Tweet
This is an account of my first solo bike trip from Noida, (where I live presently) to Lavasa, a place of my dreams (broken).
Why Lavasa?
No doubt there are many hill stations towards the North which being my native place have always fascinated me. But there is something in the western ghats which has a certain magnetic pull over me. Especially in the monsoon season the ghats truly come alive with an almost fluorescent green spread all around. And in stark contrast to it the black rocks and soil make for a mesmerizing, almost hypnotic setting.
Those were the main reasons why my wife, Manu and I decided to purchase a place in Mugaon, the second town to be developed in Lavasa. That was in the first year of our marriage. There had been some disturbing news lately about the project being shelved and all construction stopped and sites abandoned. This wasn't the dream we had believed in and I wanted to see all this for myself. Thats why Lavasa.
The planning.
There really wasn't much to plan except to check routes online and get some gear for the trip. I had ordered a Givi tail bag, a new Caberg helmet and a radiator and oil cooler guard set by Evotech Performance. The guards arrived ahead of schedule but I was getting nervous about the delay in other items. Just 2 days before the planned date of my departure GiviXS313 tail bag and Caberg Drift full Carbon helmet arrived to calm my nerves. I knew that even with a smallish 20L bag I could carry almost everything I needed on this trip. I was unsure about carrying a small backpack for sundry items and kept it as a secondary piece of luggage. More about the gear and their performances later.
I transferred the Sena 10C bluetooth set from my existing helmet to the new one and tested it the night before departure. All gear seemed to be in order.
The plan was to utilize the week when Manu and our daughter Kripa would be visiting Dehradun. Thus roughly 21-27th August. I was taking inputs from a fellow Ducatisti, Zeeshan. He rides the Multistrada and has done 1000 odd kms in a days ride in the past. I was going to keep the ride a not so open secret with Manu and was trying to do everything as covertly as possible. Which apparently wasn't covert at all as I came to know later. Anyways, got their tickets booked for 20th August in Tatkal. Early morning Shatabdi to Dehradun.
Manu had made elaborate arrangements to keep me well nourished while she was away. The fridge was loaded with fresh fruits and she even made arrangements for our maid to do some cooking for my lunch. I kept quiet about all this and thought of handling this when the time comes.
The weather was going to be wet all throughout the week ahead as per the multiple weather apps installed on my phone! It wasn't very confidence inspiring news but I was feeling strong from within about this and some minor flooding or inundated towns and highways weren't going to dampen my spirits!!! I had no rain gear.
Had fixed appointment with AMP gurgaon for 20th to get the bike checked for the trip.
Dropped Manu and Kripa to the train station in Ghaziabad and watched them leave with a heavy heart. Then got stuck in horrible traffic all the way from.the station to home. There is some kind of an accepted opposite direction lane on the one way hapur bypass NH24 road which really irks me.
Anyways, reached home late. Waited for the maid to come at a revised time slot. She cleaned up the kitchen, house etc as I made some adjustments to the knee/shin protectors. Had to sew the straps to shorten them and fit me snugly.
I packed some fruits for the journey and rest all packed for the maid to take away. Locked the house after last minutes checks etc and handed over the keys to our neighbours in case I get delayed or Manu had to get back earlier than the plan.
Reached AMP Ducati in Gurgaon at around 1400 hrs. They checked the bike for any niggles. Tried to fix the recurring horn problem by cleaning some terminals etc. Checked the brakes,coolant, engine oil etc and realized that the engine oil was a bit lower than optimum. Hence topped up. Apparently the Ducatis eat up certain amount of engine oil and need to be topped up every 1000 odd kms by about 200-300 ml. I was advised to carry a spare 1L bottle with me for the trip which I purchased from them. But the no.10 Allen key required to Open/Close the filling cap wasn't there in my tool kit. I asked the workshop guys to hand me one for the trip which they had two pieces of. But the floor manager refused. Anyways, I didn't think that to be a very big hinderance and thanked them for all their suggestions and help. The guys on the floor seemed excited at my plan and offered me their best wishes and safety tips. The guy Pankaj told me that I could trust my machine completely and the trip will be great fun. I wanted to hear exactly this and he couldn't have said it at a more apt time.
I was staying the night at my childhood friend Devender's place in Gurugram. Once done from the dealership I went straight to his company's guest house and waited there for him to get free from work.
During this wait I realised that my plan to wear my knee/shin guard inside my trousers was not that great and made me quite uncomfortable after only a few hours. So even though my bike's tank paint was in danger of getting scratched by the hard knee guard I had no other option. Sigh...
Anyways, Devender came to the guest house soon enough and Zeeshan, my friend from the Ducati club joined us there for dinner. Zeeshan is a great guy and has plans to conquer many long distance destinations on his strada too. Just that his health is a bit down lately and he is recuperating. He was excited about my trip too and checked my gear etc for approval. Dinner done, all set to go home, pack one last time and sleep early for an early morning start.
Slept late as we chatted for a long time in bed...But I woke up right on time. Showered, freshened up and got geared up. Tied up the tail bag securely.
The tail bag had a spare 1L bottle of engine oil, Tyre inflator, puncture repair kit and all my clothes. I was quite impressed by it. It even had a high visibility rain cover which I decided to keep on all the time.
Devender woke up too and handed me a high visibility cycling jacket to be worn on top of my riding jacket. It was loose but a good addition to my safety equipment list.
I decided to keep my wallet, bike documents etc in the small shoulder bag that I had been unsure to carry to this trip in the last moment. And in this made a blunder that I would come to know about later in the day.
We said goodbyes and I left feeling amazing...
Why Lavasa?
No doubt there are many hill stations towards the North which being my native place have always fascinated me. But there is something in the western ghats which has a certain magnetic pull over me. Especially in the monsoon season the ghats truly come alive with an almost fluorescent green spread all around. And in stark contrast to it the black rocks and soil make for a mesmerizing, almost hypnotic setting.
Those were the main reasons why my wife, Manu and I decided to purchase a place in Mugaon, the second town to be developed in Lavasa. That was in the first year of our marriage. There had been some disturbing news lately about the project being shelved and all construction stopped and sites abandoned. This wasn't the dream we had believed in and I wanted to see all this for myself. Thats why Lavasa.
The planning.
There really wasn't much to plan except to check routes online and get some gear for the trip. I had ordered a Givi tail bag, a new Caberg helmet and a radiator and oil cooler guard set by Evotech Performance. The guards arrived ahead of schedule but I was getting nervous about the delay in other items. Just 2 days before the planned date of my departure GiviXS313 tail bag and Caberg Drift full Carbon helmet arrived to calm my nerves. I knew that even with a smallish 20L bag I could carry almost everything I needed on this trip. I was unsure about carrying a small backpack for sundry items and kept it as a secondary piece of luggage. More about the gear and their performances later.
I transferred the Sena 10C bluetooth set from my existing helmet to the new one and tested it the night before departure. All gear seemed to be in order.
The plan was to utilize the week when Manu and our daughter Kripa would be visiting Dehradun. Thus roughly 21-27th August. I was taking inputs from a fellow Ducatisti, Zeeshan. He rides the Multistrada and has done 1000 odd kms in a days ride in the past. I was going to keep the ride a not so open secret with Manu and was trying to do everything as covertly as possible. Which apparently wasn't covert at all as I came to know later. Anyways, got their tickets booked for 20th August in Tatkal. Early morning Shatabdi to Dehradun.
Manu had made elaborate arrangements to keep me well nourished while she was away. The fridge was loaded with fresh fruits and she even made arrangements for our maid to do some cooking for my lunch. I kept quiet about all this and thought of handling this when the time comes.
The weather was going to be wet all throughout the week ahead as per the multiple weather apps installed on my phone! It wasn't very confidence inspiring news but I was feeling strong from within about this and some minor flooding or inundated towns and highways weren't going to dampen my spirits!!! I had no rain gear.
Had fixed appointment with AMP gurgaon for 20th to get the bike checked for the trip.
Dropped Manu and Kripa to the train station in Ghaziabad and watched them leave with a heavy heart. Then got stuck in horrible traffic all the way from.the station to home. There is some kind of an accepted opposite direction lane on the one way hapur bypass NH24 road which really irks me.
Anyways, reached home late. Waited for the maid to come at a revised time slot. She cleaned up the kitchen, house etc as I made some adjustments to the knee/shin protectors. Had to sew the straps to shorten them and fit me snugly.
I packed some fruits for the journey and rest all packed for the maid to take away. Locked the house after last minutes checks etc and handed over the keys to our neighbours in case I get delayed or Manu had to get back earlier than the plan.
Reached AMP Ducati in Gurgaon at around 1400 hrs. They checked the bike for any niggles. Tried to fix the recurring horn problem by cleaning some terminals etc. Checked the brakes,coolant, engine oil etc and realized that the engine oil was a bit lower than optimum. Hence topped up. Apparently the Ducatis eat up certain amount of engine oil and need to be topped up every 1000 odd kms by about 200-300 ml. I was advised to carry a spare 1L bottle with me for the trip which I purchased from them. But the no.10 Allen key required to Open/Close the filling cap wasn't there in my tool kit. I asked the workshop guys to hand me one for the trip which they had two pieces of. But the floor manager refused. Anyways, I didn't think that to be a very big hinderance and thanked them for all their suggestions and help. The guys on the floor seemed excited at my plan and offered me their best wishes and safety tips. The guy Pankaj told me that I could trust my machine completely and the trip will be great fun. I wanted to hear exactly this and he couldn't have said it at a more apt time.
I was staying the night at my childhood friend Devender's place in Gurugram. Once done from the dealership I went straight to his company's guest house and waited there for him to get free from work.
During this wait I realised that my plan to wear my knee/shin guard inside my trousers was not that great and made me quite uncomfortable after only a few hours. So even though my bike's tank paint was in danger of getting scratched by the hard knee guard I had no other option. Sigh...
Anyways, Devender came to the guest house soon enough and Zeeshan, my friend from the Ducati club joined us there for dinner. Zeeshan is a great guy and has plans to conquer many long distance destinations on his strada too. Just that his health is a bit down lately and he is recuperating. He was excited about my trip too and checked my gear etc for approval. Dinner done, all set to go home, pack one last time and sleep early for an early morning start.
Slept late as we chatted for a long time in bed...But I woke up right on time. Showered, freshened up and got geared up. Tied up the tail bag securely.
The tail bag had a spare 1L bottle of engine oil, Tyre inflator, puncture repair kit and all my clothes. I was quite impressed by it. It even had a high visibility rain cover which I decided to keep on all the time.
Devender woke up too and handed me a high visibility cycling jacket to be worn on top of my riding jacket. It was loose but a good addition to my safety equipment list.
I decided to keep my wallet, bike documents etc in the small shoulder bag that I had been unsure to carry to this trip in the last moment. And in this made a blunder that I would come to know about later in the day.
We said goodbyes and I left feeling amazing...
Comment