The Ballad of Psycho and Loco (that's what I have decided to name my bike)
November 28th, 2009. 2315 Hrs.
"I can't get to sleep, I think about the implications
Of diving in too deep, And possibly the complications"
"Especially at night, I worry over situations
I know I'll be alright, It's just overkill"
from the song "Overkill" by Colin Hay
Lying in my bed on the night before we had to leave, the above song was on a repeat loop in my head. The anticipation and the adrenaline chanelling through the veins, along with all the gasoline, had made sleeping practically impossible, but it was also necessary to get some shut-eye before embarking upon what was promised to be a whole new experience for us. An induction into the school of tourers. A band of brothers who can live on gasoline and tea for days on end, taking themselves to remote reaches of the continents on machines having two wheels and an engine.
November 29th, 2009. 0315 Hrs.
"Wake up
Grab a brush and put a little makeup
Hide the scars to fade away the shake up
Why'd you leave the keys up on the table?
Here you go create another fable"
from the song "Chop Suey" by System of a Down
The alarm hit me like a bat to the face. I had barely gotten any sleep and suddenly I had to get ready, get into my second skin (the biking gear), and head out to South Ex. to meet the rest of the gang. I reached there at about a quarter past four, and find that apart from the riders undertaking the tour, a few more had gathered to see us off. We waited for theChamp, and then headed to Karnal Bypass where we would meet Sikhbiker and then head north into the (still) night.
The eventual flag off was at about a quarter past five, and initially, our ride was akin to a careful tread on untested waters. Riding in a pre-decided sequence, we headed on, and as a result of road construction, trucks, and no lane markings, the first few kilometers might have been a bit jittery. As we approached Karnal however, after about an hour of riding with Ken Da and Aryan Da flanking us, the first reward was reaped. The beautifully lit Karnal Overpass. Aryan Da had disappeared into the distance as soon as we approached that beautiful stretch of road, and we also upped our pace to make the most of it.
After a brief halt beyond the toll booth at the end of the overpass, we started once more. It was daybreak at about half past six, and we rode on for another hour and a half, stopping next at the Amritsar-Chandigarh bifurcation in the road, and then at a dhaba to gobble some eats. Next stop was Panchkula for some repairs to Petro's ride, and after that, it was time to start what we had been waiting for. To start what we had embarked upon this journey for. To start riding into the hills.
November 29th, 2009. 1200 Hrs.
"The long and winding road
That leads to your door
Will never disappear
I've seen that road before
It always leads me here
Lead me to your door."
from the song "The Long and Winding Road" by the Beatles
At noon, we were lined up just beyond the border post where the hills start. Ken Da and Aryan Da stressed upon us the mantras of riding in the hills and making it to the top safely. Split into two groups, and separated by a few minutes, we started the ascent. And this is where it all starts to sink in. The winding and climbing road required us to be one with our rides, to know capabilities, to be wary of the pitfalls, and to respect the limits. And this was the road which was meant for starting the metamorphosis of us beginners into experienced tourers.
The road surface was good, and the curves were inviting us to carry a few extra kilometers worth of speed into them, rewarding the lean-ins and showering us with confidence for the next. Some stretches of the road had just been resurfaced, and it seemed that the brand new tarmac was laid down just so we could enjoy the grip it afforded and take our bikes ever so faster into the corners and out of them. We played this game with the twisties for about an hour, reaching Solan, which had been designated as a regrouping spot.
Heading further up, the experience began to sink in slowly elevating us to a "and nothing else matters" state, and each corner seemed more and more inviting. We then stopped ten or so miles short of Shimla, and snapped a few photographs. Aryan Da, Zayn and Ken Da headed on first, followed by Sikhbiker, Petro, Champ and myself a few minutes later. The last few miles were taken at a slightly sedate pace as some tiredness had also started to kick-in. Regrouping a few kilometers before Shimla, Ken Da led us to our lodgings for the trip, reaching there at about two in the afternoon.
We spent most of the afternoon and evening hanging around the city square in Shimla, and discussed at length about the ride, about minor mistakes that we made and what we need to do to set them right.
After an early dinner and planning to go further the next day, we turned in early to get those eight hours or so of sleep that had eluded most of us the last night.
November 30th, 2009. 0730 Hrs
"Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy
Sunshine in my eyes can make me cry
Sunshine on the water looks so lovely
Sunshine almost always makes me high"
from the song "Sunshine on my shoulders" by John Denver
The sun was out the next morning, and basking in the winter sun, we warmed up the engines of our bikes. The plan was to head beyond Kufri, take a detour on a mud road back to Mashorba, and get back to Shimla before saying goodbye. The climb to Kufri was steeper, and the curves were more inviting. Refreshed after a good nights sleep, we started attacking them, and despite feeling some drop of power from the carburetted engines, enjoyed every meter of the way to the detour.
Upon reaching the off-roading section, we were instructed to play safe, remember Dhauj, and keep the damned front wheel pointing in the right direction. Once more split into groups, I was teamed up with theChamp, and we headed out first, enjoying the mud road and the sheer drop into the valley just a few feet to our right. Midway through this detour, Zayn and Sikhbiker had taken a left and climbed up a tough route to the highway, but it was not where we were headed, and so while waiting for them, Ken Da lent me his 220 Fi to take for spin. The knobbly tires provided way better grip on the loose track than my bike's tarmac ones were able to mange, and the fuel injected engine was so resilient against the thinning air that on it I was able to hit higher speeds than on my ride for the kilometer or two that I rode it for.
Once regrouped, we started once more down the path, and after a few miles, some on dirt and some on tarmac, with the scenic valley below, we reached the highway, and headed back to Shimla.
November 30th, 2009. 1145 Hrs
"and I wished for so long...
I cannot stay
All the precious moments...
Cannot stay"
from the song Long Road" by Pearl Jam
As we wrapped up our stuff to head back down, there was a sense of accomplishment of having come up to Shimla, having gone beyond, having honed skills off the road, and having enjoyed thoroughly till now, but there also was a lingering gloom in the back of my head that now it was all drawing to a close. I had however overlooked the fact that there were still fifty miles of hills to go down, and that the bike would start gaining power as soon as it tasted some denser air.
The ride down from Shimla was another thoroughly enjoyable experience, dotted with a few stops for regrouping and photosessions. The few times when all seven bikes were descending as a convoy was sure a sight to behold, not just for everyone on the road, but also for us ourselves. I perhaps got the best view of the convoy, having ridden at the tail for quite sometime. Leaning through the valleys, watching the One dispense the traffic with just a slight twist of the wrist, keeping my bike in the upper-power band for the climbing sections, and using all the available engine braking to take the corners is an experience that will remain deeply engraved in my memory for a long long time to come.
After getting down the hills, there was a slight patch of heavy traffic before we were able to reach the highway, and once there, it just seemed to be mere mile munching. To be honest, the hills had spoilt us, and just sitting on the bikes twirling its throttle did not seem to be touring.
It had taken us a fair bit of time to get down and through the heavy traffic patch, and thus the winter sun conspired to set before we were anywhere near our destination. As the last few rays of the setting sun filtered through the trees by the side of the road, we reached Haveli at Karnal, and had a good meal. The ambience of the place is good, and thus it is a top-of-the-list destination for a one day picnic G2G. When that happens though remains to be seen.
November 30th, 2009. 1900 Hrs.
"In our headlights, staring, bleak, beer cans, deer's eyes
On the asphalt underneath, our crushed plans and my lies
Lonely street signs, powerlines, they keep on flashing, flashing by
And we keep riding into the night
It's a late goodbye, such a late goodbye"
adapted from the song "Late Goodbye" by Poets of the Fall
As the night had already descended, we then headed back towards Delhi. Two days of biking might seem a trifle to a seasoned tourer, but for us beginners it was a fairly draining experience, and as a result, I could almost feel myself getting under the thick quilt in my bed for the rest before the next day at office. All the towns, tolls and overpasses flashed by. The massive truck traffic jam entering Delhi was somehow dealt with. And after saying our goodbyes, it was time to head back home, tired, but with mile-wide smiles on our faces.
November 30th, 2009. 2210 Hrs.
"You've crossed the finish line
Won the race but lost your mind
Was it worth it after all?"
from the song "Superman" By Lazlo Bane
Hell YEAH!!!!
Self Evaluation:
1.
Organisation and Planning: 4.
2.
Mental Preparedness: 5
3.
Bike Preparedness: 4 (did not carry extra set of control cables)
4.
Safety Precautions before the ride: 4.5 (need propah biking shoes)
5.
Safety Measures during the ride: 4 (Made a rash move or two during the ride)
6.
Team Spirit and Involvement: 4
7.
Overall Improvement before and after the ride: 4
Retrospection:
Just a few days ago I was going through SKSy's Hard Torque thread of being a Biker by Choice. I had always believed that I was a biker by choice, but circumstances somehow had practically reduced me to a mere commuter. The first shot in the arm on the way back to being a biker was the Dhauj outing conducted before the Induction Ride. After a long long time had we ridden out into the wilderness for no other purpose than just riding our bikes and getting better at doing it.
Going to Shimla on a bike was one solid step back to being a biker by choice, but there still is a huge way to go. Just one tour does not make me a complete biker.
Nor does a single tour make me a tourer.
Sure, I am now an inductee into the elite band of brothers who have been to the hills and back, but I should keep it clearly in my mind that I am just an Inductee. There still is a lot of ground to cover, a lot of hills to take the bike up, a lot of valleys to take the bike down into, countless curves to lean into, thousands of miles of hill roads still to see. Many road-side vantage points to stop at and absorb the sublime beauty of the sun shining into the river flowing at the bottom of the ravine. Going high enough to see the clouds in the valleys rather than the rivers at the bottom.
And perhaps even when all this is done, one does not become a full fledged tourer. I guess having what it takes to take five newbies up and down the hills is also necessary. I thus kneel before Aryan Da and Ken Da, seeking their blessings, their leaning skills, their experience, and most of all, their company in future tours, so that one day I could without any reservations call myself a biker and a tourer.
The Photographs
The Participants:
The Pros
The Town
The Views
The Dusk
