I will club multiple days into one in the interest of keeping the log short and interesting.
Day 1: Bangalore-Pune:
The day begun on a bright note. I was up and ready by 4AM. The bike looked eager to head out and I was still a little sceptic about what I was getting into. Anyways, I updated everyone on whatsapp about my departure and started the cruise towards Pune.
It was cold and slightly drizzly by the time I crossed Tumkur, but I was prepared for the worst and I was packed in 2 layers of waterproofing. Last thing you want is to get wet and look forward to the end of the ride. I was doing good time and sadly it was raining so there was no photography either. I reached Chitradurga soon and pulled over for a break when the rain had stopped for a while.
It was incessant rain after this place till I reached Pune! The roads were amazing and it was really beautiful to ride in the rain and to see the nature at its best. Only downside was the number of pics. I really wanted to click a pic of the valley from the food plaza at Nippani, but I didn't bother to even think about it looking at the rain.
As I neared the outskirts of Pune, the traffic increased, and the spray from the 4 and 6 wheelers tyres made riding scary as well as difficult. The visor used to get so dirty, so often, I was scared that I would bend my rims on those monster potholes. Tailed an Alto for a good distance and the highlight of the day happened.
Saw the board for the hotel near Chinchwadi and decided to call it a day. As I went in and fixed on the room, a comfy 2 bed room with AC and TV for 600 bucks,
The Jab We Met scene:
Receptionist: Sir for how many hours do you want the room??
Me: What??!! For the full night obviously!!
Receptionist: With a strange look, and a scan of my personality, Ok, Can you please give me your ID?? And by the way, where is Madam??
Me: Looking at the couple coming out of a room (With a satisfied look) What Madam? Who Madam?? I am alone!!
And then it dawned me on where I had chosen to stay!! But the rooms were nice and I was tired to go searching for another room so had no choice.
Receptionist: Sir, we have food here, and let me know if you need anything else (With a wink)
Me: Oh, thanks, I will take the room and that will all be needed for me
Settled in the room and I was called for by the owner. Now I was wondering what more offers could be coming my way.
Owner: (Offering a cup of tea, which I took gladly) Sir are you coming from Bangalore?
Me: Yes.
Owner: Sir, you know about the bomb blast in Pune?
Me: Yes, I do. (There was a bomb blast in Pune a day back)
Owner: Sir, you are not carrying any bombs, are you? You are alone from Bangalore, so I am asking??
Me: What??!! Why would I tell you if I had a bomb?
Owner: (Looking worried now), Sir, please if you have one, do vacate the room.
Me: (Controlling my Laugh), Yes sir, if I have one I will vacate, feel free to come and take a look at my stuff.
He was happy that I was not a terrorist, had a good laugh and finished the tea and headed back.
Well, saw many satisfied couple going out and slept wondering if I will have to spend time in the police station. Luckily nothing happened and headed out the next day as soon as I could.
Day2: Pune-Udaipur:
The day started early, the pitch black roads welcomed me with their hide and seek. The roads would hide everything, and I had a really tough time seeking what they had in store even with a 60W headlight and 2 LED spots! Slowly rode till sun was up and I was riding in the old Pune-Mumbai highway.
The views are really breathtaking. The foggy roads, the valleys, mountains and ofcourse the rain kept me company.
I stopped at Vadodara for lunch, and I was greeted by this gentleman travelling with his family. He enquired about my ride and was happy to see me ride all the way to Leh. He wished me luck too. Met few more people while few were amazed, there was one guy who said that I will never even make it to Srinagar.
While it was raining till now, it turned bright and sunny and hot from here. Saquib bhai, informed me about the construction work in the Ahmedabad Udaipur route and I took a diversion via Godhra. The SH roads are a bliss to ride on and traffic free. The only fly in the ointment was heat, and it was turning crazy now.
I was 120Kms away from Udaipur by 6:30PM. Updated everyone and I expected to be in Udaipur by 8:30, max! Well, the roads from here, even though a NH, are horrible. There is too much truck traffic, and to add to it, its a ghat section. There is nothing to prevent the headlight of oncoming traffic on the dividers, and there are craters created in the road due to the truck movement. All this made sure that I reached Udaipur by 10PM! A full 3:30 hours for 120Kms!
Day 3: Udaipur-Abohar:
Woke up late, and headed out. The target was Amritsar, the roads were good. There was no traffic, any guesses on what made me miss the destination?
The heat!, the wild life on the road and a wrong diversion I took which landed me on a SH. It was so hot, I had drunk atleast 6lt of water since morning, and the first leak I took was after reaching Abohar! The ice cold bottle of water which I bought 10 minutes back, would let off steam when I stopped for a sip of water! And the blue shirt I had worn for the day, had turned white due to sweat!!
Next, the wildlife. Cows, cows and cows everywhere on the roads! The best was when a camel decided to run across the road and I nearly went under it!
A cup of chai in the evening turned out to be a long affair when they shut the railway gate for a good 30 mins. Met a few people here, and heard lots of comments about the bike. The dhoom bike, runs at 200 Kmph. The usual, kitne ki hai, kitna deti hai etc. A kid wanted to ride the bike! And he and his uncle narrated me the story of how this kid took his uncles splendor and rode at 80 and crashed into the nallah! Hell, yes here are the keys to my bike, please go crash harder this time, I was thinking.
It was dark, and I wanted to push to Amritsar as I had planned for a days rest there and I had 300Kms to cover. However, I had to change my decision 100Kms into the night ride as I felt it was risky. There were too many camel carts that showed up at the last second, too many trucks coming in your face, with them highbeams. Stopped at Abohar and I had my first schedule skip of 200Kms.
Pics from the day:
I wanted to make this the cover for this ride and name it, "Lone blade rides to Leh". Sounded a bit cheesy and so scrapped the idea
Day 4: Abohar- Amritsar:
I had to get my 5th service done, so visited MRZ Honda in Amritsar. I had nothing much to do apart from engine oil change, just to get the 5th service tag for warranty and the first shock came in the form of engine oil. They wanted to pour mineral oil into the bike where as the bike comes from factory with full synthetic. I refused and was told to go get my own oil as they dont stock the required oil.
Found 2lt of Castrol FS oil, and the idiot technician poured all of the 2ltrs in while the bike takes only 1.5lt!! And I was told, sir chalta hai kuch nai hoga!! I made him remove the excess oil. Not a place to be if you are a CBR owner.
All this took a lot of time and gone was my dream of visiting Wagah border. Next in the list was the Golden Temple, and here are the pics of this beautiful place.
Jallianwalah Bagh:
This kid was sitting like this for quite some time, and I couldn't resist taking his pic..
The guy who took this pic insisted that I fold my hands and pray and he took the pic only after I did.
Next up, the entry into the heaven and the journey ahead.
Day 1: Bangalore-Pune:
The day begun on a bright note. I was up and ready by 4AM. The bike looked eager to head out and I was still a little sceptic about what I was getting into. Anyways, I updated everyone on whatsapp about my departure and started the cruise towards Pune.
It was cold and slightly drizzly by the time I crossed Tumkur, but I was prepared for the worst and I was packed in 2 layers of waterproofing. Last thing you want is to get wet and look forward to the end of the ride. I was doing good time and sadly it was raining so there was no photography either. I reached Chitradurga soon and pulled over for a break when the rain had stopped for a while.
It was incessant rain after this place till I reached Pune! The roads were amazing and it was really beautiful to ride in the rain and to see the nature at its best. Only downside was the number of pics. I really wanted to click a pic of the valley from the food plaza at Nippani, but I didn't bother to even think about it looking at the rain.
As I neared the outskirts of Pune, the traffic increased, and the spray from the 4 and 6 wheelers tyres made riding scary as well as difficult. The visor used to get so dirty, so often, I was scared that I would bend my rims on those monster potholes. Tailed an Alto for a good distance and the highlight of the day happened.
Saw the board for the hotel near Chinchwadi and decided to call it a day. As I went in and fixed on the room, a comfy 2 bed room with AC and TV for 600 bucks,
The Jab We Met scene:
Receptionist: Sir for how many hours do you want the room??
Me: What??!! For the full night obviously!!
Receptionist: With a strange look, and a scan of my personality, Ok, Can you please give me your ID?? And by the way, where is Madam??
Me: Looking at the couple coming out of a room (With a satisfied look) What Madam? Who Madam?? I am alone!!
And then it dawned me on where I had chosen to stay!! But the rooms were nice and I was tired to go searching for another room so had no choice.
Receptionist: Sir, we have food here, and let me know if you need anything else (With a wink)
Me: Oh, thanks, I will take the room and that will all be needed for me
Settled in the room and I was called for by the owner. Now I was wondering what more offers could be coming my way.
Owner: (Offering a cup of tea, which I took gladly) Sir are you coming from Bangalore?
Me: Yes.
Owner: Sir, you know about the bomb blast in Pune?
Me: Yes, I do. (There was a bomb blast in Pune a day back)
Owner: Sir, you are not carrying any bombs, are you? You are alone from Bangalore, so I am asking??
Me: What??!! Why would I tell you if I had a bomb?
Owner: (Looking worried now), Sir, please if you have one, do vacate the room.
Me: (Controlling my Laugh), Yes sir, if I have one I will vacate, feel free to come and take a look at my stuff.
He was happy that I was not a terrorist, had a good laugh and finished the tea and headed back.
Well, saw many satisfied couple going out and slept wondering if I will have to spend time in the police station. Luckily nothing happened and headed out the next day as soon as I could.
Day2: Pune-Udaipur:
The day started early, the pitch black roads welcomed me with their hide and seek. The roads would hide everything, and I had a really tough time seeking what they had in store even with a 60W headlight and 2 LED spots! Slowly rode till sun was up and I was riding in the old Pune-Mumbai highway.
The views are really breathtaking. The foggy roads, the valleys, mountains and ofcourse the rain kept me company.
I stopped at Vadodara for lunch, and I was greeted by this gentleman travelling with his family. He enquired about my ride and was happy to see me ride all the way to Leh. He wished me luck too. Met few more people while few were amazed, there was one guy who said that I will never even make it to Srinagar.
While it was raining till now, it turned bright and sunny and hot from here. Saquib bhai, informed me about the construction work in the Ahmedabad Udaipur route and I took a diversion via Godhra. The SH roads are a bliss to ride on and traffic free. The only fly in the ointment was heat, and it was turning crazy now.
I was 120Kms away from Udaipur by 6:30PM. Updated everyone and I expected to be in Udaipur by 8:30, max! Well, the roads from here, even though a NH, are horrible. There is too much truck traffic, and to add to it, its a ghat section. There is nothing to prevent the headlight of oncoming traffic on the dividers, and there are craters created in the road due to the truck movement. All this made sure that I reached Udaipur by 10PM! A full 3:30 hours for 120Kms!
Day 3: Udaipur-Abohar:
Woke up late, and headed out. The target was Amritsar, the roads were good. There was no traffic, any guesses on what made me miss the destination?
The heat!, the wild life on the road and a wrong diversion I took which landed me on a SH. It was so hot, I had drunk atleast 6lt of water since morning, and the first leak I took was after reaching Abohar! The ice cold bottle of water which I bought 10 minutes back, would let off steam when I stopped for a sip of water! And the blue shirt I had worn for the day, had turned white due to sweat!!
Next, the wildlife. Cows, cows and cows everywhere on the roads! The best was when a camel decided to run across the road and I nearly went under it!
A cup of chai in the evening turned out to be a long affair when they shut the railway gate for a good 30 mins. Met a few people here, and heard lots of comments about the bike. The dhoom bike, runs at 200 Kmph. The usual, kitne ki hai, kitna deti hai etc. A kid wanted to ride the bike! And he and his uncle narrated me the story of how this kid took his uncles splendor and rode at 80 and crashed into the nallah! Hell, yes here are the keys to my bike, please go crash harder this time, I was thinking.
It was dark, and I wanted to push to Amritsar as I had planned for a days rest there and I had 300Kms to cover. However, I had to change my decision 100Kms into the night ride as I felt it was risky. There were too many camel carts that showed up at the last second, too many trucks coming in your face, with them highbeams. Stopped at Abohar and I had my first schedule skip of 200Kms.
Pics from the day:
I wanted to make this the cover for this ride and name it, "Lone blade rides to Leh". Sounded a bit cheesy and so scrapped the idea
The scenerey that I saw all day in Rajasthan. There was no source of shade to even take a break.
Day 4: Abohar- Amritsar:
I had to get my 5th service done, so visited MRZ Honda in Amritsar. I had nothing much to do apart from engine oil change, just to get the 5th service tag for warranty and the first shock came in the form of engine oil. They wanted to pour mineral oil into the bike where as the bike comes from factory with full synthetic. I refused and was told to go get my own oil as they dont stock the required oil.
Found 2lt of Castrol FS oil, and the idiot technician poured all of the 2ltrs in while the bike takes only 1.5lt!! And I was told, sir chalta hai kuch nai hoga!! I made him remove the excess oil. Not a place to be if you are a CBR owner.
All this took a lot of time and gone was my dream of visiting Wagah border. Next in the list was the Golden Temple, and here are the pics of this beautiful place.
Jallianwalah Bagh:
This kid was sitting like this for quite some time, and I couldn't resist taking his pic..
The guy who took this pic insisted that I fold my hands and pray and he took the pic only after I did.
Next up, the entry into the heaven and the journey ahead.
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