Before anyone asks, this was done when things were normal.
SOLO RIDE TO SOLAPUR WITH 2 SOL HELMETS
Well, technically not Solo..
The pillion is always there! (Part of the bike, part of the crew)
Most of the fellow riders were busy and we were longing for a ride longer than the planned Bhigwan one. A quick google search showed promising pics of Bhuikot fort at Solapur. So off we went this Sunday morning at about 6AM..
The fort is about 260km from home, pretty much straight highway with moderate traffic. We wanted to check how long we can ride without break, and to our pleasant surprise we managed to reach the fort without break and feeling fine by about 9:15AM.
Being Women’s Day, the visit to all centrally protected monuments were free for women, thanks to Archeological Survey of India. They had even organised a tour of the fort with an Archeologist for all women! However, we decided to skip that and explore on our own to save time.
The fort was clean and had a beautifully maintained garden. Some of the sections were collapsing though. A 10-12 year old boy appeared out of nowhere to guide us where to go and where not to. Based on the little Marathi that we understand, he showed us a temple and a mosque and mentioned that the fort was built in the 18th century (We probably should’ve signed up for the tour with the Archeologist for a better understanding of the history!)
After roaming around and clicking few pics for about an hour, the rider was feeling quite hungry, so we asked suggestions from some local people about what’s Solapuri special food. Honestly, we were a bit sad when they said Idli Vada is a must try! Hmmm, anything special of Solapur other than South Indian? Kadak Bhakri with Shengdana Chutney & Dahi is also famous, said a fort employee.. OK, let’s try that!!
We found this old eatery called ‘Solapur Idly Gruh’! Looks like Idly is famous here… And trust me, the Idli Vada didn’t disappoint us at all. The resturant, which was established in 1984, felt like it nothing changed in the last 35- 40 years- same old building, same old people serving food, even rates seem atleast 10 years old! The only exception would be the plastic chairs and tables.The Kadak Bhakri which we were so eager to try turned out to be just Okish. It felt more like Papad, accompanied by yummy peanut Chutney. We also ordered house specials – Thalipeeth & Madras filter coffee. The Thalipeeth was superb, while the coffee has at least 2extra tableapoonsn of sugar for our preference.
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- And guess the bill – 2Idlis, 2 Vadas, 1 Batata Vada, 1 plate Kadak Bhakri, 1 Thalipeeth, 2 Filter Coffees, 250gms each Bhakarvadi & Shakkarpare – just ₹240!!
Having spent about an hour eating, it was time to suit up and start the return journey. It was sunny, but thankfully it was’nt that hot.. On the way had a small stop for Sugarcane Juice and later on for lunch. Lunch was at a Veg restaurant called Sheeleela, about 60km before Pune. We were pleasantly surprised to find one of the best Veg Biriyani’s we’ve eaten in a long time… and interestingly, it was served in a small pressure cooker!
Post luch we met the Pune traffic and it took us about 1.5-2hrs to cover the remaining 80kms! Finally after 523kms and about 10 hours later, we reached home!
