@185kmph to Dharmapuri

A thrilling Sunday with speed testing the Cedia at 185 kmph to Dharmapuri from Bangalore!

Q: How does one create a magical Saturday which is usually dedicated to domestic chores (and how to involve a trip to Dharmapuri in that?)?

A: Speed test the Cedia.

The plan was to set out at 7 am from Bangalore for Dharmapuri to experience speed in our Mitsubishi Cedia. The 2+2 dual carriageway from Hosur tenders an irresistible temptation to floor the pedal. The clock chimed 8 as the morning ablutions were completed. The Cedia rumbled to life and urged us to drive on.

We set off at a brisk pace on the Outer Ring Road from Marathahalli and meandered our way through the curvy Harlur road to hit Hosur road near the Audi showroom. We reached Hotel Renaissance at Hosur for a sumptuous breakfast. As we waited for a table, we indulged in flower photography at the hotel lawns.

We also managed to amble into a 12×10 sq ft enclosed basketball court and did a few slam dunks (oka, I sometimes exaggerate)! I was impressed that I could convert at least 80% of shots at the hoop (no, that is not an exaggeration. Errr…wwell I was standing about 6-8 feet from the hoop)

The highway from Hosur to Krishnagiri tingled our Cedia’s taste buds and the speedometer mostly read 160 kmph. We were amazed at how much in control we felt even at this speed. 30-40 degree curves in the highway were maneuvered effortlessly without a dip in the speed. There was a trucker who suddenly decided to veer into the right-most lane with the Cedia seconds away from overtaking on a curve. Boom! I slammed the brakes and the Cedia did not waver a single degree from the curvy line it had chosen to take, and of course, the ABS kicked in to reassure and encourage flooring the pedal yet again. Many a times, the Cedia was revving in excess of 6000 rpm. We experienced another adrenaline rush when the Tachometer revved from 4200 rpm to about 5500 rpm in 3rd gear. We imagined being in an Evo X and the resulting ecstasy. It goes without saying that we were in no mood to plonk the gear to overdrive.

The highway from Krishnagiri to Dharmapuri got even better. Relatively straighter and a little lesser traffic 175Kmph on the speedometer became a reality and M’s record of 170 kmph in the Coimbatore bye-pass set in Aug 2008 was laid to rest.

Well, we had set our sights higher  today. 180kmph on the speedometer was our target We were oozing with confidence in th 170s when the suspension was effortlessly negating the minor ups and down. We decided to validate the official 0 to 60 and 0 to 100 of the Cedia which were 4.6 sec and 9.5 sec respectively. The best we could do was 6.1 secs and 11.2 secs. Hence the conclusion – need to learn competitive driving. The average speed on reaching Krishnagiri yielded 140kmph, we went wild!!!!

The divider in most of the places revels in an abundance of yellow and other colorful flowers.

In one hour, we reached Dharmapuri which is a distance of 100km from Hosur.

The drive from Krishangiri to Dharampuri is also a very picturesque drive. It has brilliant views on both the sides. The paddy fields, small rocky hills, coconut trees and lakes here and there. The day being cloudy added more beauty to the pictures.

We did a U-turn at Dharmapuri to be greeted by a 1 km stretch in front of us devoid of traffic. Magically we were able to touch 185kmph and then traffic slowed us down. The Cedia behaved rock solid even at this speed and was asking for. In second gear when the pedal is floored a rev cut happens when the speedometer reaches at 100kmph…

The Turquoise lake at Krishnagiri brought back memories of Tsomoriri lake in Ladak about which we have read in in-flight magazines and on the net. It served to increase our determination to undertake the Delhi-Leh driving trip.

We were back in Hosur from Dharmapuri in 1hr 10minutes and the took the Attibelle route and were pleasantly surprised to see a number of International schools mushrooming enroute to Sarjapur.

Conclusion: Speed thrills, but kills! But what is the point in dying if you have not experienced some thrills in life! So once in a while go for it! And yes remember to go for it in a Cedia to increase your chances of coming back in one piece 🙂