Day 26 (Visakhapatnam to Bangalore via Chennai – 1180kms)
So here it is, the last day of our 26 splendid days embarking on the journey of a lifetime. Today would be the longest distance we would be covering in this ride, almost close to 1200kms in a day. Looked like a daunting task but we had no other way out as we were already two days behind our schedule and taking another day extra was way beyond consideration. Ideally we should have started even earlier but then we both could wake up only around 5:30am in the morning. Immediately we took shower, got ready, geared up and packed our bags. All the check-out formalities were completed the previous night by Atul so once and for all, Atul and I took all our bags and came towards the parking lot to fasten all the bags with bungee cords, this was the last time we are loading the bike with the bags in this trip. Also, for one last time, we quickly lubed the chain, as the distance to cover today is too much. Tyres were all doing fine with good air inside both of them. It was 6am in the morning and Atul fired up Hulk, our last ride towards home began. It was a mixed feeling – happy to reach home after a gap of so many days and sad that these 26 days flew by just like that in the blink of an eye. However, we were carrying truckloads of memories with us to cherish forever.
There was slight shower all through the night hence all the roads were a bit damp and had water on the edge of the road. Sun was already up and the sky looked bright, blue and beautiful. Visakhapatnam is seriously a marvelous city with so much greenery, natural beauty and above all cleaner than most metros in India. It is so well planned with board roads within and outside the city limits as well. Being a bit early in the morning the traffic was quite sparse with just school buses and some heavy trucks plying on the road. We exited the city limits and entered the highway. Our aim today was to take less number of breaks and target to reach home at the earliest. We rode for some two hours straight and around 8am it was time to tank up Hulk. Just after a toll booth, there was this HP petrol bunk where we took petrol, in a nearby tea stall had some tea and biscuits.
Around 9:45am we reached the Rajahmundry town and this time we decided to continue on the highway itself rather than following Google Maps to take shortcuts and enter the town to face traffic (on our forward journey we followed GMaps blindly and got caught up in too much of city traffic inside Rajahmundry). Right after the town we stopped at a local restaurant and agreed to have our breakfast quickly. We had idly vada, onion dosa and tea. The food wasn’t really great but we somehow ate it to avoid stopping again in between and losing time. 10:15am we resumed our ride. By now the comfort of riding in the morning vanished and the Sun started to glow at its full potential. The heat wave started sipping in and it made the ride a bit uncomfortable. Apparently, someone mentioned to Atul that Andhra is getting massive heat waves this summer and it was highly likely we would encounter the same. Nonetheless, we had to keep moving so we tried to cover as much distance possible until we reached stages where we were totally exhausted and badly needed breaks. We did a quick stop at a shop along the highway and had some cold drink with water. Relaxed for some 10 mins, we resumed our ride once again.
As we moved further south the heat was just getting unbearable, somehow we tried to cope up and keep riding. The highway was highly boring, Atul and I kept talking to one another over Sena to kill the boredom and move ahead. Though our plan initially was to go via Tirupati (the same route taken while coming) but then based on the time calculation we would be crossing Chittoor, Mulbagal and Kolar only late in the evening and we were not sure how safe those roads will be at night. Also, the conditions of roads weren’t in very good shape to be ridden at night. Taking every aspect of safety & road condition into consideration, Atul checked with me if I’m ok to ride till Chennai and then take the Chennai-Bangalore highway, which is much safer, well-lit and had way better roads, the distance would however increase by some 100-150kms. I did agree to what Atul was proposing so now our way of return would be via Chennai.
By 12:30pm we entered the city of Vijayawada and the temperature would be anywhere in between 45-48°C. The heat was extremely unbearable and riding was getting too exhaustive with another 800kms left to reach home. We both knew we were way behind schedule and Google Maps was already predicting ETA as 1am. After some quick break, drank water, relaxed under a tree for a while, with a determined mind to finish off this last leg, we resumed our ride. We did face a lot of traffic in Vijayawada city and took some 30mins to exit and enter open highway. The highway was extremely well laid, a mix of four and six lane highway, we could cover distance quite fast. Heat waves could be felt as we moved ahead but we didn’t pay much heed and kept riding. With the course of passing time we crossed Guntur, Ongole and then reached Kavali around 3pm in the evening. It was time for refilling Hulk and energizing ourselves with food as well. Luckily there was a nice restaurant along the highway next to a petrol bunk. Took petrol first and then went inside the place to eat. They were serving only veg meals at a cost of Rs 120 per person. Ordered two meals and two cups of tea. After some 30mins we hit the highway once again.
We kept riding and covering distance, around 5pm crossed Nellore. With just occasional 5-6mins rest, most of the time we kept moving ahead. It was around 7pm that we entered the Tamil Nadu state via the place called Ramapuram and Elavur. Surprisingly we didn’t realize that we had covered a considerable amount of distance since our lunch break at Kavali. This was also a time for getting Hulk tanked up and for both of us for a short break. Stopped at a petrol bunk, took petrol, drank some water, used restroom and relaxed for some 5-10mins before hitting the tarmac once again.
Some 10kms before reaching Chennai outskirts the highway started becoming horribly bad along with heavy traffic flow. It took us time to cross signals, brave the rush and get connected to highway. By 8:30pm we felt a little relief to touch the much awaited Bangalore-Chennai highway and it felt like home was not far away. 340kms and we would be home, however, this wasn’t easy as it sounds. We both were already exhausted, sleepy and fatigued and wanted to reach home as soon as possible. Not sure why, but I think my body was the first to give up and all of a sudden I kept falling asleep. As a result, we had to take multiple breaks in between to have tea/coffee and some snacks to keep us awake. Dinner plan was already dropped as none of us had the hunger to eat anymore. Slowly and cautiously we kept moving ahead and the best part is the highway was fully live, had too many vehicles, well-lit and at no point of time we felt unsafe to ride at that particular point of time.
Kilometer by kilometer, we kept covering distance and eventually reached Krishnagiri toll gate at around 1:45am. Just when we were crossing the toll gate, Atul once again felt wobbling effect from the rear tyre. All I could hope was not another puncture but God had different plans for us. He didn’t want us to reach home early and without trouble. The rear tyre was completely worn out and had a puncture from which air was gushing out in full pressure. Both of us were equally frustrated and disappointed, this had to happen when home was just some distance away. Nonetheless, both of us got into action, poured water into the rear tyre, spotted the puncture and fixed it with the kit. All this took away 30mins and it was already 2:30am in the middle of night. A tea seller offered us two cups of tea, not free though, but after drinking the tea it really felt great and it refreshed our mind. Both of us got the much needed kick to resume our ride once again and finish the mere 80kms left out to reach home.
Another 90mins and we were calling the security guard of the apartment to open the gate for us. We were finally home, time was 3am and the ODO meter read, 9897kms. The guy was happy to see us after 26 days, asked us how the trip was. Both of us, replied in unison, SUPER AWESOME! For one last time, Atul unloaded the bags from the bike, thankfully no check in this time, just open the lock of our main door. In batch of two we took our luggage inside our home, kept them aside, as lot of cloth washing will happen in the next couple of days. Quickly both of us freshened up, I jumped into the hall couch, and Atul on the hall bed, both of us fell asleep. Office after 4-5 hours of sleep.
Hence, a wonderful journey of our life finally came to an end. So many memories, experiences, learnings and stories to cherish for lifetime. 26 days had given us millions and zillions of memories to relish till our last breath. Time to narrate all our stories during tea time gatherings…!!
“Life is only half lived if you have never got onto open roads, going where it takes you…”