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Ride 6 - Yercaud

With 2017 starting with our longest ride yet in the form of BOBMC 2017 Kundapura, Karnataka, we decided to take a short trip nearby and that’s when we sat to discuss. After running by a few names which are known for to be just a few hours from Chennai, we decided on Yercaud. One of the closest hill stations from our city, Yercaud is one of those developing hills that’s yet to get the surplus tourist crowd. I’ve been here already and I’ll write a blog on it soon too.

Itinerary

As always, we couldn’t just head from Point A to Point B, can we? 😛 Being a gang of foodies, we had planned on touching the famous UBM Mess in Perundurai which is not just past our destination Yercaud but also past Salem and Erode. The things we do for good food! So post lunch, we headed back on the same route before taking a detour near Salem and climbing up Yercaud.

What’s new

This time it was more of a cosmetic change to the machine rather than an actual investment. I replaced the headlight casing with a metal grill. The story goes that during war times when REs’ were used for transport, the bikes were used in rugged terrains and such metal grills protected the headlights getting hit by small stones or other rubble.

I found it to be not just a piece of lovely history but also a slick piece of accessory that accentuates the chrome fittings. I got it from Noor Automobiles in Puthupet, Chennai and I also got it fixed there itself.

 

What actually happened

I remember how this ride was during a phase where most of us were extremely busy with our lives and we just needed to destress our self. It was planned as a weekend trip and we started on a Saturday from Chennai. 

After starting early, we reached UBM Mess in Perundurai by late noon. We were worried as it quite late in the noon and we thought we were not going to be served. Thankfully, there was a huge crowd waiting for their turn and fate has it that we had to wait more than an hour to get our place. That’s not surprising considering we were a dozen in number.

Unlike most of our rides, we didn’t spend much time in sight-seeing in Yercaud. After all, we had only a day and that too was spent riding along the picturesque views. It’s quite surprising that I didn’t even take any pictures there. One of our friends booked a dormitory in Yercaud which was perfect for the 12 of us and we spent the night in the cold outdoors next to a bonfire. What could get better than a night full of awesome stories, booze and laughter?

While coming back, a fellow riding friend met with an accident which resulted in him hurting his knee. His bike too had quite a few damaged rendering it almost useless to ride. Thankfully, the villagers came for help and we left his bike in one of the villagers’ house. The injured friend got onto my bike as a pillion and we admitted him to a nearby town’s hospital from where he was discharged later that night. By then, those who had work the next day, which happened to be a Monday. Another friend and I were the ones who stayed back and after the discharge, we got a cab to drop him in Chennai. By the time we got back to Chennai, it was late evening, but boy, wasn’t that an experience.

The villagers were extremely helpful and they even called me to check on my friend. My pal too, once he got alright, went back to their place with a box of sweets to thank them for their help. As far as the bike is concerned, thanks to a few contacts, we got the nearest Royal Enfield showroom to pick the bike up and get it repaired.

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