Hey Ananth, How are you?     

Hey buddy, I am fine, how are you doing?

I am fine.  In our last conversation, you mentioned that the next ride will be a MEGA one.

Oh, you remember that.  Yes, in fact it was an epic ride.

So, tell me where did you ride this time with The Knight Ryders (TKR)

The Group bike ride was from East Coast (Chennai) to West Coast (Goa) covering two states (TN and Karnataka) and reaching 1 UT (Goa)

Wow, indeed it seems to be one long ride.  Usually, they say that the plan to Goa never happens.  How did this ride got finalised.

Ha ha.  True , it is said that the plan to Goa mostly doesn’t happen.  The trip to Goa was conceived long back in one of the rides but it took time to materialise as the distance and the number of days required were long.  Kudos to the TKR admin team who managed this successfully with their meticulous planning.

How much is the distance to Goa from Chennai and how many riders participated?

The coast (Marina beach, Chennai) to coast (Candolim, Goa) distance is 966 kms and we covered a total distance of 2,050kms and 13 members participated in the ride. 

How was the ride organised?

As the distance was nearly 1000kms each way, the journey was decided to be done over 2 days.  We were taking different routes for onward and return rides and the breaks were planned at Shivamogga, Karnataka for onward journey and Davanagere was the chosen stop for the return journey.  This trip was the farthest and longest for TKR riders in terms of distance and time.

We took the following routes for onward and return

Onward:Chennai-Hosur-Shivamogga-Gokarna-Goa
Return: Goa-Davanagere-Hosur-Chennai

Why the routes were chosen differently?

The main reason for choosing the route via Shivamogga was to visit the world famous Jog Falls which was enroute to Goa.  The route via Davanagere is little shorter, so it was ideal for the return ride.

Later, we proceeded towards Hosur/Bangalore and the stretch was filled with traffic once we crossed Krishnagiri.  After, nice road, we stopped at Agarwal Bhavan in Nelamangala for lunch.   From there we  proceeded to Tumkur to meet our friend Gopu who was riding from Bengaluru.  The roads after Tumkur to Shivamogga was really bad and it took us more than usual time to cover such distance and finally reached Shivamogga by 9:30pm. 

How was the ride to Goa from Shivamogga?

After reaching Shivamogga, we ordered dinner and wound up the day.  In the morning, we started after having breakfast at the famous Mallige Idli Center.  The food was quite simple and good and the riders enjoyed their morning breakfast.  Then, we rode through the western ghats which had so many twists and s-turns that added excitement to the ride.  I believe, this route is supposed to be one of the best for bikers to ride through. 

Around noon time, we reached the world famous Jog Falls. The falls is a majestic one, however, there was very little water in the falls as it was off-season. Later, we learnt that the best time to visit the falls would be around the end of rainy season.   Despite the disappointment, riders spent some time there enjoying the nature and did take some good photos. 

Later, we drove through the ghats to Goa which was quite mesmerising with the sun setting on the side.  The roads got narrower and narrower as we approached Goa.  The final approach towards Goa via ‘Atal Sethu’ was quite enjoyable and gives a different view of the city and it makes you feel as if you were driving through the ‘Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco’. The city vibe from the bridge gives an equal feel of being in LV, Nevada.  Finally, we reached our place of stay in Goa by 8:20pm riding for approx. 18 ½ hours since we started from Chennai.   The team had booked a private villa near Candolim beach.  The villa had a private pool and 5 rooms to accommodate the people.  The day ended with nice dip in the pool with some good music.  

Nice to hear that you guys reached safely.  What you guys did in Goa?

On Day 2, we visited the Aguada Fort, a majestic fort facing the Arabian Sea.  We had a nice view of the ocean from the light house and also got an opportunity to visit the basement of the fort which was used as a water reservoir in earlier days.  The Riders also posed for a photo and video session on the background of the sea and the fort. You can see the photos in the club’s website. Later we proceeded to the Candolim beach where we had some good food. 

While some of the riders indulged in high octane water sports activities getting an adrenaline rush, the remaining enjoyed a good music and dance at the beach side restaurant with good food and drinks.  The sunset at the backdrop of beach was quite a pleasant view for the eyes. 

In the evening, we visited the DeltinRoyale Casino, one of the most famous floating casino in the sea.  Most of the famous casinos were located in sea approachable through motor boats.  It was a nice to see the brightly decorated ships in the dark.  There was live entertainment by various artists and we enjoyed variety of shows like belly dance, LED light dance, Bollywood music etc. along with food and drinks.  We also spent some time in casino playing some games. The next day was a relaxing day with lunch and dinner by the beach side.       

That was nice and brief. 

I can only share this much details as you may be aware of the saying ‘what happens in Goa stays in Goa’ 😊

As usual, it was indeed good to hear from you about the ride.  Thanks for sharing your experience. 

It was my pleasure. You can check the website www.theknightryders.com, exclusive honda bike riders club that includes details of past rides and you can also see some amazing photos shot at various locations during the group bike rides.  You can also follow the bikers club in the social media accounts to get interesting and latest updates on the group bike rides organised by the club

Sure, I will do.

I will soon catch up with you on another interesting trip planned by end of February 2023.

– Adios Amigos till next ride (HaKuNaMaTaTa)