Bike Trip to Lepakshi

Lepakshi was on the list for a long time, partly due to the some random reviews that claimed it to be a great place and partly due to the curiosity to see the world largest monolithic Nandi statue. So when Mr. Jeyahari wanted to go on a long bike trip, it was the first suggestion i made and it was accepted without any concerns.

The trip started at around June 24, 2012, 7.00AM and Rakesh joined us in Hebbal around 7.45AM. Decided to take NH7 through Chickballapur, Bagepalli followed by a 16KM ride on the narrow Lepakshi road. It was surprising to see Bangalore traffic police ready with interceptors at 8.00AM to catch the unsuspecting tourists who are driving over the speed limit on the free roads. I see traffic police more on weekends and rarely do they try to impose any traffic rules on weekdays during the wee hours, when people run amok. Anyway, i had learnt my lesson during the Nandi Hills trip and we were going slow at 50KMPH on the free roads, where 100KMPH was not difficult to achieve. Stopped for breakfast at Kamat and then reached Lepakshi after sometime around 11.00AM.

Stopped first at the infamous Nandi statue. And the first doubt that comes to people from TN is, is that bigger than the one at Tanjore ? Info is that the Nandi statue in Tanjore is actually the third largest. The second biggest monolithic bull is at the Bull Temple in Bangalore near BMSCE. Lepakshi was architecturally rich but after visiting Hampi, i was expecting more. The murals in the ceiling were interesting. The nagalinga was a little fascinating. Soon we finished roaming around and taking photos. Took a little rest, finished our lunch at a small hotel since there were not many lunch options around and started our journey back in the hot sun, which made us wonder whether 120KM in bike was really worth for what Lepakshi has to offer.

Decided to compensate it by stopping in Lumbini gardens at Hebbal. Looks a like a good place for a family and kids to spend a evening. The view of sunset was great. Never knew bangalore had so much to offer. Clicked few pics, had some snacks and returned home after what turned out to be a exhaustive ride and what turned out to be an ok trip overall.

Shravanbelagola - Bike Trip

"Hampi" i said. Sai approved, and added if not anyone both of us will complete the trip. Ok, that was encouraging, if not Hampi, the probability of breaking out of bangalore was more that weekend. Soon Hampi was ruled out due to lack of crowd. Skandagiri was rejected since night trekking was no longer allowed there. Funny part, looks like few Policemen use it to bribe money from visitors. Even in bangalore, traffic police work with full force on weekends!! Anyway leave that. So the final option was Shravanabelagola - a jain piligrim center. And it was planned to be a bike trip. Exciting (to think)!!!!

The plan was to start early before bangalore wakes up. Sai took the job of disturbing the dreams and accomplished it with perfection. Started at around 6.20AM with free roads and early morning chillness to tackle. The ride was smooth, as the Unicorn and Apache sped at 80 to 90 KMPH till we reached NH4. After that the speedometer wobbled between 90s and 100s and at times above that too. Fun, it was. Can call it madness/risk or whatever. But the fingers had gone numb, felt more like a wood holding on to the clutch and accelerator. Sun popped up slowly and it was battling against the early morning chillnesswhen we reached Bangalore - Mangalore highway. The highway was free,  the silent Unicorn glided at 90-100 KMPH. Cool breeze, early morning sun, a smooth bike, free highway everything was in our favour.  Those bike advertisements are true, you can forget even if it is a girl sitting behind. The four lane road ended, and we took the SH to Shravanabelagola with 18KMs left to cover. We had reached there in exactly 3 Hrs, with 3 pit stops few of which were considerably long.

Finished breakfast and took 10 minutes to reach the top of first peak, Vindhyagiri. ASI has done some work, maintaining the structures, but cementing them has spoiled the architectural beauty. Highlight was the 57ft Gommatheshwara statue. Same story with Chandragiri too. The temple complex also houses few beautiful temples. At the top there was Chandragupta Paduke. After a while came down and started back to bangalore with a full watermelon packed. The journey was once again smooth, till we reached the bangalore in the evening. Back to maddening traffic and pothole filled roads. Anyway a welcome break, it was.

Photos - https://picasaweb.google.com/sskganesan/ShravanaBelaGolaBikeTrip, https://picasaweb.google.com/111446569907392516250/Shravanabelagola?noredirect=1

Bike Trip To Mysore

Few last minute changes in plan, i was left alone to travel to Mysore to attend Nandan's marriage. Most of the time, if i am left alone, i will leave the plan alone and continue with my work. This time i wanted to attend the marriage. Was breaking my head over Bike/KSRTC for a while. A crazy idea just needs a gentle push from a more crazier head, and my roomie took care of the job. Thank to Jebasingh, we were on my Unicorn the next day morning with 140KM to cover. The trip did start with few resolutions like will maintain 50KMPH, will not change lanes unnecessarily, will reach home before dark etc etc.

The first resolution to go was 50KMPH barrier, it was lost somewhere inside the city only. The weather was awesome, as it had rained the day before. So the ride was enjoyable in the morning. Reached mysore in around 2 hour 30 minutes. Next few hours was great, as i met most of the DP folks, the people with whom i had worked for around 3 years.

After the marriage, went straight to Chamundi Hills. Bad idea, considering that it was around 2.00PM. Qualified to be called hot and horrible, still there was enough enthu left to click a few snaps. After that proceeded straight to Brindavan gardens. Would have atracted more, if i had seen before visiting gardens around bangalore.

So it was at 7.50PM, we realized the need to go Bangalore. The night journey did spark some fear. Combined to this, it rained in few placed. Ended up searching for the road at few places, when light from the opposite lane, blinded us completely. Whenever a city passed by, we got excited, as though we had discovered electricity. Finally after a tired jouney, reached Bnagalore around 12.30PM.

This happens to be the first long trip in bike. Wonder whether i would be able to do 388KM in a single day later :-) Uploaded a few photos at picasa, those who are interested check it out.