Bangalore > Ooty > Bangalore (Day#2 - continued.. )

Hola,

Stop over for breakfast on day#2

Before I jump into the day 2 events, lemme share some good news with ya, I joined the gym today and hoping to be regular this time:) Any of you people who do gymming regularly or follow any fitness routine is definitely an inspiration for me. Keep up the good work and keep inspiring people like me.

Now let's get back to the ride story. So as I was telling you in the last post, the forest route is one continuous ride of 45-50km max(depending on which route you take to reach Ooty). So fill your tank accordingly to avoid being stranded in the middle of the forest. Wild animals are a delight to watch but from a safe distance:) During the forest ride, we came across a bunch of dears munching on grass and trust me it was an awesome feeling to see them in 10 feet distance:) This modern world as well as our lives have changed to such an extent that now seeing a wild animal is a new whole new experience it also reminded me that these animals were a majority on this planet and once lived freely and we humans had a shed around our houses/colonies to keep them out. Now they are restricted to a small patch of land surrounded by fences (called national parks) so that they don't go out of it. Really, it's on my bucket list now to do something for these beautiful creatures at the first opportunity I get. Having said that, the first thing I did during my ride through the area is to follow some of the important instructions like:

• No plastic should be left in the forest
• No feeding the wild animals
• No teasing or disturbing the wild animals
• Riding slow and being aware that animals have the right of way in the forest

Request you all to follow these and trust me, these small things make a huge difference in the long run and would ensure these animal breeds flourish on this planet again.

So we had the pleasure of riding through the lush green forests, we exited the Mudumalai forest gate and headed towards our destination.

As we started getting closer to the mountains, the surroundings started changing accordingly...(notice the distant horizon and the plants)

Vikky shows a plant, which resembles some see a weed.

As we got closer to Ooty a light drizzle started and as we were kinda equipped with the right gear, it was the last of our concerns. So we were enjoying every part of the route and especially the feeling of climbing up. Stopped over many times for snaps and videos.

An outhouse on the way, with a scenic backdrop

I was busy enjoying the mountain rides and Vikky was having a good time seeing the view around, and we reached a village named Masinagudi. Actually, Masinagudi was supposed to be our return route, cause that's the one with 36 hairpin turns and it might be tough to climb uphill with a pillion, and that too in the rain. So we enquired how to connect to the Gudalur (Route A as per our plan) road from Masinagudi. After speaking with a few locals we realized that we have come 10 km from the junction from where we should have taken the road to Gudalur. Now if we roll back, it will be 60+10 km to Ooty and if we continue on the current route we have only 20 km to reach Ooty. The only catch was that 20 km is nothing but the hairpin turns. We had to take this call, whether to climb up the hairpin or spend time riding another 70km to reach Ooty in a long way round. I decided to ride through the hairpin turns:D Ans so we rolled towards the twisties!!! How was it riding up the hill at sharp turns? It wasn't that easy for me or the bike and for the first few turns, I was extra cautious about the tire grip on the wet roads. Also, the turns are so steep and narrow that vehicles coming from both sides were having a tough time negotiating the curves. As we were climbing, we had to always stay in the power band of the bike to avoid rolling or skidding back. Once I got a hang of it I was improvising on the next upcoming turns. Meanwhile, Vikky was having a great time getting wowed by the view of clouds and the surrounding mountains. After dealing with around 36 (I guess) hairpins we could see some civilization of the mountaintop. Which assured us that we have arrived in the city of Ooty.

The first glimpse of civilization after winning over the never-ending hairpin turns.

We arrived in the city at around 1.00 pm and got ourselves an accommodation. Rest of the details I will post soon:) It's time again for me to hit the sack. So you too have a good sleep and will see you in the next post.

Take care,

Sid