Re: Silver Blitz 650: Royal Enfield Interceptor Ownership Review Ride to Kalvarayan hills
Sometime last month my buddy and I made a one-day ride plan for Kalvarayan hills located ~270 kms away from Chennai. The plan was to start at 5am and return by 6pm on the same day. We picked a day in the middle of the 1st week of December week to avoid the mad weekend traffic on the GST road. We chose Kalvarayan hills cause neither of us have been there and it was the closest hill from Chennai after Jawadhu and Yelaghiri which is doable in a day ride. Earlier this week most part of Chennai witnessed the serious impact from the cyclone Michaung and thankfully we were less affected. After some quick decision on Tuesday evening, prepped the Interceptor with tank full petrol, set tyre pressure and some chain lube while my buddy got his Benelli Leoncino 500 ready.
We started the ride on Wednesday at 5.15am from Tambaram flyover. After some bad patches between Tambaram and Mahindra city toll plaza due to the recent rains, the GST road was smooth as usual. Great roads, perfect climate, low traffic and we maintained speeds close to 100kmph. After a quick tea stop near the Mahindra City toll plaza we made our breakfast stop at Ulundurpet A2B restaurant at 7.45am. After a 30 min breakfast stop and fuel we reached Komuki Dam located at the base of Kalvarayan hills at 9.30am. Stopped to admire the dam and the mountains surrounding it and started climbing, the entire ghat roads are well laid, curvy and smooth making for an amazing riding experience. What’s even better is the winding roads stretches for a massive ~60kms from the base at Komuki dam to all the way across the mountains and down to the other side. But the entire stretch is narrow, has hundreds of blind curves and the locals ride downhill with the engine turned off which demands one to be vigilant. The entire mountain range is massive and beautiful, gave me a mini Ooty feel looking at the mountain ranges. The entire mountain range is devoid of tourism so there is no proper restaurants or hotels. After a couple of small breaks inbetween we reached the plains on the other side at 12pm. From here we headed towards Tindivanam via Tiruvannamalai with a quick juice & fuel stop near Gingee fort. Reached Tindivanam at 2pm for lunch before the final stretch and reached back home at 4pm completing the ~550km ride.
The Interceptor performed flawlessly, those 17 inch wheels allowed me to enjoy those sweeping bends to the max and scrapping both the foot pegs on several corners. The magnetic tank bag came handy and in it I had my rain coat, umbrella, 1L water bottle, cap, sunglasses, gloves & purse in it. My bottom started to become sore while climbing down the hills. Although I’m amazed how my bottom lasted for that long on the stock seat, the need for getting the touring seat has become stronger. A week before this ride I ordered the Carbon Racing angled handlebar raiser hoping to get it before this ride and test it out but I’m yet to receive the shipment.
At the entrance of Kalvarayan hills.
The Komuki dam in front of the Kalvarayan hills.
At the first view point to get a better view of the dam water.
Quick photo stop at the Periyar falls.
Somewhere on the top. Such a beautiful place. ![Silver Blitz 650: Royal Enfield Interceptor Ownership Review-silver-blitz-650-interceptor-royal-enfield.jpg](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/motorbikes/2541202d1702104025t-silver-blitz-650-royal-enfield-interceptor-ownership-review-silver-blitz-650-interceptor-royal-enfield.jpg) |