Thread: A surprising 3 days' ride to Dehradun/Mussoorie/Dhanaulti...

INTRODUCTION:

Riders and the rides:

Gaurav Kamboj [Garry_Menace] - TVS Apache RTR180
Ashish Verma - Hero Honda Hunk




Route Taken:

Delhi - Karnal - Bir Pipli - Yamunanagar - Paonta Sahib - Dehradun - Mussoorie - Dhanaulti and back.


PROLOGUE:

Right from the starting of our semester exams, we were having a plan to ride to Jaipur after exams but due to some reason, we had to cancel the Jaipur ride or I should say we had to change the destination. We thought of going towards Nanital but convincing parents for a ride to Nanital would have been a bit difficult as it builds the image of hilly ride at the very first moment. So, we thought of going towards Dehradun which, by name, doesn't give such impression and planned to cover Mussoorie and Dhanaulti on the name of Dehradun itself.

Finally, we zeroed on the Delhi-Dehradun-Mussoorie-Dhanaulti-Delhi Ride. As on our last(and first too) ride, Arun kept us waiting for his decision for some 15 days or so and then finally refused to ride with us two days prior to the planned day for starting the ride. So, we decided to ride again as 2 bikes and 3 people (Me, Ashish Verma and Abhinav) and did all the planning etc. On the night before THE MORNING, Abhinav screwed our minds by NOT doing the only work assigned to him, i.e., arranging a cam (so don't expect good quality pics, all taken with 3MP phone cam) but still we kept our cool and after fetching some small things for our ride from market, I headed back to my home and Ashish and Abhinav went to Abhinav's home to stay for the night. Now, here another shock was awaiting us. Abhinav's dad refused to let him go on bike in so much cold weather @ around 11 p.m. whereas we were scheduled to leave @ 6 a.m. Talked about it for more than an hour, and it was decided that me and Verma will ride on respective bikes so that the ride won't get cancelled which could result in NO touring in future also as it was our first official(LOL!) big ride and it took me about 1 and half month to convince my parents about it.

So, past 12:00 at night, its like Me and Verma will ride as single on each bike. Didn't know where we will go, how much expenses will it take, will it be fun or not and many more unanswered questions for which we don't have time. It was planned that we'll meet @ Madhuban Chowk @ 7:00a.m. and then decide what to do, where to go etc.


TEASER PICS:









Day 1 Log: Click Here

Day 2 Log: Click Here

Thread Approved

Hey Garry ,

Nice pictures .... waiting for the log though ! Bring it on
wish you many more happy miles in future. Ride Safe buddy

PS - How far is dhanaulti from mussourie , road condition , places of interest .. and other info would be appreciated.

Cheers ,
Aashish

Originally Posted by noor

Thread Approved

Thanks Noor sir

Originally Posted by smoker n doper

Hey Garry ,

Nice pictures .... waiting for the log though ! Bring it on
wish you many more happy miles in future. Ride Safe buddy

PS - How far is dhanaulti from mussourie , road condition , places of interest .. and other info would be appreciated.

Cheers ,
Aashish

Hey Smoker

will update the day 1 log tomorrow... glad you liked the pics

Dhanaulti is 28kms from Mussoorie... we didn't see much there... just eco park and we were supposed to see the Surkanda Devi temple also but don't know why we didn't didn't spend much time there... wait for the log... there's a weird twist in the smooth story in Day 3

DAY ONE:


At 6:30 a.m., Verma called me and told me that he will meet me @ Madhuban Chowk @ 7:00. Reached there at 7:15 and found Verma waiting for me there. Shaked hands, confirmed about whether we will ride to the pre-planned destinations or some other place and started ripping towards NH-1. We started rolling on the mighty 8-lane National Highway-1 with butter-smooth tarmac, ripping furiously around 100-110kmph with the cold breeze of early morning peeping inside our head lids through each and every possible way to pinch our faces with needle-like sleek blasts of coldness. But we, atleast I, enjoy such conditions as long as it doesn't get real creepy ... Enjoying the initial moments of a much awaited(still surprising) ride with almost the whole body covered under layers of clothes, we kept on smoking rubber and zipping fast through the metal cages (read four-wheelers) on the road. Being the smallest vehicle on the huge peice of tar-covered land, getting way past the lorries with due respect from the truckers is what encourages you to ride long, hard, safe and sensible

Let me share some lines which I read somewhere and the trip reminded me all those one-by-one as soon as I face the same situations and experience those beautiful lines which made a place in my heart from the day I read them. Will keep on sharing them throughout the log wherever I found them applicable
(Special thanks to OldFox sir, LP and Sachin Rao for penning down the ultimate feelings of a biker... The Pleasures of Motorcycling

• The pleasure is in doing three-digit speeds for hours on end when most consider 60 as dangerous and 80 as fatal!!
• The pleasure is starting your bike's engine for a long-distance ride on a cold morning and listening to its steady comforting idle while you prepare for the ride.
• The pleasure is in watching a bunch of gleaming bikes knifing together through fast highway traffic.
• The pleasure is in knowing a split second before the car in front panic-brakes. You were more focussed than the driver of that car. You survive and smile!!
• The pleasure is in smelling spilled diesel on the road before your tyre hits it.
• The pleasure is in watching other road users gawking wide-eyed as the group does three-digit speeds together in formation.
• The pleasure is when your motorcycle and you move as one single united form. Whatever shape the road takes, whichever end of the compass it leads to.
• The pleasure is when you use your hands, arms, thighs, knees and feet to steer.
• The pleasure is when your rear wheel slides, and you bring it back, when the front wheel lifts, and you take your time bringing it back.
• The pleasure is when you cut through air, at 50 kph or 100.
• The pleasure is when you reach a place you’ve never been before, and someone you’ve never seen before asks you for a ride. And comes back grinning.
• The pleasure is when you wave to village kids, and they wave back.
• The pleasure is when you almost, almost fall. But don’t.
• The pleasure is when you get up that narrow path for the view you’ll never forget.
• The pleasure is when you view the world at an angle.
• The pleasure is when you look at a dust-streaked face in the mirror after a 12-hour ride, and don’t want to wash up.
• The pleasure is when you leave four-wheeler traffic standing in a jam.
• The pleasure is when you aren’t lulled by an air-conditioner.
• The pleasure is when you are free. Open. Independent. Liberated.
• The pleasure is when you spot that tiny loose bolt on the surface, swerve, & smile.
• The pleasure when you ignore a beautiful chick passing-by, being proud of being a Biker & keep riding, though checking her out in the Rear-View-Mirrors for a fraction of second when she passes-by ...

Coming back to the log , riding around 50 odd kms. on NH-1, we stopped at the famous Sukhdev Da Dhaba as Verma ji was curious about it . Gulped some paranthas with desi makkhan and hot tea... a bliss on winter morning rides . Enjoyed the meal, burped and got on the tarmac again with bellies filled more than enough .

• The pleasure is in riding with a bug splattered visor for long, trying to look from between the squashed mosquitoes.
• The pleasure is in cleaning the visor at a tea stop and seeing the world clearer through it as it had never been before.
• The pleasure is when you take off your riding jacket for a break, and feel the breeze dry your sweat.

Reached the first Toll Plaza @ Panipat, stopped for a minute, clicked some frames and resumed rolling all the way to Bir Pipli.

Some shots at Panipat Toll Plaza...




From Bir Pipli, we have to bid a bye to the silky-smooth National Highway and take a left turn on a State Highway which connects Bir Pipli to Yamunanagar. The road is kinda "okay" with some real bad patches which could toss you high in the air, make you lick the dust down the ground etc.

Anyways, riding down to Yamunanagar cruising @ mixed speeds ranging from 30kmph to 90kmph, got into the familiar roads of the city where a rude policemen (hawaldar actually) asked us to park our bikes at the roadside @ a signal. Thought us more as some senseless ripping hooligans and asked for our licences, RCs, Insurance and Pollution docs. which we keep in our wallets right from the day we got our machines . Finding everything in place, with a fused facial expression, called his senior who was much polite even being younger than him. Anyways, the officer let us go with a smile . Headed towards Paonta Sahib from Yamunanagar, we surprisingly came across a National Park board which we noticed less than a second before we crossed it and entered the National Park. Riding through it was a great experience. Forests on both sides of a well laden silent and cool road with a lot of twisties was real great Frankly speaking, both of us were riding at the right corner of our lane on the road as a precautionary measure so as to avoid the chances of being grabbed by the N numbers of monkeys sitting on both sides of the road as if they are guarding the forest from the road users or vice-versa .

A few Shots at the ending point of the road through National Park.





After that, riding all the way from Paonta Sahib to Dehradun is not much to tell, just a plain ride with many small things to see like lakes, drains and all parallel to the road. Took a stop for lunch @ Dehradun after around 6 hours of riding.

Some pics enroute

• The pleasure is when you ride for long hours straight, and u can't feel your butt when finally stopping.

Had Shahi paneer, Navratan korma, some naans and all there and asked the restaurant owner about Shahastra Dhara. He told us that there's not much to see there at this time of year, generally people go there to have bath in summer days, and recommended us to ride up to the Queen of Hills, Mussoorie...
There starts some good uphilling and serious twisties which we were experiencing for the first time on bikes. A great experience for both of us. Ofcourse, we wished if Abhinav could have came with us but somewhere down the line we were thinking that its good to ride single if you want to enjoy the hilly rides , atleast for the first time.

• The pleasure is in tooting a salute to truckers who safely wave you past on a blind mountain curve.
• The pleasure is when you are the only soul on the road in a torrential downpour, when even the cagers have taken cover. You continue to ride 'cos you have to reach a destination. And then, you stop on a long bridge to experience nature's fury.
• The pleasure is when you realise that the contact patch of your throne with the Earth is lesser than the surface area of the sole of a pair of shoes.

Some pics on the curves.







Reached Mussoorie, started a hunt for a good and economical hotel. Unknowingly, I entered in a govt. guest house where only govt. high officials are allowed to stay but that ended our search for room in some other way. The guy was helpful and recommended us two of the hotels which were around half a km. away where we could get room at reasonable price. We checked-in in Hotel Evergreen. The room was nice and view from our room was...

• The pleasure is in being treated as special because you are on a bike, something that would never happen if you arrive in a car.
• The pleasure is when you finish your day’s ride, and reach in one piece. You’re the smallest vehicle on the road, and you’ve survived.
• The pleasure is when you take off your wristwatch, and see a band of untanned skin.
• The pleasure is when you can feel the cool morning and the hot afternoon, the light rain and the damp fog.

Had a small chit-chat with the hotel guys who suggested us to visit Laal Tibba in the evening as it was hardly around 5-10kms. from there and was in the opposite direction from the rest of the places of interest and told that we could roam-around @ Mall Road while coming back which was around half a km. from our hotel .

Took some rest, got freshened-up and headed towards Laal Tibba in the evening. The way to Laal Tibba was quite interesting , riding uphill in small streets was good and we enjoyed it, especially Verma ji ... ripping his Hunk in the hilly streets hehe.
Reaching Laal Tibba, we were surprised as well as amazed to see snow there. And, the view of Himalyas was also a surprise to us, we didn't expect anything like this from Mussoorie trip.


Some pics @ Laal Tibba
Naked Eye view from Laal Tibba... spot the Himalayan Range
Telescope view of Himalayas from Laal Tibba... implemented the whole ray optics physics and mathematics we knew to get it... succeeded after 15-20 mins of struggle... lol













Headed back towards Mall Road, roamed-around, checked-out the "maal" there , had dinner and rolled back to the hotel. Asked the hotel guys to park our beasts inside the hotel premises (locked), sat inside blanket, switched on the TV with placing an order for a hot cup of tea. Called it night

155 views and just a single comment?
koi comment bhi kar diya karo yaar Atleast that would let me know that who all are reading or I'm just writing it for nothing

Originally Posted by Garry_Menace

155 views and just a single comment?
koi comment bhi kar diya karo yaar Atleast that would let me know that who all are reading or I'm just writing it for nothing

There are many many XBhpians who don't reply, but view and follow it... (like me). Number of views says it all. This May, I am planning for a trip to Haridwar, Dehradun and Mussoori with my family and interested to read your experience. Continue with your log.

Nice pics buddy

Originally Posted by phanikar

Nice pics buddy

thankz buddy

Originally Posted by srisetty

There are many many XBhpians who don't reply, but view and follow it... (like me). Number of views says it all. This May, I am planning for a trip to Haridwar, Dehradun and Mussoori with my family and interested to read your experience. Continue with your log.

Yeah, thats true ... but the comments inspire the author to write more... and if there're no comments, it seems like no-one is interested and I may be just humming in my own tune

Anyways, Day-2 log will be updated tomorrow's night most probably

DAY 2:

Woke up @ 8 a.m., got freshened and in the meanwhile we ordered a parantha and a cup of tea each as breakfast. Done with the gulping part, asked the hotel guys to open up the compartment where our bikes were parked @ night (well, it was a condition imposed by us to park our bikes in some locked lot in night.) so that we can bring our beasts out. Left our machines idling to warm them up meanwhile we got into our jackets, head lids, gloves etc. and we were ready to roar again. We started ripping down towards Company Garden visited the "bagh"... For us, there was nothing much interesting to see, just a small session of NSP... Nain Sukh Praapti""cool: (CS Engineers these days I tell you) lol... well, actually a bit of it only as our mind wasn't much into all that on trip .

A couple of pics @ Company Bagh...
Verma ji clicked this shot ...lol




After the Garden, we headed towards George Everest asking people about the way to reach there. Found a fork(of road) leading towards 2 different paths and we stopped around 100 mtrs. ahead of the diversion (as we weren't sure that the path we chose 100 mtrs. before is correct or not). Just in a minute an Indica(this incident has a relevence ahead ) was approaching us from the same way we came from, i.e., the Company Bagh side, and I ran towards it while it was heading towards the fork and we incidently met on the fork itself. I asked the guy who was driving if they're tourists or not so as to ask him about the way to George Everest and he said they aren't tourists but when I asked bout the way, the girlie sitting beside him immidiately replied that they are tourists too and they didn't tell me that first because the way I was running towards them wearing helmet, gloves and all, they thought that they're in trouble now . Anyways, in the meantime a localite came and guided us to a direction and around 2-3 kms. later we again were looking for someone to tell us the way. This time Verma ji found an Indica and asked the same but as soon as the car's window opened, I just normally said "Arre ye to wahi bhaiya hain be... aaja inhe kuchh nahi pata" and the couple was like towards me . Confirmed the way from someone else and headed towards the off-road path leading to Hathipaanv, a village where George Everest is situated.

Some off-road clicks...




Lastly, parked our bikes in some house's varandah whose owner was introduced to us by an Armyman in the path. From there, we had to move on-feet for around half a km. to reach the Army Base Camp @ George Everest. In that walking path, that Indica waala couple came from behind and the guy just asked me "Guru, mil gaya raasta?". I just gave a strange look and ignored(not intentionally ). Reaching Army Base Camp, the Armemen were asking us if we are in the stunting crew. We were like "" and they told us that there's a shooting scheduled there which and most of the crew members have already arrived. We told them that we're just tourists and chatted with one of them for a while and then he directed us towards the main George Everest mountain. When we walked towards it, we just gave a look towards the shooting crew and to our surpirse, rather I should say shock, that Indica waala couple were the actor and actress of that regional movie . The guy smugged towards us and our expressions were like "" lol...

Some pics 2 George Everest...









Coming back, the Armymen suggested us Tibbetian Temple to go to and we went to pick our bikes for the same where we met a couple of age around 50-55 years who were that with there Esteam and they were happy to read our bikes' number plates as "DL XX XX XXXX" as they were also from Delhi. We exchanged greatings with them, thanked the aunty (the house owner) and bid a bye to her little kids and Headed towards the Tibbetian Temple.

Some clicks @ Tibbetian Temple









From there we went back to our hotel in order to pick our clothes and go to Kempty Fall...
The way to Kempy Fall was real awesome. Nice vistas around and we enjoyed a lot riding in those twisties... I one of the best part of the whole ride . Tried to capture the beauty of nature in my puny phone cam which showed "Battery Low" just after clicking 2-3 frames ... so, no pics from now for the day and the trip also as we weren't much interested in taking pics because we were disappointed due to unavailability of the digicam at last moment

Last set of pics for the trip...






From the Kempty, we moved back to Mall road to roam-around and have dinner after which we headed to our room and called the day off now