Good to see you are alive...

SHOULD I really read this BLOG POST? I'v lived it with him in it, all through, LIVE...

like I said, its a very well written peice of work!

@Spiderweb - Alive and Kicking ;-)

So hopefully we can see you on friday night @ xBhp Bday g2g, what say...

Section 2: The Journey > The Send-off
May 29th, 2010

Facebook update: Hitting the road.... Now!!!
29 May at 20:23 via Text message

I'm all nerves not to mention, but I will mention, late to get to the rendezvous point. A million times through the essentials checklist, and I still have that uneasy feeling that I'm forgetting something; something...essential. But there's no time to speculate on what it might be. I was to be at Fountain Hotel, situated at the crossroads of Ghodbunder Road from Mira Road, Ghodbunder Road to Thane and the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway (NH 8), at half past eight. It's way past the half past.

As I weave my way through the streets of Mumbai, traffic begins to squeeze in, decelerating my progress. It's as if Mumbai is holding me back in it's cradle. Its as if she knows that my journey into faraway lands will convince me that its better out there; make me consider the possibility to never return. Its a possibility I have yet to consider on the 29th day of May. Its a possibility I will consider several times in the days to follow. For now, all the city offers me is a strange sense of detachment and anguish. I'm just a stranger passing through. An abandoned child gone rogue.

I nervously wait at every red. Weary drivers offer curious looks. Fully armoured in the sweltering heat - jacket, gloves, knee pads, army boots - a looming tail bag on the pillion for added effect.

Thirty ticks on the minute hand; Fountain. A brief scan of the area - a family on the left, thirty odd individuals on the right but not what I'm looking for - a small group of bikers - two, no more than three. I reason that not many would be interested in seeing us off. Its no big deal to them anyway. A wave from the more than thirty, and I stand corrected. Some familiar faces, most unfamiliar. Each one carrying a glow of anticipation and excitement, one that's reciprocated wholeheartedly.

The wait for Motorbreath aka Swapnil Jadhav and Spiderweb aka Rohit Chourasia begins. The two are to take the journey with me. We don't have to wait long for Motorbreath. For Spiderweb, we must wait till half past ten for last minute complications delay his departure. The wait is glossed over by introductions, handshakes, casual chats, last minute advice by experienced long-distance riders. One unfamiliar hand I shake that day belongs to an individual, Raman Mishra, who will, through twists of fate, join us in the days to come and be an integral part of our adventures.

Sighs of relief as Spiderweb makes his way into Fountain. We were all eager to get started or get departed. Pictures, re-fastening bags, fireworks - for a wedding nearby - assumed to be our own, more last minute advice and we are all set to go. A trip to the restaurant to get a bottle of water and it dawns on me that the essential I've forgotten is cash. I have only my card with not an ATM in sight. Cash borrowed, hugs exchanged and its time.

For the past several years I perceived my life as headed in reverse. For every step I took forwards, the clock struck backwards. For every footprint I made, the sands of time erased - eradicating every evidence of progress.

But that day, at that time, as the three of us rode out of Fountain, the clock did something unexpected. It struck clockwise...

Teaser Break

Since there weren't any photos to go along with the initial text (there will be for the text in the future), I thought a teaser break would be nice to keep things interesting! Here you go!

^ The 1st pic is out of this world dude!!

beautiful pix alankar.. specially the first one, took my breathe away dude..! vow

Section 2: The Journey > Chapter 2: Two hundred miles and counting...

Section 2: The Journey > Chapter 2: Two hundred miles and counting...

May 29th / May 30th

11 ticks on the clock into the Prime Meridian. National Highway (NH) 8 crawls beneath us. Spiderweb, Motorbreath, I, in that order. Trucks, Lorries, monster vehicles defying definition, loaded to the brim rumble on beside us; their sheer size summarily mocking our own. Dirt tracks and pot-holes caress our wheels as I utter a silent prayer for the fork seals. "This is just the beginning", I think to myself.

Motobreath's brake-lights overwhelm my visual cortex at every opportunity; arguably very useful on city streets; a stumper on our chosen journey. On the advice of a confidant, I must tail him for the rest of the journey. "Keep Motorbreath in your sight. He might not be able to keep pace with Spiderweb and you." is what I was made to believe. And so, follow I must. And follow I will for the rest of the journey, with a few notable exceptions.

We seem to be riding at a steady pace. I'm thirsty but I dare not stop for fear of being left behind. "What if I do get left behind...what if...", I don't finish the thought. Indicator lights go off. Spiderweb banks left, rides into a small compound. Motorbreath follows. I do the obvious. Hotel Aaram - Pure Veg. I reckon they spent a full five seconds on brainstorming the name. I reckon they spent fewer still on the decor. "Pure Veg" annoys me for I am anything but pure. The tag will haunt us for many miles to come.

A few clicks. Blurry and unimpressive. Nevertheless, more than words...


Facebook update: 110 kms complete! Late dinner (daal roti) n off we go!
30 May at 01:11 via Text message

Gopinath PS
good riding man
30 May at 01:30

Dinesh Samtani
ya man...good riding...
30 May at 01:58

Winsey Varghese
GO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
30 May at 02:10

Satyen Poojary
Not bad! Its a journey not a race, remember that and have fun!
30 May at 02:29

Sujan Shetty
good keep goin
30 May at 10:05

Honey Misra
goog keep updating regularly then i dont have to torture d for info tc
30 May at 19:17

4 more ticks to the hour. Low visibility. Tired, sleepy eyes. 200 odd kilometers on the odometer. The roads metamorphosize from unbearable to the antithesis. Spiderweb promises us they will get better. We've bid adieu to Maharashtra several revs ago. I notice the transition only when we arrive at Chikhli, Gujarat. I reckon there were other indications to the fact; perhaps a toll both welcoming us into Gurjar-rashtra, gone unnoticed in my sleep-laden progress. I wonder if we've missed any scenic treats owing to the dark of the night. A return journey, several moons later, indicates that I have not.


Facebook update: Total 212 kms done! @chickli!
30 May at 02:41 via Text message

Anil Correa likes this.

Satyen Poojary
Go easy dude,
30 May at 02:43

Anirudh Khusape
Hope you are feeling better
30 May at 04:50

Dinesh Samtani
Cool......
30 May at 07:07

Sujan Shetty
cool
30 May at 10:10

Rohit Upadhyay
good..ride safe guys
30 May at 13:24

Many miles slip away beneath us. Quizzical looks follow us across State boundaries. On more than one occassion, local riders - if I can indeed I can call them riders - in their helmetless avatar - attempt to impress their apparent biking superiority on us - a typical response to our outworldly appearance owing to our security gear and travel supplies. They attempt to overtake us and succeed cause we let them; they attempt to break our formation by injecting themselves into the riding hierarchy - but our intolerance to formation leakages causes us to quickly reclaim our space; they fall back, pretend to adjust their privates, and repeat the process to show us that they can do it not once, but many times over. Our security conscious culture prevents us from getting throttle-happy on the naive bastards. Several patient minutes later, most reach their destinations and leave us to our journey. Some strike conversations with Spiderweb, including one who passes on his visiting card while cruising at 100kmph. We can only laugh hysterically at their senseless display of bravado; we can only sympathize with their desperation to prove their worth to unknown, uncaring riders. We have nothing but mockery to offer to such mindlessness.

Facebook update: 353 kms :-)
30 May at 05:48 via Text message

Satnam Singh Vohra and Vikram Pathak like this.

Leena Sabharwal
dheere chala.. wig udd jayega !!
30 May at 21:37

A few more ticks to the small hand and...


...a welcome sunrise. A more than welcome break from riding for our collective butts are sore, our collective eyes weary and our collective minds the unmentionables. On the side of the positive, a metamorphosis of NH8 into a 6-lane highway makes it a perfect environment to flirt with the R15...

5 seconds for a name is good.Else 30% of dhabas till Gujarat on NH-8 are named 'Hotel Sahayog',some of the rest are named 'Hotel Decent'.Dont believe me,count it next time you are on that road

Anyways good going till now.Riding all the way is old school,waiting for rest!!

Ha ha ha ha ha I did not notice that! I guess I'll keep my eyes open and do a survey of the names the next time I hit NH8. Should be a fun exercise!

Alankar, you have a great potential in penning down your thoughts. You are clearly well above the normal line! I am loving it(Your trip log)!
Keep the log rolling, brother.

Thanks Makky! Yep, between client calls, social commitments, deadlines and what-have-you, am doing my absolute best to keep this thread alive

DUDE, when we hit that stretch, our bikes hit triple digit figures, so dont even think of it...

Section 2: The Journey > Chapter 3: Flirting with the R15

Section 2: The Journey > Chapter 3: Flirting with the R15



May 30th

Her red will drive you green with envy. On our exit from Mumbai, she has a little over 10,000 kms total on the odometer. Yeah, we don't go out that much. I laugh at how little I knew her when I first got her. It was love at first 130kmph. I made her mine.

As the sun comes up, the fatigue of an extremely arduous night-ride is fast catching up. My eyes are weary, my mind is wandering. I can barely focus on the road. None of us can. But we must reach Ahmedabad before noon, for we've been warned "Riding after noon in Gujarat in complete gear will be no less fun than sticking your head into a microwave."

We can't stop. So we do the next best thing. We rip. The adrenalin rush from watching the world dissolve around us should allow us a few more hours of riding. The now 6-lane NH-8 welcomes our strategy with open lanes. We devour them, like caged-beasts getting their first taste of freedom.

The first few revs and the R15's speedometer climbs to 80. Fast, but hardly a worthy number for her. More throttle...110...nice. She's capable of more. I've seen it. I tease her with the throttle - as if to say "Ready for more?". Her engine purrs...almost a giggle. "Bring it on. I'm just getting warmed up.".

120...she's willing, capable, impatient to do more. My upright body won't let her. It creates several points of drag impeding her. I slide back, lower my head, crouch forward. It's time to be one.

That's all she needs.

The ether explodes around me as she slices the air into two halves...the right and what's left.

130...132...134...136...

She's not shaking, she's not groaning. I can barely hear her engine roar - a testimony to the marvel of modern engineering. Blessed am I for having shared the same space with her. The only semblance of speed I have is the deafening sound of the wind whiplashing my hard-hat.

Several minutes have passed. Kilometers have faded quickly. I've realized I've broken formation. I'm ahead of the pack. I check my rear-view. I see Spiderweb. No sign of Motorbreath. Where is he...?

PS: Yes I know this post has a "raunchy" feel to it, but considering we got Leh-ed, I just couldn't help but sneak in one naughty post ;-)