Ride Report: Hyderabad to Bidar

Ride Report: Hyderabad to Bidar

I woke up at 5:00 A.M yesterday after hitting the snooze button 4 times and dragged myself out of bed. Try as I did, I couldn’t fall asleep the previous day and I finally ended up enjoying only a few hours of sleep at most before I needed to leave. There wasn’t any pre-ride prepping to do so I just threw on a backpack and left in the direction of NH9 again. Waking up early certainly had its advantages and I had a road clear of traffic waiting for me. I hadn’t had any breakfast at home and I decided to stop at Sangareddy to eat at the same place I had on the Nandi Kandi trip (I am a creature of habit). The ride there was an absolute breeze and I thoroughly enjoyed the cruising. The weather was very similar to my previous trip and the bike was just as solid as it had been before. I reached Sangareddy at about 6:50 A.M and no places were open for breakfast. I realized that breakfast places didn’t really cater to early morning bikers and that I wouldn’t eat until an hour and half at least. I ignored the pangs of hunger and rode away. Passing Nandi Kandi was a sweet moment and I whispered a silent prayer to God almost reflexively. The next major town was Zaheerabad and I decided to stop there and have breakfast. The ride from Nandi Kandi onwards was pretty decent with limited traffic and good roads. The roads were slightly broken up near villages but overall the NH9 was perfect to ride on. I stopped at Zaheerabad, devoured my breakfast, and left after a 15 minute break. From Zaheerabad to Bidar the ride was mostly boring, cruising at 65 kmph. I passed a few interesting looking temples and mosques, a lot of lush green fields, a few railway crossings and countless dhabas. The only interesting looking place along the way was Dev Vana which apparently is a botanical garden where medicinal plants are grown. I was eager to reach Bidar so I didn’t stop and I cruised along.

I finally reached Bidar at about 8:45 A.M and I was happy to have made good time. I followed the signs to the first tourist attraction which was the Madrassa of Mahmud Gawan. This was a centre of learning built in the 15th century. A huge part of the structure has been destroyed as a result of a gun powder explosion but the architecture that is still standing is a beautiful sight. I love Islamic architecture and the Madrassa was a fine example of it. The next place I went to was the famous Bidar Fort; a massive fortress built in the 15th century by Ahmad Wali Shah. On the way to the fort I passed the Chaubara of Bidar; a 71 foot watch tower that now functions as a clock tower. The Bidar Fort has roads running through it so one doesn’t need to get off the bike at any point of time except when visiting areas like the Tarkash Mahal and Solah Khamba Mosque. The fort is an imposing structure spread out along a large area and features five Darwazas. A lot of buildings within the fortress show damage but as a whole the fort looks very solid. I rode for 15 minutes within the fort and I didn’t even reach all the peripheries. It looked to be an impregnable structure that was brilliantly conceived and designed. I was awed by all of it and I rode through the structure taking pictures and enjoying the views of the plateau. After 20 minutes it became redundant and I decided to leave and head in the direction of the Jharni Narasimha Cave Temple. The idol of Lord Narasimha resides within a cave 300 metres long and devotees have to walk through chest high water to get a glimpse of the Lord. I walked up to the entrance of the cave and I saw a massive line of devotees making their way into the cave. I also saw the people walking out and they were absolutely drenched. I had no change of clothes and I needed to ride the 135 km back to Hyderabad so I prayed outside the temple and then walked back to the bike promising Lord Narasimha that I’d be back some other day to have a rendezvous.

The sun was out and the heat had started to become irritating. I also needed to be back in Hyderabad so I decided to skip the rest of the attractions and ride back home immediately. I traced my route back and the ride was very uncomfortable owing to the heat and the increased traffic. There should be a rule against allowing utter idiots to drive on the highways. People do not seem to know how to overtake a slow moving vehicle and on several occasions I had to swerve completely to the edge of the road to avoid an oncoming bus or SUV. At places like Zaheerabad the density of the traffic resembled rush hour in Hyderabad and all of this frustrated me greatly. I pressed on however and took a small break in Sangareddy and I steeled myself for the final wave of traffic through the city. As expected, once I crossed Patancheru, there were a lot of traffic jams and I slowly made my way back home. I had travelled a total of 283.3 km in the space of 7 hours and it was an extremely enjoyable experience. The pulsar 220 held its own and I’m confident now that I can use this bike on long distance trips without any worry. The odometer reading stands now at 560 km, and it is time for the first service; 6 days after I bought the bike. Unfortunately I could only get a service appointment on Thursday so I need to curb my desire for trips a little bit and wait till after Thursday to go anywhere else. I haven’t decided where I want to go yet, but I’m sure I will, very shortly. Until then, cheers!