Topic Approved.

Nice one Abhi. Waiting for detailed log and pictures.

Good one Abhishek. Finally it is up. Good to see you writing and putting up your work with the camera for others to see.

Great Abhishek, U made it solo.. Cool !!!
Waiting for the complete Log and pics...

nicely executed brother......how was the experience of riding all alone.....

Continued.....

So starting at 12 noon, I went to Kotdwar & came back in 4 hrs. I must admit that the road is in best of shape & adjoining forest are pure NIRVANA. I gulped three cups of tes & equal no of maggies in these four hrs.

I was skeptical about having fun alone & kind of reserved guy that I'm added to my worries. Riding alone does seem to be boring when imagined but once on the road it's a different experience altogether.
These 4 hrs were bliss & I could connect with every possible gift nature has in my own sweet way. I enjoyed hills, sitting on the edge with legs hanging down, admiring my ride standing next to me, etc.

Introspection is a word which I'd like to mention. I thought of my career ahead, how I turned into a tourer, past incidents & the list goes on & on... The serenity & peace in this stretch was unmatched. When the world was going gaga over IPL, I was finding my connecting chord with nature.

Pics...












Frankly, I was satisfied & very happy that I came alone. It's my new formed opinion that such trip helps you think.... far from the chaos of metros. Also, a break every now & then refreshes mind, opens up all blood vessels & purifies the air inside.
The only thing I missed being solo was someoen clicking my pics. Every time I had to run & pose for self timer. It reduced my pics by gr8 no.

That's it. I can go on writing like this & my log will turn into a philosphy class. I don't want that.

So, reached Lansdowne at 4 and wandered to suggested places. These were; TIP-IN-TOP, Bhulla Tal, Lovers Lane, etc. I met the same gentleman again (The Army Guy) & he invited me to his place for drinks. Perhaps, my confession of my Dad being an ex-servicemen built that informal friendship. I politely refused this time & promised for next. Though, we enjoyed evening tea together. He didn't agree to pose for camera inspite of my repeated requests..... don't know the reason .

Pics...

I don't know how I reached here?? had to turn back


Bhulla Tal




Road Ends here


TIP-IN-TOP


I couldn't climb so I put my lid




I disturbed a couple enjoying here



Lansdowne is a small town with absolutely nice road. It is extremely clean & people are well behaved. It's majorly a cantonment area & Army ambience is evident. I also visited the Army museum. Covered the nook & corner twice to leave nothing untouched.... back to my small room by 10 pm. Dozed off quickly thinking about b'ful morning ride & planning for Corbett ahead.




Office work calling now..... rest of the log will be posted ASAP.

Good one Abhishek thats what I was talking about your own trip log and its up now good going brother waiting for more pics and log......

Nice, very nice. I liked it.

nice pics and log.more pics please.

Where are the Corbett pics..!?

Well coming up soon.... Office work you know !! There's an interesting instance becusae of which I had to cut short my trip.

M glad you liked it.

Many thanks. Wil come up with more soon....

Nicely written log....really liked the pics..its like looking in the past again for me. I have lived there (lansdowne) for almost 3 years....can u post more pics of lansdowne....

waiting for rest of log and pics of corbette

Thanks for sharing, Abhishek. We too are having a sense of the connecting chord (to Nature) thru your log and pics.

Continued..... 2nd Day

I woke up at 3:30 am. The excitement of morning didn't let me sleep, really. I was happily surprised to find that FM was clear in Lansdowne. So listened to various FM stations for next hour & was ready to leave at 05:00am sharp. I had to wake up the receptionist to handover the keys.

In fact the morning siren in Army barracks was later than I expected. The weather was cool & nice. Before descending to Kotdwar I roamed around Lansdowne again & clicked some pics. Morning L'downe is 5 times more b'ful.






There were some spots where I was informed that pics not allowed and neither did I try. Riding slow was the mantra now. The morning was charming & had its spell on me in form of vistas. No vehicle on road made it easy for me to look here & there in admiration. I stopped at a place for 20 odd min for watching sunrise.... that was the best of this trip. Sitting on the edge & as they say, "Chadhte Suraj ko salaam."

The Sunrise







On way








How come sun is so punctual?? Anyways time to ride & enjoy it to max. There is riverbed in Dugadda (some 24kms from L'downe) and wanted to enjoy this scene as well. It took me no time to find a suitable slope to go down though the way full of small stones.
I don't know the name of the river & can't claim if it was a full fledged river. But the experience was worth it. I couldn't locate even a single soul down there.... stayed there for 1 hr approx before my stomach called for an urgent tank-up.

The Riverbed



My bike


Matrix


The view





Kotdwar was 14 kms from here. I didn't realise when the hills were behind. Had a light breakfast & 2 cups of tes before going ahead.
Kalagarh was my next destination which is hardly 40 kms away from here & perhaps the nearest point to reach Corbett. Its entirly through forest. Road for first 15 kms is very good & suddenly they turn to so bad that it takes toll. Nevertheless, a bike or car was being spotted every now & then. I was cruising nicely and was 20kms away from Kalagarh when I lost my way amid forest.


How & why my plan was scrapped??

I noticed a board indicating left turn ahead for Kalagarh. My mistake for I took a left too early & landed into some very bad way thorugh forest. But it was fun riding through forest & so I kept going on. After 4-5 kms the forest became too dense & I realised that I haven't spotted a single human since I took that turn, leave aside a vehicle.
I stopped & rallied my eyes around. It was scaringly b'ful, then to my shock I saw three elephants some 50 mts away from me. I hid behind a tree & a spookey feeling ran throughout my spines. Now I knew I've come to wrong place. Though, elephants are not so dangerous but..... I was scared thinking of other animals. I forgot that I have a camera with me & that I can click them.
Being a small creature compared to three giants & hidden behind trees I wasn't noticed till then, I guess!! W'out switching on the ignition I turned my bike back, sat on the seat slowly, checked all my things & in no time zoomed off from the place. I covered few hundred mts like a maniac & then came to my senses. Stopped, looked back.... heaved in relief & carried on back. I don't know whihc way I took again but turned towards first village that I could locate. The village was Badapur.

Reaching there I asked way for Kalagarh from an elderly person. I narrated my experience & he confirmed that I took a wrong turn.... that way is infamous for wild elephants. Were they wild elephants??
Anyhow, he guided me to another route through Afzalgarh. It was total offroading through villages while recieving alien look from everyone. Just when I was thanking my stars & slowly going on guided route..... this happened



I was in middle of nowhere.... Sun scorching on my head & flat tyre. I couldn't get luckier than that. I had to push my bike for 6 kms (one & half hour) to find a repair shop. I'd like to mention that I dragged my bike in some other direction following the guidance of local to find nearest puncture shop.

I was sweating like hell & was thirsty as well. It took half an hour for me & bike to be ready again. I was guided wrong again and reached Nagina. I was familiar to this place.... 80 kms from Moradabad. So, I was exactly opposite & much farther from Kalagrah. It was 12 noon.... heat taking its toll and three hrs wasted.
So, I cancelled Corbett for this time and headed straight to Bijnor and then to Delhi. My trip ended at 03:00 pm but on a dejecting note of not been able to finish what I decided.

Wow! Lovely bit of narration, especially that elephant bit was quite adventurous Abhishek! Good going. Lansdowne is a beautiful destination. If given an opportunity, I would love to ride there again in the near future.