hitanshu

Hey All,

The rolling stones of IIMA were raring to go after 2 weeks of inactivity! The chosen spot was RatanMahal, a desolate sanctuary some 250 kms (as we found firsthand) from Ahmedabad.

26th morning, we pushed off, about 4am with yours truly googling
(unsuccessfully) about the exact location till 3:45am We rode easy till the outskirts, when we caught the road going to Naroda and Kapadwanj. Unfortunately, the distance on the ground turned out to be 30kms longer than anticipated

We reached Balasinor, some 100 kms after three hours. Over morning tea, we realized that yours truly had taken the wrong route. My bike was leaking oil, and another was maxing out at 60. Not the best starts

There after, we hit a really shady track of road from Sevalia to Godhra. Funnily, the 'forest' tracks of Gujarat were smoother than this particular stretch of NH 59 Thereafter, post Gondalia, we took the road heading to Devgarh Baria (the only point of reference mentioned on the map!), which turned out to be a sleepy hamlet with a GAIL oil well.

From here on, the scenery improved. The roads became less straight, and the trees were nice. The best thing of Gujarat is the amazing roads, and the nice scenery. Some places you have nice mustard fields, others are barren. The ride is always varying. Plus, if you're super dressed up, people everywhere stop to see you pass, and kids want to have pics with you. Feels good :-)

Baria is an intersting place, dusty and in the middle of nowhere. Yet,
it has these funny houses, which look straight from the Britishers'
time, complete with decaying wooden pillars and all From there on, the foothills start, and the drive is slightly up and down. The roads are nice, though they have a tendency to bend out of the blue.
Interestingly, I almost ran over a snake enroute. After stopping cms
from its head, the snake paused long enough for a pic, and then slinked away. Someone told me its' a good omen for money!!

Then on, we reached RatanMahal. I'd heard great tales about it. It's a
nice place, with a ~10km track inside the jungle, which is basically
gravel and loose stones. Can be lethal for your bike tyres and
suspension. Incidentally, we reached at noon, which is totally the wrong time to visit. In hot weather, bears apparently come out in evenings, so we didn't see any . The ride up was great, and at the summit, we could see for miles, especially into the promised (wet)land of Madhya Pradesh. I'm told that a village on the mountain, is on the border, and has access to cheap booze

The views were quite breathtaking, and after several DCH style pics, we hurried back to Ahmedabad. Overall, a great trip, nice ride, though I could do with a bear sighting too :-)

Some sample pics:
(All on: http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/hitans...prodid=&.done= )

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shernell998

good pics man

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asif

so all you guys are from IIMA...great man.we also have some management guys in the group.so what did you guys do except the long ride....any stunts.how come there are only pics of the guy in the millitary jacket.hi who are you????

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lovemax

Gud going... Hitanshu..
Gud selection of location... Keep hunting down more & more..
great Going..

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hitanshu

lol.
Why would *I* post pics of a random guy in a military jacket? (That was for camouflage in the trees btw)

I've got this map of Gujarat and Western India up on my wall. Before graduating in April 2006, I'm definitely covering all Gujarat and most Maharashtra

As for stunts, I'm loath to try anything special on my 110cc Caliber. The baby's done 44 thousand km and seems good for another 44!! btw, any XMen from Ahmedabad in here?

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lovemax

Hitanshu, can I have some maps from your end [?]
Specifically made.. with distance !
shoot me at love.max@gmail.com

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smoke_2fst

kool pics....

neerajtikku

nice pics dude !!

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