Exploratory ride towards Bhongir

It was an usual sunday and I got up a little bit late. As soon as I get up realized its one piece day. After the 20 minute manga show it was all chores. Had to clean the refrigerator, oven and then comes my bike. At 11 am received a call from Shiva "Hey - what's the plan?". I said will ring him back after I get freshed up. Took the bath, had breakfast, troubleshooted some queries of Farooq and faiz. Now to the ride.

I called up Shiva and said to get prepared. I was thinking of a scenic ride towards the villages as the recent rains must have done their enchanting effect in bringing up the green lush natural blanket alive. I didnot explore the regions beyond rangapuram x roads previously, so I had no idea about the roads further. Searched google maps to find out where that road leads to. The road goes around 3 to 4 villages to meet up with the NH202 near Bibinagar. The NH202 further leads towards Bhongir and Warangal.

So the initial destination was not yet decided. I thought of talking with Shiva and finalizing the route. Checked the bike, papers and all other pre ride checkups. Took my leave from home and reached Shiva's home and he was ready as usual. Went to the nearby petrol pump and got the tyre pressure up to the mark. Shiva proposed of going to NH7 Bangalore road. I was not so excited about it because its a long and empty stretch with not much natural beauty around and it takes a lot of time and effort just to reach the outskirts of city. So no NH7. Another option in his mind was Bhongir Fort. The direct route to Bhongir is not so scenic just empty stretches of road waiting to get ripped hard. So I thought of going around through villages, reaching Bibinagar from there taking the highway to bhongir. So it was good and we rolled of our journey which was going to be a memorable one.

There was an unusual traffic till Rangapuram X roads due to Bonalu celebrations going on. As we passed rangapuram x roads, lush green farms greeted us. There was an unusual whistling sound in the air. The weather was cool and we were enjoying every bit of it. We were taking frequent picture breaks and putting the Nokia Lumia 800 to its test. The device with its 8 megapixel camera did its job very well. The condition of the roads was very good. The almost empty black narrow roads was like a silver lining to the greenery around.

We stopped at some place before Naginenipalli to click pictures. There was a flock of sheep and goats rearing the vast green open areas. After some 10-15 minutes of scrambling around we continued on the ride. After another 30 minute of cruising we joined the highway near Bibinagar. Shiva checked out the Nokia drive app on my Lumia and found out a lake nearby. Soon the lake came beside the road we were riding. There was a flyover being constructed near the lake for the national highway. We headed out towards the lake and took some pictures. There was a man trying to fish in a large crater. We anxiously waited for him to catch the fish. After 15 minutes of waiting, my patience ran out and we left from there. Angling does require a lots of patience.

The newly laid 2 lane highway roads were getting their first white marking and the black and white scenery was mesmerizing. A little afterwards the road was diverted due to diversion towards Bhongir village. As we were passing the village, we saw a huge hill with steps having mughal architecture leading to the top. I was sure that it was the Bhongir(Bhuvanagiri) Fort. We asked for directions for the entrance and headed there. The entrance was in neglect with a single man managing it. We deposited our helmet and handed a mere fee of Rs. 10/- to the man and headed top.

The steep climb of the hill was an endurance hike by itself. As told by the man near the entrance the hill rises 1000m above and housed both Kakatiya and Mughal rulers. Stairs were missing at some section of the hill. After 5 minutes of ascent we could see the whole village from above. The view was amazing in every aspect but the best was yet to come.

The walls adored the beautiful Mughal architecture. There were seperate stairs to the fort and besides the defensive outer perimeter wall guarding the fort. Though the fort was in a utter neglect it was a hotspot for moutain climbers, adventure enthusiasts, school children and photographers. There is a Microwave repeater station above the hill managed by the south central railway. I don't know how the personnel manage to get up to the station for their every day job. The rock carved stairs are parapetted in the late 1980's and they look good even now. This was the only barricade between us and the steep downfall of the hill.
to be continued...

An evening at Ananthagiri Hills

It was quite a while since I took my bike for a long ride, reason - Saving those bucks for buying some decent riding gear and have been limiting myself (nearly one and a half month) and it was quite decesive because summer was at its peak and I didn't want to ride in the hot environment. So, my palms were itching for a ride not too long but enough to soothe the itching.

It was a regular afternoon of 28th June 2012. My final year exams were completed and I was getting bored at home preparing for the air force entrance exam that is scheduled to happen in August. It was 1.30 PM and a short pulse came to my mind - Let's ride. My bike was ready as it was serviced a few days ago with new air filter and spark plug, cleaned fuel injector and all the necessary servicing done along with engine oil change and lubed chain. Moreover the slash in the price of Shell unleaded petrol came in the form of me getting a full tank of petrol the previous day.

But where to head out? I had many priorities keeping in mind the distance and weather. First thought of heading towards NH 7 and doing some high speed runs till 100kms and head back. This wasn't looking good as NH 7 feels exciting  initially but as time goes it lacks the punch. Another option I had was Ananthagiri Hills which is towards the west of hyderabad. This place is quite, pleasant and soothing with its cool environment and quite atmosphere. Many of the xBhp Hyderabad chapter folks head out there regularly but not me.

I made up my mind it was the ride and the destination - no hurries. Googled about ananthagiri hills, saw the route, everything was ready, took out my bag, packed the necessary things and vrooommmmmmmmmmm of I go.
I stay at Moula-ali. Ananthagiri Hills is ~95kms according to google maps. But to reach ananthagiri hills first I have to get out of the concrete jungle to reach mehdipatnam which is 20kms. The traffic took the first bite of me and it took a 40 min stop and go in the traffic to reach mehdipatnam. From there it was a smooth sailing till gandipet with well maintained 3 lane and 2 lane roads. My black beauty **Karizma ZMR** was cruising smoothly at a constant pace of 65kmph. The well placed seating and hand position kept my body stress free. The engine was smooth. Well we all know what the karizma can perform on highways and thats other topic.

So, I reached gandipet and was taking the right hand turn near VIF college towards moinabad and chevella, suddenlly break. break. There was some high drama going on over the 2 lane main road. An SUV was stopped at the opposite side, people where gathered all around it and to see that drama the left hand side traffic also stopped jamming the carriage way. As I was approaching the block many thoughts where running in my mind regarding accident and so on. But soon I see a young teenager holding a 6 foot long stick and beating something on the road. As I approached a little closer, I see a 10 foot long snake lying dead on the road. For the sake of the Almighty, why don't these people leave these creatures alone. The gandipet and the surrounding areas is densely populated with trees and other animals. There is even a national park close to that location. If people start killing every living thing they see on the road then soon  they will bring the enevitable upon themselves.

Moving on, as I cruised away from the high drama area, the road soon was becoming bad. The whole tarmac was heavily beaten by rain and huge potholes now lie there. Speed drastically reduced to 40 and my worst nightmare were looming above. The whole sky just went dark with thick dark clouds ready to start the onslaught of rain drops. As this was not enough just another enemy stepped into the arena. Just out of no where my bike swayed away from the center of the road to the left side. Huge crosswinds where lashing me from the right side. As karizma ZMR being fully faired, I was having very hard time handling the bike. Even speeds as low as 20kmph was very hard to maintain. This onslaught had no end as I couldn't see any near turn of the road that could make the bike face the wind directly headon. Slowly and steadily I was progressing forward with my bike staggering from one end to the other. Soon the staggering came to an end as the road turned right making the bike face the wind headon.

My hopes where failing as I covered very little distance taking too much time. And if I didn't reach the destination early it would take even more time for the return leg of the journey.
Moving on, the ZMR was steadily increasing the speed as it was cutting the air blast and propelling forward. The thick clouds were at their saturation levels and everything was about to get loose. I noticed some drops getting hit at me, so slowly broght the bike to a halt, took out the raincoat from the bag, placed my mobile phone in the bag, wore the rain coat above the bag and started moving forward. As going on I could see many(different, squished) faces of people riding motorcycles without helmet and facing the needle like hitting rain drops. The rain got even severe with rain drops of about 1" size hitting me like rocks. In order to make myself visible to other users of the road I swithed on the pilot lamps of the headlight. Soon every cager was giving a passing light to me, I dont know why?. A santro guy even lowered his window to tell me that my headlights are on. I dont know when people's mindset will change. There was no shelter in sight as open farms and roads were getting gutted with rain water. Hoping to find a shelter soon I revved with minded use of disc brakes to reach moinabad. Halted at a shelter and waited 45 minutes for the rain to finish its onslaught.

After 45 minutes of waiting the rain was very much subsided. The chill factor was getting high and I was thinking of aborting the ride and returning home. But something stopped me from doing that. I don't know what. I stepped out of the shelter and looked towards the skies. The skies were clear ahead towards ananthagiri. So I decided to continue. Took out the bike and started rolling towards ananthagiri. The roads were wet and I was keeping the speeds managable. Last thing I dont want to happen now was the bike skidding. I was extra carefull looking for oil spills, potholes and other obstacles that could lead to a fall.
At nearly 4.30PM I reached Chevella. As I entered the town, two young boys aged nearly 15 on a honda unicorn were revving right beside my bike. I didn't want to get attention and started ignoring them. They were looking in a racing mood. But I didn't do anything stupid as this may have lead to disastrous events as the roads were very slippery. After some time they went their ways and I was halted at a railway crossing. I utilized this break to stretch myself and I was ready again. On the halt, I asked the local persons about ananthagiri hills and they said its just 5 kms away. My excitement was all over me, as I thought I still need to cover another 40 kms.

Upon entering I was mesmerized upon the lush greenery around there. Ghat roads started to roll up. Reached the top, stopped the bike and started to look around. The beautiful voices of the fauna, the ambient environment, the soothing feel, the great relaxation in each breath was worth the price. I started exploring around the forest. As I was exploring, after some off road I could see a valley beyond a line of trees. Curiosity forced me to visualize the valley and I started walking towards it. Suddenly the calm environment filled with the noise of a diesel engine. As I turned back I saw a Forest officer's jeep stopped near my bike. The driver came out and walking towards me asking "aae babu, Kaun hai aap? Kya karre ho yaha? Saab ke paas jao. " I went to the forest officer who was seated in the jeep. He asked me my name, where I am from, documents and other stuff. He said the interior of the jungle is prohibited and asked me to leave immediately. I didn't wanna invite any trouble. I said "I came here to see the natural beauty of the forests from Hyderabad. As ananthagiri is the only forest area nearby I came here". He said the forest is a natural preserve of medicinal plants and didn't want anyone to destroy its biodiversity. Without any further conversation he asked me to leave.

I then started moving and exploring towards the Tandur road. As I approached a road caution sign "Steep slope - Check your brakes" There was a steep slope of about 150feet and the whole valley came just in front of me. The whole sight was breathtaking but equally dangerous as heavy lorries glide down this slope at incredible speeds caring a little about others. I went down stopped it at a safe spot, took some pictures with my Nokia lumia 800. The pictures were not so good, but something is better than nothing. I did some three to four rounds exploring the hills. At about 6.15 PM I decided its time we head back. It was getting dark and a rider is no good in the dark. My stock zmr headlights are no good at night. So I wanted to get back as soon as possible.

Started the return leg. Unlike the intial journey I was now cruising at triple digits. The little bumps on the road was making me fly over the saddle. For 45 minutes I maintained a constant cruising speed of 95kmph until I encountered a guy standing in the middle of the road with a "danda" in his hand indicating me to stop. There was a whole battalion of police personnel doing a routine checkup. Within seconds my bike came to a screeching halt and the constable yelling "Ab mar deta kya?" (Will you kill me now?). He caught his breath and told me to show the papers to his saab. After their routine sortie, I stretched my back, hands, legs. This stop was much needed relief as I was having hard time riding over bad roads. This was were I was stranded due to rain - Moinabad.
The road condition improved and darkness swallowed the skies. Oncoming headlights were resticting my sight and the glare on the helmet's visor was amplifying the effect. I started looking away from the headlights. Focussing became hard but had to push myself to overcome it. Once I reached the ORR, things came to normal life. The concrete jungle was waiting for me and I reached home at 08.00PM.
Before heading home I went to the shell outlet near habsiguda and did a tank full. With the fuel consumed from the last full tank to the current a good news was waiting. The mileage was an astounding 48kmpl. Now this is happiness knowing that you own a bike capable of sprinting to triple digit speeds within seconds and returning a great mileage.

With this an extraordinary evening came to an end. After the trip my mind became free of the chaotic every day work.

This is Mohammed Imran signing out. Ride safe. Ride Hard. Peace out.