Indian Roadie: January 2021

Wednesday 27 January 2021

Mumbai to Jaisalmer - Indian Roadie Preferred Route/ Motoring Route

Indian Roadie Preferred Route/ Motoring Route for
Mumbai to Jaisalmer

(Mumbai_Jaisalmer),

Surat to Jaisalmer

(Surat_Jaisalmer),

Vadodara to Jaisalmer

(Vadodara_Jaisalmer):

Mumbai ---- Surat ---- Vadodara ---- Ahmedabad ---- Kalol ---- Chhatral ---- Mehsana ---- Unjha ---- Siddhpur ---- Palanpur ---- GJ-RJ border ---- Abu Road ---- Sanchor ---- Barmer ---- Jaisalmer

Itinerary:

Day 1: Mumbai to Mehsana (approx 12 hrs)
Day 2: Mehsana to Jaisalmer (approx 6 hrs)

* Motoring Routes Of India is an initiative by Indian Roadie, India's most admired road travel and automotive forum for matured roadies.

Bangalore to Moradabad - Indian Roadie Preferred Route, Motoring Route, Driving Route, best route for road trip

Indian Roadie Preferred Route, Motoring Route, Driving Route, best route for road trip from

Bangalore to Moradabad (Bangalore_Moradabad):

Bangalore - Kurnool - Hyderabad - Adilabad - Nagpur - Pench WLS - Seoni - Lakhnadon - Narsinghpur - Sagar - Jhansi - Gwalior - Agra - Aligarh - Moradabad

* Motoring Routes Of India is an initiative by Indian Roadie, India's most admired road travel and automotive forum for matured roadies.

Tuesday 26 January 2021

Dandeli to Belgaum - Indian Roadie Preferred Route/ Motoring Route

Indian Roadie Preferred Route/ Motoring Route/ route for
Dandeli to Belgaum (Dandeli_Belgaum):

Option 1:
Dandeli - Haliyal - Alnavar - Khanapur - Belgaum

* Motoring Routes Of India is an initiative by Indian Roadie, India's most admired road travel and automotive forum for matured roadies.

Saturday 23 January 2021

Car crushed between two trucks at Bastara toll plaza, Karnal, HR on 2020-01-10

Four people were killed and two others were injured when a truck rammed into a stationary car which in turn rammed into an oil tanker on NH44 at Bastara toll plaza near Karnal, HR on Friday, 2020-01-10.

The deceased belonged to the same family and were all residents of Shimla in Himachal Pradesh. They were returning from Delhi.
The injured lady and the car driver were admitted to Kalpana Chawla Government Medical College and Hospital in a critical condition.

* Mishap And Calamity

Friday 22 January 2021

Repairing dents in the running board of a car is a very difficult task

It's not a little scratch. Repairing dents in the running board of a car, viz. the portion under the doors is a very difficult task.

Therefore, drive with care.

* Indian Roadie Knowledge Hub

* Indian Roadie Maintenance Issues

Road trip from Perundurai (TN) to Ooty in Kia Seltos by Venkat Vignesh in early January 2021

Road trip from Perundurai to Ooty, Tamilnadu (#Perundurai_Ooty) in early January 2021.

My wife and I had been contemplating taking a short trip within Tamilnadu. We were sceptic about crossing the state borders because of the COVID-19 situation. On 1-1-2021 I was searching for resorts in Anaikatti and Ooty. Sterling Elk Hill at OOTY had a marvellous deal for our 2 nights/ 3 days so I booked it immediately. E-pass was required for Nilgiris District so I had booked that too.

I have been to Ooty plenty of times with my friends and familyI. However, this time was special because it was our first trip in 2021, the first trip in our Kia Seltos & I was driving by myself to a hill station for the very first time. On 5th January 2021 we set out for shopping all the essentials for the trips and we packed them at night just before going to bed. We planned to keep it as minimal as possible so we had all our essentials in one trolly.

Day 1

We started at 9.30 am and headed to Ganeshapuram (8kms off-course) to meet a friend of mine. We spent 30 mins in his house and left after a good brunch.

Our route : Perundurai - Avinashi - Annur - Mettupalayam - Baraliyar- Conoor - Ooty.

We stopped at Baraliyar for E-Pass check and that was it. No pitstops until we reached Sterling Elk Hill, Ooty. We checked in to a suite with a tremendous view that forced us to sit down and enjoy it. I even made a time-lapse of it. Check it out using the link below if interested.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmDDvHGjJFA

We refreshed ourselves and quickly set out for Domino's Pizza for a quick bite, did some shopping for dinner and headed back to the hotel by 6.30 pm. We planned to enjoy the activities in the resort but unfortunately, all the activities were shut due to the COVID-19 situation. Quite a bummer. I had prepared chicken for us along with which we ordered some other edibles from the resort’s restaurant and had a scrumptious dinner.

Day 2

We did not have an explicit plan on the places to visit. As the weather was foggy we planned to skip viewpoints. We started our day with 'Wenlock downs’ where we parked our car by the road and walked uphill, clicked some photos enjoyed the view. We spent about 30 mins on this spot

We had a refreshing cup of Ooty Tea and left to "Pykara waterfalls". Here we again parked our car by the road and walked for about 15 mins to the waterfall. The last time I had visited this place, it had a rocky path, was not maintained well, but now it was quite the opposite. We spent about 30 mins in this place and left back to the car. Electric shuttles were available to the car park and we took them to save some time.

It was lunchtime already and we had decided to go to "Earl’s secret" a popular restaurant in King’s cliff, Ooty. We had our lunch which was decent but had to spend about 2 hours due to delays in Service. However, I did have a good time as I spent it with my loved one.

It was 4 PM when we left the restaurant and we didn’t have many places in our mind to visit. We decide upon visiting St.Judes Public School and Junior College, Kotagiri, the school where I was a student once upon a time. The melodies of ARR kept us company in misty weather, the route was incredible and we appreciated it.

DAY 3

The weather outside made us want to crawl in our bed and never leave it, making the best use of room service; But unfortunately, that could not be the case since we had to check out. We went to a store near the Botanical garden and did some shopping. Typical stuffs that tourists buy, Oil, spices, Chocolates..etc. We had enough time to kill, so we went to the botanical garden, clicked on photos.

We started from Ooty and stopped in Conoor to get some “Varki” from Indian bakery, Conoor. It’s quite famous and much recommended. A.R.Rahaman’s melodies, foggy weather with drizzles and drive with my loved one; it was just perfect. We reached Mettupalayam by noon and decided to take a detour to Coimbatore to visit the Adiyogi statue.

We went to my cousin’s house, had good dinner over a good chat. We left to my home town at 8 Pm, reached home at 10.30 sharp and dozed off with great memorie

Source: Travelogue by Venkat Vignesh posted in Indian Roadie group on Facebook.

* Tamilnadu Trails

Bangalore to Kolkata road trip with dog in Ford Ecosport by Deep Mukherjee in early January 2021

Finally the dream of my long awaited road trip from Bangalore to Kolkata (Bangalore_Kolkata) was fullfilled in January 2021.

Car: Ford Ecosport.

Total Distance covered: 1950+ kms.

States Covered: 4

Number of Days of travel: 3 (no night travel).

Travellers: 2 Adult (myself and father-in-law) and my dog Coco 🐶

Driver: 1

Start Date and Time from Bangalore: 5th January 2021 @4:30AM

End Date and Time in Kolkata: 7th January 2021 @5:30 PM

Early prep: Loaded the Car 18hrs prior to the drive. Bought all kinds of dry food and fruits for our lunch and dinner as we avoided hotels and dhabas. Took my dog to the vet 7 days prior for a checkup for the drive.

Day 1 -

Plan was to start at 3 AM but being a Bong :P got delayed and started around 4:30 AM. The plan was to reach River Bay Resort @Rajahmundry approx. 850+ KM. The road till Tirupati was good. Luckily there was no Fog and very less traffic. Post crossing Tirupati the road became narrow and speed got reduced and along with that with my surprise received first heavy rainfall of 2021 which reduced the speed to another low level. The visibility was very less with narrow roads made the drive little risky but managed to cross the stretch without any issues. Somehow touched NH16 and then it was a great relief as the roads were awesome and were able to make up the time lost in the bad stretch. Later in the afternoon found a nice spot under a tea for breakfast and later lunch. Got traffic in Vijaywada as we entered the City but not so much. The roads from Vijayawada to Rajahmundry was not so great as there were multiple patches. Reached Resort by 7:30 PM.

Note: if you are planning to stay in River Bay resort. The Wonderful GMAP Aunty will show you a shortcut which is near about 30-40 KMS deviation from NH16. NEVER EVER AVAIL THAT as we took it and the drive was NIGHTMARE. It felt like I was driving in the MOON as there were no roads and full of craters and potholes. Thanks to Ford Ecosport Ground clearance we were able to get out of that area harmless.

Day 2 -

Left River Bay Resort at morning 8 am and today’s destination was Bhubaneswar approx. 700 KM drive. The roads were manageable till you enter Vizag. GMap will ask you to take a diverted route and will show you a road which you can take to Skip the Vizag city and will merge you back to NH16. That was the correct decision as Vizag had super traffic Jam. Post that route the scenic beauty and the road condition till Orrisa Border was amazing. But once you enter Orissa the diversions starts as the entire stretch of NH16 is under maintenance. Reached BBSR hotel around 8 PM.

Day 3 -

Was super excited as this was the day when I will reach home in Kolkata. Started the journey around 8 AM. After leaving BBSR and till Balasore there were more than 50+ diversion at frequent intervals. It will make you angry and impatient coz you won’t be able to drive straight for a long time. After Balasore the roads are again super amazing till Santragachi. Reached home around 5:30 PM.

My father-in-aw accompanied me for this drive as my child was too small for this long one. My wife and 2 months old daughter had already reached Kolkata by flight and were waiting for the 3 of us to reach safely.

The overall driving experience was amazing. Post completing every day’s stretch and post reaching home we never experienced the drive hangover because of the car’s comfort and excitement. Enjoyed every second of the drive and the scenic beauties were amazing. My Dog enjoyed the entire drive and was sleeping most of the time and was only waking up while crossing toll booth to check fast tags are working or not.

Note: Once you touch NH16 at Naidupeta, never ever deviate from this and continue till you reach Kolkata outskirts.

Source: Travelogue posted by Deep Mukherjee in Indian Roadie group on Facebook.

Varanasi to Pune road trip in Honda Brio by Rishab Kaushik in January 2021

Varanasi to Pune via Bhopal

(Varanasi_Pune) road trip update.

Total distance: 1601 kms.

Toll amount: ₹1887

[₹1762 (FasTag) + ₹125 (Cash on Katni - Bhopal route)]

Duration: 2 days (8th and 9th January 2021)

Overnight stay: Bhopal

Vehicle: 2013 Honda Brio S MT

Day: 1

Route: Varanasi - Handiya - Prayagraj - Rewa (bypass) - Katni (bypass) - Damoh - Sagar - Vidisha (bypass) - Raisen (bypass) - Bhopal.

Distance: 770 kms.

Duration: 16 hrs.

Weather: Dense fog, till Handiya.

Halts: 03 (15 min each).

Start Time: 0600 hrs.

End Time: 2200 hrs.

Pros:

Smooth roads throughout

Abundant way-side amenities.

Moderate traffic.

Cons:

Katni - Bhopal stretch of almost 350 km is single carriageway (2 lanes), therefore night driving is tiresome because of high-beams and rash drivers.

Abundant stray cattle on the entire Varanasi - Bhopal route.

FasTag not operational on Katni - Bhopal stretch.

Road conditions:

No bypass for Sagar.

Damoh bypass is unnecessarily long, go via city, not much traffic anyway.

From Vidisha, take Raisen - Bhopal instead of Sanchi - Bhopal, smooth roads with minimal traffic.

Maintain proper speed and headway in dense fog conditions because local commuters won’t.

Handiya - Varanasi — excellent 06 lane expressway.

Handiya - Prayagraj — excellent 04 lane highway.

Prayagraj - Katni — excellent 04 lane highway.

Katni - Bhopal — smooth single carriageway (2 lanes).

Day: 2

Route: Bhopal - Ashta - Indore - Sendhwa - Dhule - Malegaon - Nashik (Bytco Chowk) - Sangamner - Rajgurunagar - Pune.

Distance: 831 kms.

Duration: 16 hrs.

Weather: Medium shower (Bhopal - Indore); Heavy shower (Nashik-Sangamner).

Halts: 06 (15 min each).

Start Time: 0600 hrs.

End Time: 2200 hrs.

Pros:

Smooth roads throughout.

Seamless FASTag operation.

Abundant way-side amenities.

Cons:

Abundant stray cattle on Bhopal-Indore route.

Heavy traffic (and jams) on last 100 km stretch of Nashik-Pune.

Indore - Dhule stretch is full of large speed breakers disguised as rumble strips.

Handiya - Varanasi 'high-speed' 06 lane expressway is neither elevated nor access controlled, hence high level of attention is mandatory.

Road conditions:

Bhopal - Indore — smooth 04 lane highway

Indore - Dhule — smooth 04 lane highway

Dhule - Nashik — excellent 04 lane highway

Nashik - Pune — smooth 04 lane highway in first half, mix of single carriageway (2 lanes) and 04 lane highway in second half.

Thanks to Rahul Singh and other Indian Roadie Facebook group members for proactive support!

Source: Travelogue by Rishabh Kaushik in Indian Roadie group on Facebook.

* Indian Roadie Preferred Route

* Motoring Routes Of India

* Motoring Route

* Best Route

Extortion racket between Jamshedpur and Ranchi in January 2021 reported by Sriram Shankar

Indian Roadie regular Sriram Shankar who drives a KA registered Hyundai Venue car drove from Jamshedpur to Ranchi and back on 2021-01-21.

Indian Roadie followers and members who drive on this stretch with non JH (Jharkhand) registered vehicles should be careful.

On Bundu Ghati a bunch of young men are trying to fleece motorists by stopping cars, especially those which carry non JH numbers. They are asking drivers to pay ₹400 for some All India Safety drive saying its mandatory to pay.

Sriram was also stopped by them on seeing him driving a KA car. The moment Sriram asked them if they have been deployed by JH government or even authorized to do so and introduced himself as a local from Jamshedpur they just allowed him to go.

* Indian Roadie Safety Tips

'Safe Speed Challenge' post by Amritha Arvind

'Safe Speed Challenge' is an initiative by 'india against road crash' on Road Safety.

IndianRoadie regular Amritha Arvind is participating in her Jeep Compass as a Challenger in it. The drive is from Monday, 18th January 2020 to 30th January 2021, from Attari Wagah (PB) to Kanyakumari (TN).

For live updates, please visit www.indiaagainstroadcrash.org and cast your votes for your favourite Challenger.

Chennai - Trivandrum - Chennai road trip in Hyundai Creta by Vimal Vittaldas Bhat in mid January 2021

Got a five day off from work from Wednesday, 2021-01-13 thanks to Pongal holidays in Tamil Nadu. The initial plan was to laze around at home with kids and spend time inside the four walls watching movies.

On Tuesday evening after returning from work and during normal chit chat with better half, an idea popped up to go for a drive. Within a span of 2 hours we finalized on a plan to drive Chennai to Trivandrum and back to Chennai (#Chennai_Trivandrum and #Trivandrum_Chennai).

The onward route planned was:
Chennai - Krishnagiri - Dharmapuri - Salem - Coimbatore - Palakkad - Cochin - Alleppey - Trivandrum.

The route for the return drive as planned was:
Trivandrum - Nagercoil - Madurai - Trichi (Tiruchirapalli) - Villupuram - Tindivanam - Chengalpet - Chennai.

Day 1 (2021-01-13):
Started at 4.00 am from Chennai. Morning energy coupled with a hot tea enabled us to reach Dharmapuri by 8 am. Before Dharmapuri we had breakfast at Hotel Sangeetha which was found to be clean. It had sufficient parking space. After a break of journey, resumed and reached Palakkad by 2.00 where we had a delicious Kerala meal. Since we still had to cover a long stretch, took off without wasting time and reached Alleppey at 6.30 pm and had a great early dinner. Took a long rest and left for Trivandrum at 8.00 pm. After a long stretch of motoring reached Trivandrum at 11.30 pm. We were very tired after the long drive but at the same time felt happy to see mom's smiling face waiting for us at home.

Distance travelled: 878 kms.
Route: Chennai to Trivandrum
Road conditions: Chennai to Palakkad was great except some heavy truck traffic.
Once we entered Kerala there was heavy rush on the road with tricky motor bikers.
Palakkad to Cochin was average with mild traffic.
Cochin to Trivandrum was horrible with single line and hectic trafic.

Day 2 and 3:
Spent quality time with mom at home. Have heavenly food prepared by her. Enjoyed a small trip to scenic Varkala beach where we had a great evening.

Day 4 (2021-01-16):
It was time to say good bye to Maa ka hath ka khana 😭
We choose to return via eastern part of Tamilnadu.
Left home at 4 am from Trivandrum to avoid hectic traffic in Kerala. Successfully entered TN at Nagercoil by 6 am thanks to free roads. After entering TN drive was as smooth as a cakewalk. Reached Madurai by 10 am and had a delicious breakfast at A2B. Rested for a while and moved forward. The lunch break was near Villupuram at 2 pm at another A2B. The four lane highway made the journey smooth. We reached home in Chennai by 4.30 pm.
Distance travelled: 689 kms
Route: Trivandrum to Chennai.
Road Conditions: Till Nagercoil it's horrible but once you enter TN it's time to enjoy cruise control. Superb driving experience on 4 lane highway with median divider till Chennai. Unless you see the ODO, it is difficult to check the speed.

PS: No e-pass was required at borders. People seem to have forgotten Corona as during the entire journey we found heavy rush of people.
Vehicle used: Creta 2020 SX Petrol Manual.
Average mileage: 17 kms per litre.
ODO pre trip 42110.
ODO post trip 43677.
I drove this beauty for 43677 kms in 8 months and believe me it has bee a joy to ride. Vehicle offered great maturity as regards to handling, smoothness and comfort.
Source: Travelogue by Vimal Vittaldas Bhat in Indian Roadie Facebook 'group'.