Leaning over the heart of Nilgiris...

"Normal people travel to the destination while we bikers travel only for the journey"

It was a hot day in Bangalore with temperatures hitting as high as 38 degrees & a malfunctioning AC to add on to the perspiration, there I was! Sitting in front of the computer & staring at the code while sweat dripped down my face & was wondering when will the first showers touch the ground & mark an end to the hottest summer I've ever seen in Bangalore!

Weekend was just around the corner & I stumbled upon an event created on facebook by awesome fellow bikers from Bangalore CBR250R Riders group. Ride to Avalanche Lake. A 2 day ride around the lovely hilly area surrounded by lush green tea plantation & mammoth mountains with hundreds of curves to lean on. Nilgiris it was! I opened the weather forecast & it said "cloudy with thunderstorms, chances of rain - 40%, temperature - 13 to 26 degrees". Without a second thought & instantly clicked on "GOING". 11 bikers confirmed, 10 Honda CBR250R's & a Royal Enfield Bullet 350. It was quite a number for a ride of this sort!

Then started the ride preparation. Technology is a boon & communicating with others was never so easy! We created a group on whatsapp which helped all of us constantly keep in touch & update about what preparations each one of us were doing. We helped each other in getting the spares, getting accessories required for the ride, getting our bikes serviced & so on... Then bike inspection began.
1. Engine oil level - check!
2. Brake fluid level - check!
3. Brake pads - good enough!
4. Clutch cable health - good!
5. Headlights (low & high beam) - check!
6. Tail lamp - check!
7. Punctures on the tire - never worried about it after getting the tire protector ;)
8. Tire pressure - check!
9. Fuel - topped up full tank
10. Battery - juice left to crank the engine

Bike is all set for the ride & it was time to pack up stuff.
1. Clothes for 2 days(let's not get into the details :p) - check!
2. Water - check!
3. Spare bike key(just in case) - check!
4. Swiss knife - check!
5. Camera battery - fully charged!
6. Extra lens - check!
7. Memory cards - check!
8. Cell phone - fully charged!
9. Cell phone charger - check!
10. Riding gear (jacket, gloves & knee guard) - check!
11. Cash - check!

I was all set to ride next day & hit the sack.

It was 10th May 2014. At 0300 hours, I heard a strange noise from a black device next to me, throwing out interesting patterns of light. Until I touched it, felt the mass on my hand, I didn't realize it was the alarm ringing & reminding me of the ride :D I woke up & got ready. I was supposed to meet up with 2 other guys before we head to the final meeting point. 0400 hours was the planned departure time. We reached the final meeting point at 0430 hours while few others were already there waiting for us :p We were spared as there was this last guy who just started from his house!

We decided the below route & pushed on.

Bangalore -> Mysore -> Gopal Swamy Hills -> Bandipur -> Madhumalai -> Ooty -> Avalanche Lake -> Home stay near Coonoor.

Follow this link to view on Maps : https://goo.gl/maps/nK9rW


We rode till Mysore & stopped there for breakfast. We stopped at Mylari hotel in Mysore for breakfast. Each of us had at least 3 dosa's since this is one of the "must visit" places in Mysore. We moved on & entered Nanjangud Road & headed straight towards Gopal Swamy Hills.
We were shocked to see there were absolutely no clouds around the hill which was a very rare scene as the place symbolizes & is very well known for being the most misty place around! We then decided to head to the sunflower plantation, take few pics & move on to Ooty. To our surprise there were no sunflowers too :(

nonetheless, we still took few pics :)




From there on we entered Bandipur forest. From here on, the ride got really very slow & there were speedbreakers every half a mile! We all were going mad riding at 30-40 kmph & slow down at every speedbreaker! Then we realized why the road was deliberately made narrow. Even though everyone who entered Bandipur was told not to stop anywhere as it is a reserved forest, even though every half a mile there were sign boards saying do not stop, people still stop the vehicles when they spot even a stray dog! Braking abruptly, taking reverse without even seeing who is on their tail, getting out of the vehicle & taking pics of animals with flash on! Narrow roads & speedbreakers made perfect sense there. We were fortunate enough to spot an elephant, dozens of spotted deers, little birds & so on...

We then exited from Bandipur, onto Tamil Nadu check post & into Madhumalai forest.
We took it slow & steady & finally exited the forest & entered Ooty hill. Then we started picking up speed & beautiful corners welcomed us. We started leaning over each corner & blast our way uphill. Although it was super fun to attack corners, it was equally dangerous with the buses & heavy vehicles from the opposite direction! A tempo traveller guy cut me off once & I went off the road, jumped over the rocks 3 times & somehow managed to get back on road in one piece without licking the tarmac. It was the most scariest moments I've had till date!

Here are few pics :)


















We finally reached Ooty at around 1300 hours & stopped for lunch.

Rest of the story will follow after approval :)

Attached Images