BIKE RIDE: BANGALORE - YERCAUD

Day 1:

We started off early in the morning at 6 AM from our homes, 4 bikes all cleaned up(serviced) and looking pristine. The first stoppage was at the toll gate near Electronic city elevated flyover. This was going to be the only place where we had to pay a toll, the rest of the places we could bypass the toll gates since it was free for two wheelers.

Stopped for breakfast at around 8 AM after Hosur. The roads were amazing, with no diversions for road work. Each junction/intersection had a bridge so we could avoid all the traffic beneath. Pothole free for most of the ride and for somebody who is used to driving around Bangalore which is a heaven for potholes, the ride was fabulous. We reached Salem at around 10:30 AM and had to go through the city to reach Yercaud.

Once you reach the city, head onto Sharada college road and from there the road reaches the bottom of the hill. We were greeted with a sign saying 1/20 hair pins bends. Phew! Roads again were in good condition during the ascent, so the ride turned out to be good.

Finally we reached Yercaud at around 11:30 AM. We had booked our stay at The Waterfall Cafe for a day. This place is about 2.5 KM from Yercaud lake, and is right next to the Killiyur waterfalls which made it all the more scenic. Vijay(POC for the cafe) was courteous enough to rent us the room for 3K. The room was spacious enough for the four of us with 3 cots(1 was a wire cot)+2 mattress and 2 attached bathrooms.

We freshened up and headed out for lunch at Sri Saravana Bhavan Elite. Surprisingly the food turned out to be really good. After a sumptuous meal, we headed to the viewpoints. The first one was the Ladies seat (no clue why they had such a name :P) and close to it was the Gents seat(gave it a miss since we were more interested in the lady :D). Later on, we went to Pagoda viewpoint which had best views of the vast terrain and the mountain range.

After this, Vijay had suggested that we take the Loop road(starts and ends at the same point) since we were on bikes. This is again a must do if you are on bikes, the twists and turns along the road were a treat to ride and picturesque. Narrow roads all around, so you need to be a little cautious for incoming traffic. It took us close to an hour to complete the Loop road and we were back to where we started at around 5 PM. Then we stopped by the lake for a tea break, and then headed back to the Cafe at around 6 PM. For dinner we had Vijay arrange for some home cooked food(for a price), the food was so so(BLAND!).

Day 2:

We initially planned to wake up early and head to one of the viewpoints on the loop road but we had cancel it since we were all tired after an exhausting day. After a quick shower, we headed out on foot to Saravana(again) for breakfast at around 9 PM. A good meal again and we took a rick back to the cafe(since it was HOT). Finally we checked out of the cafe at around 12 PM and Vijay(again!) suggested us we take an offbeat route(not on Google maps either). This route would avoid going through Salem altogether, as well cut short the distance by 50 KM.

We took the offbeat route and it turned out really good ride(again a must do if you`re on bikes), with the twists and turns. Once you're on NH 7, there's no holding back on the accelerator. I managed to hit a top speed of 122 kph on the onward journey but was exhausted on the return journey, barely crossing 100 kph. With the sun hitting hard on us we decided to stop for lunch at A2B (near Dharmapuri) at around 2 PM. Few more breaks, and we finally reached Bangalore by 5 PM.

Summary:

Loop road: 33 KM

Duration: 60 minutes

Lady's/Gent's seat is about 5.5 KM from Pagoda viewpoint.

Things that we missed:
- Couple of viewpoints on the Loop road
- Boating near Yercaud lake
- Rose garden (near Gents seat)
- Shevaroy temple

Food to watch out: Dry Gobi (Yeah!)

Route:

Bangalore - Hosur - Krishnagiri - Dharmapuri - Thoppur - Salem -Yercaud (260KM)

Duration: 5 hours 30 minutes (includes a break for breakfast and 3, 5 minute breaks)

Yercaud - Nagaloor - Karadiyoor - Danishpet - Kadayampatti - Thoppur - Dharmapuri - Krishnagiri - Hosur - Bangalore (210KM)

Duration: 5 hours (includes a break for lunch and 3, 5 minute breaks)

Total distance: 520KM

Date of journey: 12th & 13th December 2015.

Last but not the least, a big thanks to Vijay Singh for all beautiful insights he provided about Yercaud. If not for him, the trip to Yercaud would have been vapid.

*My first travelogue, YAY. Planning to do another ride, before the end of the year :)
Hope to blog all my rides going forward, hoping for the best!!!

Some pics from the trip.