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Everytime I decide to take the road the perennial question is why the bike... Why not the bus or train... Most of tourers would get that..
Most of the times people don't understand why we ride.. They don't understand why we spend so much on fuel or why we risk our lives by taking the road.. The parents are the strongest critics.
No matter how hard we try people don't understand unless they are a rider like us...
In a twist of fate I got the chance to show it to my mom of all people why I ride... I know... Fate can be very surprising [emoji1][emoji23][emoji23].
The ride was from bangalore to kanchipuram and back in two days.. I always had a liking for the tamil nadu nh. They are lovely and well maintained for most part except for the stretch after arcot towards Chennai which has become dangerous especially during nights recently..
It was just a week ago that I had completed an arduous journey to pune and back by my beloved fz and was itching to get back on the highway[emoji23][emoji16][emoji16]..
So after some safety briefing for mom we left bangalore in the afternoon..
The bangalore traffic allowed us to cover just 60km in 1.5 hours till hosur mid which is my favourite place on the nh. It's a tradition that I follow to eat there every time I take that route...
After a nice meal we left to kanchipuram...
We arrived at kanchipuram at around 9 after driving nonstop from..
On the way we saw some scenic view which I proudly pointed out to my mom and said this why I ride.. She just enjoyed it and didn't say anything.. Half convinced and will try convincing completely on the way back..
Now taking rest and waiting to get back home. Typed using stupid Tapatalk which didn't allow pics.. Will post the pics once back home...
The tryst with the road continues...
hmmm and we left kanchi at 4 pm after a small tiffin. Tanked up and drove to the highway. people stared at me like i was an alien just cz i wore a helmet
. People in the south have a different view but that will be explained later
.
While coming to kanchi i had seen a road side eatery called the idly shop which looked posh and very inviting so decided to have omething there before getting back on the road. The idly was very filling and tasty. the quality and maintenance was excellent. They have a specialty called jigarthanda (m not sure if i spelled correctly) which was different but very good. Yeah and there she is..my brave mom....She is an army officer so very brave indeed...it runs in the blood haha.
the view outside the idly shop. Its raining in the distance...
So after food we left. i had no intention of getting wet so told my mom to hold on and then vroomed away.250 kms to go..
The stretch of highway from there was awesome so the ride was smooth. A few cars gave me company as we randomly overtook each other unintentionally of course. They were quite frustrated as they didnt want to go very fast but at the same time be matched and overtaken by a 150cc bike haha..
It was windy throughout the ride which slowed me down to the 90s. mile after mile raced away under me and the scenic view kept coming and they can be quite a distraction for the inexperienced. The highway is very dangerous if u get distracted even for few seconds.
Caught a swath of rain on the way but my experience told me to keep driving. Many of us will know that rain on the highway lasts for few kms and stops, most of the time haha. The constant riding made sure we dried up soon. We stopped at Krishnagiri for fuel and a cup of coffee. Then i heard the most incredulous request from my mom. One of her friend was leaving madiwala so she wanted to meet her and we had only an hour before she left. I told her its impossible knowing very well hosur traffic is hell but she insisted so here i had another chance to show her how a highway is for the riders.
And we left going at the maximum speed my 150cc faithful stallion allowed. She was afraid in the beginning squeezing my shoulders every time i zip zapped between trucks and buses but soon she realized that i was experienced and caution and started enjoying the ride.
Soon we reached hosur and it was hell...the entire stretch from hosur to bangalore was under construction and bad roads which lead to slow and smoky traffic. There was a time where i loved the tn nh. but now its not the same.
Finally reached bangalore and ripped through the elevated expressway and reached silk board. There we were overtaken by two guys on a modified ninja 650. i dont know if he is a xbhpian. he had modified his exhaust such that it was under the seat with no rear number plate.
Then we reached our home tire and happy... i am proud of my mom as she sat through the entire journey without complaining. We all know the pillion on the fz is not the best and most comfortable place to sit especially for a long drive. I am using a mesh cover which gives some respite. I never understood why the yamaha guys decided to make sure that the new seats which the newer model (post 2011) have were made incompatible with the older versions. If i am correct the only difference is that they have a mold under the new sit which doesnt seat in the older models. Very disappointed. the new ones are wider.
And now about the southern perspective of a rider with helmet especially in the towns and villages. Few ask if i do stunts. Few ask if i race and what not. People think wearing helmet is cowardly. They prefer riding without the helmet cz they think they look brave and cool. And the splendor riders omg (no disrespect meant to splendor). Splendors are in plentiful in the south and the riders tend to be in the twenties and ride them like its some superbike. Common not only do they ride like hell but think they can race with us and do all kind of unsafe riding on the highway. It gets frustrating when they decide that they are fast and ride on the middle and fast lane. No honking can make them see otherwise. They zig zag cutting across lanes making us get the jitters.
Once we reached i asked my mom how was the ride. She said it was good except for the sore bum. Maybe i convinced her and maybe not. But she seemed to have understood a little why i ride. She herself drove an alto from pune to bangalore and then to kolkata with my dad.
And i am proud of my fz. It has clocked 32k kms now and never gave a problem as i kept it in a proper condition. The stock tires have not given up yet though i see many ppl changing them in 15k or less. I dont know if its an unique case. People keep saying my bike cant take the stress as its not liquid cooled. But i know that my fz will never give up if i keep it in such a condition... A thumbs up to my fz
So why do i ride??
IS it for the thrill?
Is it for the lonely roads?
Is it for wind in my hair? Its not possible cz i wear a helmet haha
Is it for the views?
All i can say is i ride because i love it. The experience can be overwhelming sometimes.
I ride cz i love riding. Its not everyone's cup of tea...
Waiting for the next ride...
The tryst with the highway continues....
Most of the times people don't understand why we ride.. They don't understand why we spend so much on fuel or why we risk our lives by taking the road.. The parents are the strongest critics.
No matter how hard we try people don't understand unless they are a rider like us...
In a twist of fate I got the chance to show it to my mom of all people why I ride... I know... Fate can be very surprising [emoji1][emoji23][emoji23].
The ride was from bangalore to kanchipuram and back in two days.. I always had a liking for the tamil nadu nh. They are lovely and well maintained for most part except for the stretch after arcot towards Chennai which has become dangerous especially during nights recently..
It was just a week ago that I had completed an arduous journey to pune and back by my beloved fz and was itching to get back on the highway[emoji23][emoji16][emoji16]..
So after some safety briefing for mom we left bangalore in the afternoon..
The bangalore traffic allowed us to cover just 60km in 1.5 hours till hosur mid which is my favourite place on the nh. It's a tradition that I follow to eat there every time I take that route...
After a nice meal we left to kanchipuram...
We arrived at kanchipuram at around 9 after driving nonstop from..
On the way we saw some scenic view which I proudly pointed out to my mom and said this why I ride.. She just enjoyed it and didn't say anything.. Half convinced and will try convincing completely on the way back..
Now taking rest and waiting to get back home. Typed using stupid Tapatalk which didn't allow pics.. Will post the pics once back home...
The tryst with the road continues...
hmmm and we left kanchi at 4 pm after a small tiffin. Tanked up and drove to the highway. people stared at me like i was an alien just cz i wore a helmet
. People in the south have a different view but that will be explained later. While coming to kanchi i had seen a road side eatery called the idly shop which looked posh and very inviting so decided to have omething there before getting back on the road. The idly was very filling and tasty. the quality and maintenance was excellent. They have a specialty called jigarthanda (m not sure if i spelled correctly) which was different but very good. Yeah and there she is..my brave mom....She is an army officer so very brave indeed...it runs in the blood haha.
the view outside the idly shop. Its raining in the distance...
So after food we left. i had no intention of getting wet so told my mom to hold on and then vroomed away.250 kms to go..
The stretch of highway from there was awesome so the ride was smooth. A few cars gave me company as we randomly overtook each other unintentionally of course. They were quite frustrated as they didnt want to go very fast but at the same time be matched and overtaken by a 150cc bike haha..
It was windy throughout the ride which slowed me down to the 90s. mile after mile raced away under me and the scenic view kept coming and they can be quite a distraction for the inexperienced. The highway is very dangerous if u get distracted even for few seconds.
Caught a swath of rain on the way but my experience told me to keep driving. Many of us will know that rain on the highway lasts for few kms and stops, most of the time haha. The constant riding made sure we dried up soon. We stopped at Krishnagiri for fuel and a cup of coffee. Then i heard the most incredulous request from my mom. One of her friend was leaving madiwala so she wanted to meet her and we had only an hour before she left. I told her its impossible knowing very well hosur traffic is hell but she insisted so here i had another chance to show her how a highway is for the riders.
And we left going at the maximum speed my 150cc faithful stallion allowed. She was afraid in the beginning squeezing my shoulders every time i zip zapped between trucks and buses but soon she realized that i was experienced and caution and started enjoying the ride.
Soon we reached hosur and it was hell...the entire stretch from hosur to bangalore was under construction and bad roads which lead to slow and smoky traffic. There was a time where i loved the tn nh. but now its not the same.
Finally reached bangalore and ripped through the elevated expressway and reached silk board. There we were overtaken by two guys on a modified ninja 650. i dont know if he is a xbhpian. he had modified his exhaust such that it was under the seat with no rear number plate.
Then we reached our home tire and happy... i am proud of my mom as she sat through the entire journey without complaining. We all know the pillion on the fz is not the best and most comfortable place to sit especially for a long drive. I am using a mesh cover which gives some respite. I never understood why the yamaha guys decided to make sure that the new seats which the newer model (post 2011) have were made incompatible with the older versions. If i am correct the only difference is that they have a mold under the new sit which doesnt seat in the older models. Very disappointed. the new ones are wider.
And now about the southern perspective of a rider with helmet especially in the towns and villages. Few ask if i do stunts. Few ask if i race and what not. People think wearing helmet is cowardly. They prefer riding without the helmet cz they think they look brave and cool. And the splendor riders omg (no disrespect meant to splendor). Splendors are in plentiful in the south and the riders tend to be in the twenties and ride them like its some superbike. Common not only do they ride like hell but think they can race with us and do all kind of unsafe riding on the highway. It gets frustrating when they decide that they are fast and ride on the middle and fast lane. No honking can make them see otherwise. They zig zag cutting across lanes making us get the jitters.
Once we reached i asked my mom how was the ride. She said it was good except for the sore bum. Maybe i convinced her and maybe not. But she seemed to have understood a little why i ride. She herself drove an alto from pune to bangalore and then to kolkata with my dad.
And i am proud of my fz. It has clocked 32k kms now and never gave a problem as i kept it in a proper condition. The stock tires have not given up yet though i see many ppl changing them in 15k or less. I dont know if its an unique case. People keep saying my bike cant take the stress as its not liquid cooled. But i know that my fz will never give up if i keep it in such a condition... A thumbs up to my fz
So why do i ride??
IS it for the thrill?
Is it for the lonely roads?
Is it for wind in my hair? Its not possible cz i wear a helmet haha
Is it for the views?
All i can say is i ride because i love it. The experience can be overwhelming sometimes.
I ride cz i love riding. Its not everyone's cup of tea...
Waiting for the next ride...
The tryst with the highway continues....
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