Coastal Ride on a Honda CBR250R

#honda #CBR250R #trip #adventure #ahmedabad #limdi #jamnagar #dwarka #madhopur #porbandar #mangrol #sasangir #junagadh #rajkot

Its been a while since I have been riding with this hometown group of Motorcycle buddies called "Born To Ride" and we had been doing these Sunday short breakfast rides on our Bikes, its quiet a Motley collection with 2 Royal Enfield 500 cc Classics one old -2011 Model and another one a brand new 2018 model, A Harley Superlow 883 and a Harley Sportster 750,

The group has done many Sunday rides together and one fine day the Superlow was replaced with a CBR600 F4i, that sort of triggered a change about riding the right kind of motorcycle and soon both the Royal Enfields were gone and replaced with 2 Honda CBR250R- ABS versions, one a 2011 Model with around 13500 Kms. the Red and Silver Version and another 2014 Model with just 3800 Kms, the Repsol version, the new addition of Sports Tourers added vigor to the group the rides started getting more comfortable, the Sports Tourers with better handling, better braking, low vibration, better mileage, better handling, the stopping power of that ABS system was inspiring for a safe riding experience and then the process of planning long rides began,

We planned our first ride as the Coastal Ride, from Ahmedabad to Okha the western most tip(western most technically speaking would be Jakhau near Bhuj, but Okha is the next closest) in Gujarat to way down to Diu then onwards to Bhavnagar and back to Ahmedabad, initially it generated a lot of interest and four riders from the group decided to execute the plan but last moment there were 2 dropouts and only 2 of us decided to carry on, it was the best decision of our lives probably and we started the ride on the 23rd of December 2018

Prelude to the ride as a part of preparation or planning was making sure the bike was serviced and in good condition, brakes in good condition, all fluid levels checked, all necessary tools on board and a mobile mount for navigation was installed on the Repsol version,

Day of the ride I had a set of Saddle bags and walked down confidently that it would fit on perfectly without any mods or stay or supports required to hold it in place, but the right side above the exhaust was creating issues of almost going into the rear wheel, quick change over to a rucksack with bungee cord net to hold it together and it worked absolutely perfectly, through out the trip, easy to remove easy to put, however did pick up a pair of bungee cords for future trips, in case the bungee cord net fails,

Ride started at around 9.30 am since riding buddy was running late as in the anxiety of the whole trip he just couldn't sleep,

First leg of the Journey: Ahmedabad to Okha

We managed to keep us some good speeds on the Sports Tourers and completed the first 100 Kms. in an hour and 20 minutes to Limdi, stopped to have cup of chai and exchange notes if anything is missing or needs to be secured or any other, made a lot of new friends as its the season for dogs to give their litters and every stop practically we were met with a lot of happy faces and those energetic wagging tails, so infectious, they give us so much unconditional love without even having seen us or met us ever in their life, also they approach us a little uncertain, little scared that whether we will reciprocate their unconditional love or end up hurting them, they are very very wary, somehow its difficult to trust us humans,

2nd Stop was at Honest on the Rajkot bypass road towards Jamnagar, this spot was chosen as they have decent and clean facilities and the food turnover is good since lots of customers visit it, so we were assured of fresh food, also the place had a good parking spaces and also to unload our gear and be sure its safe and secure, usually if we had done this travel on our earlier rides I am sure i would have demanded a place to stay and get some rest to get over the buzz those rides used to give and get over the fatigue, but we were least tired and just wanted and like eager beavers to carry on

3rd Stop was a chai stall more like a Dhaba and a truck stop with some nice Khatias to rest, that heavy lunch at Honest had got to me and i was drowsy, that power nap on the Khatia was just what the doctor had ordered and a good cup of chai to refresh us,

4th Stop was at a again roadside village shop, gentleman was kind enough to give us cold water prior to serving the tea and lots of boys hanging around who now were all in awe of the camera equipment carried with us for recording the journey, particularly the GoPro mounted on the helmet was the most intriguing and then the questions of how it records and what do you do with it, or do you use it for surveys or use it to record performance of the bikes etc etc, again made friends with a pup who was never offered a chai by anyone and he reluctantly shared a cuppa with us after a lot of coaxing and convincing he had his fill, at this moment we sat down to decide whether we should go all the way to Okha which has only a Port and to go there just to complete a formality did'nt make sense so we head straight to Dwarka the temple town to wind down for the day,

The road into Dwarka is a work in progress and peppered with diversions made of gravel which made our progress a bit difficult and as it was now almost 8 plus hours of riding our endurance was being tested too, also my bike chain was making a strange noise from the front sprocket side as soon as i pulled the clutch to slow down, this was happening when the bike was hot and in cold conditions this noise somehow disappeared, it was badly bothering me but carried on with a thought that hope it doesn't do any long term damage to the bike,

Dwarka was abuzz with religious congregations due to the long weekend 23rd being a Sunday and 25th being a holiday people had taken the Monday off and clubbed the 3 days like us to travel, lots of pilgrims were from Maharashtra and our we had a lot of difficulty finding a decent room in our budget of 1000 per head for boarding, dinner and breakfast, but soon found a decent place but again full of people, hustle and bustle kids screaming and shouting, had to finally intervene and request them to keep it quiet to finally catch a good nights sleep and be ready for that Coastal Ride we had imagined

2nd Leg of the Journey Dwarka to Diu

Started fresh in the morning and hit the diversion peppered highway to Porbandar, on the way there's a beautiful spot like half moon shaped road with sea on one side where people gather together to experience the sea and salt pans on the outskirts of Dwarka, I planned to go ahead and take the video of the fellow rider on that beautiful curved road, so i took off fast and reached the spot parked and waited, it was quite a while a few car guys were pointing to me to go back so i thought maybe he is waiting at the start of the curve but it turned out he had a minor fall over gravel on a turn where he misjudged the speed a little and that delayed him, but did catch him on video, that fall did affect him a little and our speeds slowed down for a while but later as the journey went on he put aside that small crash and we were riding again towards Diu, since I was used to riding gravel I took of and waited for him at a tea stall to catch up, as soon as he reached we spotted a few hundred Demoiselle Cranes at around just 200 to 250 meters away at a small village pond, seeing that sight was worth every effort made to make this trip and seeing so many in such close proximity and over such a small water body was most amazing,

Another surprise came up when we were riding the Porbandandar -Madhopur stretch we saw a mother Demoiselle crane with 2 juveniles and stopped to photograph them and across the road, we see this cyclist also exploring the area so we also waved to him to see the birds, after some pleasantries he turned out be another fellow traveller but he takes his car around, parks it in a spot around a small town and village takes out his cycle and roams around searching for Ancient temples which have relevance to the local folklore

Then on we were surprised by what we had initiated this ride for the Ocean view at Madhopur was most amazing, stopped there for to click some picks and videos and soaked in the sights, its worth a visit once but if the trip is made after say six months to a year you can avoid all those irritating diversions due to road works, my Bike's chain issue was now a bit of a irritant for me as i like the equipment to be in good working order or it works negatively on my mind so that it was bothersome throughout this stretch,

Hunger had now kicked in badly and search was on to find good non veg food as we wanted to tank up on proteins and while inquiring with some locals they said there's a good place in Mangrol town where they serve good non veg food, however the run was a bit excruciating as heat was up, it was late and the irritating bike noise was tiring more that anything, finally we stopped at as they referred to as Kaveri restaurant, had a good fill with prawns masala, chicken masala and chicken lollipops and casually started a conversation with the restaurant owner about a good mechanic in town and within moments the guy was at the bike and he took a test ride and took it to his workshop just across the road and by the time we finished the wrap up at the restaurant he had diagnosed the issue as the chain being too tight and he adjusted the length, in the meanwhile my fellow rider also got his indicator light fixed, the bulb, which had blown due to the fall and his Mobile mount

We rejigged our travel plan here and decided to avoid Diu which we would be chock a block with tourists over the long weekend and head towards Sasan Gir and ride through the Forest and it was worth changing the route, it was an amazing ride, with few twisties, newly laid tarmac at many places and ride through the forest was n experience in itself, also chance upon a great place to stay Murlidhar resort atop a small hill next to the ever flowing Madhuvanti river, which is the lifeline of the Gir Forest, Murlidhar resort was a surprise find in our budget with Dinner and Breakfast included, a huge plot of land with mango trees all around in the lap of natures luxury, clean air, which inspired a night walk watching the stars clearly without the city lights, it was all so clear and refreshing,
We decided to leave early and be in Ahmedabad at a decent time so as to be able to get back to work and also we wanted to spend some more time in the Gir Forest again

3rd Leg of the journey Sasan Gir to Ahmedabad

Morning started with taking lots of photo ops on the Madhuvanti river bridge and saluting our rides for performing well and keeping us safe, and stopped at a huge lake, on the way out to the Gir forest again, we had missed this spot the previous evening as it had become dark, apparently the Madhuvanti river is the overflow from this lake, it was absolutely a stunning location to camp out, hope they allow camping in that area, that would add maybe another 10 years to my life surely, we redid the whole ride into the Gir forest again and stopped near a forest area cafe for a hot cup of chai and a conversation with the owner of the place, who told us he also had a place to stay just across the road, for similar price point which we paid last night and he said there's lots to see around there which he will help us explore, however we did make mental reminder to visit again as soon as possible and take him up on his offer,

From Gir we retraced our route back to Junagadh, luckily the road was in great shape and we could munch miles quite easily, now with the bike fixed it was even better than before and an absolute pleasure to ride again, we crossed and stopped outside Junagadh to answer a natures call grabbed a quick cold coffee and hit the road again for Rajkot, riding through Rajkot was hell, just too much traffic and narrow highways and the locals owning the road compounded the delay, had a near death experience as was almost going to be zippered up between two trucks, fortunately kept my wits around and ABS saved my skin once again by a sure footed braking to exit the gap safe and sound,
Got out of Rajkot and spotted a Dhaba near Chotila, a totally authentic kind and had our lunch, though a bit spicy but was good also grabbed a few bungee ropes here dirt cheap at just 45 bucks each, if you look up the prices for these online they will cost you not less than a hundred bucks,

One of our friend who could not make it for the ride decides to meet us halfway on this raod back to Ahmedabad at Limdi so we wait for him to start for sometime and leave for Limdi, this stretch my co rider hit the turbo button and we just zipped through to Limbdi where we stopped at the McD's for some soda floats and Coffee from another outlet till the 3rd rider arrived,

After a few discussions and sharing our experiences with him the trio hit the road for Ahmedabad, the CBR600 F4 with that distinct noise was left behind quite a number of times since we were in total highway riding mode and he was still in Sunday riding mode, road to Ahmedabad was also absolutely jam packed with late evening traffic, with cars having no respect for bikers, some close shaves did happen, however we did catch up with each other and said our byes till the next ride or conversation,

The ride planned was in a shape of a "CUP"