The 350km Classic: Rolls-Royce Spotting at Chamundi Hills and the Shock of Finding Balmuri Falls Empty | Chapter 27 (Jan 5, 2011)

Place: Chamundi Hills & Balmuri Falls.

Distance: 350kms in total.

Directions: Bengaluru > Maddur > Srirangpatna > Straight – Mysore

> Right – Balmuri Falls.

Participants: Manohar(Manu) > Arun(Slowpoke) > Karthik(Sp).

Bikes: GS > Unicorn > Pulsar.

Previous visit: BR hills – Coldest ride from Bangalore since 117 years.

Basic Description: Balmuri falls in < 5 minutes.

PLAN:

4^th January , Arun & myself were walking on the college cricket ground, when Arun suggested the wonderful idea to visit Airport at morning 4 am .. After a few minutes of discussion the destination was changed to Balmuri falls & Srirangapatna as we had skipped it on Melkote trip.

So called up others to ask their call on the trip& it was only Manu who was ready to hit the road like always \m/. So Arun and me had dinner near college went back to our respective houses to get some sleep as we had to hit the road at 04:00hrs.

TIME: 20:30hrs

RIDE I: ( Bangalore – Maddur CCD)

Morning 2:30 am I was up and got ready. It was a New Year... And the biggest shocker already took place... Arun arrived at my place at 4 am sharp…ha-ha!!! After a few minutes Manu also joined us & we departed at 4:30am on 3 bikes.

As it was dark we started of at 40kmphr and went at this place for about 20kms to get used to the conditions then. After a while we were cruising at 70-80kmphr and reached Maddur CCD.

TIME: 05:30hrs

MADDUR CCD:

Well I have been to CCD only once before this, and Arun wanted have coffee at this place from a long time so it was something special for all of us. Manu & me ordered hot coffee... Arun unique as always ordered cold coffee even though it was cold outside. We spent a hour at the CCD and left towards Balmuri.

TIME: 06:30hrs

RIDE II : (Maddur CCD – SriRangapatna)

The Sun was up & shining ,Balmuri falls is about 60kms from maddur , good SH-17 roads offered very less resistance. When we reached Srirangapatna , a right deviation would lead us to Balmuri falls.. but just then we spotted a board “ Chamundi Hills “ .

Manu wanted to go to this magnificent hills, and so we kept Balmuri ON HOLD again as in melkote trip and proceeded towards Mysore.

TIME: 07:00hrs

RIDE III: (Srirangapatna – Chamundi hills)

4 lane road made our job simple… kept a decent pace of 60’s to reach The Heritage city – Mysore … Zooming through the lanes of Mysore in a matter of minutes we were out of the town and on chamundi hills road.

Chamundi hills didn’t offer any difficult uphill climb, but it was a pleasure to ride on those roads, 3 bikes going uphill at a time when most of the people are still asleep is something awesome. After cruising uphill we reached the temple and very happy to see that it was not at all crowded.

TIME:07:45hrs

CHAMUNDI HILLS:

It was Arun’s and his family’s sacred place ,so he was overjoyed in visiting the same. We got a very good pooja done and spent a good 30minutes on top of the hill. When we were just about to leave we spotted a Rolls Royce- Ghost, Manu – a car freak, went crazy and wanted to stay there till it left… ha-ha!! So we captured snaps of the car & the famous Maheeshasura Demon … Staying there for some more time we left the place...

TIME: 08:45hrs

RIDE IV: (Chamundi-Giant Nandi)

From the temple its hardly a ten minutes ride, but we stopped at many places to get the wonderful aerial view of the Mysore. When we reached the giant Nandi we spent 10 minutes got the pooja done and left the place.

TIME: 09:00hrs

RIDE V: (Giant Nandi – Balmuri Falls)

Balmuri falls is 30kms from Chamundi hills, so we ode downhill at a decent pace , negotiating the curves cautiously . Manu & Arun lead the way to Mysore to reach SH-17. We reached Srirangpatna in a very short time. From here it was 15kms , and the roads turned to worst… It was horrible road and we had to slow down to 30-40kmphr. We came across canals carrying water to the falls. After a some slow riding avoiding pot holes and patches we reached Balmuri falls.

TIME: 10:00hrs

BALMURI FALLS:

Believe me we were shocked to the core because every time I picture this falls in my head , it would always be associated with about 10-20 taxis , few private cars , families , few bikes … basically lot of crowd.

But nothing of such was there, only we 3 with our bikes were at the place. We got a great chance to have the place for ourselves.

The falls was at its very best, great force, clear water, it looked marvelous. Please have a look at the snaps it always expresses way better.

We walked to the other side of the falls, we also observed the unique way the edges were at this place which made the falling water have a unique grain like pattern. It was beautiful but was packing a lot of force.

Balmuri is not a big falls in terms of ‘head’ ( Ha-ha turbo-machines) i.e. the height through which the water falls. But it is a very wide water fall. We washed our faces and walked on the bund lifting our legs up for every step we took.

We spent an hour or so at his wonderful place enjoying the tranquility listening to the water fall and cooling ourselves down. Finally we left towards Bengaluru… we realized that this trip was so good we had forgotten about food, so Maddur Tifany`s stop was confirmed.

TIME: 11:30hrs

RIDE V: (Balmuri – Maddur Tiffany’s)

The ride back to Mysore road (SH-17) was a slow one again; my bike’s fuel was almost empty I was only hoping it could pull it till the main road so that I could re-fuel. We reached SH-17 and cruised on it to reach Maddur in no time, fuel was totally empty. We had excellent Masala Dosa & coffee and came out and took rest on the swing. Gave our bikes sufficient time to rest as it had rode 270 kms and still 80km to go. We went to the petrol bunk and re-fueled our tanks and were ready to hit the road again.

TIME:13:00hrs

RIDE VI: (Maddur Tiffany’s- Bengaluru)

Next 80 kilometers was just formality, Mysore road good 4-lane road, all we had to do was "stay awake" ha-ha!! Rode at a pretty decent pace to reach Bangalore .

TIME: 14:30hrs

Overall it was a Classic trip, never had expected Balmuri to be so empty when it was flowing at its best and well 3 people on 3 bikes – Heaven !!

Before ending this article, here are some of our best runs (Or what we think are the best out of the first 50 runs) Hope you enjoy reading them :

[1] Maddur – The Origin.

[3] Mekedatu – Destination danger.

[4] Nandi Hills – Quick Return Mechanism.

[17] Skandagiri night trek – Misty death trek.

[18] Kanva Resevoir – Mechanix ride.

[21] Pearl Valley – Jungle walk.

[22] Talakadu – Come one, come all. (11bikes, 21 participants)

[26] BR hills – Foggy forest cruise. (Coldest ride since 117 years)

[27]Chamundi Hills & Balmuri falls – Classic Flawless ride.

[28] Kabbaladurga Trek – Hello death!! (NDE – Near death experience)

[29] Himvadgopalswamy Betta – Hot oven ride.

[37] Chitradurga fort & Vani Vilas Dam – Time travel into ancient heaven.

[38] MM hills, BR hills, Gaganchukki,Barachukki – Twin hills and falls ride.( 600kms one day)

[40] Markonahalli dam, Melukote, TonnurKere – Old School fun ride.

[44] Mahadevpura – Explore that sanctuary.

[45] Hogenekkal – Blood filled memories on road. (Must read)

[47] Mekedatu & Sangama – Adventure on!! (15kms forest walk)

[48] Coorg(Madikeri) – Big finish to ‘11.

[49] Yercaud – back on the streets. (580kms 1-day ride)

[50] Panchapalli dam – 50^th chapter complete :)

Until next time – Ciao \m/

MAPS:



ALL PHOTOS:

⬅️ 26. BR hills 28. Kabbaladurga Trek ➡️

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The 450km BR Hills Death Ride: Battling the Coldest Day in 117 Years, 5-Foot Visibility Fog, and Numb Hands | Chapter 26 (Dec 24, 2010)

 

 Place: BR Hills.

Distance: 200kms (only to BR)

Directions:

1) Bengulru > Kankpura > Malavalli > Shivnasamudra > Kollegala> BR

2) Bengaluru>Maddur>Malavalli>Shivnasamudra>Kollegala>BR

3) Bengulru > Kankpura > Malavalli > Shivnasamudra > Chamrajnagar> BR

4) Bengaluru>Maddur>Malavalli>Shivnasamudra>Chamrajnagar>BR

:> Maddur to mallavali Road Horrible state.

:> Taking Chamarjnagar route – 60 kms Extra .

Participants:

Arvi (White Knight) > Ashok (Ashokey) > Arun (Slowpoke) > Manohar ( Manu) > Madhu ( Gundu) > Mithul (Mitt) >Adithya ( KG) > Karthik ( Sp).

Bikes:

RTR180 > Unicorn150 > GS150 > Pulsar150 .

Previous Visit: Melkote.

PLAN:

This was one of our dream trips – So had to be completed. As it was sem end holidays few had left to their native and few were just about to leave. So we decided to give them the perfect gift. So BR hills trip was planned. It was one year since Mekedat trip.

After a lot of talks it was 8 of us on 4 bikes. 400 to 450 kms in day was no joke… and I was a little over excited about this trip so told others to meet up at 4 :30 am…. And they said they couldn’t make it that early as it would be difficult. So agreed at 6 am.

RIDE I: ( House – NICE ROAD exit)

Morning about 6:30 we left my house, Filled up petrol, Checked Air pressure, took NICE road which would lead to Kankpura. On the NICE Road there was fog and mist everywhere we went thinking that that it was only a few meters. But suddenly we stopped at a place…Thick dense fog right in front of us… So we had to continue at a slower pace.

After taking deviation to Kanakpura Road , heavy dense fog everywhere .Few meters away we could see a faint outline , next thing a BIG HUGE truck right in front of us. Finally we came out of the NICE road , shivering, hands were totally numb. It was as hard as a rock. Haha felt good though \m/

TIME: 06:45

RIDE II : (NICE Road To Kanakpura – Death RIDE)

Thought the fog and mist would die down but it actually got worse, I mean a hell lot worse. All we could see is a maximum of 5-7 feet in front of us. It made riding really difficult but tat much fun.

We stuck to a decent pace of 60’s and followed the hardly visible tail lamp in front of each other. Incoming vehicles became a nightmare to watch out for. Arun & Arvi led the way… as Mithul & me followed.

The curves of the Kanakpura road gave us the chills down the spines as we couldn’t see the road itself properly. At many places there are lakes on both sides… and fog was rushing onto the road… so were so helpless…. And lorries coming form the opposite side. It was scary. Please check out the excellent snaps caught by Manohar & Ashok during the fog ride… It really tells a lot more than I can ever express.

 

As I wasn’t wearing any gloves I lost sensation of my hand… hands were totally numb. (Bangalore recorded the lowest temperature in past 117 years 9 degree on Celsius scale). Stopped at a place ( actually to pick up Gundu’s cap ,which had fallen due to the windy conditions) , I rubbed my hand against the ground just to feel back my hand… well after doing so , got back little sensation… but got small bruises with it . Arvi wore socks on his hand to prevent the numbness... 

Next stop kanakpura.
TIME: 08:00 hrs

    

BREAKFAST:

We entered a new hotel in Kanakpura , the tap water felt so hot…. Whew, washed our faces and hands. Our hair was totally wet due to the fog condensing on our hair. Ordered Idli & Vada . Then had caape, felt real good.

Then we enquired about BR hills150kms to go… GULP all that struggle through that fog, had made us feel we had rode about 100-200 kms .. Haha! Anyway we had to get the job done so we left the hotel hoping there was no fog ahead.

TIME: 08:15

RIDE III: (Kanakpura – Kollegala)

The Foggy conditions continued , but we had got used to it by then. And to be frank it felt good negotiating the curves without actually seeing the road but following a small red light in front of us. Finally when the sun was up we could feel the warm sun rays hitting the road and on our faces. Lifted up our hands and took all the warmth form the sun as we could and zoomed off to Kollegala via Shivanasamudra.

TIME: 09:30

RIDE IV: (Kollegala – Br Hills)

We took the outskirts of Kollegala to avoid traffic. It was small but good road and there was no traffic at all, greenery on both sides. Then we finally got the first glimpse of the mighty BR hills. What can I say… it was beautiful as always!!!

We reached the foot of the hills paid Rs 10 to the forest guards and registered our entry into the forest and then we started the climb. Believe me I have no words to describe the ride to BR, rode at 40`s , negotiating the forest curves looking out for animals.

The forest curves were too good, stopped at a small beautiful pond and enjoyed the surroundings. AS we rode on we got a glimpse of some tribals but were aware we would have to pay them if we took snaps with them.

The ride got even better as we entered into thicker trees, only a bunch of sunrays could reach the road. We were speechless, enjoying every moment. Finally after sometime we reached the Top.
TIME: 11:15 hrs

BR HILLS:

There is a temple at the top and the view all around the temple is breath taking. First things first visited the temple and I bought my lucky rings and added to the collection!! :D

Then we hung around the temple exploring the place and enjoying the aerial view of the place. There was greenery everywhere, it was real treat for the eyes.

Arun’s Shivgange incident came up again… haha!!

Arun, Madu,KG & mithul wanted to visit Shivnasamudra as they had not been there before. But ending up on Kanakpura road after sunset is pretty dangerous as it would be difficult to ride. So we agreed to visit Gaganchukki as Barachukki would take a lot of time and yea it was not the right season to visit them too… as they were fading off.

LUNCH:

Arvi & Ashok had spotted a hotel on our way up; it was not even a kilometer away from the temple, so we went there for lunch. We got REAL good food. Proper meals served on banana leaves. Price was reasonable too!! Please have a look at hotel too it’s the only one available on top, managed to get one snap of it.

After having a heavy lunch we left….

TIME: 13:30

RIDE V: (BR Hills – Shivanasamudra)

Ride back was pretty fast and we started feeling the curves and ghat when we rode back as we were at 70`s. Back to back 4 bikes, Arvi & Manu leading…. Ashok & me rode behind. Finally after a sometime with many stops in the forest again we were out of BR forests.

Said a final good bye to this wonderful place and rode towards Gaganchukki. I would like to recall another incident…. There was this really steep curve after getting down BR… Arvi went forward and stopped, I followed him and slowed down watching Ashok in the rear view mirror… Aashok and arun were speaking to each other and went off road :D , but he managed to pull back the bike onto the road… Manu and Mithul were behind them. We all had a good laugh and continued to reach Shivasamudra.

TIME: 14:30

 

SHIVANASAMUDRA:

We saw the falls, as we expected the water was fading off. Spent sometime… washed our faces hands and our heads. And here I got some proper sleep on the bench flat for 30 mins.

Waking up I saw a small bull coming towards me, guess it was the same bull I met on 14^th March,2010 , so patted on its forehead :D.

RIDE BACK VI: (Shivnasamudra – Kanakpura- Bengaluru)

From Gaganchukki next 150kms was just formality .But had to be out of Kanakpura Road before sunset hopefully as planned. Reminds me Talkad trip where we ended up on Kanakpura road in the dark it was difficult to ride.

 

Arvi , Ashok , Mithul & KG were long asleep, we rode at a decent pace to reach Kanakpura hotel had very good Coffee & tea washed our faces and hit back the road.

Next 60 kms was too good… all throughout we remembering our morning ride through the same section we could see the lakes , trees.. and most importantly the ROAD it self haha !! :D , Rode at 70’s to reach NICE road entrance,

TIME: 17:30

LAST STRETCH:

We rode slowly on the NICE road, as the sun went down. The trip had worked to perfection and felt real good riding the last stretch.

At NICE road exit BAM!! We had a problem Arvi bike’s Clutch wire snapped, we got it to mechanic and got it fixed and returned to bakery for some tea and left home very satisfied with the trip.

 

KG – had been on my bike throughout the trip , excellent experience to take back to Shimoga :D

MITHUL – any trip he`s been is turned out to be toughest and Epic ones Pearlvalley , Talkad , BR Hills.

MADHU – Remained silent through out the journey… rode a good 100kms on RTR.

ASHOK & ARUN – haha in the forest we could hear them laugh far away!!

ARVI & MANU - led the way through the most worst condition I might ever come across….

Until Next time \m/ Ciao \t/

MAPS:



ALL PHOTOS:

⬅️ 25. Melukote 27. Chamundi Hills & Balmuri falls ➡️

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