Speeding across at 90kph, I sit up and brake for what I feel is a 4th gear right hander only to get a jolt when I realise the tarmac is mildly potholed. I quickly shift to 3rd and begin to lean and decide there's no other way through this than by the throttle. Three seconds later, a little shaken, but mighty proud of my bike's well sorted suspension I'm left with a smile that says joy along with fear.

That my friends is what you call a biker having fun on the twisties.

The recent friendship G2G by the Mumbai-Pune xBhpians,clubbed with the many months of waiting is what sparked this ride to Malshej. Yes, that hallowed hill-road that got many a western biker hooked onto the ghats.

It was Sunday evening and I was skimming through the forums and chatting with Rohan(ripper) about where and when to get an embossed number plate. My day off was to be on the 5th and I thought why not get that classy licence plate for my babe?
Then going through the G2G threads I suddenly thought to myself, "That's it! I'm tired of waiting. Let's ride to the ghats this Wednesday."

PMs floated around to fellow Mumbai bikers and before I know it I'm ready with a mini itinerary for my first solo-long ride. Now, I know a short, roughly 150km trip doesn't require much in terms of Kotler's finest. But, hey, this was my first solo ride to a place, the route to which was still oblivious to me. So spare me the giggles.

MotorB, Winzee, Spidy and Ripper sent me replies to boost my confidence and help out with the route. Spidy gave me valuable pointers on what I would experience for the first time, while Ripper was busy getting details of the route for me from Wikimapia. All this while I was relaxing and going through forums while having my dinner. (Oops! Did I say too much?)

But I assure you guys I WAS paying attention.

Coming back, it was past midnight and I was still going through the map. The moment that was done, I kept my jacket, gloves and lid ready for the big day. Brushed my teeth, had my meds and hit the sack.

I hope you guys are keeping track. Smart readers would realise that yours truly failed to set the alarm!
Well, Dad woke up early as usual and all the kitchen work made me open my eyes. (No this isn't why the thread is titled the way it is.)

I was startled when I saw the time. It was 7am! I was damn excited so I fast forwarded all the morning rituals and began getting the rest of my gear ready. I was apprehensive of wearing my boots as 60% of it is made from leather. But then i figured this was what they were made for. And what better opportunity to test my gear than now huh!

By 0740hrs I was wiping my Kari' and checking the tyres. All kitted out & warmed up I was out of the building by 0755hrs.


Oh and don't worry, unlike the alarm, the bike was tanked up the previous night itself.
I said a small prayer on the way to the Kandivali flyover. Thereafter, I headed steadily towards Dahisar.

I had made this small note of the checkpoints that Ripper gave me:


On the way I stopped for a couple of pics. There was this one R15 dude who was passing by. He kept staring at me as I was still in full gear when i clicked these 2 photos.



Few kms later I finally saw the one hotel that I believe is made famous by us Mumbai xBhpians. Yep, the fondly remembered Fountain Hotel who's mention crops up on every second G2G carried out by the gang.

I was actually elated whilst taking the right towards Thane. I smiled and said to myself, "WOW! I'm actually doing this."
It was fun cruising between 90 and 110. Something i very rarely managed on city roads.
Having said that, the highest speed I ever clocked was infact in the city and not during this trip..*devilish grin*

Now the real Joey shows up again. Let me tell you dear readers that I have an impressive history of making wrong turns. Right from bicycle rides after coaching classes to motorcycle rides within the city.

And lo and behold I took a left from the IRB toll naka. Yeah, yeah. I know that was pretty stupid. Considering it is so clearly mentioned "GO STRAIGHT & CROSS IRB TOLL PLAZA"
And you know why i did that? Because my great brain thought it would be better to go around the checkpoint rather than through it. Only to discover that trucks were the only vehicles plying on this left approach to the point.
So I took a pee-break had some water and washed my face. A picture clicking session lead to quite a few stares from Volvo and TATA drivers.




I pulled down my balaclava strapped on the lid and was now heading down the same road. I figured, why not take a right ahead and then go left on the same Toll-Road.

I was back on track now. Lovely road by the way. Smooth and fast.

There was this FZ-S guy with a Vega motocross lid who was following me. We reached ahead where there was a red signal at a right turn. We stopped beside each other and he smiled & asked me, "Race ke liye ja raha hai kya?" I smiled my nervous smile and said, "Nahi yaar! Er..can you tell me how do I get to Kalyan"

Turns out I was heading in the wrong direction again. So I had to go ahead make a U-turn and come back. I went straight and almost reached the IRB toll again! Can you believe that! By now it was already 0943hrs.
I called up Rohan. Bugger had just woken up He again explained the route to me. So I had to make another U-turn and head straight this time.

I asked a couple of rickshaw divers too for Godhbundher road and Kalyan. You see, I was expecting like a big signboard that would proudly state "THIS IS GODHBUNDHER ROAD. HEAD THIS WAY FOR MALSHEJ"
Anywho, I was finally heading in the right direction.

I reached one last intersection where going straight would head towards Nashik. Waiting for the lights to turn green I kept thinking should I chuck Malshej and go to Nashik instead? Its just another 250 odd kms away. Fortunately, sanity prevailed and I made the right turn.

NH222 combines smooth roads with a few rough patches every now and then. Gradually I reached the roads leading to the hills. I stopped for pictures again and had made a few fans too specially this one young lad on a bicycle.

No, No, I haven't gained weight!

Milestones kept reading 72kms to Malshej and 51kms to Malshej, going through a few village areas. Riding along this stretch I even saw a glimmering 2 foot snake wriggling across the road! There was also this one point where some craftsmen were possibly making a statue of Sai Baba. There were 2 un-painted busts of the Holy Figure about 5 feet tall.

By now I was recollecting the numerous pages of riding techiniques from the pages of Bike India and also the many lessons given by one Mr. Goswami here on xBhp. Having said that it was only on the way back that I managed to roughly synchronise all the skills required for smooth and fast cornering. That's something I will get to later.

It was now time for Spidy's valuable pointers. Undistracted by the vanar-sena(no offence, mods please edit if you have to) on these roads I concentrated on riding through thoseind blasts.
--Crouching helps for both straight & cross winds.
--Relaxing the upper body to flow with crosswinds also helps at times.
--And ofcourse engine braking and drawing the anchors are a must.
Thanks to the recent thread about riding in such conditions.

I was soon graced with a number of hairpin and tight bends. And I put my skills to the test.


Initially i kept speeds low.Gradually as my confidence increased I started taking the turns at speeds with an increment of 5kph on every new corner. Of course the really tight ones required me to slow down considerably. Like I mentioned earlier it was only on the way back that the corners went better. On the way up there were a couple of instances when I ran wide. For reasons I know all too well. Thankfully the Man above had been watching over me.

There was one close call:
It was a sharp left hander and I chose the wrong line resulting in me running wide while a Lancer was approaching from the other end. Albeit at a low velocity. I had sufficient time to correct it as it wasn't a blind corner and I had noticed the car heading towards me. Following this hiccup, I was doubly careful.

The weather was truly pleasant. Beautiful mountain ranges green with vegetation and kissing the dark clouds above. A cool breeze was present throughout the ghats.


Unfortunately I was too engrossed in riding, hence I couldn't take any pics of the waterfalls. Riding below that one section with a small make-shift dhaba (or was it a temple?) and light showers of the water falling off the rocks. Also, the procrastinator in me hadn't recharged the camera.

Next up was the tunnel that I was totally unaware of. The famous Malshej tunnel took me completely by surprise as all of a sudden there was huge force of wind that shook my balance. Good thing I was going slow due to the crosswinds I was passing through before the tunnel.

Obviously, this called for a photo-session again:

I didn't go ahead much after this as it was nearing mid-day by then.

I stopped at the recreation point where a couple of young bike-cops were wondering whether I was from this country or not. Anyways, I enjoyed the scenery and the breeze. With a heavy heart I then bid goodbye and headed for home.

I enjoyed the ride home through the ghats the most. Going hell for leather on the straights at 100kph which made me feel like I was on the Isle of Ma(lshej)nn. Of course I did keep a look out for local humans and stray animals. But hey, it really was a blast! corners were mostly around 65-80kph. It was during this part of the trip that I encountered the mildly potholed stretch.

As you might have guessed I did make a couple more wrong turns on the way back through the urban areas. But there were quite a few local folk, a number of rickshaw drivers and my silly instinct to amn extent even! This ensured finding my way back wasn't as difficult as the way to the hills. However, I did end up at Kalyan Railway station as well. Heehee!

My goal was not to have a single stop on the way back. I was compelled to make one stop though as I was out of fruits and water by this time. I purchased some chocolates and a bottle of Mazza. Refreshed myself and I was back on the road.

The worst part was yet to come though and my past experiences as a pillion with my elder brother ensured I was ready for it. The crappy traffic jams in Andheri & Powai. I came through Goregaon east and was on the western express highway. (Hope I got the names of these places right :P) It was nearing 1630hrs and the highway was jammed given that it was a weekday. I met this nice fellow on an Electra. Young guy wearing a half face and a balaclava. At one point we were beside each other when he appreciated my riding gear. "Dude, if you're here on xBhp, I sincerely apologise for not acknowledging you better. I was in a hurry to get back home."

I learnt quite a bit through this ride. Applying my theoretical knowledge to practical use was fun and made me realise that it requires a lot more of such rides in order to get better.

Few minutes later I was back home.

Enthralled, Exhilarated, Exhausted and Elated!

Gear Bag:
Vega Razor(High end); Funky's Balaclava; DSG Spike Jacket;
DSG Ark Gloves; AStars Bionic Knee Guards; JR Speedmaster 2.0 Boots
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P.S.: A big thank you to my Mom and Dad who finally let me go!
A big thank you to Rohit, Rohan, Winsey, Swapnil & Ketan. As also to Ken Sir for approving my teaser so soon.