LAST CRAZY RIDE FOR SOMETIME

The last 24-hour ride that I had created room for its own sequel, mainly by virtue of its being unsuccessful by just a few kilometers. As soon as I had finished, I knew I would be trying to do it again. Fortunately, there was an opportunity within the month.

This time things started properly. Did a leisurely 10 hour ride to the start, and serviced the bike the previous day, and was all set to start at the appointed place at the appointed time. The tentative starting time was set at 10 am and I reached the pump with my witness by 9:30 am. The pump manager took a look at my photograph in the Overdrive magazine, and agreed to be a witness as well. After filling out the various forms, and taking the necessary photographs, I was on my way.

The road was not too crowded, as most of the trucks had crawled off to wherever they crawl off to in the heat of the day, and I could easily cruise at 100  105 kilometers per hour, as soon as I reached the highway, some 10 kilometres away. Trying to go faster than this was not a good idea, as it simply increases fuel burn well out of proportion to the speed gained. It was quite monotonous, except for a couple of stretches where one or two fast cars overtook me, but wound up behind me as soon as they got stuck in in traffic. They caught up with me once or twice, but were soon memories in my rear view mirror.

The first hour, I managed to average about 75 km/h, going up subsequently to 85 km/h, and then down again to 80 kilometres an hour as the traffic increased in Gujarat, and the road surface deteriorated. As I was fresh, I didn’t stop at all, and my first halt was just after Vadodara, where I had to ask directions for the old NH-8, as bikes are not allowed on the expressway. I realised that I would also have to fill up petrol soon, and found a pump near Anand. This was my first proper stop, and having completed the formalities, was on my way again. I was worried that I would get lost in Ahmedabad, but the road to the north is very clear. Unfortunately, construction work was still in progress, but dream roads began again near Himmatnagar. It was still very very hot, and I had to stop once again to drink some more electrolyte solution. However, the road is excellent, a wide mountain road with gradual corners without a single straight stretch. Once you get the hang of negotiating those corners at speed, it is biker heaven. By the time I reached Udaipur, it was beginning to get dark, and I made it to Chittaur only by around 10 pm. Incidentally, this is another unbelievably good stretch of road, the very little traffic to boot. These are really the stretches where you wish you were riding a FJR instead of something that cruises at a very slow 110 kph.

Chittaur, and the attendant formalities were attended to, and I made the discovery that the chocolates in my pocket had still not solidified. Anyways, that was dinner, and I was on my way by 10:45 pm, having had a break somewhat longer than planned, as I had to call up all the people who were keeping track of my ride. The open road was ahead of me, and I knew that I could really shift on this stretch till Delhi. I had to call Bunny once I reached Jaipur, so that he would have enough time to pick me up at the Gurgaon border.

Clearing the Jaipur bypass, I called up Bunny, who sounded rather worried as there had been a couple of explosions in Delhi, and there was the possibility of the borders being sealed. He suggested that I drive a bit faster so that I would have more time on my hands in case there was police trouble ahead. I saw his point, and decided to cruise the remaining 240 kilometres to Delhi a bit faster, in 2 1/2 hours instead of 3 so that I would have enough time to explain to the cops that I had not caused the explosions that had taken place, and was not planning to cause any fresh explosions of my own either. Also, as Bunny was not too keen on having conversations with the police either, we decided to meet within Delhi, which turned out to be a mistake. My fuel load was not going to last till Delhi, and I decided to empty my can in the tank, so as to last till Delhi, where I would definitely fill up for one last time. Incidentally, this is not a good road to drive on at night as there are no lane markings or any other markings for that matter, for pretty long stretches forcing me to keep very sharp to avoid wandering.

Gurgaon came up in the half light, and driving on I realised that I had missed Bunny. Twenty-five minutes, and a couple of circles later, it became clear that there was no point in wasting time in Gurgaon, and we decided to meet at Daula Kuan instead, on the route. Fortunately, there was no screw up this time, and we rode towards the Karnal bypass after filling up to the brim, and taking the obligatory snaps. Far too much time had been wasted in Delhi, and the bike chain started making unhappy sounds as well, but there was nothing to be done about that as I simply did not have any time buffer left. I started to cruise at 115 kph, as fuel burn was no longer any issue (comparatively short distance), but around Ambala I started to feel really sleepy. A couple of two minute rest halts did not work, and I was forced to pull into a dhaba and snatch 40 winks while some tea was prepared. This may have wasted 10 minutes, but those few minutes of sleep made all the difference, along with the tea, and the final bit was done at full throttle (remember, this is a very small 220cc engine here!). Here, it was a game of catch with a white Elantra that was being driven at 140 kph. I would have managed to catch him in traffic, but on the open roads of Haryana and Punjab, he would gradually become a speck on the horizon until he hit more traffic. Ultimately, I managed to leave him behind at Khanna and was within sniffing distance of my target, with a few minutes to spare.

Three pumps later (which did not accept plastic), I finally found one which did and gave the pump attendant a bit of a surprise by insisting that he swipe the card first, before filling the petrol! It was a moment to savour, as, this time, no room had been left for any ambiguity as regards the Saddlesore 1000. A round of photographs, documentation etc. later, it was off to Kalsi motors to pacify a bike that was beginning to sound really unhappy. Surprisingly, that seven minute nap, at the time of drinking the tea was enough to keep me alert till almost three o’clock when I had a couple of hours of shut eye.

In the evening, I got to meet Rajat who was beaming from ear to ear, as he had cracked his exams, and was anticipating an RD-350 of his own, from his folks. A couple of snaps later, I was whisked off to an evening programme by my hosts (Harpreet Singh and family) after which I went off to sleep, reportedly, within 30 seconds of hitting the bed and a 1,715 kilometer, 1,058 mile SaddleSore in my pocket!

THE TRIP HOME  CAMELS AND OTHER EXCITEMENT!

Originally, the plan had been to leave Ludhiana at around 2 in the afternoon, so as to make a leisurely 4 and a half hour run to Delhi. What actually happened — I wound up meeting so many people just before leaving, that I left at 3: 45 instead and was pretty sure that I was not going to reach at 6:30 pm. Anyways, the road was empty, there was no reason to stop, and it was no big deal to cruise at 100 kph till the Karnal bypass, where I knew Bunny would be waiting. I called up to let him know that he could expect me around seven instead. The guy is invariably on time — he was waiting when I reached at 7: 05 pm, and we waited for another 10 minutes for Vickyat, before moving off for a bite. A very enjoyable hour later, I reminded Bunny about his exams the next day (which he had been trying very hard not think about), and made my way to my friend’s place (where I had stayed on my previous trip to Delhi). I had not expected to meet him as he was on vacation, but an emergency at the hospital had brought him back, and this was a really pleasant surprise. We sat till almost 12:30 pm chewing the fat, before I left. Surprisingly, this time there was absolutely no problem in finding the Jaipur Road.

Now, it was simply a question of eating the miles, and for once I was not in any big hurry as I had till mid-morning the next day to reach Mumbai (patients in the evening). It had been a full moon the previous night, and there were no clouds, resulting in the entire landscape being lit up. Experimentally, I switched off all my lights, and almost immediately had to grab the brakes to avoid what seemed to be a large patch of liquid on the road. Later I realised that it was actually the shadow of a tree. I decided to try again, and a mistake that I made this time was to carry on at hundred km/h. I switched off my lights, dropped speed slightly (as I thought I knew what was in front of me for the next 250 metres) and was beginning to adjust to the reduced light when I detected some motion. Instantly, I reached for the pass switch, and brake.

I was still travelling at 80 kph, and less than 100 metres away, lit up in the bright white light, an old man was walking purposefully across the road, pulling A CAMEL, WHICH IN TURN, WAS PULLING A CART. AAARGH! Amazingly, the first thought that came to my mind was “I wonder if I can drive between that thing’s legs”. Fortunately I acted reflexively instead and hit the brakes hard, slowing down to about 20 kph, swerving around old man et al. Poor fellow must have spoilt his spotless whites at the sight of the 200W of halogen frying his retinas while closing in at an amazing rate, but I did not stop to check. He’ll probably check more carefully before crossing next time as well.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Enjoy the moonlight at low speed only.

After Jaipur, it began to get really boring, and I was beginning to feel sleepy as well as. I drove up a little further, till I saw a dhaba with a few trucks parked outside. It was beginning to get light, and as this is the time of the 24 hours that I generally get my best sleep, decided to catch a snooze. A refreshing three-hour nap later, it was time to have some delicious parathas and dahi, and move on. My plan had been to catch up on my sleep after reaching Chittaur, but, there was no hurry, and I was quite happy to sleep where I was feeling sleepy.

Bhilwara came up in two hours and I decided to pull over next to an amazing rock formation that sticks out from the ground like a set of knives reaching for the sky. You’ve got to see it to believe it. Have got some of the snaps, will be posting them soon. It was now passed noon, and because of the breeze did not feel hot, even though it must have been well above 40 degrees centigrade, especially in the sun. A spot of rock climbing, and photography later, I got back onto my bike to carry on.

Even though my jacket and gloves insulated me almost completely from the heat, I could begin to feel it as I approached Chittaur. It was blazing. There were hardly any vehicles around, and I stopped at a restaurant to finish another litre of electrolyte, and a cold drink. Moving on, I reached Udaipur within the hour, and then decided to stop again for more water and some rest. The plan was to have some shuteye here as well, but when the restaurant owner pointed out the cots BEHIND the restaurant, out of sight of the road, something did not seem right to me, and I decided to move on. TRUST YOUR NOSE!

For some reason, the drowsiness had disappeared (may be, it was just the heat) and I decided to push on. I was now on my favourite stretch of road, the twisties between Udaipur and Himmatnagar. Fabulous dual carriageway, this time with only one diversion for a short stretch, passing through the mountains like a black snake towards home. This is a road where you do not need to slowdown below 90 km/h, curves notwithstanding. Laying the bike down almost on its side while taking the corners for more than 60 kilometres maintaining a steady 90 — 100 km/h was a thrill that I will not forget. The traffic was thin, and zipping past whatever there was was one great experience. However, by the time I reached Himmatnagar I realised that my chain was beginning to get loose again, and I pulled over to have it tightened and ask for directions.

I hit Ahmedabad through pretty chaotic traffic in the evening, but eventually reached NH-8 by about 10:15 pm. Stopping over for some food, I realised that I was somewhat tired is well, and pulled off into some fields close by, and had a one-hour nap before moving on. Fortunately, by the time I got moving, it was already passed 12 midnight, and a lot of the traffic had thinned out.

This road is perhaps the most dangerous road at night. The surface is bad to begin with, in far too many places. There is heavy traffic. Worse, there are breaks in the median every now and then, and for some reason, people don’t drive cautiously out of them — leading to at least two occasions when I had to brake hard to avoid some moron driver who had shot out at speed through the break in the median. After that, I developed the habit of using my passing lights when within 250 metres of any median. The authorities should place foot high speed breakers across these things so that people are perforce made to slowdown crossing them. Anyways, this horrid stretch had to get over some time, and dawn was breaking as I approached Mumbai. It was 8 am by the time I made it home, two hours short of four days.

I don’t think I’ll do that again in a hurry soon, but then, this is one issue where, somehow I find it difficult to keep my word….

Some photos are located at: http://photobucket.com/albums/y191/A…Return%20trip/

Dr Arnob Gupta

Excerpt taken from: http://www.ironbutt.com/about/getArchiveddocument.cfm?DocID=156