Day-6 Log Approved.

@Bluevolt: I was SO looking forward to meet you but we could not. However, I had PMed you my cell-phone number, I hope you had received it. Whenever you visit Delhi/ NCR next time, please try and give me a call and we can meet up.

Thanks.

Yes, I got your number but unfortunately by that time I was already in Gurgaon! I come to NCR quite often on work (have already planned two times in March), so it will not be hard for me to come and meet up! I will save your number and call you soon. Cheers,

Good to see the logs coming out fast. Thanks for sharing, Rahul.

Gosh! Delhi - Ambala in 2 hours! Exactly an year ago, I did the same distance at almost double the time - started from Delhi-border at 7:30pm and reach Ambala city at 11pm. This is express fast!

Man.. the damage looks worse than what it was when you came back...

Rahul you didnt faced problem with cops from any state in your entire trip as normally when the cops see a vehicle of other state they harass you like hell to extract good amount of money.

The Gift A Dream Ride ay 7 & 8: Ambala-Jalandhar, rest day. 172 kms

Note: Since not much riding happened on days 7, 8,9,10, I will be combining trip logs for two days at a time. After that, it will again become single day travelogues.

Today was also a short ride from Ambala to Jalandhar, so I could take it easy in the morning. But I still woke up at around 5am and used the time to write my blog for Day 4 and also check on some emails and personal messages on xBhp! I took my own time in getting up and after a morning cup of tea which warmed my insides, I got ready and packed my bags around 9am. Lovely English breakfast was served, courtesy my friend’s charming wife and it was the first time I ate a circular, fluffy, stuffed omelet which I initially thought to be a muffin because of its unusual thickness. She used a special two sided pan to make the delicious omelet and I unashamedly asked for seconds!

I saw this small globe at my friend's office in Ambala and decided to draw a crude map of my route plan on it! Using software, of course


My friend Kapil owned the famous ‘NH1’ brand factory outlet complex on the highway near Ambala which has many stores selling brands at discounted prices and it also has a ‘hot millions’ restaurant in addition to a small bakery. I had come back to this place after many years and I was very happy to see how his business had grown. He keeps the place spic and span and even the toilets could easily rival that of 5 star hotels. Next time you pass the highway on the way to Chandigarh (or Delhi on the way back), you should stop there and rest for a while there and check out all the cool brands he keeps! Kapil also donated generously to ‘dream-a-dream’ by giving a cheque, which I carefully stored in my bag, Thank you, my friend!

Kapil also noticed that my exhaust was burning up the bags, so he personally wrapped a roll of glass tape over the exhaust and then secured it with PVC tape. He also had a strip of Bakelite sheet cut and then put it inside the side pocket of the burned bag, right at the base so that the bag’s content is shielded from the heat. After a few minutes, the protection was in place and I left the NH1 complex around 12.30pm. The highway was undergoing a widening process to six lanes, so construction was happening along the entire stretch of NH1 right up to Jalandhar. But NHAI had put tape on both the sides with reflective stands supporting them so it was quite safe. Diversions were also clearly marked so one could slow down to take the side roads. The night before, I noticed that the beacons flashed at a diversion, so that was an added safety feature as well. But the highway was busy, very busy, with lots of testosterone heavy drivers zipping their way along so I had to be very careful to constantly watch my rear view mirror, besides keeping an eye on the road ahead, never letting my guard down. In India, not many people heed road signs, but keeping an watchful eye on them can literally make a difference between incident free riding or a road side spill. I kept an eye especially for intersection signs, speed bumps, pedestrian crossings and the like. Also look out for some other warning signs like a light line (made by dust/soil) cutting across the highways. This means those areas are frequently used as unofficial crossings and slow down whenever you see the color of the road change ahead. This can mean anything from a bicycle/pedestrian crossing, a bad stretch of road, and change in level of the road due to re-surfacing. One major component of riding safe on Indian highways is that SLOW down whenever you see a populated area ahead, no matter how small. With human settlements come animals like cows, goats and dogs, and also jaywalking Johnnies and pedal powered Rossi’s.

Fields of mustard plants - a common sight in Punjab! No wonder 'Makke di roti sarson da saag' is the dish which most people associate with Punjab!


Soon I crossed Rajpura and Mandi Govindgarh. Before Ludhiana came McDonalds and I used the drive thru to buy myself a burger and a few bottles of 500ml water. After my relatively sumptuous lunch (compared to energy bars), I filled up at a fuel station just next to it. When I was leaving the fuel station, a bunch of guys in a black Safari gestured me to stop. They asked me questions about the bike and its speed and also were amazed that I rode all the way from Bangalore! One of the great things about this trip is that conversations with absolute strangers needed no invitation (thanks to the Green bike and riding gear and all), and most of the people I talked to seemed genuinely interested about my trip, so these kind of random meetings were a pleasure!

I was to stay with my friend in Jalandhar and when I called him for directions, he told me not to take the by-pass but just keep on coming straight inside the city since that would be faster. So I took the straight road off the Apollo hospital (on my right) and entered Ludhiana. I just kept on going straight, and sure enough, I was out of the city in no time and on my way to Jalandhar. The highway was very busy, with a lot of diversions, so I was careful and averaged around 50-60kmph or so. Phagwara came soon – there was a flyover so I did not have to face traffic. After riding for 20 minutes or so, I entered Jalandhar Cantt area. Again, lots of road work going on so I had to turn left after a while to get to the Model town area, where my friend was to meet me. I had to ask for directions since it had been many years since I had visited Jalandhar, but since it was a well known area, I did not face any issues with getting directions from the locals.

Phew! Getting out of leathers feels so nice



My friends owned a few fashion apparel stores in the Model town market and I parked my bike in the front of a store. My friend soon arrived in his car and then I followed him to his house a few minutes away, where I got out of my leathers and had a quick and refreshing shower! A few snacks later, I went back to the model town area and hung around with my pals talking about my trip - in the evening, the whole bunch of us (seven of us) went to the Radisson for dinner. We were enticed by a big banner outside announcing the Hyderabadi food festival, but when we went inside, we discovered that only a few dishes were ‘Hyderabadi’ so we walked out and settled for a more sedate Chinese! We had a nice time, talking about the trip and the old days when I used to work in the Punjab area. A few hours of merry, and we headed back home where I got beneath the soft covers, somewhat relieved that I had no riding to do tomorrow!

Day 8: I woke up around 7am and after spending some time on the netbook, I changed into my gym clothes and I got picked up by one of my friends and went to the gym, where I ran for 4 kms and did some shoulder, forearm/wrists, back, abs and neck exercises which would keep my body fit for riding in the days to come. The gym I went to was called ‘Sparks’ and was also owned by one of my friends in Jalandhar. He opened the gym after getting certified professionally from Mumbai and my jaws dropped when I saw the kind of machines he had. I stay in a lot of great hotels on work, and I have yet to come across a gym which was even close to what I saw in Jalandhar. Anyway, it was great to work out a sweat – running at decent speeds for 4 kms opened up my body and took the stiffness away and I never felt better!

Atta is made of unadulterated wheat grains in Punjab. No Pillsbury hanky panky here! Drying the wheat on the terrace for grinding...



A tasty Punjabi breakfast with Paranthas, fruits, and muesli followed after getting home and I spent an hour on the terrace soaking in the winter sun. The household help made short work of my laundry, and the strong sun dried the clothes faster than you could say Ninja! I went to the Model town market soon, did some general time pass and then went back home for lunch. Another rich Punjabi meal, and that was all I needed to feel drowsy. Slept for a few hours till evening!

Around 8pm met Kunal from xBhp in the model town area, and it was sweet of him to get a few Ferrero Rocher chocolates for me. I could not spend much time with him since my friends had planned something for later that night. Kunal took some pictures with his camera but he apparently lost his camera on his way home. Sorry, my friend. That was a nice camera

At night, my friends got together at another house where we put on a movie on the home theatre and watched bits and parts of it, while talking and eating and drinking all the time! Before we knew it, it was past midnight and also time to split up. I stayed back, looking forward to enjoy the slumber after a day full of tasty Punjabi bites!

Yes, I am trying to catch up on my logs...March is a crazy month work wise. Right now, I am in Gurgaon.Again! By the way, I just posted days 7 & 8 (combined) for approval...

And yes, that night was fast. Doubt I will do something like that again.

Yes, it became worse as the exhaust tip started burning different areas of the 'fire retardant' bag!

Nope, no problems at all. Actually I was asking directions from cops all the time (because they give very precise pointers) and they were actually very helpful.

Gift a Dream Ride Day-7 & 8 Log Approved.

you know you are too lucky as normally cops in delhi and all if they see a outside vehicle they literally love to toast you out.

Thanks for the thread approval. Am trying hard to catch up on rest of the trip logs - pending work at office is hitting me like a Tsunami and not to mention business travel. I type this from a hotel room in Gurgaon...sigh.

@ Rahul : You again got to back to touring(official reasons though )..you dont seem to slow down eh..

Btw, that "grains" thing you mentioned in your log will be visible in every house there..

The Gift A Dream Ride : Day 9 and 10: Jalandhar-Chandigarh via Ludhiana; 168 kms

Note: Since not much riding happened on days 7, 8,9,10, I will be combining trip logs for two days at a time. After that, it will again become single day travelogues.A 'NH1 Dhaba' T shirt and a made to order formal shirt -gifts from my friends in Jalandhar and Ludhiana!


Getting ready, packing - again!Ludhiana-Chandigarh highway:Day 10: I was up early as a creature of habit - like most of the days on this trip, I spent that time on the internet while tea and snacks were served by the household help. Desi ghee paranthas followed soon with extra balls of butter and I greedily dug into them, knowing that after Chandigarh and Delhi, there would be days where I would have to survive on bars of chocolates and juices!

The morning post breakfast was spent on a 'geri' to the sector 8 market, and I took a lot of pictures from the car. I simply cannot have enough of Chandigarh and I truly believe that it has the best standard of living in the entire country, period. Be it the planned sectors with dedicated parks, markets and Cinema halls or the smooth roads (with the lowest road tax, btw), the place is a delight. When I was living there around seven years ago, it was safe to drink the tap water. Not sure how it is now, but should be still good.

Clear, precise direction boards - no running around!


There are Chandigarh maps on the road every now and then:



Beautiful city roads and roundabouts:










No polybags in Chandigarh:


After getting back home in Sector 35, I noticed that the parked bike started getting a lot of attention from the children in the neighbourhood and it was soon time to give the kids a 20kmph joyride. I wore my helmet , slipped my gloves on and gave joy rides around the block to a few children after having told them to cling to me for dear life!

A few pictures:

Wrestling with the Ninja!


Joyride begins!






And my friend had a go too!


My host had planned a small trip(with one of his friends) to the Kalagram, a complex on the Panchkula road which promoted ethnic arts and activities. That particular day, the Rajasthan theme was on, and all of us got into the car and went there! There was a huge market inside of shops selling different things from Rajasthan and there was a food stall too which served Rajasthani lunch. It was delicious and was paid for by my friend, so it was even better

By the time we reached home it was 4pm, and I had to pack my bags since I had to spend the night with another friend in sector 4. Another semi-lunch/snack followed as soon as I reached there, and then I went for a leisurely 5k walk with my host around the sector 4-8 area. The long walk was rejuvenating to say the least. I got invited to another dinner and that stretched into the wee hours of the night, or should I say morning! Finally managed to hit the bed at 2am after a great evening. I was a bit sad that I had to leave Chandigarh soon - I love that place!

Gift A Dream Ride Day 9 Log Approved.

Chandigarh is indeed a very nice place. A well planned city, law and order seems better than other metros, not too congested, weather is also great. The best part is its proximity to the hills despite being so developed!