Traveling is something I keep very close to my heart. I have traveled to many places both nearby and faraway places. Sometimes I travel on local buses and trains. There are other times by air. But what excites me most is my trips on my motorbike. In this article, I am going to talk about one such trip on my bike and it was a long one. I traveled from Delhi to Kerala and covered 2800 Kms along the length of India. So let’s start part one of my Delhi to Kerala Bike Tip.
I divided the article into two parts. The first one is from Delhi to Sagar. In part two I will be sharing my experience from Sagar to Hyderabad and then to Kerala. I hope this will be a great help for those who want to travel from Delhi to Kerala by road. I forgot to tell you that I traveled solo. It was a great experience.
Motorbike trips have kindled the sprites of this generation and it has become very popular with Instagram and YouTube. There are a lot of new bikes available in the market nowadays that suit perfectly for traveling.
“But, are these bike trip trends a new thing?”
Definitely not. I have listened to many old people talking about their adventures on motorcycles during the 80s and even before.
I was in college, I happened to see the movie ‘The Motorcycle Diaries’ and got inspired by Che Guevara and his friend Alberto Granado’s motorcycle adventures across Latin America. Imagine that this is a real story and they traveled in 1952 along the length of the continent, covering 8000 KMs.
“What motivates them to do such a long journey?”
It’s “curiosity”. The same curiosity most of us hold with us today. To see the world. To experience what we have read in books and seen in videos.
“And what will be the outcome?”
Trust me, it will transform you completely into someone who you really are. A better you!
Planning stage for Delhi to Kerala Bike trip
When we plan a bike trip, it is completely different from the other travel plans. We have to think a lot about the motorcycle and bags that can be fitted or tied on the bike. Things to carry also change. You will be spending a lot on roads, so you have to carry good protective wear and a helmet.
Also Read: How to plan your budget trips
Finalizing the travel route
I started my planning by studying the different routes to Kerala from Delhi. Since I had to travel to Hyderabad, I took the best route that goes to Hyderabad from Delhi. That is NH 44. NH 44 is going to be your northern star for the entire course of this journey. If you have no plans for a pit stop at Hyderabad, then there are a few other routes to Kerala. The best alternative is taking the NH 48 and NH 66, which run along with many famous places like Jaipur, Mumbai, Goa, Mangalore, and Cochin. Since I have traveled along this route on a train multiple times, I was more excited to take the Hyderabad route.
My main agenda was not to stay and explore places but to travel along these roads. I have also never been to Madhya Pradesh except there was one trip to Damoh.
Route Map
Route: Delhi – Agra – Gwalior – Jhansi – Sagar -Narasinghpur – Lakhnadon – Seoni – Nagpur – Hinganghat – Adilabad – Nirmal -Kamareddy – Hyderabad – Kurnool – Anantapur – Bangalore – Hosur – Krishnagiri – Salem – Namakkal – Dindigul – Theni -Cumbum – Kumily – Changanassery -Alappuzha
Plan each day travel
After I finalized my route, I split each day’s travel into different parts. It was based on the distance that I can cover in a day and keep some buffer time as well. I researched all over the internet to find the best and efficient way to cover each day’s journey. I also decided not to travel at night. One reason for that was since that was a completely new route to me and also I was traveling alone. The other reason was that I heard a lot about cattle and other animals sleeping on the road at night. This was very interesting for me when I read it. But when I actually saw it, it was very much true to the last words.
In the travel route that I have shared above, the one that is marked in bold were my stays for the night. Those cities were roughly 500 to 700 Kms apart and I only decided to travel that much distance in a day.
Booking Hotels
I booked my stay through the Oyo website so that I don’t have any issues at the last minute. When I booked the hotels, I took two things into consideration. The first one is the proximity to the Highway and the second one is a safe parking space for my bike. I checked the reviews by customers, both on Oyo Website and Google Maps. Especially the pictures of parking spaces. Because sometimes they say there is parking space, but you have to park it in the open near the road.
Bike Servicing and modification
This is very much important. You have to make sure that your machine can take this long journey. I know a lot of people took their very old bikes for such trips. But my advice is to make sure that you take a machine that you can trust. Also, It is very important to service your bike.
Perform a complete service from the authorized or from your trusted mechanic. Change engine oil, check all the cables and keep some spare cables with you if needed. Check brakes functions and battery. You need to check everything so that everything can go as planned.
Again I am telling you from my experience, this is the one thing that you should not compromise.
Made some modifications for long-distance traveling
I also did some modifications like adding a ‘top rack’ and ‘saddle stay’ to carry the bags. Also, a long visor to protect from wind. These roads are very windy and a good visor is needed to make the journey very comfortable. I already installed a handguard when I got my bike.
All these modifications are optional. But I would definitely suggest you do and it should be as per the government guidelines.
Also make sure to carry your Driving license, Vehicle registration, Insurance, and Pollution certificate. You are going to travel more than 9 states and traffic police checking can be a nightmare. But for me, it was interesting that not even a single cop stopped me in the entire journey. But we have to be ready and prepared if they stop us.
Packing
Ideally, if you are traveling by bike, it is better to buy a saddle bag or tank bag. It is more compact and will serve the purpose efficiently. I was on a tight budget and I spent a lot on servicing and modification. What I did was I packed everything in my rucksack and then wrap the rucksack with my old waterproof bike cover. I also bought some bungee cable from a local store to tie this luggage onto my bike. Tried it in such a way that the luggage won’t even slip or move.
I didn’t buy any saddlebags for this trip. Just used my rucksack wrapped in an old bike cover
I also carried a small backpack to keep the things that I need on my way. Like water bottles, medicine, money, documents, etc. Instead of carrying it on the back, I wore it in the front. It also served as protection against the hot wind.
I also kept a small white paper with my name, address, blood group, and emergency contact number written on it. This is something that I do so that in case of any misfortune happens, it can be very helpful.
While I was planning this trip, my friend Denis decided to go home to Gorakhpur by his bike. So we decided to go on the same day. He would be riding with me till Agra and then his plan was to take the Agra Lucknow Expressway to Gorakhpur.
Also Read: Essential Things to Carry on Trips
DAY 1
Route: Delhi – Agra – Gwalior – Jhansi – Sagar
Total Distance to cover: 640 Kms
We started very early in the morning at around 3 AM. We tied our bags to the bikes and started from our room in Gurgaon. He planned to take the Delhi-Agra Yamuna Expressway. So we rode towards Noida where the highway starts. Our friend Jiten also joined us to take us to the border. This was very helpful as Jiten knows the roads of Delhi very well and we were able to reach the Delhi border without much difficulty.
On the expressway, we need to take tolls even for bikes. They will ask you if you want it till Lucknow or just Agra. We got the tickets and entered the expressway. This was my first time on this way and the roads were really good. There are different lanes for different vehicles based on their speed. You may spot ambulances and police patrol vehicles at regular intervals for emergency purposes. After some time, the landscape changes from urban to the village and you can see fields that stretch to the horizon.
Agra
Sun was slowly coming up and we were riding at around 100-110 KM/S. There are some petrol pumps on the way and some rest places near to that. By around 7 or 7:30 AM, we reached the place where we could enter the Lucknow expressway. We stopped for another 30 Mins and Denis took the Lucknow Expressway and I headed towards the Agra town.
NH 44
One thing I learned the hard way was when we travel long distances, never enter the main town or city. Mostly these Highways go around the cities and towns, away from the busy roads. It is a total waste of time if we enter these towns unless you are looking for a better restaurant or petrol pump. I wasted a lot of time on the busy roads of Agra and many other towns. It took almost an hour to cross the Agra town and enter the NH44. The roads were one of the worst I have ever seen. There were constructions and hopefully they might have made better roads.
Gwalior
Chambal River
When I finally entered the highway, riding became much better and I was able to regain the momentum. At some point after Agra, I saw the number plates of vehicles change to Rajasthan. I checked google maps to find that I was riding through Rajasthan then. Once we cross the Chambal River, we enter Madhya Pradesh. I should mention the topography here. This place is famous for its peculiar topography called Chambal ravines formed by the erosive activity of the river. These please were once called the badlands and notorious for Chambal dacoits. Now, most of the ravines are mapped and in some places, you can see agriculture.
Chambal ravines
After some time you would see barren lands stretched beyond our eye could reach. There are small hills and those lands look very tough. A thought came to my mind at that time. Imagine how the great kings of old times ruled over these lands. Only the toughest can fight and acquire these lands. Even the color of the soil resembles the countless wars and bloodsheds that happened in these lands.
I stopped somewhere near the main town to buy a bottle of water and some biscuits. I didn’t enter Gwalior because I didn’t want to make the same mistake that I did at Agra.
Jhansi
Just a few Kms before Jhansi, we need to enter UP again. This will be a brief one and later after Jhansi, we again have to cross the border to Madhya Pradesh. This time I decided to enter the town. It was already 12 PM and I was very hungry as I didn’t eat anything proper that day. I rode along the town roads to find a small decent Dhaba. I was able to find one near a big Banyan tree. It was a small pocket road and there were 3 Dhaba in line. I took the first one and ordered a Thali. There was rice, roti, dal, and mixed vegetable curry. It was simple and good.
One thing I noticed was when the local shops find me as someone coming from outside, the prices increase exponentially. Something interesting happened on the way and it was on Day 2. I will share it a little later in this article.
Sagar
The ride from Jhansi was a little tiring for me. The last time I rode this long was a long time back and my bike cushioning was also not so great. However, the view when I was reaching towards Sagar was great and it was more like an elevated landscape. Dry barren landscapes slowly disappeared and started to show some green. There were small hills and sometimes I got the feeling of riding in the mountains. Finally, I was able to see a big town far away and I assumed that it was Sagar. After riding for some more time, I could see the landscape again changing to rural. I figured out that I have missed the exit road to Sagar and I have to ask a farmer to show me the way. I made a U-turn and was finally able to spot the exit to Sagar.
Highway near Sagar
Sagar is a big town like Jhansi and it also has a cantonment town. The place I stayed had a lot of Military offices of British times. There is a big lake in the middle of the city and the city life is centered around that lake. I didn’t explore Sagar completely, but the roads were very bad near and around the place I stayed. But I felt a great connection with this town. It was different from the cities that I have traveled to. It seems to have isolated itself from the rest of the world. The soil was darker in color and there was a lot of cabbage and cauliflower cultivation. It was green everywhere and was very fresh.
Maybe the time that I have visited is good. I am not sure. I have no idea how it looks at other times of the year. Anyway, I find this city very elegant and if I get a chance, I will definitely come back here.
With that being said, I am wrapping up this part of the article. I will share it here once I finish the second part.
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