Grand Tour 2010 -- Stage Two, Mysore to Goa

My planned route leaving Mysore was via Bilikere, Krishnarajanagar, Holenarsipur (yes, that’s really the name), Hassan, Belur, Chikmagalur, Aldur, Balehonnur to Sringeri. The road conditions were great up to Hassan, dreadful through Hassan itself with mud, potholes and traffic galore, great again up to Belur, and a bit rough in spots thereafter. Since I had topped up with petrol leaving Mysore, at Rs 59 per litre, I was a bit annoyed to see it at Rs 45 just outside Hassan. How can there be such a discrepancy within the same state?

There were broken clouds and sunny patches when I left Mysore. The forecast was for afternoon showers, which indeed started just after I passed Aldur. The shower turned into a real downpour, so I sheltered until it let up, but my beloved RedWing (my Royal Enfield Thunderbird TwinSpark) suddenly developed engine trouble, and although it would idle ok, it cut out and there was no power when I tried to rev up. Somehow I managed to limp a couple of kilometers to the next village, asked around for a Bullet mechanic, and was referred to Ravi just down the road. He pulled out the sparkplug, said it was ok, and started disassembling the carburetor. After half an hour's work, he said there was some blockage which he couldn't fix, but that I should now be able to ride to Balehonnur, about 10km away, where there was a better equipped Bullet mechanic that he recommended. I asked him to accompany me for a bit just in case I broke down again, and he did so, and since RedWing was running ok now, albeit a bit roughly, I waved him goodbye after a couple of kilometers, and made it to Balehonnur. I found the shop with the aid of some helpful locals, explained the problem to the mechanic, and since it was now late afternoon, I left RedWing in his care, went off to find a lodge, got a decent room for Rs 220 at Asha Lodge, took an autorickshaw to fetch my luggage, and settled in to unpack and dry out. 235 km today.

My bike was ready next morning. The mechanic had replaced the sparkplug (probably unnecessarily) and cleaned the carburetor, which he said had had some water, whether from bad fuel or yesterday's rain I don't know. Anyway, with a smoothly running bike I was soon on my way to Sringeri, where I stopped just outside of town at a shop where the owner had been very helpful last year in giving me advice on local road conditions. We chatted for a while, then I proceeded to the temple's guest house booking office, and asked for and got the same room I had stayed in last year, TTD #19, the "fifty rupee room with the thousand rupee view". Later I went to see another friend whom I had also met on last year's trip, and we had a nice visit. Unfortunately he was quite busy working on a project so we didn't have as much time together as I would have liked, but we were able to meet briefly a couple of times over the next few days. Only 39 km today.

Then it was time to move on again, and I rode via Koppa, Thirthihalli (excellent roads to this point), SH1 to Riponet (quite rough in some spots), joined NH206, which was very good except through and around Sagar, and was at the Jog Falls turnoff by early afternoon. The weather forecast was calling for heavy afternoon rain especially in the ghats, so I decided to make an early stop and stay in Jog Falls, which I had also done last year.

There are three levels of accommodation to choose from. The KSTDC runs the Tunga Tourist Home (basic doubles at Rs 300 with a view of the parking lot), and Hotel Mayura (nicer doubles at Rs 450 with TV and morning hot water, with a view of the falls). A little higher up is the PWD Rest House, with huge two-room suites with bay windows and a fabulous view for Rs 500 (24-hour hot water but no TV). I treated myself to the PWD. There was a brief but heavy downpour about sunset. 169 km today.

Next morning was the ride down the ghat road via Gersoppa to Honavar (very bad in some spots), then NH17 via Kumta and Karwar into Goa. NH17 is greatly improved since last year. I considered stopping for the night in Gokarna, but since I'm planning for a longer stay there on my way back south, I decided to keep riding on to Goa. If I had known what was ahead, I would have stopped, but ...

Shortly after crossing into Goa, the rain started. I sheltered under a tree until it let up, then continued, but had to pull over again as the rain got worse. It turned into a real storm, with thunder and lightning galore, and the rain so heavy you could barely see across the road. I got completely drenched. Eventually it abated, and I continued on, bypassing Palolem Beach, where I had stayed last year but found too commercial and touristy for my taste, and rode on to Agonda, which I had looked at briefly last year and got a very favourable first impression. The first couple of guest houses I looked at were overpriced for what they were offering, but I lucked out and found a very pleasant room at Franter C Guest House near the church for only Rs 350. They have one large two-bedroom suite on the main floor, and three double rooms upstairs sharing a large verandah, with a view of the ocean through the trees. I settled in and unpacked to start drying out. 207 km today.

It was so pleasant in Agonda that I stayed a day longer than initially planned, and early on Friday 19th November I headed out via Cabo de Rama, NH17, Margao, and Mapusa to Vagator Beach. Just as in Agonda, the first couple of places I looked at were overpriced, but, third time lucky, I got a great, clean room with hot water (no TV) at Robert's Place for Rs 350. After a minimal unpack, I headed over to Hilltop for Royal Enfield's Rider Mania, the reason for coming to Vagator. 90 km today.

It was very nice to be greeted by name while walking from the parking lot to the registration desk -- thanks, Praveen S of Royal Enfield, for making me feel so welcomed! So here I am at Rider Mania until Sunday, when I'll head south for Grand Tour Stage Three. Stay tuned!

Grand Tour 2010 -- Stage One, Chennai to Mysore

After weeks of deliberation and planning, on Tuesday 26th October I finally set out on Grand Tour 2010, otherwise known as my third annual "avoid being in Chennai during the north-east monsoon" motorcycle tour.


This year I managed to get out of Chennai ahead of the serious rain, and avoided getting wet on my first day. After a false start (I realized after 15km of wretched riding conditions on the Minjur-Manali Road that I had forgotten to bring my Thermarest inflatable seat cushion, which is essential for comfortable travel, and had to go back home to fetch it), I was on my way by late morning, with a wasted extra 30km on the clock. And all because I had forgotten to run through my pre-departure mental checklist one last time.


Had breakfast and lunch at stops along the highway, and reached my planned overnight stop of Hosur by late afternoon. 330 km (+30 km) today.


Day two dawned with overcast and showers. I was in no hurry, and waited till the rain stopped at noon before moving on. Had to pull over soon to put on my rain gear, which I should have done before leaving. But it was only a brief shower. The highway from the Tamil Nadu-Karnataka border up to Bengaluru is now finished, a great improvement over last year. Took the NICE Ring Road (which they still haven't finished, although the detour at the first exit is shorter and with better road conditions than it was last year) for a toll of Rs 42 around to the Tumkur Road, which is also much improved. Here you can take the inner lanes of the toll road (no charge for 2-wheelers) up to the Mangalore turnoff just past Nelamangala onto NH 48. The rain caught up with me a bit later, after lunch, and was intense enough that I pulled over and sheltered until the downpour was done.


There is still a lot of work left to do on the four-laning on NH 48. Getting through Kunigal is a real bottle-neck; it will be much improved when the by-pass is opened.


One last downpour to slow me down a bit, and by late afternoon I was at Sri Adi Chunchanagiri Mutt, where I took a room at the ashram guest house. 165 km today.


After a couple of days of contemplation and relaxing, I moved on to Mysore (95 km), where I got my bike serviced at Royal Enfield, and stayed a few days, meeting friends and getting to know my way around the city a bit more.


And now a non-biking detour. Just before Diwali my son phoned me from Kerala and asked if I could come and meet him there on an urgent family matter. The trains were all fully booked for Diwali, and I didn't fancy riding to Kerala and right back, since my tour plan is to head north and west, so I booked the overnight Volvo A/C luxury bus from Mysore to Trivandrum. (Rs 700 one way; 10% discount on the return if you book it at the same time.)


It's a 14-hour trip, faster than the train, and as comfortable as you can be on the sometimes dreadful roads. The route is Mysore, Gundulpet, Sulthan Bathery, Kozhikode, Trissur, Ernakulam, Alleppey, Kollam, Trivandrum. I did the overnight outbound up to Kollam; did my visiting and family stuff and stayed a night at Yatri Nivas in Kollam; took a late afternoon train to Trivandrum; had dinner at the architecturally fabulous Indian Coffee House; and caught the overnight return trip. I'll stay in Mysore a couple more days, then move on to Sringeri and the coast.