Bike Ride to a remote place near Dharmapuri

As the breeze died down I felt the heat fomr the sun beating down.I was desperately looking for a shade..Although ,surrounded by hills ,I couldn't get any respite form teh heat.The hull were covered with sheets of shrubs and thorns ,not big trees for the shade.I had to decide "Do i proceed further or head back ?"

I was in some random remote village near Dharmapuri , and it was such a thrill just exploring the terrain.


The Journey:
i wanted to dive into the early morning chillness.yet after a quick breakfast I managed to be on my way by 8.30 am.
I wanted to test my new bike ,so decided on a longer drive (100+ km ).
Driving on the Electronic City Flyover towards Hosur , i stepped on the accelerator and withing no time I was driving at 105 km/hr , and yet didn't felt the speed ;).
Passing through the lush country side , tiredness blew away with the breeze and sights.

Occasionally I stopped by to hear the songs of Nature , the chirubs of birds and the whispers of breeze ,rustling the leaves.As the trees swayed,I felt fresh breath of air in my lungs ...ahaaa ...isnt this fulfilling ;)




At about 11.30 am i reached Dhramapuri .the beauty of the place always amazed me
PIC

Now was the time for some explorations ;)
As I rod along ,I randomly selected a road which seem to vanish between the bellies of hills.


As i followed the road ,which meandered through the hills and through the fields I felt lost in paradise ;) ....i was in a place which seemed untouched bu URBAN civilization ;) with no shortage of faith ;)


As i rod along i seems to approach dead end but always found another road pushing through the hills like a snake.

The view was very surreal and serene


The Climb
I reach a dead end and only way i could move ahead was on my foot ;) so i looked for some shade to park my bike ;)

It was 1.00 pm and I was beginning to feel the sun on my head .As the breeze died down I felt the heat from the sun beating down.I was desperately looking for a shade..Although ,surrounded by hills ,I couldnt get any respite form the heat.The hill were covered with sheets of shrubs and thorns ,not big trees for the shade.


I decided ot climb up this hill and explore a bit ;).As I started my ascend , I just couldn't find any shade .i cannot get lost here ..i thought ;)


As I reached the top of the hill I found the surrounding hills dancing to the tunes of many birds.Small and big ,the birds all seem to break into a melodious rhythm ;)As it was becoming hotter , the air became thinner ,giving the impression of dancing hills ;) .I looked around ,couldn't find a single soul .


Then i saw a heard of goats climbing the hill .I realized that there was a small village on the other side of the hill.


Should i explore it ...As the mercury was rising I decided aginst such adventure....Time to head back my friend ..there z always a NEXT TIME ..;) I said to my self ....

Much to my relief my bike was still in good stead ,being in an open space under wheltering sun , i was expecting otherwise.

A few sip of water and I was on my way back......the calm stillness of the place came over me and for a moment I experienced an absolute silence ...absolute peace .....I felt what a child feels when it rests on the lap of its mother ...protected secure and carefree .....


As I approached Bangalore the terrain changed for green lush open lands to dusty noisy overcrowded concrete landscape ...
Beings here seemed to be in a different world ;) than from where I had traveled .......there is so much to have ,yet so less to enjoy ;))

Bike Ride to BRHills

As i parked my bike in the sideways of the road , an melodious silence descended upon me....I could hear the silent symphony , that the wind brought with itself.I heard birds celebrating life with their cherubs and trees dancing and swaying in extacy ... This was the forest of Belegul Rangaswamy betta or B.R.hills.

The Route
=========
Sony world ->NICE ROAD NH209–> Malavalli –> Sivanasamudram –> Kollegal –> Yellandur –> BR Hills(198 Km) ;)
BRHills->Yellandur->Looegal->Sivanasamudram->Malavalli-> NICE ROAD->
SonyWorld (210 km) ;(

Total distance: 400kms

casualty
--------
My bums became numb ;)

The Journey
===========
I started form Bangalore at around 7.00 am .It was cloudy .I was quiet eager to leave the poisonous urban rush behind.
I filled up a big flask with TEA and off i go....



I took the NICE road and driving at speed of 80 km/hr i could feel the scream of wind in my ears.There wasn't much traffic




but occasionally had to look out for careless pedestrian or trucks hurridly trying to cross the road.

On the way to Kankapura i decided to fill the petrol tank to full just in case i decided to explore the place ;)



Once the tank was full , i zipped thru the windy morning air.The sun was beginning to come out and i enjoyed the warmth of the sun rays and coolness of morning freshness.

I just to take 10/15 min breaks in between my rides ,sipping hot tea and enjoying the greenery around.












At around 12.30 I reached Kollegal,this was the last mile before one heads into BRHills.Here the route got pretty confusing and it almost took me 1 more hour ot figure out the route to BRHills.Frankly I was pissed off with that and decided to head back to Bangalore and may be come to BRHills some other time.

The StevJobs thing;)
======================
As i started back towards b'lore i was trying to convince myself that i wou;d come back to B.R Hills the next time.so what if i couldn't make it this time.then,after riding for 5 kms ,these words of steve jobs came LOUD AND CLEAR into my head.He had said "to be successful one has to be passionate....When things go tough only if u are passionate u will carry on ...any sane person will simply give up .....its only ur passion that will make u continue thru the pain ..." these words was a thunderbolt to me .......
"IF i say i love bike riding how can i give up so easily ".....
"Naaa!! its not worth it we can come the next time .....lets get back to the comfort of our room in b'lore" sain my mind
"Nope !!! If i like some thing i have to enjoy it ...i must enjoy even the frustrations and the pains ...only then will i truly enjoy it ..." said my heart ......
I pulled up .... took a couple of heavy breaths and said to myself "Ok Alright !!! Why the hell did i ever watch that video ;) now,Even though there is always a next time but i am going to B.R hills this time ;)
I turned back and zipped thru the rout again .

The Stevejobs speech


Back to BRH
=============
Riding with a new vigor i rod for another 30 kms when atlast i saw teh mighty mountain.






I reached the base of the hill.Here people passing thru would have to register there vehicle.I registered mine and drove thru the forest.






The experience was just amazing....it was so serene and quiet i could hear the whispers of the wind ;) .




I drove for another 10 kms when i decided to take a break.I parked my bike in the sideways of the road , an melodious silence descended upon me....I could hear the silent syphony , that wind brought with it self.I heard birds celebrating life with their cherubs and trees dancing and swaying in ectacy



the sun rays were becoming slant and with the prospects of driving 200km back to B'lore i decided to head back.I took a

small walk down and then started my journey back to b'lore.



Then return journey was a bit more stressful and the fatigue had started to set in.....My bums had started to become numb ;)I was struggling to be seated on my bike or more that 15 min ...i took brief breaks in between the rides and by 6.30 pm I reached b'lore.

I guess next time round i would plan a 2-3 days trip around this place.....may be go for a camping in the jungle some time ;)

For more pics

2011-09-17 BRHills

Bike ride to Salem

Now that Badri became Halal ..err i mean got hitched ;-) i decided to go for a solo bike trip, this weekend.I decided for a ride to Salem , a small town in Tamilnadu.

I started at 6.30 am.




It was a cloudy morning ,so i knew that the heat will not bee much of an issue at least in the morning.I took the elevated toll way from silk board to electronic city(5-7 kms ).Driving constantly at speed of 75-80km/hr i felt my helmet almost being blown off my head.After the elevate toll way ended i took another flyover which cut thru Hosur busstation ,towards Krishnagiri .

Still riding at around 75km/hr i felt i was flying .With well laid roads and sparse morning traffic on NH7 road i was having an adrenalin rush .As i crossed Hosur i saw the geography change .Industrial sheds and factories were replaced by small hills and shrubs.





Though not very green and scenic , the horizon held a promise .

Vrrrruuuuummmm ........Vruuuummm i passed by many eateries and drive thru on the way.It was quiet early for breakfast and i wasn't feeling hungry. the wind from the bike was screaming in my ears and my eyes had become watery.
So took a 5 min break.parked my bike on the road side ...had few gulps of Litchi juice and set again for take off ;-)

Zooom......As i accelerated my bike my sight slowly moved to the speedometer.it read 85 km/hr.This is good enough ..i thought ;-) ...
It was 8.30 am now and i was approaching the pictures town of Krishnagiri.




This is a small lovely town with many hills surrounding it.



The beauty of this place was straight from movies ...As i rode along the hills i some times felt the hill
moved along with me ...as if to show off their magnanimity."What a place to spend one's life" ...




i thought ... if i would be living in this place i would be a very very busy person ...busy exploring one hill after another climbing the shoulder of one hill and then another ...... Therz some thing about hills and mountains that mesmerizes me .....


There was a small lake at the base of one of the Hill.As the sun played hide and seek in the clouds ,its rays seem to now and then sprinkle jewels and diamonds in the lake .I wanted to hold on to this scene for as long as possible ...i felt my system being overtaken by some great contentment as if i have seen GOD ....;-) .....



Next stop was Dhramapuri , which was another 65 km from this place.Keeping on the NH7 highway ,I speeded towards Drahmapuri.I was getting a bit worried about my bike .Would it be able to take this speed and distance ? Its engine was already becomming very hot and i could feel the heat on the footrests.



Zomm.....Zoomm as i crossed Dharmapuri i came across the Ghat road of "Thorpur".This was the most picturesque and amazing part fo my journey.huge magnanimous hill greeted me .I saw vehicles and humand drafted by the magnificence of the hills here.It was as if i was in the lap of nature.I stopped for 10 min just to let the scene sink into mee ....As i road slowly i came across this hug huge majestic hill.Rising as a phoenix form the dust ,It seem to tower over all the surrounding hills.






Not only was it high but it was also hugh breath wise.I felt as if some gentle giant was calling on to me with open arms ...there was such an urge to climb this hill ....but i had to keep moving ...as i followed the road which crisscross across the hill i figured this was one huge hill range .......it was like one big dragon covering all other creatures with its huge wings ...



Mesmerized and Energized i rod for another hour and half until i reached my destination.The Salem district of Tamilnadu.





The journey took 4 hrs to complete and almost 200km covered.

I had a cup of tea at Salem took 5 min of rest and started back towards Bangalore.




I was beginning to feel a bit exhausted and it was beginning to get hot.Hence i decided to go a bit slower.As it was

cloudy and the sun wasn't beating bright (to start with ) i decided to ride back without helmet.Riding at 60km/hr , nice warm breeze caressing my hairs and face , songs from my mp3 player buzzing in my ears it was a moment of trance for me .It was enigmatic till Krishnagiri (90 km from salem).
I took short breaks every 40-50 min , jut to allow my bike to recoup ;-).


I kept gulping in more juice and water and as i crossed Krishnagiri , the sun had escaped the cage of clouds , beating down in full blaze.It was almost baking the road and i needed to cool down in the shades of trees, time and again.At last 50 km form Bangalore i decided to take a longer break in an eatery (Kamat's ).While my bike enjoy the cool shade , i gulped in two choco bars ....cooling my systems ;-))




At 3.15 pm , speeding at 80km/hrs again i was on the Elevated Toll Way of electronic city .I had entered Bangalore few minutes back and as i descended from the flyover , traffic jaam greated me .Luckily i was able to still keep my composure in that jam (considering my bumps had become numb ;-) ).I reach my room by 4.00pm crashing into the welcome comfort of bed.

In retrospective , I had traveled more than 400 km at 70km/hr in 10hrs.That is some traveling haan .....;-)

For more pics click below

2011-05-14 SalemBikeRide

Trek to Bilikal Rangaswamy Betta - Part 1

We decided to go for a early morning trek to Bilikal Rangaswamy Betta .A place 70 km from Bangalore.Vineeth arrived at 4.00 am in morning.We thought 4.00 am is too early so lets start at 5.30 am.We went back to sleep and as expected we woke up at ... 7.00 am.
Anyways we decided to go for the trek as Rangaswamy Betta trek was supposed to be an easy one.This, I say ,is destiny's way to getting its work done .We had absolutely no idea what was in stored for us there ..
we had a quick breakfast and were on our bike towards Kanakapura road.We took the NICE road and with scant traffic we road at around 80 kmph.




We reached Harohalli and biked further towards Doddamaralawadi.The ride was fun as cool air and wide road pumped adrenaline into us.we reached Onaaladoddi by 11.30 am .



We were asked by some villagers to park our our vehicles in front of a house .we parked our bike and started our seemingly easy trek.

As we started our trek, we found a path way.




we followed the path way and all of sudden we came to a dead end.This was going to be the hall mark of our trek for the whole day and little did we realize that it could be frustrating if we strayed from the path.We decided to make our own way thru the hill.




We came across a small hill which overlooked the peak we intended to scale.We climbed this hill and form the top got a bird's view of the terrain.there was a valley between this hill and the one adjoining it.we needed to scale the adjoining hill to reach to the peak.



There was a valley between the two hills.Standing at the top of the hill we could not see any trek paths to the peak.We saw some open burnt areas and thought that if we could reach those area we will be able to figure out the way.






After taking rest for a few mins we decided to get going down hill , and start climbing the adjoining hill after reaching the valley.The descent looked harmless and we were enjoying our trek except occasionally we realized that we were not going on correct path or thats what we assumed ;-)

whenever we followed a path , the path would almost disappear leaving us stranded and we had to figure out and new way ....




Having reached the end of the trail,we took rest in a scantly available shade.As we searched for the trail path we realized that the path was missing again.

It was 1.30 pm and was getting hotter .Breeze had died down and the heat was beginning to take its toll.We were hungry and thirsty , and with scant water supply we didnt wanted to go on another trail search.We knew we had lost our way and didn't had the energy to find another path



So we decided to head back.Now ,we thought, we had two options either we trail back our path the same way we came up or try more direct route down hill.We decided to try the latter as , we thought , tracking our way back would mean we again start looking to trail paths which were not consistent.Now here again ,with no trek path visible we just started heading downwards.

As we moved we found an area of open space .We all were quiet encouraged by this as we thought this would eventually take us down the hill, which we were very keen on.
there were dense shrubs and thorns waiting for us and we somehow managed to make our way through them with hope that we would find a way / path down hill.Also i realized that by finding our own way , we were unable to keep a track of which way we came.The whole gamut looked the same .If we had to trace out paths back ...we wont be do that confidently ....we thought its better to keep moving forward than think of tracing our way back .....(nooo age hi badhna hain ;-) )
As we made our way through the dense and difficult shrubs and thorns .we realize we had come to a dead end .there was no way we could move forward and even if we tried it would be dangerous .

Badri was getting tried by the minute and he was really struggling to keep up pace with us.We decide that al thoguh we had descended quiet considerably but there was no way forward.We could be stuck here if we moved forward so its better to climb up again and hope to find some trek path ....at least that way we knew we were in that place.We strenuously climbed back again .Again as there were no paths we randomly started climbing this time.many a times we realized that even the climb has reached dead end and due to dense shrubs , thorns and the heat we had to change our directions.Atlast at one point we found a trek path and realize that we had been thru this place during our initial climb.We were elated....a bit of frustration had crept into us by now as we were randomly climbing and descending without and path.this path was a moral booster for us..We had lost quiet a bit of blood thanks to the throns and our skin was cut and bruised.

continued in PART 2