A Late Saturday afternoon Ride

This was our first ride of 2014 (Jan 4th) & since it was a very impromptu ride we needed to choose a place which is close by, basically a destination which is under 150 Km from our home. So we finalized to visit a place called Lepakshi. Lepakshi is locateed in Anantapur district, in Andhra Pradesh. I have heard of this place from one of the RE riding groups.

To our surprise we found that Lepakshi has the world's largest monolithic nandi, there is also a very old & famous temple dedicated to Veerabhadra. There are three shrines dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu and Virabhadra. An open-air Lingam (symbol of god Shiva) from Lepakshi sheltered by a naga, however we could visit only Veerabhadra temple as by the time we reached Nandi it was already 5. Since we were late we did get to see the sunset from the Veerabhadra.

Unlike other famous places there were not many tourist here which was a welcome relief also Unlike our last ride we ensured that we pick-up camera to ensure we capture moments from our ride & yes we did manage to capture some really moments.

The roads to the location are really good & since most of the journey is on Blr-Hyd highway there are ample place to re-fill both your self & the motorcycle.

Here are the details of the ride...

Destination     : Lepakshi
Total distance: 290 KM
Motorcycle    : Thunderbird 500 CC
Riders            : Me & KT
Things to remember: Do remember to carry your camera if you are a shutterbug also ensure that you leave early in the morning so that you see all the 3 temples & spend some good time there. If you visiting with friends or family then it is also a good spot to picnic.

To: Lepakshi
Total Distance: 145 KM
Time: 3.5 hr
Breaks: Took 4 short breaks

Route: IIM Bangalore -- > Lepakshi Via Mekri Circle, Hebbal, Blr-Hyd highway.
Road Condition:The roads are good all the way, however once you take the left to Lepakshi the road do become narrow though the condition of the roads are decent.

From: Lepakshi
Total Distance: 145 KM
Time: 3hr 45 Min
Break: Multiple breaks

Route: Lepakshi --> IIM Bangalore Via Blr-Hyd highway, Hebbal, Mekri Circle.

Road Condition: Good.

It was a very enjoyable ride & hopefully we will plan better when we visit the place again.

Here are the picture of the ride & the location

Created with flickr slideshow.

Last Ride of 2013

Finally I am able to get myself to capture the details of my last ride of 2013.

Off late as part of getting riding practice for KT we have been going for lot of short rides, this ride was not the longest ride we have done however it was one of the full filling ride though. The original plan was to do a early morning ride on Sunday (29th Dec) however as it turned out we got up late & started from only by 10.  The destination needed to be close enough so that we can be back home by late afternoon, so we decided to go to Hesarghatta Grassland as it was close by and also we have heard a lot about the location from one of our friend who said it is a good location for taking photographs.

As we just wanted to ride & get some practice for KT we did not pick up camera & took off just with our phones. The idea was to explore the place & then go more prepared next time.

Here are the details of the ride...

Destination: Hesarghatta  Grasslands
Total distance: 109.1 KM
Motorcycle: Thunderbird 500 CC
Riders: Me & KT
Things to remember: There are not restaurant or food joints for any refreshment there we accidentally ended up at "Our Native Village" & the resort folks were kind enough to let us use order some refreshment.

We started from home by 1 PM also we decide to take different route while doing the return trip. On the way to the grassland.

To: Hesarghatta Grasslands
Total Distance: 48.8 KM
Time: 2 hr
Breaks: Took 2 short breaks

Route: IIM Bangalore -- > Hesarghatta Grassland Via Mekri Circle, Yeshwantpur.
Road Condition: The usual Bangalore city road with lodes of traffic signals

From: Hesarghatta Grasslands
Total Distance: 60.3 KM
Time: 1hr 45 Min
Break: 1

Route: Hesarghatta Grassland --> IIM Bangalore Via Outer Ring Road, NICE Road

Road Condition: Faster & much better roads with very few traffic signals.

Route Maps:

To Hesarghatta

From Hesarghatta

It was a good short ride & we were back home by 2 PM. We liked the place & I am sure we will re-visit the place very soon. 

Here is short video that we took while returning from Hesarghatta Grasslands.

An attempt...

It has been over two & half year since I have written any blog post, however I am going to attempt a new start. I will try & create a travel log as i keep visiting different places by road.

One more reason is that off late my wife (KT) has started to learn how to ride a motorcycle, It will be a good log for us as we start riding together.

To start with I am going to write about the short ride we did on 27th Dec 2013 & hopefully will follow that up with more....

I am hoping I will succeed in this attempt :).

The Ugly Indian

Have you been to Brigade Road or Church Street off late?

Do you find it surprisingly clean?

If so, then know that it has not happened by accident or that the
local corporator has suddenly gone on a CD (cleanliness drive).

A bunch of anonymous Bangaloreans have decided that they want to do
something about civic conditions of their surroundings!

And that's the 'thought' and stoic endeavor of these bunch - the "UGLY
INDIANS". http://www.theuglyindian.com

So, the idea is simple,  enough of talking and cribbing, just do something!

If you want to do something about it, then just get together, take
initiative and do it.

If any of you are interested, then you can get in touch with the "ugly
indian" guys, talk and learn from their experiences and do something
about it.
However, know that they are not going to run with your ideas, you have to!

The Long Road Trip

Finally we (me & my wife) were able complete the long pending road trip to Goa & covered multiple places in goa & on the way back to bangalore.
Will post in detail about the journey & our experience during the journey :).