Re: Die, you old hag!!

Travelogue Approved

Death becomes her

Re: Die, you old hag!!

It all started with a Whatsapp ping.




In a flash the plan started materializing how I would start at 4AM on Saturday morning. Reach in the evening, chill with my friends from my Graduation days. Attend colleague's marriage the next morning and start for Bengaluru at 1 PM. DKSAB would break down on the way back with something terminally bad. Perfect!


Asked among my friends and couple of them wished to join. Akul (RTR 200) and Chakri (A crazy fellow when gets on the riding seat. hurt his hand in Roopkund trek so he would only be a pillion).




The prep:
Got my bike serviced two weeks before the ride. Rode her to Chitradurga and back the weekend before the D-Day. That was around 360 kms. Felt some pain in my back so googled up lower back exercises. So for the week before the ride, worked out for 30 mins everyday:


- Good Mornings 12*3
- Side plank left
- Back bridge 12*3
- side plank right
- Supermans 12*3


One day before the ride, I worked from home. Went out in the evening to get some first aid, snickers. Got PUC done, got the insurance online from policybazaar, got it fueled up, chain tightened and oiled. Planned to sleep early to get some good sleep. Asked Akul and Chakri to come to my place after work so that we just start together on time in the morning. Akul came as promised. We slept for at least a good 6 hours unlike other people who tend to lose sleep at this moment. In fact, I remember waking up in the night due to my own snores. Both of us woke up at 3 am. Akul divulged that he had some bad dreams and was having a bad feeling about this. Previous day, thoughtful Chakri had shared the news of a bikerni who had sadly passed away in Palghar on her bike. We discussed the dangers and decided we will not take risks at any point of the ride. Called up Chakri who had been partying nearby. Finally, he came over at 4 AM while we were getting ready.


The trip map:





Unslept Chakri finally shows up and spreads lazily on the sofa.




The stuff, all set.





We decided to tie the bags on the 200 and ride pillion on 160.




Finally we started off at 4:35 am. On a slower bike, I was leading and maintained around 85. We soon crossed airport cut. And took our first break at 5:50 somewhere near Nandi cross.




Sleep deprived Chakri dozed off on the 1st break.
Next break was at 7:40. Chakri dozed off their as well.




Somehow, I felt sleeping well worked nicely for the body as far as body pain was concerned. But the roads were so well laid that it got boring and soon I caught myself yawning. Something had to be done. Just then, a squid comes along on Pulsar 150 and overtakes me. Testosterone has its own way of working. The next 5 kms or so was all full throttle and I did not yawn till Hyderabad after that incident. We took another break at 12:30 where, as usual, Chakri caught on his sleep. Now, getting all bored in the pillion seat, Chakri pleaded to ride the bike. I decided we would switch seats once the bike gets to reserve. I always wondered how long would my bike last on a 16l full tank. I'll try to find the maximum distance some day, I'm pretty sure it will beat many other bikes on the range (would have to ride at 50 all day on a highway, boredom would kill me)


500 kms on since last fuel visit and somewhere near Jadcherla, the bike hit reserve. 1000 INR petrol burnt already. I reset the trip, put the bike in reserve and zoomed past an HP petrol bunk thinking I'd fill it up on the next one. 20 kms passed but petrol pumps were not to be found. Nervous, I decided to reduce my speed just when a BP bunk was visible on the opposite side. I was happy to take the U-turn to get the fuel. Soon we stopped on the way for lunch at Hotel Sandarshini in Jadcherla. Stuffed myself up with delicious Andhra meals, we were just 70 kms from Hyd. Post lunch, Chakri rode the bike and I was pillion for 40 kms. I felt pity for the guy as sitting on that seat is not the experience anyone would want to have. New found respect for my wife too who accompanies me on short trips. This is when I realized that crossing 90 kmph suddenly sends the rear foot pegs in a frenzy as if they are possessed by demons. I got back to driving when we reached ORR flyover. We finally entered HYD at around 3:30 PM. I picked my friend up from Sivarampalli and proceeded to Lingampally to spend time with friends.


I was surprised to find not a lot of pain in the body. We had gone easy and took regular breaks, so that definitely worked in favour. Good sleep the previous night helped too. Bums were not very happy but I treated them to a nice sofa seat when I reached the friend's place. Some drinks, chit-chat and and a nice dinner marked the end of our Saturday.


But I was already worried about the next day. I knew if we start at 1 PM from Hyderabad and ride like today, we would have to ride atleast 5 hours in the dim headlight. Never rode in such conditions before. Being meticulous is not my forte, I suddenly realized that we don't have a puncture kit on us. A simple, tiny nail at 11 PM would throw the fun off-track tomorrow and I might end up spending the night at a bus stop on the highway. Suddenly I realized that DKSAB breaking down in the middle of nowhere would not be something I'd like in the middle of the night. Lets see how it goes..., getting a nice sleep was of prime importance!

Re: Die, you old hag!!

Very nice build up my man... Please continue with your experience...

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using xBhp.com mobile app

Re: Die, you old hag!!

damn man... I know you want to buy a new bike, but why break this one..? I'm praying that the bike didn't break down anywhere!!!!

Re: Die, you old hag!!

DAY 2/2:
Woke up the next morning and reached the wedding venue at 10 AM. It was 12:30 PM by the time we got a chance to wish the new couple.




Thays Akul on the left, Manasa and Abhijit, and yours truly. We had our lunch there and left the place at 1 PM. Akul had stayed at some other place so we decided to meet near IPS academy. What about Chakri? The details are in the phone conversation from last night.


Chakri: Dude, yaar it's not possible to sit pillion for another 600 kms tomorrow.
Me: I understand bhai, I felt it in just 40 kms, I don't know how you endured it.
Chakri: Yaar give me the bike to ride half of the time.
Me: Otherwise?
Chakri: Bus, what else...
Me: It's unfortunate my friend, but let me know if you do not get the tickets tomorrow, we'll share the ride back.


Fortunately or unfortunately, he got the tickets. So it was the 2 of us on 2 bikes on the way back.


We could only start at 3:30 PM from HYD as Akul got misdirected. Finally he came and we decided to make the most of the sunlight. As soon as we started, I casually left hands to check balance, a habit of mine. At 70, when I did it this time, the bike handle was shaking vigorosly as if the tyre would fall off or something. But as soon as I put hands back on the handle, nothing! For the rest of the ride, I adjusted my RVMs or my helmet glass only when we slowed down or stopped. At higher speeds, both the hands had to be on the handlebar.
First toll passed, we exchanged thumbs ups and continued. Stopped once for fuel. Next toll the same drill.


My bike surprises me every damn time. I take it out on a long trip, always thinking that this time it would give up on me, and it never does. The first hour from HYD it sounded rough, but after that it was smooth like butter. Riding at upper 90s felt like it was prancing away comfortably with very less vibrations. Gave me a lot of confidence. These are the moments which kill all my dreams of buying a new bike. After every trip I end up thinking, what the hell, lets complete 1 lakh kms on this beaut. By 6:30 we had covered around 240 kms in 3 hrs. Thats when we came across a beautiful rainbow. Had some pics there.


Thats Akul on his RTR200.






Le me and my 15 horses.







We did not take any photos after that. A lot of that has to do with that scoundrel rainbow. It existed because of the furious dark clouds pouring rain further ahead. As it started getting darker, we took a break so that we give some time for the eyes to adjust to the lack of light. Just as we started again in the night, I witnessed such a heavy downpour that I had never ridden in. Kind of under-estimated it. I saw even the cars pulling over but the dude that I am, I kept continuing. Saw in the rear view mirrors and Akul was not to be seen. I decided I will stop too, but where? There was no shade! I continued at around 50 kmph and thats when I had the scare of my life. Suddenly I felt immense deceleration and water all around. Took me a couple of seconds to realize what had happened. I had landed in a slightly larger than normal puddle of water. I felt my bike swerve from side to side exactly 6 times and somehow ended up straight. I wonder what would have happened if I had been at higher speeds. I followed a truck till I came across a small shop with shade. I waited and soon saw Akul coming. Akul has his own style, riding with the visor open and with sunglass on. He had his own logic then to explain why he did this. But then when he crossed me at 40s while I was waving my hand at him, I knew he was not able to see shit in this darkness. Followed him again and we decided to follow trucks, overtaking only when there was another truck to follow in front of them. Huge respect for all the truckers. These trucks can easily do 80s as I witnessed some times during the ride, but they are a discplined folk, giving side to us sometimes in just one dip of the light.


The rain stopped soon after, we took a break at Anantpur and I told Akul about the horror. Akul had experienced this in a previous ride, and his experience helped him. He told that he was not able to see anything much and was just following the white line that divided the 2 lanes at the time he crossed me. He also encountered the same pool of water but just that his bike weighs 30 kgs more and he was riding at 30s at that time. Lesson learnt!

Soon we stopped at a petrol pump. By this time the chain had started making noise (probably due to the high pressure wash it just had). Both of our chains had run dry in the rain. We bought 2 small packets of 2T oil and poured one each on the chains. We decided to stop whenever any of us felt sleepy and take a break there and then. From there we took frequent coffee breaks and comfortably reached the airport cut. Thats basically like entering Bangalore city.

The airport toll was the only place where our documents got checked.Cops asked where we were heading from. They asked me to show all the documents and the most dreaded NOC (I bought my bike from Pondicherry). I have seen cops getting super excited looking at my number plate. But I also came prepared. I showed my RC, and calmly took out my trump card, the PUC. Looking at the PUC, his heart melted and he just let me go. I just mentioned I was riding back to Pondicherry tomorrow.


We entered the city at around 1 AM, decent time considering the late start we had. But yes, first half of the HYD-BAN journey took a bit more than 3 hours, but the second half took 6. We enjoyed dinner at Indira Nagar, reached home and that was the end of yet another glitch free ride with DKSAB. When will I get my next bike? Not yet!


Special mentions: MRF Zapper Q and Shell Advanced 100% Synthetic 10w40 :P
Got to get the handle thing fixed. Most probably it's a bent rim at the front or rear which is playing up.


Of course, its jokingly that I mention that I want it to break down. Deep down I know the day when the bike will be beyond repair, I'll lose an important part of my life. Yelagiri, Chennai, Pondy, TADA falls, Wayanad, Yercaud and all the times I spent on it with my GF (now my wife), are worth a lot
After all this, imagine people telling "No dude, RTR vibrates a lot!"


Cheers!

Re: Die, you old hag!!

Fantastic, I sincerely hope that this relationship never ends and you two keep rocking. One day it will break down. But, please fix it and keep even if your bring another beast to your garage.

Re: Die, you old hag!!

Seriously, I was little angry on seeing the title.
But after reading, and especially the last paragraph I got my opinion changed & realised it was my prejudice.

Your pal must have suffered from hard butt ache in the bus after the bike ride..

Re: Die, you old hag!!


Yep, he does not like buses compared to bikes!
But he was in office one hour early on Monday!!

Re: Die, you old hag!!

Brilliantly worded my friend! It was a pleasure reading your log.

Re: old hag Never Dies :P

Just by reading your log, I got the memories which I had with my RTR 180.

Fantastic Trip log sir ji....

She never gives up whatever you do...

Pillion riding for 600 kms ... He must have seen the hell

Do more miles bro... Ride Safe

Re: Die, you old hag!!

A nice one!

Re: Die, you old hag!!

You are a brilliant writer buddy. Loved every bit of it. About reliability of RTR, Mine had done 70K, before I sold it, without any major issue. Only once it was decarbonized at 50K. All I used to do was change engine oil within 1500-2000 kms after warranty period was over.

Re: Die, you old hag!!

Okay now I'm feeling most nostalgic for my RTR160 I sold last year. Same model and same colour as yours! Done 38k kms. The reason for selling was I murdered her with modifications and stuff and the repeated visits to the service centre (my fault entirely, always give to service centre, never to roadside mechanics). One thing, She never quits ! So much off-roading, taking my classmates triples and quadtriples as well! (Not on public roads, the roads inside college). Other than the cramped riding position and the vibes, she was an absolute beast. She can go all day long, no sweat, really well built and long lasting parts. I badly miss that exhaust note, had even put a K&N, inside Mall Parking lots it used to trigger car alarms, that loud it was! It really is a painful moment when you finally give her keys to her new owner, God Knows how your gonna handle it, having so much memories with her! [emoji56]

Sent from my Mi 4i using xBhp.com mobile app

Re: Die, you old hag!!

That was one heck of a story dude.. Nicely done..

Also happy to see that u guys ride with gears on...