Bike Ride – Bangalore Back Roads – 1

Back Roads - Perfect foe a morning ride

A bike ride after a long time. This time, no highways, no crowded streets, but the back roads south/east of Bangalore. As usual google earth/maps is the navigator. I spend a little time Fri evening charting out the route. A torn notebook sheet says Sarjaur -> Bagalur (left) -> Malur -> Hoskote. Route measure around 100Km. If roads are good, perfect for an early morning ride. As usual the log is on a sheet of paper (other side of the route jotting above), going by the odometer, rather than the watch.

The route map as plotted later on google maps (interactive):

Route Map

The alarm rings at 0500. Morning rituals and I am off at 0530. Odo reads 18349.

0Km: The horizon is still dark. Other then the cool air, there are no signs of upcoming morning in KB. Everyone is asleep, including the guards. I drive out of the gates and the ITPL road is bustling with activity. Couple of joggers, worker hastening to catch the morning bus, vendors with their wares, call center sumos and tea shop idlers. All adding to the morning hustle bustle of Brookfields junction.

Past Varthur, morning starts showing up. There is more visibility and the lights of the rare oncoming vehicle do not offend. Driving past Gunjur I get the morning village smells. There is the omnipresent cow dung smell. Then there is something cooking. There is that smell of fire. Coal or wood I am not sure. Kids too are running around. Not something Bangalore can offer.

I hist the Sarjapur road junction and take a left heading South-East. No sun yet. Trucks appear on the road. This is the connecting road to Attibele.

21Km: I am at Sarjapur. A small town trying to go the Bangalore way. Several half complete housing projects around. I guess the receding economy left some sour dreams.

At the Sarjapur circle, the main road curves right. I thought I had to go straight. So I head on that way. Several boys are playing cricket on a dusty ground on the left.  A favorite pastime of my youth and a disappearing sight from today’s cities. I have a mind to stop and click. But then I move on. Past the bus stand onto a narrow road. And then it ends. There are two very narrow unpaved roads going left and right. This can’t be the way. I turn around, go back to the circle and head down the nice paved wide road.

Instinct tells me I am heading the wrong way. Instinctively I look at the instrument cluster. The petrol needle is on the full. It had to be. I refilled last night. I tell my self. All roads lead somewhere. As long as I have petrol, I can go anywhere.

I stop to take a swig of water and take a pic of disappearing moon. The picture comes out bad.

24Km: The sun is up on my back left. I see it only after the entire circle is visible. I also notice the chirping birds. Wonder why only now.

Sunrise

26Km: Nice green field on the left. There is also a small tea shop nearby. No customers. My kind of shop. I stop for a cup of tea. With the cup of warm tea warming my fingers, I wander towards the field to take a few snaps. There’s a tube well next to the field. I should have taken a bath.

Scarecrow

While paying for the tea I ask for direction. I am heading unplanned towards Attibele. After taking off my windcheater I head back.

32Km: Back at Sarjapur junction, the boys are still playing.

Game of Cricket

Again I head past the bus stand and the seemingly dead end. There I turn left. I drive down a road which resembles moon’s surface. Every bone in my body shook in that 100m. Arriving at another T junction, I ask for direction and am promptly dispatched left.

A stretch of nice road appears. Trees line the road and sunlight is filtering through. Almost no vehicles on the road. This the fun of back road driving.

Road for a leisurely drive

36Km: The thoughts of nice road hadn’t even left my mind when I entered Tamilnadu. Almost instantly the pot holes appeared. Not small, but large ones that would even shake the trucks. I jig jagged looking for even pieces of road. I guess that is the reason for little traffic on the road. I stop for another swig from the bottle and spy some nice tomatoes growing in a field.

Tomatoes

There is an urge to take some home. I resist the stealing temptation and head on. The road is a little better. Setting is perfect of an easy ride. I slow down and enjoy the surroundings.

Lovely stretch of Road

43Km: I arrive at Bagalur. Stop by a shop to ask for directions and buy a couple of bananas. One good thing around here is that every other shop will sell bananas. Good for filling stomach and hygenic too. This shop was also selling puja items. So I go in the other direction to check if the mandir is one of those with colorful tops as are many other temples in the south. I couldn’t find the temple and head on my way.

The road is patchy with long stretches of unpaved mess and large potholes. What takes my mind off the bad road is the sporadic appearance of Gulmohar trees. The blooming tree is a sight to behold. I stop to take a picture and enjoy the sight.

Gulmohar tree adorning the roadside

At another point I stop to take the picture of a huge aircraft windmill wing on a truck parked along the road.

Windmill wing

64 Km: I reach Malur. The town is much bigger than it looks on the map. The main road is wide and bustling with activity. I take the left road to Hoskote after asking for directions.

The road improves. I guess I have entered Karnataka.

72Km: The fields bordering the road give way to dry jungle with small trees and thick brush under growth.

Jungle bordering the road

The road is still lined with Gulmohar trees (See pic on top) which makes the drive very pleasent.

Few more Km down the road, the traffic starts building up. Construction activity along the road has increased. Driving down is no so pleasent.

89Km: I hit NH4 which is choke full of traffic.

Few more Km towards Bangalore, I take a left towards Whitefield and home.

105Km: Just before KB, I stop for coffee and chochow bath. The filter coffee is my staple on every morning outing. Few minutes later I am home. It is 0852. Around 3hrs 30min of ride.

Bike Ride to Yercaud

After a long long time I went on another solo bike ride out of Bangalore. I have been planning to go for the last several weeks, but one thing or another prevented me from going. The plan was to head south on NH-7 and turn back when I got tired. At the back of my mind I wanted to check out the dam at Krishnagiri. Again I decided to go the the distance rather than by time. My watch went in the bag and didn’t come out till I reached back home.

Km 0 (0528hrs)

It was a little chilly as the bike emerged out of the parking lot. I was glad I bought a windcheater. As I waited for the guard was opening the ate I looked up. The stars was faintly visible. “Twinkle twinkle little stars….” I recited thinking of Pareena sleeping soundly in Baroda.

There was significant truck traffic on the Outer Ring Road. I headed towards the Silk Board flyover.

Hosur road heading south was jammed. The elevated road construction added to the mess. Maneuvering my bike among pedestrians, rehriwallas and trucks, I plodded on.

Km 19

It must’ve taken be quite some time to leave the traffic behind. The sky was already turning pink on the left in front of me. I still hadn’t left the city behind. I was hoping to be out of the city by this time and watch the sun rise over some fields of forest.

At 60Km/hr, I could look around and drive safely at the same time. The building were slowly thinning down and the tree density was increasing.

I stop to click a pink cloud on the east.

A little later I am directly heading east. The sun is an orange disk just above the roads. The haze saves me from the direct glare.

Km 45

The sun is out illuminating everything with the soft orange light. The small buildings have been replaced by nice green shrubs and grass on either side of the road. Low buildings with nice and well maintained lawns are visible a little further inside.

I spy a tea shop on the right. Less than a Km ahead, there is a cut in the divider. I take a U turn and stop behind a highway petrol jeep. This was the first time I was seeing a highway petrol vehicle in India. I should have taken a picture.

I ask for a coffee. The guy opens a Nescafe sachet and pours hot milk over it. I would have liked a cup of filter coffee instead. Still this was good to warm me up. I gobble a stale sweet bun. I stand there on the side of the highway, munching on a sweet bun and drinking hot coffee. It feels good.

Km 55

The road is quite good with two lanes on either side of the divider. Flowering shrubs are planted on either side of the road. Someone is doing a nice job maintaining these. Occasionally, I see some wild flowers growing in the ditch. I don’t know why, but I like the wild ones better.

I deviate on the service road to click some flowering shrubs.

A few Km later, I park on the road side and climb the banking on the side. It was quite beautiful with the wind and sunlight playing with the wild flowers (I don’t think these are flowers though).

It had become a little warm, but I decided to keep my windcheater on.

Km 89

I am at the Krishnagiri junction. The sun is still low in the sky. I decide to keep going towards Salem. I have Yercaud in mind, but I am a little skeptical as it is a little too far. The road condition immediately worsens. The divided highway ends. There is road construction going on and I need to pay full attention to the road.

Km 98

I am almost 100Km from home. I stop to take a break and stretch my legs. My arms and back are starting to get a little stiff.

A lone tree stands out in the middle of a field. I think it is a paddy field. Two dogs are running around among the crop playing with each other. I unsuccessfully try to take their picture.

On the other side of the road, there is this surprisingly undecorated temple. Most of the temple I see are brightly painted making them interesting to photograph. This one isn’t. Perhaps it is still under construction.

Km104

There is a jam at Kaveripatnam. Again I zigzag through pedestrians, cyclists, rehriwalas, two wheelers, cars, buses and trucks to escape the delay. I am hungry and start looking for a place to eat. Soon I am out of the city. Realizing that it will be difficult to find anything to eat outside the city, I turn back and stop at a seedy small restaurant. The idlis are ok, but the dosas are excellent.

After breakfast, I walk around the market. As usual, there is a prominent temple at the main intersection.

Vendors line the street outside.

Km 136

There are a few brightly colored statues on the roadside. I cross these and then turn back to take a closer look. I have no idea who they represent, but they are large and bright to evoke interest.

Km 201

I am at Salem. It is a bigger city then i had thought. The roads are good and the traffic way better better than Bangalore. People actually drive on the left side of the road, not on “what’s left” of the road.

I ask for directions and head for Yercaud.

Km 210

The climb starts. Temperature drops steadily as I gain altitude. I life the visor and the cold wind on my face feels excellent. Exactly like putting your face on the window while climbing the road to Nainital from Haldwani.

Monkeys line the road side, grooming each other and enjoying the weather.

The jungle is dense with a lot of undergrowth. As I climb higher, the wild growth is replaced by cultivated plantation. The monkeys also disappear. It is fun driving the winding road, feeling the coolness on my arm and face.

Km 228

The road to Yercaud is quite steep. You gain altitude rapidly, helped by 20 hair pin bends, to reach an approximate elevation of 1500m. The bends are well designed to allow making a turn in the inner corner easy.

Km 230

I am at Yercaud. I am not really interested in sightseeing. So I stop near the lake to stretch my legs ad back.

I eat some peanuts and drink coffee. I am a little sleepy and decide to stop by a good spots to rest on the way down.

Time to head back.

Km 238

Hairpin bend 10. A good spot to rest. I park my bike and lie down on the ledge. The plains stretch down below me. It feels goo to lie there watching the clouds swirling in the sky. I don’t know when I fell asleep.

Direct sun on the face woke me up. The clouds had parted and the sun was directly in my face. I must have been asleep for about 10 minutes, but it was a very refreshing sleep. I push the bike downhill.

Km 300

I stop at a police check post. There is a small tea shop nearby. I ask for tea and a something to tea. Language is a problem, so I bring my hand to mouth and say bun. They think I want a cigarette and say cigarette! cigarette!. I say no and again baring my hand to my mouth saying bun bun. I think they understood. But they didn’t have anything like that. So the woman there sends here daughter to get something for another shop a little further away. The girl couldn’t find anything so I just drank the sweet tea.

I make little conversation with the woman. Her daughter was wearing a school uniform, so I say school school. She nodded her head. I assume she understood. I tell her that I have a small daughter using my hands and raise a finger to tell her the age. I don’t think she understood.

The small conversation refreshed me.

After a while I saw the road dividing. The left one said Bangalore: 120 Km; the right one said Bangalore 145Km.

I turned left.

It was a good choice and a bad choice. From here to Hosur, there was no divided highway. The road was pretty bad in patches. But the route was interesting and somewhat picturesque.

Occasionally, there was fields of bright yellow flowers

And sepoys with a gun and horses protecting gods.

NH7 would have been monotonous.

Km 355

I stop in the shade of large tree to rest a little. I drink some water and watch an ox lazily walking down the road. My watching the ox evoked the interest of its master and he smiled at me. I smiled back and saluted him before starting again.

After driving a little more, I stop by another field of yellow flowers. The field flanked by coconut trees looked very nice. Unfortunately the picture below fails to capture that relationship.

Km 384

I saw another yellow flower field on the road side. I was in two minds whether to stop or not. I decided not to. After half a Km, I turned around. I had remembered a conversation on macros and P&S cameras I had with my Vishal last week. I wanted to try that out.

As I walked down the embankment, I saw a small tube well behind. My bottle was almost empty and I was a little thirsty. Two kids were bathing in the well.

I filled the bottle and then took some pictures of the flowers.

The kids asked me to take the picture of the field behind. I guess it was their field. I took the picture with them in front.

As I turned to leave, I recalled reading in an online forum about how people like it when you shown them their picture. So I went back ad showed them their picture. They were extremely pleased.

This was my last stop on the way.

I soon reached Hosur and then hit NH7.

As I drove to Bangalore, my while body was stiff. My arms, back and ass was hurting.

Km 442

I am almost home. I stop to have lunch. I also call up Vaishali and Nainital to inform her that I am back. It is 1705hrs; A good 11.5hrs on the saddle.

Km 443

I am home. A hot water bath and a good sleep awaits me.

50mm@ 50 Km/hr

The 50/1.8 lens ensured I could shoot at no other focal length. The road conditions ensured that I drove at no more than 50 Km/hr.
That defines my day long solitary bike ride to Talakadu, about 140Km from Bangalore.
I did another unique experiment. Throughout the day, I did not look at the watch. Well I don’t have an operational watch, so I actually mean look at the time on my cell phone. I measured time by looking at the sun and distance on the odometer.

• Km 0 (0535hrs): Departure from Koramangala, Bangalore. Head South on NH 209.
• Km 35: Beautiful sunrise off on the left. I stop by a small pond to enjoy the reflections and take some photographs.



• Km 60: Kanakpura. After Kanakpura the National Highway 209 barely resembles a road.
• Km 61: Short break to stretch. The tea is too sweet. Coffee is better. Somehow, the street side vendors makes great coffee in the South.
• Km 65: I stop to admire Gabbar’s lair in Ramgarh. Photograph a truck going in other direction in my rear view mirror.



• Km 77: I see this structure by the road wondering why there is a mosque in the middle of nowhere. As I drive past I look back to see that there in only one wall. Later I learn that this is an Idgah. The morning shadows are still long.



• Km 106: Malavalli. I ask for directions for Talakadu. Next 1 Km the road is good.
• Km 110: Right turn for Talakadu. 24 Km more. It is just a dirt track now.
• Km 125: Stop by a small hamlet for tea. 4 mini bananas for breakfast. A young man asks for a ride. Glad to have him with me. He speaks in Kannada (I think so). I speak in English. Neither understands each other. We still keep talking as I drive towards Talakadu.
• Km 134: Talakadu. The river beach looks good. Few people bathing in the water. Several round boats anchored on the beach. After parking the bike, I head to the beach. There is a half buried Shiv Ling and Hanuman along the way.
  
  As I get nearer, I find the beach to be very dirty. No bathing here. I walk back towards the parking. The temples are on the other side. A tour guide asks for 75 bucks. Too much I tell him and walk alone. The first temple is easy to find. There is a board with an arrow. Something is written in Kannada. I follow the arrow to the temple. It is a small one, almost buried in sand.
  
  I walk back and see another sign. Following that, I reach a larger temple. This one has been completely excavated. There is a large brick retention wall around it to prevent sand from coming down. I walk down the steps. Nothing interesting. Take some photographs and retrace my steps back.
  Another board with an arrow. Following that, I reach an overlook which reveals a huge temple. This one is big.
  
  The path is blocked due to Archaeological Survey of India excavations. So I take a side path which crosses two smaller temples before arriving at the entrance of the big temple I saw from above. At the latter of the two small temples, I stop to drink fresh coconut water. The big temple is quite nice. I walk around taking several pictures.
  Moving ahead, there is another temple. This one is a mix of old and new. The lower walls are old and made of stone. The top is cement and white washed.
  
  I make a round of the temple and head back to my bike. On way I relish a cucumber. At the beach I pick up two small books written in Kannada with pictures of the Talakadu temples. I guess the only reason I picked them up was because the little girl selling them was too persistent. I then share a pineapple with the little girl and her friend.
  Time to leave. The sun was high in the sky. I guess it was around noon.
• Km 134: I decide to visit the waterfalls of Shivasamudram on the way back.
• Km 136: I head North-West towards the falls. The road goes from bad to worse. Two kids wave to ask for a ride. Again we converse without understanding each other.
  
• Km 169: Bhara Chukki Falls. The falls are impressive. So is the amount garbage lying around. I decide against walking down to the water. I eat a slice of water melon.
  
• Km 171: I stop at a small dargah next to a steep cliff. The second falls are here, but nothing is visible.
  
  I head back. The road to Malavalli is excellent. Oasis in the desert.
• Km 184: I take a right turn towards the 2nd falls. Give my 4th ride of the day. The view from the viewing platform is excellent. There is a lot of water in the falls. Wonder how it would be in the monsoons.
  
• Km 200: Malavalli. I stop for lunch at a Shanti Sagar. The place is pretty crowded. I order a meal, but take off when there is no sign of my food coming. The road ahead is bad and traffic worse. Be wary of private bus drivers
• Km 230: Maddur. I hit the Mysore highway. From here road is good.
• Km 238: I stop for lunch. The meal is good. I feel like sleeping. Moving on, the bike easily keeps 80 Km/hr. My hands, back and ass are sore like anything. I decide to stop for a tea break at Km 295. At the point I find that we are almost in Bangalore. Decide to head home. I didn’t expect the traffic to be bad. From Mysore road, I had no idea how to get to Koramangala. I saw a Metro sign pointing to the right. Having seen Metro on Kanakpura road in the morning, I followed. That landed me on Bannerghatta road. After that it was smooth sailing.
• Km 325 (1713hrs): Home sweet home.

Rest of the photos from the trip: Talakadu Ride