Riding to the beach.. again...

Destination - Bhatye beach, Ratnagiri
Distance from matunga - approx 370kms
time taken one way - approx 8 hours (including an hour of break for breakfast and other stuff)

It was a saturday night.. all of us were laughing our hearts out at Sankets jokes.. and in the talks came the plan to ride in a group after a long time..
all of us there were eager to ride.. Vinod had plans of a 500km ride starting Friday night.. but they had to change all that because of me..
thank you all very much for that gesture..

so it was again deepak who had to find out a destination .. and this is what he sent on the mail..
excerpts from the mail..
"With initial places being decided at Tambarde and Kunkeshwar in Malvan- it would only be possible to leave on Friday night. Leaving on Saturday morning riding for 550 kms and then returning back the next day wouldnt make much sense. So I've shortlisted a place called Bhatye Beach in Ratnagiri. As per info from my colleague who is from Pavas which is close to Bhatye, there are ample and inexpensive accomodation options to stay overnight. Here's the pic of the beach. Googled around for a few snapshots of the beach and got this (seems pretty clean):

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/78/154084585_6411a3a066_o.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/53/154084615_7649676b1e_o.jpg

http://www.konkandarshan.com/tourist/images/bhatye_big.jpg "

so it was decided.. Bhatye beach it is going to be..

Riders list
Deepak -- P150
Revel -- Hunk
Vinod -- P180
Sarang -- P180
Vaibhav -- P180
Dhananjay -- P220
Alkesh -- P220
Glen -- Zma
Arjun -- Zma
Sanket -- Zma
Parimal -- Zma (he joined us later at the destination)

Riding to the family God.. Velneshwar...

i had not done a ride since october 2008..the itch to ride was too irresistible..and it was a 3 day weekend to top it up..
Darth called up two weeks ago to confirm for jaisalmer..but work pressure now a days is just too much..did not get time to get my bike ready for such a long ride..had to give him kalti just two days prior to d ride..sorry mate..

But d itch to ride is not so easy to overcome..called up moo anus n ghan..n i would be riding..not to the sand dunes but to d beach sand..destination again one of d konkan beach..

moo..

anus..

ghan..

Velneshwar..

The beach is one of d very secluded beaches of maharashtra..325kms from matunga..

route taken: panvel-nagothane-chiplun-velneshwar..

We decided to start at 5am so that we reach velneshwar before it gets too hot..but as expected we started at 5.45am..The weather was chilly..and d NH17 with all d trees around makes it really cold..
We were cruising on d 2 lane highway with d speeds of around 80-90kmph..The chill was doing its job..i had to stop for d bio break..stopped somewhere on d highway..done with emptying d bladders,photosession n suddenly Vroooom -a red coloured hayabusa goes past us..then again Vroooom-its a silver fireblade..

Its 7.15am when we reach nagothane..about 105kms from d palm beach road..we covered d distance in an hour n 30minutes..have idli-wada-sambar n filter coffee..leave from there at 7.45am..

On d highway..cruising towards d destination..mohit dhananjay ride ahead to click a few snaps at mahad..wait for me to reach there..but im about 2-3kms behind them when i feel d rear wobble.. I stop n check..d pressure looks fine.. So start riding but again feel d wobble ..stop n check again..ahh..d tyre is getting flat..decide to keep riding as d tyre is not totally flat..pass anup who is waiting at a spot to take a snap.. Wave him n move ahead.. Mohit waits with d camera for me.. Show him d flat tyre n keep moving.. Find a puncture shop about a km away from d mahad river.. We were there at 9am..it takes an hour to leave from there..

we keep riding passing mangaon roha khed in no time..get down d parshuram ghat n wait to take d right for guhagar..but one scooter uncle suggests that we take d route from chiplun as we will directly get on d state highway..we had to go through very narrow roads of d town..we were told by d locales that after chiplun there r no petrol pumps for 40kms.. Now d r15 would need fuel after about 60kms..

we are about 30kms from guhagar when i c a board which points to d left..it says velneshwar 25kms..we take this road which goes from d other side of velneshwar..d road has absolutely nothing..n i forgot that mohits bike needs petrol..we keep riding thru d narrow road n reach velneshwar at 1.45pm..

had a very heavy home made lunch at d lodge..dozed off til 5..

Went to d beach.. did some photography and a very nice bath in the Arabian sea. The water is absolutely clean.. one can see his feet on the sand beneath..

We were there till the sun set.. Had wadapav for snacks and moved to the hotel.. came back later in the night to check out the beach. Its just too amazing to resist..

It would be Mahashivratri on Monday so the temple was lit up by the bulbs.. it was looking stunning..

Day 2

Start in the morning at 7.00 am and are cruising at 40-50kmph to save fuel. Fill up at Tali which is about 20kms from Velneshwar.. then it’s a free run again back to home..

Keep taking breaks at regular intervals.

Take a food break at Parshuram ghat.. some photography done there.

At the end of the parshuram ghat

Kashedi.

Somewhere near Raigad..

Then there were no stops for photographs.. reached home at 2.30pm for lunch..

It was a very nice ride and a nice break from the everyday chores...

Birds in my backyard...

Maina...
Faintail Flycatcher..

Indian Koel - Female..
Small Sunbird..
Golden Oriole..

Harihareshwar

Was ithcing for a ride for a while now..Finally on friday the 24th i decide the destination will be Harihareshwar..
Harihareshwar is a place in raigad on the coastal line of India famous for its beautiful beach and Lord Shiva temple..
Its situated at a distance of around 210kms from mumbai..

Route taken - Mumbai - Panvel - NH17 - Mangaon - SH97 - Mhasla - Srivardhan - SH98 - Harihareshwar

Started the day at 5.15am.. I am already riding in reserve for the last 2 days..So want to fillup the tank asap..
Go under the sion flyover to find the bunk closed..ride on..
no bunks till chembur maitri park.. reach the next bunk.. its also closed.. Finally find the pump working near Mankhurd.. fillup 500rs worth..9lts..

from here on its ride on.. hit the NH17 in no time.. chill goes thru the spine.. its that cold.. dint even imagine this.. i was shivering.. my helmet fills up with mist..
have to wait and wipe off the mist.. ride slowly now.. i take a hour and fifteen minutes to cover a distance of 63kms and that too when there is no traffic on the road..

ride on.. reach pen and stop for pani.. click a few snaps..






keep riding till i reach mangaon.. take the right from there.. the board says Srivardhan 43kms..
stop at a road side hotel for breakfast.. dont remember the time i reached there..
had a tea and idli-wada..
the roads from here are real treat.. thru the trees and winding with ample opportunity to lean..



this is the ghat section..




just after the ghat.. the roads are again butter smooth...


wonder if he thinks i am an alien with all the gear on me..


but not alls well.. the not so good part of the road is the last 20 odd kms.. its PIA.. one can do around 40kmph but i have my front mag already bent so dint want to take a chance..
this is the road condition..


one more ghat where constrution is going on for alternate road..

but the main road is neglected.. its steep and had rocks and craters and wat not in the way.. have to be really careful.. one slip and u r gone !!
did not click any snaps for the steep section though..


reached srivardhan breach at around 10am to find that the beach was empty.. literally ek kutta bhi nahi tha..

there is a nice little resort type on the beach..

he has caged turkey and ducks..


finally after an hour or so started back for Harihareshwar.. its 17kms from Srivardhan.. the roads.. again butter smooth..
on the way ..



Harihareshwar temple..

going around the temple for Pradakshina you have to go through the mountain and the Sea.. actually its less of pradakshina and more of sightseeing..
climb up..


go down..

thats the steepness..

and go through the sea..
erosion caused by the water..


view of the beach from top of the mountain..


hunger strikes and i move to MTDC. which is just half a km away from the temple..
its a really beautiful and quite place for a getaway..



waiting for lunch i spot this.. no its not a reflection.. might be mating season has begun..

the lunch was starting at 12.30 so had to keep cliking..



finally lunch arrives at 1..fill up myself with the jeera rice.. dal fry and the mangola..

start back at 1.45 from harihareshwar.. a tempo driver tells me to go through Borli village.. so i could skip the pathetic ghat..

route taken while coming back - Harihareshwar - Srivardhan - turn towards Dighe village - Borli - Mahsla phata - Mahsla - Mangaon - NH17 - Mumbai..

but again the first 10 odd kms are craters..with good roads ahead..


reached back to mumbai at 5.45..

statistics..
total distance covered - 440kms..
Fuel cost - Rs.550..
bike mileage - approx 45kmpl..
time spent on road - approx 11hours..

album link..