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Re: From scorching heat to freezing cold! A ride of a lifetime! (Nagpur - Leh - Delhi
DAY 3: Scorching heat to sand storms! (Delhi to Jammu)
Woke up around 4:00AM to genuine concerns from my family about the trip.
Just the thought of us undertaking such a journey towards the unknown that too on one of the most element-vulnerable modes of transport was too much to digest in one go!
Mom insisted we stay one more day in Delhi, take some more rest. Dad was also concerned about Amogh's bike. Amogh had raised some concern regarding some misfiring issues he was facing. But we knew it was totally manageable and should something happen we could always turn back.
With a promise of taking all precautions and being aware of our situation at all times and returning back in one piece, we left Delhi after a delayed start around 8'o clock.
Notice the brand new rear CEAT!
By the time we left, the traffic had already started, though we didn't get stuck at any jam there was enough traffic to keep us on our toes.
Although the heat hadn't given up we had a heads up about the road conditions from a few of dad's colleagues. Continuously cruising around 90-100kmph, at 10:00 AM we took our first water break after travelling some 100kms from home.
Mom had given us wafers for the road!
After a short break, we resumed our ride. The ride was totally non-eventful and actually quite boring. Just straight roads for kilometers and kilometers.
It was actually helping me getting used to the changed characteristics of my bike because of the changed rear tire.
Initially, I could notice the handling having changed quite a bit. The original configuration gives the R15 a very nimble and sharp handling, which was totally missing. The bike now had to be pushed to take quick turns and it took some time to get adjusted to the new setup.
But it wasn't all that bad.
The slightly higher profile of the tire meant that I was travelling a tad bit faster at any given rpm in any gear than I was on the original setup. That was pretty cool actually. Also, the grip of the tire on the highway was phenomenal. I had more confidence than before while using the rear brake while slowing down too. I kept experimenting with the tire, went slightly off-road on a diversion to overtake some a** who wasn't budging despite the honking, flashing. Turned out to be later that our "janaab" was busy on his mobile phone..
All in all the experiments kept me occupied pretty long.
Our next stop was at some dhaba we found on the highway, at around 11:20 AM. Ate some parathas and omlette which mom had given, ordered some pakodas and tea and water.
All the dhabas there over-charge for water. This guy was not ready to sell below Rs.30/bottle. This was when we had already finished 3 bottles and had asked for 4 more to carry along. So, we ended up spending Rs. 200 on water only!
Not thinking about it much, we carried on.
Our next halt was directly at 1:40PM, where we had stopped to drink some water, which was now hot!
When I was switching the ignition off, I noticed the whole part in which the key is inserted was kinda loose! It had me worried slightly as I thought it could turn into something major later on. Be it luck or whatever, the place we stopped there was a Yamaha showroom just across the road and there was a turn exactly there, so no travelling extra kms to find a turn.
Not sure about how, using what tool and where to tighten it from, I told Amogh I would go and come back in a jiffy.
The mechanics there were more than happy to help me out, and did the job quickly. Had many people there surround me, asking me about the trip why, who, where, and why again.
Went back, geared up and carried on.
Chandigarh city was where the heat hit us the most. Temperatures were crazily high and there was a point both I and Amogh started getting a shivering sensation. We knew that was not a good sign. We stopped immediately at the next shop where we saw water and shade! Amogh had stopping at some restaurant with AC in mind, but if we had to carry on without losing much time, that was not an option.
We drank almost 2 liters of water each, ate some snickers, drank some cold-drinks and when we thought we were fine, we carried on. As far as I can recollect this was around 2:30 PM.
After a few kilometers, the temperatures started falling and the wind started picking up speed. Before we knew it, we were riding midst a sand storm.
Tall trees on the side of the road shaking violently, visibility dropped drastically. Debris was flying all around us, branches falling off the trees and what not.
It sounds like a tense situation, but we were enjoying every part of it, thoroughly. We had not reduced our cruising speed, were still maintaining around 90 kmph wherever we deemed it safe enough. Being fully faired, R15 suffers a lot from cross winds and the lower the straight line speed, more the effect.
On that whole patch, I was leaning. On a straight road. At 90 kmph. At some intervals the wind would get so strong, it would push my bike sideways so bad that I used to end up in the opposite lane at times. (it was a 2 lane highway, no divider)
The conditions were such, the cars wallahs who overtook us on the highway, being all smug had slowed down quite a bit. The least the expected was two bikers, fully geared, head-lights on overtaking them at speeds they could not imagine traveling at - at that point of time.
It was like the driver is driving at around 60 kmph, branches falling on the windshield, dust everywhere, concentrating on the road then suddenly, there is a flash of light in his rvms! Then, "Zoooom........zooooom..." All he could probably see would be a black object then before he recovered from the suddenness of it, WHITE! another object white closely following the black one.
It was fun. I knew the dangers of the flying debris too. But stopping there was not an option at all as there were tall trees on both sides of the road and no proper shelter anywhere.
It wasn't all that fun though.
I was riding, at those speeds there was lots going on in the surroundings. All of a sudden, I could see a sizable piece of tree wood breaking off the tree and heading right for me. Everything got in slow-mo then. I could probably count in milliseconds then. "BANG" it went right for my face. In that time frame, I had managed to tuck my head a bit more into the crouch I was already in but it still hit my visor and there was a huge scratch left behind.
You can imagine i had clear vision a second before and suddenly I had this big, deep scratch centimeters away from my left eye, on my visor. This happened at least three or four times, and I could see my brand new mirror finish visor getting covered with scratches all over the place. Luckily, nothing major went wrong.
We stopped to answer the only call which doesn't involve any phone.
The DSG jackets we were full of sand. The gear we were wearing saved us from the flying debris. Never more have we ever realized the importance of that.
The next major stop was around once we got out of that mess and hit the open 4-lane highway again. Ate some leftovers from the morning, drank some water and took some rest. We were here for a good one hour.
Jammu was still 150 kms ahead.
Not clear, but my helmet visor sustained quite some damage. Was still usable though.
From this day in our journey, there was daylight almost till 8:00PM. Don't know the reason though.
We left that spot around 8:15 PM and made it safely to our Jammu hotel at 10:30 PM.
The day marked a new phase in our journey. Jammu was a place where we hadn't been before and it was exciting to know that we were finally heading closer and closer to our destination, Leh!
DAY 3: Scorching heat to sand storms! (Delhi to Jammu)
Woke up around 4:00AM to genuine concerns from my family about the trip.
Just the thought of us undertaking such a journey towards the unknown that too on one of the most element-vulnerable modes of transport was too much to digest in one go!
Mom insisted we stay one more day in Delhi, take some more rest. Dad was also concerned about Amogh's bike. Amogh had raised some concern regarding some misfiring issues he was facing. But we knew it was totally manageable and should something happen we could always turn back.
With a promise of taking all precautions and being aware of our situation at all times and returning back in one piece, we left Delhi after a delayed start around 8'o clock.
Notice the brand new rear CEAT!
By the time we left, the traffic had already started, though we didn't get stuck at any jam there was enough traffic to keep us on our toes.
Although the heat hadn't given up we had a heads up about the road conditions from a few of dad's colleagues. Continuously cruising around 90-100kmph, at 10:00 AM we took our first water break after travelling some 100kms from home.
Mom had given us wafers for the road!
After a short break, we resumed our ride. The ride was totally non-eventful and actually quite boring. Just straight roads for kilometers and kilometers.
It was actually helping me getting used to the changed characteristics of my bike because of the changed rear tire.
Initially, I could notice the handling having changed quite a bit. The original configuration gives the R15 a very nimble and sharp handling, which was totally missing. The bike now had to be pushed to take quick turns and it took some time to get adjusted to the new setup.
But it wasn't all that bad.
The slightly higher profile of the tire meant that I was travelling a tad bit faster at any given rpm in any gear than I was on the original setup. That was pretty cool actually. Also, the grip of the tire on the highway was phenomenal. I had more confidence than before while using the rear brake while slowing down too. I kept experimenting with the tire, went slightly off-road on a diversion to overtake some a** who wasn't budging despite the honking, flashing. Turned out to be later that our "janaab" was busy on his mobile phone..
All in all the experiments kept me occupied pretty long.
Our next stop was at some dhaba we found on the highway, at around 11:20 AM. Ate some parathas and omlette which mom had given, ordered some pakodas and tea and water.
All the dhabas there over-charge for water. This guy was not ready to sell below Rs.30/bottle. This was when we had already finished 3 bottles and had asked for 4 more to carry along. So, we ended up spending Rs. 200 on water only!
Not thinking about it much, we carried on.
Our next halt was directly at 1:40PM, where we had stopped to drink some water, which was now hot!
When I was switching the ignition off, I noticed the whole part in which the key is inserted was kinda loose! It had me worried slightly as I thought it could turn into something major later on. Be it luck or whatever, the place we stopped there was a Yamaha showroom just across the road and there was a turn exactly there, so no travelling extra kms to find a turn.
Not sure about how, using what tool and where to tighten it from, I told Amogh I would go and come back in a jiffy.
The mechanics there were more than happy to help me out, and did the job quickly. Had many people there surround me, asking me about the trip why, who, where, and why again.
Went back, geared up and carried on.
Chandigarh city was where the heat hit us the most. Temperatures were crazily high and there was a point both I and Amogh started getting a shivering sensation. We knew that was not a good sign. We stopped immediately at the next shop where we saw water and shade! Amogh had stopping at some restaurant with AC in mind, but if we had to carry on without losing much time, that was not an option.
We drank almost 2 liters of water each, ate some snickers, drank some cold-drinks and when we thought we were fine, we carried on. As far as I can recollect this was around 2:30 PM.
After a few kilometers, the temperatures started falling and the wind started picking up speed. Before we knew it, we were riding midst a sand storm.
Tall trees on the side of the road shaking violently, visibility dropped drastically. Debris was flying all around us, branches falling off the trees and what not.
It sounds like a tense situation, but we were enjoying every part of it, thoroughly. We had not reduced our cruising speed, were still maintaining around 90 kmph wherever we deemed it safe enough. Being fully faired, R15 suffers a lot from cross winds and the lower the straight line speed, more the effect.
On that whole patch, I was leaning. On a straight road. At 90 kmph. At some intervals the wind would get so strong, it would push my bike sideways so bad that I used to end up in the opposite lane at times. (it was a 2 lane highway, no divider)
The conditions were such, the cars wallahs who overtook us on the highway, being all smug had slowed down quite a bit. The least the expected was two bikers, fully geared, head-lights on overtaking them at speeds they could not imagine traveling at - at that point of time.
It was like the driver is driving at around 60 kmph, branches falling on the windshield, dust everywhere, concentrating on the road then suddenly, there is a flash of light in his rvms! Then, "Zoooom........zooooom..." All he could probably see would be a black object then before he recovered from the suddenness of it, WHITE! another object white closely following the black one.
It was fun. I knew the dangers of the flying debris too. But stopping there was not an option at all as there were tall trees on both sides of the road and no proper shelter anywhere.
It wasn't all that fun though.
I was riding, at those speeds there was lots going on in the surroundings. All of a sudden, I could see a sizable piece of tree wood breaking off the tree and heading right for me. Everything got in slow-mo then. I could probably count in milliseconds then. "BANG" it went right for my face. In that time frame, I had managed to tuck my head a bit more into the crouch I was already in but it still hit my visor and there was a huge scratch left behind.
You can imagine i had clear vision a second before and suddenly I had this big, deep scratch centimeters away from my left eye, on my visor. This happened at least three or four times, and I could see my brand new mirror finish visor getting covered with scratches all over the place. Luckily, nothing major went wrong.
We stopped to answer the only call which doesn't involve any phone.
The DSG jackets we were full of sand. The gear we were wearing saved us from the flying debris. Never more have we ever realized the importance of that.
The next major stop was around once we got out of that mess and hit the open 4-lane highway again. Ate some leftovers from the morning, drank some water and took some rest. We were here for a good one hour.
Jammu was still 150 kms ahead.
Not clear, but my helmet visor sustained quite some damage. Was still usable though.
From this day in our journey, there was daylight almost till 8:00PM. Don't know the reason though.
We left that spot around 8:15 PM and made it safely to our Jammu hotel at 10:30 PM.
The day marked a new phase in our journey. Jammu was a place where we hadn't been before and it was exciting to know that we were finally heading closer and closer to our destination, Leh!
Great!!, 'think few pics are not visible to me..
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