Re: Snowy ride to Shimla

Travelogue Approved

Only one picture visible. That too it is very small!

Re: Snowy ride to Shimla

I thought I uploaded 4, I guess only 1 displayed as I chose four pics in one go while uploading. Now I will upload one by one.

----consecutive posts auto-merged-----
Day (minus) -5 : Pre-Ride ride to Murthal
Me(Rohit) and my bestie(Ravi) make it a point to ride to some place every month atleast once. In the first half of year 2017 we did a total of 10 rides out of which 4 were long ones (1000+ kmts). But in the second half of the year (after july) we did not get a chance to ride together since he was busy in his CAT preparations. We are not exactly a part of any other rider group and I also don’t have any other close friend here in NCR who is a rider (everyone I am comfortable with either drives or sleeps). So, we both were itching for a long ride, specially me as I was free the whole time and my Karizmu was at the best of its health.


Finally, the time came when Ravi’s exams were about to end for good. I started planning in early December2017 for a ride together in January 2018 as soon as it was confirmed that his exams will be over till 2nd week of January 2018.
There was a new guy in my office from my home state (Bihar) – Deepak. Over a time of 6 months since he had been in the office, our relationship grew from strangers to ok-ok friends. When I mentioned about my plans for a long ride, he was excited and said that although he has never been on any long rides, he is interested in trying for the first time.
So, it was decided that we 3 will be riding together on out individual bikes. It did not take long to decide the destination (Shimla) and extensive research about the route conditions, timings, hotels, stoppages, petrol pumps, meeting points, lunch place, places to visit once we reach Shimla, etc began. The first important thing we all agreed on was the dates. We applied for leave on 25th January and 26th (Friday) was a National holiday and Saturday and Sunday are off in all our offices. Then, it was decided that we must book hotels ASAP as lots of people from NCR will be taking advantage of the extended weekend.
The whole plan was ready theoretically before Christmas. Then, Ravi became busy in his last two exams and I was involved in an urgent personal matter plus the new guy was depending on us to take care of the planning, so no one got any time to talk about the trip till 2nd week of January. After we both were free, we realized that the hotels have not been booked and the prices were almost double now in 3rd week of January from what they were when we were planning in early December also the number of choices became very few. Anyhow, we booked all the hotels in one go – two days in Shimla and one day in Chail, and total expenditure in hotel booking was around 7500.


The plan was something like this:
20th Jan – Pre-ride Ride to Murthal for warmup and test recently serviced bikes (Deepak was not a part of this ride).
25th jan – Reach common point (near Mubarak Chowk, Delhi) at 6:30AM and start riding towards Shimla by 6:45. Breakfast at murthal at 8 > Lunch at KFC near Zirakpur highway at 1PM and reach Shimla by 5PM > Enjoy night life, dinner in Shimla and good night.
26th jan – Shimla Bhraman.
27th jan – Early morning checkout > Kufri bhraman and ride to Chail > Check in to Deventure hotel in Chail by 6 PM > A little Chail barman and nighty night.
28 Jan - Wake up early in the morning > Chail bhraman till 11AM > Start riding to Delhy by 12 noon.


Well, the warm up ride was very successful and we enjoyed our ride together so much that we were feeling like riding all the way to Shimla that day only. But we both knew it was not possible as we were not students anymore.
Here are some pics of Murthal ride :




We had Tawa Parantha here at Gulshan dhaba, this is my favourite one in Murthal as it is the simplest one while offering good service and food also less crowded compared to others like Haveli and Sukhdev plus we get tawa parantha only here (rest all popular ones serve only tandoori parantha).


We saw some green fields on our way back from Murthal and decided to click few pics. I posed on Ravi's beautiful R15. I love his bike's looks - always shiny.



Day 1 : Delhi to Shimla!

Loading........................................... ....................................

Re: Snowy ride to Shimla

Beautiful start. Bring it on!

Re: Snowy ride to Shimla

Day 1 : Ride to Shimla - part 1
Although we were to commence our ride on 25th morning, the overwhelming excitement started a day early as we prepared our ride and luggage. After office on 24th, I invited Deepak for a sleepover at my house as it will be easier for us the next morning to commence our ride together as he was not very familiar with the routes to our meeting point and also three other friends (not related with this ride) of mine were invited for a mini party. After leaving office sharp at 5, we went straight to my trusted petrol pump and tanked up. My karizmu guzzles down about 16 liters of petrol when it gets in reserve. We both filled upto brim and took cash from ATM. Once home, we packed out bags and kept everything to wear next morning at one place, hosted an awesome mini party and waved other friends goodbye by 10 PM although we were able to sleep only after midnight.


The harsh alarm went off exactly at 5 AM in the morning and we woke up in a jiffy. We were feeling fresh even before freshening up and were too excited about the fact that in about half an hour we will be starting this long awaited ride. I opened Whatsapp to message Ravi (staying in Gurugram) and instead saw his message asking whether we woke up.
It was 5:40AM and my karizmu was warming up on choke. I had put on 5 layers of clothing (including my riding jacket) on my upper body and 3 layers at lower. It was still dark. I asked Deepak to follow me and off we went towards our meeting point.
I was riding slowly and did not cross 50 Kmph for initial 10 kilometers. Deepak was following me initially but somewhere near ‘Raj Ghat’ I stopped for a quick route check on google maps and lost him. Anyhow, after waiting for him for 10 minutes, I continued my ride this time increasing my pace. I was cruising peacefully at around 80 Kmph in low morning light and almost empty roads (few trucks were there). I dont know wht but my Karizmu's engine feels a little (just a little) harsh at 5000 RPM in 5th gear (at 80 Kmph) and unfortunately this speed at this gear is my sweet spot.
When I reached our meeting point, no one was there. After waiting for 5 minutes, I dropped a message on Whatsapp group and decided to ride till Murthal and wait for them at the dhaba since it was too cold and foggy at that time. I was hoping I will ride slow and they will eventually catch up. 15 minutes after riding, I got a call from Ravi, he had just reached our meeting point. I told him that I will be waiting for him exactly where I am currently and sent him my current location. Ravi arrived in 10 minutes, went past me in full speed, braked slowly and returned, I was busy rubbing together my palms . We tried calling Deepak but could not contact him. After dropping messages on our whatsapp group, me and Ravi continued our ride to murthal’s Gulshan dhaba.


While waiting for Ravi 15 minutes away from our meeting point. It was Chilly morning. I don't know why but when I stop riding in cold, I feel even more chilly.




We reached murthal in about half hour, parked out rides in front and went inside to grab a table. Thankfully there was not any rush during that cold morning and our food arrived soon. We were talking about how it is so cold and foggy outside and how Deepak must be facing difficulty riding alone given he was unfamiliar with the rute. We were speculating he might take atleast one more hour to arrive and how we are going to be late and will have to ride in hills at night. But Deepak arrived withing half hour of our arrival and that was a sweet surprise. After clicking few pics together, we were ready to leave for Chandigarh by 9:30 AM (an hour and a half late from our target time).


Deepak and our rides at Gulshan dhaba.



Took the blessings of Almighty at Murthal before leaving for Chandigarh.





We stopped just once en route to Chandigarh at this Dhaba. It was a quick water and tea break. After clicking few pics, we were ready to leave when I noticed that one of my gloves was missing. I called out to other two riders as they were mounted and ready to go. We began searching in the dhaba but Ravi found it near the highway. I have no idea how it went/fell there. This (mini)break took almost half hour. Me and Deepak now exchanged our rides and off we went.



This is the place where one of my gloves went missing but was found soon.

Re: Snowy ride to Shimla

Nice narration. Bring on the next part.

Re: Snowy ride to Shimla

Day 1 : Ride to Shimla - Part 2


As soon as I mounted Deepak’s Apache, I started missing my Karizmu. Apache is a nice solid bike but it is a little crampya and since Deepak’s bag was tied at rear seat, there was not much space for me to move around on the saddle. Perhaps I was too accustomed to my Karizmu’s spacious saddle. Anyway, I whacked open the throttle and felt lack of pull. Lack of power was evident as soon as I reached 90 Kmph. I kept the Apache’s throttle wide open as the road was smooth and traffic was easy but it refused to go past 105 (speedometer indicated) perhaps due to wind. I kept the throttle wide open for a good 10 minutes but still it did not dare touch 110 Kmph. But it was fun riding Apache, it felt solid and front end feedback was awesome (better than Karizmu) and control and flick-ability was improved too. However, it felt a little toy-ish and rear end feedback was pathetic. After abut an hour or an hour and a half, we stopped momentarily (forgot why) and I was back on my beloved Karizmu.

Soon after, we reached near Chandigarh and as was pre-planned, filled our tanks upto the brim at the Reliance petrol pump and I calculated my mileage to be 40+ (in city home-office-home it returns 33-35). We chose this petrol pump as it’s 300+ Google reviews were awesome (average 4 stars). The petrol was Rs78 a liter here, 6 rupees costlier than at my place. Later we realized that the petrol quality was awesome (I love Reliance and Shell petrol stations!).

Food for our half hungry Bikes.


Then we rode to the KFC just on opposite side of the road and I immediately headed to washroom to wash my face. We ordered whatever we liked and just ate like crazy – I guess we all were super hungry. After heavy lunch, everyone wanted to rest and we did exactly that – chatted away without minding about time. I don’t even remember at what time I reached there but we left around 3PM!

Me and Deepak at the KFC.



We all were riding together but suddenly Ravi vanished! We were waiting for him near the ‘Himalayan Express’ toll plaza – we hardly rode for half hour after lunch. We called him and got to know that a ‘Thulla’ stopped him for overspeeding. He was riding at 70 and speed limit was 50! It was surpring that on such smooth and wide highway, the speed limit was so low. Anyways, he paid the fine and joined us, we darnk water like crazy (chicked effect?) and Ravi poured his heart out while abusing the cop verbally. Before starting our ride again, I casually mentioned to Ravi that my mood was a little off because of this cop incident (later I realized that I should not have said so).
IMAGE – Himalayan Expressway

Initial 50 Kilometers of the Himalayan Expressway was just awesome! Smooth, unbroken roads and so many fast curves. Me and Ravi were ripping our R15 and Karizmu and Deepak was going easy on his Apache. Soon, Ravi stopped near a shop, which sold beer, and said we should wait for Deepak to catch up. Then he went ahead and bought a bottle of beer saying it will cheer up my mood . Soon Deepak joined and started playing awesome music on his portable speaker . We enjoyed a lot in that greeny, hilly and curvy random place but it cost us crucial 45 minutes. Thankfully everyone controlled their thrust and drank limited amount of beer.

By the time we started from there, it was evening already and sun had started setting but it was 1-1.5 more hours before complete dark. We decided that we will ride together, continuously and will stop only after it was completely dark for a break. Soon the roads became shitty as a lot of construction work was goind on and traffic increased. We were mostly forced to ride at 20-30 Kmph. At around 5:30-6PM, we stopped at a tea shop. No, it was not dark yet but everyone was feeling cold. We had delicious Maggi and hot tea there and clicked few pics. We spent a good half hour there too. Everyone was enjoying and no one cared about the time this whole time. I was starting to feel cold on my recently shaved head even after wearing helmet so I asked the tea shop guy if we could find woolen skull caps anywhere around that area. He told us that we will find it about 10Kmts away – in Solan (Solan was en route to Shimla). He even told us details about the route to Solan market. We clicked few pics and started riding again.

All 3 rides parked near the tea shop.



View from near the tea shop.

We reached Solan and took a small detour of hardly 500 meters to reach the market; parked out bikes on the side of the road near a small shop and in I went. The shopkeeper lady was sweet and seeing my helmet, she recommended a really nice soft, warm and thin skull cap which fit my bald head perfectly and I was able to wear my helmet over it. It was just Rs 150! After hearing the price, I did not even dare to bargain!

Although it was just about 40 kilometers from there to our hotel in Shimla, we knew that it is going to be a very long 40 Kilometers as riding in hills at night is difficult. Our speeds decreased further and we decided not to overtake any vehicle. The cold was increasing rapidly and my head was aching a little; riding in hills with a ‘taklu’ head in winter season just after snowfall had taken a toll. The headache was worsening even after wearing a skull cap and a helmet. Anyhow we rode slowly but steadily till we were 20 Kmts away from Shimla and took a tea break.

The tea-shop owner was burning some woods in the open to keep cold at bay around which we gathered, took off our gloves and shoes and spent at least half hour sipping tea and chatting away with the shop owner. We asked the tea shop owner about snow in Shimla and kufri. One crucial piece of information we got was that we should not ride to kufri specially in the morning as snow melts and water covers the roads which then freezes in night and by the next morning the roads are covered in thin film of snow and are extremely slippery. Even heavy vehicles like trucks sometimes loose traction on such roads. He also informed that the current temperature, at our current location, must be at least zero degrees. He told that they know how much cold it is by looking at the swollenness of their fingers. We noticed that out fingers had swollen a little too due to cold. We got to know few new things about life in hills from him, the conversation was interesting.

Refreshed, relaxed and warm! We started riding again, taking it easy knowing we just had 20 more kilometers to go. But after riding for a 10 minute, I was literally shaking inside my Cramster. It felt as if I did not wear any gloves and shoes. I felt burning sensation in all my 20 fingers. For the first time in life, I was experiencing such a thing. After riding for only 9 kilometers, I was feeling that I could not take the burning throbbing pain on my palm and feet anymore. Thankfully, soon we saw some fire at roadside, a guy was burning some garbage – me and Ravi stopped immediately. Deepak was ahead of us (he continued till Shimla). We spent 15 minutes here. Asked the guy about any liquor shop in the vicinity (we were thinking of buying Rum for the night at hotel). He informed that there is one 3-4 Kmts ahed on the side of the road.

From the liquor shop, it was just 6 kilometers to Shimla. After reaching Shimla, we contacted our hotel reception asking about the route as GPS was getting confusing in the city. He suggested we park our bikes in the common parking facility and climb up towards Mall road on foot. The hotel was near a place called 'Ram Mandir'. After parking, we were on foot, at some places road was too steep. Huffing and puffing and taking help from whomever we found en route, we reached hotel at around 10 in the night. Thankfully their kitchen was still open but it was all vegetarian only. We ordered paneer-naan, aloo parantha, etc – had a hearty meal and did not even know when we all slept – the bottle of rum we bought was not even taken out of the bag.
____________________________End of day one___________________________________________

Re: Snowy ride to Shimla

Nice pictures. Carry on!