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.
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.
posted by IndiaJP at 5:21 AM
2 Comments:
Hi Jean, Nice to read your report.. I am Not a biker, but a car driver apart from my fascination for Railways..
Now I am going to follow you... on your Red..
Have a good trip. If you are passing thru Coimbatore, give me a call. You have my number
Nice story thus far, I am fascinated by the thought of living as an ex pat in india, I'll never do that as I am too tied to my local community. We have a large Indian ex pat community here in Oklahoma City. Anyway, what did you do with your motorcycle while you took the bus detour to Kerala?
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