Hey guys, i'm back again with a yet another roadtrip from Delhi to Lucknow n back. After loosing it at the Castrol Power1 Passion Hunt Delhi City Event on 8th March, i decided to give it another shot in Lucknow on 14th. Parents disagreed, but this was my last chance to showcase n discover the true biking substance inside me. And that's how, I accomplished the soring 1000+ kms roadtrip with my best pal, my HUNK.



ABOUT THE DESTINATION:

Lucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state of India. Lucknow is also the administrative headquarters of Lucknow District and Lucknow Division. Located in what was historically known as the Awadh region, Lucknow has always been a multicultural city. Courtly manners, beautiful gardens, poetry, music, and fine cuisine patronized by the Persian-loving Shia Nawabs of the city are well known amongst Indians and students of South Asian culture and history.

Lucknow is popularly known as the The City of Nawabs. It is also known as the Golden City of the East, Shiraz-i-Hind and The Constantinople of India.

MY JOURNEY:

A day before the ride had to start, i got my bike serviced on 12th March as it crossed 7000kms. N bought a new OEK full-face helmet the same day. I decided to launch at 5 in the morning of 13th but due to my ever-lasting laziness, i managed to leave home at 05:45AM. Setting the tripmeter to 0000, i was expecting a mileage of around 50 or more from my machine as during the last roadtrip to Agra in January 2009, my bike snored fuel @ 50 kmpl. I was a bit aware of road conditions on NH-24 coz everyday i had to travel a piece of the highway to my college. But i never knew, roads were a real mess after one crosses moradabad n reaches bareilly n shahjahanpur.

The route looked like:
DELHI----60----HAPUR----100----MORADABAD----91----BAREILLY----160----SITAPUR----90----LUCKNOW



At 07:35AM, i stopped at Sambhavli to make a phone call to dad n that jotted down 76kms on my tripmeter. I left sambhavli at 07:45AM n drove along the under-construction sites on NH-24 to reach a dhaba at 08:15AM in Gajraula, 109.5kms from home. I was starving so i jumped up onto the menu n ordered an omlette with a coffee. Having gulped the stuff, i clicked a few shots of my ride on the same site & soon i went off leaving 5 bucks for tip(lol..)

I crossed Moradabad through the smooth roads & reached Bareilly at 12:00PM having rode 251kms already.. Bareilly is a crowded city mann, full of rickshaw drivers & street hawkers, so definitely not a stoppage for me for i hate crowd.. I again stopped at 01:15PM (307kms) somewhere near Bareilly district to freshen up n give rest to my companion. It was a Hanuman temple on the other side of the road, so i decided to hop in n clicked some pics of my bike with the temple in the background. I even called up my cousin here in Delhi n confirmed him my well-being. It was around 200 more kms to go, so i decided to start off afresh n riding through the messed out, pot holed roads of sitapur, i landed in Lucknow at 05:15PM. My ride went upto 501kms.

Now i was in the Passion Hunt city itself, so i drove directly off to the venue of the hunt in Hazratganj. It was a college ground on the Rana Pratap Marg where the next mega city hunt was going to be held the next day. I felt low standing in front of the entrance gate of the venue, as it was a mixed feeling of confidence n fear. Afterall coming 500kms down the line for a competition wasn't worth it, atleast as far as for my family is concerned. But this was what i chose for myself, so i cheered myself up & called up my friend in Delhi to give me the contact details of his uncle in Lucknow. Having got the details, i landed up at the place at 06:45PM, parked my bike inside the house n stretched myself as soon as i hit the bed there.. I was dead tired, so no more theories now, i had dinner n fell asleep at 09:30PM with the alarm clock set to ring at 7 in the morning.

Alright, it's 14th March, the day itself. I was pretty confident regarding the hunt. I packed myselves up for the competetion & reached the venue at hazratganj at 09:45AM. I found only 1 person standing near the parking with his bike which was by the side of the registration counter. I parked there n went to fill the registration form n check out the rules n all.. I met the rider from Lucknow itself, named SAM, was studying as well as working in Lucknow only. It was nice meeting a passionate biker in the first place after entering the strange city..!! I registered myself n got inside with my machine with a hope that may be this time i might get what i missed in delhi..

Hunt was on!!! 1st round, the figure of 8 round.. I managed to create 8 figures of 8 in 90 seconds (which was the allotted time..), it was same as much as i did in delhi..!! Then i was forwarded to round 2 which was a slow race n the rider had to finish in the maximum time the distance of 50 feet in a prescribed area..!! I finished the slow race in 47 second which was pretty less than the highest which was 1min22sec.. But i still didnt loose hope coz i knew i'm gona kick this one in the quiz.. N so what happened, i answered 10 out of 10 correct.. I was delighted to hear my name in the top 11 bikers in Lucknow Event.. Now it was the stage round in which every biker out of the final 11 had to speak for 2 minutes on the stage about his passion for bikes n the reason for which he was the most passionate one in India..!! People spoke a lot, so did i.. I spoke my heart out in front of the judges.. I'm glad i got a chance to speak what i really felt for biking n how strongly i was connected to biking!! Everyone was impressed by my speech n applauded me gracefully..



Now came the time when final 4 bikers had to be declared..!! I had my fingers crossed n guess what i made it to the final 4.. I jumped again coz coming so far n getting selected in the final 4 was much of an achievement..!! Now it was the slow slalom round in which each biker had to complete a slalom race in the maximum time.. I completed it in 67seconds but there's always someone better than we are n so what happened.. The winner guy, Asheesh pandey, did it in 2min or so.. He won n i ended up as a runner up.. But i was still glad that i did what i wished!! As a reward, i got a Castrol Power1 official jacket n two cans of Castrol Power1 Engine Oil.. The jacket is super-sexy, i must tell u..!! It was 7 in the evening, so i headed straight to my room n took rest, informed my parents in delhi about what happened that day n fell asleep at 9..



Early morning on 15th March, i started afresh from Lucknow at 05:30AM n delhi was roughly 498 kms away.. The moment i looked at the km-stone of 498kms, i felt tired n at the same time i was excited to go home n share my experience with my parents n relatives.. So i kick started myself n ofcourse my bike n went around for not-so-giant roadtrip back home 50 kms which i completed in 12hrs down the road..!!

When i reached home, i was dead tired coz i drove slowly but continously for 12 hrs the whole day n i felt like hitting the bed as soon as possible.. But the moment i met my parents n friends at home, an aura of ease n delight pinged inside me & i was fine.. Truly, it was amazing coming back home after a short-in-time but long roadtrip..

SOME POINTS TO MENTION:

Total distance covered - 1082 kms
Total fuel burnt - 22.54 litres
Total cash spent - 1100 for fuel & around 200 bucks xtra
Total time taken - 11.5 hrs forth n 12 hrs back

I lost my bike keys during the course of the hunt, but luckily i had spare keys with me which i took as per the checklist i prepared a day before going for the roadtrip..

I didn't win the title in Lucknow though, however i still feel like a winner coz i won in the eyes of my parents & i discovered a real biker inside me who could follow his passion as far as it could take him..!!