BHPian HDx440Life recently shared this with other enthusiasts: I would like to start off by thanking God for giving me the strength to complete my annual solo bike ride and for keeping me safe. The roads may have become smoother and travelling easier; however, they are still unsafe with the way people drive, stray animals and sudden changes in road conditions. I started planning for my ride in October and came up with the idea of riding to Varkala, Kerala, and my family joins me there for a couple of days (They travel by flight/train/bus). Finalised the route below by the end of October. Little was I to know at that time about the drastic change to my return journey. Bangalore > Ooty > Thrissur > Varkala > Dindigul > Bangalore Travelling With The Harley-Davidson X440I started off at 6 am since I wanted to beat the usual Bangalore morning traffic. Reached Kanakpura in an hour and got into the rhythm of riding my bike at 70 km speed. The journey was uneventful till Bandipur and the scenery changed after that. Took the first picture below as it looked peaceful. Rode through Bandipur and started riding the ghat sections before Ooty and loved it! The bike has enough power to climb up the steep road in 2nd and 3rd gear. I was enjoying the ride and it seems like I suddenly crossed an invisible screen. Bam! Suddenly, there was fog everywhere and I could barely see the roads. This is when I felt the need for good old fog lights as they would have made it much safer. Anyways, I carried on and below is a snap I took on my way up. Reached Ooty and went straight to the hostel I had booked for the night. Yes, a hostel just like my ride to Goa last year. I stay at good places when travelling with family and can stay anywhere when travelling alone. I had booked a 4 sharing mixed room and fortunately there was just one other person in the room. That person was 23 years old and had come from Mumbai. In fact it was the first time that person had travelled out of Mumbai since, the family did not allow solo travels. Below is a picture of my hostel room. I could not go out till late at night, as it had started to rain, so I slept a little and went out at night to hunt for Ooty chocolates for my kid and dinner for myself. The next day I was not in a hurry, so I left around 8am. The sun was up and it was fun riding down the mountain roads. I made multiple stops to take photos of the stunning surroundings, and below is one of the photos. Also, a video of my ride down the hills: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/3_OxFpgnHaw Reached my hotel, and it was warm outside! Was told there is nothing called winter in that part of Kerala. Anyways, I went out for a fish meal. It was decent but a bit far from where I was staying. Anyways, I returned to the room, watched some TV and slept off since my wife and son’s train was going to reach Varkala the next day at 12 noon. I had to reach the hotel prior to that, complete the check-in, and go to the station to pick up the family. Left at 5am, and below is a photo at that time. A beautiful church on the way: Reached Varkala, completed the check-in, and went to the station. The train was on time, so I did not wait for long. Picked up my family, took them to the hotel, and left for Varkala Beach shortly after that. Had fun at the beach, and below are a couple of photos from my stay in Varkala. Now for the return journey after spending a couple of days at Varkala with family. I did not book a hotel in Dindigul since, I could not find a good economical hotel. Hence, left the plan open. Family was to leave by train at 5 am so dropped them at the station by 4:30am and started my return journey. Some interesting things happened next but here is a pic before I talk more about it. Leaving Kerala behind! I was following Google Maps (had offline copy of all maps) and it suddenly took me off the main highway into some jungle in the mountains. There was not a single soul on that narrow road where only two 2-wheelers can cross each other. I was genuinely scared, thinking about what I would do if an elephant was to suddenly appear out of nowhere. Luckily I did not see an elephant – just saw some wild boars and a porcupine. Finally connected with the main road and started climbing up the mountain. I suddenly got the feeling I may have selected the option to return via Coimbatore; hence, I closed the map to restart it. This is where I realized my mistake! There was no network, so the map just won’t open up again. I left it at that and continued to travel for a few more kilometers on the road till I reached the top of that mountain. Opened the map, and it seems like I was already on the correct route. Continued on the road till I was in Tamil Nadu when it started to rain and here I was without a rain jacket. I was in two minds when I started my journey from Bangalore as weather forecast said it may rain. I checked online and it said my riding gear was waterproof so I took the risk of not taking a rain jacket. The riding gear held up and only some water seeped through to my arms. Anyways, I was tired so stopped at a place and had the best vada I’ve had in my entire life! It was piping hot and soft like butter. I’ve added a photo below. Continued to ride some more, and my B##t had started to become numb by now, so I continued to ride some more. Reached Dindigul and thought of riding to Salem so I won’t have to ride a long distance the next day. Reached Salem, and my back was completely numb by now, so I took some rest and continued on with my ride. After that I took a break every hour. Stretched my back and leg muscles and continued to ride till I reached a huge traffic jam before Hosur! I pitied the people on four-wheelers, as they would have to spend a couple of hours to cross that jam. Both sides of the highway were jammed for at least 5-7 km! Anyways, I kept riding till I reached home and guess what- had a personal best ride time of over 11+ hours and covered the distance of 650+ KM from Varkala to my home in a single day! Ensuring I go to the gym on a daily basis prior to the ride must have built the muscle strength required to ride for so long. I also understood you need to have great mental strength to ride for so many hours and cover such a huge distance! I have never covered so much distance in my car in a single day, so doing it on a bike was unthinkable. In the end I reached home before my family’s train could reach Bangalore. It was a fun solo ride, and to all of you planning to go for a solo ride-just do it! You will never know your limits till you challenge yourself. Pic from the ride back home: I have a few observations from riding in three states: Karnataka: A lot of people hate numberplates. Saw a lot of two wheelers riding without numberplates and makes me wonder why the cops don’t take it seriously. These are the kind of people who don’t care for rules and make roads unsafe for others. Kerala: They hate wasting space to make roads. Most of the roads are very narrow. In fact, some of the roads are so narrow that anything bigger than an Alto won’t fit. Also, fuel is very expensive! It was Rs. 107+ however, the tax money is well spent, as 99% of the roads are well maintained with proper signage, street lights, and reflectors. Tamil Nadu: People here love to put flags on their cars. I have no idea if these flags are for some political parties, but most of the cars had some kind of flag. Well, it’s a long article, and I hope you had fun reading it!Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.
