Destination:
Harnai Port
Route taken:
Mumbai-Vashi-Panvel-Wadkhal-Mangaon-Poladpur
-Kashedi-Khed-Dapoli-Harnai
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Distance covered approximately - 570 kms from mumbai
Batch-1 Riders:
Vaibhav (p180)
Prasad (Zma)
Ishitiaque (LB500)
Sarang (Platina)
Parimal (P180) - meets batch-1 at Mahad
Batch-2 Riders:
Deepak (P150)
Abhijit (Unicorn)
Amit (P220)
Glen (Zma)
Vinod (P180)
Pillion Riders:
Salil with Deepak
Sanket with Glen
the ride:
It all starts as a small group ride for a weekend to the coastal destination of Harnai.. this is near Dapoli, Ratnagiri, Maharashtra.
Some of the riders decide to start at friday night.. They are all set to ride out at 1am.. messages are exchanged and the time is fixed.. meeting point is the Kings Circle petrol pump.. its 12.30am and Vaibhav rides to Prasad's house who is all set to start the ride.. Sarang is picked up near and the three ride to the pump, fill up the tanks to the brim and are waiting for IshtiBhai..
Prasad calls up IshtiBhai only to understand that Ishti is having some problem with his cramster..so he thinks it might take a max delay of about half an hour .. an hour passes and Prasad calls up again.. This time Ishti doesnt revert the call and they think that he might be on his way.. wait for another half an hour and they get a call..Ishti has still not started.. its already 2am.. by now even the petrol pump workers are perplexed as to what are these 3 upto...
its 3 am and they get a call ..Ishti has finally started his journey from South mumbai..He meets the three standing for 3 hours at 3.30am and finally they start their onward journey at 3.45am..
Ishtibhai the lead and Prasad the drag..
Pit Stop 1 - Pen
distance covered - about 70kms..
Pit Stop 2 - Nagothane..
distance covered - about 110 kms..
Start from Nagothane at 9.30ish after a nice hour sleep.. get a call from Parimal..he was near Mahad..They meet Parimal at Mahad and start their onward journey..
Pit Stop 3 - just before Kashedi
distance covered - about 155 kms..
Pit Stop 4 - Kashedi top..
distance covered - about 175 kms..
Riding the Kashedi at any point in time is awesome.. everything about that Ghat is just perfect.. the riders did enjoy the ride..
They rode for about 50kms and reached Dapoli..Everybody was hungry as the places we stopped were not hotels or dhabas..So another stop at the junction at Dapoli.. This turned out to be the Pit Stop 6..
by this time its all getting under Parimal's skin who had expected a dash to the destination.. but he keeps his cool as usual and moves on with the pack..
Now Ishti's LB needs to quench its thirst.. Pit Stop 7..
Then they just rode till they we able to see the sea..Stop near the beach for some snaps.. by now everybody was looking for a place to place their saddle..Got a great deal at a Hotel Ocean Breeze which is next to the Kamath (MTDC)..
Now the wait for the batch 2 began.. Call up to understand that they have not yet started and its already 6pm..
Ishti and Prasad strike another deal with the hotel guy for the dinner preparations..
Prasad Parimal Vaibhav along with the hotel shef ride to the Harnai Beach Fish Market..
Come back and take some rest.. and are just waiting to hear from the other batch.. there is no contact for sometime.. Tension is increasing in the camp and Ishti tries to calm everyone by lighting the all favourite hukka.. ahh.. all are into the air and everything just settles down....
The batch 2 finally reaches at around 2 in the night .. everyone is tired and most are off to sleep.. some sit back and enjoy the moon lit night..
Next day morning.. Prasad and Parimal decide to leave early as they have personal priorities.. Others leave for the beach to enjoy the morning.. A photosession with all the so called autographers trying their best to get a shot..
They finally leave from there without enjoying the Dolphin ride or the paragliding (Rs.200 for a 2 km run)..They rather prefer the desolated Suvarnadurg and reach there through a water kingdom ride..Guides takes them around for nearly an hour and its time to leave..
Reach back to the hotel.. have lunch.. relax just a bit too much and leave at 5.30pm..Reach Mumbai in the next morning at 5.30am..Covering around 500 kms in abt 12 hours !
First group ride for thesaddletramps was a huge success !
full ablum accessible here
