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The GUD ride

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Locations: Goa, Udupi, Dandeli 
Vehicle:RE Meteor 350 (2023)
With: My friend on his M350
Duration: 3 Nights, 4 Days
Distance: 1488 km.
Experience: Unimaginable!
It was on short notice that my friend and I decided to go on a multi-day ride. We had to cross Maharashtra borders, visit beaches and wanted something different. hence we decided on Goa, Udupi, Dandeli route!

Day 1:

Goa ride was smooth as usual. Started at 5 AM from Pune, reached Vagator by 3 PM. We took Amboli ghat route. It is a Butter route!. 

Breakfast at Kagal

Mesmerising view of Amboli ghat

Stay arrangement was on the fly. We stayed at Ibis hotel!. Some beach time, leisure beer dinner evening and off for the day! today's ride was 430 km, highway, ghat, sun and rain, beach

Cloud formations from Vagator beach

Day 2:

Rain gods blessed from the very morning!!!! We started after breakfast, and destination was Udupi. Karwar, Marvanthe were on the list. We initially decided to visit Gokarna and Murdeshwar too, but because of time constraint we directly went to Udupi.Views from Karwar Bridge were refreshing. 

Rain kist
Marvanthe is a BLISS!!! This was THE reason to include Udupi in the ride :-) We spent good amount of time at Marvanthe. Clouds, little rain, huge roaring ocean, Robust beach front, Smooth, straight, elevated road, your bike... just mesmerizing!

 

Shreepad at Marvanthe beach

My bike at Marvanthe!
Again, booking in Udupi was on the fly. Srikirshna Darshan had to be from outside the temple, as we were wearing shorts :-(. Had dinner and slept off. Today's ride was 342 km, rain, highway, wind, bridge-and-beach ride.

Day 3:

Fresh! cloudy, but no rain. Got up, got ready, had typical Upma, Idli breakfast followed by Udupi coffee and off we vroomed. Destination was Dandeli. 

In Kollur ghat

But with an interesting place to visit in between. Siganduru bridge on Linganamakki dam backwaters!!! Opened just last year, it was a huge structure to be seen. We did expect ghat roads on the way, but Kollur ghat was way beyond expectation!! Dark, thick forest, lonely road, a grinding climb and two REs beating in rhythm! This is Zen! Add rain, mist, fog as we reach the top. The joy is unmatched! 
Reached Siganduru bridge. There is not much traffic yet. You can stop on the bridge, view around, photo shoot and the start again. Real quiet moments. The humongous structure is worth a praise! You can also drive/ride down to old jetty boarding places to have views near water, have some tea etc.
It was raining till Siganduru, but later became dry. 

Sigandur bridge

Started from there for Dandeli. Rode via Yellapur, Sirsi. Lunch and petrol at Sirsi and pushed ahead. Reached Dandeli forest by 5 pm. It was getting darker, thicker, lonelier. Riding through that jungle is shear pleasure. Again, a hotel choice on the fly. Good deal, good place, stay and food. Rains poured as we checked in. Overall, a good day, super experience. Had dinner and went off to bed. Today's ride was 330 km, ghat, sun and rain, bridge, backwaters, lonely state roads, forest ride 

A walk in Dandeli

Day 4:

My friend and I had different plans. I had to come back to Pune and he decided to stay longer. He continued his stay and I started off for Pune after breakfast. This day was a solo ride. Soon I got on Khanapur-Belgavi highway and the ride changed to highway ride. This ride was a typical highway ride. It was a mix of good and bad infrastructure, crowded and not so crowded roads, diversions and long stretches, sun and rain, and what not.

Misal thali is a must when in Maharashtra

Got rear tyre punctured. I must have ridden for a while with low air. Got to know at lunch near Umbraj. Luckily, a repair shop was just beside. Found only 1 puncture in the middle groove. Got it fixed in 5 minutes and revved towards Pune. After a good highway grind, reached home by 5:30 pm. Today's ride was 430 km, highway, sun, crowd, traffic.
Home sweet home! The relaxed feel, tension-free, happy, smiling, welcoming faces of dear ones and satisfaction of mission completion all together make it a rewarding moment.
This is a truly rider-friendly route. Good roads, terrain and views, locations, ample food and fuel stops, ample photo-ops, no mad rush of truck and highway traffic, well spaced stops.

Some learning:

If you want to go south from Goa, stay in South Goa
Rain cover for a bag should be the right fit. I used Sack cover for duffel. Moisture sipped into duffel from lower seams. Some clothes became wet/damp 
Rain shoe covers are a boon!!! Dry shoes is such a comfort. Wet shoes is nightmare

In Amboli ghat

Quiet times make you forget every day hassles and take you near the nature!

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