Do I need a reason for a ride?

 
Well, I don't think so but it usually so happens that I venture out on weekends only on a strong reason. Otherwise I end up staying at home and doing nothing. Lazing around has become a kind of a fad with me. No doubt why I have added so many kilos to my weight ;-)

However I do enjoy all my rides, whether they had a reason or not. The last weekends ride to Gopalswamy Betta and  Mysore was actually due a reason that Vishwas, my bullet friend, was getting married. The idea was to enter the Gopalswamy Betta as early as possible and spend some solitary and quality time with myself and my 'Seeking'.

I left Bangalore at 4.45AM, the earliest I have started for any of my rides till date. I was almost half way to Mysore when I discovered that I had left my SLR behind :-( Foolish enough as I had concrete ideas of capturing nature at Gopalswamy Betta as one of the reasons for the ride. However I had to carry on and so did I and reached Mysore without a stop !!! I had my breakfast at Gundlupet and reached the forest checkpost at the foothills of GSB at 9am. A forest guard hitched hiked with me till the top. At the top he thanked me and also promised that he would make arrangements for my stay in case I planned to stay overnight.

The temple at the top is a major attraction for devotees of lord Krishna and people throng here every weekend. When I entered the temple the deity was being cleansed and so we were asked to wait for some time. After a long wait we were let into the hall adjoining the sanctum sanctorum. I paid my obeisance to the lord and left the temple. I went in search of a place where I could feel the fresh air and wilderness of the place. I located one and set down for a small siesta. It was about 1 hour hence that people started pouring in and I could hear the noises. I though it was time to get up and read the book I had bought along.
 
It was fun to watch people enjoy and frolic. Though I did strike a conversation with some of them, the best was a pack of girls from Bangalore who were the best. They just let themselves loose and were like enjoying to the max. I did help them with a group snap though.

After a while I left the place and started on my Bullet back to Mysore. On my way back I was conversing with a tender coconut vendor by the road side. Poor chap was narrating the difficulties faced by the farmers of the region off late. Sad that I could only sympathize with him.

I reached Mysore at around 6 and checked into a Hotel. Rest of the stay in Mysore was dedicated to my friends wedding and so there's nothing much to add. But there one thing I do not want to miss whenever I am in Mysore. And that's Masala Chats near the Chamundipuram circle. I did savour them this time too and then attended the wedding.