I managed to squeeze in a ride to Allepey beach since my planned ride to a nearby dam didnt work out. I wanted to explore a beach that I hadnt been to but after riding continuously through my favourite road, I eventually realized that I was close enough to Allepey and that I might as well head there instead. Thanks to the holidays, the beach had a good number of families enjoying the lovely weather and strong sea and it was nice to see the children especially, have a great time running and jumping into the incoming waves.
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Returning from Allepey was a bit of an adventure of sorts. After exploring some inside roads, I somehow found myself at a level crossing and I couldnt remember the last time that I had gotten stuck at a level crossing while on a bike ride. After making my way back to the main highway, I realized that the traffic was too crazy and I ventured off quickly to my coastal road only to find myself caught at another level crossing further down the road. What are the odds of that happening?
Twice in one day, jeez!
Fortunately it was smooth sailing from there and I kept riding till I stopped for a quick break to enjoy the sunset from the U shaped bay at Andhakaranazhi beach that I mentioned in my last post. What I would give to be able to enjoy the sunset from that point every single day, sigh!
What a lovely view!
Anyways, once I was back in the city, I headed to AutoQueen at Kaloor to get a mobile holder fixed on the bike. They have the RAM mount that costs Rs 4,400 as well as a more pocket friendly and popular option that costs Rs 500. I opted for the latter and am quite happy with the quality of the holder, given the price.
While fixing the holder, one of the shop's friendly young staff noticed the ugly black mark on the right side of the bike's tank that has been an eye sore for the last couple of years. This mark had mysteriously appeared one day in the office parking lot at a time when some construction work was going on and a large tractor was employed to carry a lot of raw material through the parking lot. I am sure that this mark and dent were gifted onto my bike when the tractor had reversed through the parking lot straight into my bike. I had tried all sorts of cleaning tricks over the years but the large blemish (
transfer of black paint onto the tank) proved to be too stubborn for my efforts and never reduced by a bit. The young staff member pulled out a small bottle of 3M Finesse It Marine Paste and applied it to the tank before wiping it clean and would you believe it, the black paint started to come off slowly but steadily. In a few minutes, I couldnt believe my eyes and the tank was bereft of all the unsightly black paint. It was a late Onam miracle!
On further research, it appears as though the product is quite abrasive in nature and so I need to take a closer look at the tank and maybe resort to another round of washing and waxing, if required. After all this, I really cant decide if I like the bike as it is now or if I preferred it with the distinct mark on the tank that was like a battle scar of sorts. Meanwhile, the Continental GT 535 moves closer to the 25,000 km mark but it has come at the expense of the riding time on my other motorcycle.
Supposedly that's me on my other motorcycle. Or maybe it's just a picture off the interwebs. Who knows? Mileage : For the sixth time in a row, I topped up the motorcycle from the IOCL petrol pump on Durbar Hall road. This time, I was expecting the mileage to be close to the 31 - 33 kmpl mark but the bike has more than pleasantly surprised me with a much higher figure.
Distance covered : 131.1 kms.
Petrol consumed : 3.39 litres.
Mileage: 38.67 kmpl. Mileage since day 1 trickles upwards to at
27.65 kmpl.