Tour of Eastern Ghats - Day 5
Day 5, Wed 04 Sep 2019 : Araku to Vizag, 116 km /426 m
Plan of the day is to ride from Araku to Vizag via Vijayanagaram (Vizianagaram) and cover the entire beach road sections from Bheemili beach to Vizag beach road.
People started asking by 5:40 AM if coffee is ready :)
Some of us loaded the route map in the devices and got ready.
We had to check-out and go downstairs by 7 AM for having early breakfast.
Breakfast got delayed a bit, but not too late.
We loaded the luggage in the truck in the meanwhile.
We started riding by 7:30 AM after taking a group photo.
We were told that there would be a climb till Ananthagiri and that it would be downhill afterwards.
The stretch from Araku to Vizag is also on my bucket list as I loved the route. Beautiful hills and valleys all around and green plantations would be a treat to eyes.
I was also excited to see the beaches at Vizag.
Raunak and I were riding together and stopping wherever we had beautiful views for taking pictures.
Somnath, Dev and others were also riding at a good pace. I told Dev that the plantations next to us are the coffee plantations.
We climbed a few segments and I saw a board saying that Galikonda view-point is a few km ahead.
That triggered some good memories from past, and I wanted to click some pictures there.
About 17 km in to the ride, Raunak and I approached the spot.
Dev and Somnath were already there, and Krish was also there.
I gave a whacky pose before coming to a stop, and we clicked some beautiful pictures there before moving on.
After what felt like a slight climb and a few rolling sections, we saw the board Ananthagiri.
Raunak and I thought we had enough warm-up for the climb.
But the funny thing is, the actual climb was already conquered within the first 20 km of the ride, and we thought about it as the warm up 'slight climb'.
We realized this when we were getting only down-hill sections continuously.
Probably our legs got stronger, or maybe our expectations for climb got increased a lot more after the day-3 experiences.
But we felt happy thinking that the hard part of the ride was over.
Strangely, today also the down-hills felt harder, as we had to maneuver a lot of sharp corners and even hair-pin bends on downhills. The only up-hill of the day, in comparision, felt a lot more easy.
To add to the downhill challenge, we had no sign boards at many turns, including blind corners, and a handful of sign boards did not have a sign on them. Probably they got faded away. As for the missing ones, I thought either they were rammed into or damaged by any other means, and might be pending for re-installation.
We also had slightly more on-coming traffic as this stretch is more busy compared to the roads we covered on the previous days.
Due to this, I missed the fun of descending. As I could not judge the road conditions ahead, nor could I figure out where the next turn would be, and how long it would be, and how curvy it would be, I kept descending slowly and cautiously.
This made the descending part even more daunting.
A few monkey packs were passed, and a couple of packs were attacking us.
The straight sections, no matter how few, were still fun!
While still descending, I felt the ride would have been one tough challenge if riding in the opposite direction climbing all the way up. This was what I envisioned when I thought of Araku to Vizag ride. Probably I wasn't able to judge the up-hills and down-hills ratio from the couple of visits in bus/car from 10 years ago.
May be next time I get to ride from Vizag to Araku.
When the down-hill sections were almost over, I saw Gokul to the side of the road with a couple of cycles on the ground before a right turn.
I asked if all is good and then I realised that one of the riders was just taken into the ambulance in front of us.
One rider crashed into an on-coming car and had a fall. Gokul asked for some cash to pay for expenses, while Sam went along with the injured in the ambulance.
Gokul said that one of us needs to stay at the spot with the bikes while the other needs to go to the hospital. I immediately said that I am fine to stay, and that it would be better if he goes to the hospital while I wait for Krish and riders.
I just hoped and prayed that there should not be any major issues and hopefully no fractures.
The car person involved in the crash was very kind and stayed at the spot for a while to figure out if anything is needed from his side. He was obviously upset and worried. I told him not to worry and to carry on with his work.
He insisted that I take his contact number and inform him about the condition. He left the spot after some time, after I assured him that I would inform him as soon as I get to know, and that he should not worry.
There were no riders ahead. Within a matter of minutes a few riders arrived. Some of them were already alerted about the accident by the motorbikes who went uphill. They too were concerned when they arrived at the spot, and I told them about the details I had, and asked them to keep riding.
Krish arrived after a few minutes and we loaded the bikes on to the car. Krish went ahead to the hospital.
I co-ordinated with the remaining riders after they arrived, and we rode together.
We were given the option of sticking to the original plan or cut short the distance by going directly to Vizag avoiding Vizianagaram. The down-side would be that we won't get to visit Bheemili beach.
We thought that we had enough experiences with beautiful scenic views for the past 4 days, and it would also make sense to cut short the distance with only one support vehicle (the truck) behind us.
If we get time, we can anyway cover the beach road after reaching Vizag.
With these thoughts we started moving.
We decided to stop at the next road junction and regroup, and ride in order to avoid issues or get to know of any issues as soon as possible.
After some time, we regrouped at one place, and I called up Prabha who was in the support vehicle, and informed him about the situation.
We thought of regrouping at the next junction, but skipped it, and regrouped at the junction after that, where the left turn would lead to Vizianagaram.
We had tea and biscuits at that place while the support vehicle arrived.
Some kids from a local school blocked the road at that time momentarily shouting slogans for promoting Swacch Bhaarat mission.
One thing that bugged us was the road blockage by locals demanding money in the name of god for festivities.
Though most of them allowed us cyclists, at couple of places they stopped us. We could clearly make out that the folks who were demanding instead of politely requesting, were doing so for their liquor expenses.
The next planned stop was at the next junction at the place called Srungavarapu Kota (S.Kota).
As we were approaching S.Kota, Raunak I and thought that we covered only about 5 km, and decided to stop after another 5-10 km.
In the meanwhile I called up the guys at hospital to find out how the situation was (hoping that the guys at the hospital might now be a bit free to attend calls), and thankfully there were no fractures. But stitches were needed and there wasn't enough skin. So they were headed from S.Kota to Vizag, and were a bit behind us. I called up the person involved in the accident, and he too got relieved a lot.
We stopped at 11:55 AM after riding for 71 km for a small break.
Krish too joined us there, and all of the riders and support vehicles were again at one place.
We had some cool drinks, samosas and thought of stopping again for lunch after an hour.
Krish went ahead after the brief break to care hospital in Vizag.
We came to an agreement that whoever rides in the front would look out for restaurants and stop for the rest of us to join.
It started raining heavily and after a while the lead riders found a place to eat at about 85 km mark by 1 PM.
We all stopped there and Prabha too arrived shortly. He volunteered to wait in the rain to alert the rest of the riders about the stop. Those of us who were already there asked for the available food, and the waiter mentioned that they serve chapathi and parotha with aloo curry. I asked if they serve egg curry, and he said that it would be charged extra. I was puzzled a bit initially, but later realized that they serve chapathi/parotha with aloo curry as a plate. We decided to have the food there and ordered chapathi, parotha, omelette, and the egg curry as well.
The food was very delicious! We did not expect that such a simple menu would satisfy us so much.
Another good thing was the fast arrival of food.
We ended the ritual with tea and the 'Majaa aagayaa' phrase :)
We thanked the waiter and complimented him about the good food, and started to the destination of the day - Vizag. The rain was changing intensity constantly, but did not stop.
We checked the route to the rooms we would stay in Vizag, and there were two options.
Either go via beach road, or through the city. We thought of going through the beach road, and probably explore more roads if we get time towards the end of the ride.
One curious biker came to the side and rode at our pace to see how fast we were going, and he joined the peleton for a while, talking on his phone. It was not comfortable with the noise of the bike, and the danger that he poses if he brakes suddenly or turns suddenly. He later on left us on our own.
We asked around about the directions, and were told that it is a straight-forward route to Vizag, and that we would hit the highway soon.
Raunak pointed out that I would be the only person completing the entire tour on my own. I then realized it, and felt happy and glad that I could sign up for the tour and manage to complete it without any issues, or without getting into support vehicle.
Later on we slowly entered the sub-urbs of Vizag. The roads were very good, except for a few bad patches to the extreme sides near major junctions. The middle lanes were for buses and other vehicles were on the service roads.
At every junction, I would wait with Raunak or Dev to ensure that all of us are coming, and give them directions before starting again.
After a few junctions, Venu garu had a flat and he hopped on to the truck saying that we were close to the destination, and that he was anyway getting bored of the highway.
After a couple of junctions, Raunak indicated that we should take a left, and we all rode together from then on. The rain stopped finally.
Near Simhachalam (famous for the temple), Dev's chain came off and I was able to put it back without any issues. I took a few selfies with the direction boards before moving on. We also took a few group selfies after crossing the crowded areas. Venu garu couldn't find us and called me. I told him that we were coming via Simhachalam, and asked him to go ahead to the room.
The best part of the ride, which we could not remotely expect, came up next!
The road stretch from Simhachalam was like a dream road. So good, so smooth, so wide, no traffic, and slight downhill, and tail winds. The vehicular traffic was on the service roads and this road felt as if it was closed for public and exclusively meant for racing. It kicked and woke-up the sprinters in all of us. Everyone was gunning, giving it all while enjoying! I was easily able to touch 55 kmph. The curious motor-bikers started inquiring if it was a race or something. We told that we were just touring ;)
It was pure fun for a few kms. We would have missed it if we sticked to the originally planned route. Afterwards we entered Vizag.
With Tenneti park 4 km ahead after crossing a signal, we waited for everyone to arrive so that we can go to the rooms together.
I called up Gokul to enquire about the situation there. They too were done with the stitches part and were starting from hospital to room, and were very close to where we stopped. Venu garu called up, and informed that they too reached the room.
I asked everyone to go ahead, and mentioned that I would visit a few friends and join them later at the room.
We were still riding together when we were passing my friend's house, which was just before Tenneti park. I stopped there to visit them.
In the meanwhile, others went to the beach and had fun clicking pictures and enjoying the beautiful sea view. They headed to the room after that, while I was still at my friend's place.
I then went to another friend's place, which was also thankfully close by, and then headed to the room.
Today's ride would have almost all the elements I wish to cover either in a ride or a trip - hills, valleys, up-hills, downhills, sprint friendly roads, highways, ghat roads... and beach roads offering great view of sea. It was like a dream come true. A cyclist would either love or hate (the nasty up-hill and down-hill on day-3) the tour, but would definitely want to come back, implying how much it makes one appreciate the beauty of nature. The remaining elements of rivers/streams, bridges etc were covered on the remaining days. To end the tour on a high, we were delighted by the stretch from Simhachalam to Vizag.
The day ended for me after covering 122.4 km and 1173 m elevation gain.
The total distance covered in the tour was 590 km in 5 days, with a total elevation gain of 7556 m.
By the time I reached the rooms, Prabha and Gokul were busy packing the bikes.
Some riders left to Hyderabad later in the evening.
Homesh, who runs a bike store in Vizag, joined us just after we bade farewell to those flying to Hyderabad.
We hunted for a place that serves both food and drinks, as they were very rare in Vizag.
We finally went to a brewery called Ironhill. The theme and ambience felt good, except for the overly loud music that drowned the voice of the singer, who was singing live and playing his guitar.
The food was excellent! The loud music was later taken care of, and the singer sang and played some good numbers in Telugu, Hindi and English. We had a great time celebrating the tour there. After dinner, Homesh parted with us and went home.
I decided to drive the rest of us to the room as I was the only person apart from Homesh who did not drink.
On the way back, folks decided to have ice-cream and the hunt began once again in the late night on empty streets of Vizag.
We found a place next to a petrol pump, and had bars and cones.
There was a stout person instructing the young lads in the counter while finishing off a few bars, and we were unable to figure out if he is the store owner or a regular customer :P
We headed back to the room and dozed off after mid-night. The plan was to wake up early the next day morning so that Gokul and I would reach Hyderabad early. But the late night sleep could mean a delayed start.
As expected, we could not wake up early the next morning.
On Day-6 just before 7 AM, Gokul and I started from Vizag after loading my bike on to the rack, hoping that it would get a good wash from rain. Gokul mentioned that he would drive slowly, and I did not want to reach late in the night. So I drove the support car all the way from Vizag to Hyderabad. We took 4 breaks - for breakfast, fuel, lunch and snacks, and reached my in-laws place in Hyderabad by 8 PM. Gokul had the privilege to doze-off for some time after lunch while I drove. Krish was surprised to know how fast we reached the snacks break point. Thankfully the drive was pleasant with beautiful weather and views through-out, and with conversations flowing from both of us. I told Gokul that I was lucky to avoid fixing a flat on the road as it showed up in the hotel room later in the evening. He then mentioned about the conversation he had with Prabha on one of the previous days, about how we all got lucky by avoiding the need to fix flats in the middle of rides. Raunak had a pinch flat just before reaching the hotel. I had a flat but it showed up in the room later. Venu garu had a flat but he hopped on to the truck avoiding the need to fix it then and there. We also talked about various personal experiences, and our experiences with long drives. My bike got even more dirty from the dirty road water wash instead of getting cleaned by the rain water. So I sent it with Gokul to the store for clean-up.
The rest of the riders were missing the tour badly, and nostalgic about it while going back to their routine lives.
A big shout-out to The Bike Affair (TBA) team for organizing and executing this tour so well. Special thanks to Prabha for taking very good care of us and the bikes.
Looking forward to the next tour :)
Plan of the day is to ride from Araku to Vizag via Vijayanagaram (Vizianagaram) and cover the entire beach road sections from Bheemili beach to Vizag beach road.
People started asking by 5:40 AM if coffee is ready :)
Some of us loaded the route map in the devices and got ready.
We had to check-out and go downstairs by 7 AM for having early breakfast.
Breakfast got delayed a bit, but not too late.
We loaded the luggage in the truck in the meanwhile.
We started riding by 7:30 AM after taking a group photo.
We were told that there would be a climb till Ananthagiri and that it would be downhill afterwards.
The stretch from Araku to Vizag is also on my bucket list as I loved the route. Beautiful hills and valleys all around and green plantations would be a treat to eyes.
I was also excited to see the beaches at Vizag.
Raunak and I were riding together and stopping wherever we had beautiful views for taking pictures.Somnath, Dev and others were also riding at a good pace. I told Dev that the plantations next to us are the coffee plantations.
We climbed a few segments and I saw a board saying that Galikonda view-point is a few km ahead.
That triggered some good memories from past, and I wanted to click some pictures there.
About 17 km in to the ride, Raunak and I approached the spot.
Dev and Somnath were already there, and Krish was also there.
I gave a whacky pose before coming to a stop, and we clicked some beautiful pictures there before moving on.
After what felt like a slight climb and a few rolling sections, we saw the board Ananthagiri.
Raunak and I thought we had enough warm-up for the climb.
But the funny thing is, the actual climb was already conquered within the first 20 km of the ride, and we thought about it as the warm up 'slight climb'.
We realized this when we were getting only down-hill sections continuously.Probably our legs got stronger, or maybe our expectations for climb got increased a lot more after the day-3 experiences.
But we felt happy thinking that the hard part of the ride was over.
Strangely, today also the down-hills felt harder, as we had to maneuver a lot of sharp corners and even hair-pin bends on downhills. The only up-hill of the day, in comparision, felt a lot more easy.
To add to the downhill challenge, we had no sign boards at many turns, including blind corners, and a handful of sign boards did not have a sign on them. Probably they got faded away. As for the missing ones, I thought either they were rammed into or damaged by any other means, and might be pending for re-installation.
We also had slightly more on-coming traffic as this stretch is more busy compared to the roads we covered on the previous days.
Due to this, I missed the fun of descending. As I could not judge the road conditions ahead, nor could I figure out where the next turn would be, and how long it would be, and how curvy it would be, I kept descending slowly and cautiously.This made the descending part even more daunting.
A few monkey packs were passed, and a couple of packs were attacking us.
The straight sections, no matter how few, were still fun!
While still descending, I felt the ride would have been one tough challenge if riding in the opposite direction climbing all the way up. This was what I envisioned when I thought of Araku to Vizag ride. Probably I wasn't able to judge the up-hills and down-hills ratio from the couple of visits in bus/car from 10 years ago.May be next time I get to ride from Vizag to Araku.
When the down-hill sections were almost over, I saw Gokul to the side of the road with a couple of cycles on the ground before a right turn.
I asked if all is good and then I realised that one of the riders was just taken into the ambulance in front of us.
One rider crashed into an on-coming car and had a fall. Gokul asked for some cash to pay for expenses, while Sam went along with the injured in the ambulance.Gokul said that one of us needs to stay at the spot with the bikes while the other needs to go to the hospital. I immediately said that I am fine to stay, and that it would be better if he goes to the hospital while I wait for Krish and riders.
I just hoped and prayed that there should not be any major issues and hopefully no fractures.
The car person involved in the crash was very kind and stayed at the spot for a while to figure out if anything is needed from his side. He was obviously upset and worried. I told him not to worry and to carry on with his work.He insisted that I take his contact number and inform him about the condition. He left the spot after some time, after I assured him that I would inform him as soon as I get to know, and that he should not worry.
There were no riders ahead. Within a matter of minutes a few riders arrived. Some of them were already alerted about the accident by the motorbikes who went uphill. They too were concerned when they arrived at the spot, and I told them about the details I had, and asked them to keep riding.
Krish arrived after a few minutes and we loaded the bikes on to the car. Krish went ahead to the hospital.I co-ordinated with the remaining riders after they arrived, and we rode together.
We were given the option of sticking to the original plan or cut short the distance by going directly to Vizag avoiding Vizianagaram. The down-side would be that we won't get to visit Bheemili beach.
We thought that we had enough experiences with beautiful scenic views for the past 4 days, and it would also make sense to cut short the distance with only one support vehicle (the truck) behind us.If we get time, we can anyway cover the beach road after reaching Vizag.
With these thoughts we started moving.
We decided to stop at the next road junction and regroup, and ride in order to avoid issues or get to know of any issues as soon as possible.
After some time, we regrouped at one place, and I called up Prabha who was in the support vehicle, and informed him about the situation.We thought of regrouping at the next junction, but skipped it, and regrouped at the junction after that, where the left turn would lead to Vizianagaram.
We had tea and biscuits at that place while the support vehicle arrived.
Some kids from a local school blocked the road at that time momentarily shouting slogans for promoting Swacch Bhaarat mission.One thing that bugged us was the road blockage by locals demanding money in the name of god for festivities.
Though most of them allowed us cyclists, at couple of places they stopped us. We could clearly make out that the folks who were demanding instead of politely requesting, were doing so for their liquor expenses.
The next planned stop was at the next junction at the place called Srungavarapu Kota (S.Kota).As we were approaching S.Kota, Raunak I and thought that we covered only about 5 km, and decided to stop after another 5-10 km.
In the meanwhile I called up the guys at hospital to find out how the situation was (hoping that the guys at the hospital might now be a bit free to attend calls), and thankfully there were no fractures. But stitches were needed and there wasn't enough skin. So they were headed from S.Kota to Vizag, and were a bit behind us. I called up the person involved in the accident, and he too got relieved a lot.
We stopped at 11:55 AM after riding for 71 km for a small break.
Krish too joined us there, and all of the riders and support vehicles were again at one place.We had some cool drinks, samosas and thought of stopping again for lunch after an hour.
Krish went ahead after the brief break to care hospital in Vizag.
 |
| Vizag beach road |
It started raining heavily and after a while the lead riders found a place to eat at about 85 km mark by 1 PM.
We all stopped there and Prabha too arrived shortly. He volunteered to wait in the rain to alert the rest of the riders about the stop. Those of us who were already there asked for the available food, and the waiter mentioned that they serve chapathi and parotha with aloo curry. I asked if they serve egg curry, and he said that it would be charged extra. I was puzzled a bit initially, but later realized that they serve chapathi/parotha with aloo curry as a plate. We decided to have the food there and ordered chapathi, parotha, omelette, and the egg curry as well.
The food was very delicious! We did not expect that such a simple menu would satisfy us so much.
Another good thing was the fast arrival of food.
We ended the ritual with tea and the 'Majaa aagayaa' phrase :)
We thanked the waiter and complimented him about the good food, and started to the destination of the day - Vizag. The rain was changing intensity constantly, but did not stop.
We checked the route to the rooms we would stay in Vizag, and there were two options.
Either go via beach road, or through the city. We thought of going through the beach road, and probably explore more roads if we get time towards the end of the ride.
One curious biker came to the side and rode at our pace to see how fast we were going, and he joined the peleton for a while, talking on his phone. It was not comfortable with the noise of the bike, and the danger that he poses if he brakes suddenly or turns suddenly. He later on left us on our own.
We asked around about the directions, and were told that it is a straight-forward route to Vizag, and that we would hit the highway soon.
Raunak pointed out that I would be the only person completing the entire tour on my own. I then realized it, and felt happy and glad that I could sign up for the tour and manage to complete it without any issues, or without getting into support vehicle.
Later on we slowly entered the sub-urbs of Vizag. The roads were very good, except for a few bad patches to the extreme sides near major junctions. The middle lanes were for buses and other vehicles were on the service roads.
At every junction, I would wait with Raunak or Dev to ensure that all of us are coming, and give them directions before starting again.
After a few junctions, Venu garu had a flat and he hopped on to the truck saying that we were close to the destination, and that he was anyway getting bored of the highway.
After a couple of junctions, Raunak indicated that we should take a left, and we all rode together from then on. The rain stopped finally.
Near Simhachalam (famous for the temple), Dev's chain came off and I was able to put it back without any issues. I took a few selfies with the direction boards before moving on. We also took a few group selfies after crossing the crowded areas. Venu garu couldn't find us and called me. I told him that we were coming via Simhachalam, and asked him to go ahead to the room.
The best part of the ride, which we could not remotely expect, came up next!
The road stretch from Simhachalam was like a dream road. So good, so smooth, so wide, no traffic, and slight downhill, and tail winds. The vehicular traffic was on the service roads and this road felt as if it was closed for public and exclusively meant for racing. It kicked and woke-up the sprinters in all of us. Everyone was gunning, giving it all while enjoying! I was easily able to touch 55 kmph. The curious motor-bikers started inquiring if it was a race or something. We told that we were just touring ;)
It was pure fun for a few kms. We would have missed it if we sticked to the originally planned route. Afterwards we entered Vizag.With Tenneti park 4 km ahead after crossing a signal, we waited for everyone to arrive so that we can go to the rooms together.
I called up Gokul to enquire about the situation there. They too were done with the stitches part and were starting from hospital to room, and were very close to where we stopped. Venu garu called up, and informed that they too reached the room.
I asked everyone to go ahead, and mentioned that I would visit a few friends and join them later at the room.
We were still riding together when we were passing my friend's house, which was just before Tenneti park. I stopped there to visit them.
In the meanwhile, others went to the beach and had fun clicking pictures and enjoying the beautiful sea view. They headed to the room after that, while I was still at my friend's place.
I then went to another friend's place, which was also thankfully close by, and then headed to the room.
Today's ride would have almost all the elements I wish to cover either in a ride or a trip - hills, valleys, up-hills, downhills, sprint friendly roads, highways, ghat roads... and beach roads offering great view of sea. It was like a dream come true. A cyclist would either love or hate (the nasty up-hill and down-hill on day-3) the tour, but would definitely want to come back, implying how much it makes one appreciate the beauty of nature. The remaining elements of rivers/streams, bridges etc were covered on the remaining days. To end the tour on a high, we were delighted by the stretch from Simhachalam to Vizag.
The day ended for me after covering 122.4 km and 1173 m elevation gain.
The total distance covered in the tour was 590 km in 5 days, with a total elevation gain of 7556 m.
By the time I reached the rooms, Prabha and Gokul were busy packing the bikes.
Some riders left to Hyderabad later in the evening.
Homesh, who runs a bike store in Vizag, joined us just after we bade farewell to those flying to Hyderabad.
We hunted for a place that serves both food and drinks, as they were very rare in Vizag.
We finally went to a brewery called Ironhill. The theme and ambience felt good, except for the overly loud music that drowned the voice of the singer, who was singing live and playing his guitar.
The food was excellent! The loud music was later taken care of, and the singer sang and played some good numbers in Telugu, Hindi and English. We had a great time celebrating the tour there. After dinner, Homesh parted with us and went home.
I decided to drive the rest of us to the room as I was the only person apart from Homesh who did not drink.
On the way back, folks decided to have ice-cream and the hunt began once again in the late night on empty streets of Vizag.
We found a place next to a petrol pump, and had bars and cones.
There was a stout person instructing the young lads in the counter while finishing off a few bars, and we were unable to figure out if he is the store owner or a regular customer :P
We headed back to the room and dozed off after mid-night. The plan was to wake up early the next day morning so that Gokul and I would reach Hyderabad early. But the late night sleep could mean a delayed start.
As expected, we could not wake up early the next morning.
On Day-6 just before 7 AM, Gokul and I started from Vizag after loading my bike on to the rack, hoping that it would get a good wash from rain. Gokul mentioned that he would drive slowly, and I did not want to reach late in the night. So I drove the support car all the way from Vizag to Hyderabad. We took 4 breaks - for breakfast, fuel, lunch and snacks, and reached my in-laws place in Hyderabad by 8 PM. Gokul had the privilege to doze-off for some time after lunch while I drove. Krish was surprised to know how fast we reached the snacks break point. Thankfully the drive was pleasant with beautiful weather and views through-out, and with conversations flowing from both of us. I told Gokul that I was lucky to avoid fixing a flat on the road as it showed up in the hotel room later in the evening. He then mentioned about the conversation he had with Prabha on one of the previous days, about how we all got lucky by avoiding the need to fix flats in the middle of rides. Raunak had a pinch flat just before reaching the hotel. I had a flat but it showed up in the room later. Venu garu had a flat but he hopped on to the truck avoiding the need to fix it then and there. We also talked about various personal experiences, and our experiences with long drives. My bike got even more dirty from the dirty road water wash instead of getting cleaned by the rain water. So I sent it with Gokul to the store for clean-up.
The rest of the riders were missing the tour badly, and nostalgic about it while going back to their routine lives.
A big shout-out to The Bike Affair (TBA) team for organizing and executing this tour so well. Special thanks to Prabha for taking very good care of us and the bikes.
Looking forward to the next tour :)
Looking forward to the next tour :)
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