A good road trip had been long pending & so, when my colleague Arun suggested a weekend trip to Hogenakkal, I immediately agreed to join him. Sadly, no one else did and so, it was just me, him & two avengers (yes, he has an avenger too xD). I had office till 3.30pm on Saturday and so, started straight from work to Hogenakkal. Our plans were a little fuzzy but our aim was simple, 'road trip'. So, we took to the street and headed towards our destination.
It took us an hour just to escape the city & the sun was setting fast. So, we rode for nearly 140 kms before taking our first break. By now, it was clear that we were going to be pretty late because Hogenakkal is around 340 kms. from Chennai. Our other option was to stay at Dharmapuri for the night & continue the trip in the morning. But after riding another 100 kms. in the dark, we felt that it wasn't so bad and that we could make it the whole way.
We burst through the highways till Dharmapuri where we had our dinner & then slowed down. The road was now tricky with no light and no traffic. We reached a pay check-post around 10.30pm and the next 15 minutes were the best ride of my life. The curved hill roads & sudden hair-pin bends at pitch black darkness with absolutely no distraction was a dream to ride through. Riding Nirvana!
We found a room and settled in around 11.30. Didn't feel tired, didn't have back pain though I can't say the same for my butt. Had a nice chat till 2 and woke up around 10. Hogenakkal wasn't much of a hill and so, no bike rides over there. Visited the waterfall, had a nice ride in those hand-made rafts. The waterfall wasn't spectacular but the route they take you on those rafts is amazing. I have never experienced anything like that before.
We started again around 2.30pm and had a nice ride through those curved roads again. We came across a pretty good hotel near the Krishnagiri bus stand. After that, we hit the highways once again. Compared to our city traffic, the drivers on the highways are pretty disciplined. They use their indicators while changing lanes, they wait for a passing vehicle instead of just jumping out & blocking you and most slow vehicles stick to the left lane as the right lane is meant for overtaking. In such an organized highway, riding in the dark is not so hard.
Reached home around 9.30.. Covered 680 kilometers in 30 hours with a good night's sleep and also managed to visit a new location. Now THAT is a weekend worth its hours! Thank you Arun!
It took us an hour just to escape the city & the sun was setting fast. So, we rode for nearly 140 kms before taking our first break. By now, it was clear that we were going to be pretty late because Hogenakkal is around 340 kms. from Chennai. Our other option was to stay at Dharmapuri for the night & continue the trip in the morning. But after riding another 100 kms. in the dark, we felt that it wasn't so bad and that we could make it the whole way.
We burst through the highways till Dharmapuri where we had our dinner & then slowed down. The road was now tricky with no light and no traffic. We reached a pay check-post around 10.30pm and the next 15 minutes were the best ride of my life. The curved hill roads & sudden hair-pin bends at pitch black darkness with absolutely no distraction was a dream to ride through. Riding Nirvana!
We found a room and settled in around 11.30. Didn't feel tired, didn't have back pain though I can't say the same for my butt. Had a nice chat till 2 and woke up around 10. Hogenakkal wasn't much of a hill and so, no bike rides over there. Visited the waterfall, had a nice ride in those hand-made rafts. The waterfall wasn't spectacular but the route they take you on those rafts is amazing. I have never experienced anything like that before.
We started again around 2.30pm and had a nice ride through those curved roads again. We came across a pretty good hotel near the Krishnagiri bus stand. After that, we hit the highways once again. Compared to our city traffic, the drivers on the highways are pretty disciplined. They use their indicators while changing lanes, they wait for a passing vehicle instead of just jumping out & blocking you and most slow vehicles stick to the left lane as the right lane is meant for overtaking. In such an organized highway, riding in the dark is not so hard.
Reached home around 9.30.. Covered 680 kilometers in 30 hours with a good night's sleep and also managed to visit a new location. Now THAT is a weekend worth its hours! Thank you Arun!
