It all started in June with our chairman posting a message about monsoon ride (I will come to this later ?) in August – destination Gokarna, a costal town in the Arabian Sea in Uttara Kannada district in Karnataka. Boy oh boy the poll started filling up instantaneously and was soon up to 20. The frenzy was building but slow and steady at least up until about July. Then started the discussion about local specialties and sight seeing places which is when the group conversations began in full swing.

Though I was not part of the working committee (CRWC – wow high funda!), I was keen to pitch in some plans as I have always been organizing my office trips and get together. I shared a few views in the background and the best part was I did a recce for the starting point. I suggested the team 3 different options but we finalized Iceland Juice in Thirumazhaisai. I went on a Sunday at 3:45AM and had a tea. I in fact told him that we would be around 25 people on August 13, so he better be open. I wasn’t too surprised when we found he was opening the shop only around 4AM specifically on the D-day, all fate?‍♂️

We did have the tea and Moratu (Ramesh) was quick to the action to take the count. Then on he was taking count for the entire ride (Ramesh peelings kanaku pulla vellai yennake kudukarungle pa!). So we began the epic journey 3 minutes past scheduled start time of 4:30AM (romba late start, Bart will know better?). After the late start, several take diversions and pits and gravel roads we made the first pit stop after second toll gate Walajapet for tea. The fun was about to begin as the route till Chittoor was not a straightforward one due to road widening work.

We reached a point where we had to ask a local which was a better route and he guided us to go via Katpadi as the road was better than via an unknown road. This is where it all started about the China car play device (this is just an Android or IoS carplay you see) which shows map from your mobile and two specific riders from Group 2 started saying that the China device is taking us to China (therinju thaan sonnangla illa serious aah theriyathu) and a new name is born, China Bro! Many new names to come, so hold on.

Breakfast done and Aanand took over as the lead. We were cruising and the sena chat was like we will reach off by evening snacks itself. Then happens the unexpected when Aldo’s V-Strom decides otherwise. The rear wheel starts wobbling and there is no other option than to have it fixed – safety first. Bart and Santo decide to stay back with Aldo while the rest of the group proceeds at a slower pace. Bart had the best fun probably – kalla kanda nai kannom nai kanda manushan kannom antha story mathiri one shop had the tools but no mechanic and the other one had paddock but no tools and the third one had the mechanic but none of the other. Somehow, they managed to piece it all together and fix the wheel issue. In the meantime, the rest of the group completed 2 breaks and then halted for lunch. Waiting waiting finally Survesh who had to join from Bengaluru and the trio from the repair point made it to the lunch point. They say all is well that ends well, so finally we continued as how we started as on group, without any clue what was coming up next for us.

Sirsi to Gokarna, a stretch of 80km only but Google maps was showing 2 hours and some minutes. We had the last tea break and were asking the tea shop owner if there is an alternate route. They said only for some stretch road will be bad and then it will get better (we did not know he meant better on the worst side). Then started our off roading ride which one person thoroughly enjoyed in his scram. Mani did a great job here and lead the group steadily (vera vazhiye illaye, slow aah thaan poga mudiyum). Finally around 9:15PM we arrived at 5 mile resort. Given the breaks we had it was still a great timing. We had a nice dinner and then the next day plan was briefed to the team. 820+ kms on the first day and yet another long ride for the next day but it was never going to be felt as the locations planned for drone shots and other spots were interesting ones and of course after having done 800+, 200+ was going to be nothing.

Day 2, possibly the most fun filled and new names were created, was undoubtedly the highlights of this epic ride. Breakfast was brilliant and we set course to Maravanthe for the best drone shot one could get. The coastline is beautiful here and the backwater on the other side makes it a complete picturesque package. Group 1 was heading with Group 2 right behind. After some time, we noticed Group 2 was trailing way behind. We pulled aside and Santo gets a call from Group 2. Laying it out as is, here goes the conversation: Yov ennaya aachu! Oru small incident – Maraa maada idichutan, Maraa ku onnum aagala, Maadu kum onnum aagala aana pathu (10) nimisham aagum! Santo is confused and then comes the clarification that Maran and his bike were painted with cow dung, thanks to the victim cow that slam dunged him in shock. Wait for Aldo’s perfect picture of the incident. The whole group burst out in laughter as no one knew whether to pity Maran or the cow or both or just laugh it out?. Pavam Maraa – he gets his new names Saani Maran, Maraaa (as in cow mooing). Then on we get a new alert – cow on the road, cow crossing. So after 10 mins of washing Group 2 catches up. Best joke here was that Maran need not worry as the saani will dry and become varatti (cow dung cake) that can be used for campfire.

So we reach Maravanthe and ask Group 2 what really happened. Aldo gave a picture-perfect explanation – Maran was too close to the median and the cow that was on the median grazing suddenly panicked and jumped. It sprayed all over while spinning 360 degrees before coming to halt flat on 4 legs on the road. Maran stood firm with his bike with no damages to him or the bike. After laughing it out, Bart starts preparing his drone for possibly some of the best shots. Namma Modhalali etho Mathura sweets distribute panraru. And here comes another name. Aldo comes forward and asks what sweet, is it Masuratti? Mudinchuthu, team immediately started calling Aldo Masuratti. You should ask Jiju, he pronounces this very rhymingly. The entire trip was then all about Saani Mara and Masuratti. We took some beautiful shots here and then headed to lunch before hitting Murdeshwar. Yet another incident by none other than Maran. Bart gives his insta 360 to Maran to pick some pics inside the temple and Sivan statue. Mr Maran brilliantly leaves the camera on the bike itself and we all finish sightseeing. Bart wraps up his drone shots and heads towards his bike only to be shocked to find his camera still lying there. Thank god no one spotted it or flicked it. Bart hides the camera and pulls Maran’s legs but inga thaan Maran oda gethu. Despite all this avan onnu sonnan parunga – naan uyira kuduthu camerava thedikitu iruken neenga eduthutu sollave illa. Where he was searching, the same bike he was going in circles and searching inside the box at least 10 times. Irunthalum ivanuku vaiyula sanni nu summa sollala.  

We head from Murdeshwar to Sharavathi Mangrove Boardwalk. A very calm place this is a short walk on wooden pathway on Sharavathi river. The views were amazing and we took some cool pics here before heading back to resort. A clean private beach is right behind the resort and we took some cool pics here as well. We decided that we will have tea here on the last day. Since day 2 of sightseeing was flexible it was going to be juice party and it was good fun. Lots of jokes, music, dance, laughter it was for sure fun filled. Everyone had a good dinner and we wrapped the show around 2AM (when do these guys sleep!!)

Mr Vada man, oh none other than Kurian comes up with a brilliant idea of trekking beaches and 5 of us decide to go on the trek while others would cover the same by road. Survesh, Maran, Aanand Ganesh, Kurian and Sendhil head to the ferry point only to be disappointed that the service was down. We head back to the resort and quickly finish breakfast as others are still getting ready. We head to the starting point of the trek Belekan beach and begin our trek. We covered Paradise, Small Hell, Half Moon and finally caught up with the rest of the gang at Om Beach. It was a fun trek but it was extremely tiring due to heat and humidity. Yeah, monsoon ride monsoon ride that’s how it is. By the way no rains till this time too. The trek itself was nothing but Karnataka always known to show their vetti gethu, one coastguard guy probably overheard us talking in Tamil and started intimidating that the trek was not allowed until Sep 10. Survesh started rolling up his sleeves before we had to step in and cool him down. Periya kalavarame airukum. So we had a good trek and a refreshing mint cooler.

Here is the unfortunate event of the trip. The other gang was slightly up on the cliff and all gazing and waiting for something. Only then we five came to know that our beloved drone took its last leap somewhere inside Arabian Sea. The whole team was sad but there was nothing much that could have been done. So we wrapped up from Om Beach and trekkers took and auto to Belekan where we had a simple homely lunch and the other group went ahead for lunch on the way to Mirjan Fort. They did Kudle beach but apparently it was very dirty and hence the trekker group skipped it. Mirjan Fort was another beautiful spot and to be here on Independence Day was a good coincidence. The larger team finished their photo sessions and some of them headed towards Apsarakonda Falls. Meanwhile the trekkers group reached Mirjan and headed back to the resort. As planned, we headed to the resort beach for a tea party with pakoda. It was good fun with some light music.

The much-awaited Yana Caves Day is here and the team is excited – some worried if there would be a trek. After a sumptuous breakfast, we head towards Yana caves. As we are a few kms to reach, we cross a local cop who alerted us that the caves are closed. We inform him that we will take photos outside and return. We noticed a spot where we could stop for a bath in the return. So we reach Yana caves (it would have been good if it were open) and as expected it was closed. We took some snaps and some group pics. The spot we had chosen was indeed fantastic. Some of us had a good dip while others were chilling out picking some funny videos. It was lunch and we split as two groups, yeah obvious Veg and Non-Veg. So finally, since we always call this August ride as Monsoon Ride, just for namesake there was a brief rain enroute. We took shade as we knew this rain will stop soon. We headed to the resort post lunch and it was now time to clean and lube the bikes. Balaji captured some funny and beautiful moments here as we were drawing close to say ta ta bye bye to 5 mile resort.

We started on Day 5 to Tumkur via Jog Falls. It was a fantastic ride through the curvy roads and a pleasant weather with light mist on and off. We spotted a hanging bridge on Sharavathi backwaters that was motorable. We took return tickets and off we rode on the bridge one after the other. What a sight and what a ride! This was the most remarkable ride of the entire trip. We continued our ride to Jog Falls. Thepla with pickle was thoroughly enjoyable for breakfast. We took some pics and decided to go to another view point of the Jog Falls. By now it was so hot and humid – waterfalls la thanni iruko illayo everyone had waterfall in riding gears?. After a cool group pic, we bid adieu to Jog Falls and headed towards Tumkur. We stopped for lunch at Kamat and it was pretty cool. Balaji had good time here?. We reached Hotel Sadananda where Prasanna had come along with his daughter to join us. He had made a wonderful arrangement and after a good dinner chat we were getting ready for the ride back home.

We started towards Chennai as planned and after a slight glitch in the fuel station, we grouped once again and were cruising when suddenly we noticed Group 2 missing. They missed a left turn and were heading towards Nice road. Group 1 stopped at a tea shop for Group 1 to join and we headed to the same place for lunch where we had stopped for breakfast on Day 1 – Nandi Food Plaza. The lunch was fantastic and after a superb lunch we were on our way back home. We stopped before Sriperumbudur for a final group pic and it was time to sign off from a very memorable ride with lots of fun, frolic and everlasting memories.