nice logs...Waiting for more stories
That katore thing is vry funny :P

Second that! Someday, someday, I want to settle in Chandigarh...

Thank you Kashif - even I had a good laugh when the katore incident was happening!

Trying to catch up hard on time - business travel is getting the better of me. Started just a day after I landed in Bangalore. Came back yesterday and out again till third week March!

Am waiting to wrap up logs for day 11 and 12th since the great pictures begin from day 13th!

The Gift A Dream Ride: Day 11: Chandigarh-Delhi-Sahibabad; 274 kms

Inspite of a late night (morning actually) dinner, I had to wake up early since I had fixed a service appointment with Chandigarh Bajaj probiking at 9am sharp. Though I packed everything, I did not put my saddle bags on - my friend's office was in the industrial area (same place as pro-biking) so he was kind enough to put my saddle bags in his car. I was to meet up with him after I was done with my service. Getting to the probiking garage from sector 4 just took 10 minutes and soon I was there and handed over the keys of bike to the service engineer, Pradeep Thakur. After a wash which cleaned away most of the mud of the kilometers past, the bike was wheeled into the service bay where the Ninja was to undergo its second service. The bike was attended to by a smart Sardarji who was trained to service the Ninja. Besides the routine service, I asked for an oil change, a coolant top up and lubrication of the speedo worm gear since it was making a creaking noise. I had factored in two hours, but the whole process took over three since it involved taking off the front wheel for removing the speedo worm assembly. I also met the area service manager, Arvind and he was happy to see that the Ninja had no issues at all so far!

The bike was happy with fresh engine oil and full coolant, and was ready to go finally. A short ride to another area of the industrial area to my friend's office, where I loaded my saddle bags. I spent around 30 minutes and then got on the road towards Delhi. It had been long since I had been to Ambala. The last time I was on this road, it was a two lane road, and one to had to be careful to dodge oncoming traffic. But that was many years ago, and the road I rode my Ninja today on was a four lane marvel which made riding an absolute breeze!

I stopped at my friend's NH1 factory outlets for lunch, which was a delicious sandwich with fries on the side. A quick glance at the clock told me that I had to finish the lunch in maximum of two bites, otherwise I would be riding in the dark when I reached Delhi. After thanking my friend, I wore my jacket, helmet and gloves and got on the bike for a rather short ride to Delhi. There was no Audi Q7 to tailgate today, so I cruised the NH1 at a rather leisurely pace. I noticed that there was a posse of policemen at frequent intervals along the highway, which meant there was a planned VIP move. Someone big. So I thought it was better to gas it than get caught in a traffic restriction.

Before starting my trip, I had written a small prologue which also had a mention of a KOS minar, the ancient milestones put up by Sher Shah Suri when the new Grand trunk road was being constructed. When I used to stay in Karnal around two decades ago, I used to see many of them but over time they were either demolished or vandalized. So I kept a sharp eye on the road, and I finally found one between Karnal and Panipat. Somehow ASI had woken up to the fact that the small edifice was a significant historical monument, so they put a fence around it and marked it protected. So it was pretty much in the middle of the road. Happy that I finally found one (I would later discover another one between Delhi and Jaipur), I parked my bike and squeezed a few shots:






Look at how the level of the road has raised over the years. The diffence was at least six feet, which means the original GT road would have been buried around 10 ft below the existing NH1:


At the Delhi border around 5.00pm, I met up with some my colleagues who wanted to throw a small reception for me, so off I went, escorted by an Innova and two guys on a motorbike, who took some pictures of me. The 'small' reception was rather grand, and I spent around thirty minutes there before getting on the Delhi highway. But this thirty minutes were worth my while because one of my colleagues lent me her wireless internet modem, something which would come in handy later!

Riding on a service road near the Delhi border:


With some of my colleagues:


Getting ready to leave!


Before leaving, I called up our very own Bandhav (Spandan) who was to be my host for tonight and asked for directions. His house was conveniently located near the Loni border which means I had to turn left towards ISBT from the GT road byepass and then soon head left again on the Wazirabad barrage and then it was straight on! Yes, a little traffic and construction on the way, but Bandhav's instructions were clear and I could find my way to his house. The funny thing is Bandhav was standing just outside his house and I passed him once before he called me on my cellphone and told me that I had rode right past him. I blamed Bandhav and told him I could not recognize him because he had cut his long hair

I did find him the second time - soon I was in the house and changing into something more comfortable! Lots of conversations and pictures on my netbook flowed, and after a lovely dinner cooked by Spandan's wife, I was ready to fall asleep. Which I did soon after...

Gift A Dream Ride Day 11 Log Approved.

I came to know a day late that you had stayed at Bandhav's place, or else coud've caught you on the day itself.

They Joy ride session must have been Real FUN!!

For the kids, yes! I felt like a high rpm rickshawalla though

I taken two quick images to share for the time being which were off the record:


The above pic explain how he was coming that even sticker's got peeled off on their own.


The Man!! stands tall in sneakers and Limca!

@ blueuvolt
Apart from my number plate screw, one of the ty-raps on my DIY hugger had detached and fallen off so I put a spare one which I was carrying. I believe I had cut the original ty-raps too close to its locks, so after moving one notch due to the vibes, it simply fell off. But the other ty-raps(and main one) stayed put. I had spares ( I had anticipated something like this might happen) in my luggage for both the 10mm bolts and the ty-raps, so it was relatively easy with JD's toolkit.


Hmm the dreaded ty-raps...

Gr8 ride

Cool pics
Wondering if you would be game for a Bangalore G2G of Ninjas.

Hey thanks - I am pretty much out of Bangalore this month and April first half traveling on business so I'll see you guys sometime in April!

Cheers buddy.

The Gift A Dream Ride : Day 12: Sahibabad-Delhi-Gurgaon; 74 kms

Though I had to travel only to Gurgaon from Sahibabad today, I still woke up early because the Delhi traffic can be worse than riding 500kms in a day! So I woke up around 6am, and Spandan's wife made delicious paranthas stuffed with spring onions for breakfast with a glass of milk - she is a gem! Thank you Bandhav and family for your wonderful hospitality

By around 7am I left Bandhav's house.Spandan was kind enough to show me the way to Delhi. Instead of re-tracing my route and going back to the ring road near ISBT, he suggested that riding past the Anand Vihar bus terminal and reach Delhi via the Nizamuddin bridge would be faster and hassle free. Bandhav rode with me for a few kilometers and made sure that I was on the right road. He gave me precise directions on where to turn and stuff, so it became very easy for me! The road was relatively traffic free in the morning, and very soon I was near the area near Mayur Vihar in east Delhi. The last time I had been here was aeons ago, and I was amazed how that place had changed. Metro tracks running where the dirty nullah used to be, and elevated flyovers criss-crossing overhead! I had lived in that area for many years, so I thought, why not surprise a few of my old friends? I was not sure if they still lived there, but it was definitely worth a shot.

The first house I went to was in an apartment in Mayur Vihar. The security guard looked like he wanted to stop me entering the premises, but when he saw the Ninja. the riding gear and the bags, he thought the better of it I parked inside, wore my helmet and rang on the doorbell. It was answered by a lady and I asked her whether Sandy (my friend) was there. She told me to wait and then my friend turned up at the door! I was still wearing my helmet and told him to guess who I was. Since he would not have guessed in his wildest dreams that it would be me after a period of 7-8 years, he failed to recognize me. Then I took off my helmet and the expression was worth riding the last 5000 kms for! The last time I heard from him, he was struggling with his career and I often wondered what had happened to him. But today he had a great job overseas, and it was just my luck that he happened to be in India. I was very happy to meet him and we had a very enjoyable talk over a few cups of tea. I also gave him a ride on my Ninja and he said he will buy the bike as soon as he moves back to India! One more to the green brigade

The second friend I surprised was also in Mayur Vihar and he owned a gym. I casually called him and he asked me where I was. I told him that my bike trip got cancelled due to work pressures and I was chilling in Bangalore. After a few minutes of idle chit-chat, I hung up, promising to meet him sometime soon in Delhi Then 10 minutes later, I see him walking near his gym and I honk to get his attention. He first looks at the bike, then at the 'KA-01' registration and shouts - 'Rahul!' And it was then he knew that I had made a 'Bakra' out of him. I went to his house after that, and I changed out of my riding gear. I now knew that it would be futile to ride to Gurgaon in the rush hour traffic - it would make sense to chill for a while and leave around noon. I had my second breakfast of the day, and then sat on the terrace on foldable chairs and had a leisurely chat which lasted more than an hour. The weather was very pleasant, and the bright yet nourishing sun soaked my body with its gentle warmth. Felt nice to have the sun shining on me sans the riding suit!

I left around noon and headed towards Noida, where I was to meet Old Fox, aka Sandeep Goswami. I was also familiar with Noida so I got to the area where his office was, but could not find the exact building and I ended up taking a full circle of sector 58.Ultimately I called OF and he came out on the road, and I followed his instructions to reach the building. We parked our vehicles inside, and I followed OF to his den on the first floor, where we sat and talked about the trip and I showed him some pictures on my netbook too. I spent around 30 minutes or so with OF, and it was a very pleasant experience! When it was time to go, we walked down to our bikes and had a small photo op sessions with both of our cameras

Old Fox and me:



After bidding farewell to OF, I rode my bike towards DND flyover, paid the toll and was on the smooth road to South Delhi! Many of the flyovers which were under construction when I had visited South Delhi a few years back were completed, and before I knew it, I had crossed Dhaulakuan and on the way to Gurgaon. I took a right and got off the expressway and went towards the IGI airport to get my share of Speed 97, but they were out of stock and I had to make do with the regular Speed.

I was to stay at Jaideep's (jd666) place in Gurgaon and he stayed in DLF Phase III. It's a small world, since I used to live in the same block of apartments around five years ago, just across the street from his flat! So finding my way to his flat was effortless, and it was afternoon by the time I parked my Ninja below his flat. I changed into a tee-shirt and a track lower on the first floor and I also took this opportunity to take a overhead shot of the Ninja - man, it looks big. Especially the green. Not sure black would look just as big



I had to finish some urgent office work to finish so I took out my netbook and began playing around with an excel sheet, but I was in no mood to do anything related with office, so I shut the netbook, thinking I'll do it 'tomorrow' Around 6 pm, Sukesh (Malliah) came over, and then began the long but enjoyable evening. I do not drink, so I was happy with my glass of juice and cola - we talked and talked about bikes and gear and little else! Sukesh got his box with his new gear (bike cover, bags, gloves) along, so we spent time going through it as would kids over a box of toys or action figures. All this while, I was feeling very tired and slightly dizzy, and I could figure out why. Then Jaideep pointed out that he had not seen me drink water since I had arrived and that might be the reason. And it was. The lack of water had made me more tired than I ought to be, and I quickly gulped down half a litre of water. It did me a lot of good, and soon I was past the earlier phase. Dinner was ordered from Yo China - Chicken, fried rice and all. Though I was starving, I did eat too much as I had to go to sleep soon after that. While Sukesh and Jaideep went out on the balcony to continue their bike talk over a few more drinks, and I went to bed, resting myself for the big day tomorrow - more than 800 kms of riding to magnificent Jaisalmer!

Gift A Dream Ride Day 12 Log Approved.

thanks for a lot of mention!!!! cheers mate!! it was great fun to have you over.. and then again after a few days... Now im hoping to call u up soon to trouble you to pick up something for me... ill confirm tomorrow asap!!

way to go mate! eagerly awaiting your Jaisalmer ride report and ofc the kickass pix on the best road in the country bring it on Rahul!

Thanks! I have just been so busy with work and business travel the past few days that I have had no time to proceed further than day 12 trip-log wise. But I have a looong flight coming up starting from midnight today and the next 20 hours, so I think I can catch up on writing a bit

The Gift A Dream Ride : Day 13: Gurgaon-Jaisalmer, 841 kms

Note: Sorry for the month's delay in posting the remainder of the trip logs - the business travel was just too much to handle. So will try to make good of the weekend and finish as much writing as possible!


When I planned my trip, this stretch was NOT included. As per my original itinerary, I was supposed to head straight to Jaipur from Gurgaon and then onwards to Ahmedabad. But when I met Jaideep (JD666) on day 6, he told me of this fabled strip of tarmac which was more than 300 kms long and absolutely bliss so I was hooked. Jaideep had been on that road before, and he said the 300 km+ stretch from Bikaner to Jaisalmer via Pokhran was probably one of the best roads he had encountered, and it would be a pity if I had come all the way from Bangalore and did not savor the experience. "You will get tired of keeping the throttle at 140kmph", said Jaideep. " This is one of the few roads in India where you actually keep your bike at that speed safely for a long, long time." I was hooked, and promised myself that I will go to Jaisalmer when I came back from Punjab.

And here I was, wide awake at 5am in the morning, readying my things for another long distance ride. But today was different, I could feel it. Because the day to come was to bring with it a wonderful promise - that of undistilled pleasure of riding through unbelievable, magical landscape. It took me another 30 minutes to haul my bags downstairs and then start mounting them on the Ninja. I tried to wake up Jaideep, but he was fast asleep, and I tried to wake him up, he just mumbled something about having a safe trip (I think) and did not even open his eyes So Jaideep's friend helped me with the bags and soon I was well on my way to NH8, having left the house at 6.20am. Since Jaideep's house was only a kilometer away from the NH8, getting there was a matter of minutes. Once I was on the highway, I started making decent speeds. I had been on the Gurgaon Jaipur highway around six years ago on my Royal Enfield and I totally enjoyed that experience. But this morning was different - scores of trucks crowded the somewhat narrow highway and the slight morning fog made speedy progress difficult. I had been advised by Jaideep to take a right from Shahpura (around 50 kms before Jaipur) to cut through and get on the NH11 to Sikar, so I was eagerly looking forward to that turn. The trucks were really, really making my progress difficult. And when I was riding my motorcycle through the moving mass of trucks on the Jaipur highway, it struck me as ironical that the worst (and dangerous) traffic and unsafe roads were not found in the plains of Bihar or the coast along the Bay of Bengal, but right in North India. If I was looking in my RVM's once every 10 seconds in the rest of the country, I was doing it once every 4 seconds in North India. More so because of the other drivers than the roads, I would say.

Sunrise on the somewhat foggy Gurgaon-Jaipur NH8:



120 kms more to go before I take the right turn!


Before I knew it, I had survived the 'thick-as-peanut-butter truck traffic' and had reached Shahpura from where I had to take a right into Rajasthan. As soon as I took a right, I saw a huge fort on my right and my mood changed completely - I guess Rajasthan does that to anybody. I was happier now, somewhat humming inside my helmet. A few kilometers of riding, and I left the small town behind. The scenery opened up too - semi arid land greeted me, with small hills in the background. I got off my bike and stretched my back after a few gulps of water and morning snacks. The sun was getting bright too, so I switched to a clear visor on my helmet. The roads were fairly decent at that point, and sparse traffic too. I saw a lot of people walking and singing, with colored flags in their hands. Seemed a walk to a religious place. I encountered a lot of such groups later on, right upto Sikar.

Padharo Mhare Desh - glorious Rajasthan begins!






People on a walk to a 'dhaam':



After resting for a while, I started riding in the direction of Sikar. When I planned this route, I had decided to take the inner country roads for a better cultural immersion. So my planned roads were SH13 from Shahpur to Khandela via Ajeetgarh, and then to Sikar via Udaipurwati on SH37 & 37B. But due to lack of signboards and improper instructions, I ended up going straight from Ajeetgarh and hit MDR 46 just short of Sri Madhopur. Till I hit MDR 46, I faced some terrible roads for more than 30-40 kilometers - road so bad that cars slowed down snail-pace to go over potholes, and my bike's front suspension bottomed out a few times. By this point, I had deviated so much from original plan of going via Udaipurwati so I thought it made better sense to hit the main NH11 at Reengus and then ride on to Sikar. The bad roads had somewhat quelled my desire of 'cultural immersion' so I though it worked out well in retrospect.

I soon hit NH11 at Reengus, and the nicely laid out tarmac and road signs were a welcome change! The NHAI boards overhead assured me that I was indeed riding to Sikar - the road had a fair amount of traffic, mostly cars/vans and groups going to the religious dhaam. The Sikar byepass came up in a while and I took the left road towards Bikaner while I saw most of the traffic head inside the city. Pretty soon, the single carriage but lonely road to Bikaner was ahead of me, and I was able to do 80-100 clicks an hour. The road from Sikar to Bikaner has a lot of ups and downs, so I was very careful of oncoming traffic on blind spots at these roads. When approaching an incline, it was impossible to see the vehicle approaching unless it had reached the peak of the trough, and whenever I saw an vehicle coming towards me on the opposite side, I slowed down to 40 kmph, because I knew there would be morons who would overtake other vehicles without seeing what's coming up the road. And I was right - I saw at least half a dozen such instances. Better safe than sorry. Other than being careful on the gradients, the road from Sikar to Bikaner was quite enjoyable, with a good paved surface. The scenery also began to change - more desert like and a trailer of what I was to expect next.


To Bikaner!




My first taste of the desert of this trip!





The colors of Rajasthan - women woodcutters on their way home.


The Greenest thing in Rajasthan!




A few kilometers before Bikaner.


I stopped a few kilometers before Bikaner to tank up on drinking water and buy a bag of potato chips. After being on an overdose of sweet energy bars, I wanted to eat something salty. And I was glad I was doing this ride in February. The sun was bright but not harsh and I was not uncomfortable at all in my full leathers. After drinking half a litre of water to wash down the potato chips, I got back on my bike and headed towards Bikaner, a mere 10 kilomters from where I was. The city came up around 2pm. There was no bypass to Jaisalmer, so I had to ride through the city - not much of a struggle though since the traffic was very light in this laid back town. But there was construction work (new flyover_ going on the road to Bikaner, so I went off road, and after riding for a few minutes, I was on the other side of the construction site. And I was free! Free to get on the much talked about road to Jaisalmer! But before I could let myself get carried away by my emotions, I pulled into a petrol pump for a tank full which would see me all the way to Jaisalmer. After the tank full, I kept on going on that road and I was somewhat surprised by the traffic because that was not what I had in mind. So I called up Jaideep and asked him whether I was on the right road. "Are you on NH15"? asked JD. "Yes", I replied. "Then you're on the road".

I guess I was a bit impatient. And maybe I was expecting road stretching into the horizon as soon as I left Bikaner behind, and maybe a barrier with two moustached, burly policeman holding checkered flags to see me off on the speedway. But I kept encountering medium traffic till I reached the NAL air force base, some 15-20 kilometers from Bikaner. But as soon as I crossed
NAL, I felt a change come over. A few more kilometers, and an unbelievable landscape unfolded in front of me. A long, straight and a thin strip of road sliced the incredible desert plains right ahead, disappearing into the horizon. No animals, no buildings, no people, no cycle or auto wallas. No snack or juice shop either. And absolutely, absolutely no traffic. I parked my bike to soak in the overwhelming sense of solitude. The pleasant afternoon breeze was playful, finding its way around the bike and kicking up some mild dust. I don't think anything prepared me for this - while chatting with Sunny once, he had told me that this stretch was like the Australian outback, and from what I have seen on television, he was goddamn right. I took out my camera and took pictures, wanting to preserve that moment. Here they are:

Behold the fabled road - it actually disappears into the horizon!



Ninja, you're a long way from home, my friend.



The outback...








I took a look at my cellphone and I realized I had spent a good twenty minutes on the same spot. I shook myself out of the reverie and told myself that 300 kilometers is 300 kilometers, no matter how good the roads and how high the speed was. And then I got on my bike, wore my gloves and helmets, thumbed the well rested Ninja into life and began to have to fun of my life. I kept twisting the throttle grip till it reached its end and it was then I looked at Speedometer. I was doing exactly 160 kmph, and the desert landscape of Rajasthan sped past me in a sandy brown blur. The twin cylinder screamed at 12,500 RPM, and the wind howled down my helmet vents while I lay crouched down on the tank. And yet no traffic. My wrist soon got tired of pinning the bike at 150 kmph, so I slowed down to a modest 130-140 kmph. I realized, that at this rate, I would be in Jaisalmer before sundown, which was ideal!

I kept going. And going. Well past speeds of 120 kmph. I slowed down when I saw an occasional vehicle I had to overtake, or a bus load of foreign tourists returning from Jaisalmer and heading toward Bikaner. Around 4.30 pm, I stopped and took a short break below the shade of a tree. I saw some noise in the sky, and I looked up to see a few IAF fighter jets doing border patrol. A perfect excuse to whip my camera out and take a picture of the jets and the surroundings:

IAF fighter jets flying together:


A temple in middle of nowhere.


Roadside vista!





I had my first sighting of wild camels an hour later, around 50 kilometers before Jaisalmer. There were in groups on both sides of the road, and when I parked my bike on the road, some of them craned their necks to look at me with benign interest. After discovering that I was of no use to them, they got back to grazing, their long necks pulling at the leaves of the tall desert shrubs.

Camels!



As the sun set in the west a little while later, its color changed from bright yellow into a gentle purplish pink. At this point, Jaisalmer was only 15 kilometers away, so I could afford to take it easy. I stopped to take a few pictures...





I entered Jaisalmer just when the last rays of the sun were fading to give way for the night. I had made a reservation at the RTDC Moomal tourist Bungalow and after asking direction and shrugging off a few hotel touts on motorcycles, I was finally there! I parked my bike in the hotel premises and went inside to the reception. I told that person that I had an online reservation, and he starts thumbing through a handwritten register. "No sir, we don't have a reservation", the man says. "What?! I booked online three days ago. I'll show you the receipt", I go, and show him a screenshot of the reservation on my netbook. At this point, he calls a younger chap from the adjacent office and he goes and double checks. He returns to say that I indeed have a reservation, and somehow no one had written that on the register! I let out a sigh of relief and wait for the person to show me my room. My room happens to be on the ground floor with a clear view of my parked bike, which was a bonus. And I must add - RTDC have their stuff right; the hotel room was spotless, towels clean and the soap kept in the bathroom, along with a clean bucket and a mug. The TV worked, and the sheets were clean. I bet this government run hotel would beat most of the privately run hotels in Jaisalmer hands down. A cold shower was very, very refreshing after riding hundreds of kilometers and I changed into my track jacket and sneakers.

RTDC Moomal tourist Bungalow in Jaisalmer (picture taken the next morning):



I rode to the town half a kilometer away to get a tank full, and also get fruits and juices for the next day. After refuelling, I went inside the main entrance of the Jaisalmer fort. This fort is one of the few rare (and famous) forts where regular people actually stay inside the walls of the fort. So the shops start right at the entrance of the fort and you can find them all over the place. I rode my Ninja up the narrow stone paths of the fort for a while and then headed back down. I stopped at a fruit sellers and bought something for the next day, followed by a stop at a confectionery where I stocked up on juice and flavored milk tetra packs. I also bought some camera battery, and then rode back to my hotel. I kicked myself for leaving the camera in my room, since the Jaisalmer fort at night is a sight to behold. Yellow floodlights bathes the walls of the fort in a golden glow - absolutely beautiful. Maybe next time...

Moomal has no room service so I walked into their restaurant and ordered some subzi and dal along with phulkas. The service was prompt and courteous and the food was homely without too much oil or spice. There was not one thing I could criticize about when it came to this hotel. For less than Rs.1000 a night, one could not have asked for more!

After the dinner, I covered my bike and walked back to my room, eager to lie down on the bed and sleep myself into the end of a great, great day. But I knew that much lay ahead the next morning, and I gradually slipped away into a deep sleep, dreaming of wild camels, sand dunes and extra Premium petrol stations!