Weekend Ride To Telbaila

a couple of babies, 3 newbies, five 60kphers, 3 wives, a rising son, 2 cars, 6 bikes and a route that doubled the distance to the destination.. and oh yes, the boat.

it was a big relief to be able to leave on time, well almost. but then with a one year old baby in tow, i had my excuse. we all assembled at datta snacks at panvel and after gorging on vadapavs and misal, hit the road on NH17 (goa highway) to reach kolad, the only event being no one raced past or got left behind.

over glasses of nira, that was beginning to ferment, introductions were conducted and a bonhomie set in. the ride ahead was a state highway (SH60), less traffic, more farms, gentle pace and overall something that feels like being on a ride rather than a mindless commute. for some reason all stopped at vile village before the tamhini ghat starts. the babies got fed, biscuits were passed around, cameras clicked, anwar’s Honda 400 got some attention and it was time to move on.

up the tamhini ghat and after a brief stop at plus valley, we passed the turn to lonavla to reach a restaurant on the mulshi lake for lunch with gallons of chaas. drove back 15 kms to reach the lonavla turn and from there on it was a test for those on their first ride to the country side. the sun beating down, it was hot and the road, bumpy. broken tar all the way and long stretches of unpaved gravel. mulshi lake flashing every now at then on your right, mountains and valleys on the left, it’s a beautiful ride. did it two weeks prior as a recce but that was evening and more hospitable.



stopped enroute at valley point (for want of a better name). location on the linked map. promised to return to it and camp there sometime. more pictures clicked and rode ahead on the bumpy track. the road is dotted with very small villages and negligible traffic. the craving for tea was satisfied only after reaching telbaila village, which is abt 5 kms off the road to lonavla. the tea shop owner guided us to a lovely campsite, at the edge of a cliff with a lovely view and golden dried grass. he also took order for the dinner so the only cooking done was for yohan and kiara.




tents were pitched. and thankfully no one was compelled to play antakshari or dumb charades. submitted to sleep one by one. the only joke cracked was zen calling the twin peaks of telbaila as “ulti chaddi”.

having experienced how hot it gets, the next morning, no one spoke of the proposed trek to sudhagad fort ( a 2 hour one way trek) or climbing up to the crotch of the chaddi. (it’s a trek till there, post that it’s a rock climbing activity). instead inquired for a water body to put the zen’s boat to use, and found saltar dam. a good 3 hours were spent frolicking in the water and after 5 kms we were on the creamy surface of the amby valley road. that led us quickly to lonavla lake for lunch and a farewell. zen preferred to take the expressway and reach home quick. milind had a waiting wife. ameya and rahul joined him for a quick ride to Bombay. i tagged along with anwar, hozefa and yusuf to make sure all reached Bombay without loosing way.




the idea of this ride was to expose yusuf, hozefa and anwar to riding as i have known it, as 60kph does it. it was nice to see that they enjoyed it and hope to see more of them on the road.