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Published: August 10th 2015
It was a trip which was planned months ago, a trip that always seemed to be a mystery as it was still lying unexplored due to various reasons. Route, maps, excel sheets, important landmarks, turns and twists on the roads, towns and villages earmarked only pumped up our excitement, overridden by commitments, unplanned events, unexpected constraints, uncooperative factors, unconfirmed team, doubts about our ability to travel so far and the list goes on……. The second week of July 2015 saw an altogether different scene with the one and only ‘right gear’ royal enfield bullet classic 350 in the team all set to start. It was just a group of 5 people with 2 royal enfield classic 350 bullets and a Honda activa which seemed to be the final team with which we had to start this trip that we had planned for July, 11, 2015.
07.00 p.m. July 10. The evening developed signs of moody dreariness following a heavy downpour that lasted all through the evening and night, making us hesitant about the trip and to the time of departure from our originating points. I was supposed to start from Chennai at 06.00 hours while Jayaraj and Anand along with
Jagadish were scheduled to leave from Kalpakkam at 07.00 hours. But the time delay was way beyond since it rained through the night but finally I kick-started my journey at 09.00 hours, informing Jayaraj, Anand and jagadish who swiftly departed at 09.30 hours from Kalpakkam.
A journey of unexpected and magical moments lay in await for us proceeding on our second trip, united together this time, as members of the club ‘Right Gear 350’. I proposed to ride through Tambaram, Mudichur to meet Jay, Anand and Jag at Walajabad at an earlier scheduled time of 08.00 hours but that would not be possible any more since the departure from Chennai was delayed by more than 3 hours and 15 minutes. Jay and Jag, along with Anand were on a parallel ride from Kalpakkam now, through Chengalapattu to meet us at Walajabad, equally delayed by 3 hours.
I stopped for a short breakfast break well past Tambaram at Manivakkam along with Wesley who was my pillion rider. After the break, I rode along to the Mudichur road end and joined the Vandalur – Walajabad State Highway which took me on a steady throb to Walajabad in 45 minutes, delayed
even further, but just as we had planned. I finally sighted Jayaraj, Jagadish and Anand waiting near the government school at Walajabad, in the usual red T-shirts and blue jeans which eventually became the official attire of the club. Meetings, introductions, route rediscussions took up some more of our time pushing us well beyond our planned schedule.
11.45 hours and the team decided to pull ahead out of Walajabad. Jay, Anand and Jag took a lead ahead of us since I wanted to buy some water bottles and in a short time we reached the suburbs of Kanchipuram, the historical town. We were supposed to take the Military Road on the left after crossing the Pachaiyappa’s college but I was a bit skeptical as there was a left turn near a petrol pump and I could not find Jay or Jag anywhere around. Calling them on their mobiles proved to be in vain because it was evident they were riding fast to hear the mobile ringing. I slowly took the left turn not knowing if I had crossed pachaiyappa’s college and proceeded a little further for a few kilometers and then decided to turn back to the same junction
hoping that the other members would be around. A subsequent call from Anand made me realize that the other members had taken the same turn on the left and were well ahead of us, too far to turn back to the same junction. I checked with a passerby to make sure if I had crossed pachaiyappa’s college and that was confirmed. I was on the right track.
My watch showed me 12.45. We had to take the same road to Vandavasi which was our agreed next destination.
We stopped only once in between, the road being quite smooth, with very less traffic, the afternoon heat very much bearable due to overnight rains. My bull was just fresh after engine refitting and so I was not straining her engine much, doing only 40 or so but as the time wore on I decided it was going to be too late, already well behind schedule. I throttled the bull to 50 plus kmph and we were on a sturdy ceaseless trip except for bad roads in between.
2.20 pm and I was pulling up next to Jay, Anand and Jag at Vandavasi town, Kanchipuram district. Our stomachs needed their
fuel so the hunt was on for a good eating joint and finally we barged into the Jain mess for a decent vegetarian meal, followed by selfies and some light moments, which delayed us further, that which never bothered us much as we were all together again.
Refreshed after nearly 5 hours of journey, which, was too slow for a road trip, a result of the miscalculation by me of the average speed, we geared up to go ahead and got underway, the riders and the pillion passengers changing bikes and riding positions, replenishing our water requirements. It was 04.00 pm by the time we got out of Vandavasi town on to the state highway heading towards Polur the next town.
Lush green fields greeted us on either sides, as we rode our bikes, reaching speeds up to 60 kmph plus on the state highway, keeping together on the move. The spirit of riding was catching up and we rode progressively together and no sooner we had got into a formation of riding, the dark clouds surrounding us opened up, the cold droplets of rain making us feel quite chill all of a sudden. Though the short showers
were a welcome relief still we slowed down since the roads became wet. The whiff of the damp fields enveloped us, in spite the sudden rains having stopped, which was even more exciting and it fabricated a sense of rural experience with fields, remote hills, petite villages, cattle grazing lazily and the simple, meagerly populated hamlets which gave no importance to time, a complete transformation from the hustle of the city to the quietness of rural Tamilnadu . The green fields were a constant attraction and so we decided to stall further and take some photo shoots of the greenery around us.
Pulling on further on the vacant stretch of roads, with a few buses oncoming, we maintained uniform speeds managing to be above 60 kmph. Not even Jagadish on his Honda activa was giving up and managed to uphold along with our bulls. The sun showed signs of setting high in the sky much to our amazement and at random we focused at the setting sun, high up in the horizon, which indeed was a rare phenomenon but to our surprise and joy, we discovered that the sun was actually setting behind the hills which was none other
than the long range of Javadhu hills of the Tiruvannamalai district which came into view as we approached Polur. Our first view of the hills which set the excitement unbound, and we knew the fantastic part of the journey was almost yet to begin. The Hills came closer as we rode on, guiding us into the quaint little town of Polur, very much at the foothills of the javadhu hills.
It was decided that we would stop for a cup of tea and some water replenishment before we start. The onlookers at the local tea stall had curious looks at our bikes and the common red t–shirts that we had adorned for the journey. The tea was served in tall glasses which was a great welcome after a long journey. It was at that time that I noticed a small mini bus making its way from the other side of the tea shop, the size of it was very obvious that such buses were used only in the hills. I noticed the board with the name ‘Athimoor’ on the bus and I referred to the map that we had carried and my eyes captured the location which I presumed
would be a part of our route at the foothills.
Excitement was building up. Bikes roared to life again and we took the road just behind the tea shop, a rather rickety and bumpy path with shops and houses on either side. Slowly the traffic and the habitation of the town became scanty and we proceeded on to well laid roads ruled by even greener groundnut fields. The sun was just beginning to set down as we made our last stop at the foothills for a mandatory check just past Athimoor. The scene was just out of the movie so much that Wesley had his own share of excitement and took off with Jag’s bike on his own for a short ride much to all our surprise. We began our journey once more and the hills loomed up very close to our vicinity. We stopped for short photo shoot and then it was Anand riding solo on Jai’s bull, with Jai and Jag on the Honda activa, followed by me and Wesley on my bull.
The road became more deserted with thick trees on the sides, an occasional biker giving us company head on. The sun had vanished
just behind the tall hills, but still ample daylight was around and we saw the first sight of the road climbing up into the hill. Polur town was far behind now, not a sign of it anywhere to our eyes. The only sound was the thump of our bullets as we rode with great excitement up the hills. Curves, Bends, Hairpin bends, bumps, ups and downs….we enjoyed every second of this hill ride. Horns blaring and engine screaming as our bikes turned, slanted and roared up the beautiful Javadhu hills. Each of us were gripped in our own world of whimsical fantasies, riding for the first ever time in our lives up the hills. Finally we stopped at a small hairpin bend at 2200 feet above mean sea level to get an awesome peek of the town of Tiruvannamalai from the hills.
The temperature had dropped suddenly, the cool mountain air surrounding us with drops of rain patting on our helmets sporadically. Everything was became quiet with the sun setting down, even the noise of the birds had fainted away and we could only hear our deep breaths as the 5 of us stood mesmerized amidst the javadhu hills,
staring in to the distant valley below. It was time for a change of positions. Wesley got on to Jai’s bull with Jai riding, Jag was solo on his active and Anand hopped on to my bull along with me. The other two vehicles took a short lead ahead of us, and I decided to have selfie with Anand since the scene around was so enthralling. We started at the earliest not to lose the other members and up we rode high into the javadhu hills. The roads became dark and my headlamp had to be switched on and my horn never ceased to blare at the slightest bend on the up hill road. All of a sudden we seemed to be alone in the hills as there was no sign of Jay and Jag ahead of us. Fascination increased more with the daylight totally diminishing and the hills put on a strange and mystical appearance in the high beam of my headlamp. Deep in my heart I thanked my friend Michael for putting me on to the electrical professional Mr. Ramu who redid the electrical wiring of my bullet and refitted the headlamps which did great wonders on the
ride up the dark hills, giving me a clear vision of the road ahead. At one right turn, we met Jai and Jag, waiting there with Wesley and our team was on the move together again.
The temperature further dropped as we ascended the ghat section and the thrill was evident amongst us, riding all alone in the dark after sunset, each moment filled with anticipation and we did not know what lay ahead of us. The road straightened out into a flat terrain, which we assumed to be the closest point to the summit and went on without any further elevation. Within minutes we could see the lights of an approaching town. The mystery town on my mind, unheard of and strangely named, which innumerable times had been discussed in our plans and the only town on this part of the Javadhu hills, Jamunamarathur, was a welcome sight where we braked to a halt at 08.00 pm. With a small bus stand and plenty of shops and a convent to its credit, the chilly town of Jamunamarathur was a much bigger than we expected it to be.
Time for change of positions for us riders though I
had no choice but to ride my bull by myself. Jai hopped on to my bike and Anand was in charge of Jai’s bull with Wesley riding pillion behind him and Jagadish following solo in between us. The exhilaration continued further as we approached kavalur, our eyes scanning to see the Vaina Bappu Observatory but the hill road started to descend rapidly and with our concentration on the downhill ride, we missed the observatory completely, much to our disappointment. Again the darkness of the hills seemed to cloak us on the descent down the hills. Our hands were becoming numb with the journey getting into its 11
th hour but the excitement never left us for a moment and we continued to cruise down the hills into Alangayam in search of food. Good food being a doubtful opinion, we were guided by locals to eat at Vaniyambadi which was to be our next pit stop. Familiar habitation came into view as we crossed the railway crossing at vaniyambadi and parked our bikes in front of the thalapakattu biriyani hotel at Vaniyambadi.
So it was at Vaniyambadi that we made one more refueling of our petrol tanks and some tasty fuel
for our stomach which we carried and now the factor to be decided was whether it was safe to go up the hills to Yelagiri or check into a room at Vaniyambadi. Discussions went on and I called my good friend Mr. Elangovan who was well versed with the area and he confirmed that it was totally safe to ride up the yelagiri hills any time of the day or night. So it was settled that we would ride up the hills once more.
10.45 pm. Saturday, July 11, 2015. The bikes roared to life once again and we were on the state highway from Vaniyambadi to the Tirupattur - Salem road. Just beyond Mandalavadi we took the left turn to the Yelagiri road. I was on my bull with Wesley, Jai and Anand in his bull with Jagadish tagging in between. In no time we ascended the Yelagiri Ghat section and the real fun began after we started to maneuver the first of the 14 hairpin bends. After the 6
th bend we stopped as the sparkle of lights of the town of Ambur and Jolarpettai below, twinkled like stars strewn from the sky. It was a mesmerizing view,
not which many would have even experienced at that time of the night. We stood in complete silence, in the dark of the night, our bikes switched off in dead silence, staring in awe below at the sparkling lights of the towns below. Moments passed in fascination, each in our own thoughts devouring the sight that lay in front of us. Unbelievable is what we could say. Beauty they say, lies in the eyes of the beholder and the beauty as it was in our eyes the beautiful towns and villages viewed from the mountain above had no expression to be defined.
Never did we imagine that a late miscalculated time in the trip would lead us to such a beautiful spectacle but we could not wait any longer, the night becoming chill, with steady cold wind blowing out on our faces.
11.25 pm. We started our bikes again. Every hairpin bend was an achievement though our tired bikes made no clutter of the hills bends and willfully treaded up the hills. The sound of gears shifting, the 3.5 horsepower engines of our bulls, whining in altered sounds with the gear change, up the hills, at that time
of the night was music to our ears. Without any other sound to interrupt, I felt that this was the first time in life I had ever heard the complete sound of the engine of royal Enfield bullet. Every turn was different, the towns below striking a different pose in each hairpin bend and finally we moved away from the edge of the mountain and the road started to wind inwards into the mountain.
The last bend accomplished, the road straightening out, the sudden chill of the mountain caught us off guard and as the lights of the town of Yelagiri showed up in the distance, I lifted my left hand, let go of the clutch lever, signaling the thumbs up to let the riders behind me know that we made it! Yelagiri Ride 2015 as we called it was a dream come true at 11.45 pm, Saturday night came to close and we soared into Yelagiri, filled with delight on our accomplished expedition, riding straight into the Aruvi hotel where we parked our bikes for the night. The formalities finished, we checked out our new room and then made straight for the campfire to relax and have the
meal which we dedicatedly brought up all the way up the hills!
July 12, 2015, Sunday, woke us up much refreshed from the previous day journey, lazing around the hotel, we met a few people who were scrutinizing our bullets, trying to find out more about our trip from Chennai. We had a short conversation with them and had just enough time to get ready for our trip back to Chennai. Mr. Ravi the manager of Hotel Aruvi was another ardent bullet lover who owned a 500cc classic and together we had a photo shoot with all the bulls line up from 350 cc to 500 cc and from the latest model to the vintage ones. 1.30 pm, yet another delay in our preparation to leave back but we managed to leave hotel Aruvi, bidding farewell to Mr. Ravi and down the mountains we rode back to the hairpin bends. We stopped at one particular hairpin bend for a photo shoot and so sooner a tiny monkey, hopped on to Jay’s bull, made off with the water bottle as though it was his own. We helplessly watched after it took its huge share of gulps and threw the bottle
off and hopped away. We descended back down to the foothills, leaving Yelagiri behind and stopped for a brief halt at the Vaniyambadi – Salem Highway junction. Jagadish wanted to reach back home soon and hence there was a discussion held at mandhalavadi to route we wanted to take.
Alangayam, it was decided and so we took the narrow roads which winded up and down towards Aalangayam, passing right under the foothills of the yelagiri hills, through insignificant villages, mostly inhabited by farmers and their folk, passing a peaceful Sunday, giving us casual stares as the noise of our bullets would have surely woken up anyone in his afternoon nap! Beautiful fields, small bus stops where buses never came or went, tiled houses lined up this part of the road of vellore district. Finally after a roller coaster ride we reached back to Alangayam where we were forced to stop for our lunch. Jagadish was still worried about reaching back home late so he firmly decided to make a short rip on his own to Chennai through the national highway. Indeed it was a disappointment for us and we had no option but to part ways, Jagadish taking the
short road to Vellore while we took the same road back up the other side of the javadhu hills to Jamunamarathur.
Cruising through the hills once again I made sure I did not miss the observatory this time with daylight to guide us. Yes there it was as we rounded the curve towards kavalur, the high dome of the Vaina Bappu Observatory could not be missed and we promptly parked our bikes next to the observatory gate. It was the only observatory between south Africa and Australia to give a clear view of the celestial sky above, built in unique positions and recognised by the departments of astrophysics from around the world, a location discovered amidst the Javadhu hills by Dr. M. K. Vaina Bappu another renowned scientist. Unidentified and completely secluded the observatory lay quietly in the hills, unavailable to easy eyes, but the establishment behind the discovery of so many celestial wonders which man had not known so far. Jay tried to convince the security introducing himself as a scientist from the Kalpakkam Atomic power plant, but the rules here not meant to be broken and we are told to come back only on a Saturday night
between 7 and 9 pm! The observatory which we had seen so many times on our computer screens, which had inculcated various images into our minds, was never going to be a reality visit on this trip. We had to be contended with just a secret photo shot of the entrance to the observatory and start our bikes once more.
The spirits which dampened rejuvenated once again as we cruised through Jamunamarathur, not stopping this time anywhere and took the left turn before the bus terminus towards the Amirthi forest. The road beyond was much beautiful, the houses were neatly built with bamboo fences and hay thatched roofs, lively live stock loitering on the roads and villagers in their simple attire, feeling at ease attending to their neighborhood chores. It was hard to point out if was a weekday or a Sunday. As we rode further, the woods thickened. The road started to wind about with very turn, with unexpected elevations. It was a strange sensation to be in this part of the Javadhu hills, the evening closing in faster than we imagined. The route became more desolate and not a vehicle or habitation was to be seen. This
was like a fairy tale paradise and we felt like being in no man’s land, never presuming as to which district of the Javadhu hills we were riding and the path we had taken was leading to nowhere. All around there were only ranges and ranges of distant hills above us covered with thick vegetation. We had no place to stop even for a cup of tea, riding on like we were lost. Not a soul, not an animal in sight and it felt like an invisible road had been laid, without knowing where it was leading to, just for us to drive by. That was what we could express at that point of time. Photos that we shot were not enough to describe the route we traveled that day. When we decided to stop, we stopped in the middle of nowhere once again but there was a small bit of human presence around. We stopped right on a short concrete stretch of road which was specifically laid to retain the road connectivity as there were signs of flash floods and water which had flown through the same spot where we stood. The setting sun was another threat and we
noticed the birds flying back to their nests and dark clouds rising up behind the distant hills. There was no more time to waste and we had to leave the forest before it was too dark and Amirthi was way too long from our halt.
We were back on our bikes, but riding fast was never possible as the road was too treacherous with sudden twists and low hung trees with thick branches. I never could perceive how this part of Tamilnadu was not ever discovered by the world out there, so much so that these routes still remained hot favorites for the local inhabitants of the Vellore and Tiruvannamai districts. We never saw a taxi cab or a bus, except for a truck and an occasional biker. Deadly hairpin beds came up as we started to descend the forest hill. We could never take our foot off the brake and snake like bends downhill got our adrenaline pumping with every breath taking view of the fields and valley below and the small town of Amirthi lay far down in the valley. The road became muddy and we had to slow down further. Deep in our hearts we wanted
to stop for more photo shoots, but our instincts told us to keep going with the night approaching and we were nowhere close to our destination. The scene that lay in front of us was like a dirt bike video game and little by little the road became gradually straight and we reached the foothills of the forest, past Amirthi and the regular route in the plains led us to Kaniyambadi where we braked at the closed railway gate. 07.00 p.m. Jay and Anand were googling on their phones for a shorter route while we waited for the passenger train to pass by.
The train passed, the gate opened to road traffic and it was decided that the town of Arni was the next point of halt. It was the state highway and the traffic was bit heavy. We ripped once again at 60 plus with rain drops wetting us and after a substantial amount of time had passed we reached the Arni junction where Anand and Jay wanted to proceed straight to Vandavasi to go to kalpakkam. We were left alone to take the left road to Cheiyyar. The decision was crucial. The road to Cheyyar looked very
dark and not inviting at all to me especially and if I took that left, I had to do it alone. Many confused decisions were made but we stopped finally at another Thalapakattu Biriyani joint at Arni. Finally Jai took the best decision. I had a great sense of relief and my anxiety was terminated when he said that he and Anand would ride with us back to Chennai. It was evident he did not want us to travel alone as it was well past 09.00 pm by the time we finished dinner.
Dinner brightened us up and the rain stopped for awhile. We rode back to the Arni junction and took the right turn once again to Cheyyar. The road was dark as black and together we notched up to 60 plus once again keeping our bulls steady within the vicinity of one another. The ride was just awesome! State highway, little traffic but our headlamps were doing their jobs which rendered a good sight of the road ahead in the night. My right knee started to pain and no amount of Volini spray was going to help and I had no option but to stretch my leg
on to the crash bar of the bullet with my left feet still on the brake. I dared not to lift that leg off come what may! The route seemed longer than we thought. Most of the villages in between had retired for the night. Only a few lights were on at that time of the night as we rode on, finally entering into Kanchipuram district and within a few minutes we reached the town of Cheyyar where we had the opportunity of having tea at the only shop that was open. No sooner that we left Cheyyar that my petrol flow switched on to the reserve tank and we were forced to return back to Cheyyar. The kind petrol pump attendant filled up the tanks of our bulls and just as we were about to start back, mobiles started to flash with calls started flowing in from our families, who, were by now wondering where on earth we were! We took up the same speed back on the same road from Cheyyar, without any more worry about empty fuel tanks. With my right leg placed back on the crash bar in the same posture, left leg on the brake,
not changing any rider-pillion places, we ripped through the night towards Kanchipuram on the state highway.
It was a clean ride and we stayed together, only slowing down at the speed bumps when we crossed the villages. The next 50 kilometers was easy and at well past 12 we neared Kanchipuram and just at the entry Jai and Anand were almost about to be stopped by a half naked man whose intentions we did not know but found to be suspicious though he backed away at the sight of the second bullet right behind them ! We took the right turn just before Kanchipuram and followed the military road that led us to Walajabad, the same town where we met Jai, Jag and Anand for the first time on the trip yesterday. Stopping for a brief halt, we pulled on after Walajabad on the vandalur highway, past factories and industrial estates and sleepy villages and the tension slowly eased out of me, when I noticed that we were eating up kilometer after kilometer heading towards home. Jai and Anand were nowhere to be found ahead of us they were too fast and I could not catch up with them. It still made me feel somewhat uncomfortable to contemplate the situation if we had been left alone to manage the journey between Arni and Walajabad in the dark rainy night. It was indeed a perfect decision by Jayaraj that night at Arni ! We reached the manivakkam junction where we turned left and proceeded towards mudichur and the roads brightened up with lights and call taxis with call center employees were travelling on the road which was a welcome sight and we reached Tambaram on to the GST road to Chennai.
It was 25 kilometers to home and the city was alive as ever! We crossed every junction and airport and in no time I was climbing the Kathipara flyover bridge to Ashok Nagar and Nungambakkam. Turning left off the Poonamalle High Road, I stopped my bullet finally to drop off Wesley and it was at that time Anand called me to check on me. It was nice to know that they had reached a little earlier back home and after a brief halt I drove slowly back home at 03.15 am, Monday morning, 13
th of July 2015.
It may have been an unethical longer time for this journey of 600 kilometers which took us 28 hours on the whole, but we rode up 3 hill ranges and forest territories, state highways, national highways, plains, nights, rains and dust to accomplish this journey.
To others it may seem strange in many ways but for us it was a journey of dreams, an amazing experience which made me to write this blog, to experience the thrill of riding a bullet on such a long journey, riding the hills for the very first time, the amount of time I spent on getting my bull ready for this trip, considering the fact that I had no alternative rider for the entire journey, a test to each of us, to our physical and mental capability and endurability, which, stretched beyond our imagination and fitness levels. We proved, not only to the disbelieving and to the non interested, but also to ourselves that we could do it! It is certainly a great pride to know that the club Right Gear 350 has a true spirit of riding the way Jai put it in his own words. Many have missed out this truly amazing trip which as I had earlier said cannot be expressed in photo captions or words, because every rider needs to put his heart and soul onto his bike and the trip to make it memorable forever, for those who chose to ride, the road ahead is always filled with hidden excitement!
My sincere and whole hearted thanks to all the riders on this Yelagiri trip 2015 who made sure it was a absolute sensational success !
It is not a chance, but choice to be a motor bike rider, because ‘Destiny to ride is not by chance, but by choice’
Dedicated to all motorbike riders out there, who are still exploring unknown destinations as I write this blog.
- Right Gear 350
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