This just came in last night. Looks like a road on Tamhini has sunk and is unusable.
Yesterday, Rajmachi got closed too due to landslides.
Keep tabs on the news for the ghats you are visiting before committing to the journey. Travel safe.
Two days of weekend means two rides 😁
After a lot of back & forth, went with my wingman to Kumbhe waterfalls.
Update: Someone in my group said that they closed Kumbhe waterfall. Not sure if they mean the actual waterfall area or the view points too. So check once before going.
So it turns out:
Kumbhe waterfall road is 90% done. No more gravel traps. There is one part where small cars may see ground clearance issues. For bikes it is okay
They charge 30rs toll now per bike for the kumbhe waterfall area.
The view point was way too foggy to see the waterfall.
For the first time, I saw flooding in middle of Tamhini. It was almost upto Avenger's exhaust. Today it rained heavier than yesterday
An impromptu solo ride plan turned duo ride. The idea was to ditch the plain old Tamhini run and to maximise the ride time in the Tamhini-Lonavala region to get the most of the ongoing rains.
It did not disappoint. We saw it all. Heavy rains, fog, waterfalls, lush greenery all around. The loop is definitely for those who like to push their bikes on crooked roads and don’t mind the bumps along the way. If you are just in it for the scenery, then avoid the whole loop, instead stick to the Andharban -Kailasgad area, or just continue to the road of Kundalika valley towards Ambey valley/lonavala.
It was a lot of fun bouncing the Avenger through the various roads. We got the peak monsoon experience on day one. Will definitely return for more.
The place is called Redemption point. Idk who named it or why, I just go along with the name because it makes a good title XD
S2 - https://www.reddit.com/r/punebikers/s/qIvp1eRqaq
S1 - https://www.reddit.com/r/punebikers/s/UK9ZzEEyQO
Route: Pune - Tamhini - Murbad - Kasara ghat - Igatpuri - Taked Windmills - Sangamner - Chakan - Pune
Route link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/SM5FbhGimTjdtjnq9?g_st=ic
Distance: 580km
Start time: 6:00am
End time: 11:45pm
Yet another year, yet another ridiculously long ride to Igatpuri. In my defence, I was expecting to experience some rain along the way. Ended up being a ~600km summer ride at end of June.
This could’ve been a way shorter ride but I like to pad out the distance to scout new roads. Unlike my usual rides, I also spent a lot of time in afternoon (3 hours) chilling in a restaurant or chilling at view point to let the summer heat die down. Skipped Vaitarna dam because I wasn’t going to get cooked in this heat.
With that said, here is what I found:
1: The road from NH160 to Redemption point is fixed now. You will find very small construction patches but with one lane open. The final ghat/climb is also largely paved. Nothing too impressive, but it means no more gravel traps to reach this beautiful place. You could say the road to redemption redeemed itself XD
2: Heard Tamhini had a bike accident just half hour after I crossed. In fact I heard 3 separate instances of accident on Tamhini this weekend. I don’t know who needs to read this but be more responsible when riding. Know your limits and keep patience when overtaking.
3: The NH548A is a mixed bag, having some good roads with a lot of construction patches in between (Karjat - Murbad - Shahapur). There isn’t much to sightsee here, except the Pali Butivali dam that comes on the way.
4: kasara ghat is awesome as always. Got some good footage of my uphill.
https://youtu.be/_D3FbTurNYE?si=NAvzANcx3obWPK52
5: The road from Redemption point to NH60 is a roulette wheel of getting good roads, or very very bad ones too. If you are an ADV paglu, then you may want to spend some time exploring the road from redemption point to few back villages at the hill top and then to Sangamner. I clocked about 1.5 hours of mixed bag of roads that I had to endure through.
6: Redemption point has a shop or two at the top which also keeps fuel, in case any of you nuts get stranded. There is also a network of villages around there in case help is needed. Redemption point itself has good network coverage, however it drops off as you go further east.
7: NH60 Nashik-Pune side is atrocious. Lots of diversions, traffic and weird road construction. This highway is best done in early mornings only. The worst thing is it’s unmarked speedbreakers. These idiots have reflectors everywhere, except on the damn speedbreakers.
Anyhoo, fun monsoon ride which turned out to be summer ride in disguise. Wished it rained, I would not had to suffer as much as I did.
If you are like me who hasn’t ridden Malsej in some while, you may remember it having construction patches, broken or crooked patches, random potholes, etc. A tamhini competitor that is run down.
However, it seems that over the course of months they actually fixed it. All of it! The road from NH60 through Junnar and all the way to Malsej and a bit ahead, all of it is now in pristine condition. No road defects, extreme flickable curves. I could’ve scraped foot-pegs on my bike if I were to push harder.
I only checked till certain point till main ghat ends, but there is a chance that they completed the whole road all the way to Karjat, or a good chunk of it. Someone who has ridden here recently needs to verify.
I say give it a try before the monsoon truly begins so you get to enjoy the road in dry conditions.
Have tried recording this one, hope you like it!
Have seen a few people ask questions about how one rides solo, and other fellow riders might’ve pondered, “What exactly does he carry in his rucksack on a mere breakfast ride?”
Well, here it is. Some background first: I ride long distances, often solo, sometimes in remote situations. I have had moments of being stranded, so I believe riding prepared is important.
This is not a definitive list—it is not even a complete list—and experienced riders are most welcome to drop in any items I may be missing.
Nevertheless, here it goes.
I carry two bags: a backpack and a tank bag. The backpack holds essentials and light/valuable items. The tank bag is meant for heavy gear and bike-oriented tools—something I can keep on the bike throughout the ride and only remove for longer breaks. You will see repetition of certain items; that is on purpose.
Items mentioned are not in any specific order.
Backpack (25L/50L)
Has various MOLLE webbings allowing you to attach add-ons as required.
1 Water bottle
2 Blood group patch (also on helmet)
3 Sunglasses
4 Head torch (for hands-free light in the dark, better than holding a phone)
5 Extra bungee cords
6 Bag rain cover
7 Lens spray / waterproof lens spray
8 Shoelace/rope
9 Folded garbage bags ~ 10 (in case you want to cover something, pack it securely, or throw away trash)
10 Extra earplugs (just in case I lose my primary ones)
11 Extra set of keys
12 Wallet
13 Napkins
14 Medical first aid kit (good for general issues while traveling. For serious emergencies, look up dedicated trauma kits to source specific items like a tourniquet and trauma shears)
15 Hat
16 Small umbrella
17 Raincoat
18 Energy drink
19 ORS sachets
20 Energy bar
21 Phone holder extra parts
22 Electronics bag (2 chargers + cables, 2 portable power banks, misc cables)
Tank Bag:
1 A paper noting emergency contacts and blood group
2 Extra bungees (can't have enough)
3 Superglue and threadlocker (keep multiple)
4 Zip ties (lots of them)
5 Heavy-duty tape
6 Allen key set
7 46-piece socket set
8 Misc. spanners + variable size spanner (enough to be able to remove a wheel, change brake pads, adjust mirrors, and tighten any other vital parts)
9 Puncture repair kit
10 Portable electric air pump
11 Tank bag rain cover
12 Energy bar + ORS/water
On-Body & Mounted Gear:
1 Helmet Setup: Outfitted with high-visibility safety reflectors, along with blood group and emergency contact stickers.
2 Bluetooth Headset: Bluarmor C30
3 Carry two separate phones, each on a completely different cellular carrier, to maximize network coverage in remote or patchy areas.
Future Upgrades & Currently Missing Gear:
1 Trauma Kit Upgrade: Upgrading the basic first aid setup to a dedicated trauma kit (tourniquet, shears, pressure dressings).
2 Luggage Expansion: Moving to a tail bag or saddlebag setup for multi-day tours. The backpack and tank bag combo works fine for now, but tail luggage is much better for long-haul comfort.
3 Chain Maintenance: A compact, travel-sized (150ml) chain lube/spray kit. Not a dealbreaker for a quick single-day run, but essential for longer miles.
4 Emergency Spares: A small pouch of critical mechanical spares (clutch cable, spare brake pads, and a few loose bolts/screws) that are easy to pack. It's less critical for local regional rides given the abundance of roadside workshops, but great peace of mind.
5 Heavy-Duty Tie-Downs: A length of high-quality nylon rope for emergency towing or securing unpredictable cargo.
Yes, still riding in the summers, pretending the heat doesn’t exist XD
This weekend I decided to just go all out and ride with a bunch of different folks to just catch up and enjoy some group rides.
Ride pics are in sequence. Will link ride routes in comments in some time.
Rides:
Pali Bhutivali Dam (with r/punebikers), Saturday:
The mods love showing up unofficial rides more than the official ones 😆 This one was a blast. 250km counting the ride to/from home. When you got a decent sized group who are capable enough to, one gets on with the off road trail shenanigans. Riding on trails, pushing bikes on sketchy slopes, random bike pit-stops, that’s how a fun ride goes that fills you with exhaustion, but more importantly fun. Glad to ride with you folks!
Chaskaman dam (200 Syndicate), Sunday morning:
This is a new budding group of riders with smaller bikes but the eagerness to get into the fun others have. Me too being on an Avenger 160 am deeply invested in seeing this group succeed and go on many more rides. It was quite a chill ride of 150kms home to home, with the nicest folks out there. Also, met a legend who rode his own Avenger 70k km. Amazing grit, his riding history.
Dhom dam, Sunday evening:
A supposedly group ride turned solo due to issues too sour to mention here. Nevertheless, it ended up being a nice scouting mission for the twisties and will likely return once again before the monsoons. 300km home to home.
Yes, I did just use all those words together in a title.
1056.9km over 23 hours.
Machine: Avenger 160
Will link the approx route in the comments.
Disclaimer: This is not a route to do a 1000km, especially if it is your first time attempting. Also, in general, do not attempt long rides >300km directly without building up your gear and your stamina for it. I have been riding for long and have done this ride in parts over multiple occasions.
The plan was to complete the ride in 18-20 hours. The initial bit of Pune - Vaitarna dam - Thane completed, did 400km in 7 hours which was quite a good pace. It was down to nice cool weather and open highways without much traffic.
However, the NH66 sections near Pen/Mahad/Alibaug saw heavy traffic blocks (long weekend vacation goers), with me being stuck for close to three hours and exhausting a lot of my energy, which put jeopardy to my plans, yet I continued along.
A lot of things went wrong in terms of ride plan due to traffic, but then again a lot of things went right like managing food/water/fatigue, managing electronics battery levels, managing soreness, etc.
Do ask in comments if you want to know anything specific. I am no expert and it was a learning moment for me in various aspects. Also It was a surreal experience riding to a beautiful view point in morning, then getting stuck in peak heat and traffic, then doing ghats/village roads in late evening and finally a late night highway run home, all packed into a single ride.
Yes, I did just use all those words together in a title.
1056.9km over 23 hours.
Machine: Avenger 160
Will link the approx route in the comments.
Disclaimer: This is not a route to do a 1000km, especially if it is your first time attempting. Also, in general, do not attempt long rides >300km directly without building up your gear and your stamina for it. I have been riding for long and have done this ride in parts over multiple occasions.
The plan was to complete the ride in 18-20 hours. The initial bit of Pune - Vaitarna dam - Thane completed, did 400km in 7 hours which was quite a good pace. It was down to nice cool weather and open highways without much traffic.
However, the NH66 sections near Pen/Mahad/Alibaug saw heavy traffic blocks (long weekend vacation goers), with me being stuck for close to three hours and exhausting a lot of my energy, which put jeopardy to my plans, yet I continued along.
A lot of things went wrong in terms of ride plan due to traffic, but then again a lot of things went right like managing food/water/fatigue, managing electronics battery levels, managing soreness, etc.
Do ask in comments if you want to know anything specific. I am no expert and it was a learning moment for me in various aspects. Also It was a surreal experience riding to a beautiful view point in morning, then getting stuck in peak heat and traffic, then doing ghats/village roads in late evening and finally a late night highway run home, all packed into a single ride.
Good road sections:
1. road to Vaitarna dam from NH160 - pleasant village road with nice twists. Lots of shade through most parts
NH 160 from Vaitarna dam to Thane - amazing curve ghat and smooth highway
NH 66 Mahad to Chiplun : they completed most of the road work. Once the traffic died down, this highway was actually fun. Road construction starts again after Chiplun.
NH48 Satara - Mahabaleshwar : good roads markings at night and not many road defects. Gave confidence in the last stretch home.
Bad roads:
1. NH 66 near Alibaug and Pen/Mahad. Road narrows to choke points causing huge traffic congestion. Best to avoid post 11am.
NH48 near Karad : lots of road diversions. Potential for being a traffic choke point in evening.
road from Sangameshwar to Anuskura ghat - crooked roads, narrow roads. You cannot push beyond avg speed of 40kmph. A waste of time for long haul runs. (I skipped Oni)