getting lost in the fog on our way to bili rangana betta

part one

into another dimension

05:45hebbal
kanakapura
07:22megalapura
malavalli
08:03the kaveri
08:22the big tree
yelandur

05:45

hebbal

out at 5:45, just the two of us

with only two of us, there was nobody to wait for. we rolled out of hebbal at 5:45 into sparse traffic, made quick progress, and caught a beautiful sunrise on the way.

the sun coming up red behind a power pylon and its lines, the rooftops and trees below still dark. — 06:29:07 · the kanakapura road

kanakapura

a red multistrada in the mirrors

before we knew it, we were at kanakapura. somewhere along the way we had picked up company without meaning to, a small convoy of other riders, and when i checked my mirrors, there it was: a red multistrada. we rode together for a while, then they pulled over and we carried on.

it wouldn’t be the last time we crossed paths.

07:22

megalapura

a wall of fog

past kanakapura and on through acchalu, the morning was chilly and the sky was clear. we were just settling into a groove.

then, at a small village called megalapura, we rode into a wall of fog. a small patch, we thought; we’ll be out of it in a minute. we weren’t.

we dropped to a cautious pace. our visors kept beading up, and for once the little wiper on my glove earned its keep: one swipe, and i could see again, for a while.

it was too pretty to just ride through, though, so we pulled over and took a few pictures in it.

the guerrilla and tars parked on the verge facing the camera, the road behind them running off into fog between fading trees. — 07:22:17 · guerrilla, tars

the guerrilla parked side-on at the roadside under tall eucalyptus, the fog white between the trunks. — 07:25:08 · guerrilla

the guerrilla small at the foot of a wall of eucalyptus, the trees thinning into fog above it. — 07:25:39 · guerrilla

tars parked side-on under eucalyptus and creepers, the field behind the trees white with fog. — 07:28:59 · tars

tars side-on under dark eucalyptus, the fog pale behind it and the road wide in front. — 07:29:51 · tars

the guerrilla and tars parked apart on the far verge, seen across the empty road, eucalyptus going grey in the fog above. — 07:32:18 · guerrilla, tars

tars and the guerrilla parked one behind the other on the verge, the road bending away into fog where a headlight shows. — 07:32:33 · tars, guerrilla

it felt like we had crossed into another dimension, one where it was always foggy.

tars from behind and to one side, its name on the tank, the guerrilla further up the verge in the fog. — 07:32:46 · tars, guerrilla

tars soft in the foreground and the guerrilla sharp further along the verge, a cyclist on the foggy road beyond. — 07:32:54 · tars, guerrilla

the guerrilla from behind on the grass verge, the road curving into fog with a headlight coming the other way. — 07:34:21 · guerrilla

malavalli

the fog rides along

back in the saddle, we headed for malavalli. the fog did not end. it rode with us to malavalli, and past it, on towards kollegala.

08:03

the kaveri

the fog lifts at the river

then we reached the kaveri, close to shivanasamudra, and just like that the fog lifted. we could see the straight road running down to the bridge over the river. finally, some respite. we stopped on the bridge for pictures of the bikes, the river and everything around it.

the guerrilla and tars parked against the railing on the bridge, the kaveri and an old stone bridge behind them. — 08:03:48 · guerrilla, tars

the kaveri running between green banks to an old stone bridge, under a wide pale sky. — 08:08:20 · the kaveri, near shivanasamudra

the two bikes on the bridge, a wooded hill, palms and the river behind them. — 08:05:08 · guerrilla, tars

from there the views were unreal: endless acres of flat paddy, impossibly green and steeped in fog. it felt like riding our motorcycles through a dream, a green and foggy heaven.

08:22

the big tree

a fire by the papaya vendors

on the highway towards kollegala we stopped again, at a big tree with a fire going beside it, lit by the papaya vendors. we warmed up at it, and took pictures, obviously.

tars parked under the banyan, a small fire smoking beside it and the fields beyond white with fog. — 08:22:56 · tars

tars on the verge seen through the smoke of the fire, the road and a signboard behind it. — 08:26:20 · tars

a rider crouched in the smoke at the roadside with a camera, banyan branches above and the fields in fog behind. — 08:26:51 · the big tree, on the kollegala road

the whole banyan by the road, smoke drifting out from the fire under it and tars parked at its edge. — 08:26:09 · tars

it was a sight. the paddy stretched so far that it simply disappeared into the fog, which made it look endless, with coconut trees standing in it and farmers going about their day. there were even army trucks out on a training run. once we had our fill of pictures and views, we got going again.

paddy running off into the fog between the hanging roots of the banyan, one tree faint in the distance. — 08:24:22 · the big tree, on the kollegala road

coconut palms standing in a green paddy field, the fields beyond them lost in fog. — 08:25:40 · the big tree, on the kollegala road

yelandur

mr. fog takes his leave

at yelandur, our dear friend mr. fog took his leave, never to be seen again.

here we had to decide which way round to ride the loop. we picked k gudi first, cut through a string of villages, and came out on the chamarajanagar–br hills road.

part two

mountains right in front of us

09:31nagavalli kere
k gudi
br hills

09:31

nagavalli kere

dead trees and a ton of birds

on the way to k gudi we suddenly saw a big lake full of dead trees: nagavalli kere, between nagavalli and nallur. maps calls it the nallur reservoir, and everyone around here calls it nallur kere. it looked too interesting to pass, so we went down onto the lakebed. it was full of birds, so we parked well back and walked in, so as not to spook them. karthik brought out his 70–350 telephoto, and we spent a while photographing the birds and talking about the lake.

an openbill stork on top of a dead tree in the lake, white spires and trees blue with haze behind. — 09:31:00 · nagavalli kere

a cormorant on a dead stump in the still lake, drowned trees standing in their reflections around it. — 09:31:44 · nagavalli kere

a grey heron standing on a tangle of dead branches in the blue water of the lake. — 09:32:59 · nagavalli kere

a yellow wagtail on the end of a dead branch, green grass soft behind it. — 09:32:08 · nagavalli kere

an openbill stork on the tip of a dead tree, against the blue of the far shore. — 09:33:26 · nagavalli kere

once we were happy, we got moving again.

k gudi

winding roads, speed breakers, deer

next came a stretch of road under construction. no problem for tars; karthik, on the guerrilla, had to pick his way through it.

then the k gudi checkpoint, and the moment we were through it, it felt like we had been teleported to a different part of the country. it was beautiful: winding roads, green trees, mountains right in front of us. the road is deliberately riddled with speed breakers, which is agony on a sport bike, and it was for karthik. i decided to have fun with them instead, and started jumping them on tars.

soon we were winding up the mountain, and the view down into the valley was mind-blowing. the weather was perfect.

we were having the time of our lives: no hurry, riding it chill, breathing the fresh air, taking the curves as they came.

a group of deer turned up by the road. i didn’t stop to say hi; i just waved and rode on.

it felt like a special zone where bikes weren’t allowed, mostly because we had not seen a single other vehicle. then some bikes came the other way: the red multistrada from the morning.

and then we were at k gudi. it’s such a scenic place, it reminded me of ooty. we took a short break, got going again, and the road opened up.

br hills

a drink of water, and down

we made it to br hills and didn’t do much there: we stopped to drink some water, and then we were on our way down. we had come up the k gudi side, so we went down the br hills side, which is far less twisty and much more flowing. i had a great time on that descent, and we were down in no time.

there are no pictures from k gudi or br hills: you can’t stop in most places, and we were too busy enjoying the ride to want to.

part three

one quick sprint home

11:58the paddy road
13:00kanakapura
the sprint home

11:58

the paddy road

a stranger on a 650

we headed back towards yelandur by a more scenic way, through villages, and then we were on the highway again, cruising nicely and making quick progress. that’s when i spotted a little road snaking off through the paddy fields, so down it we went, for pictures of the bikes and the birds.

we weren’t alone for long. a rider on a chrome 650 had seen us stopped at a nice spot, and came down to see it for himself.

a chrome royal enfield 650 from behind on the grass at the edge of the paddy, a silver helmet with a red stripe on its seat. — 11:58:12 · a stranger’s 650

the rider on tars along a bund between paddy fields, trees and an electric pole behind. — 12:02:40 · tars

the rider on tars coming head-on through the tall paddy, a bare leaning tree and a line of poles behind. — 12:02:48 · tars

the rider on tars nearer through the paddy, the bare tree leaning behind. — 12:02:51 · tars

13:00

kanakapura

the multistrada, one last time

then we pointed ourselves at kanakapura for lunch. back on the highway the mood changed: a bit quicker, weaving through traffic, making swift progress.

and there it was again: the red multistrada. they had ridden a different loop, and for all the extra distance and stops we had put in, we caught them, and overtook them for the last time near kanakapura.

at 1 we rolled into kanakapura. we found a small restaurant and stayed an hour and a half, over chicken fried rice and some really questionable tandoori chicken.

the sprint home

fuel, then non-stop to hebbal

then one quick sprint home. almost: i noticed i was low on fuel, about 360 km into the tank, so we stopped to fill up. after that it was non-stop. we made short work of what was left, took the nice road all the way to tumkur road and on to hebbal, and i was home by 3:30.

15:30

home

hebbal, by 3:30

3:30pm

trip 1, off tars’ dash: 407.9 km
riding: 6:21 h
average: 64 km/h
fuel: 28.1 km/l

out at 5:45
2 riders, 2 450s
1 mr. fog, megalapura to yelandur
1 red multistrada, three times
1 group of deer, waved at
1 really questionable tandoori chicken