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Before i write what the title means, lets give this trip a little background. It all started when i received a phone call from Manan a few days back. He asked me about a 4 day trip he was planning 31st onwards. I was neck deep in work and my bike was locked away in the probiking garage, waiting for a parts replacement.
Naturally, i declined. But, the thought of tearing down the highway and swinging in the hills, kept tugging at me.
Day 0: 1st Jan.
"No Bike, No Problem"
A phone call to my friend Subrata(sruce2002) and the zma was mine for a few days. It helped that the poor guy had broken his hand
A small journey from Gurgaon to Noida was done in 5 different modes of transport( Tata Nano to bus stop, tempo, Bus, Metro, Auto). Got the bike, tanked it up and i was ready for my second tour on the zma after the Lansdowne ride in 2008. 2 days (2nd and 3rd) in hand, destination... not yet decided. Me and my wife kept on arguing over a haridwar-dhanaulti-mussoorie or a almora/binsar ride. Finally, Shimla won the battle since it was only 6.5 to 7 hours which would give plenty of time to explore other places. Maybe even fulfil my childhood fascination of seeing the Bhakra Nangal Dam (still remember the B&W image in the third class text book)
Also, i wanted to settle the question once and for all, which is the better tourer, the zma or my 220 since i had done the stretch on 220 last year.
Day 1: 2nd Jan.
"All Fogged Up"
5:45 am
Windchill- i explained this to her while wearing my second pair of socks. I opened the door to check the weather outside and was shocked by the full blast of cold air. We doubled up on our clothing, had a cup of tea and boiled eggs to face the cold air.
6:45 am
Finally, i started up the zma and began the journey. It was foggy but bearable. Crossed ISBT in about an hour and was set to cruise when the nightmarish fog greeted us on NH 1. Visibility was down to hardly 15 or 20 m at some places and it was so cold that i could barely feel my fingers. Speeds dropped considerably as car tail lights disappeared into the fog and the dark outlines of trucks and cycle wallahs metamorphosed out of no where.
Paranthas at Pahalwan dhaba and 2 rounds of tea didn't really help matters. We were cold to the bone and Shimla felt like an impossible goal suddenly. Two more breaks followed to gulp down some more tea. Ofcourse, nothing beats the pleasure of holding the cup in your hands in the cold
11:30 am'
Sent an sms to Nikhil(niks_devil666) "Its fogging freezing here" . His reply, "Get a freaking car" . Fogg off, i said mentally. We decided that moving towards Shimla would be way too tough in such fog and decided to go to Ludhiana, my in laws town. Crossed Ambala at 12:30 pm and was a km away from the flyover to Ludhiana when it happened.
12:35 pm - I saw my shadow on the road. Looked up to see the sun shining through. The sun had finally risen up at 12:35 pm I gestured to my wife and she pointed towards the signboard which led to Chandigarh and further on to Shimla. We were going to ride to the hills after all !!
2 pm - NH 22 is a dream on some patches. Wide two lane roads and luckily less traffic meant that i could now test the zma properly. The very first thing i noticed was that cornering on the zma was a dream compared to the 220. The confidence inspiring handling meant that we were able to take most of ther corners at 50+ speeds without much effort. A quick lunch at Solan and then finally at about 5 pm, we were greeted by the sun soaked vista of Shimla.
Checked into a pricey hotel (Hotel Brightland at 1500Rs/night ) and went up the famous mall for a walk. It was pretty windy but coffee and Momos at the ridge was good. Liked the fact that Shimla was relatively clean despite the hordes of tourists. Most of my shots were handheld and not worth posting at all. Here are a few samples.
The Ridge
The Church
Forgot the name of this building
We had popcorn for dinner and went to sleep, satisfied with the days ride.
Day 2
"Rain Rain Go Away"
The sky was overcast early in the morning. So no chance of getting those beautiful sunrise shots. We had our breakfast at Indian Coffee House, a quaint place from another time, completely in contrast to CCD/Barista. It started drizzling and by the time we were ready to check out, heavy rain lashed Shimla. Wet roads on the hills is not a very entertaining thought. A break in the weather and we were off. Descending down the hills was enjoyable but as soon as we hit the plains, the drizzling had turned into a deluge. It was 1:30 pm already and we were barely in Chandigarh. Despite the rains we decided to move ahead as we needed to be home by night.
Drenched to the core, we started to shiver but soldiered on. There were a few breaks for tea as the car wallahs at the dhaba were open mouthed on seeing us.
Night riding in the rain is beautiful in its own way. The tail lights of the cars were reflected in the road and on the puddles to create beautiful patterns. The zma headlight was not functioning properly so i used those tail lights to scan the road ahead.
Finally, drenched to the core, shivering to the bone, we reached home at 9:40 pm. Was this a satisfying ride, hard to say. I was just happy to be home
The poor headlights was due to the following reason
And oh yes!! is the zma a better tourer than the 220 ? I am still not sure i can choose one over the other. 220 has a punch which is hard to match, has great headlights and the Fi works like a dream on the hills. The Zma is a superior handler and its reliability is legendary. Nope, just can't choose between them !!
Naturally, i declined. But, the thought of tearing down the highway and swinging in the hills, kept tugging at me.
Day 0: 1st Jan.
"No Bike, No Problem"
A phone call to my friend Subrata(sruce2002) and the zma was mine for a few days. It helped that the poor guy had broken his hand
A small journey from Gurgaon to Noida was done in 5 different modes of transport( Tata Nano to bus stop, tempo, Bus, Metro, Auto). Got the bike, tanked it up and i was ready for my second tour on the zma after the Lansdowne ride in 2008. 2 days (2nd and 3rd) in hand, destination... not yet decided. Me and my wife kept on arguing over a haridwar-dhanaulti-mussoorie or a almora/binsar ride. Finally, Shimla won the battle since it was only 6.5 to 7 hours which would give plenty of time to explore other places. Maybe even fulfil my childhood fascination of seeing the Bhakra Nangal Dam (still remember the B&W image in the third class text book)
Also, i wanted to settle the question once and for all, which is the better tourer, the zma or my 220 since i had done the stretch on 220 last year.
Day 1: 2nd Jan.
"All Fogged Up"
5:45 am
Windchill- i explained this to her while wearing my second pair of socks. I opened the door to check the weather outside and was shocked by the full blast of cold air. We doubled up on our clothing, had a cup of tea and boiled eggs to face the cold air.
6:45 am
Finally, i started up the zma and began the journey. It was foggy but bearable. Crossed ISBT in about an hour and was set to cruise when the nightmarish fog greeted us on NH 1. Visibility was down to hardly 15 or 20 m at some places and it was so cold that i could barely feel my fingers. Speeds dropped considerably as car tail lights disappeared into the fog and the dark outlines of trucks and cycle wallahs metamorphosed out of no where.
Paranthas at Pahalwan dhaba and 2 rounds of tea didn't really help matters. We were cold to the bone and Shimla felt like an impossible goal suddenly. Two more breaks followed to gulp down some more tea. Ofcourse, nothing beats the pleasure of holding the cup in your hands in the cold
11:30 am'
Sent an sms to Nikhil(niks_devil666) "Its fogging freezing here" . His reply, "Get a freaking car" . Fogg off, i said mentally. We decided that moving towards Shimla would be way too tough in such fog and decided to go to Ludhiana, my in laws town. Crossed Ambala at 12:30 pm and was a km away from the flyover to Ludhiana when it happened.
12:35 pm - I saw my shadow on the road. Looked up to see the sun shining through. The sun had finally risen up at 12:35 pm
I gestured to my wife and she pointed towards the signboard which led to Chandigarh and further on to Shimla. We were going to ride to the hills after all !!2 pm - NH 22 is a dream on some patches. Wide two lane roads and luckily less traffic meant that i could now test the zma properly. The very first thing i noticed was that cornering on the zma was a dream compared to the 220. The confidence inspiring handling meant that we were able to take most of ther corners at 50+ speeds without much effort. A quick lunch at Solan and then finally at about 5 pm, we were greeted by the sun soaked vista of Shimla.
Checked into a pricey hotel (Hotel Brightland at 1500Rs/night ) and went up the famous mall for a walk. It was pretty windy but coffee and Momos at the ridge was good. Liked the fact that Shimla was relatively clean despite the hordes of tourists. Most of my shots were handheld and not worth posting at all. Here are a few samples.
The Ridge
The Church
Forgot the name of this building
We had popcorn for dinner and went to sleep, satisfied with the days ride.
Day 2
"Rain Rain Go Away"
The sky was overcast early in the morning. So no chance of getting those beautiful sunrise shots. We had our breakfast at Indian Coffee House, a quaint place from another time, completely in contrast to CCD/Barista. It started drizzling and by the time we were ready to check out, heavy rain lashed Shimla. Wet roads on the hills is not a very entertaining thought. A break in the weather and we were off. Descending down the hills was enjoyable but as soon as we hit the plains, the drizzling had turned into a deluge. It was 1:30 pm already and we were barely in Chandigarh. Despite the rains we decided to move ahead as we needed to be home by night.
Drenched to the core, we started to shiver but soldiered on. There were a few breaks for tea as the car wallahs at the dhaba were open mouthed on seeing us.
Night riding in the rain is beautiful in its own way. The tail lights of the cars were reflected in the road and on the puddles to create beautiful patterns. The zma headlight was not functioning properly so i used those tail lights to scan the road ahead.
Finally, drenched to the core, shivering to the bone, we reached home at 9:40 pm. Was this a satisfying ride, hard to say. I was just happy to be home
The poor headlights was due to the following reason
And oh yes!! is the zma a better tourer than the 220 ? I am still not sure i can choose one over the other. 220 has a punch which is hard to match, has great headlights and the Fi works like a dream on the hills. The Zma is a superior handler and its reliability is legendary. Nope, just can't choose between them !!
) when I was based in Chandigarh. Whenever I got bored, I would say, 'I've got some work in Shimla', and then disappear for a couple of days. Some job, that! 
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