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**krishna77** · 02-21-2015, 05:57 AM

Re: K2K | Because i love to ride.

Beautiful stuff.

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**rakshit rana** · 02-21-2015, 09:45 PM

Re: K2K | Because i love to ride.

Great writeup mate ! Glued !

**yash444888** · 02-21-2015, 11:02 PM

Re: K2K | Because i love to ride.

Epic man.... EPIC!!!!!!!

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**joshi.varun91** · 02-22-2015, 01:08 AM

Re: K2K | Because i love to ride.

Pune - Mumbai (170kms)

Another reason for embarking upon this trip was, besides seeing all the new places, i wanted to meet up with my friends and family with whom I had not met in a very long time. You are close to them, but for some reason or the other, you just don't get to meet them often. This was also an advantage as throughout the whole trip, I had to stay in a hotel only once ( in Udaipur, coming soon).

My next pit stop was going to be Mumbai as one of my fav Uncle lives there and I hadn't met them in ages. Also Ive been in Mumbai only once before, so wanted to get a brief taste of the 'city that never sleeps'.

So anyways coming back to the log, after the previous nights party, I was a bit hungover. Since it was going to be a low distance ride, i thought of leaving a bit late than usual and go easy on myself. So around 12 30pm, I finally bid farewell to my friend from Pune and the other officers. I had one of the most awesome times in Pune and surely not going to forget it ever. Tanked up my bike and started for Mumbai.

I was aware that 2 wheelers are not allowed on the expressway so was kinda doubtful about the old highway. Also, since it was the onset of monsoons I was also worried about the rains. My first stop came when I reached Khandala. Oh the beauty !!! You might think I am exaggerating, but the sight I saw was so heavenly. Lush green hills accompanied by a slight drizzle, with a rainbow just at the corner of your eye, it was just gorgeous.

The railway tracks also made for a pretty good picture.

As i discovered, the old highway was really scenic and had good roads for the most part. So i didn't feel much bad for missing out on the expressway. Eventually I continued and decided not to stop until I reach Mumbai as I knew it was going to take me a long time to navigate through Mumbai. The Navi_Mumbai - Mumbai stretch, thought a 6-8 lane highway was very uneven. Bike kept jerking, and it became really hot and humid. Once i entered Mumbai, i asked for directions to Powai. Apparently i had missed a turn so it was gonna be a bit longer. Got directions to reach the Eastern Expressway, where i stopped and used google maps to reach my destination.

Another funny thing. My relatives had no clue i was going to come. I knew the address, so after reaching their apartments, I called them to ask the exact flat number. When the lift door opened, my uncle was standing there to greet me, and Oh boy !!! The shock on his face when he saw me, all geared up, with a helmet on one side and a saddle bag on the other, partly drenched and muddy !!! I should've captured that moment. I too was so excited to meet them but before I could say anything, My aunt gave me some water and handed a jar of cold chocolate mouse to eat up

Everybody was shell shocked to hear about my journey but they were really appreciative and very supportive. I took a quick shower then had some lunch.

Now lets talk about coincidence. After lunch, I got a call from a friend of mine, who used to be my classmate in school, in Assam. We hadn't met in 15 years !!!( though were friends on FB ). Apparently she lived just a few blocks from where I was staying and so we decided to get together for dinner.
Another bit of Info. I am from Chandigarh and have spent the last 3 years in Mysore. As you can imagine, both are very small cities, and everything closes by 10pm. So when my friend suggested, to meet for dinner around 11pm, I was so shocked !! I asked her, will anything be open by then ? And she's like, ye hai Mumbai merit jaan !!!

The next day was a total rest day. I took a lot of rest, had food, went to the local eateries and had some more food

A friend of mine from college, who was working in Mumbai came to meet me

PS: sorry not many pictures this time round.

Attached Files

**krishna77** · 02-22-2015, 10:00 AM

Re: K2K | Because i love to ride.

Nicely put.

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**joshi.varun91** · 02-26-2015, 10:17 PM

Re: K2K | Because i love to ride.

Mumbai - Udaipur (~950kms)

It was about 3 50am when I woke up to a loud thunderstorm and the sound of raindrops falling on the window pane. Google predicted rain all throughout the day, which was a bad sign to start the day with. Nevertheless, not wasting any time, I quickly got ready for the journey. Unsurprisingly, both my uncle and aunt were up, and very excited about my journey ahead. After a light breakfast and tea, I waited impatiently for the sound of the rain drops to decreases so I could make a move on soon. Eventually around 5 30am, the inclement weather gave way to a light drizzle and it was time to move on.
My uncle asked me to follow him till the Mumbai - Surat highway. After reaching the main highway and getting a thumbs up from him, I was off !!!

I was really excited for this leg of the journey because in my whole life, i have visited each and every state of India except Gujarat and Rajasthan. Never have I , ever set foot in these two states. Also, I wasn't really sure of the destination. Since the journey was going to be really long, I had decided to try aiming for Ahmedabad, and if I reach easily, to try for Himmatnagar, and if I have some Godly amount of strength left, to aim for Udaipur.

Anyways back to the log. So while on the outskirts of Mumbai, again the rain started with all its fury. It was the time of twilight, so I had to keep the visor open just a bit and try to navigate trough the limited vision that I had. Just as I was worrying about being drenched, I went through this enormous water puddle, and trust me, It was similar to taking a dive into a swimming pool. I laughed. I laughed so hard and all my tension and worries were over. I realised there is no point in worrying, and to let myself enjoy. I actually love the rain and riding in the rain. Suddenly i started enjoying it so much more.

I gotta say, the highway was so beautiful and well designed. Well laid metal roads, butter smooth tarmac, 4-6 lanes, just a bit of truck traffic, it was amazing. Even while the rain was pouring, I was doing about 110kmph comfortably and safely. All this really made me so happy, that I didn't even get tired and just felt like going on and on.

Being totally drenched and the cold air made me stop for the first time, to answer the call of nature. You can judge by the picture what kind of a weather it was, and I have fallen in love with such a kind of weather.

Eventually, I entered Gujarat and it stopped raining. Around 10am I stopped to have some breakfast. I kept making a few stops for ass breaks and the temperatures were only rising.

Now comes the part where i went terribly wrong. After a lot of research online, I got to know that the Vadodra-Ahemdabad expressway doesn't allow bikes and that the other highway is in a disastrous condition. Its better to take a detour and go through Godhra Halol and reach Himmatnagar. After crossing Vadodra, i kept on searching for that particular detour, and once I did see it but there was no place to take a right turn, so I thought ill take a U turn and come. I kept going on and on but that turn never came. On asking a bystander, he assured me that another route will come If i go bit more further. Biggest mistake. No such route came and I fell on the old highway to Ahemdabad.

Oh God, saying that Highway is in a despicable condition is an understatement. It wasn't even made completely, with so many patches of broken roads, potholes, small detours here and there, along with high temperatures of about 40 degree celsius, it was a nightmare to ride on it. The whole part was so hot and dusty ,and no good restaurants or dhabas on the way. I just tried to keep myself calm and finally I reached Ahemdabad, and stopped at the first Dominos I saw. Ordered a pizza and washed my face with cold water.
After a good refreshment at Dominos, I thought I can still easily make it to Himmatnagar, but this time I was going to follow Google Maps. Well, God had other plans for me. After 15 mins of riding, I found out that my phones google maps was acting weird, and I reached Gandhinagar. Wow. So I'm already exhausted, feeling so hot, and again wrong way. Anyways, after asking a few locals, going through some shit roads I finally reached the highway to Himmatnagar.

Stopped at the place where a picture is mandatory

While riding, I was still deliberating over my destination. Though all circumstances were pointing at stopping at Himmatnagar, I was reasoning with myself that Udaipur would be a better option, in such a way that I could maybe go around and see a bit of the city, and it would reduce the distance of my next ride to Jaipur. So when Himmatnagar came, I just didn't let go of the throttle and kept on going.

This was where i was stretching myself, both physically and mentally.

Finally about 5 45pm I reached the border of Guj-Rajasthan. Again the roads, the scenery became very nice. Though very low in energy, this change of landscape brought back the enthusiasm kept me going.

After I reached Udaipur, i got lost in the narrow city streets. I didn't even have a place to stay and kept looking at few
hotels. All the hotels were so expensive, and no one was agreeing below 2000 bucks ! Finally loosing all hope, I called my uncle who stays in Jaipur, and through his contacts I got a VIP suit in an awesome Hotel for just 1k. I checked in around 8pm, and as you can imagine, i was completely destroyed with exhaustion. Had food and slept off.

Longest distance I have ever covered. About 950kms. Got a very good sleep.

**nadz11.ns** · 02-26-2015, 10:48 PM

Re: K2K | Because i love to ride.

Nice update man

and 950kms in a day.. woww!!

keep it coming

**Jazzy_the_rider** · 02-26-2015, 11:49 PM

Re: K2K | Because i love to ride.

Awesome . And 950km in 1 day is just fabulous.

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**ArnabC** · 03-07-2015, 04:42 AM

Re: K2K | Because i love to ride.

Nice T-log there Varun. Waiting for the rest to come up soon.

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K2K | Because i love to ride.

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