Kings Raid III - Maravanthe Beach Ride

Guest Post
Author: Meghana

Does the heading sound like something from the history books? Well, no. This is the name of a ride to a beach destination, led by Sreedhar Kacchu from BJYMC.

After completing successful rides to Kudla (Mangalore) and Goa in 2015, this time the kings were all set for their 3rd Raid. Maravanthe is the name of a small village and a beach near Kundapura in coastal Karnataka. I had heard that this beach runs on one side of the road (NH17) and on the other side is the Suparnika river, which makes it popular and is one of a kind. To behold this eye-catching view, I decided to join this Kings Raid!

We assembled at 5am on Tumkur road during mid March for briefing and direction handouts. Post which, the bikes took off at 5.30am. I, along with two ladies Chaitra (Krishna's wife), Shruthi (Bharat Venkatesh's wife) and their son Anirudh were a part of the sweep team with Krishna as our chauffeur while Bharat Singh and Bharat Venkatesh were the sweep riders! It is always a pleasure to ride on a highway and NH48 not only offers a widespread road but also beautiful scenery alongside. 

After riding for about 100 kms, we stopped at Mayura hotel for breakfast, one of the good hotels on the highway. The bikers also refilled their tanks to roar all the way to our destination. The weather got hotter and hotter as the day passed by, so we stopped at a coffee shop for a quick break just before entering the Agumbe ghat. The team decided to cut short on number of breaks so that we reach the resort by lunch time. Agumbe has number of breath-taking hair-pin bends and the roads are also in good condition. After few minutes, we (sweep car) could not see any bikes that were ahead of us. I said to myself, may be the roads have compensated to the hot sun that these bikers just ripped off our sight. 

Aerial view of Agumbe ghat and the mountain range

Finally, without any challenges or breakdowns, all the bikes covered 400+ kms with ease and we reached our destination i.e. Vits Pratham Resort by 3.45pm. Tired, happy, exhausted, excited, everyone dispersed to their rooms and to the dining hall. I always wanted to try riding a Jawa bike and after several attempts of pestering Manu, I got a chance to ride his bike, but making him as my pillion. Loved that royal feeling of riding a Jawa for the first time ever!

The fun began when the team huddled in the evening after a short relaxation. Kacchu initiated the most common and well known game 'Antakshari'. Needless to say how entertaining this game will be, but this time it was different. It became a game of singing and laughing, b'cos 'TAKE IT' was born right here!

While we were busy singing, there was some roaring in the background. Yes, it was the group of boys coming from Mysore, Coorg and Mangalore lead by PC and Shawn Fernandez! They were welcomed with whistles, hugs, smiles and then the 'take it' antakshari continued till midnight!

Father and son shaking a leg, Krishna and Chaitra, Bharat family (Shruthi & Anirudh

Day 2

After breakfast, goodies were handed out and we set out to Maravanthe beach which was about 35-45 mins away from the resort. On the way, we enjoyed the scenic view of coconut and palm fields though the weather was unfavorable.

I was stunned at the first sight of this beach. I could see nothing but clear sky, blue water, fine sand and no humans at all for at least 180 degree! Yes, the beach is unlike any others and has many dangerous whirlpools, hence people refrain from getting into the water. It was far more stunning than I had imagined.

The team at Maravanthe beach, Karnataka

We spent sometime gazing around and started back after a group pic was taken by our own photographer Sachin Shetty, who came from Mangalore. There was a lot more in store for the day such as water amusement rides, games, music and dance. Post lunch, everyone jumped into the swimming pool. Competition games such as pushing the bike, riding with one hand, off roading etc were also played. I had a great time watching the team enthusiastically participating in all these games while I was playing with my camera!!

Games that were played and the winners. Yes, take a 2nd look at the trophy please!

Sachin, who is a cinematographer by profession, delighted everyone by clicking the pics in all possible way. Portraits, couple pics, sitting on the bike, beside the bike, what not!

Sachin's photo shoot with our local heroes

 The resort also had a big stage, which was another boon for us. The team organised for a music system to make it a perfect DJ night. But before that, it was time to give away the trophies. Amrit did the honors and Muthappa, Nehal, Vivek and Birosh were the winners of the games that were held, while Ashwith Kumar grabbed the trophy for being the most disciplined rider/ biker.

These trophies have great respect among the rides since they are not just bought off the shelf but custom made. BJYMC's very own Jose Martin and his wife Beenu collects discarded Jawa and Yezdi bike parts from mechanics and designs them. So this time, we had a clutch plate supported by 2 wheel spokes mounted on the outer ring of the ball bearing which in turn was fitted on a Jawa piston. While the clutch plate and wheel spokes hold the award details, the piston (aluminum) and fly wheel (metal) are fitted together such that fly wheel can be rotated. Not at all a simple thing. Kudos to Jose and Beenu for their efforts and extraordinary idea!! :-)

Like always, we had new comers who introduced themselves and shared their thoughts & experience to be a part of BJYMC. There was a couple with 2 kids on a holiday who were also introduced and later joined and partied with us. Old, new, Kannada, English, Tamil, Hindi all type of songs were played and if I remember correctly, we danced from 8 pm to 12.30 am NON-STOP!! 

I was walking back to my room and one of the staffs there said, "Goodnight Mam, neevyellaru chennagi enjoy maadri, Nimma istu dodda group nodi tumba kushi aithu"!! 

Day 3

If you are having a good time, you don't realize how time flies. Our 3 day vacation was over before we knew it and it was time for us to pack our bags. After breakfast and group pics, those heading towards Bangalore said their goodbyes, marked the event on postcards and left around 10AM.

Meghana on a Jawa, Krishna with the sweep car and the 3 heroines!

Visiting agumbe is truly incomplete if we do not see the rainfall and we had this blissful experience on our way back. It rained all through the ghat section as we enjoyed the scenery listening to songs in the car.

Yet another ride, yet another experience. I wholeheartedly thank BJYMC, Amrit & Sreedhar for this opportunity. I was part of Gandhikota Ride, Malnad Dairies 3 abd Kings Raid III making this my third ride for the year with BJYMC. Wish to be part of more rides and at least some as a biker too!

This raid might not be from any history books, but now it will surely be remembered in the history of BJYMC.

#TheKings #BeautifulLadies #MePrincess #SweepRiders #LeadKacchu #LoadsofLUV #ThankUEVERYONE #TAKEIT!!