ken cool

INTRODUCTION.

Friends, Biking and Family.

Friends biking and family seems odd as a title of an introduction to a trip log. But that is what it was. I was musing about a Superbike tour (the desire is insatiable). I found a partner in a friend, one who is ever ready for a ride even at midnight (often at midnight for that matter!). Vivek is my eternal answer to such a venture. And incidentally the time coincided with a family reunion happening in the Himalayas. I just had to discuss with Vivek for the choice of a suitable destination that would take me closer to the place of the family reunion in Uttaranchal. We wanted good empty hilly roads, good for a grippy traction, essential when you are riding a superbike with near slicks; and hilly roads, we wanted to lean them, biking is all about cornering. To do 250+ speeds on straight lines is not a problem living in New Delhi. There are enough empty roads with divine texture. So we decided to take off to Uttaranchal, destination Lansdowne.

THE QUEST IS ON…

There is no further need to introduce the riders. The bikes are the same. Better broken-in with the odo readings ticking on.

Vivek on his 10R


Ken on his R1


Vivek and I hit off famously. As usual. We had roared off in our first ride to Mt Abu and the engines had not had time to cool down that we had decided to do it again, ride off somewhere else, astride our respective superbikes, the 2006 Ninja-10R and the 2006 R1. Living in New Delhi, there is no dearth of destinations. Last time we had made off to Mt Abu, there were some great straights and some twisties on the last stretch of 22 kilometers climb to the hill station.

My family was having a reunion in Uttaranchal, somewhere in Garhwal, at Pauri, Khirsu and Lansdowne. Vivek and I had been thinking of a destination to bend the bikes. And I suggested Lansdowne or Pauri, both being on the same route.

22nd December, 2006.

Once having traveled together, we needed no preparation. The checklist was the same. The temperatures were lower. This time I had to pick him up. We were to take the North-East exit out of Delhi through Ghaziabad. We were leaving town from his side. I reached his place at 0640 hours, almost half an hour later than the designated hour. Yes I was late. He gave me a light breakfast of cereals and we were on our way.

I was wearing thermal inners, upper and lowers, a full sleeve tee, a pullover and the GIR protective gear. I also had on the protective gloves. Vivek had lent me a balaclava. I was not cold when we started.

I followed Vivek to get out of Delhi. And soon enough, within 15 minutes of getting out of Delhi, we rode straight into a fog thick enough to stop us almost from moving forward. I tried following Vivek. He was barely 25 meters ahead of me, and I could not even see his tail light LEDs! I was riding at less than 27km/h. Vivek had said the roads were good and I had dreamed of triple digit speeds and here I was trying to wade my way through kilometers of swirling mist, heavy enough to weigh down on our progress. My breathing had misted up the visor from inside, and the fog had done the rest from the outside of the visor. Visibility was an absolute zero. One needs anti-fog visors to see in such conditions. One does not get them in India. Not even an anti-fog spray. (Those were the days when I did not possess my SHARK and Vivek did not have a HJC)

I lifted the visor to see better. That was a big mistake. I did see better, but all the dirt started getting in the eyes. And in such weather, once the visor is up, I could not get it closed again as it was dripping wet, fogged, dirty from the ambient floating dust sticking to it forming a grime. We stopped after an hour to clean up, clear the visors, lose some weight, take stock of the situation and continue. Vivek had a hot tea to warm up.

Just before Meerut, we were diverted to the side fields and vacant lands since the main highway was closed due to the Meerut Marathon. It is a good thing that this country is waking up ever so slowly to sporting activities. And it is an entirely different thing when the main and only highway is closed down due to the Meerut Marathon and the whole traffic is diverted through the non-existent roads through the fields of Uttar Pradesh.

This diversion was a typically broken pathway reminiscent of Uttar Pradeshi corruption full of potholes, lots of stones, almost no tarmac, and the entire highway traffic including the local bullock carts, tractors, going both ways on a path that barely allowed two Maruti Omnis to go side by side. And of course, everybody was in a tearing hurry. And in the midst of all that, there was also a railroad crossing. Talk of being on Superbikes and looking for fun. That was an hour of riding. At speeds that I would rather not mention. But then all of that adds up to your experience. This is not the kind of fun that you will get riding on track. But…

Our bikes, helmets and gear were wet from the fog, and now we were covered with the dust from the dirt track that we rode on. We were a pretty sight when we stopped at a dhaba to look at ourselves. I washed my visor. That is the only thing that I could wash then. And we continued.

Tea break, visor cleaning break, in short a long pit stop!


It was almost 10 in the morning, the fog was lifting, visibility was more to our liking, the roads wonderful, textured, gripping and we started opening the machine up. These are single country roads. You cannot ride on them at 200+ speeds. But the roads are of very good quality, textured, gripping, and fast. I did manage to touch 200 once. There was negligible traffic, not too many animals. That is one advantage of cold weather where temperatures are closer to 0°.

I loved this ride. Green fields, harvested sugarcanes, nippy weather, sunny side up, curvy roads, approaching the hills, quite an experience going through all that, soaking it up. As we crossed several villages, I could smell the odour of sugarcane refineries wafting through. If you have traveled by Shatabdi or Rajdhani and if you have used the sugar packets that are served with the tea, and if you have observed the print on these small sachets of sugar, it says Daurala sugar mills. Daurala is right on this road. Next time you take sugar from one of these sachets while traveling in these trains, you can think of Vivek and me riding through to the hills in the Garhwal Himalayas.

Bend it through the pines...


The road started winding through green, forested areas as we approached the hills. Vivek was going crazy bending the Ninja at every corner. I was going crazy too, but I don’t bend it like Vivek. He is really good at it. And I was having a great time following him and see him bend her through the curves, and disappear on the road into the greenery. Both of us were having a great time. This is what we had come for. And then the climb started. And the bending continued, albeit a bit slower.

Riding in the Himalayas is always a pleasure. The roads here are nice, though not as broad as in Himachal. Sugarcane fields gave way to more mountainous vegetation. Pines and filaos were taking over the vegetation cover. Traffic was practically nonexistent. We stopped once in a while to enjoy the luxurious surroundings, and to take pictures. Once we switched off the bikes, all the sound that we could hear was a silent breeze whispering through the leaves.

Vivek and I decided to go till Lansdowne and stay put instead of going all the way till Pauri. He seemed to know the place well. He took me to the GMVN guesthouse where we checked in. He played around a bit with my R1 in the premises riding it in circles on the front porch.

We went out for lunch in town. And then we got back to the hotel and Vivek started doing what he does best. Drop off to sleep for a nice long siesta!

In the evening, the guesthouse, that surprisingly houses a central heating system, puts it on in the evening and both Vivek and I were leaning against the two radiators in the room to warm our bottoms. Unfortunately this heating lasts just one hour, which is just about enough to warm the rooms for a short while. It becomes pretty cold again during the night.

Lansdowne is a nice cantonment town. Not much of a town really. A few houses, a small market place, some army messes. Sleepy place and everything closes down by 7 in the evening. It was pretty cold too. It was close to freezing temperatures during the night. There is a place called Tip ‘n’ Top where apparently people go to see sunsets. Vivek wanted to take me there but his siesta went well past sunset. And by the time he woke up, it was time for dinner. At GMVN guesthouses, dinner has to be ordered in advance. Else you might be caught high and dry and hungry for the night. We had dinner and walked to town in the evening under the stars. I was looking for a Pepsi. Couldn’t find it. Found some Gajar ka Halwa and Gulab Jamun instead.

We kept walking after that and Vivek kept me entertained with stories of his exploits in various fields. And then we retired for the night.

Next morning we were going separate ways. Vivek was going back home and I was going further up solo, direction Pauri. We parted around 9 in the morning after a light breakfast at the guesthouse. At Lansdowne there are several churches. And one of them houses a library with books describing the Indo-China war. I kept going up and found my way to Pauri.

The Church overlooking the R1!


The road was narrow, light climb, good and well laid out with nice tarmac, winding through the forested hills through which I could glimpse the entire snow capped Garhwal range. Soon I joined the road that came from Kotdwar and went towards Pauri. I stopped at a gas station. Filled gas. Filled STP octane booster. Chatted a while with the gas station guy. The sun was beating down. It was not that cold as it was at Lansdowne during the night.

Lansdowne -- Pauri.


Roads in Paradise!


It was a nice easy ride till Pauri. 90 odd kilometers. Once at Pauri, I found the GMVN guesthouse and checked in. I took the only room with TV and parked my bike outside and went to look for food. News had spread that a big Hayabusa had landed in Pauri. When I came back from lunch, I saw a crowd hanging around the bike. And then the question-answer session began, almost like a press con. Though the guesthouse is pretty isolated from the rest of the town, but that did not deter the youngsters on their RX100s coming and checking out the bike, calling me from my room at odd times and hours to talk and have a look at the R1.

I waited in Pauri for two days for my family and cousins to arrive. They were coming from Haridwar in a bus. Finally they were there. And we were headed towards Khirsu. It was Christmas!

Views from Khirsu.


Khirsu is a small village, back of beyond, the ride is simply beautiful. Small, narrow roads, wet and cold at times. And finally when we approach Khirsu, to the GMVN guesthouse, the last kilometer was through roads that the R1 has never been on. There was no road. It was path meant for ponies normally on trekking routes. Stones embedded in the ground to give grip to the pony’s feet. I rode on the R1 till the guesthouse on such roads. I was riding at barely 10kmph and was getting thrown off the saddle.

I parked her and started taking pictures. It was pretty cold in Khirsu. At 1 in the afternoon, there was still ground frost in the shaded areas. I picked up the frost from the ground and showed it to people. Bengalis being cold-fearing people brought out their heavy jackets and extra woolens when they saw the ground frost.

A little after I parked, someone showed me a nail in my rear tyre. I let it be and told myself to wait till the moment of departure which was in two days.

The stay in Khirsu was nice. There is a nice park where one can go and play Frisbee. The village is really small. Thankfully there is no Plaza Mall. And thankfully there is a GSM network. But no Reliance or Tata. At night we bought wood and did a bonfire to warm ourselves. It was really cold and there was no heating in the hotel.





THE FAMILY BIT.
Family reunions are a funny thing. At least in my opinion. Let us put it this way. There have been no family reunions EVER since I was born. It was probably pure chance that once in a while the cousins of my generation got together while we were still minors and once in a long while when we attained adulthood.

What happens when we attain adulthood? In India we get married. And then we have kids. And we get caught up in the daily rigmarole of waking up, feeding the kid, sending them/it to school, going to work. And then in fast forward adulthood starts disappearing and we start looking, feeling and acting middle-age. And in our nuclear, separated existences, we barely stop to think of going and meeting up someone. That has been taken care of by television.

In the midst of all that, Abhilasha, the wife of my cousin used to take an initiative once in a while to get us together. In one such initiative, we managed to get a sizable part of the family together, four cousins from India and their better halves and their progeny, and their progenitors. In all, we were fifteen pax. We missed Raju. But then California is a trifle far flung from Khirsu.


There were fifteen of us sitting around a bonfire in front of the Garhwal snowcaps in biting – 5° temperatures, occasionally sipping whisky, at 8 in the evening, while some of the elder generation sipped Brandy as it is deemed a “medicine”. Of course they liked to have this medicine mixed with Coca cola but then that is another story for another day.


THE END:
Two days later, I was getting ready to leave Khirsu. I went to the bike to take the nail out. It was a long one. I pulled it out with a key and put water on the hole. A bubble or two came out. And then it stopped. The hole seemed to fill up on its own like the first time it happened in Delhi. I love soft compound tyres like this. I took the way back to Delhi. Nothing much to write home about. At Meerut, I took the Delhi bypass. Else one can lose a lot of time going through the city which can be worse than Chandni Chowk. Enjoy the ride. Superbikes can go everywhere. They are not as fragile as they are made out to be.

And about family reunions, it is becoming fashionable now. Living separated by thousands of kilometers. And traversing all that to meet up at least once a year. For fun, for knowing the deadly mix of characters in Macro; please do come and join in. And oh yes, dont forget a good scotch or preferably a vintage wine!

Text and photos: KRISHNENDU KES

This tour was done as you can see in December 2006. Please bear with the inconsistencies in riding style, speeds etc. The story existed in the older crashed xBhp. Putting it here once again as a reference.

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BMW Motorrad Days 2011

Xbhp's Indo-French Kashmir-Ladakh Tour

Aryan

Topic Approved.

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BANDHAV

I havnt gone through it as of now, but just love the pic of you in those formal clothings on nothing less but R-ONE. Lovely.

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Yes, i blog too..

ken cool

Thanks! Going to work on the R1 with a tie. Just love it.

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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

moeed

That's great. I can see only the first two pics. Can you fix the rest of them?

tibby

@Ken da: Lovely pic on the R1 in formal wear, instead of racing-gear..
Can only see the first 2 pics though.. Guess you will need to meddle a little with the rest of them..

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My views on the YZF-R15 V2.0: http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/news/198...tml#post699240

My test-ride experience of the YZF-R15 V2.0: http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/news/198...tml#post725556

The pleasure is when your rear wheel slides, and you bring it back; and when the front wheel lifts, you take your time bringing it back.

ketan_r15

@ Ken..
I am all so excited to see the pics.. But damn.. the pics are not visible.. Only first 2 pics are visible and rest of the pics are not loading even after repeatedly refreshing the page. Kindly put the images as xbhp attachments for me to see them. After reading that cornering through greenery part of the log am all so excited to see all the pics..

Looking forward to this thread..

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Aryan

This has been one of my favoruite reads in the older xBhp, along with the thread in which you had described about your feelings and expressions when you had JUST got the 'One's delivery. That was my all time favourite thread!

P.S: Like everyone said, apart from the first and the second picture, rest of the pictures are not visible.

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anshul uniyal

What a way to go about re-unions.After reading the post, I am badly missing hills now. My family would never allow me to ride for re- union though. Knidly post the pics soon.

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blisteringintelligence

Other than the first two pics ( Which are amazing) I am not able to see the others...
I am enjoying the write up. Christmas in the mountains. Wonderful Ken da...

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