satyenpoojary

For years wanderers have been admired, abused, envied, and even humoured upon.... Some admired them for what they are, some abused them for what they did, some envied them for what they were doing, some humoured them for how their lives are different from others.

There is "this one thing" about them that's envied the most. Its their freedom.

Freedom to do what they like. Freedom to wander. Freedom to choose their direction, to repeat their mistakes, to whether or not to learn, whether or not grow up. Freedom to be or not to be. Freedom. Absolute freedom.

If you grew up in a traditional Indian family, you probably already know the kryptonite for this 'freedom'. True or not, I don't know.. But yes, it is indeed what you think it is. Marriage.

And here I am. A few weeks before my marriage, with these thoughts in my mind. This I had to pen, whether or not there is a contest. I have hardly ever written about my trips. Big or small. They were usually restricted to FaceBook updates. However this HAD to be documented.


Thus restarted a series of trips to office in the hot sun. You could call it the frustration or the urge to ride as much as possible till the time I am bachelor.
No this LOG is not about the 160KMs a day ride either. Most of you do know where the commuTOURer tag came from, so wouldn’t repeat it.


So it was decided, a long weekend, and let me ride away to glory and call it "This is it!" I was reminded, the last one who chose that name, wasn’t quite 'successful'. The three days weren’t quite enough to ride and see all that I crave to see. Heck, I wonder if even three lifetimes would be enough.

After thinking of other alternative options, I finally chose Pune as the destination. My home away from home. It was here where I have lived some of the best 'Free' times of my life.
Pune it is. A bachelors bash of sort.

PS: If you think Pune doesn’t excite you may stop reading this thread right now. Heck, even I don’t know how many Mumbai-Pune-Mumbai rides I have done in my life. I could probably do this stretch with a blindfold. A place where many a times, I took a 'small' detour to Mahabaleshwar, or Malshej, only to make this 180KMs end up being 360KMs. A 2X detour. And Yet THIS very road that I call upon to lead to a 'Memorable' ride.


If you are still reading, read along - You know why?
Cause whether or not you wander from Kashmir to Kanyakumari in your lifetime, you WOULD face this phase in life. You WOULD face this confusion. You WOULD face this threat. The only ones who wouldnt face this, have perhaps already faced this!
It is indeed a more likely\threatening situation than dying while wandering!


It’s a hot-friday when I begin this journey. I begin the journey on rather nostalgic note. This has been a busy week @ work. Yet a buddy (Ninad) chips in managing the PR for the bash. Informs others wherever possible and suddenly we are a 8 member squad going in on day 1 from Mumbai. We would be meeting a few fellow wanders from Pune itself too, and also would be blessed with the company of as many more coming from Mumbai on the day 2 of the ride.

I send a FB update "One memorable journey begins now" and instantly get this as a response
- Taseer Gujral: Is today the big day? ... Congratulations and may the journey be exhilarating and adventurous ))
-Sheel Priye: Ummm?


Heck, my identity as a biker has been thrashed even before I begin the ride!
I was quick to clarify
"No no no no! That’s on May 11th... this is just a precursor to it...

Vivek Karambelkar: Where Sir?
I reply: Pune.. My Home away from home

To which he replies..
"Memorable? That’s y asked?"

Clearly no one who knows me would ever think I would call a trip to pune memorable. Leave aside writing about it! I assure them of spilling the beans on why I call it memorable late and decide to NOT answer any more further and start the ride.

iPod neatly plugged, I begin the ride. I am supposed to meet the very (in)famous Veeral Joshi from Mumbai. Known for his obsession with "Tatti". What a "crappy" beginning this was. I reach at the decided place, airoli bridge only to find him not there. I ride a bit further, to cross the toll bridge thinking he would be waiting there as he had mentioned 'Bridge'

I reach there, no luck. Mr. Tatti isn’t there yet. A quick phone call and he tells me he has reached already and is waiting for me! CRAP!

I ask him to come ahead and meet me where I am waiting.


A glance back to FB, and I find the following updates:

Neha Dhupia - What's cooking? ;-)
Sheel Priye - Finally, Pujari rider prepares himself to be hanged for life
Kunal Ghogale: Congratulations dude...

Uggh!~ I say to myself. I clarify (again) and also try to scare Sheel and we move ahead.Time to reach the rest of the gang at the usual meeting point. Panvel Mc'Donalds.

We reach there at 5. The time when we were supposed to leave.

We didn’t see anyone waiting outside so we head to grab a drink to beat the heat. A few phone calls and chit chat later, all of us (8) meet up and we head for Pune.


The new addition to the list:

# Mr. Darkknight - Aka Nitin Manore. (Remind me about the picture of his BAT claws) This man is a Chota MTDC. Ask him about any place in Maharashtra and you will have to ask him to shut up to stop.

# Mr. Mastermind - Aka Deepak Vadhani The oldest of the Gang, yet one of the MOST enthu old man you will find and the funniest in that category too!

# Mr. Ketan Nikharge - One of the most sensible motorheads around

# Mr. Launchpad + 1 - Aka Atul Aherwar. Fondly known as THE Launchpad due to his sheer resemblance with the comic character Launchpad from Ducktales.

# Mr. Calvin - Aka Kalyan. Another enthu rider. And a good stunter in the making.

We proceed for Pune.

First stop, right before the express way patch. It's always a good idea to stop here. Both for the view as well as for letting the bike settle down before it takes on the expressway.


I love scaring the cars here. I don’t scare them with rash riding though, I just scare them by showing that yes, India also has good bikers. And we are on the bike BY choice. Treat us with respect, not just when you are lost.

A few pics:
Warning: The end to bachelorette is closer than they appear


The first set of bikers:



The rest of the log shall come soon....Trust me, this trip has more to come!

Attached Thumbnails

 

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™ Satyen Poojary

MG

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phanikar

Thoughts very clearly penned down. Congratulations for the hanging :-) Your state is clearly explained by the pic itself. The text is an add-on.

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Life is too short for traffic, take the highway...........

Praful

Another one bites the dust! Congrats

Any more pictures?

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satyenpoojary

Thanks! And Aaargh! Have just been Lassoed yet. Hanging in a few weeks!

Yeah, more pictures and may be a video too!

__________________
Super CommuTOURer™ - Talk less, Ride more

.: Facebook :.|.: iTweet :.|*Do Not Click!*|I follow PowerToTheRider:.

#Give thy opinion, write em, dont throw em
#Everyone errs, accept it, defending/cribbing about it only makes it worse
#Dont defend a manufacturer as if you work for them
#Write. Think. If relevant hit submit. If not hit yourself
#Be kind in your choice of words, you never know who would make you gulp em
™ Satyen Poojary

snehithpereira

Already waiting for the second part. very captivating narration. Congrats by the way.

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HarshitTailor

Nice write up Satyen.
None can match your writing skills thats for sure.
Hell..Have missed a lot of action.
Had always thought what it feels like riding in a group, hanging out with biker buddies..Anyways may be some time soon..

P.S: You indeed are a allrounder

nin

muaahahaha !

i also have a set of pictures which wont be passed by the censor board...so i'l edit and mail them to you...

P.S. Why not rename this thread as "India's 1st ever Biker's Bachelor's Party" I bet there has been none yet...not this grand ! Had good fun !

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A very good and safe biker not only because he can pop up either of the wheels,scrape his knees on a corner or go fast and make it look stylish but because he very well knows his limits and capabilities and has the patience to learn about others and ride safe ! :)



My Saddlesore Log : The 1st Saddlesore in India on a 135cc

Pranit_Crystal Myth

Nice Writeup buddy..
bring in some more pics..

ROCKRZ

Ahhhh... The final assault!!!

Finally, i have a reason strong enough for kicking myself in the arse... Missed a damn good celebration....

As usual, beautifully penned down... Waiting for the rest of the log and to archive another writeup of yours...

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