Reaching Madikeri

There I was standing in the parking area next to my bike, looking at the flat rear tyre. I checked my watch , its 4 pm. Anil had called me few minutes back and informed he has just reached Kachigudda station, from where we were to catch the overnight train to Bangalore. I wanted to ride my bike to the station, but he had insisted I rather I take an auto and load my bike into it. More so, keeping in mind that we have to pack and load the bike in the train. I didn’t want a long argument on this, so I said ‘fine’ to Anil. But I knew I was not going to load the bike in another vehicle. In the 6 months I have been with my bike, I haven't done that even once. But now I have no option.

I soon find myself with my bike in an auto, cheerful in spite of the flat tyre.The long awaited bike trip is about to start. I felt so excited. I haven't even done a 2 day bike trip before, and soon I will be on the saddle for 7 long days, through some of the finest landscape of southern India.

Well, my auto driver did well, and we reached kachigudda in no time. Anil has already started wrapping up his bike with the bubble wraps he has got for both of us. But I had to fix the puncture first. I quickly swapped the punctured tube with a spare one I was carrying (a used and patched one, the only one I had), and started the process of bubble wrapping my bike.

7 pm, we were in the train. It’s been a long day, but we were excited. We have been planning this cycling tour for a little more than 2 months. It would be me and Anil on a 7 days cycling trip through the hills and forests of Nilgiries, across Karnataka, kerala and tamilnadu. We will be reaching Bangalore early tomorrow and then find a way to reach (madikeri in coorg) by tomorrow evening, where Anil has booked us into a home stay. From then on, for 7 days, it would just be us and our cycles. The plan looked like this
17th Jan : Reach madikeri by transport, and set the bikes up.
18th Jan: Madikeri - Kutta(100km),
19th Jan : Kutta - Kalpetta(70 km) (add Vythri round trip if possible)
20th Jan : Kalpetta - Gudalur – Masinagudi(110 km). Night in one of the jungle resorts
21st Jan: Masinagudi-Ooty(35 km, by car/bus), Ooty -Redhills-Ooty(65 km) by cycle.
22nd Jan: Ooty - Connoor- Kotagiri - Metupalayam(80km) by bike. Metupalayam - Pollachi by car/bus
23rd Jan: Pollachi - Valaprai by car/bus, explore Valparai by cycle rest of the day.
24th Jan: Valparai - Athirampilly - Chalakudy by bike
25th Jan: Chalakudy - Shoranur by car/bus, catch train to Hyderabad from Shoranur.

Next morning we were in Bangalore, an hour delayed than regular time. It took almost another hour to get the Gate Pass done. Irrespective of which part of India you are, railway officials have a pace of their own. Anyways, by 9 in the morning, we were out of the Bangalore station. Once out of the railways territory, things started getting better remarkably. We took the subway to reach the bus terminal, and found a Volvo about to leave for Mysore in a few minutes. Our bikes now safely secured in the underneath luggage space, we started enjoying our ride to Mysore. Soon I dozzed off. When I woke up, I found we are not too far from Mysore. Another half an hour, and we were at Mysore.

Now we had to get a bus to Madikeri. We didn’t want to load our bikes on the top of the buses, fearing tree branches can do some damage to our bikes, so were looking for buses with luggage space underneath. Volvos have that advantage, but there didn’t seem to be any Volvo in the next hour or so. That’s when we found the Omni. At Rs 1000, it definitely was good deal. He helped us to load our bikes on the van, and there we were off...to Coorg.

Meanwhile, I was hungry as hell and had confessed the same to Anil as soon as we were into the Omni. The driver though, suggested we should go out of the town first, and around 40 km towards Coorg, there’s a good eating joint by the road. Praying that the food be worth the wait, I agreed reluctantly. It turned out that the wait was worthwhile. The food was lovely. We were served on banana leaves, and the food tasted simple, but good.

Back into the Omni after lunch, we continued on our way to Coorg. The road was in excellent condition and newly laid, and I wished I was riding my bike on the tarmac here. But that would have meant an extra day on bike.

5 pm – we were at Madikeri unloading our bike beside a 2 wheeler garage shop. It was cool and windy, and we started unpacking those bubble wraps and setting up our bikes. Anil has called up Anita for direction, who runs a estate stay where we were booked for the night and was given the directions. Its 6 km from the town of Madikeri and we decided to ride the distance.

Back on the saddle, what followed was a crazy serpentine downhill, alternating between the open, harvested fields, and the green forests. The biking trip has truly begun.After 6 km, our ride was intercepted by a Mahindra jeep by the road side. The estate is around 200 meters off the road and there’s no proper road for those last few metres from the main road. It’s also difficult to tell the exact point from where to take that left turn . That’s the reason, Anita had sent their jeep to show us the way to the estate.
Once in the estate, we found the whole family waiting for us at the door. Anita’s son Monish , who must be, around 16 years, is a very friendly chap and was excited to see us and our bikes. He looked at our bikes with a lot of interest, and asked about the gears. But when I offered him to ride my bike, he politely declined it. Probably he has been warned in advance by his elders not to fiddle with our bikes. He then showed us our room which was very nice and cosy with an attached bath and a balcony with a wonderful view of the estate. Actually they had 2 options for accommodation. The first is a traditional coorgi construction – a separate building, which has all the charm of an authentic coorgi experience, but they let that out on rent to groups. This was probably where they used to stay before they started the home stay. For us, they had arranged a room in the two floored house they stay, which looked like a relatively new construction.
Anita told that they have a wedding to attend at madikeri and would be leaving in half an hour. They also apologised for the fact that dinner wont be cooked tonight and hence we will need to eat out. So now, our plan was to visit Raja seat, and then get some traditional corgi food in some eatery at madikeri. I have read about coorgi pork curry and akki roti, and wanted to try them out. Anita and her husband offered to drop us at madikeri. We quickly freshened up, but the plan changed once we got into their jeep. They kept insisting that we should come with them to the marriage. Being a hardcore foodie myself, I couldn’t let this opportunity pass by. It was not just the food though; this would have also be a great way to see the coorgi culture. Problem though was I was wearing a track pant I had got for the rides. I was not carrying any trouser with me to save weight, but I realised the experience would be worth the extra weight. So after a quick visit to Raja seat, we located a small shop selling some garments, bought myself a trouser, got into it right at the shop, and headed to the marriage.
Once in the marriage hall, we were quickly spotted by Monish who played our host and saw to it we were never alone. He introduced us to a couple of his friends and another family who has driven down from Bangalore to attend the wedding, and then guided us to the drinks and snacks counter. Of course, we were eagerly waiting for it. There were long queue at both the counters, but after a peek at the contents, we were happy to queue up. The drink counters had everything from beer to scotch. The snacks counter was serving mutton liver fry and pork fry along with some vegeterian delicacies. We were told there is different snacks and drinks counter for women. Apparently, it is very normal for both men and women to drink, but not together in a public place.

Outside in the courtyard, a band was playing some traditional coorgi tune and locals were dancing to it. The tune was sort of weird, but seemed quite popular since everybody knew how to dance to it. We of course didn’t have a clue. The tune though was very hummable, and we found ourselves humming the same every now and then for the next 7 days of the trip.
A group of pretty ladies joined in soon, and that drew in more people to the dance floor. We kept sipping our drinks and munching on the snacks, tapping our feet while watching locals dance to coorgi music. By the time dinner was about to be served, I was making a conscious effort so as not to look tipsy. I don’t think it helped though. But I was definitely back in sense when I had my dinner served. It’s a feast for any foodie. The experience turned out to be one of the best in the trip.
Around 11 pm, we were ready to go back. Monish’s father was sitting on the steering wheel of the Mahindra Jeep, and Monish and Anita were insisting he must drive slowly. Soon I found he had a bit more alcohol than he should have if he were to drive, and that was the reason for their concern. In no time, that became my concern too. I knew how the road to the estate bends and curves through the hills, and that didn’t help either. Fortunately nothing happened, in around 10 minutes, we were back to the estate. By the time we hit the bed, it was midnight. The plan now was to get up early, take a walk across the estate and then leave by 8 in the morning. Sounds a little difficult considering the amount of food and drink we just had.