Last week, I had a few hours to myself on Saturday morning. So, I could go for a very short ride. There were options to choose from, should I go and rip through the Banerghatta forest or go riding through the city. I decided to go down the little roads of JP Nagar 9th phase and beyond. This is an area that is still to develop in to a full scale residential neighborhood. As you motor through the 9th phase and Anjanapura you see the BDA layout all around, mercifully unoccupied.
Saturday morning at 6 a.m. the only things around were dogs, slumbering on the road. As I ripped past they raised one droopy eyelid to see what the racket was about before deciding it wasn’t worth the bother. Going south through Anjanapura gets you across the NICE expressway on a little bridge. It is always a pleasant sight to see the vehicles speeding past below you as you lean on your bullet seat and look on.
The route I took went further south from there and past a Khoday’s factory. A shift was about to start it seemed as there was a lot of activity and a lot of workers milling around. Turning left near Khodays you are completely out of any urban setting. There are tall trees around, a narrow tar road below and no sound except a few birds chirping. Soon enough you come on to a little village, just stirring at the time I passed through. Turning right at the village you can continue on the route further south.
Here, it’s sylvan countryside again. I have a few photos of this section of the ride here. After a bit of meandering this road meets another larger one. The larger one is an arterial road which joins Bannerghatta road and Kanakapura road. Though this one joins two main roads it is not very busy. Not being tarred might have something to do with it. That isn’t something that bothers my C500 though not sure my Harley riding friends would like it much.
In another couple of kilometers you are back in to development. Some builder has created a layout and put a gate around it. With development comes traffic, noise, pollution and lots of people.
Though the backroad part of the ride was all of 15-20 minutes still it brings a certain feeling of peace and makes you feel so much better a refreshed.
From there on I joined Kanakapura road and on to Harohalli. While this is a now familiar stretch I could not but feel a slight sadness about the inexorable march of progress.
The little stretch I had taken in the morning was definitely on its way to getting developed the way the area around Kanakapura road has. Unfortunately development means we will lose trees and the sylvan routes that we so love. I know it is a little ironic that I write this while writing about roaring around on my bullet and contributing to the pollution noise and air both. But really I do feel that with real estate development we will be destroying more and more of our natural habitats. Enjoy it while it lasts.
Back to the road, further down as usual I stopped at the joint near Harohalli which has become our regular pit stop on all rides south of the city. A good ‘chow-chow bath’ and coffee later I was feeling on top of the world.
The way back was straight forward enough through Kanakapura road. But on weekends in the mronign almost everybody is heading the other way and in a hurry. There are plenty of reckless dirvers overtaking others and taking up almost the whole road. If you happen to be heading towards Bangalore on a weekend morning would suggest ride with caution and keep your eyes peeled on the road for ambitious overtakers.
For all cyclists and motorcyclists I would expressly recommend exploring every nook and cranny to the south of JP Nagar 9thphase – the area is beautiful, green and without much traffic. Go ahead and ride around before we develop the hell out of it.
Keep riding !!
