Avalabetta

Last weekend, I rode to Avalabetta with a bunch of superbikers. This is a group called Riders Republic, an amazing bunch of people to ride and to hang out with. This was my second ride with this group and it was great fun.

We were scheduled to go to a place called Avalabetta, this is a little north east of Bangalore towards AP. It is about 70 Kms north of the airport.

The group met at 6:30 near UB City, this is a pretty popular meeting place in Bangalore next to the Cafe Coffee Day. As usual it took a little while to get everyone assembled. Once all were in we rode off.
Riding in a group like this is a real pleasure. They take care to have a designated pilot and a sweep. You feel secure that you know where you are going and that you will not be left behind. There were some huge bikes and some real beauties on the ride, the pictures will speak for them.

From UB City we rode about 70 Kms to get to a Kamat on the highway. As always, a hearty breakfast is a must for all bike rides. This is the only decent place to get breakfast on this route. It was the usual fare of idli-vada, chow chow bath and dosas that was ordered. There was food mayhem for a while as we all got hold of what we wanted and got down to polishing everything off. The food was decent nothing spectacular but good enough to keep us happy for a few hours.

The eating was followed by coffee and of course with coffee comes conversation. It was story time as some of the guys regaled us with interesting stories of happenings in Bangalore including a strong rumor that dance-bars are once more functioning in the city. This of course made the conversation a very engaging one.

From here we all rode off in a tight group and were soon off the main highway and on to a small country road. This was a decently made road, few bad patches but largely a nice enough road. The best part was that this road passed through villages and there were a number of little kids in the villages who wanted to high-five us. This was great fun, it was fantastic to see the joy on the faces of the kids as the bikes rolled by. One of the kids was brave enough to ask for a ride and was promptly offered one by one of our guys who took him pillion for a bit. That kid has a great story to tell for some time now.

Avalabetta turned out to be in a tucked away little corner somewhere. With a short winding hairpin road to get to the top of the hill. It is quiet, serene and has beautiful views on all directions from the top.
The best part is that it is untouched by commerce. So no chips wrappers and other Plastic evidence left by human tourists. In the 45 minutes or so that we spent there we only saw a few other bikers. If you are planning a picnic then this is the perfect place except that you will have to carry everything with you.

We hung around here talking bikes and components. There is a little guest house of sorts which has a terrace affording the best view. So that’s where we congregated.
Soon it was time to head back to the city and on with our normal lives.
Something about the road needs to be said here. It is a glorious road especially after the airport. Wide and free of traffic. The weather on the particular Sunday was perfect and it made the ride a complete pleasure. The route on the way back was still reasonably free of traffic up to the airport toll booth. It was great riding up to there, after which you got in to city traffic and it was the usual drudgery all the way home.
The highlight of the ride for me was riding with a brotherhood of fellow bikers and riding at good speeds on a lovely road in great weather. Signing off with a few photos from the ride.

On the small country roads through villages

Line-up of lids !

Some Really Beautiful Bikes were with us !

Big Boy Bike !

Yours Truly !

Until next time !   Keep Riding and Stay Safe !