Chickmagalur in B52

My second trip to chickmagalur. First one was with July boys and in a new Chevrolet.
This time with all my new Pulsar all the way till Hebbe Falls.

Participants : Manu and his 4+ year old Pulsar
Satya and his 2+ months old Apache
Me with my 7+ months old Pulsar


It was Manu's intent to go for a long ride by bike. He did ask our gang to join the mission. Few of them(almost all), after lot of YES/NO, finally said no. Myself and Satya were the ones who gave green flag upon first request itself. Though, its not a request, Manu had already decided to go alone if no one accompanies him. I don;t know what made him to make this quick(long term) decision. May be because he is leaving to Gurgaon to do his PG by end of this month or for some recreation. Anyways, his intent's frequency matched with mine and Satya's.

Initially we dint know where to hit. Bandipura, Waynad, Chickmagalur were on the sheet. Chickmagalur got picked. I initially requested/ordered Manu to write this. But because of his tight schedule, I grab the chance ;).

21st May 2011, was the date of mission. It was Satya, who told that he would be back on 22nd Morning itself by dismantling himself from the mission. I was thinking why would Satya wants to come all the way till chickamagalur and ride back next early morning itself. The answer I got from Satya is he just wants to enjoy a ride. It was planned to start from Tumkur, before a hen shouts. But, 10.45 AM it was, when we started from Tumkur. Finally.;) We all rode our B52 to the fuel station next to Rama Temple in KR Road. Dumped sufficient food for them. Three bikes, three guys then rode up until a Place which was about 10KMS behind Arsikere for a break. Were tired of super quality roads in Tiptur(70 KM from Tumkur). 15 Mins was break time. Then the chariots's next stop was in Banavaara which is about 15KM from Arsikere (90 KM from Tumkur), as we had to take a turn to chickmagalur road. We did ask few people(Matha Baandavaru) for the right road. They showed us the right path. Manu wanted to cross check and used my Android Phone Google Map, which did show the same/correct path to chickmagalur. Kissed my phone. Love it. Love Android. We then headed the path, road was moderate and could manage to catch 45KMPH. Sakarayapatna is a small village which is about 20KMS to Chickamagalur. The road from Sakaraayapatna to Chickmagalur is very horrible and that made our bikes to zoom in by 20KMPH. Mixture of mud and partial tar road. 10 KMS from Sakaraayapatna, we had glimpses of Chickamagalur Hills, a bit of coffee estates. Fresh oxygen, less pollution. Nice feeling from inside. We then entered Chickamaglur and started searching for a hotel to gain some energy. It was about 2 30 PM then. We entered a hotel (which I went last time with july boys), and the crowd looked like men in BMTC, on toes grabbing for a set. We then found out a hotel called Soundarya infront of KSRTC Bustand and luckily we got to sit. We had a nice meal there. :)

We then headed to a place called Attigundi which is about 24KMS from Chickmagalur. As soon as we enter the ghats, the Checkpost Constable caught me and asked for my B52's documents. Satya, in the last pole position was chatting with Manu saying he dont have a Driver's License. Ha Ha Ha. Manu somehow changed the topic of document checking by asking routes for a Resort and Mullaiyyanagiri. Somehow, after paying 15 rupees entrance fee for three bikes, went ahead. Amazing , Marvelous, extra ordinary scene is what we got as we climbed the ghats and riding in Mullaiyyanagiri Betta, which is 18 KMS from Chickmagalur. After the checkpost, you get a small circle, not exactly circle, a deviation kind of, one road towards Attigundi and one towards Mullaiyyanagiri. Narrow roads, curves, more greener views is what we got to see. It is said the Mullaiyyanagiri has the highest peak point in the entire Karnataka. We then reached the base of the peak. Parked our bikes in open air Hangar. Damn cold it was. Full mist blowing at a speed of about 30-40 KMPH. We have to climb about 1/2 a KM to reach the peak. There is a small Temple on the peak. We just saluted from outside , sat for some time on the shores of the peak and started to climb down.

Luckily we got a resort called Mugila Mane. Decent amout of rupees he took which included a dinner, snacks, coffee,
a break fast, campfire and a bucket full of hot water in the morning. The resort people were very cool and gave good hospitality. We got our campfire just infront
of our door and only we three were to it. It was good. MC accompanied us with some snacks given by resort guys followed by a nice supper. Slept tight. ;)

Tomorrow morning, got up at 7, had a cup of coffee with less chikori. 3 of us took bath in a single bucket of dim hot water. Breakfat included Poori, Potato Palya,
Coconut chatni and ummmmmmm AKKI ROTTI. Thanked the resort people, finished financial deals and turned our wheels towards Bababudan Giri Hills. Last time when I went to this hill with July Boys, it was raining, full of mist and couldnt see anything clearly. This time, even after Satya and Manu's caution, went to see this place and came back with low face. It was not as I expected. I expected the hill would have less number of people and can see the hill in deep. But the scene there was a hell lot of Matha Baandavaru, cooking all types of animals on road side itself. BTW this is about 6KMS from the resort we had stayed and comes in the route towards Kemmanugundi.

So, the bombers drove on the road to Kemmannugundi, which was really really worse than ever I have seen. To cover about 25KMS from the resort to Kemmannugundi, took about one long hour. I do not know, why only that stretch of road is not well maintained. Doesnt matter, we got to see nice scenic views. This is the type of ride which I really wanted. 100% Satisfaction. We had to give a break after a long maglev drive till Kemmannugundi. We rested for a few minutes and a group of six guys in three bikes from Arsikere arrived there. They were heading to Hebbe Falls. Only a 4 wheel drive Jeep can go there. No roads, only foot path. I still remember, last time when we went there by Jeep, it was raining and very horrible to climb down the jeep. I had
thought no bike can come here. Words of Arsikere group lit us a thought of driving to Hebbe Falls by bike. Manu, fearing the strength of his bike's tyres, did not agreed to take this step. High Risk is involved. If something happens to bike or to you, you wouldnt find even an amoeba to help you on the way. You have to either dump the bike in some 30 yr old jeep and push it till Kemmangundi. Uffff. Keeping all these fears, we still became the boys by accelerating the bikes towards the falls. Oh dear, oh dear, wait a minute, can we really make this ? Manu's words. I was in the front followed by Manu and then Satya. I shall not mention that I am an expert rider. But Satya struggled quite a few times to move his wheels on the forest rocks. First gear, both brakes applied, move the wheels slowly. Climbing down in the forest by bike is very tough compared to climbing up the same. The path was very much dry and particles of mud were very slippery, Dare, few guys from AP came by Star City, thribble and a huge back on second pillion's back. Finally, we made it to the falls. Took a looooooongggggggg fresh oxygen. It took us 1 hour and 15 minutes to climb down for a distance of about 11KMS. You then have to walk for about a KM to see the water fall crossing three water streams. Oooooo...I still can remember the picture of that amazing view I had that after noon. But Manu dint feel so excited about the falls after such a wild drive. Myself and Manu were on one side of the fall base and satya went to the other side. Took few pictures, enjoyed Mother Nature's beauty, thanked and decided to get back. Satya, I don;t know, may be because of wild drive, was still in some kind of hangover. The next picture we saw a helmet flowing in the stream of water fall. Satya was down in water. Almost drenched. Luckily the helmet got stuck with a rock near by. He went to grab the helmet and guess what Satya fell down again. But not to the extent of the first one. We had to sit on the rocks for some more time and that allowed us to see the kids playing in the falls. Walked back to the place, where we hadparked our B52s. We were thinking, luckily/somehow we have come down safely and now how to climb up the same dense forest highway. Manu led from the front, follwed by Satya and me. We din;t find it very diffcult to drive upwards when compared to the struggle we had while climbing down. This time it just took 35 minutes to Kemmannugundi from Hebbe Falls.

There is hotel in Kemmannugundi, fair one, where we ordered Masala Dosa(only thing available then). Manu ate two plates of it. It tasted really well. Satya in hangover still, had left the bike Key in bike itself and was happily eating Dosa. People were very descent. The key was in its place. The road from Kemmannugundi to Tharikere is not so bad except for about 10 KMS in the beginning. Tharikere to Kadur and from Kadur to Arsikere was the next scene. Gave a stop at KB Cross to sip a coffee and finish off the last white stick. Manu went to feed his fuel tank just after KB Cross and two guys came to us seeing the vacant pillion seat for a drop till Gubbi as it was darker and difficult to find a bus in between. We then found out that they are students of Gurukula Hostel in Tumkur. I must say that the ride in dark is very tough as the opposite vehicles, most of them, won;t use dipper. It was 10 PM when we stopped our bikes infront of back seat students. They thanked us for the drop.

So this was it. Hope I have covered all the turns. I still wish Manu could have written in his words with/for more excitement and fun.

Thanks,

Quick DeGang Postions:

Tukali - MS in Syracuse (Internship in AppFury, CAL, US)
Rama - CapGemini, consultant for Target
Manu - Last few days in IBM, heading for MDI Gurgaon
Kanta - BBMP
HB - Ness
Thaths - Retail FullServe(part of TCS)
Saabi - UK (DellPerot)
Pithaji- US (DellPerot)
Santhu - TCS
Satya - Infinion
Jimmy - Ericcson
Ammi - Plans for Mangalore to do PG in Aneshesia
Bussu - Plans for Mangalore for PG in *****logy.
Bade - Dell
VB - ITC Infotech (late entry)
Zaa - Shifted to a new company @ Gwalior
Me - www.checksuminfosoft.com