high truck density, so we had to slow down.

This is the first glimpse of West bengal as we crossed the border. Well, I received the very best sms from the service provider" Welcome to West Bengal. We wish you a pleasant stay over here".


I remember Sam, Bhaskar, Anant, Ayan and the entire gang calling me again and again. In between, the nightmare of Kolaghat bridge started. Traffic, off-roading and we thought that this is the worst way to welcome someone in Kolkata.

Well, our thoughts changed soon. It was Azad Hind Dhaba, Uluberia. The gang was waiting for us.

We never expected that we will get such a grand welcome from Biking fraternity of Kolkata. Those guys were waiting for us for 4 long hours on the highway to welcome us. Rasgullas were raining to welcome us. Thanks to each one of you who made our day and treated us like kings.

The gang guided us till Bally Bridge. We crossed Uttarpara-Hindmotor (well, the birthplace of HM ambassador) and entered Konnagar. My parents and local friends were awaiting for us.

Ate and slept.. that's it... On-ward journey done... what was in store? well, lots........


Few highlights: All my long drives are incomplete without Motul engine oil, which I have been using for rides since long back. Sincere thanks for such a flawless product.

Let me know how did you like this journey.

Moments at the city of Joy

I planted the tree before I left for Karnataka for my job.. good to see the flowers in it.

Endless gossips at roadside, we call it "Adda"
..
.Arvind's Karizma and my THunderbird, parked at the bank of the ganges at a brick manufacturing plant
.
.Special Saankh Sandesh (Sweet) of Felu MOdak, Rishra. Well, ex-prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee is a fan of the sweets of this place.
.
Mouthwatering Rasgullas
.
.
As depicted in Media coverage, Felu Modak is awesome. A must try

.
Packed ones
.

Kolkata streets, Adda at Dunlop
..

Finishing touch on a Durga Idol at Kumartuli
..

Durga idol being taken to the Pandal from the famous place Kumortuli
.
A typical bengali uncle listening to our crazy ride stories
.
Kolkata streets
.
Tramway
.

SRC is signing off for sometime.

Sayonara!!!

Away from the mainstream route.... to the jungles and an awesome village

Posted on behalf of Sakshar Ray Chowdhury with his due permission.

the original blog is here: http://onthewaywithsrc.blogspot.in/2016/04/away-from-mainstream-route-to-jungles.html

I have been away from blogging from last couple of years. I would not say it was due to lack of time, but due to lack of motivation. The website where I used to blog majorly has shifted their focus from all bikes to 'super'-bikes and super-likes. Meanwhile, my closest friend in motorcycling community has left all of us all on a sudden for heavenly abode. He has been motivating me to write my own blogs since last half a decade and I felt it to give a kick-start with no more lethargy. Thanks Suhail Bhai for the motivation. I am sure you are reading this up there. Miss you!

Well, off late, I was bored by the boring weekend in March end. If there is nothing to do, we (I) do facebooking. And off-late, the quality of the posts from the so-called travelers have reduced these days as most of the folks out there are selling something. Some selling leather boots, some sellingride to local dhabas with 60% profit margin in Aloo parantha, some showing off their desparate check-ins into their in-law's washroom. Boring weekends are like this. Either keeping myself in professional commitments keep me busy, or it is the wanderlust that makes sense.

We have been exploring our beautiful country on road by means of two wheels as well as four wheels. However, what turns us off is the hell lot of crowd at destinations. I was born in West Bengal, and thanks to my bengali surname associated with my facebook profile, I have been added in many travel forums in facebook. With no offense, the majority of the bengalis like armchair travel. You take me to Shimla and let me say this is the most beautiful place on the earth.Somehow, I felt like living like an Indian, I mean pan-Indian. We prefer off-beat locations. Hence GRAHAN!

We barely had couple of thousands in hand and a three day long weekend to spare. Doctor has detected my allergic nature to proximity car-o-bars with loud musics while traveling, hence we skipped common destinations. We had started off from Delhi on thursday night and drove the entire night. We took the beautiful Subathu-Ghaghas route. The route is generally devoid of traffic. Enjoy the morning view.

We reached Bhuntar by 9 am. The view gets better as we proceeded towards Parvati Valley. 

  
 The valley was visible ahead:

We drove towards Malana and came back as we had other team members joining us. As usual, we camped at Kasol camps in Kasol, which has been our campsite since we started visiting Kasol. 

We prepared our own food out there and did bon-fire over the night. We had a peaceful stay at our tent. The trek to Grahan was due the next day.

The trek starts right before the small bridge before the taxi stand (on the right hand side if you are facing Tosh). We continued for another 500 meters and the beautiful trail started. Enjoy the greenary.

  
 Soon, we were mesmerized by the surroundings:

 The dark dense forest around us:

 And there was a steep climb.

Notice the beautiful and colorful leaves. I must say, the nature was greeting us with all beautiful colors:

 After the ups and downs, there was a stretch of plain land. It looked like those from 'straight from the fairy tales'

 The old bridge 

 Our guides. They accompanied us all the way from Kasol till Grahan, stayed there overnight with us and trekked back to Kasol along with us. Yes, they partyed along with us too.

Soon, we came across another beautiful bridge. Notice the amazing red flowers on the way.

As it appears from the other side (The grass is always greener on the other side)

 We took bath in the flowing stream. This part of the stream was narrower. The current is good enough to drag you along, hence venturing inside the water is not recommended.

 The lovely walk upwards (feels like i am knocking on heavens door)

This place is almost 3 km from the village. The steep climb starts little after this place. This is a shed made for animal shelter.

 The plain continues for 200 more meters:

  We met with the local shepherd

 There is a diversion after this plain ground. Don't get mislead towards the so called ' New Grahan'. The board will mention that this trek is easy, but do not venture into that route as the route is longer and you may lose the way. Stay on the road which marks towrads 'Ghan Shyam's dhaba'.

The very next landmark is this big tree, which is very much noticable on the high gradient trek.

Finally, the breaktaking view appears as we reach Grahan village. Notice the entire mountain range as it appears in front of us

 Ever colorful Grahan village:

 The mountain range as visible from Grahan Village

The name Grahan does not come from the any relation to eclipse as per the villagers. It is related to the first person who has discovered this place to be a possible vegetated land. There are couple of temples inside the village which are worth visiting.

Usage of solar power is abundant in the village:

  A typical house in the village

 Friendly kids of the village. They are always ready to pose for pics

 We stayed in mountain view. This is a great place to stay. The rooms are nice, the food is nicer and the people were nicest. Puran become my good friend. Do buzz them in case you are making a visit soon. Do mention my name and they will take you for special hospitality. 

 The lovely wooden room inside

Raju's shop, the only one in the village

  The lovely view of the village

We left behind a lovely memory out there. With a promise to come back soon to the mesmerizing Grahan village and off course, to the lovely Himalayas, we are back to the congested city. We will be back the hills, soon, very soon.

Since request not to copy any of these pics. We have put much of pain to click each one of them during the trek.