Sunday, November 26, 2017

The Sringeri-Moodbidri Trip

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Our friend's wedding was at Moodbidri and that was a good reason for a short trip :)
Initially wanted to Ride Solo, but was glad that i got company of two friends and we had an amazing Bike trip for 2 days.

Day1:

Blore-Hassan-Belur-Chikmagalur-Balehonnur-Sringeri-Sirimane Falls-Sringeri(Halt)

Started the Ride early around 4am in the morning. Not much traffic. It was a smooth sail. The Route is very good all the way.
Chikmagalur-Balehonnur-Sringeri is Superb twisty roads.

Breakfast near Belur, Coffee at Balehonnur Bhadra Coffee shop, Numerous stops for photo and video sessions..
Finally reached Sringeri around afternoon. Initially we wanted to Ride to Moodbidri/Udupi but later decided to halt at Sringeri itself, just so that we get time for rest and to explore some places. Also the wedding was on the next day.

Checked in at a lodge(KanyaKumari lodge, Sringeri). Kept the lugguage and headed to Sirimane Falls, Kigga.

WaterFall was beautiful as expected. Not much crowd. Spent some good time. It was very refreshing to stand beneath the falls and relieved us of all the tiredness from the Ride.

Strangely, everything at the falls seemed somewhat familiar to me. Next day, when a friend told me, realized that we had visited the same falls few years back :p

Had dinner at Sringeri Sharadamba Temple. Spent quite some time strolling around in and around the temple.
We were quite tired by then so got back to the lodge and slept off early. Good that there was no Tv at the lodge.

Day2:

Sringeri-Kundadri Hill-Sringeri-Moodbidri-Belthangady-Ujire-Charmadi-Mudigere-Belur-Hassan-Bangalore

Woke up at 4am. Got ready, went near the temple again.
The Gopuram looks amazing at night. Each storey is lit up in different color. Clicked some pics there and had hot coffee. Great start for the day!!

Rode to Kundadri Hill. The gates were opened around 6am.
The place was calm and quiet and unlike our Nandi Hills, crowd was well behaved. No screaming, shouting and all. Everyone was just sitting on the hill and enjoying the view. Got a good view of the Sunrise and western ghats. Recorded a timelapse and it was time for some photos and crazy slow motion videos.

While taking the pics, there was this big g:roup of guys in the background who were moving around. My friend said something - "Kal nan makla.. hogro akade.." and to our surprise they somehow heard it :D They were like "yaak guru, ayth bidu kal nan maklu naav hogthivi". It was hilarious. We had a good laugh throughout the trip recalling that.

Din't realize how time flew by. Remembered the wedding and started back to the lodge in Sringeri. Packed everything. Got ready, For the first time, Wore a formal shirt with Riding jacket. Skipped breakfast and headed straight to Moodbidri.

We thought we'll be late coz the Route was full of curves, Narrow roads and oncoming traffic. Good speeds and a non stop Ride ensured we reached moodbidri on time for the wedding.In fact, we were the first to reach and our friends (from Udupi) came much later :D

Met our friends after a long time. We were damn hungry. Had Stomach full. Got tank full(petrol) for our Bikes too and Started back to Bangalore around 2:30pm. Decided to take the route through Charmadi Ghat. It was single lane till Hassan and we din't want to Ride much on single lanes in the dark.

Riding through Charmadi was nice. Saw an Avenger group at a view point who had stopped there for pics and we too stopped for a break.

It got dark somewhere after Mudigere. Reached Belur carefully overtaking every other vehicle on the way. The good lunch we had, ensured we had the energy for the long Ride, but it was quite tiring till we reached Hassan.

Once we reached the highway at Hassan, our speeds increased and it was a breeze thereafter. Stopped at Swathi Delicacy(Kunigal) for Dinner around 10pm. Next stop was Nelamangala toll where we parted ways.

Reached home around 12am. Trip meter showed 857Kms.

Waiting for the pics and Videos from my friend's unsharably secure Iphone.. :)

Some pics from my cell are below.















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Friday, November 17, 2017

Bike Rentals in Bangalore

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If you are passionate about Bike Rides, have a valid license but do not own a Bike and still want to go for Rides with your friends, don't sweat!! You've plenty of Bike Rental options available. You can choose Bikes of your choice ranging from Bullets to Ktms to SuperBikes at reasonable prices.

I keep getting asked for suggestions for Bike Rentals in Bangalore. Couple of my friends had hired bullets from below bike rentals and their experience had been positive. The Bikes were in good condition. Had good pickup and no issues. Their whole renting experience from picking up to dropping the bike was Hassle free and totally worth the money. Thought of listing down some good Bike Rentals options and hope this is useful to some one. Please share this post with your friends.


  • Bikes are charged on per hour/per day basis. 
  • There are multiple pickup/drop locations in the city. 
  • On weekdays you get the Bike for a cheap price and on weekends the price is high. You can even rent the bike on weekly/monthly basis. 
  • The bikes have insurance covered and are in good condition. 
  • There could be a speed limit on the Bikes and the bikes are fitted with a GPS device and you get a warning on your phone when you try to abuse the bike which is good. 
  • Rental cost excludes fuel expense. Bike is usually given with a full tank or sufficient level of fuel and expected to be returned with the same level of fuel.
  • Helmets for Rider and Pillion are usually provided with the Bike. Other Riding gear like Jackets/Gloves etc can be rented out from the Bike rentals itself.
  • Some of them offer 24 hours Road side assistance.
  • You can even get the Bike delivered at your location if you cannot reach their hub yourself.
  • Check the availibility and rent cost for your desired bike on the website.
  • Please go through the terms and conditions on the website and call the Rental guys regarding any doubts and get it clarified before renting the bike.

*Please wear proper Riding gear like Helmet, Gloves, Jacket, Shoes, Knee Guard etc. If you do not have them you can rent them out as well.

 

1) https://www.royalbrothers.in

They Rent both cars and Bikes




Speciality:
  1. First RTO Authorized bike rental. Pioneers in renting out bikes legally in Karnataka.
    Bikes in top notch conditions. Each bike is cleaned and serviced weekly and also once before renting out.
  2. Timely pick up and drop off. If we delay even by 15 mins, ? 25 on scooter and ?50 on bikes will be refunded.
  3. Home delivery on weekdays. Now avail our service and get the key to happiness at your doorstep.
  4. Commercial Insurance is covered. We have a valid commercial insurance for the rider, pillion and third party.
  5. Most trusted & transparent process. We are upfront about the entire process of renting a bike from us.
  6. Serving in more than 40+ cities. In case of any issue, we will coordinate with our other branches and resolve it.
  7. 19 pickup locations in Bangalore. There are good chances you will find us in 3 km radius from your location.
  8. Choose from a wide variety of bikes. Pick a bike that suits your need from scooters to superbikes.

Their Fleet:

Bikes : Bullets(all versions), Himalayan, Dukes(all versions),  Dominar 400, 
Yamaha FZ 250, Mahindra MOJO, Bajaj Avenger Cruise 220, Yamaha FZ 150, Bajaj Pulsar 150 

Super Bikes: Suzuki Hayabusa, Triumph Tiger 800 XR, Triumph Street Twin, Daytona 675R, 
Benelli TNT 600i, Kawasaki Ninja 650, Kawasaki ER 6N, Harley Street Bob, Street Rod 750 etc

Mopeds: Activa 3G, Access 125, Yamaha Fascino, Honda Dio, Aprilia SR 150, Yamaha ZR etc.





2. https://www.wickedride.com

You would have seen their ads in metro stations etc. Their fleet looks impressive.



3. https://www.wheelstreet.com

 

4. http://www.metrobikes.in

Similar to Wicked Ride, but you've lot more options in the lower end.



5. http://www.hwyrider.com 

They rent out Bullets and bicycles like BTwin RockRider 500, 340, Firefox Target D21. 



6. http://www.bikersenclave.com

Their fleet consists of Premium Sport bikes. 



7. https://www.rentrip.in


8. http://www.rentongo.com


9. https://www.twic.in


10. http://www.roadpanda.com


11. https://www.bykemania.com/tariff.php


12. http://www.ziphop.in


13. https://www.onnbikes.com

 

14. http://rentnzip.in

There are many more Bike Rental options, specially in Bangalore. But some of them do not have a website up and running. Please comment down if you have experience with any of the above or any other place you rented from. Will update the post accordingly.



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Tuesday, November 7, 2017

Solo Ride to GaviRanganaBetta and a Virtual Tour :)

3 comments

 

Part1 of the Trip: The Ride to GaviRanganabetta from Bangalore

 

GaviRangana Betta (GaviRanganatha Swamy Temple), Channapatna: A Beautiful, Scenic Hillock near Bangalore and an ideal spot to catch the Sunrise. Its one of the unexplored and lesser known hill and hence totally free from crowd. I was the only Soul on the Hill that day so it was a Solo Ride in its true sense. Stay tuned for Part 2 of this Ride where I explore the hill.

Give a thumbs up if you liked the Video and please share the Video with your friends. Happy Trailblazing!!

Google map Location: https://goo.gl/maps/iFNHygDS6Y62

You can have breakfast on the way in Bidadi in any of the Thatte Idly Joints on Mysore Road. There are so many new ones that have come up in recent times that you'll be confused where to stop.

PS: If you don't like Idlys then you can try Dose & Rice Bath :)

Some of the best ones as per my experience are below:

1) Sree Renukamba Bidadi Thatte Idly - One of the oldest and the best for Thatte Idly with butter and medu Vada. Easy to miss this one while driving. Look for the board. This is after a few other hotels. https://goo.gl/maps/D3PmXZ7jrdP2

2) Shree Shivadarshana Shashi Thatte Idly Hotel- Good one. Serves Dosas as well. Enough space to sit. There's huge crowd on weekends so have to go for self service. Parking Space is available.

3) Shree Shivasagar Thatte Idly Hotel and Dose Camp: The first one with a Big yellow board while coming from Bangalore Side. There's Ample parking space which is why most people stop here.

4) Hotel Guru : Rice bath is good. The Idly's and Vada's not so much. Used to visit this place only for Rice bath.

Toilets are usually at the backside of the Hotels. Just ask around.
If its the ambiance that you are looking for then you can stop at A2B(Adyar Anandha Bhavan). But I'd any day prefer tasty food in a small hotel to the ambiance of a big restaurant with hefty price.

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Follow me on:-

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TrailBlazerVinay

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trailblazer.vinay

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Part 2: Exploring the Hill with a Gopro giving you a Virtual tour 

  

A virtual tour of one of the most scenic place near Bangalore which is totally free from crowd since not many people are aware of this place. Being one of the lesser known Hills, GaviRanganaBetta is unexplored and offers Beautiful Views of the surrounding town of Channapatna. This is the second part of the Trip.

Comment down If you liked the video and Subscribe for more: https://www.youtube.com/c/VinayBM?sub_confirmation=1

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You can have Breakfast on the way in Bidadi/Ramnagar. Take the Mysore Road while going and Kanakpura road while returning. Best place to have food near Kanakpura is Hotel Vasu.

Vasu Hotel, Kanakpura (Location):
https://goo.gl/maps/yU7xmGf9TDC2

I'd recommend Gavirangana Betta as a Breakfast Getaway destination from Bangalore since its quite near.
All the other hills near Bangalore like Nandi Hills, DD Hills, Avalabetta etc are way more popular and over crowded on weekends. Very few places like this offer the scenery and the solitude.

Please keep the place calm and clean if you happen to visit this place. Carry your Trash with you and please do not litter.
Happy Trailblazing!!

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Follow me on

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TrailBlazerVinay

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trailblazer.vinay

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Watch my other Videos:
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Ride to Thimmappana Betta
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwtSG9hOAsY

The Himalayan Adventure (Trailer)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aLDloVeehI

Ladakh Trip Montage
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoglVzwL76Q

Ride to Hogenekkal Falls(Niagara of India)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbjczqajUrE

Close call while Riding Bike
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7gQKS2lVmM

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Some Pics







































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One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things. The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.