Monsoon ride across 7 states on a Royal Enfield Himalayan 411

Well, this was one hell of a ride with my wife as pillion on my Royal Enfield Himalayan 411, 2021 model. After I got the ride, I did extensive travel across the Southern parts of India with my spouse but this particular ride was an epic one. This started as a very clean and simple plan of cruising through NH 44 and NH 16 and reaching Kolkata. When we started from Bangalore little did we know that this wouldn't just be about cruising on the beautiful highways but had more to it! The plan of covering 7 states never came to my mind until reaching Kolkata successfully. Trust me the ride to Kolkata through the beautiful highways of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and some parts of Odisha and Bengal was as smooth as butter. The road conditions are great. Construction work at Odisha and West Bengal was a bummer then but I assume those roads are now ready too!

However, I craved for more adventure. I told my wife that I wanted to go back to Bangalore on a different route this time. I told her my plan of covering 7 states namely West Bengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and finally entering Karnataka and concluding the ride at Bangalore. She was immediately on board and we started preparing for the epic journey back to Bangalore from our hometown.

Planning the route

With the advent of Google Maps planning our ride was not that difficult. Though I had figured out a couple of places on the way to take rest and have our meals but I did not book any hotels during the entire journey. The plan was simple and straight-forward, to keep on riding until our bodies permitted. Whenever I am doing long rides, I follow this rule religiously.

Kolkata to Balangir, 675kms (approx. 13 hours)

Here is the screenshot of the route taken on Day 1 from Kolkata:

Our day started from Kolkata early today. About riding for 50kms from our home the air cushion for the pillion rider needed adjustment. So, we stopped to adjust it to perfection. Now this is quite an easy task. You open the rear seat with your key, adjust the seat straps and you lock the seat again and you are ready. However, this few steps become a tedious job when you realise that the keys are still hanging on the rear seat after setting up everything.

I did not want to unload and reload the luggage set up again. So, I decided to pull the keys out from the rear seat without removing the saddle bags again. I struggled and emerged successful to take it out somehow but the key wouldn't work as it was bent. It was in a damn bad shape. We were stranded on the highway and honestly I almost lost hopes when my spouse came to the rescue and she somehow got the key straightened out. Thanks to her boots! After halting at Kharagpur for breakfast and after some rest we resumed our journey fully unaware of our destination for the day. We were enjoying the ride as we had to roll our wheels through a varied landscapes and the rain. The trip became more interesting after our lunch at Bangriposi at a roadside Dhaba. Post lunch we rode through the lush green forest cover of Simlipal and Keonjhar and a few hilly patches and it was amazing.

It was already evening by the time we reached Bangriposi. There were no street lights and before we stopped at Ridhi Sidhi Hotel and Restaurant to rest for the night and rejuvenate ourselves for the ride next day, we got to witness the famous Rathayatra that too in Odisha! Rathayatra is a chariot festival that is held annually in India mainly Puri. Indians worship deities of Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra. Some fun facts about Rathayatra in Odisha:

- Rathayatra, Puri is the largest and most visited Rathayatra in the world.

- Baripada Rathyatra is the second oldest Rathayatra in the world.

Now, before I move to Day 2, I must say Orissa is a gem, with untouched beauty all around. The route offers scenic views, beautiful roads through the forests and since monsoon was already here by the time we started our journey, the dull barren mountains had totally transformed to beautiful lush greenery and the weather was too good for a long ride of course with necessary precautions and proper riding gears and motorcycle accessories.

Balangir to Bijapur, Chhattisgarh (436 kms)

Now after a decent breakfast at the hotel and loading the motorcycle we were excited to start the day having no idea what awaited us around the evening! Our aim was to reach Hyderabad which I think was quite impractical considering the heavy rainfall that was waiting for us. The ride through Orissa was literally beautiful. After crossing several forests, hills, serene landscapes and the Tel river in Orissa we finally entered Chhattisgarh.

When we reached Jagdalpur, it was 5:30 in the evening and from all the muddy roads we crossed my bike's headlamp got covered in muds and needed to be cleaned. However, before I could clean it something dangerous happened to us!

A car approaching from the opposite direction with high beam on had almost got me blinded and by the time I got my vision back I realised that we were heading straight to a concrete road divider. By god's grace I did not panic and within the limited time that I had in hand before hitting I quickly looked at the rear mirror to see if I had any car behind me. There was a Splendor that was about a few meters ahead of me. I tried to not hit the road divider head on and dodge the barrier as much as possible keeping the bike towards the left and to my surprise the plan worked and I got hit on the right side and the bike got over the concrete structure and we got flown away a few meters ahead landing just next to the splendor. Trust me the guy riding the splendor was shit scared, having no idea where I came from landing next to him. And my spouse, she was trembling in fear!

I was happy as I could avoid a major accident but soon realised that the bike's footrest was gone and the silencer had taken a good amount of impact that damaged it. But luckily the damages were not that major to stop us. Since it was already dark, we decided to stop at the next hotel that was available. No footrest, endured an accident and now the real roads of Chattisgarh to ride. Chattisgarh is a beautiful place but it is not a developed state. We were riding through Maoists areas covered in dense forests and no lights on the roads. To make it worse we encounter herds of buffaloes camouflaged in the darkness sleeping on the highway. Had not their eyes glowed in the dark we would definitely had crashed on them. The light from the headlamps felt being soaked in the dark. Even the fog lamps from HJG could not help much. Finally we got a hotel to rest near Bijapur. So without wasting a single moment we checked in and after a quick dinner we headed to bed and were fast asleep.

Chhattisgarh to Hyderabad (543 kms)

We were ready to hit the roads by 7AM and decided to stop for breakfast somewhere on the way. It was today that I realised that Chhattisgarh was equally beautiful. It's beauty was raw and absolutely untouched. The roads are almost empty with 2 or 3 luggage carrying vans on the road. While riding through the forest roads I could feel the fresh air and smell the wilderness of the forest. It was an experience of a lifetime. Crossing the jungles where there are no one else around. I haven't ridden on such a deserted place before.

After riding for an hour we came across a small shop that was selling tea and puffed rice along with onion fritters. We were hungry and we stopped there as it was the only option that we came across all along the way. We had the onion fritters and tea that was sufficient for us to survive till lunch.

The ride was getting difficult with every passing hours as I was riding with my legs rested on the crash guard. That was the best option after all failed attempts to weld the footrest at the remote location. The vibrations and the jerks left my leg a bit hurt but I was mentally prepared to ride like that until I reached Hyderabad. To max the discomfort we reached a spot where we got diverted to a different route by some local people who stopped the vehicles from using the state highway as a goat was hit by a van. To make things worse I didn't pay a heed to my wife and trusted Google Maps blindly until I ended falling down on a muddy field that was leading no where. Don't worry it was a funny crash and we both were safe. After a few minutes of struggle I was able to get out of that mess, exhausted but again back on the road. Before we could enter Telengana, we halted for lunch and then resumed our journey.

We were hit by a bull as soon as we entered Maharashtra. Lucky we both were and I thank Royal Enfield for building a damn tough bike, the Himalayan. The bull was unhurt. What we understood while riding through some parts of Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra that one must remain extremely cautious while riding. The herds may appear on the main roads out of nowhere. Finally after a day's hard ride and memories on the roads we were at Shamshabad, a friend's place who was kind enough to host us. My friend helped me in getting my bike repaired from the Cosmos Royal Enfield service center. The repairing took almost 3 days and we had to extend our stay.

Day 4, 5 and 6

Hyderabad

These 3 days were fully utilised for resting. After all me and my spouse needed it badly. I also wanted my spouse's leg swelling to recover from the hectic yet lovable ride.

We were damn tired from all the riding in the past few days and the rest was much needed. We spent our days in Hyderabad fueling ourselves on Hyderabadi Dum Biriyani from Paradise restaurant and the Irani tea, another Hyderabadi specialty apart from the biriyani. Good amount of rest and great food boosted us for the final stage of the journey from Hyderabad to Bangalore.

Hyderabad to Bangalore (550 kms, approx 9 hours)

Finally, we were back on the roads with the last phase of the journey. The route from Hyderabad to Bangalore is amazing. The highway is brilliant. Apart from lunch and snacks we did not have to stop much for breaks. We arrived Bangalore after 9+ hours of riding and this brings us to the end of the journey that was filled with excitement, experiences and of course a lot of adventures.

This ride will forever remain close to my heart because this not only helped me build my confidence but also has given me memories of a lifetime. Me and my spouse still get excited in the same way we were on the day of riding while going through the images and speaking if this journey.

If you are planning a similar ride and need any assistance, feel free to reach out to me at write2risav@gmail and I will be happy to help you plan your next ride.