142) Mahadevapura – Welcoming the summer: (11/3/2017)

Place: Mahadevapura

Distance: 150 x 2 = 300kms

Directions: Bangalore – Bidadi – Ramngar – Mandya – Mahadevapura

Participants: Deepak (Deefu) > Ashok (Momz) > Karthik (Sp)

Bikes: Enfield > Pulsar

Previous visit: Madakasira Fort Trek

IN LESS THAN 50 WORDS:

This was a very good re-union of school friends to welcome the summer of 2017. Mahadevapura we had feared would be running dry and it was pretty much, but it had just enough of water for us to get comfortably down and have a peaceful nap in the flowing waters of Kaveri. It was a nice cooling down session to begin 2017’s summer!

INTRO & PLAN:

Past 6-8 months, Ashok was unavailable and we used to pester him every weekend from the dhaba. Finally since his exams were done, he himself asked if we could ride out and we decided a water spot would be ideal to get things back on track. Deefu quickly joined is too and the destination was mostly Mahadevapura. Yes, we had PLAN B as well because we weren’t sure whether water would be there at the place.

TIME: 22:00 (10/3/2017)

ASSEMBLE & LEAVE:

Yeah I was up at 05:00, did a few push ups & situps, had a cup of coffee and was all set to go. We had decided to meet at RR nagar arch by 7AM. As I proceeded towards RR nagar I was surprised to find the roads had narrowed down and the thus the traffic had increased dramatically. We used to always get out of Bangalore via Nagarbhavi picking up Madhu since a few months. So I proceeded and pulled over at Decathlon and asked the others to come to the same place. Once they arrived, we formally (for word’s sake) greeted each other and then departed Bangalore.

TIME: 07:30

RIDE 1: (Bangalore– Bidadi – Channpatna – Mandya - Mahadevapura)

This was 135kms ride on our hometown Mysore road. Keeping the blue blizzard at decent pace proved to be a herculean task haha.The dense traffic prevailed more or less 10-15kms post Bangalore. As we approached Bidadi it began to fade. We pulled over at our regular hotel for some tasty breakfast.

TIME: 08:45

After the breakfast we went out for some light tea. We discussed a lot of things. It had been months since we had met Ashok, so his stories (mostly funny ones) kept us entertained. As we proceeded we could really feel the air get hot a we cruised along Ramnagara and Channpatna. Waving Maddur a big hi, we pulled over after the town limits for some light tea again.

TIME: 10:30

  

After the tea, I told Deefu to stay back as the road after the high proceeds amidst fields and the twists and turns that exists to reach the place is nothing but a maze.  We rode at a decent pace and the grasslands were dry, the canals were dry. My hopes were going down every kilometre we travelled further. I told others about PLAN B and PLAN C (yeah had a third option as well!)

But then as we approached the Mahadevpura Bridge we could see a decent amount of water prevailed in the river. This lit up our mood completely. Even though less, it was fast flowing waters and I was sure it would be the perfect level for us to get into the waters. Proceeding further we reached the Anicut.

TIME: 11:30

MAHADEVAPURA:

The water levels were low ,but was pretty darn good enough. There was some construction work happening around the anicut hence water was left only through the gates. The canal was bone dry. So we decided venture alongside the river and find a good spot to crash into. After about 20mins of loafing around we did find an excellent spot but we had to get into a river for some distance and then get onto a boulder, leave our belongings there and then jump into the river. Once we got into the river it was little higher than knee but the force was like crazy. Goes to show how unsafe it is when the river is in full swing.

We got in and found a sweet spot near a boulder and just laid down and allowed the river to keep crashing into our backs. We went on speaking for an hour so about school days , recollecting some of the fondest of memories. We tried to venture downstream but it started becoming a little deeper, upto until neck level and the force was pretty darn strong. Hence we made our way back to the spot where water was just enough and we floated in time. After about an hour or so, we got out of the water and dried ourselves up. Just before we left, I had a little bit of juice in my bag we gulped it down and started our way back to the main road.

TIME: 14:30

RIDE 2: (Mahadevapura – Mandya – Ramnagara – Bangalore)

This was the 135-150kms ride back.  As we just left Mahadevapura, we challenged Ashok to take us back to the main road. Each deviation he took correctly was marked as a 1-pointer and a wrong one would loose him the same amount of points. To our surprise, he took 5/6 deviations right and missed out on the 3^rd one (the same one when Dilip and me had got wrong and ended up at PES mandya – Mahadevpura the Wrong turn) Reaching back the highway we pulled over at our regular dhaba for some drinks and lunch.

TIME: 15:00

After a good hour or so, we left the dhaba afloat. From here it was smooth sailing on Mysore road. As the sun had begun to set the darkness had come over and we pulled over at Ramnagara for some hot tea. After which we continued forward through Bidadi and pulled over just before kengeri at the NICE road deviation. Thanked both Deefu and Ashok for making it and we split our ways to reach our respective homes.

TIME: 19:00

Until next time Cia \m/

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