Mangalore To Goa Solo Ride Feat. Pulsar AS200


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“I should have just silenced the alarm and dozed off... Does this even make any sense?”

This is the thought that runs through my mind as I crank my bike. It’s 05:45 and I’m already running 15 minutes behind schedule, against a planned 05:30 departure from home. It takes just a couple of minutes to shrug off that obnoxious roadblock of a thought and the next thing that I remember is cruising along the NH75(erstwhile NH48), to reach Pumpwell Circle and onward onto the NH66 that’ll take me all the way upto my destination.

But... What's the plan, you ask?

In what turned out to be the mother of all impromptu trips, the plan for this ride was drawn up just a couple of days, or less than 48 hours, in advance. “A solo ride to Goa.” Sounds about right. But trust me, for a guy who hasn’t ridden more than 100 kilometers at a stretch in one direction, this is easier said than done. Anyway, my mind was made up and there was no turning back. Booked the same hotel I had stayed in when I had been to Goa with family a couple years back, but the price I paid for a room was just about a third of what I paid back then. Ah, that magical time in Goa called the off-season!

The preceding 30-35 hours were mostly spent in reading through the innumerable travelogues that have been posted by legendary riders who’ve ridden along this route. My ‘Black Mamba’, as I call her, a Bajaj Pulsar AS200, was sent to the less than stellar service center for some quick check up and to get all the quintessential liquids topped up. Was surprised to know that what was not fixed over the course of the preceding 5 scheduled services, was fixed up now! A resultant of my blatant “I shall be riding to Bombay and back, so please ensure that everything is in place” lie, maybe? Nevertheless, she performed like a champ!

Coming back to the day of the ride, traffic was sparse at that early hour and I could cover the distance till Surathkal NITK Toll Plaza in a little under half an hour with some sedate riding. Nervousness was still at its peak and the fear of the unknown loomed large. However, as the first rays of the sun started filtering in and the trip meter started climbing north, all these elements of fear, anxiety and nervousness started vapourizing and the excitement of riding to Goa made me sideline all these thoughts.

The road from Surathkal to Kundapura is in top notch condition, four-laned all the way, save for a 3-4 kilometer stretch in and out of Padubidri town. Cruising at 100-110kmph wasn’t a problem for the AS200 with such roads on offer. Just before the road converged into a shabby two lane obstacle course at Padubidri, I speed-matched a Mangalore-Udupi-Kundapura Private Express bus at 105Kmph! These coaches are locally built after procuring the chassis from manufacturers, and for such a bus to be doing speeds in excess of a ton seemed a bit too much for me to swallow. Wonder what these local Schumachers and Rossis would do, if, God forbid, they were to pilot a Volvo or a Scania on these routes?[evil]

To be continued...

Vlogged the entire ride and the same can be viewed here:
 
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With the road transforming from being a smooth four-laned to a bumpy two-laned one at Padubidri, my pace reduced to a measly 30-35kmph. A cracked or bent alloy was the last thing I could afford while heading on a 350+ kilometer ride. This crawl lasted for the next 3-4 kilometers after which the highway gets back to its past form; smooth, four-laned, and with proper service roads. I was contemplating a 90-minute ride from Mangalore to Kundapura and with the super low density of traffic on the highway, I cruised past the numerous diversions that lead into Udupi city and reached Kundapura town at 07:30.

A word of caution to anybody planning to ride/drive along this stretch. Road manners are mostly non-existent. People jaywalking across the road, driving on the wrong side to save a few precious milliliters of fuel and what not!

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Somewhere after Kundapura.

Stopped for a break after crossing Kundapura town. The highway from Kundapura to Byndoor is in pretty rough shape. Uneven surface and narrow lanes coupled with the marauding 6+ wheelers, can give you the thrill of a lifetime. However, the four-laning work is progressing fast and at this pace, the entire NH66 from Mangalore to Karwar could be a four-laned road in the next 4-5 years. Trailing trucks and buses, I rode at a relaxed 50-60kmph for the most part until Byndoor. Wanted to stop by the Maravanthe beach to click some pictures but decided against it to save time and vowed to do so while returning; alas, that didn’t happen either.

After Byndoor, the construction work has been completed in patches and the lane in use was freshly asphalted. This meant that I could cruise at 80-90kmph for some time until signs of approaching a major town were apparent. Somewhere before Bhatkal, traffic intensified and it was yet again, a crawl behind slow moving cars and autos. Exiting the urban limits, the traffic became manageable and I sped past the arch of the Murudeshwar temple at around 09:15. Roads were good after Murudeshwar for the most part, albeit with a lot of diversions. The Konkan Railway line runs beside the highway from Murudeshwar to Honnavar. At 09:50, the Sharavati Bridge was in sight and I pulled over near the bridge for a break.

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The bridge over the Sharavati River was in pretty bad shape. Lot of potholes and sharp edges at places where the asphalt was patched up. Honnavar town had the typical rush hour town traffic and progress was slow until I exited the town limits. Kumta was the next prominent town en route and quite expectedly, there were quite a lot of heavy vehicles, especially KSRTC and NWKRTC buses heading in and out of Kumta. Road condition was good on this stretch but I don’t remember crossing 70kmph due to traffic. Having crossed the half way mark, I was in high spirits, knowing that roads after Ankola would be a a treat to ride on. Kumta town is a chaotic mess when it comes to traffic; the highway, the main KSRTC bus stand and the railway station are literally right next to each other and as a result, there are motorists criss-crossing all over the place.

Just after crossing Kumta, I was tailgating a NWKRTC bus with a destination board that read ‘Sirsi’, and at the next diversion, I blindly followed the bus and took the road to the right. This road apparently cut right through a dense jungle and being a frequent traveler on the Konkan Railway, I knew that the highway runs parallel to the railway line all along, and there was no railway in sight. Sensing that something was amiss, I stopped in the middle of nowhere and pulled out my phone, only to realize that I was heading east, towards Hubli. Sirsi was towards Hubli, damn! The damage done wasn’t much. Just a kilometer or so in the wrong direction wasn’t all that bad. Having realized my blunder just in time, I was just about to turn around to get back onto the NH66 when I realized the beauty of the place.

The road was surrounded by dense jungle on either sides and there was no sign of human habitation in sight. Just the occasional vehicle whizzing past on the smooth road. Spooky as it was, I decided to stay back for some more time and stretch myself. Not the smartest of decisions, but then, hey, it’s not everyday that I get lost and end up in the middle of nowhere. Unfortunately, pictures that I had clicked are untraceable due to a goof up on my part. Anyway, back on the NH66, I kept a decent pace due to sparse traffic. Could recognize the exact place of the LPG tanker tragedy at Bargi which had claimed several lives and coincidentally, I was right behind a bullet tanker at that spot. Being the paranoid crankypants that I am, got as far away from that 10-wheeled contraption as fast as I could.

I was expecting Gokarna to be a charming and bustling little town because of its importance as a tourist hot spot but I didn’t even realize when I had gone past this town! By then, I was nearing Ankola and seeing that I was way ahead of my scheduled time of passing these places, I decided to take yet another break. This one was a rather long one and spanned well over 15 minutes. Washed my face and just as I was about to set off, a NWKRTC bus bound to Kumta swerved sharply to the right to avoid hitting a mad old cow that was running around on the highway and entered a shallow ditch beside the road. Lucky for the occupants of that bus, there wasn’t any cause for concern and the driver could reverse it back onto the highway and get going. Again, I had just turned off my action camera then, and as a result, ended up missing out on capturing this action as well.

That's enough for now. [:D] The vlog is here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v0WQVjbwEI
 
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With the road being in good shape, I was cruising at 90+Kmph for minutes at a stretch. Somewhere after Ankola, the road became a pure two-laned one with no signs of four-laning work anywhere. Still, the road was well-maintained and scenic and keeping the needle above 80 wasn’t a problem, save for the occasional stray animal or person loitering around aimlessly on the road. Quite a few villages lie along the highway on this stretch and it goes without saying that one needs to exercise caution while driving or riding down this road. Entry into Karwar town is marked by an abrupt change in landscape from a winding hill road to a view of the Karwar Port on the left hand side, followed by the magnificent Karwar beach.

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The Naval base can also be seen just before Karwar. Being mid-day, the traffic in Karwar was manageable. Stopped beside the beach but didn’t get off the bike, with a complete disregard for the scenic beauty that was on offer. “One for the return trip”, I told myself. That didn’t happen either. There’s a decommissioned warship museum on public exhibit at the Karwar beach. Could see quite a few people at the entrance, perhaps a must visit place if one is exploring Karwar. Four-laning work was in full swing after Karwar and the lane that was open for traffic was wide and smooth. This continued all the way upto the Karnataka-Goa border. It was around 12:30 by the time I reached the border check-post and crossed over into Goa state. Welcome to Goa…

Now if you’ve been to Goa, you know how the roads there are. Smooth, well marked out and scenic, albeit narrow and with intermittent twists and turns. Traffic was minimal and this ensured that I could maintain speeds in the range of 80-90Kmph for the most part, slowing down for that occasional oncoming truck or bus. Realizing that I was well ahead of my scheduled 15:00 hours arrival at Margao, I took it easy and kept ambling along at 50-60, taking in the scenic vistas and the rural charm that this tiny state has to offer. Managed to grab quite a few eyeballs all thanks to the strange contraption attached to my helmet. The only place where I had to really slow down was within town limits of prominent places such as Cancona. With many impatient motorists battling it out for supremacy, I chose the calmer way out and gave way to each one of them rash drivers.

There were quite a few narrow misses that I witnessed here, one including a foreign tourist on a rented scooter who veered onto the path of a speeding Zen, who was driving all over the place; left lane, opposite lane, off-the-road, everywhere. Had it not been for the last minute slamming of the brakes by the driver of the Zen, the rider would’ve been eating asphalt and dirt for lunch, and the driver, punches and slaps from onlookers. With a couple of breaks in between, I munched up the miles at a steady pace and entered the Karmal Ghat section and oh boy, is it a treat for riders. Numerous twisties with silky smooth roads and negligible traffic; time for some knee scraping? Maybe not. With the stock Eurogrip rubber, you best bet I wouldn’t dare to attempt anything as such and risk it in the middle of nowhere.

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On the approach to Margao city, the traffic density increased and soon, I found myself crawling in bumper to bumper traffic heading into the heart of Margao. It took a good 30 minutes or so for me to cover the last 10 kilometers to reach Malbhat, where my hotel was located. Hotel Panchsheel it was. A decent place, especially when you take into account the off-season prices. Parking is a complete mess however. Anyway, checked in at 14:10 and after freshening up, went out in search of grub. So home-to-hotel time taken was 7 hours 50 minutes with several breaks thrown in! Not bad for a first timer and with single-laned roads for a majority of the route.

Now due to the excitement of the ride, I had completely forgotten to have breakfast or tea or any edible stuff for that matter, save for a couple of sips of water! You read that right. Nothing. This is something that you should total avoid doing. It was a rookie mistake and I’ve realized it of late. Never skip breakfast while on a long ride. Walked into a restaurant near the Gandhi market area and had a plate of Chicken Biriyani and a cold drink before rushing back to my room and crashing for a good 2-3 hours. By the time I woke up, it was well past 18:00 and since it was too late to ride anywhere, I went back to dreamland again, only to wake up a couple of hours later for dinner. It was the same Chicken Biriyani for dinner as well, albeit from a different restaurant.

Back at the hotel, it was lights off by 21:00. Slept well and woke up at 06:00, it was still dark outside. By 07:00, I was downstairs, cranking my bike. The jovial room service guy shouted at the top of his voice from the fourth floor: “You came back now?” “Nah, I’m heading out now”, I replied. “Good morning then! Have a nice day!”, he said. Don’t know what made him think that I was out all night and had returned just then! Anyway, first thing to do was to feed my bike. Headed to a HP outlet on the highway and filled the tank to the brim. It took in 11 something liters, and the price difference when compared to Mangalore was surprising! A difference of 16 rupees!!! No wonder Goa is a paradise for bikers. Also realized that I had managed to get 37KMPL from my bike inspite of revving it hard on the highway. Impressed?

Being the morning rush hour, encountered heavy traffic at quite a few places, especially at Panaji. The road from Margao to Panaji is picturesque; I know my vlog isn’t gonna do any justice to it but anyway. Headed straight to Dona Paula and since it was to early in the day, the tourist count was almost nil. I was the only one at the jetty until a few groups showed up over the course of the next half an hour or so. Having been to Goa before, I was least interested in visiting the beaches, and consequently focused more on riding around and enjoying the charm of Goa rather than hitting the beaches and whiling away time, which was already in short supply. Next destination was Old Goa, and one can’t miss the magnificent Old Goa church when in Goa- that’s exactly where I headed.

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One thing that I noticed while in Goa was the presence of cops everywhere; both traffic and general. Though there were no interceptor vans in sight, I always kept my speed in check so as to not get into any trouble. The ride to Old Goa was through some picturesque roads, with some of them running right next to the Mandovi river. As scenic as it is, I shudder to think what would happen to riders if God forbid, a bike was to crash into the insignificantly short guard wall. Encountered quite a few ferry points along the way. Goa has a complex network of ferry routes and these are generally the quickest means to get across the Mandovi or Zuari rivers, if one wants to hop from one village to another on the banks of either of those rivers.

Approaching Old Goa, I couldn’t quite figure out where the parking lot was for visitors to the churches and went around in circles before finding one, right beside the Basilica of Bom Jesus. There was just one other bike and a couple of cars parked there but the place was under the watchful eyes of a security guard whose curious eyes just couldn’t get off my helmet-mounted camera. There weren’t many people inside the premises either. However, a mass(religious proceeding) was going on at the basilica and entry was apparently restricted to devotees for the time being. Although it wouldn’t be a problem for me to get past the lady guarding the door, I chose otherwise since I’d been there before for a mass, during an earlier visit.

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Saw quite a few foreign tourists draping shawls around their waists before entering either of the two churches. Short clothes are strictly prohibited just like any other place of religious significance, which I think is a fair deal. Walked over to the Se Cathedral, where the mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier are preserved. The exposition of these relics takes place once every 10 years which attracts a large inflow of tourists and devotees from all over the globe. The casket is otherwise placed on a pedestal which is elevated and thus, doesn’t give a clear view of the same. This church was bustling when compared to the previous one and there were quite a few people who had no clue what they were there for and kept asking the guards/staff about some “body” which seemed funny to me.

Spent about half an hour exploring the place and then headed back to the former cathedral to start my ride back to the hotel. As I said earlier, I wasn’t interested in beaches and forts, having been there during earlier trips. With an impending long ride back home the following day, I didn’t want to stretch myself by riding too much either, so headed back to the hotel, had lunch on the way, and slept for an hour or so. There was dense traffic over the Zuari bridge and it took quite some time to get past those slow moving vehicles. Back at the hotel, woke up at around 16:00 hours and headed out to explore whatever places I could. One particular place of interest to me was the Cortalim Jetty, on the banks of the Mandovi River.

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Rode along the NH66 to reach the place just in time to see a train rumbling over the magnificent bridge. Ferries sailed in and out of the ferry terminal while fishermen sorted out their nets at the harbor, where I was perched on a short wall overlooking the river. A decked up cruise vessel was awaiting a contingent of tourists as I sat there whiling away time. Just before sunset, started off towards Colva beach, but got lost in the maze of street roads and when I finally did reach the place, it was dark. Foreigners were aplenty at Colva, and so were Indian tourists. Pretty crowded place.

With the clock having ticked past 19:30, I rushed back to the hotel, and while trying to park my bike under a staircase, accidentally broke the right side rear view mirror. Some quick thinking and I fixed it in place with a piece of 3M tape that came with my SJCAM action camera. Headed out for dinner and had a veg thali for a change. The food was… Meh! All said and done, I crashed onto the bed at 21:30, only to wake up at 05:30 the next morning, and headed downstairs for the check out, only to find the guys at the reception snoring away to glory. Woke up one of the attendants and handed over the keys. There was no check-out process per se, but he was kind enough to move the haphazardly parked rental bikes out of my way and opened the gates for me.

Lubed the chain of my bike outside the hotel premises and by 06:30, I hit the road, but not before stopping at a tea stall outside Margao railway station for a hot cup of tea and a couple of vada pavs. Maintained a steady pace and owing to the thin traffic on the roads, entered Karnataka state by 08:00. Stopped near the Kali river to click some pics and then it was a non-stop run ‘til Murudeshwar, where I stopped for a break.

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Traffic at Kumta was the only roadblock so far. Zipped along at 90-100Kmph where the roads permitted and by the time I entered Bhatkal, both my bike as well as my body were low on resources. Refueled at a gas station outside Bhatkal town and I literally wanted to cry seeing the price difference when compared to Goa. 9 something liters in, 700 odd rupees out. Skipped having anything for the time being and rode on till Kundapura, and as soon as I entered the four-laned stretch, stopped at a roadside hotel for breakfast, a very late one at that. The time then was 12:00. Parathas and a delicious veg curry with some almost stale coconut chutney was downed along with a bottle of Sprite and I was back on the road again.

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This being the home stretch, I maintained a steady 90-100kmph throughout, barring a few intersections. Crossed Udupi at around 12:30 and by 13:10, I was galloping past Surathkal. As the distance to home dropped to single digit kilometers, memories from the preceding 2 days started flashing across my mind. How the ride started with random roadblock thoughts questioning my sanity to embark on this ride in the first place, to returning back home with that feeling of elation at having successfully conquered the roads on what is considered to be the most unsafe of all vehicles by the ignorant bunch. This ride made me realize just what I’m capable of, and where my limits are. I made some rookie mistakes and I've learnt my lessons. I remember cursing myself on day one when I started getting a sharp upper back ache after covering about 200 odd kilometers and I really, really wanted to just get back home and crash on my bed, but somehow dismissing those tangential thoughts and continuing on my quest to conquer the roads of Goa. And did I make the right decision then, now that I sit back and think about it? Hell yeah!

Thanks for reading folks! Do watch the videos and leave your feedback on ‘em! That’ll really help me to improve.[clap]

Videos/Vlogs from this ride:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v0WQVjbwEI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vlph1Lx3xk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cQ0ymPVows
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dduR-JludsU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTcUG8OLQ_Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RR__u3F5-3Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKLlDSulljs
 
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Thanks for reading folks! Do watch the videos and leave your feedback on ‘em! That’ll really help me to improve.[clap]
Congrats theriderbeest.
How did you capture those videos? Is the video camera attached with Helmet?
Screaming sound in the last video, when one person crossing the road. Be careful.

Nice travelogue. Can you mark those areas in a map. I have plans to visit these places.
 
Thread Starter #7
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Congrats theriderbeest.
How did you capture those videos? Is the video camera attached with Helmet?
Screaming sound in the last video, when one person crossing the road. Be careful.

Nice travelogue. Can you mark those areas in a map. I have plans to visit these places.
Yes. Videos were shot with a helmet-mounted SJCAM SJ4000.

Yeah, just another fine example of pedestrians lacking zebra-crossing manners.

Thanks. The places that I visited are Dona Paula, Karmali/Old Goa and the Cortalim Jetty. I don't quite know how the Map feature works here. Will figure it out .
 

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