Glorious Goa bike ride to Motoverse
On a 1,400km SOLO bike ride Bangalore > Goa and Return, with stay at Dharwad to participate, in Indias biggest motorcycle festival - The Motoverse in vagator goa.
Day 1 ROUTE
Bangalore> Tumkur> Chitradurga > Davanagare > Dharwad
Riding for the first time on the Bangalore to Goa route. North Western karnataka is very picturesque. The Tungabadra River is among the most majestic rivers I have seen personally. Enjoy the pictures
Miles of meditation on bike.
Mountains dissappear in fog.
Day 2 route.
Dharwad > Alnavar > Ramnagar > Molem > Bolkarne > Tambdi Surla mahadev temple > Valpoi > Honda > Sanquelim > Mapusa > Vagator.
This journey is just 4 hours. If you start at 7 you will reach by noon with all breaks. Bit its almost 3pm. I'm still riding. Its so beautiful inside the forests where you can get lost as there is no network. I went to a 13th century Tambdi Surla mahadev temple. For 40kms there is no signal. No Google maps. No phone pe. Just sign boards and cash for tea etc. The temple was so peaceful I just sat there for 20 mins in prayer and solitude. There is no 4G or 5G only Shiv Ji. Enjoy the pics if forests inside the western ghats of India.
EPIC PIC of eagle like bird soaring along with a motorbiker. Pure timing or luck.
Such curves in maps mean mountains
Day 2 Motoverse
It's the biggest annual motorcycle event in India. Earlier called rider mania. Hosted by Royal Enfield. But all riders are welcome. I met a set of riders from Kerala. A group of 15 riders. 13 of them rode together from Kerala.They were Muslims Christians Hindus in that group. They do it every year for so many years. I asked them why do they ride? They said "Bonding, Biking brotherhood or sisterhood, camaraderie" In a divided world this is such a great thing.
I also posed with all new bikes- Classic 350 Goan edition, Classic 650 twin, Guerrilla 450 etc. I loved the motorcycle art. See a few pics
More to come.
Day 3 motoverse
Went to the vagator beach. Stopped just a mile before and wanted to take a snap of my bike with the ocean as backdrop. This trip i got my vstrom bike and kept my classic 350 at home. Surprised to see a cute brown cow near the beach, only happens in India !
Love this beer and it's concept. Money goes to the farmers and brewers and bottle makers, not any company.
Met this wonderful digital artist from Chennai, Charan J. He is a computer science engineer who is now in the field of visual design. He imagined how a physically challenged person can still have the joy of bike riding and drew it digitally using pro create app. His art, see below, was one among the 50 shortlisted from 42,000 entries from 12 countries.
I loved all the apparels and motorcycle accessories. Motorcycle art is also seen in Tshirts and shirts. See samples below.
RE also showcased how motorcycle clothing has moved over 125 years from 1901 to 2024 see below.
I was also impressed with RE Barbeque bike and their 1:16 classic bike models which is about 1.5 feet tall.
Before I wrapped up for the day, i listened to a few speakers who had done dirt biking from Argentina to Saudi to Paris Dakar rallies. I'm going to miss 3rd day of motoverse as I'm starting back earlier tomorrow back to Bangalore vis Dharwad.
As I leave Goa, I'm reproducing a poem i wrote about Goa when I came here last time a month back.
Goa, is a state of mind,
Soak in sunshine you find,
Say bye to worry
Say hi to merry
Ditch the hurry
Fetch the curry
Use many a penny
And Savor the feni
Goodbye, seeing time on wristwatch
Say Hello, sea and sunset watch
Soak in sunshine you find
My friend, Goa, is a state of mind.
I was reminded of this Kurt Vongutte quote below, and said " If this is not happy, then what is it?"
Day 4 Goa to Dharwad
Early morning rides are fun especially if you start before dawn and ride east towards sun rise. Blessed to see thick white strip of fog on the green fields, orange sunrise on the Mondovi river and later yellow sunlight streaming via the trees. Its a spectacular sight. Hope my camera and the resolution on this page does justice to the nature.
In Dharwad, I went to two famous eateries. The world famous Dharwad Mishra peda shop. And Basappa Khanavali, est in 1930 serving authentic north karnataka, Jolada roti meal. Khanavalis are small eating joints in this part of the country, serving hot and fresh home made food. I met Mr. Mahesh at the counter and his grand dad Mr. Basappa started this restaurant close to 100 years back. For about Rs.120 (usd $1.5) you get a very wholesome and filling meal with multiple vegetable curries, rice, curd, lentils, Jolada roti all prepared fresh.
Day 5
Dharwad > Hubli > Davanagare > Chitradurga > Tumkur > Bangalore
This route traverses from north west to South east Karnataka essentially covering the heartland of Karnataka. North Karnataka topography, food habits, dialects and even Hindu religious beliefs are unique and different from south Karnataka areas like Mysore. Food is Millet based (Jolada Roti) rather than rice or wheat. The curries sambar and chutneys are spicier. Even the temple towers are rounder closer to maharashtra style. In this place, you can see the influence of the lingayat Bhakti movement of Basavanna a spiritual reformer of 11th century. Shiva kumara Swami who is a spiritual Guru of our times is a follower. He is a great philanthropist and opened many hospitals colleges schools especially in remote interior areas for benefit of poor and needy.
In Davanagare, I had the benne (butter) dosa for breakfast. It was so good, but I tend to put on weight so I'll skip lunch to compensate. Its still made in wood fired ovens.
And yes the mighty Tungabadra river is a treat to watch anytime of the day.
Back in Namma Bangalore after 5 days on the road.
WHEN you ride a motorcycle you are able to experience finer details at close quarters be it fog, sunlight streaming or Khanavali, road side eateries much better than in a car ride. In a car you are watching the scenery through a glass pane. In a bike, you are inside the scenery exposed to the elements and your feet just few inches away from ground. That makes it special.
Much needed soap and water wash for my yellow cheetah.
Hope you enjoyed my travelogue, stories and pictures. Till the next ride, bye for now.
Nash
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