Thread: Mumbiker

Coimbatore - Mumbai - Goa - Coimbatore

Total distance traveled: 3200kms approx.
Riding days: 6
Rest day: 1
Riders: 2 of which one was a ghost rider.
Bikes:
RE STD 500 Cast Iron (2004)
HH Karizma R (2012)
No. of RE Mechanics visited: 4

Some pics are shared below,

Riding gear

Beyond Davangere

My first tunnel

Lonavala

Breathtaking

My point of view

Pit stop

Goa - Karwar

Odo died and speedo fell off

Much anticipated flat (at Nerul, Navi Mumbai)

We definitely marked our territory

Beautiful Karwar beach

Karwar Beach viewed from the hills

Sunset off the west coast

Picture says it all

Running repairs at RE workshop, Davangere (on the return leg)

More pics and writeup to follow.

Topic Approved

Thank you, MG.

Bring on the log and pictures,we are waiting..
BTW where is kariZma R ?

How the ride came about,
It all started with a wish to ride to Goa along the coastal road. The idea was to take a week off from work and ride up to Goa long with a friend (ghost rider) and my brother in law (shelton_jh on xbhp) would in turn ride from Mumbai and meet up there. However things did not work out and the plan was changed to ride up to Mumbai and then to Goa. My friend the ghost rider (based out of Chennai) was much more experienced and hardcore tourer having done numerous rides on his HH Splendor had recently purchased the 2012 HH Karizma R and was eager to do the ride. He was able to get away from work but the only complication was that his family would ground him if they came to know of his riding escapades. And so he will remain anonymous for the rest of this ride log.

We planned to ride out on Thursday, 26th January and do a leisurely pace and reach Mumbai on 3rd day, spend the Sunday with shelton_jh, possibly doing a short ride and then leave on Monday do some sight seeing along the way and reach Coimbatore on Saturday 4th Feb. Ghost rider would ride from Chennai and we would meet up at Krishnagiri and ride on together. It was all set. Then I fell ill with fever, cough and body pain and could not get up. Had to take off from work on 25th and make up on 27th so lost a couple of days. We decided if I could sit on the bike we would leave on 28th, fingers crossed.

Ride Preparation:
My wife has always been supportive of my touring and I must say it is a huge advantage to have family who understand and are supportive of your interests. The most kms I have done in a day prior to this ride was about 550kms and I was not sure if I would be able to sustain multiple days averaging 500 kms. I was in fairly good shape and would wait and take it as it comes. It helped that we did not have a rigid plan for the 9 day ride.

My kit,
Helmet: AGV
Jacket: DSG Nero (worn without the thermal lining)
Pants: Jeans with Cramster knee protectors
Boots: Weinbrenner ankle boots (bata) and my soccer shin guards worn under my socks.
Luggage: Cramster Stallion saddlebags, Hippo waist pouch.
Gloves: Ooty gloves (tried out AXO Pro race, liked it but was not so sure about the fit so did not want to test it on the ride)
Camera: Canon IXUS 230 Hs (point & shoot)

My ride,
RE Bullet Std 500 (2004 model Cast Iron)
New tires - Front Ceat Secura Sport/ Rear MRF Nylogrip Plus
New cables - clutch, accelarator
Seat - Standard seat reupholstered
Handlebar - Thunderbird
Battery - charged.

Spares carried,
Extra tube, cables set, gear spring (2 sizes), spark plug, fuses, hand pump, 5 litre can.

Papers,
RC book copies, license (original+ copies), emission control certificate, Insurance (original + copies). I had also scanned all the docs and uploaded to my mail account as backup.I also created a laminated ID card which had my Name, DOB, Address, Blood group, 3 emergency contact numbers etc. I had one of these in my wallet and wore another on a lanyard around my neck.

I also carried Rs. 2000 in cash half in the saddlebags and the rest on my person.I carried 2 mobiles bsnl/ airtel.

Other,
I had the cramster supports reinforced and also packed my clothing in plastic covers inside the cramster (lesson learnt from previous monsoon ride to Coorg).

I had ordered the Orazo riding boots and found that they were a size too small when I received them. I returned the boot and received the replacement only after the ride. I would have ideally used this boot on the ride.

My friend was my exact opposite in his riding philosophy in that he would just set off on a 1000km ride in his jeans-tshirt and sneakers. All he needs is his bike and helmet.He is a "We'll face it when it comes" kind of person. I need everything to be in order and know I'm prepared for eventualities. Interestingly we get along very well and are happy to tolerate each others idiosyncracies and enjoy riding together.

Day 1:
Coimbatore - Avinashi - Salem - Dharmapuri - Krishnagiri - Hosur - Bangalore - Tumkur - Chitradurga - Davangere.m (Approx 650kms)

We had changed our plans on account of the 2 days being lost and decided to reach Mumbai first taking the NH4 and then do the return leg via Goa and the coast.

Said my goodbye to my wife and 6 year old son and started out by 6:30 AM on Saturday, 28th Jan 2012.About 30 mins into the ride I realized I made a mistake by taking the Avinashi road, there was roadwork happening and it was extremely dusty and could not maintain any decent speed. With the speeding buses and cars seemingly not bothered about a bike on the road it became a frustrating stretch for about 53 kms. Th this stretch took me about hour and a half to cross and taught me that we often take our familiar routes for granted. Lesson learnt. It was more enjoyable once I crossed Perundurai and the roads open out and it is smooth riding.

I maintained at about 75kms/hr and did not stop till before Krishnagiri. About 10kms before Krishnagiri, I stopped for a water break and as I was slowing down the handlebars on the bull just collapsed on my thighs. Thankfully I was slow and had the presence to control and stop the bike. Apparently the bolts had loosened because of the vibrations and took just a few minutes to set right. My friend had started later from Chennai and said he would wait just past the toll gate at Krishnagiri. I did not want to be slower than him and so had not stopped for breakfast. I took this chance to eat at a nearby restaurant and rode up to the toll gate. My friend had reached just a few minutes before and after catching up with him for a few minutes we decided to ride on.

The Karizma had just had its first service and he was enjoying the ride. He mentioned that there was a jerking at times. We suspect it was to do with the carb being set too lean. Any way he did not want to push too much being a new bike and so was being more sedate which suited me fine as I feel more comfortable riding around the 75 to 80kph mark. We set out and reached Bengaluru and took the route heading to the NICE road, was surprised we had to pay toll for the bikes. Initially thought they were ripping us of as we had TN registered bikes but it was not so. What do you know, we live and learn. It was totally worth it though although no petrol bunks on the way and we rode it at a dry time of the day. Soon after we passed this strecth we stopped for a late lunch and then rode on. There was more traffic on the NH4 than I had anticipated and we rode comfortably. We saw a Busa headed the other way and also the aftermath of a couple of accidents. We hit Chitradurga about 8PM and tried checking into a hotel. We found out that it was wedding season and all the hotels we tried were fully booked. We weren't feeling too tired so we decided to ride on to Davangere and try our luck there. It was about an hour away and we stopped for dinner at a roadside dhaba (evergreen). It then struck us that we had been riding the entire day and forgotten to click any pics in our excitement at having started the ride. Had a good laugh about it and clicked a few. We then rode on to Davangere and found the hotel scene to be the same. We finally got a room at the Honeymoon suite at the Chetana Palace for a princely sum of Rs. 1500. It was like going to the sets of a 1970s movie as the furniture and even the fridge and the electrical fittings seemed to be from that era. We crashed for the night and woke up at 8AM.

I was pleased the bikes held up well and I had done my personal best in terms of most kms done in a day and I was feeling just fine. I hoped it was not just the excitement that was sustaining us and was quietly confident that we would be able to complete the ride.

We had dosas at the restaurant downstairs and set out on day 2 after filling our tanks. Day 2 log to follow,

While waiting at the Krishnagiri toll gate.
@ Evergreen dhaba somewhere between Chritradurga & Davangere
Well deserved break.

Nice attention to details posted. Rating this T'Log well, hopefully, the EMI's come out on time with every minor details.

Originally Posted by aargee

Nice attention to details posted. Rating this T'Log well, hopefully, the EMI's come out on time with every minor details.

Looks like an awesome trip dude.
+1 to what aargee has said, hopefully, the EMIs come out on time
Eagerly waiting bro

Thank you Aargee & Nagesh Patankar. The rest of the trip log follows,

Day 2:Davangere - Hubli - Dharvad - Belgaum - Kolhapur - Satara (Approx 470kms)

The Ghost rider's steed!

It was 11 AM by the time we left Davangere and touched the highway. It was a hot day with no shade in sight. We rode for a bit and then stopped for some pictures before Rannebannur. We were about 540kms away from Pune. We were not thinking of reaching Mumbai on the same day and wanted to ride as much as possible and then break early. I had a crick in my groin from wearing the Cramster Hippo and so packed it in the saddlebag and moved my camera to my jacket.

One of the most enduring bits about this ride was the number of motorists who slowed down to wave and show a thumbs up. A guy on a Ninja 250 riding from Bangalore to Pune stopped to have a chat. He hailed from Ellis Nagar in Madurai, a few minutes walk from where my parents live. We also saw another fully suited Ninja rider who slowed down and waved near Dharwad. The interesting bit was these guys and other people who waved totally ignored my friend the ghost rider on the Karizma. Must have been the saddle bags and Bullet combo that earned me all the goodwill.

We stopped at Dharwad for lunch and soon after we rode into some hilly terrain. We were amazed to see a foreigner on a bullet with swept back handlebars just blasting his way past traffic on a blind curve, he was in shorts, sandals, vest and raybans. No helmet and seemingly no cares in the world. He looked at us as though we were aliens in our riding gear. I just wished he would reach safe and live to ride another day.


Chai break with the truckers.

Close calls:
Soon as we crossed into Maharashtra we could sense a difference in the ride experience, traffic became heavier and there was an urgency in the riding. We kept to the sides and kept an eye on our rear view mirrors. I had the first of my 3 close calls on this ride near Kolhapur. I was riding at about 80kph when a lady with a small child decided to cross. I started to slow down, honked, flashed my lights and she made note of all this and just turned her head and continued to cross. It took some doing to narrowly miss her and I was left shaking. They just continued as though nothing had happened. Possibly a daily occurance for them. Man, was I shaken.

The second close call occured near Satara when a truck rode over and actually flicked a coconut sized stone possibly left by someone to mark a breakdown, on to my front wheel. It hit the base of the tyre and it bounced off. It happened too quickly for it to do more than register on my mind. There was absolutely nothing I could have done to react and I consider myself very fortunate not to have taken a hit/ fall.

The Bullet makes a point..We stopped at a McDonalds outside Kohlapur and picked up some burgers and chicken. We did not stop to eat though. It was about 7PM and we were nearing Satara. At this point my Bullet started making some weird noises. It was almost like someone was sharpening a knife on a whetstone and it would increase if I revved the engine. It happened only in gear and not in neutral. It was coming from the front portion of the bike, we stopped and checked if it was from the engine, gearbox, fender, number plates etc. but could not pinpoint the source. The traffic at this time was heavy, so we stopped at the roadside and had our burgers and chicken and contemplated what to do. We took a 30 minute break, the traffic eased off a bit and we rode slowly into Satara. Our average speed dropped considerably as I was not sure about the bike and did not want to make it worse. We did not feel like riding into town and looking for a hotel. We saw the Maratha hotel beside the highway and checked in. Had a hot bath and strolled downstairs to the restaurant to have dinner and then possibly an early night.


Now where could that weird noise be coming from???

Day 3: Satara - Pune - Lonavale - Mumbai (Powai) (Approx 270kms)

My first tunnel.. We slept in and woke up only by 10 AM and had a leisurely breakfast of bread and eggs, possibly because we had under 300kms to ride. We left the hotel by 12:30 PM and rode towards Pune. We stopped on the hilly sections for a few pictures and also hit our first tunnels. The bullet was occasionally throwing up the noise from the previous evening. It was baffling. It would stop for a hundred kilometers and then start up all over again. Anyway it really screwed up our average speed and also somewhat took the joy out of enjoying the surroundings. The tunnel ride was quite exciting. I forgot to remove my Raybans and once inside the bullet's headlights were quite useless. It was quite scary as there was fast moving traffic and there was no way we could stop. I was happy to be out in the sun at the end of the tunnel. The picture below was taken in the second tunnel where one lane had been blocked for maintenance.


Tunnel vision.

The Toll Expressway caper..The next most exciting thing that happened was my friend the ghost rider was leading and he went off the NH4 and into the Pune - Mumbai toll expressway. Apparently he had not seen the signage. He did not know Hindi and I had no option but to follow after him. We were soon stopped by the patrol and I explained our situation. The patrol commander took Rs. 500 from my friend and guided us to the next exit and back on to the NH4. We lost about an hour on that little episode.

We stopped for tea on the outskirts of Pune and were amazed by the apartments on either side of the road as we did the ghat section. It was like climbing Ooty with apartments all over the hill. Never seen that before. We hit the ghats at Lonavale at about 4PM and stopped to click a few pictures. There was a portion of the route where we had to get back on the toll expressway before we caught the NH4 again. This stretch had us anxious on account of our previous experience. We hit the outskirts of Mumbai at around 5:30 and called up my brother in law for directions to get to Powai. He asked us to ride in up to Airoli and then take a left cross the bridge, turn left into the Eastern expressway take the first major right and head into Powai.



Chai at Poona bakery, Pune

Eastern Expressway .. More like the Highway to hell! It sounded so simple. Little did I know that crossing the Eastern expressway would be one of the scariest experiences in my life. The traffic was fast moving and I had a truck lights flashing and honking possibly doing a 100 on my tail less than 10 feet behind with cars passing on either side as though I was parked and I thought this is where I check out. One mistake and I was dead. I just prayed that the bullet wouldn't have one of its fits or go into reserve. I was thrilled when we got off that highway. I have a special respect for the Mumbaikers who do such stretches everyday and just take it in their stride in a matter of fact way. We were excited to have reached safely and freshened up and headed out for dinner and we chatted late in to the night.


With my bro in law shelton_jh at Powai, Mumbai

Day 4: Rest day (Powai/ Navi Mumbai)

The following day I rode out to Azhar bhai's bullet garage near the IIT Campus entrance and had him take a look at the bike. The engine oil level was quite low, this was topped up and he greased up the gear box. I explained to him about the noise and he checked out the bike but could not make out anything. Anyhow he wished me well and I returned to my friends place. I had a few hours work at our registered office at CBD Belapur and so took the local train and headed out. I returned after completing the work by 5PM and the we rode out to do some shopping and later for dinner. The ghost rider and Shelton headed out to India gate to click a few pictures. They returned by 1AM. I was all packed and asleep by then. I wanted to make an early start and beat the Mumbai rush hour especially on the eastern expressway.


Azhar bhai - Bullet specialist, Powai

Day 5: Mumbai (Powai) - Penne - Alibaug - Chiplun - bypass Ratnagiri - Rajapur - Vengurla - Panaji (Approx 650kms)


Early start..

Flat, lost, screeching & a bash up..We started out by 6:30 AM sharp, said our goodbyes and rode out. As planned the traffic was much lighter and we navigated the eastern expressway with out any hassles. We were riding strong and had reached Nerul, Navi Mumbai when it happened, the much anticipated flat and we lost an hour fixing it. We then headed out and reached the outskirts where we stopped for some misil pav and tea. We then filled up our tanks and set out. We apparently missed taking a left after Pen and headed straight off the NH17 and towards Alibaug. We had no clue that we were off the highway till we hit Alibaug, we then had to ride through about 70kms of the most beautiful back roads asking for directions along the way before we caught the NH17 yet again. So here we were about 5 hours into the ride and done only about 150 odd kms and to top it off my bullet was screeching like hell and it brought down our average to about 40kph. There was no turning back and we kept riding. The weather was hot and dry but we rode through some of the most breathtaking countryside. We stopped briefly for pictures. We had lunch at a roadside dhaba along with guys campaigning for some polls. This stretch was a bit finicky as these fully packed Sumos and Fortuners were driving like there was no one else on the road and we had to ride very defensivley. We reached Chiplun and stopped to top up our tanks, visit the ATM and also for some tea. While we were sipping on our masala tea a full scale bash up took place across the road from us. Some kind of street justice and no cops in sight. We quickly finished our tea and moved out.


Lost near Alibaug, well always time to click another pic.

Close call 3:All this while we rode past some of the most beautiful ghat roads, truly a bikers paradise. Seeing one particularly tempting ghat section I rode past my friend and kept good pace. I then noticed that he was flashing his light and signalling me to stop. I stopped on a bend near some rocks with a spectacular view of a river and sunset behind. My friend pointed out that my bungee cord had come undone and the hook was swinging perilously close to my rear wheel spokes. There was my third close call. I bound the bungee securely and added some cable ties to ensure it wouldn't come apart. I gave the bike a once over and realized my speedo needle had fallen off and the odo cable had come apart. Glory be! the odo was cable was the culprit producing the schreeching noise. This did not occur on the reminder of the trip and I secured it to the fork leg with the cable ties.


I'm lost, my bikes making weird noises and I'm drinking tea in a beer shop. No worries man! (check out my expression while I connect with my mechanic)

Running repairs..

What followed was about 6 hours of riding in the ghats section with winding roads with no illumination apart from that on our bikes. We went through stretches where we did not see a soul or any vehicle for upto 20 - 30 minutes. It must have been the time of day. We just kept our heads down and rode. It seemed almost like we were in a time warp, we kept riding and didn't seem to bring down the distance.


Beauty!

Cops, what do you know??We finally hit the Goa border at about 12 in the night and were promptly stopped by a group of cops on the Maharashtra side who were checking for I don't know what. There were about 10 of them and they were boozed up and we braced ourselves for a tough time. My friend was petrified as he didn't know the language and the cops were abusing him thinking he was acting smart. Anyway one guy who looked like he was senior asked us for our papers and we produced all of it. Then he asked me what we were up to and I shared about our ride and how we had been riding all day and were just looking to shack up. He then asked the others to lay off and started about his own ride experiences and wished us safe journey and asked us to leave. He said normally we would not let you go with out collecting some money but seeing you are fellow riders I let you go. One older cop then stopped me and gave me some gyan basically saying that all my riding gear wouldn't protect me only God could. I told him that I couldn't agree more with him and left the scene.

We were still about 70kms from Panaji at this point and there was steady procession of oncoming passenger buses that were being driven at full clip, we slowed down further as we had been riding for almost 20 hours by then and didn't want to test our reflexes. We finally rode in to Panaji just after 1Am and checked in at the Ginger hotel and crashed.

I was relieved to have figured out what the strange noise was from the bullet. As those of you who own bullets would know, if there is something thats not right it would keep eating our mind till its set right. We had spent 21 hours on the road and done about 650kms, the windy roads brought down the average drastically on the bullet. I thanked my friend for his patience in riding much slower than his usual average to keep me in his rear view mirrors. We joked that we could have done a saddlesore for all the hours we spent on the road.

Day 6: Panaji - Margao - Karwar - Yellapur - Hubli - Davangere (Approx 430kms)

The day was hot and humid and we set out from the Ginger hotel towards Margao. The idea was to ride up to Mangalore and then down South along the coastal route. This had been my desire all along. We rode past Margoa and filled our tanks and headed into the most scenic, winding and narrow highway we had been on. We were being overtaken on all sides by foreigners on bikes with no helmets and they were doing some crazy speeds. Now we were petrified for them as there were so many blind curves and these folks were pushing the limits with apparently no care about their safety.

Things heat up...After a while I noticed smoke from my bike and hoped the bullet was not on fire as I could feel some higher than usual heat near my right leg. I signalled to my buddy and stopped to check out the bike. I noticed that there was a copious leak from my gear box near the base of the kicker. The oil was falling on the silencer and smoking on account of the silencer's heat. We allowed the bike to cool down for a bit and then slowly rode down and waved down another bulleteer at Palolem on a 500 and asked him for a mechanic. He directed us to Ourem beach where we met Afroz Khan - bullet specialist in those parts and he had a look at my bike and confirmed that it was a leak from the base of the kicker. He said it looks worse that it is and that I could ride on. He mentioned that he rode along as mechanic for the Leh Ladakh rides almost every year.


Arfroz Khan - Bullet specialist, Palolem beach, Cancona

Load off my mind we rode on till we reached Karwar and stopped for a most delicious meal of fish curry and rice at a hotel near the beach. After lunch we headed out to the beach to click some pics and then had a discussion about the route ahead. We had heard the Karwar to Mangalore stretch was not the best and I was jittery about getting stranded out there with the bullet in the condition it was in. Finally We decided we would ride up to Hubli and try to hit Davangere and then follow the same route we did on day 1 the following day. I was bitterly disappointed that I would miss the coastal road as that had been my dream to ride. Well it gave me an excuse to do another ride.

Karwar to Hubli was again one of the most beautiful stretches we rode during this ride. We were able to click some nice pics of Karwar beach from the hills and then watched the sunset off the west coast. Beautiful! The next 150kms was through a forest and there was hardly anyone on the road. I just love the feeling of oneness with the bike and the surrounding. Every small detail is seared on your brain, you notice the trees that have burnt down 100 feet to the left, you notice the ruins of what must have been a outpost, the greenery, the smell of the eucalyptus trees and yet you don't stop to notice anything. Somewhere in the middle of this stretch we stopped for chai at a small hamlet and saw these people who were distinctly negroid in appearance but they were talking a local dialect and they were extremely camera shy.

Chai with the camera shy locals

We reached Hubli and had a tea break and rode down to Davangere. As we entered Davangere the chain case on the bullet got cut and the cover was rubbing against the chain. We would have to replace it the following day or remove it before riding forward. We headed back to the Chetana Palace where we took a room and crashed in familiar surruoundings. Frankly I had not expected to be at the Chetana Palace, Davangere ever again. Well what do you know! My friend although 7-8 years younger was wrecked and he wanted to sleep in and leave late the following day.

Day 7: Davangere - Tumkur - Bengaluru - Krishnagiri - Salem - Avinashi - Coimbatore (Approx 650kms)

TLC for the bullet..Friday, Feb 3 - Day 7 of our ride and we checked out at about 10:30 AM and went out looking for a bullet mechanic. An autorickshaw driver said that there was a bullet showroom just down the road and we ended up there. The service station was still a bit ahead and the mechanic was at the showroom to pick up a bike he asked us to follow him and we reached the service station. They took some time to clear the place and my bike was taken up first as they knew by then that we were on a ride. The Service in charge looked around and found a spare chain case, the chain was also quite worn and I had them replace it. The gear box oil had almost fully drained and so they drained the remaining and had to top it up. The pump used to fill the gear box was not working properly and so the service in charge went and got a new piece. The oil was then topped up and we were ready to go. By this time there were a few fellow bulleteers who had gathered at the service station and we got to exchanging stories. Always a joy to catch up with fellow riders. By the time we collected the bullet and left Davangere it was 1:30 PM and we were over 600kms from home.


Helpful RE staff at the Royal Automobiles, Davangere

Swapping ride stories with fellow bulleteers.

we stopped at another Evergreen dhaba and had a quick lunch and headed out. We reached Bangalore took the NICE road and then reached Hosur around 6 in the evening. Traffic was really heavy and there was some roadwork happening on the Hosur to Krishnagiri stretch that made it even tougher. We reached Krishnagiri at 7:30 PM and that was when we decided it didn't make sense to stop for the night and that we should head back home. We said our goodbye at the toll gate and my friend headed to Chennai after breaking for dinner (Biriyani at Ambur). He call by ll PM to tell me he reached safely.

Ghost rider & I at Krishnagiri saying goodbye until our next ride...

Homeward bound...My adventure was yet to end. I took off from Krishnagiri and reached Salem, the bike seemed to be in good nick although the gear box oil was leaking yet again. I decided that I will not nurse the bullet further I would push all out and try and reach coimbatore. Krishnagiri to Salem went past and I did the next stretch of about 110 kms from Salem to Avinashi in about 75 mins. Now this is where I made a mistake in my eagerness to get back home. I forgot about my bad experience on the first 50kms of the ride and took the Avinashi to Coimbatore route yet again. It was a nightmare and the last 50 kms took me about an hour and forty minutes. It was dusty, treacherous terrain with heavy truck and bus traffic. I rode extra cautiously as I did not want to have a crash so close from home and I reached by 11:55 PM. My wife and mother in law were up and waiting for me. My son was fast asleep and not expecting me. I had a nice warm bath and crashed after some hot tea and sharing some pics with family. My son was excited to see me the next morning and would not let me go. I had to show him the pictures over and over again and tell him about the ride many times. I thanked God for bringing me back safe from my ride and for the opportunity to do such a ride.

Dad, I'm glad you & the Bullet are back in one piece

Final thoughts.
- though we set out to ride the coastal route, that remained a dream for various reasons, but we got the chance to see many interior parts of the country that was great.It was amazing to see the infrastructure development in our country, it was tangible. My perception about our country has changed after this ride.

- We lost our way but we got to see some beautiful country side.

- the bike broke down but did not let me down. It gave us the opportunity to meet people with similar interest, swap stories and that makes the trip all the more memorable. It also gave the confidence that I could tour any part of this country and still manage.

- I loved the conversations with the servers in the roadside dhabas, the fuel stations, the truckers, the curious onlookers who wanted to know what we were up to, guys who said they wished they could do the same and all those who cheered us. Amazed and touched by the friendliness of strangers.

- I am a die hard bulleteer but I came away feeling that the bike was on my mind for a major portion of the ride that possibly took away from enjoying the ride although I had prepared my mind to expect this before we set out. The average speed dropped considerably in the twisties and took away hours which could have allowed us to explore a few of the places we visited. We ended up spending more hours on the bike than we possibly anticipated. It took a toll on the bike and possibly this would be the last ride of this scale on the bullet.

- the Karizma performed admirably and is a versatile tourer. The service support network for HH is amazing. The Karizma may well be my next bike as I hope to restore the Bullet and keep it for short rides and city use.

- I learnt that fitness is a relative thing and if the mind is strong the body will follow.

- My 6 year old son missed me more than I imagined and so I would possibly not do a ride of this duration till he grows up a bit. I feel a 4 day ride is optimal for now.

- Did we achieve anything by this ride, did it serve any purpose. I don't know. But would I do it again. without a doubt, I would.

Let me know your thoughts, inputs or any questions about the ride.

Cheers!

Kholapur - Yes...one freakin place; last time when I rode through evening, I'd one close encounter with one of the turns. I thought I would crash while taking the curve, fortunately, I'd an escape & yes...most people cross the roads as if they were crossing their bedrooms!!! Another possibility might be because, the entire road after Chitradurga (may be even after Tumkur) until Kholapur is empty highway & come Kholapur & we see human races. May be due to that too.

Cops or any freaking B*** I hate when they spread negative energies!!! Especially that idiot when he says no amount of gears would help. So what would happen if one never even wears it? If he cannot talk anything positive, just shut his **** mouth & stop spreading negative energies. I'm so emotional on this one because, all of us ride (or even drive for that matter) so long only to hear such nonsense statements. Even if we didn't have such thoughts, people like this are like garbage trucks!!! Keep throwing garbage's all overs!!!

the Karizma performed admirably and is a versatile tourer. The service support network for HH is amazing. The Karizma may well be my next bike as I hope to restore the Bullet and keep it for short rides and city use

Not to deny anything on ZMA/R, but, you should also consider how CBR 250R performs (no offense, marketing or have intentions to create a brand war, but just to help out with options to a fellow xBhpian)

Did we achieve anything by this ride, did it serve any purpose. I don't know. But would I do it again. without a doubt, I would

Hell yes!!! Experience...lot of experience

- Nicely written with lot of details (more than what you told me when we last met)

- And finally the ghost rider's pic is up ! , time for him to get "caught"

- Hope to be riding with you guys the next time you plan on a big trip ( Leh - calling huh??? )