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.
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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.
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| 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!
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| 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.
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| 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!!
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| 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!
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| 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.
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| 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!!
