Cycling through the Western Ghats has always been in our thoughts. I personally wanted to do it since long time. I guess everyone who loves cycling has the same dream. With this ride, spanning about 250 km and three days, we achieved that goal. This has been our second big ride after Rameswaram.
The planning started about a month before the start of the ride. We initially decided to start the ride from Chikmagalur. We had decided to transport the cycles by train. But since Chikmagalur has no train connectivity, we decided to start the ride from Kadur, the nearest train station. Kadur is 40 km from Chikmagalur. So we rode from Kadur to Chikmagalur on the first day, to Sringeri on the second and to Kundapura on the third and the last day. And then back to Bangalore by train.
Day 0: To Kadur
We had to kick off the journey with an unintended night ride from Birur to Kadur. What happened was this- The train doesn’t stop for a long time in Kadur, it is a small station. So they can’t unload the cycles there. So we had to unload the cycles at the next station that is Birur. Birur is 7.2 km from Kadur. We caught the train to Kadur from Bangalore on the evening of 19 Dec 2013. It is about 3 hours journey. We reached Kadur around 9 p.m. Then we traveled to Birur. The cycles arrived at around 10 p.m. Then we had a little moonlight ride back to Kadur. It was a good start.
Lesson learnt: Always enquire with the railway officials about the transportations, beforehand. Nonetheless, the moonlight ride was fun!
Most of the times, the best things are not planned 🙂
Day 1: Kadur to Chikmagalur
We started from Kadur around 8.00 a.m. There was no hurry since we had to ride just 40 km that day. We had breakfast in a small hotel. They had these perfectly tasting vadas. It was the best vadas I ever had in my life. The good thing about these rides is that you get to eat at various places. If you love food, then you will love traveling. On this ride of ours, the food particularly was mind blowing. Fish curries in and around Kundapura is just plain delicious.
We took many breaks on the way to Chikmagalur. The road was good. No big towns on the way, just one or two. The roads were flanked mostly by agricultural lands. Buses are frequent between Kadur and Chikmagalur.
It is a slow climb all along, except when nearing Chikmagalur, it is bit steep there, but totally manageable. We reached Chikmagalur at about 12.30 p.m. Found rooms for staying, had a heavy lunch and took rest for the rest of the day.
At night, we asked around for some tips for the next day. The locals informed us about the route to Chikmagalur. They advised us not to travel at night as the region is known for some incidents caused by Naxalites.
Day 2: Chikmagalur to Sringeri
The best day of the journey!
We started early today. We parcelled our breakfast to eat on the way. It was cold in the morning. And it was cool all along the ride except for Kundapura. The roads were good. Occasionally some vehicles keep passing by. It was perfect for cycling. And the best part was the sheer beauty of the place. It was amazing. Tall tress. Early morning sunlight seeping through the leaves and a bunch of cyclists moving quietly through them – it was heavenly!
There was this small cafe kind of place, in the midst of coffee plantations beside the road. We stopped there for a long time. We had bread omelette and coffee. It was truly nice.
We crossed the Bhadra river on the way. Had a little photo shoot, with different poses – got a small local kid to do some of those!
We also met some school kids on the way. Had a little chat with those guys too.
Nearing Sringeri, we faced some steep climbs.
One of the cycle’s chain broke . We did not have any tools to fix it. That was another lesson learnt – Always carry the important tools. Luckily it broke just when the climb ended. From then on it is mostly downhill till Sringeri. So we continued. Whenever there were plain roads, we rode like this.
At Sringeri we fixed chain. It was about 6.00 p.m. It was the end of the day’s journey. We freshened up and went to the Sringeri temple and had a satisfying dinner there. We had done 96 km that day.
Day 3: Sringeri to Kundapura
We were leaving behind the cool, lush green Western Ghats and moving towards the hot and humid coastal region.We started around 7.00 a.m.
On the way we passed Agumbe. We stopped near the Agumbe sunset point. Of course we could not see the sunset. But the view was stunning.
Immediately after Agumbe, we had a steep descent with quite a few hair pin bends. We were lucky to see this fellow.
As Kundapura was nearing we were feeling the heat. Pedaling was becoming difficult. We took breaks more frequently. We reached Kundapura around 5.30 p.m. And the journey came to an end.
The next day evening we had the train back to Bangalore. In the morning we went to Maravante beach. The beach was not crowded and it was clean.
We faced another problem while transporting the cycles back. The Kundapur station, too, was a small one. They told they cannot take the cycles there. So we had to transport them in bus.
Overall this was the best cycling experience ever. Everybody enjoyed a lot. Western Ghats is challenging with all its climbs. The climate is perfect. And every inch of it, is a treat for your eyes.
Garden city bikers 