Bangalore - Coimbatore

Monday evening. My allergic condition was not subsiding even after a couple of anti-allergic tablets, ayurvedic meds and oils and an IV injection. The rate at which the allergy was spreading from my torso to extremities, I would soon look like spiderman, red all over, and join the Itchy & Scratchy show. I was very irritable due to the allergy but none of my colleagues noticed it as unusual. [They say I am Hari Sadu in the making!]

Anti-allergy meds are sleep inducing and I was to take one on Monday night. If I took the meds it would mean sleep till late Tuesday morning and I would have to start late in the day. Riding thro the rain would be enough trouble not to mention the constant updates I'd have to give my parents. One has to be free to enjoy the ride. And you cannot be free when there is someone waiting for you.

For the past two weeks, the rain was following a pattern over Bangalore and Coimbatore and I imagine all the places in between. It would begin raining in the afternoons and continue till late evening. Which meant that the only time there was a sort of a, kind of a, remote chance, that it would not rain was at night!!

I had done it before when I rode from Pune to Nagpur and this was only half that distance. The difference here was I had worked for a whole day in office, was allergic and was on sleep inducing drugs! Nevertheless, I took it as a sigh from God when it did not rain in the evening.

The skies were in fact clearing up when I started at 10.30-10.45pm. It was slightly chilly but I did not bother with an extra jacket since I figured that once I get beyond Thoppur and closer to Salem it would not be as much. I was wrong. Traffic was not heavy nor light and I could cruise comfortably at 90 kmph. I took my first break a little before 12.00 midnight. I had covered 90kms in 1.5 hours which was good since it takes longer at city exits and entries. After 15 min and a short walk/stretches, I restarted.

This was the fun part. I was now looking to cross Salem which would be my PNR (Point of No Return). Salem is 180km from my place in Bangalore and marks the mid point of my journey. I planned for a second break at Salem, but since no tea stalls were open I continued.

It was past 1.30am now and traffic was sparse. I wondered why wasn't I sleepy. I also wondered why was I not imagining a ghost like I did in my previous night ride. Was I too sleepy to even imagine something?! Hmm... I decided to break.

I took my second break at 2.40am. I had ridden non-stop for more than 2.5 hours and had covered 175kms in the second leg of my journey.

After a 10min break I decided to resume and discovered that my glove was missing. I spent 10 min looking for it on and around the bike but somehow it had simply vanished from the face of the earth. Now, a chill ran down my spine! Perhaps a spirit was indeed in my vicinity and had taken my glove. It is known that spirits inhabit places where they left their mortal bodies. I quickly looked around to see for any accident prone spot sign boards but there were none. Also there was no noticeable water-body where anyone could have committed suicide, or worse, been murdered. So here I was alone in the the middle of, pretty much, nowhere and was imagining the supernatural phantom that might have taken my glove. I thought this one was one hell of a travelling spirit. Then it dawned on me that it might have been a rider who lost his life because his hand was too cold to apply the disc break just as he was about to ram into a truck. It was a scary thought; I had lost my right glove and was putting myself exactly in the same situation of the ghost-rider. Perhaps I was making my destiny.

I tried to put the thought out of my head and restarted. I was colder than when I started and now, I was without a right glove. The next 20-25 kms were good and then the bad patch started.

Some NHAI project is underway on a very long stretch of the highway and they are building a ton of flyovers. To that end, the authorities have duly built a couple of pillars of each flyover and thats that! This model disturbs the entire stretch of the highway without adding any advantage. Why not just complete one flyover and then move on to the next? That way at any given point only a very short part is affected. Anyway, the 40km patch was the toughest to negotiate specially since I had a near bald rear tyre. I did not notice a a large pot-hole and the rear tyre took a hit due to which the chain loosened and started making strange noises at times. I prayed.

It was 4.00am when I reached the Coimbatore bye-pass. The last stretch of 30kms was tougher since it had begun to drizzle and the weather had turned foggy. I reached home at 4.30am.

Pune Coimbatore – Honda Unicorn (The Longest Dream II)

I had planned to ride home for Diwali on my Honda Unicorn. I had done the trip once before in the heat of the summer, in April, but I wanted to do it again in better weather. As usual I had informed my parents that I was taking the train. My father had not brought this completely and when I told him that the ticket was in Wait List and not moving he got my uncle, a senior official in the railways, to flex his bureaucratic muscle and get the ticket confirmed. Now we all know that the building muscle takes time and so does acquiring a ticket no matter how gifted or powerful an individual is. So on Friday night after I had packed for the train journey, I got the call confirming that my ticket could move up only to WL02 and no further.

I was elated. I told my parents that I would try my best that get a seat on a bus to Bangalore. I tanked up, brought a new pair of shoes, repacked, prayed and slept soundly. Me and bikey were going to spend a lot of quality time together.

Day 1 (Saturday 10/10/09) : I told my landlord that I was on my way to Mumbai to catch a flight and left at 6.15am. This time I wore the heavier jacket, which I had worn during the trip to Nagpur a few weeks back. I also carried my lighter demin jacket, a raincoat and a large plastic bag to cover my luggage in case it rained. The weather was pleasant and I was cruising comfortable at 80-90kph, stopping every 60-70kms to stretch and walk around.

The roads were as they were the last time. The only major difference in the trip from last time besides the lack of extreme heat was that there was a lot of greenery around. There were also lots small ponds and rivers, full and almost overflowing, which added to the visual delight. Another major difference was that this time I had a dark visor fixed to the helmet. That made a world of a difference in riding comfort. I did not have to squint if the sun was in my eyes and even otherwise my eyes were always at ease. I would strongly advise all to ride with a dark visor while the sun is up and then switch to a normal visor when it gets dark. Lunch was at a small town called Hirebagewadi. The middle aged couple running the hotel was very courteous and friendly.

The last time I rode to Coimbatore the roads between Hubli and Chitradurga were shot. I was expecting the same this time also but I was completely wrong. There were almost no roads. In the patch starting a little before Ranibennur and continuing a few kilometers past Chitradurga it was all gravel with a few patches of tar left. The lighter side of the situation was that there were no bad roads to ride on. No roads means no bad roads. At times the dust was so much that I was soon covered in it and had to actually stop to dust it off me.

Amidst all the off-roading, a roughish sound from the engine caught my attention. I tried to ignore it at first but when it refused to subside I got worried. At Ranibennur, I had a mechanic check the bike. He said something about the timing chain being loose but assured me that there was nothing to worry and that I could ride on. He also checked the breaks and the drive chain and after some oiling I was on my way again. I reached Chitradurga by 6.30pm and decided to call it a day. I had planned to reach Tumkur if not Bangalore but the bad patch slowed me down a lot. Also, I had forgotten to carry the plain visor at the last moment and it was difficult riding in the twilight but thankfully I had almost reached Chitradurga. Tirumala lodge was not cheap at Rs.200 per night and neither were the people friendly but it was safe and very clean. and only about 50 meters from the highway. I had a dinner of assortments like cake, chocolate, fried gobi, masala bread, mangola and slept soundly.

Day 2 (Sunday 11/10/09): Started at 6.30 when the dawn was just breaking. It was a good decision that I had not started earlier otherwise I might've run into some rain. Breakfast was at 8.30 or so when I also called up my parents to inform them that I would be in Bangalore by 9.30am. On the outskirts of Bangalore there was a jam and there was a very long line of vehicles bumper to bumper and none of them were moving. I was at the end of the line which turned out to be a blessing. An Ambassador driver offered to help me and asked me to follow him. We took a detour thru town Nilamangala. I was in Bangalore at 9.30am and decided to take the Mysore bypass like I had done the last time minus the "riding into an unknown village" part. But there was some kind of cycling event going on and the bypass was blocked. I had to ride thru the town to exit it and it took me more than 2 hours to ride out and reach Hosur.

The city was not particularly crowed but traffic was slow because of the construction of the largest and biggest and longest flyover that I've seen. I lost my way a couple of times but was guided back by the friendly locals. All of them took an interest probably because of the way I looked. I stopped for snacks and fuel a little after Hosur and called my father to inform him that I was on a connecting bus to Coimbatore. At this point he was sure that I was riding and the entire bus thing was a hoax. There was no way I could have got a connecting bus so soon. Nevertheless he probably decided to play along.

As per fellow BMCT'er Dheeraj's advice I had decided to ride via Salem this time, but had to take the Bhavani route since it was raining after I crossed Dharmapuri and the clouds were heading away from Bhavani and towards Salem. I was correct in guessing that there would be no rain over Bhavani. I broke for lunch at Mettur. The rest of the ride was uneventful but there was a major difference between the last times ride and this one.

The last time I rode in April, it was my first 800+ km solo ride. I had been telling myself that if I crossed 800km it would be greater than the ride to Nagpur and thus I would have achieved my goal. That worked until I crossed my mark but then every 100kms after the mark was a pain. Since I was not mentally prepared to make the rest of the journey and had been satisfied with the success of having crossed 800kms. That had taxed me a lot because I was expecting to reach home any moment after the 800km mark, but was actually more than 400km from getting even close to it. The real deal as riding is, one can see the distance covered 100 meters at a time and feel it as much as one wants to. I guess all this is compounded when one is riding solo. There is no escape. This time I had was prepared completely for the fact that I've not reached untill I've reached. There was no "almost there" or "just another 150kms" kinda stuff this time. I was in control and knew exactly what was in store for me.

I reached the Coimbatore bye-pass by 4.30pm and it took me another half hour to reach home. My parents were delighted to see me and so was I. It was evident that my father knew all along I was riding and this time I had been had. It rained for the next 2 days that I was in Coimbatore and I must say I was really lucky that none of it happened when I rode.

Trip Stats :
Distance - 1225 kms.
Average Speed - 58kmph.
Top Speed - 90kph
Cruise Speed - 80kph
Mileage - around 45 kmpl i think)

The picture are here.

Pune Nagpur - Honda Unicorn - II

The title of this post leaves nothing to the imagination and thus I feel compelled to explain to the readers: why the titles of some of my posts are so unimaginative. I brought my Unicorn last year. You can read about that adventure here. Soon after I had the bike the "keeda" started growing and I wanted to ride long distances. There was no one I knew personally who had done such insane things, and that left me with only one option to look for guidance - the internet. My searches were always worded like the title of this post. Back then I could not have imagined the kind of rides people do and still have difficulty digesting the Saddle Sore stories from BCMTouring. Thus my first post on BCMTouring was titled "Pune - Nagpur Honda Unicorn". Since this is essentially a similar ride, the title is also similar.

The last time I rode, the ride was powered by nothing more than petrol for the bike and adrenalin to keep me going thru the night. I was under dressed, did not carry necessary documents, had not informed anyone about the ride and most importantly did not have a plan. Fortunately, I lived to tell the tale. I say so, because the kind of reports I keep getting about the route have made me a very grateful person. Now I also know that God is indeed kind and takes care of the stupidest of people.

Anyways, if you've managed to read this further I'm sure you'll have enough left to read the about the actual ride which by itself was not eventful. I was on bench in the company and wanted a break from the daily routine of not doing anything for 8 hours straight. I decided to ride to Nagpur to visit my sister.

Saturday (19/09/09): The road was clear and the air was chilly when I started at 5.45am. No sooner than I thought I had hit the highway I toyed around with the idea that this ride is going to be like meeting that special someone whom you've seen in your dreams, and have only a vague idea about, I took the wrong turn and reached Lohegaon Airport. Popat!!! Embarrassed, I saved my romantic thoughts for later and was back on the right track soon. The sunrise as usual was pretty but the chill remained long into the day. I had a near miss sometime after Pune when a guy with three kids on a bike crossed the four lane divider and stopped dead in my path. I wonder if he was thinking that this was Laxmi road, a very busy street in Pune, and that I would simply go around him. I was at 90kph when he decided that I had probably done enough tapasya and that I now deserved to behold his form mounted on a bike. “Vats, hum tumhari tapasya se kush hue. Hum tuhme hospital me rehene ka vardan dete hain!” I braked hard and literally skidded the last 20 meters or so before my right leg hit his tire and I stopped. All he did was grin. I thanked him and was on my way again. I rode thro Ahmednagar, Aurangabad, Jalna when I decided to take the route via Buldhana, Akola, and Amravati to Nagpur.

That would mean the date would be off since this was not the route I had taken (unknowingly) when I rode thru the night the last time. But fate had other plans and after a series of wrong turns I was back on the old route!! I almost cursed myself for having taken the lonely route but then as time passed the relationship deepened and old memories became fresh again. I could make out the places I had stopped at night the last time and could not help wondering if I would've done this had I known, so thoroughly, what lay in store.
The route was indeed very lonely even during day and had very few sign boards and petrol bunks. Food was thus becoming a problem. The hotels, already so few, were unimaginably filthy and I had to go hungry for some time. The best part of the journey was that the weather was pleasant all along and I was in constant touch with my sister who would look up a detailed map and instruct me on the route. I rode thro towns or passed by towns like Mehekar, Sultanpur, Risode, Washim, Yavatmal etc.

By late afternoon I needed fuel and I was still a long distance from Pulgaon - the town that had fuel for me the last time. Two petrol bunks went by that had no fuel and soon I was left with no choice but to head to Amravati, a large town, rather than risk riding into a small town and still end up with no fuel. This detour would've cost me a lot of time and I was also unaware then that the route from Amravati to Nagpur was shot for the last 60kms. My backup plan was to head to my mothers village, Chandur Bazar, in case it got dark sooner. Fortunately, I found a petrol bunk en route, tanked up and came back to where I had left the highway. Then detour cost me an additional 20-25kms. Now that this problem was solved, something else cropped up. Every time I hit a bump or a pothole, I could hear a the tinkling of a bell. Now, I had removed my studs a long time ago and so the possibility that they were banging against my head and making the sound was ruled out. I stopped several times and tried to find out what it is but could not zero in on anything. This continued up to Nagpur. I prayed that nothing should fall off the bike or something like that. I reached home in Nagpur at 7.30pm and was glad to finally take the butt of the seat for at least a few days.

Learning - Distance up to 500kms is comfortably doable. Up to 600kms is ok. Up to 700km is a pain and this - about 750kms, accounting for detours and lost ways, is a serious pain. And most importantly, if the final stretches are bad, you're toast. It’s like the the devil and the deep sea just that you’re sailing in the deep sea with the the devil is in the boat with you.

I spent a week with my sister and her daughter and had a very nice time. I also had the bike checked up at the Honda Service center. The guy was also not able to locate the source of the tinkling sound. I have a doubt that he checked my ears as well. My morbid sense of humor kicked in and I could picture The Undertaker and his assistant Pall Bearer making their entrance for a wrestling match - with me leading the way on my Unicorn all dressed in black. “For whom the bells toll”. The mechanic said that he would have to take the entire bike apart to locate the source but in either case it was a minor issue.

Sunday (27/09/09): I now had had enough of my date with loneliness and wanted to ride thro civilization. So, I started at 6.00am and took the route to Amravati. The first 60kms or so were under construction and so progress was slow. But the next 50kms were simply awesome and it was like riding on NH7 from Bangalore to Salem. I took the bypass to Akola and the route was good. Soon, the landscape changed and most importantly the traffic became sparse. This was becoming an indecent proposal. I had missed the turn to Akola and was heading back towards my old route. .........And the award for the Stupidest Rider goes to ... "Sachin K". When I told my sister of this all I heard was a click and the line went dead. No wonder people avoid me! So here I was desperately locked into the holy institution of matrimony with a route I had decided to avoid at all costs.

The remainder of the ride was uneventful as such and I reached Ahmednagar at 6.00pm. The sun was beginning to set by the time I was on my way again and I had a tough time riding the last 100kms because the visibility was poor and the roads were dug up. I reached home in Pune at 8.00pm. The last 30-40 minutes spent negotiating the Sunday traffic and ordering dinner.

All in all, it was a memorable week.
The pictures are here.

The Longest Dream

Do dreams come true? If they do, does one ever realize that until the point that they realize that their wishes have been fulfilled, they have actually been living their dreams? Does one realize that when a dream comes true it ceases to be a dream?

My 2 week leave was approved and I was going home after 10 months. I had been planning this trip for more than a year, but due to some reason or the other, I could do it only now. I used to get mighty upset about not being able to do what I wanted to, but then we all know that “all that happens, happens for the good”, and I realized that all the “reasons” only served to prepare me for this moment. What I wanted was simple: I wanted to ride from where ever I was to my home in Coimbatore. “Ride” like in riding a motorcycle.

Prior to the journey, I spent a lot of time psyching myself, not to mentions having actually done distances of up to 750kms, solo, in a day. Having been an amateur powerlifter I know what it is to be mentally prepared to take on something that is apparently very hard. I had planned to ride from Pune to Coimbatore over the weekend.
Since it was the middle of summer and very very hot, I had decided that I would ride at night like I had before to Nagpur. But some of my friends who came to know of my plans expressed serious concern and advised that I should ride during the day. So be it, I said and decided to start early next morning. Over the next two days I would be consciously living my dream.

Day 1: I had planned to start at 4.30am and then take a long break in the afternoon to beat the heat. The alarm woke me up at 4.00am and I readied everything, only to realize that the rear tyre was flat. I was mighty surprised since I had checked on it at 11.00pm the previous night and all was well. Anyways, I uttered a silent prayer thanking God and went back to sleep.
I decided that I might as well stick to my original plan of starting at 4.00pm and riding thro the night. After a disturbed sleep I woke up at 9.00am and decided to fix the bike. At the puncture shop I met another guy with a bullet. He too enjoyed biking and had ridden up to Belgaum. He said the ride past Kolhapur was marvelous and went on to describe the terrain, the roads etc. Upon hearing his description I could not wait any longer and decided to start right away.

So after repacking and a quick breakfast I was on my way at 10.30am. The heat was terrific and I could only imagine what it would be in the afternoon. My ride to Ganpatipule had taught me valuable lessons about riding in the summer and this coupled with the knowledge I had gained by reading about "riding in hot weather", on the web, saved the day. I carried three packets of "Electral" with me to replenish the salts I lost due to sweating, since drinking plain water alone was not sufficient. Also, I soaked my tee shirt whenever I could. As the water evaporated, it carried away the heat and cooled me. I followed the advice from some of the senior members of BCMT to stop frequently and actually stretch, not just walk around.

The roads all along were superb, except between Dharwad and Chitradurga.
Fuel efficiency was at an all time low since I was cruising at 100-110km/h whenever I could because that is what the roads demanded.
Interestingly, the most fun filled part of the journey was not riding but updating my parents about my whereabouts. I had told them that I would be taking a bus to Bangalore first and from there a train to Coimbatore. They were under the impression that I was to start at 5.00pm that day. When I had crossed Katraj at around 12.00pm, I told them that I just had lunch. At the nimbu paani stop beyond Kolhapur I said that I had finished packing and was about to take a quick nap before boarding the bus.

I reached Davangere at 7.30pm and decided to break for the night. I spent the night in Sree Lodge which was highly recommended by the local police. Here I called my parents and informed them that I was about to go to sleep since the movie in the bust was pretty boring. Dinner was tomato curry, fried rice and rotis. I retired early at around 9.00pm but could get only about an hour and half of good sleep, because of the mosquitoes. I had not anticipated staying somewhere and thus did not have any repellants with me. That night the insects too had a good feast.

Day 2: At 4.00am I gave up on my attempts to get some sleep and decided to continue my journey. But before anything else, I vowed to bomb the mosquitoes if I ever stepped into the town again!!
I was on my way towards Bangalore at 5.00am. It was pleasantly chilly in the morning but the roads continued to be dug-up and unmarked.
The sun rose sometime past 6.30am. The sky was cloudy and there was a slight drizzle. I prayed that it should not rain since I did not have any rain gear with me.

I stopped for tea at 7.30am and realized that I was very hungry too. I reached the Bangalore-Mysore bypass at around 9.00am and stopped for breakfast. Having covered 850kms I was now approximately 400km short of reaching my destination. Come to think of it, that was almost half the distance I had already covered! But I was elated and started afresh.
Somewhere at the exit of the bypass I lost my way and headed into some village and it was well past 11.00am when I finally found the road to Hosur/Salem.

Riding on NH-7 was even more enjoyable than riding of NH-4. It was hot, but not as hot as it had been the day. I updated my parents by telling them that I had reached Bangalore and was now heading for Salem in a state transport bus.
A few kilometers short of a town called Dharmapuri I stopped to have coconut water. I exchanged my road trip details with three men who had also stopped to have a drink. They admired my bike and my courage for having come so far alone. Then advised me to take the route to Coimbatore via a town called Bhavani, instead of riding via Salem. It would save me about 40kms they said. For some reason, I thought that the route to Bhavani was through Dharmapuri. I entered Dharmapuri were election rallies were in full swing and thus was delayed due to the slow moving traffic. After exiting the town I was back on NH-17! Before branching off into Bhavani I stopped for fuel and wet my tee shirt again.

I crossed Bhavani and was in Avanishi at around 4.00pm. The traffic was very slow and the roads were narrow.At around 4.30pm I could see that I was at the outskirts of Coimbatore and neither my joy nor my sore butt knew any limits. I was nearing the end of a journey that I had been visualizing for more than two years! The final approach was marked by the familiar sight of the L&T bypass that starts at one end of the city and ends at the other end, just a few kilometers from where I stay.

I stopped to take one long look at the road behind me and reflect on all the emotions that I experienced since I started. My dream was about to end soon and become a reality. I reached home at 5.00pm that evening and took everyone by surprise. My parents were speechless for about a day! I had traveled thro three states in two days , Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, covering a distance of 1225 kms, solo, in 21 hours.

The longest dream was over.

-------

Trip Photos are here.

Photos of the University campus where I stay are here.

Pune Ganpatipule

Onward Route: Pune-Tamhini Ghat-Nizampur-Mangaon-Mahad-Chiplun-Niveli Phata-GanpatiPule
Return Route: Ganpatipule-Guhagar-Chiplun-Mahad-Mangaon-Nagothane-Pen-Khopoli-Lonavala-Pune

Start time : 5.30am
End time : 9.30pm

Distance :734Km

The pics are at -
http://picasaweb.google.co.in/sachink.vertex/Ganpatipule#

The long weekend was approaching fast and I did not have a plan for it
With two days to go before the holidays began on Friday, I shortlisted two plans 1. Ashtavinayak and 2. Ganpatipule
After a lot of deliberations Ganpatipule won out and I decided to do the Ashtavinayak at a later date.

On Thursday, I packed my bag for a 2 day trip and also made sure the bike is in good condition.
I was also "camera ready" and rearing to go. (I do hope to be actually camera ready some day)

Started early at 5.30am because wanted to do most of the riding before it got really hot.
Surprisingly, it was pretty chilly until I reached Tamini Ghat.
The sun had started to rise when I was around Mulshi lake. I stopped for a while to witness the night make way
for the day. In most of my rides so far, I've always ridden into a sunrise and no matter from where I witness it it always fills me with a sense of unfathomable calm.

Soon I could hear the chirping of the birds and except for that there was no other sound. It was very very scenic and serene. After a couple of snaps I was on my way. The road thro Tamini ghat was under construction in many places and bad in other places. From there till Mangaon via Nizampur the roads were pretty good.

The ride on NH17 from Mangaon to Niveli phata was awesome with more than one ghat sections. Parshuram ghat and the section between the Ratnagiri-Pune border, especially, was full of twists and turns and I enjoyed them every bit. Mahad-Khed-Chiplun were covered in no time and soon I turned at Niveli phata towards Ganpatipule. From this point on the landscape was barren and the soil was dark except near the edges of the road, the earth was red. It looked as if the roads were laid on a red carpet.

Luckily I reached in time for the Arati and was the last person in the temple before the gates were locked. I clicked some snaps of the temple and then had prasad: Rice, boondi and pickels. Very tasty.
I lingered on the beach for some time and then decided to head back instead of staying on for a day. The "short-cut" to Guhagar from Ganpatipule was deserted and devoid of any sign boards.
One could easily get lost in the maze of roads in that area. Luckily for me I ran into a motorcyclist, and trucker and two village kids at all the points where I had to decide which route to take.
Also, these were the only people I saw on the entire 50km stretch.
I was expecting to ride by the ocean at least at some places on this route, but nothing like that happened. Instead it was a narrow road thru the forest and hills.

Thing did no go as per the original plan of visiting Srivardhan via Dapoli camp from Guhagar. There was a petrol bunk some place before Ganpatipule, but I had not tanked up there. Now, I was on the verge of switching to reserve and I could not locate even a single petrol station.
On enquiring with a passing motorcyclist, I learnt that there are none in the area and that petrol is sold illegally in some shops. Also that I would have to pay a very high price since I was not a local.

This was my crap out point and I decided to head back to NH17 intersecting at Chiplun. There were two petrol bunks at a town called Neli (I think). I tanked up and headed to Chiplun.
All this petrol shortage etc turned out to be a blessing in disguise because I was treated to one of the most beautiful roads ever. It was wide, well marked, and had sparse traffic. Riding to Neli to Chiplun was awasome.

I took a long break at 5.00pm and decided against taking the route thro Tamini Ghat home. The other route, that I knew, was via Panvel. I was around 170Km+ short of Panvel and from there my place would be another 100km or so. It was going to be a long ride back home. Next stop was at Mangaon for a wadapav and I was almost tempted to go home via Nizampur.
But it was already getting dark and the stories of dacoits and ghosts on the Tamini ghat kept me going straight ahead.

I crossed Nagothane after sunset and was 75km short of Panvel when I saw a way to Khopoli via Pen. Kohpoli was only 48km or so from here. Without a second thought I turned. The route up to Pen was good but from then on it was a nightmare. Mostly the roads were under construction and had only the gravel laid out. Riding on the gravel was worse than riding on bad roads.
I entered Khopoli via Shil Gaon and was looking at the final approach. By time I was seriously tired and aching all over.

I reached Pune (Aundh) at 9.30pm, had food and crashed at around 11.00pm.

neat eh?

"What do you do on weekends?"

"What do you do on weekends?", asked Rohit.
I said "I read books, clean my room, and sleep".
"How interesting", said Rohit but the look in his eye told me that he thought it was going to be a boring lunch with me. After all, what is "interesting" about reading books, cleaning and sleeping? Nothing. And upon reflecting about the answer I gave, I too started having doubts about my "interestingness".

But then, serious adventurers are known to have a very high co-efficient of excitation. In English, it means that unless there’s something really really wild to do, they'll be engaged in the kind of "interesting" acts listed above. Only a very whacky idea gets them going and that was exactly what got me going last weekend.

I had slept enough for a day, also had had a very heavy lunch and also read a lot. So, going by the norms, I was being myself on this particular day. In the evening I decided to go to my uncle’s place, in Kothrud Pune, like I do on most weekends. So I packed for an overnight stay and started. Since the bike was almost dry I decided to tank up. While waiting in the line to get fuel, I noticed a guy up ahead of me all suited up, gloves, scarf’s, bags tied to the rear seat with bungee cords etc. Wow! a real biker, I thought. On closer inspection I realized that he was a vacuum cleaner sales man. All that gear was on because he probably had to do a lot of calls during the day. It had nothing to do with riding out, but that switched something in me to "ON". The next thing I am doing is withdrawing cash from an ATM and calling my uncle to tell him that there has been a change in plan.

Nagpur is almost 800Km from Pune. I decided to ride to Nagpur thro the night!!
Why? for 3 reasons -
1. My parents were there for some days and this would be a good chance to meet them.
2. My mother was unwell and thus, it would be good if I could be there to offer some support. Later she would be sicker on learning that I rode thru the night to be with her!!
3. I had nothing else to do.
I was on my way by around 7.00pm. I only had a very faint idea about the route, meaning I knew I am starting from Pune and had to reach Nagpur and that there’s a town called Ahmednagar en route. That’s about it!!

I reach Ahmednagar by 9.45pm because the weekend traffic was heavy and the roads were dug up and also because I was riding slowly. Stopped at a petrol bunk and filled petrol for Rs.50. I was already almost full but did not want to take any chances.
The road after Ahmednagar was excellent, except for some craters, that would have tested a T90 (an army tank) to the limits, and I reach Aurangabad at 11.00pm.
The guys at a petrol bunk in Aurangabad bunk didn’t know what to say, when I told them that am riding to Nagpur. Here I filled petrol for Rs.150.

I must admit that I was mighty apprehensive about the whole plan right from the start. I had never done anything close to this distance ever. Leave alone riding at night. All along, up to this point I was telling myself, there’s nothing to worry and that I can back out anytime. I had the money, and if things went really bad I could check into a hotel anywhere and forget about the journey. Anyways I had not shared this with anyone, so no one would know that I failed a solo attempt and thus the ego damage would be minimal.

The ride from Aurangabad to Jalna was the most difficult part of the journey. I was starting to get sleepy, a bit, I thought I was getting hungry, cause I had not had anything since lunch, and most importantly the "me" part of the trinity "I, me and myself" which forms me as a whole was beginning to make my life difficult. "I" was always having this argument with "me" right from the start about the whole thing with "myself" playing referee and offering suggestions and contingency plans.

Now at 12.00 midnight, I was reaching the PNR and things had to be settled. And so they did. “Myself” offered his last plan and all three of us merged seamlessly back into a single entity and continued riding. There were no more doubts or fears about anything. There was only one thing to do, ride. The night was clear and cruising at 90kmph, the only sound I could hear was that of my engine, and see the road only up to the point where the high-beam disappeared into the darkness.

I drifted off the highway at around 1.00am and rode into some town. Thankfully, I was guided back on track by a localite. From this point on the journey was very very loney and sometimes it would be 20 minutes before I could spot a truck or a car. It was getting cold and I had to put on my other tee shirt. I also tied a handkerchief around my neck to try and keep it warm. Thankfully I always carried a pair of gloves with me.
I took a break at 2.00am when I spotted two men hunched over a small campfire. They were very kind to me and directed me further, with a bit of advise: not to tell anyone that I've come from Pune and going to Nagpur. They said if I have to stop and speak to anyone all I should be telling is that am from some town nearby. They also quickly gave me plenty of reasons why one should not be travelling alone. That part of the state had supposedly a higher number of dacoits etc.

After a 10 min break I started again and lost my way again after an hour or so. Not that I was nervous, but I couldn’t help imagining a female running next to my bike. This was from a ghost story I had heard from my friend Ashwini. Apparently, while travelling late in the night, bikers used to come across a young female trying to get a lift. If they stopped, she disappeared, but if they did not, she ran along with them for some distance! What had happened was that this couple was riding late in the night and had an accident. The guy was killed or almost killed while the girl tried her best to get some help. Since no one stopped, she too succumbed to her injuries, died and became a ghost. How convenient! That was near Indore though. I freak easily so I just tried my best to imagine a beautiful ghost instead of an injured one. This time I had to flag down a car since there was no one in sight. Well, it was 3.00am. The people in the car were helpful and I followed them for another hour or so until I had to change direction.

At 4.00 am I stopped for tea at a dhaba and was around 250km short of reaching my destination. The dhaba was actually closed but the dhabawala was kind enough to make some strong-sweet tea for me. I enquired about a petrol bunk nearby and he told me that all of them would open only at 7.00am.
When I restarted I was low on fuel and had to cruise at 50km-60km to save fuel. This part of the journey was very tiring. I was chilled to the bone, low on fuel, my shoulders were aching, and my right hand was going numb from time to time. I rode like this for almost 3 hours and also encountered a dead body in the middle of the road. I was already slow and had to slow down further to maneuver past it. It looked like a hit and run case, or whatever but I did not have it in me to stop and investigate! And it was sometime since it was lying there since there was this foul odor emanating from it. I know about the odors of dead bodies because I had volunteered in the Gujrat Earthquake Relief operations and had dug out several bodies that had been trapped in debris for more than a week.

The sunrise at 6.30am was beautiful because it brought with a promise of much needed warmth. I don’t remember ever waiting for the sun to rise like I did on this particular night. I realized that I had been riding for almost 12 hours now. At around 6.45am I spotted a petrol bunk at a town called Pulgaon refilled for Rs.100 and was on my way again.

I reached my home at around 8.00am and surprised everyone. It took them the better part of the day to come to terms with what I had done. As expected, I was not allowed to ride back to Pune and the bike was sent by train. I took a bus back home 2 days later.

So that was it. That was what I did on this particular weekend. I am after all “interesting”.

Catch Thief

The 'night-out', if I can call it that, had not ended and the best part was yet to begin.

Saturday, 24th May, Anand and me hit the streets on my bike at 9.00 pm. First stop was at a super cool burger joint and after a heavy meal; we decided to travel all the way to South Mumbai. The ride on the eastern express highway was exhilarating and the only down side was my bike. She could not do 100kph! Well, considering that I weigh in at 95 and my friend no lesser than me, I guess I was being pretty hard on her. The highlight of the night was the movie shooting we saw at Nariman Point.
So, after all the sight seeing I dropped Anand off at his place and headed straight home. It was 3.00 in the morning the society gates were locked. I honked for the watchman and guess what? Three of them started running towards me with sticks in hand. Now I am aware that I've pissed of a lot of people but I certainly did not expect my sins to catch up so soon!!!. As I braced my self, the watchman hurriedly opened the gate, let me in, and ran off in the opposite direction.
Whew! "Its (still) Alive".
I obviously followed them and found one among them standing below the building adjacent to mine and staring intently at a flat on the fourth floor. When we got to him, he whispered "they're there". He said that he heard noises coming from the flat which was supposed to be empty. The head watchmen was already sweating and very nervous. I soon learnt that there had been an attempted robbery at the complex that very afternoon. I wondered if the robbers had watched "Grindhouse". So here we were, three "watchmen" and me staring at the flat and expecting the worst. Their leader said "Chote, tu upar ja ke dekh". Very convenient. What he meant was, "Chote, tu upar ja ke dekh aur main neeche dar ke chup jata hoon". Chote definitely did not take the order and an argument ensued. I stepped in and suggested that 2 of them go up and 2 of us stay down. They all agreed and soon they were on their way. While we waited, the head watchman gave me a lowdown on all his problems - understaffed, overworked, underpaid, threat from the local goons etc, etc. I was keeping an eye out all the while and trying to sympathize with him when suddenly Chote frantically ran out of the building, minus the stick and his chappals. I grabbed my "shield", my helmet, tighter expecting the robbers to follow him with knives and swords. Instead Chote's partner walked out of the building laughing!!. We were like "what the hell!!?." What happened was, Chote and his partner climbed into the lift to get to the 4th floor, but in their excitement and fear did not close the door. When the lift refused to budge, they sensed that something was wrong, jumped back out and slammed the door, this time closing it. The lift as expected started to move up. The supermen thought that the robbers are making a break for it, (in a lift?), and scrambled.
After reprimanding them the head decided that its best to call back-up and then charge them robbers.
So we locked the entrance to the building and went to get back up. Although they wanted me to stay with them until the operation was over I had no such intention. For my own safety I requested one of them to accompany me to my flat on the 6th floor. Hey, you never know where the goons could be hiding all right and I stay all alone! After securing the flat, I soon fell asleep. I thought I heard some commotion below, but was too tired to go back and participate.

And by now I was rescuing Celina Jaitley and Ishaa Koppikar.