Ride Summary: Total Distance: 286 kms RideTime: 7 hrs Total Time: 10 hrs
Since I haven't done any kind of exercise lately, the body (esp. the back) is a little stiff for the first couple of days. It takes some time to get used to the riding posture. In addition, the AC gave me a little headache; hence it wasn't particularly the best start to Day 3.
The idli sambar/rassam breakfast kick-started our day. We were headed towards Mullayanagiri, Karnataka's highest peak. The hotel staff was quite co-operative and gave me a small map. On the way, we saw the Bhadra Wilflife park, where we had originally planned to stay, but couldn't due to the unavailability. We decided to skip the park altogether as the locals suggested we will get to see more wildlife in Bandipur near Ooty, where we plan to go anyways. 
The trees along the road are very impressive. It's so green in this part of the country that it appears riding through a tree tunnel. Wish we could have more of these everywhere! They kept the sun away during the ride and that helps a lot. Along the road, we saw these women selling "gajras", every little village making its impression using a variety of temples. The feel is quite unique.
The ghat section before Chikmaglur was a rider's paradise. Nitin and I decided to shoot a few clips for the video where I make a hair pin bend turn and stuff like that. We really enjoyed riding these sections of the ghat. About 30 kms before Chikmaglur, we arrived at this cafe. What a small, beautiful place to enjoy cold coffee. Given that we were in the 'Land of Coffee', ek break to banta hi hai boss. A gentleman was impressed about our ride from Pune and we spoke to him for a while. He was a native of Belur and insisted that we visit the temple. Rides are full of stories of such people you meet. 
Mullayanagiri ride was twisty as expected. The views are quite spectacular and the road is unpaved. It's almost a single lane road and this leads to a jam. We decided to skip the very top since cars were lined up all along. Hinjewadi makes sure I get my share of traffic every day in this life time. I wasn't in any mood to get stuck in that one. Hence we made it till the temple - about 2 kms before the top.
We arrived in Chikmaglur around 12:45 pm; hence decided to stop for lunch. At an intersection, I asked a local for directions to Belur. He told me to make a right but then paused and said 'Circle se ghum ke jaana, please'. I was quite impressed at his request of traffic discipline. We need such people in Pune, where traffic is getting messier day by day. We arrived at a busy street -- kinda like Laxmi Road, Pune -- and were looking for a restaurant. In Pune, you will probably find 10 eating joints in that stretch of the road. In contrast, we saw one! Talk about Puneites being foodies. The south Indian meal was yummmm. I have always been a fan of rassam and I am absolutely loving my time here.
The Chennakeshava temple at Belur, thanks to the gentleman's suggestion to visit, was absolutely marvelous. It's an architectural beauty. It's a Lord Vishnu temple -- as one may guess from the name 'Keshava'. When we stepped out of the temple looking for a washroom, I was impressed to see a facility right opposite the temple. And it was quite well maintained, didn't stink at all. Absolutely didn't mind the Rs. 2 charge. A big cheers to Belur for having such a facility for the tourists.
The ride to Madikeri, Coorg was a twisty, winding road. We covered 285 kms on Day 3 but were little tired at the end since it was a day full of ghat sections. As we approached Madiker, just 3 kms away, I ran onto a speed bump and realized it at the last moment. Tried to hit my brake and change the gear and heard a sound. Oops! my clutch cable was broken :( I borrowed Nitin's spare cable and here I was, in a ghat section, fixing the cable. Due to the impact on the bump, a portion of the clutch cable was stuck in the lever. Even after I installed the new one, I found the clutch a little loose. Since it was just a few kms, we found our hotel and then I adjusted my clutch once again. One has to get used to such experiences if he is serious about touring. I plan to visit the Royal Enfield service station in Mysore and buy a spare clutch cable -- since we ended up using it. But it was quite an eventful ending to Day 3.
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