We all helped each other and managed to get back to civilisation. Big shout-out to all the riders who encouraged each other to keep going.
Bhpian nasirkaka recently shared this with other enthusiasts:
SHORT SUNDAY TRAIL RIDE
Last Sunday, we decided to go for a short breakfast ride mixed with some intent to off-road. The destination chosen was Achalu betta, about 80 kms from Bangalore. Betta in Kannada loosely translated to a hillock.
Achalu betta is a small hill climb, popular amongst Bangalore riders, but known to transform drastically over different season. There is a temple at the top where some local festivals are celebrated. During these festivals, as the large crowd moves up to the hill top, the route is temporaly fixed but during the rest of the time, the terrain varies from dusty and sandy to slush and mud, affected by sun and rain. I have ridden to the top on various bikes on 3 ocassions and its a fairly simple trail with a few tricky sections and turns.
This time, there were 5 of us riders: 2 Himalayan 450, a BMW310R, myself on the 400X and a mighly BMW1250GS. We reached the base of the betta in good time, thanks to the newly done Kanakpura road.
Recent cyclonic rains in and around Bangalore meant the trail leading to the hill top was totally washed away exposing deep ruts and rocks. We were expecting the trail to be a bit challenging given the heavy rains during the last 2 weeks, but not to this level.
We made a brave face and tried to attempt the climb. The going was getting tough. We were helping each other and inching ahead. But as there were a mix of bikes and couple of riders were new to such trails, we decided to abort the climb post 20% into it.
Some views around the area.
As off-roading was on our mind, we decided to explore some wild trails around the foothills of Achalu and found an interesting one.
We entered the green cover with a winding single line trail which at some sections transformed into a two line trail. We were riding through dense foliage, with mesmerising greenery all around.
There was no moble network and we had not mapped this section, so navigation was challenge. We were not sure where the trail was leading to or how long or short it was. Satellite view was inconclusive without any visual trail reference.
We kept going even though some of these sections were tricky having steep climb with loose gravel where controling the bike was a task. Some sections were so dense, there was no trails visible at all. The area was also littered with elephant dung creating some anxiety.
After what seemed like an eternity, we finally exited the green cover to come to a small village. The last section was climbing down the hilly slope with loose rocks and negitoating that section was very tiring. We all helped each other and managed to get back to civilisation. Big shout-out to all the riders who encouraged each other to keep going. And a special mention to the 1250GS rider as it is not everyday we see these big bikes attmepting such unknows and uncertain trails.
We were all so tired from physical and mental exhaustion that everyone had a big smile on their face post seeing the black tarred road ahead.
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