400kms of absolute FUNtertainment on 2whEElz!
Yes, I have conquered the 400 km a day milestone. Happy to let you know that I have, with this, conquered the best ‘Bikers’ cornering heaven’ too, without a doubt.
Route: Mysore-Gundalpet-Bandipur-Mudumalai-Gudalur-Nilambur-Mysore
Kilometres in a day: 400km
Bike: My good old Unicorn
However, this trip happened on a sad note. 
My uncle passed away, so was visiting his place.
Even though, the trip just kept amazing me all along! Let me not waste an time.The ride starts off with straight stretches in Mysore ending in large, wide corners allowing me to sit in it for a longer period of time than usual. Sadly the main stand (that I broke) was getting in the way. So, what to do??? Took it off and I resumed to the nice and smooth corners. The bike, even though with the uncertainty of bad tuning, ran perfect. At all revs, it was fun uncapped.
Passing the town of Begur, bursting out with senseless people crossing the road without paying any heed to oncoming traffic, I was hoping for some more action. Sadly the same continued though the town of Gundalpet with even more crazy people. The speedometer however read 80/90 k mph as cruising speeds(not in the towns, don’t worry) which was a little more than expected in a 150cc (thinking about mileage and vibrations).
Suddenly there was a chill in the air. The climate starting to change. The wind was a little more cooler and you, readers, can consider that as a welcome sign. The milestones read 7,6,5,4,3,2 km to Bandipur aka Bandipura…Soon stood before me the board welcoming me into the Bandipur National Park.
The sides of the road started to fill up with denser forests and signboards saying “No Parking”,” No Feeding”, etc. Nothing more to say, I was riding though the National Park. The roads too didn’t fail to amaze me. To be frank, it was astounding to see the roads get better as I move into the forests. The curves were even more exciting and frequent than before. Like an upgrade I wished for, I was enjoying the ride and the sights too. There is always a killjoy to all of this fun. This came in the form of frequent speed breakers, unlike the ones that you can speed over in Mysore. These ones actually make you brake hard just because of the shear size. But the corners and the cool air kept me happy.
Expecting to see wild animals too was an agenda for this trip. But it did not happen that often. Except for a few deer and a lot of birds, there wasn’t anything exciting. The greenery however kept unveiling more and more and I was expecting something huge to happen. In bikers’ terms something that’s most exciting is a landmark. Any of its kind, but something very important gives us more kicks, right?? Yes, it was a landmark. Right in front of me stood the tall forts separating the border. The borders of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The forts simply merge into this great forest because of its size and looks. Well, read it as leaving Bandipur and ENTER the Mudumalai Tiger Reserves, Tamil Nadu’s version of what a real forest is. The Mudumalai Reserves is a little more denser than the Bandipur Forests,a little more darker as less sunlight comes in through the trees. The roads, still amazing, was wide enough for two lanes of traffic and for most of the distance I was the only user. Well, what else could be an apt reason to wring the throttle wide open for some exciting life and some fast corners. Saw more birds and a couple of deer and the clear visor was a good choice because it gave me a true view rather than a tinted one.
Up came Gudalur, where people to Ooty part ways with people to Kerala. The town was somewhat like in the centre of the great forests, however they catered good breakfast for all travellers at that time. Malayalam more popular than Tamil in this region, I felt happy getting really good dosas after a long time.
From Gudalur, completely mistaken, I thought that I ran out of good roads. But completely taken aback, I enter the Ghats linking Gudalur to Nilambur.Starting with a few gradual corners, I didn’t feel like I was going down a slope. But soon, I found myself facing some really fast corners with uphill and downhill gradients, which made my bike feel at home and a wicked smile grew inside my lid. 
I started to give in to the exciting quick corners, feeling the tires squirm under braking and rev up freely out of the corners. Never thought of sliding out of the seat for cornering, but I was forced too in most of them. But to be safe I had to keep my knees intact since I didn’t have any sliders on. Some of the corners were closely strung together, I had to fall into one and quickly into the opposite side just to keep myself in the same lane, else you know what will happen. Its either a quick way down or addition to the grill of an oncoming vehicle. But no close calls, and so was I enjoying the ride and even my bike. Can’t speak any more about the shear xcitement, but this was simply the best cornering heaven for us in the South. The climate too is good and there’s no question of do I have the right bike. I’d be certain about the Unicorn giving the most fun, but its your choice. The ride back was even more fun, since there was more climbing and precision power makes its more fun. On the roads to Mysore, I was thinking about writing this and letting you know about the fun I had. Well, what are you waiting for. Ride out and be safe, but don’t miss the opportunity to ride the straights, the forests and the ghats in just under 200kilometers. A deadly combination many say, but the best ever for me!
Ride Safe! ^-^
PS: I’ll post a few photos soon. Rode out the same route again last week, so got some photos to share with you all as well. 
