Home - Kyarkoppa - Mugad - Kelageri - Home bicycle ride

A few days before this ride, I had visited Kyarkoppa and I badly wanted Pushpa to see the place. We decided Sunday we would riding towards Kyarkoppa, Mugad and Kelageri. It would be long ride but we were prepared to do it. We left home at 5-27 AM, headed towards Karnataka University. passed through the campus, entered Choudeshwari Nagar, touched Haliyal road and entered Kyarkoppa road. Weather was cool and it wasn't light yet, we rode in lamps attached to our bike handle bars. Soon Kyarkoppa came into view. The last 100+ meters is an uphill stretch which gets steeper at the top. The last few seconds my legs screamed but I made it to the top riding. So did Pushpa who was riding after a gap of two or three weeks. We rode around the temple- Kyarkoppa Basavanna Gudi -went to the backside and parked our bikes.

The first thing Pushpa did was stand the cycle and lie down. The first 100 meters took her breath away! Herons were taking off in groups from their nesting trees. The groups flew towards east, probably headed towards agricultural fields in search of bengal-gram crops to pick worms.

Pushpa was back on her feet in minutes. We both took turns going inside the temple. Here the morning pooje is performed by an elderly lady, a friendly person.

A canine was hanging around the temple. Good we had biscuits in our bag and the canine was friendly. Our newfound friend was a young fella, very playful. He would jump around a little and eat. Finally when he knew he could trust us, he laid down. We spent half an hour here. Time to leave, we still had most of the ride ahead of us.

Instead of going thro Mugad, we went around it by taking Mugad-Kalakeri road. We missed a turn and overshot by nearly a kilometer. We rode back, found the turn and came down here... plenty of paddy fields, almost ready for harvest.

Instead of going towards Mugad, we rode back towards Kyarkoppa and turned back again. This is the flowing road towards Mugad. Around here we a hare jumped onto the road and hopped ahead of us for 100 meters or so. then it vanished into bushes. Then we saw a very handsome peacock at a distance, it was on a cultivated land, probably looking for insects. I did not bother to shoot with my DSLR lest I disturbed it.

The approach road to Mugad is a long downhill stretch with a school & playground on the left. At the point where the road levels, Mugad tank comes into view. This tank is manmade, road to the village runs on the bund.

A peaceful sheet of water. I heard plenty of migratory birds nest here during winters.

Road on the bund leading to Mugad village. Both ends of this road have a temple each. One of the temples is dedicated to Durgadevi.

Sun was rising fast and it was getting warm quickly. We had to get going. Our plan was to take Mugad to Goa-Dharwad highway. The road from Mugad to the highway was steep, it felt never ending. Once on the highway, we had both uphill and downhill stretches. After a particularly long uphill stretch we took a five minute break.

We continued... passed through the upcoming toll gate. This was the first time we rode through a toll gate, though a nonfunctional one.

We passed by Kelageri and took another short break just before Bendre Bhavan. The rest of the ride was on Poona - Bangalore road. We reached home at 8-04 AM. Here's a screenshot of the ride in Zeopoxa.

Hoping this post inspires people to take up bicycle riding, or any other form of outdoor physical activity which is much needed for upkeeping personal health.

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bicycle-ride on a rainy morning

This ride was during the first week of August when the rainy season had set in well. That morning it was cloudy but we didn't expect rains since it rained in the evenings usually. Our ride started around 5-15 AM. First we headed towards Navalur, rode up to the railway overpass and took a U-turn. Then we headed towards Police HQ, from there we went to Chikka Malligwad. Weather here is usually wetter then Dharwad, it was drizzling, yet we continued. I thought of exploring new roads. From Chikka Malligwad, we took the dirt road going towards Mugad which is on Dharwad-Goa highway. On our path were many puddles of rainwater and muddy patches. The MTBs' tires slung mud which often landed on us. At one point, we stopped to check the directions. I thought we could find the way to Mugad.

Rain clouds laden sky, rain was expected anytime. The air was fresh and pleasant, just enjoy while it lasts.

The road to Mugad. Couple minutes from here we went through a railway underpass. Just before the pass, I saw motorbike tracks turn to the left... it looked as though travelers frequented a road on that side.

The deeper the road went, the narrower it got. At point we were at a fork, two roads going downhill. At this point we saw a train go towards Mugad. The road on the rain-hand-side went towards the railway track. I guessed the other road could also lead to the railway track. So we down the road flanked by trees, it was like a tunnel. The narrow path was uneven because of tractor movement and streams of rainwater flowing down the slope. The surface was slippery. I managed to stay on the bike. The 'tunnel' opened up to a flat space, acres of paddy fields, with the dirt road cutting across it. 

Pushpa came down a few minutes late, she got off the bike and walked. We felt we had come into a private property. There should be people in those houses. Pushpa waited, I rode the slushy path towards the houses in search of life. The two men in a hut told me we should've turned left near a farm house up the road. Then the other man told that road is too slushy for riding bikes. He said its better we take the path which runs parallel to the railway track i.e. from the underpass. This place was wilder than we imagined. I thanked them and rejoined Pushpa.

I decided today wouldn't be the day for exploring, better to take known roads. We headed back the way we came. I too didn't risk riding up the slippery steep stretch. Back at the fork we resumed our riding.

A stop to pick guavas from a roadside tree.

My bike was thoroughly bathed in mud. My trousers and tee-shirt were muddy. Even my cap had little mud.

We crossed Chikka Malligwad and reached the underpass below Hubli-Dharwad bypass road. We had one more dirt track to take. The dirt track was a mess... looks like some trucks had plied here during rains. Huge puddles, some a foot deep.

Whichever truck moved here was loaded, it had left deep tracks. Also it seemed it got stuck and an earthmover was brought to pull it out. There's no predicting where the tires would sink. The best way to ride in such conditions is to shift to first gear. I was amazed at how the bike handled, it seemed to move effortlessly, plowing through the slush. Pushpa too rode well except for one scary moment. This was an awesome experience for a MTB owner! 

Back home. We were tired, the wet muddy clothes exaggerated the discomfort. The bikes were too muddy to be left as it is.

To clean them now Vs clean them later means less effort Vs more effort. I chose the former.

A pressure wash cleared the mud except for patches on the tires.

Two sparkling Firefox Firestorms.

The muddy clothes had to be hand washed separately.

A memorable ride :)

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52 km bicycle ride

We have been cycling since March-2021. The ride duration & length had seen a gradual increase. Our rides were usually in 20s, 30s and 40s. Time we attempted a 50 km ride. Zigzagging around the city isn't a good idea to touch 50 km mark, it had to be outside the city. So I planned Hubli-Dharwad-Hubli ride. Our ride started at 4-15 am. We rode non-stop till Keshvapur cross at Hubli. It was a five minute break. By 5-40 am we were passing by Hubli railway station. The return journey was mostly uphill, progress was slower. Our next stop was near Mayura Aditya Resort, Navalur. Again the break was short. Despite the long ride, we were still under 40 km. So we decided to touch Police HQ and return. Yes, that worked. We crossed the 50 km mark... 52.30 km as per the tracking app.

We'd ridden our mountain bikes. With broader tires, the friction is higher compared to the sleeker tires of hybrid bikes. I must try the same route / distance with a hybrid bike. I expect the duration would be considerably lesser. 

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35 km bike ride

It was Durga's first visit to our new home. We hoped she enjoyed her vacation here. In one week at Dharwad she had come out on 4 bicycle rides, saw a fabrication unit, saw Khadi Kendra at Garag, visited a village, began crochet lessons, and started reading Ramayana. Deepak joined us on July 2nd. We had planned a ride for the morrow. We have three bikes with us and we needed four for the ride. I borrowed a friend's bike for a day. My heartfelt thanks to Raju for his timely help.

July 3, 2021
We were up by 3-15 am and ready to start the ride by 5-15. We took one of our usual routes ...Toll Naka BRTS Stop - U-Turn just after Ozone - Jubilee Circle - Mini Vidhana Soudha - KCD Circle - Haliyal Naka - Dasankoppa junction - German Hospital - Police HQ Ground ...we took a short break at the ground. Then we proceeded towards Hire Malagiwad where we stopped at Sri Mallikarjuna Gudi. Pushpa went in for a darshan. Deepak's bike, a well used Montra Blue, had a minor issue, the mudguard was lose. The issue was fixed in a minute with a keychain Swiss Army knife.

Riding back towards Dharwad...

...Deepak was riding after two years but he was doing well. The bike Deepak was riding, a Montra Blue was 15 years old yet its gear system worked like new. Our next stop was a kilometer away.

Whenever we are on this route, we usually stop at this temple- Panduranga & Guddada Veeranjaneya Devastana -for some time. The white colored canine recognized us and Durga was quick to give him a treat of Parle-G. The canine finished off one full pack, very demanding guy he is.

The two temples axis are perpendicular to each other. The point where the two axes meet is where this Peepul tree stands. It must be a 7 to 8 YO tree. Morning walkers love to sit under this tree before starting their return leg.

This was one spot we could get a group photo. We tried taking a selfie including the bikes, simply did not work. To our luck, the temple priest's daughter Kavita came, still sleepy eyed. Pushpa and I had met her earlier. That's Pushpa teaching Kavita how to frame the picture and shoot. The canine is curious.. hey, include me too!

This is Kavita's capture. Thank you little one.

The next part of the route is my favorite. Its a dirt track with flanked by greenery. This road runs parallel to Dharwad-Hubli bypass road and hits Dharwad-Goa at Kelageri village. On Goa road we saw a few solo riders and a group of ten or so teenagers out on their bicycles. Somewhere on the way we had decided to touch 30 km mark. To stretch the route I decided to head towards Karnataka University campus. Instead of taking vehicle's route, we rode along Kelageri shoreline which ends at a locality.

The ride through the locality was uphill, a series of left & rights until we reached Dharwad-Haliyal road. The road into the university campus too is an uphill one. Deepak was lagging behind at places but he was consistent and determined. Into the campus the first thing we did was to stop at Nandini outlet for a tiny cup of Badam flavored milk. Deepak and Durga hadn't seen Krishnae Ficus. We rode down along the fence and found a gap, in we went with the bikes straight to the tree. With one month of heavy rains, the garden had become a jungle. It was beautiful! 

Our next destination was an uncle's place. On the way out of the campus, the railway crossing was closed. The wait wasn't a long one, less than five minutes.

As we resumed our journey, Deepak suggested we have breakfast. Yes, it was a good idea. I quickly shortlisted a few decent eateries and selected the one near Lakshmeshwar Gardens. There was some confusion while ordering and ended up eating more than I intended to. Anyway, the next leg was a short ride to Mama's place where we spent around 30 minutes. The four bikes- two Montras and two Firefoxes. Good bikes!

The final leg is going to be a bit of torture because of full tummies, long break and city traffic. Nothing could be done about the first two, there was a way to deal with the third one.. take a slight round about with few uphill stretches. Never mind the uphill roads, safety was more important. We reached home around 9-00. Here's a screenshot from Pushpa's phone.

Never realized we touched speeds of 30 kmph. I guess that was on Dharwad-Malagiwad road.

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