What does biking means to all the bikers? It is a pleasure which I cant describe in one or two lines. Here I am borrowing the words of one Royal Enfield Bullet fan which I found on the web. These words describe a lot about the pleasure which a biker will experience with his motorcycle only....
The pleasure is when you finish your day ride, and reach in one piece. You are the smallest vehicle on the road, and you survived.
The pleasure is when you take off your wristwatch, and see a band of untanned skin.
The pleasure is when your motorcycle and you move as one single united form. Whatever shape the road takes, whichever end of the compass it leads to.
The pleasure is when you use your hands, arms, thighs, knees and feet to steer.
The pleasure is when you take off your riding jacket for a break and feel the breeze dry your sweat.
The pleasure is when you sing to yourself on an empty road. You are the worlds best rock star.
The pleasure is when your rear wheel slides and you bring it back, when the front wheel lifts and you take your time bringing it back.
The pleasure is when you cut through air, at 50 kph or 130.
The pleasure is when you reach a place you never been before, and someone you have never seen before asks you for a ride. And comes back grinning.
The pleasure is when you wave to village kids, and they wave back.
The pleasure is when you almost, almost fall. But dont.The pleasure is when you fight the wind, and win.
The pleasure is when you get up that narrow path for the view you never forget.The pleasure is when you view the world at an angle.
The pleasure is when you eat bugs at 90 kph.
The pleasure is when you look at a dust-streaked face in the mirror after a 500 km ride, and don't want to wash up.
The pleasure is when your pillion moves with you.
The pleasure is when you can see the petrol after a top-up.
The pleasure is when your throttle hand has calluses.
The pleasure is when you jump a speed breaker.
The pleasure is when you stop to help push a stranded car to the side of the road.
The pleasure is when you stop at the smallest of towns, and somebody asks you technical specifications.
The pleasure is when your book of roadmaps gets dog-eared, rain-splashed, tea-stained.The pleasure is when you give a stranger a lift.
The pleasure is when you have battle-scars.
The pleasure is when you can feel the cool morning and the hot afternoon, the light rain and the damp fog.
The pleasure is when you leave four-wheeler traffic standing in a jam.
The pleasure is when you arent lulled by an air-conditioner.
The pleasure is when you are free. Open. Independent. Liberated.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Nandi hills ride
My ride to Nandi hills with my friend Rosh is the one ride which I wont forget, even though it was a short ride. On one Saturday afternoon me and my friend decided to ride to Nandi hills from our house in Bannerghatta road. We took our friend Sayooj's CBZ extreme for this ride. The bike was new and in excellent condition. Soon after we started the trip rain started pouring and it was a heavy and a long one. We didn't have any rain gear with us. We waited for some time for the clouds to clear. But the rain gods were in no mood to stop. Then we decided to continue our ride in rain. The rain stopped when we reached the outskirts of Bangalore.
After reaching Hebbal we joined the newly constructed six lane highway to Hyderabad. Now the roads were dry and I started to rev the bike to its limits. Soon we reached the Nandi hills diversion. The road to Nandi hills from the NH is every bikers dream. The surface was good, traffic was low and also got enough curves. When we started the ascend to the hills the ride became more interesting as the road contains lots of hair pin bends. We reached on top around 4:30 PM. But we were completely blinded by the fog there. We roamed all over the hill. The temple on top of the hill contains excellent works of stone sculpture. Suddenly the rain gods started pouring again. We were wet and it was extremely cold there. But we roamed in the rain all over the place and that was the best part of that trip.
Around 7:30 PM the rain stopped and we decided to descend the hill. It was pitch dark and the fog made it difficult. The headlamps of our bike was not able to show the way through the fog. We made our descend very carefully and slowly as we were completely blind in the fog. When we reached the foot of the hill the rain started again. We did not stop. We continued our ride in the rain. The tires did lose traction in some places. But for god's sake we were safe.
Even though we were like wet dogs after the trip, we enjoyed it. We enjoyed the rain, the fog and the curvy roads. Hope every biker will have such memorable experiences.
After reaching Hebbal we joined the newly constructed six lane highway to Hyderabad. Now the roads were dry and I started to rev the bike to its limits. Soon we reached the Nandi hills diversion. The road to Nandi hills from the NH is every bikers dream. The surface was good, traffic was low and also got enough curves. When we started the ascend to the hills the ride became more interesting as the road contains lots of hair pin bends. We reached on top around 4:30 PM. But we were completely blinded by the fog there. We roamed all over the hill. The temple on top of the hill contains excellent works of stone sculpture. Suddenly the rain gods started pouring again. We were wet and it was extremely cold there. But we roamed in the rain all over the place and that was the best part of that trip.
Around 7:30 PM the rain stopped and we decided to descend the hill. It was pitch dark and the fog made it difficult. The headlamps of our bike was not able to show the way through the fog. We made our descend very carefully and slowly as we were completely blind in the fog. When we reached the foot of the hill the rain started again. We did not stop. We continued our ride in the rain. The tires did lose traction in some places. But for god's sake we were safe.
Even though we were like wet dogs after the trip, we enjoyed it. We enjoyed the rain, the fog and the curvy roads. Hope every biker will have such memorable experiences.
Monday, August 13, 2007
My ride from bangalore to chennai and pondicherry.
I was getting pretty bored with my life in Bangalore. There are no activities except boozing and partying. My mind was prompting to have a biking trip and to get rejuvenated. Then, one fine morning me and my friend Kiran (soopy) decided to set on a biking trip. We packed our back pack and started from Bangalore to Chennai on our Royal Enfield Thunderbird. The Bangalore Chennai 350 km highway is a four lane highway and there is nothing much to talk about that ride. We just rode in excess of 100 km/hr till chennai as the traffic was very low in the highway and also the roads were so good. I think most of the bikers will like to ride in fast curvy roads than a straight four lane highway. It is the same with me.
We reached Chennai within five hours. We stayed with our friend Rajesh who had already booked a hotel room there, as he was on an official tour there. In Chennai we stayed for two days and simply roamed all over the city. Then we decided to ride to Pondicherry from Chennai. The Chennai - Pondicherry East Coast road (ECR) is a scenic road and is very good for biking trips. After getting out of Chennai city we reached Kovalam beach. It is a fishing beach and there were no visitors there except ourselves. But I liked the beach very much as we can be so close to the sea there with no tourists or hawkers. After visiting Kovalam beach we continued our ride on the ECR. After some distance we reached the crocodile bank and we stopped there for a visit. After visiting our croc friends we continued our ride.
After riding some twenty kilometers we reached Mahabalipuram. Mahabalipuram is a wonderful place and we can wonder at the ancient marvels there. The stone sculptures there are amazing. At that point of time I blamed myself for not repairing my Nikon. After visiting all the places in Mahabalipuram we settled for a beer and lunch in a beach side restaurant. We had prawns and grilled fish and believe me, the food was wonderful. It was very good, fresh and cheap. After some rest we continued our ride to Pondy. The road was so good with good curves, so the ride was interesting. On the way we took a diversion to visit the Alambarai fort. It is located in a sedate fishing village. The place was devastated in the 2004 tsunami and all the houses are reconstructed. After visiting the places we joined back to the ECR and continued our trip to Pondicherry. We reached Pondicherry and we did not had any specific plans. So we explored the whole city and rode through all the nooks and corners of the city. Pondicherry is a well planned town and they still maintain the colonial look of the town.
Many of the streets in Pondicherry still have French names. Liquor is so cheap and it is in abundance. After exploring the town we settled for a drink. The next morning we started to Bangalore. We came via Dindigul - Thiruvannamali - Krishnagiri. The ride during early morning was very difficult as it is still dark and the oncoming traffic won't dim their lights. But we continued our ride by taking small stops for having some road side cup of tea. When day light came things brightened up and ride became very interesting as the road included lot of curves and had lot of greenery on both sides. After reaching Krishnagiri we joined back to the Bangalore - Chennai highway. We stopped for a light refreshment in one of the Reliance petrol pump. After that we continued to Bangalore. When we reached Bangalore our trip meter told us that we covered more than 1000 km. During this trip the main thing to say is that our steed was faithful to us. We did not had any single problem with our Royal Enfield Thunderbird, not even a puncture. For me the trip was wonderful and gave lots of moments to cherish.
Now I am looking forward to do my next biking trip.
We reached Chennai within five hours. We stayed with our friend Rajesh who had already booked a hotel room there, as he was on an official tour there. In Chennai we stayed for two days and simply roamed all over the city. Then we decided to ride to Pondicherry from Chennai. The Chennai - Pondicherry East Coast road (ECR) is a scenic road and is very good for biking trips. After getting out of Chennai city we reached Kovalam beach. It is a fishing beach and there were no visitors there except ourselves. But I liked the beach very much as we can be so close to the sea there with no tourists or hawkers. After visiting Kovalam beach we continued our ride on the ECR. After some distance we reached the crocodile bank and we stopped there for a visit. After visiting our croc friends we continued our ride.
After riding some twenty kilometers we reached Mahabalipuram. Mahabalipuram is a wonderful place and we can wonder at the ancient marvels there. The stone sculptures there are amazing. At that point of time I blamed myself for not repairing my Nikon. After visiting all the places in Mahabalipuram we settled for a beer and lunch in a beach side restaurant. We had prawns and grilled fish and believe me, the food was wonderful. It was very good, fresh and cheap. After some rest we continued our ride to Pondy. The road was so good with good curves, so the ride was interesting. On the way we took a diversion to visit the Alambarai fort. It is located in a sedate fishing village. The place was devastated in the 2004 tsunami and all the houses are reconstructed. After visiting the places we joined back to the ECR and continued our trip to Pondicherry. We reached Pondicherry and we did not had any specific plans. So we explored the whole city and rode through all the nooks and corners of the city. Pondicherry is a well planned town and they still maintain the colonial look of the town.
Many of the streets in Pondicherry still have French names. Liquor is so cheap and it is in abundance. After exploring the town we settled for a drink. The next morning we started to Bangalore. We came via Dindigul - Thiruvannamali - Krishnagiri. The ride during early morning was very difficult as it is still dark and the oncoming traffic won't dim their lights. But we continued our ride by taking small stops for having some road side cup of tea. When day light came things brightened up and ride became very interesting as the road included lot of curves and had lot of greenery on both sides. After reaching Krishnagiri we joined back to the Bangalore - Chennai highway. We stopped for a light refreshment in one of the Reliance petrol pump. After that we continued to Bangalore. When we reached Bangalore our trip meter told us that we covered more than 1000 km. During this trip the main thing to say is that our steed was faithful to us. We did not had any single problem with our Royal Enfield Thunderbird, not even a puncture. For me the trip was wonderful and gave lots of moments to cherish.
Now I am looking forward to do my next biking trip.
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