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| RTMC 9A - Hotel Shevaroys |
When you finally think of Tamil Nadu – you must be feeling the heat n sweat by now, but that’s not true. And if you from North India – you will never ever think of driving here,,,nahhhh. Driving in TN is safe, perfect roads and you just need to check as to what time of the year you are riding ,,,,
Tucked away near Salem , lies a small hill station called as –Yercaud. (Poor man’s Ooty) I finally convinced my wife – that we are going to a hill station and to attend the mega fest – RTMC 9A.
Well, we started preparations pretty early – getting bike serviced and looking for the perfect opportunity to ride with fella riders – RTMCIans.
I had to change plans on the 09th morning as I had to give my 1st project synopsis presentation. Gosh – here goes the MBA once again. My wife cursed to hell – “we would be riding alone and not with the group”,,,
We left early for the NMIMS campus at 9 – gave the presentation and I was out on the highway by 10:30 |
| RTMC 9A - Party Venue |
09th October,2010 Yercaud, RTMC 9A
Route: Bangalore>Hosur>Krishnagiri>Dharmapuri>Salem>Yercaud
As I wanted to get rid of the busy chaotic traffic – I took the service lane so that I could get out of the city. From Hosur – the traffic reduced, wider roads n speeding a bit– now,,,as I was getting the taste of “Belting”.
The ride
My plan was to reach Yercaud by 4ish so that I could enjoy the party and meet old freinds. Since I had donethis route quite often – stopped at the outskirts of Leyland factory (Sipcot)– had breakfast n tanked up. Till Krishnagiri – it was smooth.
Last time (a year back)- I rode on this route. The roads were dug up and highway was in a mess with loads of potholes and crazy traffic. When I finally crossed the Krishnagiri bridge – Wow – I could not believe it. The highway was superb – 4 lane, dividers with plants and superb mark up. It just seemed that I was travelling from point A to B – without even movin my handle bar. One straight road n you just lock,,, If you chose – you can sleep on the highway--but at your risk.
I did not even notice when Dharmapuri crossed by. By 2 – me and Shoma decided to take a break. We settled at a small Dhaba nearby for some Chai. Speaking to locals is always fun – but if you don’t understand the language – it’s much more fun. The Dhabha we stopped by – was fairly a new one. They had opened just after the new highway was done.
After a quick twenty minute break – we rode to Salem. When you are riding with your wife or kids – you always fear that you bike doesn’t screw up – flat tyre, engine problem, cable wires etc. Well, I was lucky here – all nuts n bolts were intact and the engine was running smooth.
Before reaching Salem – we had a glance of Periyar University and then headed towards the hills. We took a small chai break – tanked up and started for the Servarayan Hills. (Eastern Ghats)
Riding in the hills is always fun. This was a 36km uphill with 20 hairpin bends to follow pass. I kept at a normal pace as I was in no hurry to reach the venue. As we drove up gaining elevation, I could feel n sense the fresh air buzzing by my helmet. It was calm with lots of lush green vegetation. In far distance, you could see Salem town. Shoma (my wife) loves riding in the hills. After gaining at an altitude of 4970 ft - we were at the top – Yercaud. We settled for a few pics – quoting – we were here in Yercaud. And drove to the Venue – Hotel Shevaroys.
RTMC 9A Party
Buoy,,it was sight to see. 160 bikes parked. A sight to see at the venue. By the time I could greet everyone, someone just said “ek baar check in kar lo” baad mein mil lena. I guess he was true. Thanks to RTMC – as now – being part of the RTMC couple gang – we got lovely rooms – overlooking the Yercaud hills. Simply awesome.
There are host of events – arm wrestling, maid race n lemon n spoon race. We soon settled for evening snacks n pakoda’s. A break in between,,the party was yet to start at 7.
We were at the venue - an unbelievable sight. Everyone’s was partying. Had their stock tanked in bottles n cans. The usual Cake cutting ceremony n Bose Sir’s speech.
What caught everyone’s eye were the Kovai Thumpers – Coimbatore. All decked up in white Dhotis – lungi. There took over the dance floor and were dancing to glory. A sight not to be missed. Soon, others members joined and party was it’s peak. Some settled for the outside – a dual party in action. We spoke to some fellas from Kovai Thumpers – seemed a pretty new club. Heard their stories of an unusual place – Valparai. A mix of Ooty n Kodai – that’s’ where we heading for November for travel. As the night got colder, only a handful could be seen in the parking area. By 1ish – we called it a day.
10th October,2010 Yercaud sight seeing, back home
Route: Yercaud>Salem>Dharmpuri>Krishnagiri>Hosur>Bangalore
Breakfast was served at the lawns. As usual, many of the riders had left early. Mysore bulls had a long way to go. I was not in a hurry as I had ample time to do some sight seeing and head back home.
As I mentioned earlier, Yercaud was not a new place – so I we went to off-beat locations. A quick tour of the Yercaud lake, we headed for the Montford School. The prayers were going on so we could not get a tour of the school. But we managed to click some fotos. We went to Pagoda point and Fairholme Bungalow. Enroute pagoda point – there is a temple which not many people would have visited.
Temple Ride
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| In Yercaud - somewhere |
I had done this small tourist route with friends last visited in Yercaud. Here, the climb was extremely high with thick vegetation of Coffee n Oranges. It took us almost 25 minutes to the Hill Top. Wow, what a view. The Eastern Ghats looked spectacular. We found a few families who had from Salem to spend their Sundays. Fortunately, this place was not discovered, neither on the Tourist map. Good. Some relaxing n photo shoot, we soon headed for Yercaud Town.
By 11, we were all geared up and bid adios to Yercaud. I was once on the highway alone belting back home. I only spotted a few riders en route – were mostly the organizing committee members n late lateefs. Riding was as usual, except those dragonfly’s that created a nuisance. There were like Kamikaze’s hitting my visor and had to clean – at quite a few intervals. We stopped before Krishnagiri toll – some chai n snacks and zoomed for Nice road.
Once we were at Nice Road – it felt like – we were home. We reached by 4 pm – relaxed in the evening and sipping tea to Glory, recalling the wonderful memories we had spent in our trip to “Enchanting Tamil Nadu”.
Facts
Rider : Rajiv (Jispa)
Pillion : Shoma (Wife)
Bullet : Royal Enfield – Electra 2002 (Dilli da number)
Kms : 560 Petrol : Don’t ever think – you’r not a rider then,,,
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| Temple Ride - Yercaud |
