A ride through the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary, with a pre-planned route, some food along the way, and a 100% guarantee of having 500% fun
BHPian WhiskeyTangoFox recently shared this with other enthusiasts:
One fine Sunday morning, Mr Shaam Gofee (a.k.a @shyamg28) forwarded a message to me, which genuinely caught my attention. A ride through the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary, with a pre-planned route, some food along the way, and a 100% guarantee of having 500% fun. What more could one ask for?
As someone who was an absolute newbie to trail riding and having done only a couple of trails prior, I was definitely eager to learn to ride off-road. In my head, I do believe that riding off-road gives you the opportunity and the ability to master motorcycle control, particularly fine motor skills, that also translate to better on-road riding. Shyam had been raving about the No Roads 100k ever since he got back, and therefore, I had high hopes for the No Roads “Jiffy” as it was called. Roughly 30 kilometres of trails with a spectacular view, with an aim to finish by lunch, so you could get home and have a nice afternoon siesta.
After payment of a nominal fee, we were added to a WhatsApp group. The entire affair, headed by Arvind Ramakumar and his team, was managed very well. They provided us with timely updates and reminders and were always happy to answer any questions that we may have had. Even during the ride, the team ensured that there would be a lead, mid, and sweep rider to make sure that no one was alone or lost.
We met at Adyar Anandha Bhavan near Attibele at 6:00 AM for some quick breakfast, where Arvind briefed us on what was to come. Post this, we headed on over to the entrance of the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary, where we had another briefing.
The trails took us through dense forests and all types of terrain. Mud, slush, gravel, rock, you name it, and it was there. I had a very nice fall after fishtailing while riding through a slushy rut. Thankfully, I was unscathed, my gear was fine, and the sweep rider was right there to help. Mastery on smooth roads means little where the ground fights back. Of course, a few of us had a couple of tumbles here and there, but thankfully, nothing major.
In one instance, we encountered a tree that had fallen across the track. Now, sensible people would think that it was time to head back. The only wrench in the works here was that we were far from sensible. Hence, we went through.
The Himalayan’s weight never bothered me much before. But in this moment, I felt all 200+ Kgs. An Xpulse would have been nice here.
Shyam pulled off the same manoeuvre with a lot more grace than I did.
Successful Crossing
Met some friends along the way.
A Wild Kora Mahesh a.k.a CK in his natural habitat.
Strong Boy Shaam
Shyam is yet to thank me for taking such a nice picture of him. Featuring the man, the myth, the legend, Mr Arvind Ramakumar, next to him.
When we reached the end, CK put an interesting thought in our minds, considering that we had completed the course on time. When the world is wide open, who needs tarmac?
We covered 45 kilometres that day — off-road, off-map, through trails, thorns, and whatever else dared stand in the way. This was genuinely one of the best riding experiences I’ve ever had, and I would be happy to do this again and again.
Clutch Plate Replacement. Again
A more unfortunate update, however, was that my clutch plate wore out in all of 3500 km. I took the bike to Big Bear Customs to have it checked out. Bosky speculated that the FNG who installed the replacement clutch plate set last did not install it properly (most likely over-tightened), causing excessive wear. In any case, there wasn’t much that could have been done. My handlebars was also slightly bent after the fall at No Roads. I had this also rectified.
And Park Box Bike
Old Clutch Set
New Set and New Gasket Seal
Opted for Fuchs Silkolene 10w50 Fully Synthetic Oil this time.
Total damage to the wallet was INR 9131. The bike is performing normally now, and I do have a few rides planned soon, where I hope to test how this new oil performs. Until then, cheers!
Bonus
Some Goodies I saw at Big Bear. *cough* CK *cough*
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