“Its not the destination, but the ride”- (Biking Nirvana on my Z1000) - xBhp.com : The Global Indian Biking Community

Haroon · 01-04-2009, 11:12 PM

As somebody once said “Its not the destination, but the ride”, that’s exactly what I enjoyed doing this past week-end.

By touring standards in xbhp, a 350 km ride would be a walk in the park for many of you, but I had to complete it (comfortably!) in 3-4 hours as I had to be back by noon for Friday prayers. Well, I had been out of riding for a while now and it was itching real bad to take a nice ride. Come Friday (our weekend here) and I was up early and instantly decided I want to do a decent ride. With my beemer’s battery gone kaput, but my Zed just having completed her 4000kms service, it was the Kwacker for the job.

I decided the most satisfying route would be Al Kamel- a mountain route near Jeddah. The last time I had been there, my riding buddy had a bad crash on his V-Strom (had posted it here before the website crash), so I had to be extra careful this time as I was riding alone. The two-way trip would be close to 350 kms of which close to 180 odd kms is pure twisty mountain roads with almost no traffic, no cops, no pedestrians, fantastic tarmac and wild desert landscapes. Ofcourse, most riders here do it in groups as it is a long way from home if you or the bike screws-up - help is nowhere near in those mountains! So I needed to ride responsibly, carry lots of water, puncture kit/compressor, camera, rain-gear (as it was cloudy) etc. My regular magnetic tank-top pouch would not suffice and so I decided to ‘inaugurate’ my Eclipse magnetic Tankbag (more on it later as I didn’t come out too impressed with it). As for the ride, believe me, this is the route that any biker irrespective of the kind of bike he rides, would love to tear apart as you will see in the photos.

I started off at 7 am and it was a little chilly, but I was to later know that the airflow jacket & gloves are meant for the desert heat & not for even the mild winter in the mountains. The roads out of Jeddah as usual are the flat silky smooth 6-lane highways. Thanks to the oil wealth, we don’t pay any taxes either for its construction or for its upkeep. After about 75 odd kms the road turns into a single one, but it remains silky smooth till the very end, where only the last 2kms stretch is being re-layed and is now a dirt track as it was washed off in a landslide. On the naked Zed, I really miss the wind-protection that my beemer offers and Friday was a reasonably windy day. Soon I noticed that although the magnets held my tankbag tight, it was slowly sliding backwards & pressing towards my stomach. I pushed it forward, but again it moves back with the wind blast. Indeed, there is abundant power available at the twist of my throttle, but I was mostly cruising at about 90-120 kph with an occasional blast to about 170 plus on straights. So I knew the bag wouldn’t flip, but I had to live with it for the rest of the trip.

Although, it was a ride into the wilderness, I was enjoying every moment of it purely for the solitude & freedom from all the hussle-bussle & tensions of daily work life. In such rides, there is a close bonding between man & machine and the bike suddenly feels like a living thing that is also enjoying the whole experience with you (non-bikers would think I have gone cuckoo in my head!). For many of you that frown on naked superbikes, do a rethink. The Zed was an absolute feast to ride and no body/wrist fatigue whatsoever. With some added padding on the seat, my bottom complained less this time (want to try out sheep skin-fur & my windshield next time). Anyway the following pictures will describe the whole ride experience.

All ready to leave home at 7:00AM

The smooth 6-lane Expressway out of Jeddah

Gassing up. The red one is 95 Octane & Green one is 91 Octane

Catching the morning sunrays

Approaching Usfan town

The dusty Usfan town is last part of civilization

Starting approach to the mountain

There it all begins

The Dirt section was not easy with super slick tires

At the half way turning point

Warning is essential as on some curves when you reach the top, you suddenly see the road dipping sharply to the left or right

An oasis with date palms

They call it the Camel Rock, but to me it looks like something else...

Objects in mirror are more….than they appear

It’s a harsh landscape

Didn’t want complaints I missed the most important inhabitant of the area

Like Saudi chicks, these were too shy to pose with the ‘alien’

Thats the road cleaning/maintenance crew (my gratitude to these guys)

Golden stretch for Jeddah bikers. With almost no traffic & road visible for miles ahead, you can top 300kph on this stretch. My personal best was 220

The approach back to civilization

All in a days work. Back home at 11:48AM with 343kms on the odo.

Aryan · 01-05-2009, 07:48 AM

Topic Approved.

Wonderful stuff Haroon. Thoroughly enjoyed the text and the pictures. Those roads look yummy!

How did the Z1000 perform in this trip? I bet, it was awesome!

jasmeetsinghchawla · 01-05-2009, 08:41 AM

[quote=Haroon;149490]
They call it the Camel Rock, but to me it looks like something else...

Its a Tortoise rock in your opinion or what?

MG · 01-05-2009, 08:52 AM

@Haroon-Superb stuff.Thanks for sharing.Both the machine and the road looks yummy.

Sunny · 01-05-2009, 10:00 AM

Terrific roads, beauty of a machine and loneliness that is hard to find. Thanks for sharing!

rx100.7050 · 01-05-2009, 10:25 AM

[quote=Haroon;149490]As somebody once said “Its not the destination, but the ride”, that’s exactly what I enjoyed doing this past week-end.

Hey Haroon!! Haven't gone thrrough the post completely but the heading did capture my attention. For us, most of the rides are actually not planned well enough in advance. Its just that we so much LOVE to ride on our trusted steeds that we decide on the destination later.

Just been through the Pics & ur Kawa Naked Bike... Man its looks really AWESOME!! will be reading the entire post soon.

Happy New Year

rx100.7050 · 01-05-2009, 10:35 AM

What Roads man!!! Woah!! Great stuff man. Loved the pics & the write. Amazing. Do keep touring more often !
The Indian Flag on the mud guard was so cooool

ken cool · 01-05-2009, 01:25 PM

Great ride! Great roads! We can see that you had a Great time!

kirosh_03 · 01-05-2009, 01:25 PM

Wonderful trip, Haroon bhai! Thanks for sharing!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Haroon

They call it the Camel Rock, but to me it looks like something else...

I know what you thought. It does look so!

praveenkm · 01-05-2009, 01:42 PM

Awesome ride Haroon. Fantastic place to ride. Total nirvana for a biker

btw rmbr me? we had a long chat when u were in bangalore to See-off Gir Nandihills ride.
But u look bit different

01-04-2009, 11:12 PM	#1 (permalink)
Haroon RIDE for PASSION Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bangalorean, but now in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Posts: 794	“Its not the destination, but the ride”- (Biking Nirvana on my Z1000) As somebody once said “Its not the destination, but the ride”, that’s exactly what I enjoyed doing this past week-end. By touring standards in xbhp, a 350 km ride would be a walk in the park for many of you, but I had to complete it (comfortably!) in 3-4 hours as I had to be back by noon for Friday prayers. Well, I had been out of riding for a while now and it was itching real bad to take a nice ride. Come Friday (our weekend here) and I was up early and instantly decided I want to do a decent ride. With my beemer’s battery gone kaput, but my Zed just having completed her 4000kms service, it was the Kwacker for the job. I decided the most satisfying route would be Al Kamel- a mountain route near Jeddah. The last time I had been there, my riding buddy had a bad crash on his V-Strom (had posted it here before the website crash), so I had to be extra careful this time as I was riding alone. The two-way trip would be close to 350 kms of which close to 180 odd kms is pure twisty mountain roads with almost no traffic, no cops, no pedestrians, fantastic tarmac and wild desert landscapes. Ofcourse, most riders here do it in groups as it is a long way from home if you or the bike screws-up - help is nowhere near in those mountains! So I needed to ride responsibly, carry lots of water, puncture kit/compressor, camera, rain-gear (as it was cloudy) etc. My regular magnetic tank-top pouch would not suffice and so I decided to ‘inaugurate’ my Eclipse magnetic Tankbag (more on it later as I didn’t come out too impressed with it). As for the ride, believe me, this is the route that any biker irrespective of the kind of bike he rides, would love to tear apart as you will see in the photos. I started off at 7 am and it was a little chilly, but I was to later know that the airflow jacket & gloves are meant for the desert heat & not for even the mild winter in the mountains. The roads out of Jeddah as usual are the flat silky smooth 6-lane highways. Thanks to the oil wealth, we don’t pay any taxes either for its construction or for its upkeep. After about 75 odd kms the road turns into a single one, but it remains silky smooth till the very end, where only the last 2kms stretch is being re-layed and is now a dirt track as it was washed off in a landslide. On the naked Zed, I really miss the wind-protection that my beemer offers and Friday was a reasonably windy day. Soon I noticed that although the magnets held my tankbag tight, it was slowly sliding backwards & pressing towards my stomach. I pushed it forward, but again it moves back with the wind blast. Indeed, there is abundant power available at the twist of my throttle, but I was mostly cruising at about 90-120 kph with an occasional blast to about 170 plus on straights. So I knew the bag wouldn’t flip, but I had to live with it for the rest of the trip. Although, it was a ride into the wilderness, I was enjoying every moment of it purely for the solitude & freedom from all the hussle-bussle & tensions of daily work life. In such rides, there is a close bonding between man & machine and the bike suddenly feels like a living thing that is also enjoying the whole experience with you (non-bikers would think I have gone cuckoo in my head!). For many of you that frown on naked superbikes, do a rethink. The Zed was an absolute feast to ride and no body/wrist fatigue whatsoever. With some added padding on the seat, my bottom complained less this time (want to try out sheep skin-fur & my windshield next time). Anyway the following pictures will describe the whole ride experience. All ready to leave home at 7:00AM The smooth 6-lane Expressway out of Jeddah Gassing up. The red one is 95 Octane & Green one is 91 Octane Catching the morning sunrays Approaching Usfan town The dusty Usfan town is last part of civilization Starting approach to the mountain There it all begins The Dirt section was not easy with super slick tires At the half way turning point Warning is essential as on some curves when you reach the top, you suddenly see the road dipping sharply to the left or right An oasis with date palms They call it the Camel Rock, but to me it looks like something else... Objects in mirror are more….than they appear It’s a harsh landscape Didn’t want complaints I missed the most important inhabitant of the area Like Saudi chicks, these were too shy to pose with the ‘alien’ Thats the road cleaning/maintenance crew (my gratitude to these guys) Golden stretch for Jeddah bikers. With almost no traffic & road visible for miles ahead, you can top 300kph on this stretch. My personal best was 220 The approach back to civilization All in a days work. Back home at 11:48AM with 343kms on the odo. __________________ Growing old is compulsory - growing up is optional *So many roads, So little time* RIDE for PASSION See us & our rides at: www.rideforpassion.com

01-05-2009, 07:48 AM	#2 (permalink)
Aryan Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: New Delhi/ Shillong Posts: 18,274	Topic Approved. Wonderful stuff Haroon. Thoroughly enjoyed the text and the pictures. Those roads look yummy! How did the Z1000 perform in this trip? I bet, it was awesome! __________________ ...in search of that perfect world - My Travel Blog :)

01-05-2009, 10:25 AM	#6 (permalink)
rx100.7050 Old Dawg Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: New Delhi Posts: 1,866	[quote=Haroon;149490]As somebody once said “Its not the destination, but the ride”, that’s exactly what I enjoyed doing this past week-end. Hey Haroon!! Haven't gone thrrough the post completely but the heading did capture my attention. For us, most of the rides are actually not planned well enough in advance. Its just that we so much LOVE to ride on our trusted steeds that we decide on the destination later. Just been through the Pics & ur Kawa Naked Bike... Man its looks really AWESOME!! will be reading the entire post soon. Happy New Year __________________ *"HASTA LA VICTORIA, SIEMPRE !" - Che* BIKEf.a.n.a.t.i.c Short Honeymoon trip with my beloved two http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/tourer/18983-spicy-sour-sweet-short-honeymoon-trip.html In Pursuit of Swarghat http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/tourer/20306-pursuit-swarghat.html#post716409 Anniversary trip http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/tourer/2...sary-trip.html

01-05-2009, 10:35 AM	#7 (permalink)
rx100.7050 Old Dawg Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: New Delhi Posts: 1,866	What Roads man!!! Woah!! Great stuff man. Loved the pics & the write. Amazing. Do keep touring more often ! The Indian Flag on the mud guard was so cooool __________________ *"HASTA LA VICTORIA, SIEMPRE !" - Che* BIKEf.a.n.a.t.i.c Short Honeymoon trip with my beloved two http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/tourer/18983-spicy-sour-sweet-short-honeymoon-trip.html In Pursuit of Swarghat http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/tourer/20306-pursuit-swarghat.html#post716409 Anniversary trip http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/tourer/2...sary-trip.html

01-05-2009, 01:25 PM	#8 (permalink)
ken cool Super Moderator Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: New Delhi Posts: 4,677	Great ride! Great roads! We can see that you had a Great time! __________________ The Wheel was a great invention; Two Wheels with a Motor in between was even better! BMW Motorrad Days 2011 Xbhp's Indo-French Kashmir-Ladakh Tour

01-05-2009, 08:41 AM	#3 (permalink)
jasmeetsinghchawla Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Raipur (C.G.) Posts: 591	[quote=Haroon;149490] They call it the Camel Rock, but to me it looks like something else... Its a Tortoise rock in your opinion or what?

01-05-2009, 08:52 AM	#4 (permalink)
MG Super Moderator Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Maharashtra,India Posts: 5,900	@Haroon-Superb stuff.Thanks for sharing.Both the machine and the road looks yummy.

01-05-2009, 10:00 AM	#5 (permalink)
Sunny SlowMotionInfinity Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Delhi Posts: 7,292	Terrific roads, beauty of a machine and loneliness that is hard to find. Thanks for sharing!

01-05-2009, 01:42 PM	#10 (permalink)
praveenkm Speed Demon Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Bangalore, Karnataka, India. Posts: 510	Awesome ride Haroon. Fantastic place to ride. Total nirvana for a biker btw rmbr me? we had a long chat when u were in bangalore to See-off Gir Nandihills ride. But u look bit different __________________ The truth is out there. Get out of ur couch!!! 'My Escapades - The Blog'

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