Weekend ride to GOA

Goa - one of our most frequented destination for a leisure trip. When we are worn out or have monotonous work schedules, we ride to Goa for the weekend to relax and have time for ourselves. This also gives us an excuse to have a long distance ride quite often.

14 of us decided to go on this trip. It was in spur of the moment decision made a couple of days in advance but everyone was looking forward to it. We all met at Ambegoan at 5am for the journey but by the time everyone arrived, it was already 5:30am. We left at that time and started on our way. Some of the riders wanted to stop to refuel and some wanted a nice hot coffee therefore we stopped at the petrol station at Khed Shivapur which is around 15 kms from Ambegoan. We halted there for 30 minutes before resuming our journey. It was 6:30 am on our clocks.

Soon after riding for 162 Kms from Pune, we halted for 15 minutes at Karad for another fuel stop. The highway roads were great for the morning ride. It was a bit foggy with cool breeze gushing past us. The scenery around was very stunning that made the ride even more enjoyable. Our next halt was for breakfast at Nipani, which is 266 kms from Pune. Nipani is just another regular city. We had a good breakfast and got back on NH4. Riding a bit further, we got off the highway and turned towards Amboli via Ajara.

Amboli Ghat, which is 350 kms from Pune, was very picturesque with beautiful weather and amazing view of the valley. We took pictures for about 15 minutes and got back on the road. From Amboli, we rode 30 kms to Savantwadi which further connected to the Mumbai-Goa highway. After 445 kms, we finally reached Panjim, Goa. It was 1:30 in the afternoon.

Now you may have noticed that I have mentioned all the halt timings at various places. Thats because we had timed ourselves and we reached Goa in a record time of 5 hours 30 minutes and this time excludes all the stops we took from our start in Pune. It was quite an achievement for all the riders.

At Panjim, along the Mandovi river, near Charoa ferry, there is a residential space called Missel, which is where we had checked in. This property is owned by one of our rider and friend Gaurav Tingre. We parked our bikes, freshened up and left for lunch at a shack near Fort Aguada. We roamed the city for a bit after lunch. It was friday night and everyone knows that you cannot not go to a party when you're in Goa. So we went to a good club and stayed there until later at night. After a good time, we went back to Missel and sat by the river chatting up. The view of the city at night along the side of the river was breathtaking. 

Waking up the next morning, we all had a good breakfast. We decided to ride to the south side of the state to Agonda beach. Agonda beach is very beautiful. It is situated 70 kms from Panjim and is not very crowded.  We rode via Panjim- Margao to south goa. This road also leads to Karvar and is along the sea side. Some bits are also through the ghats/ mountains which offer good turns and twists to make the ride more thrilling. After a good ride, we reached the beach and enjoyed our day. It was amazing to watch the sunset with our bikes by our side.

Sunday was our final day. We woke up early and decided to visit some places close by. Some went to the Old Goa church and some went for breakfast. Old Goa church is one of the oldest churches there. It has a good history and everyone must visit some of the popular churches on their trip to Goa. We roamed the city streets for a while and after bidding adieu, we started on our way back at 1pm. We stopped at Savant wadi for lunch. There, we had a Fish Thali which is a very popular concept in our state. It usually comes with unlimited serving of fried fish, two curry based fish, chapati (like a flat bread) and rice. Its famous around that area and if you visit, you should definitely try it out.

We took the same route back and reached home the same day later at night. It rained in some patches but overall, the return journey was enjoyable too.This was one of our best rides to Goa. We have come here a million times but this trip was up there. Especially because of our journey from Pune-Goa. The weather was amazing. It was cool and breezy and it did not pour. The nature was at its best with stunning green patches and fresh air. The roads at Amboli ghat are done over well and the condition of it has improved a lot. Overall, this ride was brilliant.

C.O.P.S ride to Lavasa

Lavasa, a very known destination for many riders. It is a planned city built 55kms away from Pune. It is inspired by an Italian town called Portofino with a street and several buildings bearing the name of the town. Some streets are also named after ornament plants like Thicket and Celosia. 

This was our selected location for this Sunday. This is also our location when we need to ride short distance but ride through great patches and corners. Another such location is Ambey Valley.  Last two weekend, we rode on two highways, so this sunday we planned to go to a location where we could enjoy the mountains. Our meeting point was Chandini chowk at 6:15 am. Chandini Chowk is situated in Pune on the Mumbai-Bangalore highway. Usually when we ride, we refuel our bikes on the way but on this ride, because there are only two petrol stations on our way, we tank up the night before. We did meet up at the scheduled time but we had to start at 7am as some of our riders came a bit late. The entire journey, from the start point all the way to Lavasa, is mountainous with all sorts of corners like tight corners, left handers and right handers etc. Monsoon makes it even more enjoyable.

The traffic was quite low as it was early. We ride frequently on this road hence all the corners, roads and even the pot holes are engraved in our minds. This makes it easier to ride. The only obstacle on this road was the larger than usual speed breakers. They are not even speed breakers but massive bumps on the road! It's ludicrous. Because of this, we have to keep fluctuating our speed. 

After around 40 kms, we come across Temghar Dam. We reach Lavarde village. After passing the village there is an immediate turn to the left and we are welcomed by the stunning view of the dam. The sun was rising and that made the view even more brilliant. Approximately 15 kms away is Lavasa City. 

    Courtesy: Google Images 

There is a retreat at the location called Ekant. It is owned by Lavasa. Ekant is strategically placed on the cliff from where we could see the Warasgaon water body and the whole of Lavasa city. The breakfast there starts at 8am so we had to wait because we reached a bit early. They serve a 3 star menu buffet with veg and non veg food items and a range of salads all in Rs.600/-. We served ourselves a good portion, and sat at the table with a scenic view discussing about the ride and about rappelling which we will be doing after two weekends. Quite excited for that.

    COPS Team Members

We took some pictures, enjoyed the scenery a bit more and left for Pune. We rode through the beautiful road and reached Chandini chowk and rode our separate ways to go home. Everyone loved the ride as it was more relaxed than our usual ones and also, all the riders love their corners.

This coming weekend, we are riding to Goa! We start on friday and return on Sunday. It is one of the most anticipated ride so stay tuned for all the pictures and details.

C.O.P.S ride this weekend

Another great Sunday ride. And like promised, we explored a few other places that you must visit whether you're a rider or just a traveller. We Pune folks are quite blessed as our city is strategically placed in the Western Ghats amongst some popular green locations and mountains. We often have a lot of options available to us for a day out with family or friends especially during monsoon. If you haven't explored the ghats yet, this blog will help you know more about it. 

The route

We met at Ambegoan, which happens to be our frequent meeting point, at 6:15 am. We decided our route a day in advance. We left from Ambegoan and started on NH4 which is a straight patch of really good roads. We halted for a fuel stop on this highway before resuming our ride. This road is also very familiar to us since we ride on this highway very often. The monsoon, cloudy sky and cool breeze made this highway even more enjoyable. We rode on it upto 80 kms until we reached Wai Phata (diversion) like planned. From the diversion, we took a right turn towards Mahabaleshwar.

 After riding 7 kms further on the road, we took another right turn towards Mandhar Devi. If we had not taken that turn, we would have reached Mahabaleshwar which was not our destination for this weekend. We covered a distance of 20 kms on the ghats to reach the Mandhar devi Plateau. Mandhardevi is located on the hill 4,650 feet above sea level. The title of the land is in the name of Lord Mandeshwar and Kaleshwari Devi. This plateau is absolutely breathtaking. From  the plateau, we could see Mahabaleshwar rest on top of the mountain and beneath was the vast Lake Dhom. It was a picturesque view. From the other side of the Plateau one can see Bhatghar Dam. We could also see the entire road of 20kms that we had covered to reach this spot. It is quite unusual as on most ghats, we cannot see the entire way. We sat there and discussed of every corner and moment by recreating the ride in our mind. It was quite surreal. 

    On our way to Mandhar Devi

    The view of the road that we rode on to get on the plateau

    Lake Dhom

We left Mandhar devi Plateau after clicking some memories to share with you all. We started our journey from the other side of the Plateau which was 30kms until we reached the main road again. We rode upto and past Bhor city and reached Kapurhol. The roads from Bhor city to kapurhol was parallel to the river Yelwandi that we could see from the plateau. We also rode past the Bhatgar dam which was mammoth.   

The weather made the entire journey  enjoyable. We road on the Kapurhol road until we reached the junction where this road joined the NH4. We got back on the highway and started our return journey towards Pune. It was one big loop that we had covered. We reached our decided spot in Pune, briefly discussed our experience and went home.

 It was a great ride. And for most of our riders, some of the destinations were new as they had never ridden there. We all loved it and can't wait for the next Sunday.

To view the route,  click here

An Eventful Ride...

This Sunday, we rode on the Sholapur highway 9 as we wanted a quick ride. We met at 7am at the Magarpatta flyover. It is a national Highway which connects Pune- Hyderabad- Machilipatnam. There are no ghats (mountain roads) on this highway hence we got to ride on long straight stretches. There are also a lot of interesting destinations on this highway which we will explore in our future rides and write about it for you. We rode 80 kms on the highway and took a U-Turn towards the city again. You will find a lot of Maharashtrian breakfast points. We halted at Kanchan Hotel in the Uruli Kanchan area  for a tea break on our return journey. It is famous for chai served in a clay pot, missal pav and Vada Pav. We had some snacks and resumed our journey.

At the breakfast point at Hotel Kanchan


It was a quick ride as we had to attend an event of Suzuki in the city at 9:30 am. This event was at the Cocoon Restaurant at Magarpatta, Pune. The event was held by Dream Bikes showroom. It was a display event for some bikes of Suzuki that were being transported to the factory via Pune. Bunty, the owner of Dream Bikes, spoke with the officials at Suzuki and asked for the bikes to be displayed in the city for the local riders. This way, the riders will be able to give feedback on the motorcycles that hadn't been launched. Some of the bikes that were on display were Suzuki S1000, Burgman (650 cc automatic and trip tonic) and a stunning 125cc scooter which was a mini version of Burgman. None of these bikes have been launched yet and Suzuki hasn't decided the price range or if they should launch either of the scooters. The bikes were brilliant and a must have for any bike enthusiast.

                                    Suzuki Burgman

Scenic ride to KAAS PATHAR

Like every Sunday, we planned a morning ride, but this time, away from our usual destinations or routes, we decided to stray a little to explore new places. Also, since it was the weekend of the 15th August, instead of participating in a City ride which we do every year, we decided to celebrate Independence Day by breaking the monotony and riding to a new place altogether.. We chose Kaas Pathar, which is not too far, is utterly beautiful and scenic and will be liked by all the fellow riders. The total journey from Pune to Satara is 114 kms on NH4 and from Satara, we take a right, ride through Satara city and ride further 30 kms to reach to Kaas Pathar. We wanted to ride to a destination which was inspiring and thats exactly what Kaas Pathar is about. Our meeting point was Ambegaon, at 6am,  which happens to be a frequent meeting point when we ride on NH4, before we embark on the journey. 

After meeting at Amegaon, we began our ride. We stopped to refuel our bikes at a petrol station at Khed Shivapur. NH4 is known amongst riders for its good stretches and sporty curves and turns and since its in the ghats, it is extremely lively and green.

 
 We left Khed Shivapur at 7:30 am and halted at Satara for breakfast. After breakfast, we continued our journey towards Kaas, and as we crossed the city, and entered the ghats, the atmosphere and the weather promised us that our destination will be equally so. We rode past the scenic, narrow ghat roads to Kaas. As we approached the plateau, we were welcomed by thick cloudy weather with slight rainfall and fresh air. It was beautiful that made the journey worth every minute.

Plateau, locally known as Kaas Pathar, is situated in the Western Ghat. Kaas Pathar is well know for its diverse fauna and floral and hence , its been declared as the Biodiversity World Heritage Site. During monsoon, the valley is filled with grass and flowers making it a popular tourist destination. It is a Plateau from which, at one point, you can see the east bit of Maharashtra and from the other, the Konkan region. It also overlooks Kaas Lake which looks like a big bowl of water placed strategically in the ghats, making the view even more stunning. Since a lot of people, far and near, visit Kaas Pathar, there are provisions for great hotels and resorts nearby. 

After reaching, we parked our bikes at a point and decided to explore the area. There were no flowers in the valley as the season is yet to come but it was still great. Since there are no tea stalls or breakfast points on the pathar as it is protected by the Government, everyone missed their morning chai. We took some pictures to preserve the memories and after spending almost an hour, we left for our return journey. We reached Pune at around 1 pm right in time for lunch.

If anyone would like to visit, monsoon time is the best and if you want to visit when the flowers bloom, you should go there mid- September. It is one of the most beautiful destination to visit for people in and around Maharashtra. It is green, refreshing and a great spot for picnic.

To know more, visit us at https://www.facebook.com/ClubOfPuneSuperbikers

PREPARING FOR BHUTAN

It was a usual C.O.P.S meeting at Starbucks. The conversation flowed as usual with the usual eight or ten members  and then suddenly, a crazy idea is tossed across the table. A road trip to a foreign destination!  And instead of thinking of it as a ludicrous idea, everyone jumped on board in a heart beat. Of course we had to check our schedules and prepare months in advance but the idea of starting the ride from our hometown all the way to Bhutan (yes, we chose Bhutan) excited all the enthusiastic riders at the table and hence our planning commenced. We decided on meeting a few more times to discuss the trip and lay out a plan as this was going to be a great undertaking and would require meticulous planning. Having an idea and realizing it are two different things and we wanted to give life to ours.

Our  meeting had 16 C.O.P.S riders join in. We realized that because ours is a super biking club, we all would face the dilemma of riding long distance on super bikes as long distances are usually covered on cruisers. Also, some might find it difficult to take on a 7000 kms ride due to lack of experience. We all knew that riding to Bhutan and back would require riding 700 kms on an average everyday and we had to prep everyone mentally and physically. To tackle this, we decided to do test rides around Pune which were an average of 400 kms. After prepping our mindsets, we decided to do a longer ride for two consecutive days. We took off for Goa with a one night stay over and we completed 500 kms per day successfully. This helped to boost the confidence level in some of our riders which later reflected on our trip.


While we prepared for the ride, we also had to take care of many other things. Like bookings for instance. We had to book hotels during our stay in Bhutan but decided not to book any during our journey from Pune till we reached Bhutan. After all it was a road trip. Next was getting the paperwork in order for the visa and vehicle permits. We searched the internet for all the information on the required documents but when we reached Bhutan, we realised that most of the information we acquired on google was not accurate or was incomplete.

Next was a checklist for our backpacks. First were our ridding gears and spares. Almost everyone carried sleeping bags. Basic clothes and some warm pieces for the Himalayas. First aid kits which included allergy medicines after consulting all members and certain medication for acute mountain sickness. Some food items that mostly consisted of energy bars and Electral (which is a must). We had to accommodate all this in our backpacks that we were carrying on the motorcycles so we had to be careful and keep editing the items keeping only the necessities.

Simultaneously, we were studying the weather conditions in India and Bhutan. We had to make sure that the weather conditions throughout the road trip and our stay in Bhutan were favorable. After taking all this into consideration, we concluded that mid October to mid December was the best time to start our journey. We then took everyones' schedule into consideration and decided on 6th November 2014 to start our journey.

All this took 4 months of continuous planning and everyones' coordination. If anyone would like to know anything more, you can leave a comment below and we can help you out. I'm listing down a checklist for all avid travelers out there hoping it will help you all but I would still recommend that you do your own research as rules change like the weather.

To end with, I'd like to share a small worry that was on our mind constantly during our trip from Pune to Bhutan. Many thoughts crossed our minds like what if we haven't taken the right documents or what if we reach at an unfavorable time to find the permit offices closed.  Some even feared that they might get the permit but the permit office for the vehicle would be closed! (and yes. they have two separate permit offices). We had prepared ourselves mentally to camp on the border if any such situation came by. With such worries, we reached Phuentsholing (Bhutan border) and we were relieved to know that you can enter and live in Phuentsholing without a permit along with your vehicle and get the permit any other day at your convenience. Also, you need to apply for a permit for almost every city you want to visit.

This was just the preparation and we enjoyed every bit of it. Our next blog will be about the trip and our experience. Till then, adios.