BHPian CJ-500D recently shared this with other enthusiasts: A few months back, a colleague of mine bought a RE Guerilla 450 and has been inviting me for weekend day rides around Bangalore. This has kind of rekindled my old romance with the R15. Being back in the saddle and redlining in lower gears, taking corners fast by leaning, zipping through traffic, is taking me back in time to younger days and briefly forget that the fact that I am a middle-aged uncle now. Below is a brief overview of the rides that I did recently: Dhondenling Tibetan settlement:Around 160 Km from Bangalore and 45 kms from Kollegal, this place is a hidden gem among a sea of touristy places crowded by people. An entry road leads to many small villages identified alphabetically. They have a few monasteries, community centres, cafes, beautiful homes, and vast farms bordering the mountains. The whole atmosphere feels very relaxed and laidback, and you can easily spend a few hours riding around and enjoying the serenity. While returning, the colleague wanted to visit the Shivanasamudra falls as he had never been there before. Even though I had visited it before and hated it due to the crowd, I did not want to force my opinion on him and accompanied. However, after spending a few minutes there, his opinions aligned with mine. A few kilometres into returning from the falls, I saw an off-road trail. Old instincts kicked in and followed the trail, which led to a beautiful location by the side of the Kaveri River. Dabbakuli Kaveri River shore:Little above 100 km from Bangalore, this serene location is set deep inside the forest in Tamil Nadu, part of the Cavery South Wildlife sanctuary. The last 5 km after the check post is proper off-road, which leads to the sandy river shore surrounded by mountains, and a temple. We set the route map to pass through Bannerghatta National Park, which otherwise is not shown in the maps if you directly search for the destination. The guard at the check post of Dabbakuli asked where we are going and when we said, ‘to the river bank’, he said it is a wildlife sanctuary and people are not allowed to go to the river bank. Then he mentioned we need to say that we are going to the temple and also bring some offerings to the temple next time. He also cautioned us to return within an hour. I felt all this was unnecessary as they collect entry charges for us as well as our vehicles, and it takes 20 minutes to just reach the riverbank from there. He also thoroughly checked our backpacks, probably for alcohol. It is an amazing location if you like solitude. The temple also offered us food (Vangibath), which we were very grateful for as we had foolishly skipped few good breakfast places along the way and later could not find any when we were hungry.Attachment 2818392 Sabbanahalli/ Vatadahosahalli lake:Around 120 km from Bangalore, ahead of Chikkaballapur, a lake with one bank by the side of the road and another bank on an off-road through a forested area. Few bikers had arrived there in their Ducatis, Triumphs, and Kawasakis. Felt like chatting up with them about their bikes, but coming from an R15, an inferiority complex kicked in, and I kept myself to enjoying the peaceful surroundings. Check out BHPian commentsfor more insights and information.
