This blog is an online expression of my thoughts, about my country and how my life revolves around her. The dream to live here forever and involve myself to make a change about things which matter to me. My love for motorcycles and touring my country on them. My passion for being in the midst of people who make up our country.

Monday, September 26, 2005

I will do a bit of foreplay here before I start writing about a fortnight in my life which was indeed "better than sex" :D . I was planning to ride to Uttaranchal this September and Ladakh was not my original plan, but the temptations of the moonscapes and the dwindling chances of me staying in Delhi in 2006, overpowered all my "original" ideas ;)! I had doubts, I asked myself repeatedly, do you really want to do this, are you ready for this, skillwise, physically and financially, but then my mind entered the powerband and I knew where I was heading. People had doubts on my riding skills, attitude,etc and all of the 2005 Ladakh riders wouldnot even think about going there with me. I am really grateful to Yogesh for accompanying me in this great ride, thanks a ton mate! I had already decided that I am going, if I have to go alone so be it, but finding another rider whom I know for almost a year now was ceratinly better than going alone. Now enough of foreplay, its time to strip baby and start the game............

Wee hours of 4th September, in a silent and semi-lit lane of CR Park in New Delhi, a guy dressed in denim jacket and jeans starts a bike loaded with saddle bags and backpacks tied to the pillion seat. Another red bike fires up immediately, but this ones just a pilot vehicle! Aftre being escorted out till Nehru Place, Darkside astride on Ivy rodes to Rajouri garden and Yogesh meets him there after making him wait for 15 looong minutes. Darkside is tensed, a little bit nervous and a whole lot of excitement bubbling up in his heart at the same time. Soon after they ride towards the Karnal bypass amongst a whole lot of cargo vehicles through the oranglelit streets of the capital. Once they the hit the bypass, Darkside finds himself a bit lost in the sea of trucks as Yogesh rides ahead. Darkside takes his tried and tested method, takes a stock of the situation, the trucks, the pot holed roads in the night, stray animals running past the road before settling into a satisfactory rhythm. The speedo needle never crosses the 80kmph mark as pre-decided by both the riders. As the brighter side of the sun comes out, Darkside with his stomach full with Aloo da parantha, chai and cigs from a dhaba at Karnal gets kind of bored of riding at a constant speed and decides to hit the ton, and does a couple of meagre 105kmph runs and Yogesh follows suit soon of course he hits a higher mark on his bigger and faster machine. As both the riders ride through now the beautiful four lane highway, the sound of the wind, the expectations of the coming visual extravaganza engulfs Darkside's mind. At a small water break somewhere in Punjab, Darkside gets almost blinded by a dust particle which hist his right eye while there was a sudden gust of wind. The eye problem continues even after several attempts to bid goodbye to Darkside's tiny guest. After crossing Chandigarh, Darkside's anticipation grows as he repeatedly looks towards the horizon for the sight of those hills. And no, the Himalayas doesnot disappoint, after some time they do appear and the riders edge closer by the minute. The charming foothills, gorgeous tarmac, cool breeze, Ivy and Darkside goes ga ga leaning through all the bends and twists. Even the Ivy's footpegs wants to kiss the blacktop beneath but the saddlebags refuses to budge and Darkside for once decides to go against his heart, poor chap! The Fastrack sunglasses meanwhile try and keep Darkside's eye in a reasonable shape but the microscopic guest is still enjoying his/hers hosts humbleness, a pukka bugger indeed! Yogesh advices Darkside after a rain drenched 20 minutes somewhere in the hills to get a eye drop from a clinic but Darkside decides to move ahead and refuses to backtrack 4 kms. With the right eye almost closed and also working as a melting glacier Darkside does a get a eye drop from a wayside clinic but the tiny guest though left now have left a lastingimpression called an infection, told you peeps he/she was a pukka bugger! After riding like a blind person with sunglasses on in a tunnel before Kullu, Darkside is saved by free treatment from a Ayurvedic Doc in Kullu, great person, his treatment takes the pain and flowing waters away within a few minutes. Yogesh all this while keeps company of Darkside, holding his bike nice and steady as always. Both of them reaches Manali, Darkside's zooms past the waving cop before entering Manali town and manages to save Rs.100 while Yogesh plays the responsible citizen, told you he is a disciplined person. They get a hotel for Rs.150 for the night after feeding the now hungry bikes with petrol. While out in the streets in the evening in Manali, Darkside spots FIVE Bong eating places but Ypogesh would have none of it and they settle for roti and dawl, poor Darkie no fish for you mate! Yogesh gets a nice piece of leather gloves and they return to hotel and dive into the bed. They covered close to 600kms in the day, with Darkside's Ivy making it from Delhi with 400bucks of petrol, nice! Darkside is excited in the bed thinking about Rohtang pass they will cross next day, he have heard a lot about that place, zzzzzzzzz............

I know this is a bit too exhaustive but hey I wouldnot compromise on the best fornight of my life :D . Yogesh, you want to something......................

@ALL: The experiences of the next day will be shared tomorrow.

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New Delhi, Delhi, India
Pictographic evidence of motorcycle travels in India.

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