Place: Markonahalli Dam
Distance: 100 x 2 = 200kms.
Directions: Bengaluru – Nelamangala - Kunigal - Markonahalli.
Participants: Chethan (Zethu) > Karthik (Sp).
Bikes: Avenger > Pulsar.
Previous Chapter: Channarayana Durga trek.
Budget: Rs250/head
IN LESS THAN 50 WORDS:
Well this had to be one of the most brilliant rides done so far. The foggiest one till date i believe. And about the place it was our first time going inside the dam & learning about the Siphon system of water control. (first dam in the world to have this type of system)
INTRO & PLAN:
Well as far as the planning goes, it was quite sometime since we had visited this ancient dam. So.. we put it on the re-visit list. Zethu was the only one on the confirmed list. But we decided to hit the road anyway.
ASSEMBLE:
Yeah i was up at about 05:00, did a few push-ups & sit-ups. It was pretty cold but had no clue about the conditions in the outskirts of the city. Left my home at about 06:00, after a 15mins of slow cruising met Zethu. The fog was dense and without wasting anytime we decided to hit the road as we didn’t want to miss riding amidst the fog.
TIME: 06:15
RIDE 1: (Bengaluru - Markonahalli Dam)
This was about a 100kms stretch of pure fog.. Well this had to be the highlight of this chapter so here goes..,
As we left Bangalore the temperature dropped & the mist began to pick up at a rapid pace. With visibility of 5-10 feet the road was hardly visible. With Zethu leading in front we reached the Mangalore highway deviation. After which all hell broke loose...
As we reached NH-48, the fog intensified even more, it was like riding through a bunch of cold ice sheet curtains. And trust me i was enjoying every bit of it an obviously it was way better than my bad singing ha-ha!!
We had to stop at one point just to feel the cold curtain of mist crashing on our ideal faces. After about 10mins we left. The foggy conditions prevailed for a few more minutes before the war between the sun & the fog began. Once the sun rose, we felt good & bad t the same time. Good being the warmth & bad being the fact that fog was about to fade away. When the sun was up & shining we cruised along to reach the Dam premises.
TIME: 08:00
MARKONAHALL DAM:
As we reached the dam, we observed the water level had taken a steep plunge. But in a way it was good, as we could enter the dam without difficulty. We walked on the bund like last time, fooling around, crossed the gates & inquired about the person in charge. When we got Manju’s contact number called him up and asked him as to when he was reporting at the dam. After about another hour of loafing around we met Manju & entered the Dam.
Few Important Facts:
i) Older the better:Built between 1938-40, Cost of construction = 29 lacs.
ii) Siphon system: First dam in the world to have Siphon System. When water reaches the 90feet mark, water is sucked by the Siphons due to the pressure difference (Proud Mech. Eng :P) and released small holes beside the gate. This gives the indication that gates have to be opened shortly. (if you have stolen petrol from bikes, then you will be knowing the entire process of how siphon works ha-ha!! )
iii) Old school: The siphon system was build using honey, glass, mud, clay and other natural products.
iv) Gates: The back gate weighs about 20 tonnes is standing tall since 1940. When the operational gates are opened the sound of the gushing water can be heard upto a radius of 6-8kms.
After having a dip into time, we returned back to reality & decided to leave. We bid farewell to Manju & before we departed we promised him a return.
TIME: 10:00
This was a 100kms stretch. We decided to skip food & head back straight to home. So this was a tiring 100kms stretch as the sun was also directly above us. After about a couple of hours of cruising we reached back home.
TIME: 12:00
“ This run had to be one of our best till date considering the conditions of the ride. And yeah one chapter that had to be compared (or rather will be) is the one of the "BR hills- The coldest ride out of Bangalore" a few years back”
Until next time Cia \m/.
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