Ride to Gandikota

Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are the least explored states in the South for me. I have been adding places of interest to my list. Gandikota has been on that list for a while. I wanted to do it post-summer and during monsoon so it would be cooler. Monsoon has not really arrived, though the heat has reduced. Initially we thought of doing it during the weekend, but both of us wanted to spend Sunday at home, so it was Friday and Saturday. That worked well; there was very little traffic on the road. What didn’t work out was my plan to ride the KTM 390 Adventure X (2025) model. I couldn’t get an acceptable bike yesterday. So I had to settle for a Suzuki V-Strom SX (250cc) instead of canceling the whole ride. That’s the closest I could get. The V-Strom is lighter but taller at 835 mm vs. 825 mm of the AdvX. But the AdvX is heavier at 181 kg vs 167 kg. They are both slim. On the V-Strom, my toe tips would touch the floor if I tried both feet, but I was comfortable with one leg. I struggled…