Place: Yercaud.Distance: 250 x 2 = 500kms.(Our run came upto 560kms as the forest route was taken)Directions: Bengaluru– Hosur – Dennaikotte – Anchetty – Dharampuri – Salem – Yercaud – Dharampuri –Krishnagiri – Hosur - Bengaluru.Particiapants: Zethu> Sp.Bikes: Avenger 220.Previous visit: Coorg(Madikeri).
INLESS THAN 50 WORDS:This was another classic old-school run tothe wonderful hill station of Tamil Nadu – Yercaud. Known as the “poor man’s Ooty” this place is more of apicnic spot for family visits. But yeah one thing about Yercaud all motorcycleclubs love is the ride to the place.
INTRO& PLAN:Well Zethu was the only one on theconfirmed list, and both of us had to get back on SH-17a (the interior forestroute after Hosur) as it would refreshen the blood filled memories of our Hogenekkal Trip. So… after having decided to meet at my place at 06:00 hrs, wecrashed.TIME: 00:00 hrs (22/1/2012)
ASSEMBLE:Yeah I was up at 04:00 hrs, had a cup ofcoffee, did a few push-ups & was all set for a long day on the road. Zethuarrived at my place at around 05:45, it was more than 2 months since we bothhad pulled of a chapter, so both of us were pumped up and ready to hit theroad. We decided to head out on Zethu’s Avy!!TIME: 06:00 hrs
RIDE1: (Bengaluru – Hosur - Saints bunk stop)Alright this was a 50-60kmsstretch, we gotout of the city early as the traffic was lean. After reaching Hosur road (NH-7),we cruised at a decent pace to reach the Karnataka-TN border. Once we crossedthe border we entered the Hosur outskirts & took a deviation towardsDennaikotte and stopped at our signature petrol bunk.TIME: 07:30 hrsPs: One can continue straighton NH-7 to Yercaud, the distance comes upto 250kms. But for us, this interior routeis something special, a remembrance of our Hogenekkal Trip.
RIDE2: (Hosur - Dennaikotte – Anchetty - Saints outpost)We had some tea at the petrol bunk, wecruised along the excellent roads of SH-17a. It was not long before we spottedthe small stone bench on which we had rested on our way back from Hogenekkalwith blood dripping from our heads, knees and hands.We crossed the two bridges of this routewithout any difficulty as it was completely dried out. We reached Dennaikottaiand as we continued further towards Anchetty the roads became excellent withsuperb curves. The weather was cool even though the sun was up, this maderiding conditions ideal. After some consistent riding we reached the perfectpit-stop.
PERFECTPITSTOP:Well we were a little disappointed thatthere weren’t any clouds moving around mountain ranges like the last time, butwe still sat here for a good amount of time speaking about our last trip &what we had been upto in the past 3 months.We left the place the after 15-20mins andcontinued further to reach our second signature stop.SAINTSOUTPOST:We spent about 30mins here sitting andsharing some of our funny/epic moment. There was thick forest surrounding us inall directions, the idea of night camping did occur but we decided to stick tothe original plan.TIME: 09:15 hrs
RIDE3: (Saints outpost – Hogenekkal)So… as we left the Saints outpost, wecruised at a decent pace. In a few minutes we spotted the mighty MM hills andwe started recollecting the chapter where we we had spotted elephants. Soon thehair-pin curves started & Zethu enjoyed negotiating each one of them toperfection.The last stretch to hogenekkal consisted ofreally good forest roads very similar to Mutathi & BR hills. And yeaheverytime we spotted bulls grazing we would slow down & keep enough safedistance :P ha-ha!!Cruising along we reached Hogenekkal, as itwas Sunday the place was jam-packed. And it would also be time consuming, so wedecided to skip and continued towards Yercuad.TIME: 10:00 hrs
RIDE4: (Hogenekkal – Dharampuri – Salem)Well this stretch was for about 120kms anda good one too. As we left Hogenekkal our first priority was to re-join NH-7.As continued further we spotted the place where we had met with an accident,had a hearty laugh and continued further to reach Dharampuri.TIME: 11:00hrsAfter reaching the NH-7 it was pure sailingon the butter smooth highway. We kept re-collecting our college clowns and itnot long before we reached Salem.TIME: 12:00 hrsIt was pretty easy to get out of the city,thanks to the well organised traffic and broad roads to reach the foot of themighty Yercaud.TIME: 12:30 hrs
RIDE5: (Ascension – Yercaud)
This stretch was for about 35kms whichconsisted of 20 hair-pin curves with beautiful views all along the way. As westarted the ascension we found broad excellent roads. We negotiated the first 2HP curves with joy and were ready to for more, But the next 25-30kms was justplain hill climbing with no HP curves, but yeah excellent scenery throughout. The last 5-7kms to Yercuad is the best, theremaining 18 HP curves are clustered in this stretch, this made the ascensionvery quick and the drop in temperature could be easily felt. Once we reachedthe top, we were 1350 feet above sea level, and weather was cool even thoughthe sun was up.TIME: 13:00 hrs
YERCUAD:Alright there are about 10 places to coverat this hill station. Vehicles can be taken, but yeah we decided to walk. Thewalk was for about 10-13kms which drained away all our energies and my rightknee which had problems before had taken a the worst turn.
i)Yercaud lake:First we parked Avy at the Yercaud lake.Boating is a big attraction at this place. But definitely not the thing for us,so we took small stroll and decided to continue further.ii)Lady’s Seat:We walked through the town; this view pointis about 3-4kms from the Yercaud lake. The view was breadth taking and yeahthere was a telescope for viewing assistance.iii)Gent’s Seat:Continuing further, Gent’sseat is about 10mins walk from the Lady’s Seat. We bought bottles of juice andsat down & sipping away. We could see the hair-pin curves which had lead usto the top, it looked like a snake :Div)Children’s seat/Park:We thought to ourselves “why couldn’t the entire family have one bigseat :P” ha-ha!!
v)Pagoda view point:We walked back to the Yercaud Lake,on our way back we bought coffee powder. We picked up Avy and went to Pagodapoint.Well in our opinion this is the best viewpoint!! The overall view was superb, grabbed a cup of corn and started munchingaway – it was our first meal of the day :)After spending about 30min we left thiswonderful place.vi)Kilyur waterfalls:This is an excellent water fall, butunfortunately was dry. Have to take a 3kms deviation from the Yercaud lake toreach this place.vii)Servarayan Temple:The most famous temple of Yercaud.
viii)Montfort & Sacred heart:These are the famous educationalinstitutions of Yercaud. We just had a peep from outside and left.ix) Bear Cave:This is a huge cave next to the NortornBungalow. This place used to be a play home for bears.x)AnnaPark:As we rode back to the Yercaud lake, wecame across this park to witness kids playing on slides, see-saw etc., we hadsecond thoughts of joining the kids and beating them at the slides … ha-hakidding :P
So… these are the important places to seeat Yercaud. With the coffee powder tightly packed in the bag & a fewsit-ups to make my right knee feel better, we were all set to ride backBengaluru :)TIME: 16:00 hrs
RIDE6: (Decension – Yercaud)
We switched off the engine & allowed Avyto take us down the hill. The HP curves were a joy to negotiate. And believe itor not we covered the next 35kms with our engine switched off to reach Salem city.TIME: 16:45 hrs
RIDE7: (Salem –Dharampuri – Krishnagiri)This was a good 120kms stretch of easyriding with sufficient breaks taken of course.About 30mins on the highway we could hear asound from the bike so we pulled over & inspected the bike. We found thatthe engine guard was loose, so removed it. Continuing further we tooksufficient breaks for snacks, and stopped at the outskirts of Dharampuri for adrinks break. Once we left Dharampur, the sun went down and the cold set-inreal quick. The increase in the traffic was drastic but we cruised along toreach Krishnagiri.TIME: 18:30hrs
RIDE8: (Krishnagiri – Hosur – Bengaluru)
This was a 100kms stretch on the buttersmooth NH-7, but it was no easy task pulling this one off. This was one of myhardest stretches till date, considering we had done 450kms and my right kneewas pretty much done. The cold which set-in was a real bad oneand the traffic which had increased drastically (Sunday) was something we bothwere getting bugged of. I could feel the extra cold as there were no hair on myhead :P ha-ha!! So took out a monkey cap, wore it and continued. Zethu rodelike there was no tomorrow to reach the outskirts of Hosur.TIME: 20:45 hrs
Continuing further as we entered backKarnataka, there was no turning back. Our energies shot up again and withouttaking any further breaks even though both of us were in bad shape, we reachedback home. Wehad clocked 560kms for the day as we had taken the interior route, it waskick-ass experience – Literally:PTIME: 22:00 hrs
CONCLUSION:I’d like to conclude this article by saying“ This was and excellent old-school runto one of the best hill stations of South India. Eating only corns & drinking only fluidswe pulled this chapter off. And yeah it was a great come back for the both ofus after the Hogenekkal trip & a great start to a New Year :D”
PARTICIPANTVIEW:ZETHU:Rode the whole distance, flawless riding. Hishumorous stories kept us entertained throughout the day.AVY:More of a companion, pulled 560kms in day :DSP: Right knee dammar, Creep bandage time :PUntil next time Cia \m/
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