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xMen ride to the Land's End,Yet Again! :D
Everything has a beginning. So is the case with My Ride to Lansdowne. It wasn't a very much pre-planned trip, I only had a very strong will to ride, I still hadn't informed my parents about the ride, which I felt was the biggest hurdle for me, as they should be aware of where their child is going, I am against those people and rider's who plan a ride or tour without any information to family.
Soon after a hectic day at office, I started to home, and on my way I somehow felt to get the bike tanked up.
That was the my first hint that the chances are more that they(my parents) say a 'Yes' for the ride, I entered home and asked them: "If They give me permission, can I go?" ,
My Dad: (imagine him as an old guy with a tummy, white hair and a news paper in hand silently having his cup of evening tea, looks at me, gives a feeble smile and points towards mom).
Now, taking a NOC from the Home Ministry is necessary, So I finally built up some guts and went up to her to ask, and she had a few questions, about where, how many people, the most devastating question came up, "So how are you guys planning to go?"
My Obvious answer was: "Bike"
Preparations for the trip:
Fill Up Fuel, Check Engine Oil, Get the Servicing done, Check Brakes
Keep a copy of all Documents
Keep a First Aid Kit, With an Antiseptic Cream/Lotion, A few Medicines for cold, vomiting.
Enough clothes to keep you warm.
A few things handy like:
o Puncture Repair kit,
o A Light Bulb (just in case),
o Torch, 500ml Petrol,
o Some Snacks.
Packed up my stuff and was ready to take myself to the serenity that was calling me, Lansdowne, A brief about the place:
Lansdowne is set amidst lovely surroundings - tall oaks and blue pines rise like spires off the mountainside. The forests are lovely, dark and deep, just ideal for those long walks and picnics. There are amazing mountain views of the Western Himalayas from a number of vantage pints like Snow View and Tiffin Top.
Like other hill resorts in north India, Lansdowne too has its fair share of temples and shrines, most of them devoted to the various forms of the Mother Goddess. Lansdowne owes its existence to the British who established a Garhwal Rifles cantonment here during the Raj era. They named this hill-station cantonment in honor of the Earl of Lansdowne, Sir Petty-Fitzmaurice, the Viceroy of India (1888-1894).The town is well developed thanks to the cantonment, yet it is charmingly unspoiled and tranquil.
The city is surrounded by lusting greenery of thick Oak woods and blue Pine forests. Magnificent views of snow covered mounts and forests, bracing cool air and unpolluted clean fresh atmosphere make Lansdowne a perfect place for eco-tourism. The tourism at Lansdowne has a different face; it is not commercial tourism but ecofriendly tourism of conserving and preserving nature.
Starting from Delhi, we crossed Meerut, Mawana, Bijnor, Najibabad, Kotdwar, then the road ascends to the hills, where we see a stream flowing by brings you even more close to nature, While climbing up the hills, after say like 15kms you will see a Stone that will read, "Lansdowne 22kms --> ", you will need to take that up-road and after a 1km or so, you will see a small cut on the right hand side that takes you down to the stream where you can lie down and relax, even if you are travelling by car, you can take your car down. This time, the water was relatively less, but we were able to refresh ourselves from that long continuous riding we did from Delhi around 220kms at a stretch.
After we had our relaxation we were greeted with the incessant rains out of the blue, which didn’t allow us to ride further, so I along with my fellow rider's took a stop for tea and some other for a smoke.
Every trip comes up with new experiences, and so was this one with these sudden showers that showed up thrice and compelled us to stop.
Reaching Lansdowne wasn't tough, but when we arrived, it was shocking to know that there was no hotel rooms available, a Lieutenant had a Cottage who used to give rooms but he had his own set of rules and regulations, so after asking some local lads, we decided to head to Gumkhal a place not so far from Lansdowne to get a shelter, After we had put our stuff we were carrying at the Room, we went to ‘TiffinTop’ and ‘BhullaJheel’, also we did see the St.John’s Church admist our way.
Later that night was accompanied by a bonfire as it was cold and some good food stuff to eat.
The following day our retreat started, and in the end we did enjoy 2 stupendous days as a ride in Uttrakhand!
Of the Bikers, By the Bikers, For the Bikers
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Originally Posted by Noor
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