[mobike008]

Nagarjunsagar Drive Report-July 8th, 2018

Wow, Wow and yet again a big WOW !!!

We have been doing a yearly ritual of driving to Nagarjun Sagar Dam (NSD) during monsoons since 2008 (stopped since last couple of years due to fading interest and non-encouraging response to drive meets as they had their fill in a decade)

As you are aware, it has been raining cats & dogs since Saturday and this truly made most of us excited as this could possibly be a true monsoon drive (unlike in the past) and thanks to big man (GOD) himself, we were greeted with heavy heavy rains for 90% of the onward drive which never happened for any of our drive meet in the last one decade

Except Fordmanchau, we all met on time at Exit 12 and then drove for a few kilometers to stop for an excellent cup of tea (it was so excellent my mom wanted to stop at exact same place upon return for our evening tea-and, her request was duly complied with)

We headed out after the short tea break and drove in pelting rain towards NSD which was about 120kms away. We found plenty of scenic spots to stop for a quick photoshoot but, due to rain we could not step out of the car. After driving for a bit, we found one and stopped for a quick photoshoot carrying umbrellas...LOL! And, here we were joined by Fordmanchau in his spanking new white ecosport

We continued our drive and reached NSD around 10:15am and continued to Ethipothala Falls which is further 17kms away from the dam. We enjoyed some beautiful weather and chit chatting at the falls and on the bridge until 12:30pm

The weather at the bridge was one of it's kind. Never experienced such breeze and fresh air at NSD before, felt like staying there on the bridge until evening. We got one "hard copy" photo shot by a local photographer

Reached Vijay Vihar at Haritha around 1:00pm and soaked in a leisurely snacks-cum-lunch of Onion Pakoras, Peanuts, their legendary Fish Fry until 2:30pm and then drove a few kms towards Hyderabad for a quick lunch stop before heading out at 3:30pm from there

All of us more or less were together until the end and return drive was totally dry and weather was cloudy and chilly and it was an excellent weather to drive. After our brief tea stop at exact same spot, we reached home at exactly 6:00pm after covering nearly 400kms for the day

Fantastic drive meet guys and thanks to all for joining up and now let the pictures tell it's own story !!!

P.S : Special mention to Vnabhi & Hyd_Traveller for pushing their Fiesta 1.6 and Crysta like I haven't seen anyone push before. Wonderful driving by both of you !!!

[gajadonga]

Wow nice pictures mobike008
Was a great drive in the rain.
Some spirited driving and nice and inviting tarmac of the roads and awesome weather made the trip memorable one.
Nice of you to get your mother also mobike 008.
a4anurag and intercooler pumping 160bhp Creta awesome
Hyd traveller..
V nabhi.
FordManchau.
Showing their regular tough driving skills.
Farooq817 bhai nice drive keep joining for further meets also.
Big thank you to mobike008 for organising a nice drive meet making it a memorable day.

[farooq817]

Thanks mobike008 for organizing the drive and to a4anurag for sending me the invite for the drive. It was an awesome drive, a memorable one surely for me and my family. The weather Gods played in our favor as well.
It was wonderful meeting each and everyone of you and I look forward to joining more such drives.

[autotranny]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Nagarjunsagar Drive Report-July 8th, 2018
P.S : Special mention to Vnabhi & Hyd_Traveller for pushing their Fiesta 1.6 and Crysta like I haven't seen anyone push before. Wonderful driving by both of you !!!

This is what happens with these youngsters. They really tend to push hard.

By the way, in one of the pics, did I see Anurag overtaking someone. How times have changed.

[vnabhi]

It was an awesome drive for me and my wife. The weather was so good that we did not feel like coming back, especially when we were taking photos on the bridge. The food was great, as was the company. What made this event so special was that there were hardly any drives by Hydeez since the one to Warangal a couple of years ago.

The return journey was even faster as there was no rain, though the sky was overcast. Fordmanchau had left around 15 minutes earlier. Anurag, Farooq and I followed a bit later, and the rest after a few more minutes. Anurag slowed down after sometime, perhaps to catch up with the guys behind. That left me alone, doing decent speeds in order to reach home before dark. But while I was attending to a call from Hyd-traveller, i saw Gajadonga zipping past me on his Elantra. I could not catch up with him till the rest of the journey, though I did see Fordmanchau having tea after an hour's journey.

It took us 1 hour 35 minutes to reach the ORR at Bongloor. From there I had the option of taking the 26 kms longer route via the ORR, but wifey insisted that we take the same route as in the morning. That took us through some traffic in LB Nagar, Malakpet and Himayat Nagar. We reached home at 610 pm, as it took us 1 hour 10 minutes to cover the last 33 kms. And we realized that Hyd-Traveller, who lives closeby, had already reached around 10 minutes before us, as he had taken the ORR. Lesson learnt!

But the good thing was that we discovered that the 6 kms stretch from LB Nagar to Malakpet had every shop one could think of, that would even pale Begumpet and AS Rao Nagar in comparison. Just that we rarely got a chance to drive on that route in the last 15 years.

Overall, i feel very fresh today. It's good that the Fiesta got a chance to stretch its legs. Thanks for the compliments, Mobike008. I guess you were driving slowly as your mom was there.

[a4anurag]

08-07-2018 - Nagarjunsagar Dam, A Report

I was the third one to reach the spot by 08:15am and had Farooq and interc00led waiting already and by 08:30am, Hyd_Traveller, vnabhi, Mobike008 had arrived. We started to move ahead as Fordmanchau was a bit late and would catch up with us en-route.

From the meeting point, we travelled approximately for 5-6 kms in search of Tea. After Tea break, we started off for Nagarjunsagar and it was a heavenly drive thanks to the light but continuous drizzle. With me behind the wheel, interc00led was the official photographer on the move with continuous clicking on both the DSLR and my mobile. Every time we stopped for photo sessions, it started to rain even more heavily.

Total of 7 cars (14 + 2 kids) were up in this meet:

1. Mobike008 + 2 (Ford Aspire)
2. Fordmanchau + 1 + 1 Kid (Ford Ecosport)
3. Gajadonga (Hyundai Elantra)
4. Vnabhi + 1 (Ford Fiesta)
5. Hyd_Traveller + 1 (Toyota Innova Crysta)
6. a4anurag + interc00led (Hyundai Creta)
7. Farooq817 + 1 + 1 Kid (Maruti Baleno)

Food was good at the Vijay Vihar @ Haritha - Onion Pakoras, Peanuts and then at 02:30 pm headed for lunch at Hotel Siddhartha that is just 500m away from the restaurant (Phulka, Paneer Butter Masala and Dal Fry).

Return journey was equally smooth but the traffic density was higher so overall progress was less compared to the morning drive. I reached home at 06:00 pm.

Overall, I was very happy with the car and the way it behaved during the drive be it in wet, flat roads or the twisties when going to Ethipotla Falls or some broken patches. The car was smooth, silent to cruise in and both me and interc00led weren't tired at the end of the trip that was of 419 kms (Home to Home). The remap for low-end helped a lot and overall overtaking was breeze. Loved to see vnabhi sir's Fiesta that is 11 year old which looked 2-3 years old and scorching the tarmac like a leech. Love your driving style sir and your maintenance standards.

Images of the Drive Meet (Lots of them)















































Fordmanchau - The Selfie Expert


The whole gang




Tripmeter after the drive (Home to Home)


Overall was a fabulous drive thanks to all for making it to the meet and who all missed it bad luck!!!

[farooq817]

Originally Posted by autotranny

By the way, in one of the pics, did I see Anurag overtaking someone. How times have changed.

I don't know about the old times because this was my first drive with the team. But he sure did a lot of over takes to try and capture pics of all the cars there. And boy his remap works works amazing. Am sure he and intercooled were enjoying the drive on the amazing open roads. The remapped 170 horses were seen in full glory.

[Fordmanchau]

Originally Posted by farooq817

I don't know about the old times because this was my first drive with the team. But he sure did a lot of over takes to try and capture pics of all the cars there. And boy his remap works works amazing. Am sure he and intercooled were enjoying the drive on the amazing open roads. The remapped 170 horses were seen in full glory.

He was always the good kid in the group. Following the line. Sticking to the speed limit. This drive was after a long long time and AFAIR, first after his marriage😁. Boy he has changed after marriage. His cars are now remapped and he has no patience to follow the line. Wives generally have that effect😉

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by Fordmanchau

Boy he has changed after marriage. His cars are now remapped

I'd say the Ritz and Swift were no match to you guys, now with the Creta it (even though a loose handler) can keep up with the gang well plus the remap.

Gajadonga with the same engine as in my car and NO remap was even harder to stay-with.

[mobike008]

Nothing to beat the traditional way of getting a picture clicked



Panning video of men and their machines

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8Br9c6mSOQ

[Fordmanchau]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Nagarjunsagar Drive Report-July 8th, 2018

Except Fordmanchau, we all met on time at Exit 12 and then drove for a few kilometers to stop for an excellent cup of tea ..............And, here we were joined by Fordmanchau in his spanking new white ecosport

Fordmanchau could not reach the starting point in time as we started a bit late and I was on cruise control on the ORR at 95kmph for good part. I accelerated only after crossing the airport exit.

The weather at the bridge was one of it's kind. Never experienced such breeze and fresh air at NSD before, felt like staying there on the bridge....

Just to give people the view of breeze we experienced, here is a pic

Fantastic drive meet guys and thanks to all for joining up and now let the pictures tell it's own story !!!

Fantastic drive by all means. After joining the convoy, Ecosport was leading them for sometime. Driving it in the rain on the curves was nice. Car behaved well wrt to the rolls and grip. No scares. I think mobike and Anurag has covered most of the pics.
Till next time.

[CornerCarver]

Ahh! At last a Hyderabad drive meetup. Crisp snaps with great weather coupled with crispier snacks makes this an absolute feast for eyes and senses.

Nagarjunasagar, IMO, is one of the best getaways around Hyd for a day long picnic along with Pochera/Kuntala Waterfalls.

So, where and when are you guys planning the next drive to?

[snipejus]

Missed the last meetup by a couple of weeks (just got accepted into team-bhp). Hope there are a few more meetup/drives happening this year, would love to join in on the fun!

Originally Posted by shifu

If you are on WhatsApp, you can join the group as well. Send me your number.

If you could be so kind as to add me into the WhatsApp group , my number is +919885699000.
Thanks in advance!

[samkat1]

Could someone please add me to the Whatsapp group? Kindly reply so that I will PM my number to the admin or group members.

[manas_270]

Hola Hydee folks,

Time for a breakfast drive meet with weather gods being kind on us.

Where : Hill Park Restaurant (Location)
When : 19th August (Sunday)
Meetup Time: 7 am
Meetup Point: RGIA exit off ORR onto NH44 (Location)

Confirmed Entries :

1. a4anurag -- Hyundai Creta
2. manas_270 -- Fiat Punto Evo
3. abhiram7912 -- BMW F10 525d
4. snipejus -- Hyundai Grand i10

Please feel free to add your name to the list if interested. It was a quick impromptu plan and hence the short notice. But hey, you will see this post right away if you subscribed to this thread and so there is good amount of heads up