Phew that was quite some weekend! After having a profound impact on the world, both in and out of the ring, Muhammed Ali unfortunately passed away, the Doctor was in top form to grab an exciting victory number 114, Dan
Hendo Henderson announced that he might hang up his gloves after a HoF worthy career and the plucky Brit Michael Bisping deservedly has UFC gold around his waist. Easily more memorable than all of these though was an unplanned solo 470 km round trip to Yercaud that just about had it all.
An old friend and I had planned a ride to Yercaud a few months ago but even though it didn’t materialize the itch to ride to the quaint little hill station has been gnawing away at me ever since. I had planned on doing a quick breakfast ride to Shoolagiri and after tanking up at Shell, the combination of negligible traffic and a mileage decimating right hand meant that I was at my destination ready to wolf down a masala dosa in no time. However the fabulous weather, lack of concrete plans for the rest of the day and the above mentioned itch meant that instead of turning back towards the ever chaotic Bangalore, I pressed on. I spotted a TVS bike being test ridden at Krishnagiri which I assumed was the new G310 but the exhaust which is similar to the Apache 200 and the small flyscreen above the headlight proved that it wasn’t the case. It was in a lovely shade of brown and sported a TVS sticker on the side as well. The ride to Salem was at just over triple digit speeds and the lack of traffic meant that it was quite a pleasant one. I pulled over a short distance ahead of one of my favourite stops on the route to take a short break and stretch.
There was a bit of road work happening as I was exiting Salem which halted proceedings for a while. I wanted to try the slow and steady approach of riding up the plentiful hairpin bends and endless turns that lead to Yercaud to see if I enjoyed it more than my usual ham fisted style. After 10 minutes of going easy on the throttle and trying to soak up the experience of riding in the hills, the temptation to go back to my old ways was too much and I gave up. Oh well, at least I tried. As always, the ride to Yercaud was just amazing and ensures that I will keep coming back for more.
The temperature in Yercaud was just perfect and I rode around to explore areas that I hadn’t been to before returning to the lake and taking a breather. It was too early for lunch in Shevaroys which is my usual destination so I decided to ride back and stop for lunch at A2B. In hindsight, I should have taken longer breaks as my posterior was starting to get a little uncomfortable on the ride back down to Salem. I stopped at a large supermarket and grabbed a few chocolates and refreshments to keep myself hydrated at the bustling town of Salem. The nice vegetarian meal and a few glasses of fresh juice at A2B were very welcome and I tanked up for the second time in the day before starting back for Bangalore.
I dropped my speeds to around the 90 kmph mark for remained of the journey and kept adjusting and changing my seating position to ease the discomfort but my posterior kept grumbling all through it. Stopping a couple of times helped to a small extent but everything changed once I spotted the dark rain clouds in the distance.
After riding through some light rains, I reached Hosur which was experiencing heavy showers and that of course meant that conditions had become treacherous. Almost all the cars slowed down to a snail’s pace but I soldiered on through the trying conditions and kept my headlight and spot lights on to ensure visibility. By the time I crossed over into Bangalore, large pools of water had submerged a lane or two in multiple places and as usual people were terrified of letting their cars wade through even an inch of water so they were all in a single file. After my recent experience with the Himalayan, I wondered what the Continental GT could do in these water logged conditions and after getting annoyed with all the pussyfooting by cars of all shapes and sizes, I decided to head on straight through the pools of water leaving the four wheelers far far behind.
Emboldened by the initial experience, I experimented with some standing and riding as well as minor off roading when traffic was at a standstill. Keep in mind, the higher bars allowed me to indulge in the stand and ride technique, I wouldn’t recommend it with the stock ones. Sure, the Continental GT is no Himalayan but show it some rough stuff and Im sure you will be impressed. After battling through traffic, I was back home by around 17:30 and despite being soaked and tired, I had a mile wide grin plastered on my face. Phew, that was quite some ride indeed!