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.