Re: Ride of my Dreams, Winter Ride to Uttarakhand !

Awesome pics. Eagerly waiting for the rest of log.

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Re: Ride of my Dreams, Winter Ride to Uttarakhand !

Thanks a lot

Haha. Sorry for the delay bro. Will post the entire day 1 and some more tonight.

Thanks a lot sir. It means a lot coming from a seasoned tourer like you.

Thanks

Will post the entire day 1 by tonight.

Re: Ride of my Dreams, Winter Ride to Uttarakhand !

Re: Ride of my Dreams, Winter Ride to Uttarakhand !

Continue, continue...

Re: Ride of my Dreams, Winter Ride to Uttarakhand !

wow.
1100 kms without a long break. That's some distance to cover.

Re: Ride of my Dreams, Winter Ride to Uttarakhand !

Superb KD !
Amazing Snaps & TLog till now.
Hooked ! Keep 'em coming !

Re: Ride of my Dreams, Winter Ride to Uttarakhand !

Super ride 1100 km is commendable.
and the pics were equally beautiful

Re: Ride of my Dreams, Winter Ride to Uttarakhand !

straight 1100 KM at first!!! way too stretched for my type drivers but enjoyed every moments along with you.

Re: Ride of my Dreams, Winter Ride to Uttarakhand !


Sometimes respect comes with sheer madness, bring it on mate!

Re: Ride of my Dreams, Winter Ride to Uttarakhand !


The detailed road conditions at the end of Day 2.

The alarm rang at 4:30 am and I was fumbling with the phone for 10-15 minutes already waiting for the alarm to buzz. A hot water bath and I was at the reception by 5:30am. Packed the luggage, cleaned and lubed the chain, it needed some serious attention, and clicked the days first pic.



Started asking local people for Sauner (pronounced as Savner) as it was the closest major village in the Chhindwara direction. It is always better to remember the city entry and exits and nearby villages names if you want help from the JPS(Janta Positioning System). It was very dark and I was a little curious about the days ride as I had heard that the MP roads always make sure that the adventure rider in you is happy.

Rode slow towards Sauner and after initial 20-30kms, the sudden diversions started, bad (read fun) stretches, jaywalkers on the roads, cows relaxing in the middle.

A strange incident with one such jaywalker with a water container in hand.


The country roads between Nagpur and Chhindwara were scenic. The ghats with no roads at some places were amazing. Stopped after the sunrise to shoot some poser pics.

























Fueled up at a well maintained HP petrol pump.

Attendant: Bhaiya kaha se aa rhe ho gaadi leke? KA to Karnataka hota hai na?

Me: Haan, Bangalore se.

Attendant: Aajkal ki gaadiya kaha se kaha tak chali jaati hai. Hamare pita ji ka Bajaj Super, bina letaye to daftar tak bhi nahi jaa paata tha.
(Without tilting, the old Bajaj Super would not even take my dad to his office)

Smiles exchanged.
Me : Is this the way to Narsinghpur ?
P : Yes sir, just continue straight on this road.
Me : How far is it from here ?
P : Approx 130kms
Me : Ehh , what? It is 130kms from Chhindwara right ?
P : Yes sir I am telling the distance from Chhindwara only.
Me: *Facepalm*


Reached Narsinghpur by 11:30am, had another 350 kms left for the day. And only around 200kms to enter UP. Decided to have lunch after entering UP only. With that thought in mind, started the ride. The road was supposed to be a 4 laned highway till Babina.

But but but I was still in MP, the highway diverted into a village instead of bypassing it. The cuboidal humps on the incomplete highway were a mess. Crossed Narmada River a few kms into the ride. It was gigantic. The temple on the bank, the bridge, the greenish water, it reminded me of the next big river I would be crossing in my ride, Ganga. After 20-30kms the promised highway was seen. Cruised till Lalitpur(Uttar Pradesh), and had lunch there.

Narmada River Bridge.


Roads just after the Narmada bridge.






Gobind Sagar Reservoir.


When I was at Lalitpur, I saw an opportunity to extend the ride till Lucknow on the same day. But wanted to know about the route safety at night. So called up Lalit Tyagi sir(a resident of Lucknow) from HVK forum. I had never interacted with him over the phone and had a good laugh when I said :

Hello Lalit sir, this is Kusumakar from HVK forum,(hmm recognizes me) and I am in Lalitpur :P
Indian moms: anticipating and preparing everything for the kid since forever.

Parked the bike safe, unloaded the luggage, had a super delicious mom made food, and was in no mood to sleep. A brief session of storytelling and some gup-shup slept peacefully at around 2am.

Road Conditions:

Day 2: Nagpur - Chhindwara - Sagar - Jhansi - Kanpur - Lucknow : 922 kms
On Road Time : 16 hours

Next part : Convincing parents for allowing the next part of ride to Haridwar, Mussoorie and Nainital. Yes this part of the ride was not confirmed till then, but I was quite sure that I will convince everyone at home, once I am there. On a phone call it was a little difficult.

Re: Ride of my Dreams, Winter Ride to Uttarakhand !

super super again
The poem/lines.. really beautiful. Loved most the part with "I'm not alone, the sun follows me in day time............" awesome.

Re: Ride of my Dreams, Winter Ride to Uttarakhand !

Awesome travelogue mate.

Re: Ride of my Dreams, Winter Ride to Uttarakhand !


Kaydee sir... what is this??!!! RESPECTTT!!! And to do all this solo... even more RESPECTTT!!! Loving every inch of the tlog bro.

Some words that just pop into my mind while reading are...

Informative, Poetic, Touching, Moving, Exciting, Inspiring, Funny, Soulfulness, Oneness - Ride, Eye for detail, Story-lining...


Oh and did you say something about dark tar smooth thin roads on the way from Chhindwara to Narsinghpur gets my blood rushing... dammit...



One story where I find myself fumbling with another tab open with Maps on... love the way you've added local place names in your stories... gives us exacting direction to mentally follow your route... Big Hats off KD as always.

Cheers and bring the rest onnnn man!!! eagerly awaiting.

Re: Ride of my Dreams, Winter Ride to Uttarakhand !

Thanks , the bike made it a little easy.

Thanks Varun, will be posting the logs frequently.
Thanks a lot sir, glad you like the pictures

The NS made the long ride enjoyable. Thanks

I enjoy this MadNS and AwesomeNS , on my pulsar 200NS Thanks !
Thanks for the appreciation.

Thanks

Thanks for the kind words sir. I was going through your log for Bangalore to Delhi, epic stuff. We should catch up and discuss that sometime

Re: Ride of my Dreams, Winter Ride to Uttarakhand !

I would like to dedicate this post to Lucknow, once the City of Nawabs.

These photos were taken in May 2013, not this time. (Facts courtesy : Wikipedia )


The Rumi Darwaza

It is an example of Awadhi architecture.Being an entrance to the city of Lucknow, Russell, the reporter of The New York Times who accompanied the victorious British army that entered Lucknow in 1858, after India's First War of Independence, had called the stretch of road from Rumi Darwaza to Chattar Manzil the most beautiful and spectacular cityscape that he had ever seen, better than Rome, Paris, London and Constantinople.The Rumi Darwaza stands sixty feet tall.




The Bara Imambara

The complex contains a big mosque, the bhulbhulayah (the labyrinth), and bowli, a step well with running water.

The main imambara consists of a large vaulted central chamber containing the tomb of Asaf-ud-Daula. At 50 by 16 meters and over 15 meters tall, it has no beams supporting the ceiling and is one of the largest such arched constructions in the world.

There is also a blocked (tunnel) passageway which, according to legends, leads through a mile-long underground passage to a location near the Gomti river. Other passages are rumored to lead to Faizabad (the former seat of power of the Nawabs), Allahabad and even to Delhi. They exist but have been sealed after a period of long disuse as well as fears over the disappearance of people who had purportedly gone missing, while exploring.








The British Residency !

The construction took place between 1780 to 1800 AD and served as the residence for the British Resident General who was a representative in the court of the Nawab. In 1857 the place witnessed a prolonged battle which is also known as Siege of Lucknow; this began on 1 July and continued until 17 November.

The Residency has been maintained as it was at the time of the final relief, and the shattered walls are still scarred by cannon shot. Even since Indian Independence, little has changed.

The cemetery at the nearby ruined church has the graves of 2000 men, women and children, including that of Sir Henry Lawrence who died during the siege. There is a weathered epitaph near the grave of Sir Henry that reads "Here lies the son of Empire who tried to do his duty" while another nearby grave reads "Do not weep my children, for I am not dead, but am sleeping here."







The beautiful work by the artists.








Now the post Mayawati Era of Lucknow :P

Marine Drive on the banks of river Gomti ( yes there is a Marine Drive in Lucknow) is a dead end road, was used primarily for drags and stunts when it was new. Now police controls these activities.



Ambedkar Park





The light at his feet.


With this picture of the sunset, I ll end this post. More on the ride soon.