Churning out miles.....Day 1

So, 2pm by the clock, we start. The outer ring road is all jammed and we drag. At 3:15, we cross Neelamangal but Bangalore traffic still follows us. Its 3:30 pm and we stop for lunch at the Reliance A-1 dhaba somewhere between Neelamangla and Tumkur. Its a strict no-no.

Don't waste your time here. Its is no longer run by Reliance and offers awful quality of food. We had roti with chana masala. The roti was old and so was the curry. Khatri had his fags and it almost cost us Rs 200 with avoidable butter milk thrown in. Stay away.
The roads are mostly crowded and patchy till Tumkur except a 32 km toll road patch (Rs 11.50). I havenot seen so many trucks in all my life as I see in the first 80 kms. At 4:15 pm, at Tumkur, beware, the broader road goes towards Shimoga and you need to take a right turn onto the dusty narrower road. We missed this and realised this quick and in time, came back and got stuck in another jam on the right road. So, 1st 3 hours go by and the trip meter shows just 83 kms. I start getting worried. I had planned to touch Kohlapur today.

It was a 629kms from Bangalore.

At 6:00pm, we take another break, the sun is going down and we have just crossed the wind mill farms on the hills. Its a Rajasthani dhaba and Khatri is more than happy to be at 'home'. A tea and some air in the tyres later, we are back on the highway. The air in one of the tyres was 25 while the others were 35!!! I felt a strange retarding force holding the car back all the way to this place. After the air check, the car feels more like the Corsa I have known. The drive is smooth now. Light is quickly fading now and

Chitradurg is another 16 kms from here.

The condition of road from here to Ranebennur is no big secret. The next 110 kms of the double-laned National Highway are sprinkled with diversions, rough patches, 1-5 feet of ditches, reckless bus drivers and too many trucks. The entire stretch is under a dust haze with coming head lights adding to the confusion. I start wondering about the wisdom for a Mission Chandrayaan when mortals have to ply on such roads. I mean you cannot turn a blind eye towards the common man and spend billions and send a man on moon. Beats logic!!!!

Anyhow, as Amir Khan wonders with Preity as to why people fall in love, we start falling in love with the roads. Miracuously, the road becomes four laned again and we start munching miles again. And just then, we see a big BP pump with a ghar restaurant. I decide to stop and have a try at what looks like the last shot for a decent dinner. Its already 9:10pm. I have a water jet for the wiper to fix. Its not throwing any water which is a cause for worry with so much dust on the highway. We pull in at 'Ghar' and order thalis. At Rs 40 each the thallis are worth it. I finish off mine quickly and attend to the water jet. The pipe was cut and had been given a hacky fix by the service center guy. The pipe keeps slipping of the nozzle and thus keeps draining out the water too. I push the pipe back on to the nozzle, alls well.

We enter Hubli at 10:30 pm and it takes another hour to find a place to park our butts. 9 hours on the road and just 430 kms to show for it. Its cruel, I decide to take an early start the next day, but Khatri wants to take it easy. He drinks his adha and we talk. He says that he has been wanting to see all the places on the route to his hometown, Jodhpur, in Rajasthan. This, he says, is his chance. We sleep off somewhere post 1. Tomorrow is a new day.

Road Conditions:

NH4 is very crowded from Bangalore to Tumkur.

NH4 is double laned between Chitradurg and Ranebennur.

Decent eating places are far and few. Do not wait for the next one.

Most of the petrol bunks, I crossed did not have the air pump working. You will have to rely on puncture shops.

Goto Day2