My friend Vikram on his Hyosung GT650 and I on my Benelli started for Pondicherry at 11:00 AM owing to rains at Hyderabad. We rode steady and made it to the outskirts of Chennai by 7:00 PM and the clouds burst open heavily upon us.

The visibility was poor, and there were heavy trucks on the highway. Just when my friend was insisting on continuing our journey to Chennai city, a JCB cut across the road, missing me by a whisker. That incident convinced us to stop riding for the day and halt for the night at Sriharikota. After a good night’s rest, we continued riding to Pondicherry in the morning. We explored the French colony, Beach Road, the local food, and a biker’s café in 36 hours. While returning, we halted at Sriharikota again before riding back to Hyderabad the next day.