Renu, Author at Travel Duo

7 Most Useful Long Bike Ride Tips In India For Beginners

Renu on February 24, 2021

We are travel duo couples, went on numerous long bike trips from Bangalore to many places in South India. Here are 7 Most Useful Long Bike Ride Tips In India.

It is nothing about road safety or any boring tips you see commonly in the internet.

Be it Leh ladak or Kanyakumari trip, these practical bike ride tips will come in handy from our constant travelling day and night.

Our experience will let you prepare for a long motorcycle trip in India, be it solo or couples trip.

Long Bike Ride Tips In India

No rental or Loaned from Friend – Ride your Own Bike

Am sure you didn’t expect me to start with this suggestion when you were looking for some cool long bike ride tips in India. Believe it or not, we rode Pulsar bike on all those numerous trips from Bangalore and never had any trouble so far, touchwood.

Many days the bike got us home, when we were super tired and no longer had energy to focus. You can call it sentiment or bond, but sure there was something special having your own ride for a very long time.

People expected us to buy a luxury motorbike like Harley Davidson or at least Royal Enfield anytime soon, when they started seeing us all the time on the road. I mean from our regular Facebook posts.

But we didn’t, why would we when we were super comfortable with this one.

It was our regular office ride too.

And you know, your bike doesn’t not just run on just gas. You also need to make sure everything alright by getting a regular service done and add some accessories like a mobile holder and extra blink headlights if you want. It would be super helpful for a long bike ride at night time too.

So get your bike serviced, change oil, check the suspension, fix those breaks, change the tires if you want to, add the extra headlights and tail lights. It’s all just basics, am sure you knew that already.

Super -bike or any regular bike, since you are going on a long ride, ride your own bike which you know very well.

Plan well – Keep an Itinerary for All the Days of Your Trip

However long a bike trip you are planning for, it is important to have a well planned itinerary for all the days.

In our case, we went on an 11 days long bike trip in the year 2017 and 12 days long bike trips in the year 2018.

Both the trips were planned by me and executed by my partner Rajesh. We went as per the plan, sticking to the time schedule and resting well during nights.

Keep a handbook or mini note pad that fits in your jacket, write down your day’s plan page by page. Don’t make it clumsy, assign each page for consecutive days of your trip.

Note – If you prefer making a note in mobile itself, thats fine. Personally I prefer pocket notes for the ease of scribbling.

If you are a blogger like me or if you want to log your trips somewhere for future use, this notebook will come in handy.

For me, not just blogging, I also have a habit of sorting pics day wise in a harddisk, and save important pics in facebook albums to share with friends.

So, keep your day’s plan in a short note book for all time reference.

Plan Well For Long Ride But Pack Only For Four Days

Yes you heard me right.

This one advice we followed strictly on all our long bike trips.

When you are going on a long bike trip, you are going to live life like a nomad.

If you fill all the luggage space in saddle bags with clothes, then you would have to carry an extra carry – on bag or a day bag to fit in all other travel essentials. Like a bike rain cover, pair of slippers, SLR camera, power banks, jackets, riding accessories, Laptop (Rajesh carried in all the bike travels no matter the length of the trip), etc.,

Well, you are going to be on the wheels most of the time. Yet you would need clothes which will be comfortable for riding, right?

So Here are few Practical & Smart Long Bike Ride Tips In India

Carry a jumper or a jacket based on the season you are planning your travel. We always keep both during winters – jumper for the day time ride and Jacket for the night time ride.
If you plan on carrying just one jacket, then pack long sleeved clothes for day rides. Since you are looking for long bike ride tips riding in India, keeping our humidity in mind, it is advisable to ride wearing long sleeved clothes for protection.
Rajesh had invested in an expensive padded jacket, but he found it too hot to wear it all the time. So, it was the long sleeved t-shirts that helped him protect from the sun.
Pack not more than 2 good pairs of jeans or formals to wear for the restaurants or any visiting places.
For all time bike riding, pack a couple of travel pants – a soft and comfortable textile for both day and night rides. I wore jeggings from the Fratini brand, which was super comfortable for long bike rides. My hubby wore comfortable sweatpants all the time.

So, going to Leh Ladakh or Manali, Kumbakonam or Kanyakumari, invest in a good pair of comfortable clothes and saddle bags. Also don’t forget comfortable shoes and sandals. Since it’s all part of travel essentials for Long bike travel, it’s important to make a list of them beforehand and buy quality stuff for the repeated wear.

Why Saddlebags? Why not just throw on a backpack? The Reason Why I Call it a Best Long Bike Ride Tips In India?. Lets see.

Invest in Saddle bags – Best Long Bike Ride Tips in India You Will Hear from The Regular Bikers

Many of us, riders in India, still have the habit of riding with a heavy backpack on our shoulders. Some prefer to tie it with a rope at the back of the bike, some prefer carrying it – mostly the pillion riders are taking the burden.

I did too for many one day trips and two days trips from Bangalore until we bought a saddle bag and a tank bag.

A tank bag – a multipurpose day bag which has a magnet grip to hold on to the both sides of the bike tank has been indispensable in all the bike trips. It doesn’t cause any inconvenience to the rider. Infact rider can keep his valuables inside the bag and can access it any time with ease. When you are not riding, it can be converted to a day-bag with the detachable shoulder belts.

A Saddle bag – which hangs on both the sides of a pillion ride bike seat with a good amount of space to keep your travel essentials. And it doesn’t cause any inconvenience to the pillion rider.

One of the basic essentials for that long bike trip is to invest in a good quality saddle bag. The most important long bike ride tips in India you would hear from any bikers if you ask. If not a tank bag, buy a good quality saddle bag – let it sit on your bike at the back. It is easy to remove unlike the bags tied with rope, and it comes with double layered rain protection (again depends on the brand you buy).

It also offers a comfortable cushion and good support for the thighs for the pillion riders, for that long ride.

This is definitely the most neglected long bike ride tips in India, because we also invested in these bags too late.

Until we bought this saddle bag, we were riding with our individual backpacks and sure it was painful to carry them all the way to our destinations.

Note – You need to be all the time aware of those saddle bags especially when you are on highways and overtaking any vehicles.

Now that your bike is ready, you have a proper plan in hand, know what to carry on a long bike ride. Well, who is going to ride with you?.

Ride with a Partner with Common Interest and Complimenting Energy

The one thing that kept us going strong as duo bike couples was our complimenting energy.

I mean any day or even late evenings, we are always ready to go on a bike trip.

You would not believe that once we have started our bike journey in the evening, rode 200kms to reach the destination by midnight.

If there is any never ending conflict between us (obvious as a newlywed), we just start the bike. Argument stops, mind relaxes and soon the craziness wades out.

Bike rides connected us. Strong.

But we both are two different personalities. For starters, he is a night owl and I am an early riser.

On all our bike trips, I usually kick start the day, continuously nagging him to get ready so as to stick to the schedule. As the day goes by, you would be amazed at the energy transcending from him. He ends the trip with the same energy as I started it. While, myself just hanging in the bike, barely holding onto google maps with only half opened eyes.

So you need to choose a partner with the same passion you have for bike riding. And who has a positive mindset at all times.

This is how your partner’s qualities should be and very well should be yours too – Read here.

Are you a regular traveler like us?. Or Are you a city crawler?. Here are the list of best shampoos for daily use.

Don’t Blindly follow Google Maps – Question the route

This happened when we went on a 2 days trip from Bangalore to Yercaud in the year 2017.

There are two routes from Bangalore to reach Yercaud hills – one is shortest but rides among the dense trees, whereas the second is via Salem NH with proper paved roads with hairpin bends.

We unintentionally chose the shortest route – the one which was used by locals and the forest department. For very long time we were unaware that we had chosen a dense forest route. It gave us chills when we realised it was just us riding the bike, except for the few locals rarely passed by us.

We were able to breathe free only when we reached a local village.

On returning back, we readily took the longest but seamless route via Salem.

Gaining wisdom from this trip, later when we faced the same situation on our 4 days bike trip to Coorg (Madikeri), we investigated the route and chose the best way to reach the destination safely.

When in doubt, compare the 2 or 3 different routes suggested by google maps. Because google maps suggests routes which are used by locals, which may not be safe for the travellers.

Lets see an example.

To reach your destination, if you are suggested 2 routes with following directions: One with 32 kms showing 50 mins to reach and the other one is 49 kms taking 1 hr to reach. Also the first is showing a white road on the map and the second is showing a combination of white and yellow road on the map.

Which route will you choose? A or B?.

If I were you, I would choose the yellow road with more distance, because it is a National highways route, with proper paved roads and safer to ride.

Why route B?.

When compared to the white road which indicates a rural road / state road, are more bumpy n less safe comparatively. And probably it takes more time than it is mentioned in the map.

Trust me, many times when we had no choice but to take the white road, it took us more time than it was mentioned in the map.

Also, let’s not forget the road safety. Not just on highways, even riding on the rural, always expect the unexpected.

Do Not Mass Book the Rooms

This is another most important long bike ride tips in India.

Now think about it for a second, is bike riding is all about just riding the bike for day and night long, non-stop?.

At one point of time, will you not call it a day and rest someplace?.

Because many think that bike riding is all about riding long hours, covering 500 kms a day. Some do it for pride and some for saving money.

If you are a couple like us, you probably need to think of pre-booking the rooms at your destination for your own safety.

Here is the advice from our regular long road trips experience. Do not mass book the rooms even if you have plans to stay in a place for more than one day.

Though it is always advisable to book the rooms before you reach the destinations. And we always make sure to book it atleast 2 days prior to our trips -long or short bike trip.

Only if you like the room, feel that it’s worth the money and service, then it is wise to extend the stay.

Also, there are stories revolving about the bikers / tourists being cheated or taken advantage. Though it is much cheaper to mass book the rooms, to have an upper hand, it is best to book the room for just a day.

We have never stayed in any of our acquaintances’ houses, so absolutely no experience on that.

And finally, it is absolutely necessary to wear a helmet and protective gear at all times. And be a good guy, follow the road safety rules.

Enjoy the ride. And wish you to have many more adventures in your life.

Read – Long Drive From Bangalore to Mysore in Our #AllNewCreta

Ambarnath Temple Mumbai: 11th Century Marvel resembles Hoysala Architecture from Karnataka

Renu on February 6, 2021

We have been to Ambarnath temple Mumbai during one of our official trips to Mumbai for 6 days at the end of March 2017. We have stayed in The Kohinoor Continental hotel, absolutely enjoyed staying there and roamed less places due to our work commitment. Just like we always do.

Somehow we squeezed in time to visit the famous Lord Shiva temple called Ambarneshwar temple a.k.a Ambarnath temple, one of a kind experience travelling in the metro to visit this temple.

Ambarnath Temple Mumbai – Beautiful Zig Zag pattern Architecture

Trip to Ambarnath Temple Mumbai :

With the busy schedule we had, we somehow planned a trip to this magnificent temple, and travelled by metro reach the destination.

After an auto ride from the nearest metro station, we reached the temple location, walked past a narrow bridge leading to the flower vendors in front of the temple.

The temple was moderately crowded and had no queue or any counter to reach the main sanctum.

There were three entrances leading to the center hall, which has an array of pillars, all intricately carved with minute details.

Main entrance with Nandhi is captured here. (See pic). If you could look closer, you can also see the mini elephant heads carved on the walls, which are mostly are damaged.

ambarnath temple mumbai images — Close view of the Ambarnath temple main entrance with guardian Nandhi

From the centre hall, one has to climb down several narrow stairs, to darshan “Swayambhu” moorthy, hardly 4 inches height off the floor.

One can also see another lingam (not sure of the history, couldn’t find much detail anyways) just behind swayambu lingam, which is a little taller than the previous one.

And unique sight to watch the lingam’s abhishekam theertham leading to a single “gomuki”.

This temple is under “UNESCO”, painful to see all the sculptures on the walls are damaged beyond repair.

Having visited many temples so far, this 11th Century Heritage has peculiar architecture having closely carved discs unlike dravidian architecture.

Not so peculiar, because this temple’s infrastructure reminded me of something closer to my heart. That is Hoysala architecture temples from Karnataka.

Since Hoysala architectures are found exclusively only in the Karnataka state of India, was totally amazed and surprised to the major resemblance in architecture here.

(Read our trips to Hoysala Architecture and Pics here).

So I couldn’t help marvel at the beauty of this temple architecture and compare that with the Hoysala architecture.

Just like Hoysala architecture, in Ambarnath Temple Mumbai, you can also find reliefs (carved sculptures of various avatars of gods and goddesses) on the outer wall of the temple, that too with the same zig-zag pattern.

The zig- zag pattern of the walls, continuous pattern of reliefs carved on the walls, minute work of disc pattern on the pillars are all exactly matching with the Hoysala architecture of Karnataka.

Hoysalas built the temples between their ruling period of 11th century to 14th century. Guess there are possibilities of their influence here in Ambarnath Temple Mumbai.

The only major difference was that there was no star shaped mandap on which Hoysalas usually built their temple.

Another Close view of the Ambarnath temple main entrance with guardian Nandhi

What was more amazing beyond the imagination was to find lord Vishnu reliefs carved on the Lord Shiva temple.

(Just like how I was amazed to see tiny shiva lingas around the main sanctum of Lord Vishnu temple in our recent trip to Wayanad).

There is an unproved story that five pandava brothers have built this temple overnight from a huge mass of stone. Not having enough evidence to back up this history here.

However, I am blessed and grateful to have visited this temple – Ambarnath temple Mumbai.

Is it Safe to Drive From Bangalore to Coorg by Bike?

Renu on January 22, 2021

When people know that we went road trip from Bangalore to Coorg by bike – first question we face is ‘is it safe to drive from Bangalore to Coorg by bike?”.

When you already know that riding bike from Bangalore to Mysore is absolutely no issues since both are metro cities. You might ask, “then is it safe to drive from Mysore to Coorg by bike or car?”.

Going to a hill station like Coorg or Wayanad arises this common question, especially when you have to drive through the roads connecting to wildlife forests.

Lets see How is the road from Bangalore to Coorg – the facts you need to know to be safe:

From Bangalore to Mysore, you would be enjoying non stop NH 75 highways with partition in the middle for that seamless driving.
Many people like us prefer taking Kanakapura road to reach Mysore, because eventhough it is not broad roads like Mysore highways, it is peaceful road with less traffic. But there are not many pit stops like in Mysore highways.
This is the most popular route to drive from Bangalore to Coorg: Bangalore – Mysore – Hunsur – Kaushal Nagar – Madikeri
From Mysore to Madikeri, it is one straight route with undiveded roads. You will be driving in NH275 , with both State and National highways, smooth roads with wildlife crossing signs wherever necessary.
Traffic from Mysore to Hunsur and Kaushal Nagar is nothing less than traffic from Bangalore to Mysore (via Mysore Highways). So careful with the unbelievable traffic even in the early morning hours.
Traffic is less from Kaushal Nagar to Madikeri, you can absolutely enjoy the peaceful ride.
Since Nagerhole Wildlife roads would be closed (for both safari and drive-through) after 8am, it is better to reach Madikeri Via Kaushal Nagar. You need to be there at gate by 5.45 am to buy tickets for safari.
Throughout the journey you will experience seamless drive on well paved roads until Madikeri. (Even beyond till Wayanad as well).
In our bike trip journey, we did not encounter any wildlife on both ways.
Only in our car trip to Wayanad, we saw raindeers and monkeys couple of times. Anyhow, it is always safe not to stop the vehicles until you reach the destination.
Most important thing to note – If you are driving via Nagerhole National park – you are absolutely not allowed to drive too slow or stop the vehicle. You will interrogated based on your delay in the exit gate. If you have found guilty breaking the rule by the patroling guards, you would be levied heavy fine. Since we always prefer to drive through Bavali – Nagarhole national park – kabini river route (read about the routes here) for the return journey, we have seen many tourists being held at the security gate for breaking the law. So need to be extreme careful for your own safety.
In year 2020 post covid-19 lockdown we went 3 days road trip from Bangalore to Madikeri via Mysore route – which we absolutely loved it. In fact we went deep inside Madikeri, drove in the steep hill S-bends to reach Cliff resorts, where we stayed to celebrate our wedding anniversary. Since we have done it many times, It is total safe to drive from Bangalore to Coorg by bike or car.

is it safe to drive from Bangalore to Coorg by bike — Road Towards Cliff Resorts Coorg

Read Our other adventurous journeys by Bike

From Bangalore to Hassan Road Trip: A tale of New Bikers Riding at Night, 500KM trip

One Day Trip From Bangalore to Kolar By Bike

Melkote From Bangalore (335KM in One Day Bike Trip)

The Night Bike ride of 200kms: Bangalore to Tiruvannamalai Temple

Best Bike Ride Places near Bangalore With Google map link

11 days Long Bike Ride in India (road trip from Bangalore)

Best Earphones Under 500 In India (List from a Daily traveler)

Renu on January 7, 2021

If you are looking for cost effective headphones with best bass quality, attractive colors with noise cancellation features this is the guide for you. Here is the list of best earphones under 500 in India.

I have multiple pairs of headphones (a couple of them with bluetooth) with good sound quality and noise cancelling features.

I am a happy buyer from Amazon since my college days in London. Here is the list of cost effective, best earphones under 500 rs – the best you can buy in the market.

Pic credit – Photocase

Best Earphones Under 500 In India – with Inbuilt Mic, Noise Cancelling and Good Sound Quality

Here is the curated list of best earphones under 500 rs in India. These are the products with amazing design, attractive colors and features. They are all affordable, stylish and long lasting products for your daily use.

boAt BassHeads 100 in-Ear Headphones with Mic

Why is it best?

“Amazon’s choice” for earphones
Hawk inspired design – the stylish bass heads make a style statement.
Cable length 1.2 m – the length perfect for fitting during travel, gym and office purpose.
Earphones – Best sound quality with frequency 20 Hz to 20 KHz, 10mm Delivering super extra bass to listen to your favourite tracks, fits into your ears without hurting them.
Note – If you are interested in the upgraded product with passive noise cancelling feature, here is boAt BassHeads 225 in-Ear Super Extra Bass Headphones – another best seller “Amazon’s choice” product with more than 121k user ratings. The price is little above boAT bassheads 100 but it is the all time best product in this category
Category – Best Earphones under 500 in India

Xiaomi Redmi Hi-Resolution Audio Wired Headphone with Mic

Why is it best?

Hi-Res Audio: Certified by Japan Audio Society for “ Hi-Res Audio”, the Redmi Earphones give you a complete and very accurate sound quality that brings life to your music experience
Aluminum alloy sound chamber with precisely structured 10mm dynamic drivers to deliver strong bass, full vocals & good treble performance
3 colors to match your energy and style
This earphone is perfect for listening to music for long hours with comfortable earbuds and long lasting cables. If you are looking mainly for music purpose, connecting to mobile or laptop, this is the ‘Best Earphones under 500 in India’ category

Best Earphones under 500 in India – Portronics Conch Delta POR-1169 in-Ear Wired Earphone

While Mi Basic earphones’ feature matches with boAT bassheads 100, this Portronics Conch Delta POR-1169 matches with boAT bassheads 102 in feature. Here is why.

Why is it best?

Earphones – It has a noise isolation feature. To prevent the earphones from falling, the earbuds come with magnets on both ends which stick together and prevent the earphones from falling.
Design – Lightweight design better than any costly earphones, with 1.2m cord and supports all devices with 3.5mm aux port.
Soft Silicone Ear-buds – comfortable seal on the Ear Canals giving great Bass Effect.
Crystal clear sound – Superior quality, old-school in-ear headset, for crystal clear conch-like sound. Pleasant and comfortable, it is a great fit for convenient calling, listening to music, etc. The hands-free earphones come with neodymium magnets & 10mm drivers for crisp sound. The in-built Mic ensures noise cancellation, and easily lets you make/receive calls.
Best price in “Best earphones under 500 rs” category.
With available 3 colours – Black, White and Blue, blue is very attractive and it’s my personal favourite.

Artis E400M in-Ear Headphones with Mic

I am loving all the features of this product. Here is why

Why is it best?

“Amazon’s choice” product with best price, best ratings, available for immediate shipping
Best selling microphone under 500 rupees for – Exceptional clarity, sharp sound, powerful bass & dynamic stereo output, ultra lightweight in-ear headphone.
Excellent bass quality with 15 mm drivers – better than boAT, Mi and Portronics models mentioned above.
Built in Mic aids hassle free handling.
Highlight – 3 pairs of different sized ear caps (S,M,L) for that perfect fit.
Comes in only 2 colors – Balck and White
Category – Best Earphones under 500 in India

Best Bluetooth Earphones Under 2000 rupees

Wecool W001 Snug Fit Wired Earphone with Mic

Another best seller product and price below 300 rupees for all the good features

Why it is best?

“Amazon’s choice” product for pricing and user ratings
Best features -These earphones with a microphone comes with Balanced stereo sound, Excellent Sound Quality,With In Line Mic. In-ear earphone design effectively drown/blocks out background noise. These earbuds are Total squishy silicone, incredibly comfortable for 24hours wear.
Highlight – Comes with a carry case for easy carry
Supports All devices having 3.5mm Aux port.

Motorola Pace 100 in-Ear Headphones with Mic & Alexa Built-in

Why it is best?

Another “Amazon’s choice” product Motorola with the best features listed below.
In-ear headphones with Mic
Rich base and clear sound
10mm speaker driver, 1.2m cable
Amazon Alexa, Siri and Google assistant enabled
The 3.5 mm jack can be plugged in to a wide range of devices for you to enjoy amazing all round sound
Competitive priced and best features makes this simple design as one of the best microphones under 500 rs.

All the products listed under ‘best earphones under 500 in India’ category are best products with amazing features.

Of all the brands, only boAt BassHeads 100 in-Ear Headphones with Mic has all best features – stylish product, attractive colors, bass quality and all with 1 yr warranty on the product. All the way making it a smart buy in ‘best earphones under 500’ category in India. And Redmi brand would be next best choice. And It is a must have addition to your daily life.

This is How to Prepare for a Long Bike ride in India- Free Guide

Renu on December 8, 2020

How to Prepare for a long bike ride? Be it 2000 kms or 10k kms long bike ride, how do you prepare yourselves for that long journey on the road?

Here are some 5 practical questions that will help you prepare for a long bike ride.

Under each question, I have given our real life example of how we prepared ourselves for the long road trips. And some useful tips on long bike preparation, what to carry on a long bike trip and how to choose a travel partner.

How to Prepare for a Long Bike Ride

How Confident Are you?

We went on a couple of long bike rides in India in the year 2017 and 2018, after numerous one day and two days trips from our home in Bangalore.

This is how we grew confident over the period –

Took an adventurous trip to Hillstation Yercaud, learnt to ride confident in those many hair pin bends
Numerous bike trips among countryside (To Talakad, Melkote, Lepakshi, nandi hills etc.,) and in Highways (Tirupati and Hosur Highways)
Went 2 states trip in just one day, covered total of 350 kms
Covered 500 kms under 36 hrs riding back to back, day and night.

Success!!!.

Rest is history.

In the year 2017, we were able to go on 11 days long bike trip from Bangalore and in the following year 2018, we went on 12 days long bike trip from Bangalore.

Had we not gone those first 50 bike trips to the nearby places in Bangalore, we could not have definitely gone those long bike trips.

Pro Tip

If you are not confident yet, you need to take a couple of 2 days bike rides, aiming to cover atleast 150 kms in a day. Then slowly increase to 300 kms a day.

If you are entirely new to bike trips, if you have never even taken the bike out except schools or the office, then plan for a 50 to 80 km bike ride.

How to prepare for a long bike ride?.

Start Small and improvise.

Related – How to prepare for a 100 km bike ride.

How Energetic are you?

It may look easy to read that we went 335 kms in a day in the initial days. That will be 670 kms in 2 days, with just one night’s rest.

For those who think many bikers ride more than 500 kms in a day, those riders have also gained the experience just like us – taking slow steps at a time.

Note that we ride motorbikes with a theme. On every trip we visit famous places in our travel destinations. That gave us purpose in starting bikes.

We needed energy to not just bike ride, but also do a lot of sightseeing in our destinations.

Like in our 2 days Yercaud bike trip, after riding in never ending hair pin bends, we went trekking to Kiliyur falls.

On our 2 days Madanapalli bike trip, we went trekking to Talakona forest and waterfalls.

On our 3 days Coorg bike trip, we went trekking to Abbey falls and sightseeing many other places.

In one of our Tiruvannamalai trip, we trekked on a steep hills for 1 hr to a Hindu temple with special waterfalls on the hill top.

Imagine the energy you would require to do bike riding and trekking – all in 2 days trip?. Above all riding bike in the nights?.

All the above were examples of 2 days and 1 night bike trips from Bangalore.

It requires lots of energy, to both ride a bike under the sun and moon, and to also to go on sports. And to do pradakshina in all those enormous Hindu temples – it requires more than just energy to drive bikes.

Tip

Initially you don’t have to go by any travel theme. You could just pick a destination, be it any resort or meeting any long distance friend, and aim to cover 150 to 200 kms in a day.

Once you have made it to the destination, rest well only at night. Do not extend your rest period. Start immediately next morning. Check your energy level after completing the trip.

For myself its first half of the day and for Rajesh its second half of the day.

So, How to prepare for a long bike ride?.

Plan your trip timings based on your energy levels.

Aware – Even Though you are physically fit, if you face any problems like nausea, fatigue and loss of appetite, then it’s a red flag.

How Well Are You Prepared to Face Challenges in Roads?

Lets address the elephant in the room. You will not get to choose the roads to your destination – atleast most of the time.

How prepared are you to go long bike ride in –

Countryside roads?
No roads but a bumpy path?
Mountain – side?
Action packed highways?
Adventurous hill stations?
And unexpected turns of events riding motorbike at night in all the above roads?

I didn’t mean to scare you. You need to be there riding the bike to understand road rules and road safety. You cannot blindly follow the book, because there is nothing like in the book.

In our early stages of bike riding, we choose the countryside routes from google maps. We didn’t always stick to comfortable 4 ways highways.

Like in our regular one day trips to Talakad, Somanathapura, Melkote – we always choose the Kanakapura route rather than taking comfortable Mysore highways.

(Note : Since the end of the year 2019, Kanakapura highways road has been extensively extended. Now its almost as good as the Mysore highways ).

And on our regular trip to Tiruvannamalai, we always took the countryside route from Darmapuri rather than comfortable Chennai highways (via Vellore route).

Like in our 11 days long bike trip in the year 2017 and 2018, we chose countryside destinations. To reach those destinations, every single day we rode in highways, crowded cities, and rural area agri fields. That too with our fully packed saddlebags and tank bags.

how to prepare long bike trip in india — Travelduo Bike image – Bike with Tank bag and saddle bags

So, How to prepare for a long bike ride?.

By riding bike on all kinds of roads.

Related – What you need to carry on the road trip

How Good are You in Planning a trip?

It is easy to tag along any long bike ride groups (most trending is Leh ladak and Manali trips in North India and Kanyakumari trips in South India).

So, you need nothing to worry about.

But if you are just like us, prepare for a long bike ride with your partner, then you need to be good at planning and executing.

This is another most important quality in a bike rider – planning and executing.

Every single trip we went in our life required careful planning of time calculation to reach the destination, book an accommodation (again sort the best from hundreds of options in booking sites), budget planning, shortlisting sightseeing places, pit stops based on your driving speed etc.,

We are married couples and we share equal responsibilities on-road and off- road. Here is the list of what those responsibilities look like.

Some on – road responsibilities:

Checking google maps often to ensure riding on the right route
Finding pit stops while on the go
Take turn to go washrooms to keep an eye on the luggages
Confirm room bookings
Look for gas stations on the map
Fill water bottles at pit stops

Some off- Road responsibilities:

Plan the holiday and budget
Detailed itinerary for each day of the long road trip with clear destinations, nearby restaurants, sightseeing places with phone numbers etc.,
Getting bike service done 2 days before bike trip
Book accomodations at all destinations
Pack toiletries
Pack first aids
Fit clothes in saddle bags
Keep all the expensive and ready to use essentials, bike ride accessories on the tank bag
Keep all the mobile phones’, power bank’s and SLR camera’s batteries charged night before the trip
Keep the water bottles filled
Again cross check everything on the day of starting the trip
Check the house safes’ and doors are secured (if you are couples like us).

How Well You Know Your bike?

This is not so important but an essential question to ask to prepare for a long bike ride.

But this question has nothing to do with the first question – How confident are you?.

Because you may be confident to ride bike for 500 kms straight, but imagine riding a bike which breaks down in mid and screws that dream trip?.

Your bike is your first companion on the road, next is your bike ride partner.

That’s why it is always advised to ride your own bike, which you have been riding for quite some time.

Not the rented bike – the bike you have no connection with.

(That’s why when people talk about sentiments with their bikes, I totally agree with them).

Its only best if you could fix minor issues on your own.

Also, it is essential to get your bike service done a week before your long bike trip, to ensure smooth journey.

We never carried bike tools with us nor got ditched by our bike, because we always took care of it well before every single bike trips.

This is how to prepare for a long bike ride.

Now you are good to go!

Go or No-Go?

These are the facts you need to know on how to prepare for a long bike ride.

I could have just advised you to get a Royal Enfield bike, buy all the travel gears and essentials, find a partner or a group and just go.

But that’s not it.

It is how much you trust yourself and enjoy the ride, how much your body and mind come together to experience the best time of your life.

How to Go Trip to Goa from Bangalore – Both by Air and Bus

Renu on December 7, 2020

This is a complete guide on going trip to Goa from Bangalore by both air and bus.

We have been to Goa 2 times in the same year in 2018. First trip to Goa by bus and the later by air. Both the times we stayed in North Goa – once in an exotic resort with a private beach and once in the Calangute High road with an infinity swimming pool.

This is how to plan your trip to Goa from Bangalore, how to rent a bike and have fun.

Image Credit – Holidify.com

Trip to Goa from Bangalore – Overview

Our First Trip to Goa from Bangalore by Bus:

Our very first trip to Goa from Bangalore was by bus to Panjim city. This trip was planned in the month of April in 2018 to celebrate our birthdays (we are one year and a day apart). It was a 3 days trip to Goa and we absolutely enjoyed our first time being there together. Rajesh has already been with his friends once and stayed in Taj hotels for the entire trip (big guy :).

We booked a KSRTC bus, boarded from Bangalore central to reach Panjim city, the capital of Goa.

Since it was a special celebration, Rajesh booked us in Riva Resorts in North Goa, with a private beach.The price was little high due to our last booking in the season time. Luckily we got a room far from the main entrance and facing the property’s private beach – which we absolutely loved.

We rented a bike in Panjim itself for all three days to roam all around the goa. Thanks to Rajesh who planned on booking a bike, otherwise it would have been difficult to see the places in goa without it.

There was another advantage of booking a bike on our goa trip.

Since we stayed far from the main Goa, we got to see more than just beaches on our daily bike ride.

From our resort in North Goa, we rode our bike daily among the never ending dense cashewnut forest to go look around the places. It’s just like seeing Coconut trees in South India.

We saw many Russian girls solo riding Royal Enfield bikes en route – which was quite a sight.

Though we stayed in an Elite resort, we spent most of the time hanging out outside, except for the last day. Of all, the most memorable being the ride to Reis Magos fort and its surrounding places.

And we have been to many beaches day and night that I lost track of, had dined in all the good restaurants near to the beaches we have visited.

goan food — Tuna Salad from Inferno Restaurant

Places we visited during our 3 days trip to Goa from bangalore – All beaches and restaurants.

Restaurants we liked most– Riva Beach Resort, Inferno goa, Apna Punjab Restaurant.

Second Goa trip by Air for 4 Days:

This time it was a 4 days trip to Goa from Bangalore for our 3rd Wedding anniversary celebrations.

This time we chose to stay close to main Goa, so we chose Silver sands serenity in Candolim Goa.

Just like our last trip we hired a bike to roam around Goa. But this time we did not go crazily to many beaches like we did before.

We spent most of the time in restaurants and in the infinity swimming pool in our stay. As such we enjoyed being in our room, with a good swimming pool and restaurant to hang out.

Once we tried Spa at O2 (O2 Spa) – an Elite spa in Goa and it was a total waste of money for 5000 rupees.

Restaurants we liked most – Silver Sands Serenity, The lazy Goose, The Fisherman’s Wharf, Big Fish

Food We liked most – Rava Fish fry (fish fry made with rava sooji).

How to Plan Goa trip

From our 2 time trip to Goa from bangalore, we have seen Goa both ‘in season’ and ‘off season’.

Season time is where Goa thrives with international visitors especially in beaches of Goa.

During season time in Goa, that is – from end of December to end of April – all the prices are sky high. Try eating street food maggi noodles for the price of 150 rupees, you would know what I am talking about. Though food prices remain the same in elite restaurants for all seasons, it is disappointing to see restaurants like ‘Inferno’ remain closed in off-seasons.

So there is no fun if you are going in off season. You could save some money by pre-booking your stay way in advance and rent a bike while you are there.

We repeat going trip to Goa since it is our favorite travel destinations just like Coorg and Tiruvannamalai for road trips.

Interested in our road trips? We have been on many dozen bike trips from Bangalore. Click here.

11 days Long bike ride in India as a Beginners

Renu on November 25, 2020

Long Bike trip in India, travelduo couples

This was our first long bike ride in India for 11 continuous days as a beginners bike riders. This happend in the end of year 2017.

And we successfully did it covering approx. 2000 kms by our motorbike, from Bangalore.

Read further to know how we went on a long bike trip from Bangalore, just two of us, the travelduo couples.

Long Bike Ride in India – Year 2017 From Bangalore

Day 1: 22nd Dec 2017, Bangalore to Kumbakonam – 410 kms by Bike

On our day -1 of our long bike ride in India, first longest bike ride ever in both our history and ever since our marriage – we started our bike unusually late.

By the time for Breakfast at our favourite pit stop called Shoolagiri Krishna Bhavan, the sun was already in full swing shining on our heads.

It was already 10am. We have never been this late even during our 2 day trips to Tiruvannamalai or Yercaud trip via this pitstop.

After refreshing and eating our usual favourites, 1 full hour has already gone.

We still have approximately 350 kms to go, but one cannot find not even an ounce of worry or hurriedness in us. Both of us were beaming with pride and happiness for going to set a milestone in our bike ride history.

After many pit stops, endless long rides on the highways along with non-stop happy chatting and dreaming about this trip, we reached our destination – Kumbakonam at 11pm.

Finally, we crashed ourselves after riding the bike for 14+ hrs. Awesome total of 410 kms in just one day.

Thankfully we did not take this trip seriously. Had we been serious on the day -1 itself, no doubt we would have reached the destination very early, but we, for sure, would have missed all the fun in bike ride.

Day 2: 23rd Dec, Roaming inside Kumbakonam and Trip to Thirunallar

To our biggest surprise, we woke up early on day -2 of our long bike ride in India.

What was more surprising was that Rajesh was jumping with full energy without even the trace of tiredness from yesterday’s journey.

He sure knows how to keep a positive energy.

Good for us, because I had spent almost 2 weeks planning for this trip.

Since we chose the theme for this long bike trip to visit all famous temples, it took me days and days of hard work working out visiting places based on the temple timings and location.

So I was nothing but surprised and happy to see my partner full of energy.

We kept our saddle bag and tank bag safely locked in our hotel room, carried just a backpack with water bottles and other basic items with us for roaming all the local places.

Day – 2 Visiting Places in Our Long Bike trip In India

Ramar temple, Kumbakonam town
Chakarapani temple, Kumbakonam town
Saarangapani temple, Kumbakonam town
Thirumetrali Siva temple – Bhramanandieswarar temple
Sakthivaneswarar Periyanayaki – Siva temple
Thenupureeswarar Shiva temple

Falling in love with “only Coffee Restaurant” in Kumbakonam

After roaming all the temples in the first half of the day, we had to come back to the room for check out. As we did not pre book the rooms for a week, we had to find a new hotel for the next couple of days. So on day-2 afternoon, we checked-in at Aditya Resorts in Thiruvidaimaruthur. That’s when we came to know about a dine-in called “Only Coffee Kumbakonam” and fell in love with ambiance and food immediately.

It was situated just adjacent to the resorts and initially, we mistook it for a coffee shop. Later when we came to know there is more in the menu than just the aroma of coffee, we became regular customers.

Since then, for every meal, evening snacks and tea, we never missed to eat in this restaurant on our all days in Kumbakonam.

Read – Kumbakonam famous food items

Heroic act in Thirunallar

After check out and a hearty meal at Only Coffee restaurant, we then headed to Thirunallar. Since it was saturday and Darshan at thirunallar temple (a famous Navagraha temple for planet saturn( was near to impossible you know. We had to stand in a queue for almost an hour to get past the main entrance of the temple. Only then we realized that it would take more than 4 hrs to darshan Navagraha Saturn. We sure knew that it would not be possible for us to stand that long in the queue, as we needed to ride back in the dark for more than 1 hr to Kumbakonam town.

Somehow, Rajesh found a way to contact someone in the admin office, soon I found us standing in front of Navagraha Saturn for a VIP special darshan. We skipped 4 hrs long queue and were taken directly to darshan main sanctum followed by Goddess Parvathi darshan and Navagraha Saturn. I felt privileged being in special darshan in front of thousands of people, and I was in tears.

Hubby was too proud when we came out of darshan and of course after paying a fee to the admin guy who took us in. My face was beaming with happiness and pride, all the more loving my hubby who took a risk for me.

About My Hubby’s Willpower

Rajesh is not a person who gives up so easily on any matters. If you know him personally, you would definitely be surprised at the level of will power he possesses in himself. I look up to him for his hard work, sincerity and work ethics. Apart from that, personally he is not a person to be bogged down by any level of crowd, which I observed during many of our travels.

Our motorbike rides connected us, gave us right opportunity and time to understand each other.

On most of the bike rides, mostly to Tiruvannamalai, distance of 200kms from our home, we check -in the room, head out soon for evening darshan in the temple after standing in a long queue for almost 2hrs. He never excused himself on any temple visits saying that he is too tired from bike rides. Nor he gave up on any bike trips, never came up with any excuse to postpone the trip or cancel it.

And most of all, never did he take off from work, not even a day, even after riding back to back on weekend trips. And you know of all the short and long bike trips we went since 2016, not even once he took off from work. You could see him get ready to office just like any other days. Touch wood. I would be the one forcing myself to go office as if I was driving bike day and night :).

Note – Nor did he take off to rest even after these 11 days of long bike rides in India.

So, after all these years of experience of travelling together with my partner, I took inspiration from him to write 7 good qualities to look for in a travel partner.

Day 3: 24th Dec Sunday, Bike ride from Kumbakonam to Mayiladuthurai and Thirumanajeri

As Usual we woke up early the next day, despite having spent the whole day on motorbike yesterday. Here is the list of places where we went on day-3.

Day-3 Visiting Places in Long Bike ride in India

Mahalinga Swamy temple
Kampahareswarar temple
Navagraha: Suriyan temple
Gangai konda Cholapuram
Mayuranathar at Mayiladuthurai
Kshetra Balapuram -lord Bhairava temple
Thirumanjeri Shiva temple

I roamed all the above places until noon, and took the rest of the day off after a heartfelt lunch in “Only coffee restaurant”.

Day 4 : 25th Dec Monday- Bike ride from to Thanjai and Tiruvaiyaru

Morning after breakfast at our usual favourite place, we went to only 2 places, as follows.

Abathsakeswar, aaduthurai
Navagraha: Sukran temple

Since we had big plans for the 2nd half day, also Rajesh had some official work in the morning, we kept our morning schedule minimal.

We always remember to be flexible on our travel schedule so as to accommodate any of our emergency calls or meetings.

Day- 4 Places of Visit

Big Tanjai temple, Tanjavur – 5 to 6.30pm darshan
Neelamega perumal temple
Sri Hara Saabha Vimocchana Perumal Temple, Kandiyur
Veeratanam temple – Brahma Kandeeswarar Shiva temple
Keelatirupanthuruthi temple
Aiyarappar temple, Tiruvaiyaru – Darshan and tiruoonjal poojai

It was quite an achievement in one day, bike riding from Kumbakonam to Tanjavoor, then from there to Tiruvaiyaru before returning back. And along the way, we have visited all the famous temples – both Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu temples.

The last stop in the day-4 long bike ride was Thiruvaiyaru, one of the biggest and famous temples of Lord Shiva, where we spent the entire evening until the temple closed for the day. Then we started our bike by 9.10 pm from Thiruvaiyaru to Kumbakonam via Kavisthalam. We stopped at Kabisthalam for tea at 9.50pm and reached our room by 11pm.

We had a peaceful journey, thanks to the seamless roads.

That’s another advantage of staying at Kumbakonam, not only do we get to enjoy cheap and best stays, but also good roadways connecting all major cities.

So staying at Kumbakonam is the best option to budget travel to places like Trichy, Chidambaram, Tanjavoor, Mannargudi, Karaikal, Nagapattinam etc.,

Day 5: Dec 26 Tuesday, Long Bike ride to Sirkazhi and Chidambaram

On yet another auspicious day – Ashtami, falling on Tuesday, we started our bike to Sirkazhi and Chidambaram just as planned.

Asusual woke up early, got ready and had coffee at 7am before we started our bike. It was too early to have breakfast, so we headed straight to our destination, Vaitheeswaran koil. Had a wonderful darshan at 8.30 to 9.30am, spent an hour at this Lord Shiva temple before we headed to Sirkazhi (pronounced as Sirkali), a neighbouring town.

We had breakfast at one of the good restaurants in town, before we had darshan at Sattainathar temple, Sirkali.

Finally we visited the most famous Chidambaram Natarajar temple before returning to Kumbakonam.

It was a hectic day, travelling long distances, visiting all famous temples, waiting in queues in each temple took most of our energy. Yet we enjoyed travelling back 80kms from Chidambaram to Kumbakonam, because our bike rides are not just about travelling and visiting places, but also enjoy being in the moment. Not just Kumbakonam, all the places we went from this temple town offered us feast of agri lands, lakes, rivers and ponds.

Rajesh was the one who enjoyed most of the countryside ride, marvelling at the rice fields, stopping to play in the ponds, clicking lilies pics.

11 days of this long bike trip in south India opened up a new beautiful world which we cherish forever.

This was the very reason which brought us back to the same places in the year 2018 as well.

Day 6: Dec 27th Wednesday – Long Bike ride to Tiruvarur

Day-6 was a relaxed day. We didn’t plan to go far distances as we wanted a break from yesterday’s long distance bike ride.

So we visited the famous temples within the Kumbakonam town in the first half of the day. Later in the afternoon we went to Thiruvarur at 42 km distance from Kumbakonam.

Here is the list of places we went on Day -6

Abhimukeshwarar near mahamaham tank, Kumbakonam
Tiruvarur Thyagaraja temple
Thirucherai Saranatha perumal temple
Nachiar koil

Day 7: 28th Dec Thursday. Bike ride to Alangudi and Mannargudi

It’s been 2 days since we have vacated our stay at Adithya resorts and moved to a hotel in main Kumbakonam town. Today, we all the way travelled to Only Coffee Restaurant near Adithya resorts to have our regular southindian breakfast.

After leisure breakfast, we headed towards Alangudi, about an hour ride from the restaurant.

Alangudi is one of the famous places for Navagraha, Lord Guru.

Just like Thirunallar saturn temple, here in Alangudi too it was super crowded.

Since we did not anticipate that much crowd in Alangudi, it was around 12 noon when we reached Mannargudi temple. It was already late and we missed the darshan by 10 mins. Returned back with just this cute elephant’s pic. Adorable isn’t it?

long bike ride in India — Cute elephant in Mannargudi Temple

After returning to the room, after relaxing for some time, we visited the following places in the evening.

Palaivananathar temple, Papanasam
Ramalingeswarar 108 lingam temple, Papanasam
Garbarakshambigai temple, Thirukaragavoor.

Happy news is that we were able to darshan in this Mannargudi temple when my husband joined my Solo bike trip in Kumbakonam for 5 days. Yes I did go solo to Kumbakonam for the love of this temple town for 5 days. And When Rajesh joined me in the weekend for the return journey, we visited this temple along with all other favorite temples in Kumbakonam town.

Day 8: 29th Dec, Friday, Vaikunda Ekadasi in Kumbakonam

We were up by 2am to get ready for Vaikunda Ekadasi darshan at Sarangapani temple.

As expected there was a long queue ahead, but we were able to darshan in an hr, since it was properly regulated by the temple management.

Soon after we headed towards another famous 108 Divya Desam Vishnu temple called Oppiliappan temple. On the way towards the location, we relaxed, played near the lotus pond, had a good time clicking pics and playing.

After darshan at Oppiliappan kovil, we headed towards Nachiyar Kovil, yet another famous 108 Divya Desam Lord Vishnu temple and a must visit temple in Kumbakonam.

After having breakfast in a small mess near Thirunageswaram temple, we attended Navagraha Rahu milk pooja from 10.30 to 12 noon.

Returning back by afternoon, we had lunch at a small mess called “Ayyakadai” at the corner of the Poppy’s SET hotel I have mentioned earlier.

After a long rest in the afternoon, we went to have ginger tea at a tea shop near clock tower in Kumbakonam town.

Then we went to the shopping area near Sarangapani temple to buy silver items and bought a couple of items.

And, yet again we went to our favourite restaurant for dinner to enjoy the evening. Whoa it was a long day in my entire life and was one of the memorable days in our travel history.

Here is the list of places we went on Day -8

Sarangapani temple
Oppiliappan temple
Nachiyar kovil
Nageswaran temple

Evening shopping in Kumbakonam town

Day – 9 30th December Saturday

The most relaxed day in this entire week. So far all the temples and all the lake ponds in every nook and corner were visited in this temple town Kumbakonam.

We rode to all famous neighbouring towns, everyday clicked all nature’s pic in the early morning, had wonderful coffee watching the sunrise, had amazing meals in all famous restaurants, and there was nothing more left to do.

How else could we have spent this vacation more fruitfully?

Soon our vacation is nearing its end.

We never wanted to forget any of those memories so we kept staring at the beautiful ponds, agri fields, nature’s work during all our bike rides. We kept clicking as many pics as we could in both our mobiles and SLR canon that we carried.

It is more of an emotional day for us.

We left the room as soon as waking up, to ride into the field to have breakfast at our favourite restaurant – you know where.

Rajesh had brought his laptop and soon after breakfast, he started working on it. I occupied myself with sorting the pics in individual folders.

A very interesting hobby of mine apart from bookmarking travel locations in google maps. Once returning to home after this vacation, I would be spending many months working on sorting the pics.

Since it is a long bike ride in India, the first of its kind, definitely it would take me many months uploading pics to all my backup drives and labeling them.

That’s the reason I take Weekly Tuesdays off, to do such important work as a blogger.

After spending long hours, we returned to town only for lunch. After finishing bath in the early evening, we went to the nearest Darasuram for the evening. It is a majestic, beautiful architecture maintained under UNESCO, recognized more as a picnic spot than as a religious place. But there are pooja rituals followed just like all the Lord Shiva temples, and we attended the evening pooja while we were there.

We returned to town and visited Kasi Viswanathar temple for yet another evening pooja since it was an auspicious day called Pradosham. Being more auspicious falling on Saturday, we knew that all the Lord Shiva temples would be super crowded in TamilNadu. So we decided to go to this small temple near Mahamaham tank, called kasi Vishwanathaar temple and got only a sneak peak into the abhishegam rituals.

So on day-9 of our long bike trip, we went to only 2 places – Darasuram and a small Siva temple.

Later we went for a movie in a local theater for a happy ending of our vacation in Kumbakonam.

Day -10 Dec 31 Sunday – Long Bike ride from Kumbakonam to Tiruvannamalai

We woke up early today and left the room immediately to have coffee watching the sunrise near Mahamaham water tank. Came back to the check-out room at around 9.30am, then went to Balaji tea shop to have ginger tea. Finally we clicked pics near Mahamaham tank before we said final goodbye to our most favourite Kumbakonam town.

We then started our bike towards our next destination Tiruvannamalai via JayankondaCholapuram. Stopped at Srimushnam temple for darshan between 11.30 to 12.15 noon, had lunch at Ayini restaurant in Virudhachalam.

Reached Tiruvannamalai and check-in our room in Hotel Himalayas at 5.40pm. After relaxing and eating snacks at Krishna Sweets, we went to Annamalaiyar temple for darshan in evening. And we spent time in temple from 8pm to 10.15, left the temple after Thiru Oonjal sevvai darshan (putting Lord Shiva and Parvathi to sleep before temple closes).

We spent our new year evening roaming the Tiruvannamalai town, watching that small town buzzing with international devotees in disbelief. Around midnight we reached room, went to sleep listening to the far sound of new year celebrations.

Day 11 – January 01 2018 Monday, Last Day of Our Long Bike Ride in India

Unusually, Rajesh woke up at 3.30am, went to temple for early morning new year darshan. He came to the room by 7am, after temple darshan waiting in a queue for more than 2 hrs.

We check-out the room, after a brief buffet breakfast at Hotel Himalayas.

Then, we left Tiruvannamalai with packed bags and hearts towards Bangalore.

Reached our home in Bangalore by 9.30 pm, after a slow, leisure ride after stopping at many of favourite places for relaxing.

11 days of non – stop bike riding came to an end.

Happy ending.

Sum – Up: Why it Looked like a Spiritual Trip, The reason why

You name any famous temple in Kumbakonam, we have covered it all in the past one week in this temple town.

It may look like we undertook this long bike ride in India for a spiritual purpose rather than a leisure ride. The theme was to visit all the famous places possible in all the districts we have traveled to or through, so I tried my best to squeeze in all the famous places within the duration.

Having a feeling that we would not be this free once we started a family, I felt this deep urge to cover all places possible. One might think its crazy, but look at us now in the year 2020 under Covid-19 Lockdown.

You know how badly we missed our one day – and two day trips from Bangalore during that Lockdown Period?.

Though it seemed crazy that time for my facebook friends and my family, we did take a risk of riding long distances, going to all famous temples and damn it’s all worth it now.

If you would ask me that if I would change any of the places we have crazily visited, My answer would be No.

Yes, Nothing. It was all too perfect.

Too perfect long bike ride plan for the beginners.

Total of 11 days, 1745 kms, 13+ districts – all worth it.

And We did it again in the year 2018. This time it was more fun and less temples. Very notable in this 2018 bike trip is the boating inside Chidambaram Mangroove forest.

12 Days Long Bike Trip In India (Year 2018)

Bangalore to Kanchipuram Road trip of 570 kms (with route map)

Renu on November 17, 2020

Just two days back we returned from ‘Bangalore to Kanchipuram road trip’ by our #AllNewCreta 2020. This one day road trip from Bangalore was on 14th November 2020 for the occasion of Diwali celebrations.

We went to Kanchipuram from Bangalore, and it was a total of 570 kms drive in just One day.

Here is the route map to reach Kanchipuram by Car

Bangalore to Kanchipuram Road trip – Overview

Unlike our last week’s one day trip to Tiruvannamalai, we didn’t start our trip as early as 5am.

We took it slow this time, we leisurely started by 7.30 am.

Distance : The Bangalore to Kanchipuram distance is 280 Kms and we had plans to reach the destination only post lunch at Vellore.

Since we had plans to eat breakfast in our all time favourite restaurant in Bangalore highways called Krishna Inn, we each had half croissants with a cup of black tea just before we started. We had packed this butter croissant and a few baked buns for the trip a day before itself from our favourite baker.

Where we ate:

So Breakfast cum pitstop at Shoolagiri – Krishna Inn, followed by Lunch pit stop at Vellore – Khanna Fiesta.

The food quality of Khanna fiesta has come down and we felt guilty about driving all the way inside the city for this food diverting from the Highways.

So while returning to Bangalore from Kanchipuram, we made a wise decision of eating on the highways, a restaurant with a good rating called Darling Namma veedu in Vellore.

(This restaurant is right across Hotel Aryaas on the highways, also you have many other restaurant choices like Vellore kitchen, Saravana bhavan atc., But all are overpriced food items but scores okay in quality, thankfully).

We never ate anything in Kanchipuram because we don’t like to eat or stay here in the over hyped commercial town.

That’s the reason we chose to stay in Vellore, in our last 2 days trip to Kanchipuram for Athi varadar Raise once in 40 years.

Where we went:

Post lunch in Vellore, after a leisure drive to Kanchipuram, headed straight to Varadaraja Perumal temple for darshan (Must see golden and silver lizard).

Route Map – Why We Loved this Chennai Highways

Here is the route map for both 2 ways journey for Bangalore to Kanchipuram road trip.

Bangalore to Kanchipuram Road trip route map

For the onward journey, we had seamless driving experience in NH 48 Chennai Highways, the only best road that beats all the other highways from Bangalore.

Though Tirupati and Hyderabad highways are also best, we personally like Chennai highways because of the tight barricade on both the sides blocking the localities criss crossing on highways.

If you are a regular rider / road tripper, you would know how important this barricade is for better driving experience. Since these days its most common sight in the highways to see the vehicles come in one way (facing you) giving you a heart attack. As if people criss crossing on the highways are not enough.

From where we stay in Bangalore, google maps automatically highlighted the Vellore route on the Chennai Highways. It also happens to be the best route to reach Kanchipuram by Car.

Click the above link to know about our train trip experience and to know famous temples in Kanchipuram.

Route map – Return Journey

We were profoundly delayed by choosing auto suggestions from google maps.

It is not necessarily to choose the auto-suggestion (highlighted route) in google maps. You should analyse and choose the best route for your choice.

Sometimes google suggests bad roads since it’s the fastest and most people use it.

So, it is wise to choose better roads (yellow roads with NH mark) rather than just any roads (white roads) google suggests.

Again when you are suggested 2 yellow roads, choose the NH with better numbers (NH 77 are country side narrow roads – So its a NO- NO).

Even Though we knew these safety rules all along being regular road trippers, we were careless this time. Because of that, we were delayed by 45 mins before we diverted us back to Vellore highways from a small route google maps auto-suggested.

So for the return journey, choose the same onward route map. But gotta be careful to notice that the route takes you via Kanchipuram bus stand.

Road trip Destination

Why did we choose Kanchipuram for one day road trip from bangalore?. Why go all the way to Kanchipuram instead of stopping at Vellore?.

I for one strongly believe that there has to be a purpose in going on any road trip. That’s called a road trip theme or a goal. You choose your destination based on that theme.

For example, if your theme is ‘leisure’ you would choose places like Coorg or Wayanad or Goa.

I design my travel plans based on that theme.

Well, this time we just wanted to stretch our boundaries. Since it was our new car, we wanted to push ourselves to maximum kms in one day.

Last weekend, when we went on a One Day Road Trip To Tiruvannamalai from Bangalore. In that one day road trip, we covered a total of 400 kms in one day. And before that we went on just 300 kms of total in one day’s long drive to Mysore.

This time, in our Bangalore to Kanchipuram road trip, we covered a total of 570 kms in a day.

Speaking of which, this is not the first time we have touched 500 kms mark in one day. We rode 570 kms in day – 1 of our Tirunelveli for a 5 days trip. And 405 kms in day -1 by bike trip to Kumbakonam in the year 2017.

Successful Road trip to Kanchipuram

So, this time, we were successful in stretching our boundaries in our new car – Creta 2020. We will continue to do the same until we become comfortable doing great numbers in one day.

Read Related – Two Day Trip From Bangalore to Vellore and Kanchipuram (Best 2 Day Trip by Car)

And yes, we did visit the very famous Varada Raja Perumal Temple while we were there. Though we did not have plans to visit any temples initially, since the time matched and we just made it happen. After spending about an hr of blessed darshan in the temple, we returned Bangalore in the late night.

Overall happy with our One day road trip from Bangalore, covering total of 570 kms.

Road Trip from Bangalore to Madikeri, 3 Days Trip

Renu on November 11, 2020

This is our recent road trip from Bangalore to Madikeri for our 5th wedding anniversary celebration. We went on 3 days holidays to celebrate in Madikeri and totally loved the weather and the stay. I have given here the best route to reach Madikeri, the place we stayed, and the best cafe to hangout in Madikeri.

And this was our first long road trip post covid -19 lockdown, and first long road trip by our #AllNewCreta2020.

Road Trip From Bangalore to Madikeri

Onward Journey: Road trip from Bangalore to Madikeri (Day -1)

We started from our home leisurely around 8am, on Friday 11th Sep, 2020, after having breakfast at one of our favourite restaurants nearby our home.

(For those who think 8 am is too early, usually we start our bike trips / car trips by 5am).

As Usual we have packed our lunch boxes and snacks from home. But, when we found our favourite restaurant’s branch, called Aashirvaad grand, we were happy and couldn’t resist our temptation to eat here.

Anytime you are on road trip from Bangalore to Madikeri, do look up for this restaurant near Mysore.

road trip to madikeri — Our bags packed for 3 days including Work bag just incase needed

(Camera bag in the pic above – Canon SLR Cam 800D)

After we had brunch in Aashirvaad grand, we then headed straight towards Madikeri.

We are so used to the madikeri roads from our previous bike trip to Coorg and Car trip to Wayanad.

(All these 3 road trips are entirely different, we stayed in different places each time and did various activities altogether. Click on the 2 links above to know all about sightseeing in Coorg and Wayanad including wildlife safari.)

Surprisingly, thanks to Our comfortable SUV, we reached Madikeri by 2pm itself.

Checked ourselves in a room at Woodstock villas, stretched our legs and rested for some time.

By evening, we took our Creta for a ride to look around our favourite sightseeing place – Raja’s seat, where we made many memories on our last trip.

All the sightseeing places in Madikeri were closed for the pandemic. We found only a couple of shops and restaurants here and there. But we chose not to go any places for shopping.

Came back to our resort, spent some time hanging out in Big Cup Cafe nearby our resort. Sipped tea enjoying beautiful weather and freshly brewed coffee aroma which filled the entire cafe.

We had to cancel our short walk plan since it started raining heavily.

So, we had ala carte non veg food items at the resort early, and tried local cuisines before we retired for the day.

The next day, we checked out of the room and headed to another breathtaking destination.

Drive to Cliff Resorts on Day -2

On our day 2 of our road trip from bangalore to Madikeri, we drove for about 2 hrs to reach our next stay, called Cliff resorts.

What was supposed to be 1.30hrs travel via Arekadu – Siddhapura route, we took 2 hrs, since we stopped at many places to click nature’s pic. We travel to enjoy every bit of travel, right?.

wayanad to madikeri road trip — Travelduo Madikeri Pics

Drive to Cliffresorts near virajpet — Drive towards Cliff resorts – travelduo Madikeri pics

So we took our time, clicked lots of pics, and by the time we reached Cliff resorts after driving through some scary hairpins, it was already lunch time.

We had a buffet menu (not that great food for 700 bucks per head) before we retired to the room.

After the usual routine of relaxing for some time, we booked ourselves a nature’s guide who took us for an hr walk through the Resort’s coffee estate. The 100s of acres of coffee plantation was under the property of the cliff resorts’ four brothers and they kept it open for their guests.

It was a much needed walkthrough to get some good sleep in that chill weather.

Otherwise also we had an enormous super comfortable room with a spacious balcony open to the woods.

We skipped dinner as we were feeling heavy from grand lunch and evening sandwiches and tea.

Return to Bangalore Via Bavali route

Rajesh had kept this 2nd stay as secret as he wanted to impress me with this resort’s forest view. Definitely it was an amazing view even better than Raja seat’s view in Madikeri.

Although it was an entirely different experience, for the price we paid here we could have stayed in Woodstock villas for another 2 days comfortably including food costs.

But the best part of this resort is closer to the city, that is Gonikoppala and virajpet. Needless to say I love Gonikoppal for its good restaurant and even better roads to reach Bangalore.

Road trip to madikeri from bangalore — Travelduo Road trip image in Our New Creta

And we stopped at a couple other shops to fill our snacks bag for the return journey.

Just like how well we know the places in Mysore and Kumbakonam, so well we know about madikeri and Wayanad now. Especially the drive through the forest via Kutta – bavali route to reach Bangalore.

I have written all about different routes (and forest rules) to help you plan the road trip from bangalore to Madikeri, click here. Have fun.

15 All Time Favorite Best Bike Ride Places near Bangalore

Renu on November 10, 2020

We have been to all the Best Bike Ride Places near Bangalore since we are into regular road tripping. I have curated a list of best places to go in different highways for example Mysore highways, Hyderabad highways etc.,

And all the places in the following lists have google map link. So just click on the link to the destination, based on the distance you could plan your trip.

Best Bike Ride Places near Bangalore – The List

You could the best bike ride places near Bangalore based on the location or the nearest highways. For example, for us Mysore highways are nearby compared to Kunigal or Hyderabad. So I have curated list of bike ride places based on the highways you would drive through.

List of Places You could go in Mysore road –

Since the travel distances vary for the location you start in Bangalore, I chose not to mention the distances. Feel free to click on the interested places given below to get directions and distances from google maps.

Mysore road presents you lots of destinations for one day destinations for bike ride. Our initial bike trips started with going frequently to Mysore road, and we totally loved it.

Rasta Cafe : One of the best bike ride places near Bangalore, and one of the all time bikers hangout places near Bangalore. 24×7 open cafe with lots of good food options and sports activities.
Sri Sri Ravishankar Ashram : We went on a casual bike trip to this bangalore ashram and totally loved the vast ambiance and cool cafe. If not for any cultural trip, this is a must visit place and best option to spend your day with your loved ones.
Grips Go karting and Bowling : A place to hangout and do some engaging activity with your partner. Located at 20 kms distance from my home in Bangalore, we love to go frequently to this place.
Wonderla Amusement park – best bike ride place near bangalore for both couples and family. A place worth your money and time, and have unlimited fun.
Machanabele Dam – We have been to this many times as much as we have been to Mysore. Because we choose to go Mysore via Machanabele dam, a best route to avoid all the traffic until Ramanagara. Its best place for a one day picnic. Pack your picnic bag or just a day bag with snacks and waterbottles, and have peaceful time watching the lake and dam. Also one the way you could spend some time in Dodda Alada mara, another famous places near bangalore. It is one of the all time best bike ride place near Bangalore, as we prefer this route for its greenary whenever we go for any CCD.
Srirangapatna : Another most frequented place in our bike ride journey is this Srirangapatna for Lord vishnu temple and coupled with another places like Somanathapura or Melkote or Talakadu (mentioned below). Or it is one of the destination on along journey towards Mysore or Coorg.
Somanathapura : An ancient Hoysala architecture, open from 9 am to 5 am is a best tourist place to hangout with lots of greeneries around. Spend time sightseeing the temple, hangout in the garden until evening. Its best to pack our own food since options are less once you divert from Mysore highways.
Melkote : Famous for its cave temple on the hills, this is yet another best bike ride place near Bangalore. You could pack some food spend some time on the hills until evening with a good view. (If you prefer to eat on the highways, then Channapatna McDonald’s is our all time favourite)
Shivanasamudra falls : Famously known for its waterfalls named Ganagachukki falls and nearby Lord Vishnu temple. Here is the travel guide to reach this place by bike. While you are there, you could also visit nearby Hogenakkal Falls.
Talakadu : Famous for ancient temples buried under sand and Kaveri river (talakadu beach), this place is the most famous among the tourists. We have been to this place by bike a couple of times and here is the guide to visit this place by bike. It is another best bike ride places near Bangalore, you would see lots of couples there came by bike, and parking is always full.

All the above places are the nearest destinations for just one day bike trip.

If you have decided to stretch your limits and go on a long road trip, then I would suggest going to Mysore. Where there are many sightseeing places like Mysore zoo, Mysore Palace, Brindavan gardens, Rangathittu bird sanctuary etc.,

Note: Even bike riders need to pay toll for Nice road entry.

Hyderabad Highways Road

Lepakshi – Located in the Karnataka – Andhra border is the very famous, majestic, ancient temple called Lepakshi Veerabhadra Swamy Temple. Famous for its hanging pillars and rock carved architecture, this place is one of the best bike ride places near Bangalore. Little far from Bangalore, yet a must visit place and absolutely worthy of your time. You could hang out in the temple premise with packed snacks and water bottle, until the temple closes. We coupled Our Bangalore to Lepakshi trip with yet another famous tourist destination in Bangalore, Nandhi hills.
Nandhi Hills : A famous place for watching the sunrise in Bangalore, is also famous for its trekking destinations. We love this place for its beautiful temple with scenic pond situated in a vast area, a must visit place.
Ghati Subhramanya Temple – A little diversion from hyderabad highways just before nandhi hills road is this famous Ghati Subramanya temple. We love going to these above places especially Chikkabellapur and Doddabellapur area for watching rose plantations.

Even Though I have given all the temple links to the above destinations, you could simply avoid going to the temple and choose to hangout in the restaurant nearby.

Read – In all our Bike trip From Bangalore – Why Did We Choose to Visit Temples?

The above places are budget friendly and also most famous tourist destinations near Bangalore.

Since you are planning to visit places by Bike, you might want to know about 7 Good Qualities of A Bike Ride Partner (A guide to select a Travel Partner).

Kunigal Highways

We have been to Hassan once on an unplanned journey in our Adichuchunagiri hills trip. While we were there, we visited a couple of famous places in Hassan. Read here.

We have also been to nearby Halebidu and Belur.

How Do We Travel By Bike??

We are travel duos, married couples on wheels since 5 yrs. We have been to all the famous, nearby places and far places from Bangalore by bike. Now we are road trippers, after buying #AllNewCreta in the year 2020.

For Short Trips (One day trips) – We carry a day bag to fit all the below items.

Things we carry in a day bag are as follows –

Water Bottles – its the only brand I trust
Sanitizers, liquid soap – multipurpose, face wipes
Coolers – Important but Not Mandatory
Scarf – A must have for a Bike rider
Snack of choice. I prefer to carry a protein bar – which is filling and easy to carry.
Phone chargers, Power banks – just in case

For 2 days or more long bike trips – We carry saddle bags and a tank bag to fit in all the essentials.

In that we pack – required amount of clothes, camera bag, our mobile phones, chargers, travel essentials, toiletries and what not.

Read – Best Bluetooth Earphones Under 2000 rupees – We Used Regularly MotorBike Rides

Sum Up

We have been to all the above mentioned places by bike and have written detailed travel guides for all the places individually.

Since we live near to Mysore road, we have been frequent travelers to these places and know all these places really well. We always do not travel out with a purpose.

We sometimes choose to have just coffee in any of the best Cafe in Mysore highways and return home. Depending on your travel purpose, you could choose any of the places mentioned above.

And the best part? They don’t hurt our pockets.