Trip to Mamallapuram on 12th Oct 2021.
Planning Stage :
We started planning for this site as it was within the range on my ather 450 , we were looking for hotel and home stay in an around mamallapuram. points considered to short list our stay given below.
- Budget friendly.
- Should allow us to charge.
- Easy access to 5 Amps socket.
- Parking available.
- Easy access to all the site within radius of 1.5 kms
- Neat and clean room / home stay with A/c.
- Feel like at home.
So , after lot of checks we decided to go with home stay and zero-in with squirrel Nest guest home , checked some pic about this place for parking and room finally we called them to book a home for a day.
We explained our requirement like we need to charge our vehicle, Now comes a list of questions by the owner,
- How many unit it will consume
- Charging time it will take
- Are you going to charge at night
As we ever the first costumer asking him for this , he said will call later for availability or call a day before. It created a little confusion and put us back on table to look for a 3 star hotel or 5 star hotel. But when called a day before, he confirmed our stay so the journey begins…
Trip stage
A day before some checks on my ather technical aspects because we will be on ECR (East Coast Road) - State Highway 49 and I was aware of no technical assistance or charging point available on this highway, but I had a rescue plan if just I case I run out of juice a parallel OMR- Old Mahabalipuram Rd in which a charging point was available about 11 kms from my starting point and about 29 Kms from mamallapuram gave me a backup plan.
Checks
- Brake and all indicator.
- Type pressure - I noticed a pressure drop of 5 psi and had to top up , but I did a top up a week before only.
- Mirror correction
- Charger check
- Extension Code about 15 Meter.
Back up Plan
- Must have at least 35Kms while coming back so that I can reach the nearest charging point. Why 35Kms because load on the bike was about 160Kgs.
Trip Started…
So , we started by 6.22 am with my dot and 15 meter extension cable comfortably sat below in my boot space. We where in ECO Mode and kept speed constant at 50Kms,we reached mamallapuram with 26 Kms left in my ather 450. If you calculate 75 - 40 = 35Kms this should be actual but considering load and inclination it was fine but that should be taken in account.
Just before mamallapuram we had stopped for breakfast at hotel mamalla to my surprise I found tata charging station installed over there . we had a discussion that if ather had its charging point here it could have helped us and no backup plan required.
By 8.30 am we reached our home stay , the owner came up and handed over the key and started asking me about the bike, he took about half a hour understanding about e-vehicle and how I will charge my vehicle, at the end he got fully convinced and helped me put my vehicle on charge. So we juiced up ather now and then over next two days, I felt like I was at home and using my vehicle, thanks to owner of squirrel nest guest home.
We enjoyed mamallapuram a lot with ather and experimented with different mode way back home with 8 Kms left when we reached back home. Please note we did not take any other route, straight one road back . please do consider speed ,inclination, load when planning your trip.
Mamallapuram thru my lens
