My Honda CB350 is truly a mile muncher: Cochin to Bangalore road trip

I met a rider on a Royal Enfield Himalayan when I stopped for a break, and we covered the rest of the journey together.

BHPian FueledbyFury recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

A Sunday Ride from Cochin to Bangalore (511km)

New city, new people, and I’d acclimatized to everything within two months. But there was something missing. What else? My bike. It hadn’t been used much since I moved, so I thought, “Why not let it feel the Bangalore climate?”

The first thought, as some of my friends suggested, was to parcel the bike to Bangalore. One of my friends had already done this when he moved. But I had a different idea, a plan to ride to Bangalore, which had been in the back of my mind for a long time. One thing is certain in my life: give it time, and things will fall into place.

During a long weekend in August, I prepped everything for the journey. However, due to heavy rains in Kerala, I dropped the idea. I knew I couldn’t maintain a good pace in such weather. So, I was back to Bangalore, back to work, and back to planning the next trip to bring my bike over.

Then came the Onam weekend. This time, the weather was fine, and my hopes were high. After a good sadya and feeling great on payasam, I had a sound sleep on Saturday, dreaming of riding my first 500km stretch the next morning.

7th September 2025

I started my ride around 4:20 a.m., a little later than my planned 4:00. The bike had been prepped the day before. I just turned the ignition and headed straight for the highways. I was cruising steadily in the 80-90 kmph band, where the bike is an absolute breeze to ride. You can push it beyond 100 kmph, but the bike’s character is sweetest in the lower band. I reached the Paliyekkara toll plaza after an hour, taking a small 10-minute break. It had been a while since I’d ridden the bike, and I was also testing out my new Scala Atlas gloves. I had planned to take small mini-breaks every hour.

Slowly, the sun began to rise. I covered Palakkad and reached Attapallam, near Walayar, for my next water break. By this time, the roads had livened up, with many people returning to work after the long weekend and Onam celebrations. I also spotted a few Sunday morning riders on litre-class bikes, which put a smile on my face, making me think, “Definitely one day.”

I crossed the borders and was nearing Vijayapuri when the unfortunate thing happened. I was cruising peacefully when a car driver next to me started honking. I prayed, “Please, God, don’t be that one thing.” I reached my hand back and found that the bag I had tied using bungee cords had fallen off. Thankfully, nobody was hurt. There was a kind fellow standing near my bag, making sure I would come back to collect it. I said a heartfelt “Thank you, Anna.” He smiled and moved on.

I took a break and properly tied up the bungee cords, making sure they wouldn’t fall off again. I even improvised a little by changing the mounting points. Once I was sure it was firm, I resumed the ride. The roads were slowly getting busier, but being a Sunday morning, it was still a relaxed pace. It was around 8:30 a.m., and my stomach started to complain. I decided to take my next break at a hotel. I had some good plain dosa at a hotel along the highway and then got back on the road. The heat was slowly creeping up, so I planned to cover most of the miles before noon.

Around 10 a.m., I took a fuel break at a highway BP petrol pump. The view there was fantastic.

My water reserve was running low due to the heat, so I stopped at a small snack shop along the highway to buy some. As I parked, I saw a RE Himalayan beside the shop, all packed up. I spotted the rider as soon as I entered the shop and gave him a smile. Just as I was about to leave, he called out and asked, “Going to Bangalore?”

I responded with a “yes,” and we started chatting, ranting about the scorching heat on the highways. He was Abin, from Idukki district in Kerala, also on his way back to Bangalore after the long weekend. The rest of the ride was along with him. I had earlier decided to go through the Dharmapuri-Krishnagiri route, as there was some road construction on the Rayakottai route. Abin told me the construction was minor, so we decided to take the deviation from Dharmapuri.

Once we got on the highway from Dharmapuri to Bangalore, the heat was intense. There aren’t many shops on this stretch, just a few, as it’s a newly constructed highway with ongoing work. We took a juice break in between and then resumed our ride.

We took one last break just before reaching Bangalore, about 60 km out. It was near a tomato farm, and we spent a little time there. We then resumed our journey and soon reached the infamous Bangalore traffic. Riding the CB350 on the highways and then hitting this traffic was a jarring and exhausting experience. Finally, after reaching Silk Board, we parted ways with a simple handshake, hoping we would ride together again someday. Who knows?