Day Nine
Ahmedabad to Kalidevi – 250 km | Harket Suchde
Another day, another morning stint. Not complaining, mind, because morning stints meant empty roads and near-perfect visibility. The road leading out of Ahmedabad and all the way till Godhra was absolutely sublime, amazingly smooth and expansive. As soon as we hit MP, though, there was suddenly no road at all.
Kalidevi to Bhopal Bypass – 450 km | Sanjay Raikar
The roads got steadily worse the further we drove into Madhya Pradesh. At certain points, there was no road at all, so the car had to pass through terrain that it really wasn’t meant for. To its credit, though, with some careful driving, the car passed this stretch and came out unharmed.
Bhopal Bypass to Bhourna Road – 150 km | Piyush Sonsale
The average speed dropped down to 40 km/h after the Bhopal bypass since the road narrowed down and was full of potholes. There were a few interesting stretches where the road passes the edge of the Satpuda National Park but it soon became dark and it started raining, which reduced the speed further as we approached Betul.
Bhourna Road to Borgaon – 150 km | Harket Suchde
My second turn behind the wheel of the CLA in the same day, but it doesn’t matter, because however long you drive this car for, you don’t really feel tired. The air-con is on full blast, I’ve got some sweet tunes playing on the stereo, and the paddle-shift to a 2.2-litre turbo automatic in my hands – life is good. Especially considering the highway turns from broken single-lane to awesome fenced four-lane as soon as I take over.
Borgaon to Nagpur – 100 km | Ryan Lee
What goes around comes around and bites you in the a**. Since I pestered my team-mates to let me drive in Rajasthan (all early morning stints), I was given the last stint of the day here. The in-car GPS system is a blessing, especially when everyone else is in snooze mode. I made my way thorough the city roads to our hotel, where we stayed over the night.
Day Ten
Nagpur to Balkonda – 330 km | Harket Suchde
The last day, the finish-line is in sight, and I take the morning shift again. Heading out of Nagpur is tiresome, as the roads oscillate from average to deplorable and back. But once you hit Telangana, things get scenic and the flat-top shoots up in quality, allowing me to hit dizzying speeds one last time, a memory that still smoulders in the recesses of my mind today.
Hyderabad Road to Hyderabad Bypass – 200 km | Piyush Sonsale
I really enjoyed driving the CLA on this road. There was silence in the car as the three other occupants were catching up on lost sleep while I was driving flat-out on the fabulous highway, with the car’s exhaust note keeping me company. We had a Telangana style breakfast midway and reached Hyderabad in just two-and-a-half hours after I took over. The eight-lane Hyderabad bypass was even more spectacular but our ambitious plans for the day were shattered the moment we joined the highway leading to Solapur.
Hyderabad Bypass to Solapur Road – 400 km | Ryan Lee
I’m coming home, I’m coming home, tell the world I’m coming home. This was my last stint of the challenge, and after 10 days on the road, I gave it my all, to make it to my current home. The single-carriage and bumpy roads were not ideal to drive on, but the CLA tackled it all well enough and got me that much closer to home.
Solapur to Pune – 350 km | Sanjay Raikar
I drove on the home stretch on the concluding day. This trip had been challenging and exhausting, and that did not change on this last day either, because the road was a narrow two-lane one with a lot of traffic. Finally, we arrived in Pune by nightfall. We had done it — 10,000 kilometres in 10 days!
