GOING GOAN ON MOTORCYCLE

This is from my trip to Goa in 2011. God knows why I did not publish it in Motorcycle Chronicles. But here it is.

DAY 1: GET ME MY MOTORCYCLE

The second thing I did on reaching Goa was to find a bullet. The first thing was getting rum! I asked the management of the guest house to find me one bullet. They tried all their means but in the end answered, " Sir, no bullets available at this time. We asked many vendors but all bullets were booked." Everywhere they asked, all they could find was a Pulsar. I was, "What the hell! I ain't gonna ride one girlie scooter."

On the way to Calangute beach, I lagged behind all the guys while searching for a bullet at all possible places. I stopped at the first sign board which said- We give bikes on rent- and I saw a red bullet. The guy at the shop gave me number of the owner. I called and got a drunken reply, "Sorry, no bullets on rent. I have one with a whitre number plate which is a private registration number and can't be given on rent." I kept asking at all probable shops.

Then I found Chhotu's garage which did not have a board which talked about bike rentals. I could see 3-4 bullets which had come for repairs. I asked him, "I want a ThunderBird." He replied, "There are very few ThunderBirds in this part of Goa. 99.9% chance that you won't get it but I'll try." Unfortunately, he also reached dead end.

I was upset. I said, Okay, gimme a bullet. You have so many for repairs." Though they were old bullets with right gear shift and old, worn out paint, I was adamant. I chose the better looking one and went for test ride. I have rode them before and I knew I could ride them. I came back after a kilometer ride and just started chatting with Chhotu. The rent he asked was Rs 400/day. But by now, Chhotu had developed some frequency for me and was impressed by me. He said, "You look like a good man, not those rich meanie people who come for renting bikes. I'll try more." He made many calls and than asked me, "I found a new 5- gear Electra with left side gears but no ThinderBird. Would that do?" Suddenly, a smile came on my face. It hadn't been more than an hour in Goa nad I had already started making friends with locals. I said, "Perfect."

Within 10 minutes, Damian was at the garage with his Electra. I was happy. It was almost brand new and shining. A new Electra with new gears was for Rs 500/day but Chhotu got me a discount for 400/day. He took my PAN card as security and I was off with my babe. I reached Calangute beach where others had already reached. Everyone was surprised that how I got a bullet., Ohter guys in the group wanted a bullet but they couldn't find and settled ofr a Honda activa scooter.

It was an adventure sports day and I rode a water scooter and did para sailing. I was having my lunch when others went for para. They went as pair for para sailing as the sports guy had recommended. When I went, everyone in group had gone as a couple. As usual, I was left alone- partly cuz there was no one else left and partly cuz even if I was there nobody would have wanted to go with me. It's hard to understand why people would not go with me. Perhaps I look like a serious guy, perhaps they are afraid, I don't know. anyway, that could be another story on my blog some other time.

The para sailing guy was a bit taken back when I said that I'll go alone. He said, "We don't usually send people alone up there. It's scary and dangerous." I did not want to explain how I'm not afraid of physical adventure and simply said, "It's okay." So I went to the para sailing boat in the ocean with 3 couples who were gonna go together. I was to go on the last turn and was amused to see how the girls were scared when the chute went up with a jerk. Even the guys were a bit uneasy. The girl in the second couple started puking as she came back to the boat. I harnessed myself and went up enjoying the flight. It was not scary and the wind up there was awesome. However, the flight was short and I came down to the boat. I saw the guy in the last couple puking. I looked at his wifwe and smiled. soon I was back on the beach.

Nothing much that day. we had a late lunch at one of the shacks and people went off as groups. I too picked up my motorcycle and went riding around the Calangute market. I did not go much far but explored various roads from the beach to our guest house. Then we went for dinner to Tito's place near Bagha beach, a much-hyped place.

DAY 2: RIDE IN COUNTRYSIDE

In the morning, Mohit had to visit his cousins at The Taj on Calangute fort. I said, 'why waste money on cab when i can drop you there and I may as well have a ride exploring." Mohit had not rode a bullet earlier and he was fascinated to see the bike. Though I don't give my motorcycles to others for a ride but I could not ignore Mohit's excitement. So he drove and off we went.

As we rode 10-12 km toward Panaji, I had a feeling that we were off the direction. I had heard that the fort was not very far. We stopped and asked a local the way. he told us that we were going the wrong way. In fact, we were riding away from the fort. We had to take right and not left from the guest house. But none of us was upset. We had no time to worry about and we wwre doing really the thing we were there for- exploring the place on bullet. The fort was a good 20-30 min ride from our guest house and not a walking distance.

After dropping Mohit, I thought why not as well look at the fort which were thinking of going to that day. I took the bullet as far as the road permitted. I looked at the fort and what I could see was a broken fort wall. There were quite a few boats, water scooters in the sea but overall I did not find it too exciting.

I went back and told Vineet that it wasn't walking distance and not much of a place. I also knew that other people in the group were also not excited about going there and wanted to do their own thing. So we decided to go to Bagha beach. People had their rented scooties and they went in their own groups. Vineet, at that time, did not have any personal transport. He was already in awe of the bullet and wanted one for himself. He asked Santosh, guest house care taker to arrange one for him . Param and Pranav also wanted one. Santosh made few phone calls and finally said that he found some. we'll have to go near Bagha beach and one guy would deliver there. We went all the way, waited some good time and no one turned up. Santosh called again and took us to another place where bullets would be delivered. We went there as well but it turned up to be another wild goose chase.

I decided to take control. I said, "I'll arrange." I called Chhotu and told him that we wanted more bullets. He asked us to drop by his garage and he'll try. We went up there, Chhotu was really happy to see me again. he made a few calls but to no avail. Either they were not available or no one was ready to give the bike just for one day. As we were thinking of taking some other available bike, Chhotu said, "Hey, I like you. You are a nice guy. I'd go the extra mile to get you bullets."

Finally, he got us one shiny bullet with right side gears. It wasn't a yellow plate but one with private white number plate. Chhotu said, "We don't give private bikes on rent but anything for you." So we had 2 bikes which Vineet and Param took. Chhotu did go the extra mile and gave one of the bikes he was preparing for a foreigner who wanted to ride it to Kerala. He removed the luggage carriers from the bike and gave it to Pranav. He also said that if we returned the bikes by 9:30-10 am the next day, he won't charge us for 2 days but only one day.

We went straight to Buritto's at Bagha beach where everyone was having lunch. Food was good. The next destination was Arambol beach. Mrinalika, Param, Pranav and I satrted late but we had 3 bullets and were in no rush. I must say that Goa countryside is also beautiful. The eroded western ghats and their hillocks make a pleasurable ride and we all were enjoying it. After a long ride, we reached Arambol and parked our bikes right at the beach.It was a nice sunny day and I could not resist taking off my vest and go bare chested. I may not have a Greek God body but I wasn't hesitant in taking clothes off. We played football for a while and I was down on a couch tanning my body in the sun. I lay in the sun for half an hour and  then went for a cool dip in the sea. It was evening and we all got together for a snack at a shack.

As darkness started falling, people decided to go to Anjuna beach. Suddenly, I wanted solitude, away from the crowds. I stopped somewhere in the way and others went on. I decided to go to Bagha beach and have something to eat there. I enjoyed my rum with paneer pakodas, roamed on the beach and watched a fire breather show. Now that I had had my fill I thought of going to Anjuna and join others.

Calangute and Bagha are nearby but others are far away from each other. The road to Anjuna diverted from the road to Arambol. It was dark and there were hardly any sign posts to lead the way. I took a wrong turn somewhere and the crazy night began.

The roads in Goa are not broad and to distinguish a highway (?) from side streets in darkness is not easy. I kept going and myself on a narrow kutchha road on hills. I left habitation behind and was in the jungle. I took a jungle trail and soon reached a dead end. There were no lights, no humans but only trees and darkness. I tracked back but hit a dead end again. I was frantic and rode on any trail, any turn I found in the hope of finding a way out. I realized that I was going in circles and ending on the same dead ends. I cursed myself, "Damn! I don't even know where I am. I can't even call and ask for help. What will I tell them?!" Plus I didn't want to ruin the fun my office mates were having. I stopped, took deep breaths and tried to calm myself. I said, "Son, keep your cool and keep riding. You will find a way." I said, Okay" and started again.

After a while roaming around in the jungle, I heard some music. I was ecstatic, "Yes, I've hit habitation. I'm out." I followed the music and came to a flat ground with some scooters and bikes parked. There were no lights but I could hear the music from across the ground. It seemed that the ground ended in a sort of cliff and the party was below that cliff. "Hell! I've found a rave! Doesn't matter. I'm in Goa and it's party time. I can return to the guest house in the morning."

Just after the parking was a bush hedge beywod which lay the ground. I stepped into the bushes and Bam! Next second I find myself in a 30 feet deep trench. Then it struck me," Oh this is not something legal and the ravers wanted unwanted people to stay away. They had dug the trench throughout the boundary of the ground. Some people in the party heard the crashing sound and came up to see what happened. However, they did not look into the trench and went away.

Now my next ordeal was to get out of the trench. I was too excited to see if I had injured myself. I tried my rock-climbing skills but the laterite was so fragile, it crumbled the moment I put some weight on it. I walked down the trench and found a place where bushes had branches dipping down the trench. Now my rope- and tree; climbing skills were at test. The branches were thin and not all could support my weight. However, I pulled myself up one of the thicket branches and carefully moved horizontally along the trench to find tough branches. I had survived through worse situations and this was nothing compared to them. In half an hour, I was out.

I dusted myself and went down the cliff at the end of the ground. I was right, it was a rave and no one asked me who I was. Guess they were too certain that nobody uninvited could reach there. They were right on that part, but they'd never thought of reckless adventurers like me.

When I woke up, it was 3 am and most of the people had left and others were asleep. Suddenly, I had the urge to leave. I'm an impulsive man and it's tpogh for me to hold them during regular days. This was however a holiday and didn't think twice before leaving. I went up, found the secret bridge across the trench and started my motorcycle.

Soon I was in jungle again and stuck in the same maze I was earlier. I kept trying, got tired and said, "No more searching. I want to sleep." I parked my bike on the that narrow path and slept on the bike, something which wasn't for the first time. I had slept on bike many times before and it was difficult. After a while, I started feeling cold. I was dresses in my leather vest only and not prepered for the cold hills. I saw an abandoned under-construction house nearby and decided to sleep with an outside ledge over my head. It was dark with some monnlight and I did not want to sleep on the ground, so tried to bring the bike under the ledge and sleep on it. I started the bike and it was really tough to make a bullet turn on a narrow path. As I was trying, the laterite gave way and the bike's front tyre got stuck in a ditch. It was useless to try to get the bike out of the bitch. I had no option but to sit along the wall of the house and try to sleep. I dosed off but was woken up again by the cold.

I saw an abandoned outhouse near the house. The door to that 1 room outhouse was just a jute sack hanging from the upper ledge. I took of the sack, wrapped it around myself and went into the outhouse. There was a makeshift bamboo staircase inside and I sat on the lowest rung and went off to sleep.

After a while I was woken by loud sound of rustling leaves and a cacophony of forest birds. It was a large animal and perhaps a predator because the sound of birds was a warning sound. I had seen enough of forests to recognize the warning sounds. It struck me, "There are hardly any tigers in Goa but it most probably could be a leopard. My brain started running. If the leopard tried to come inside the outhouse, it would be right in my face, 3-4 feet distant. I held the sack around me tightly and slowly climbed backward on the staircase. The leaves were still rustling. Without making any sound, I reached 5th rung of the stairs. Now I felt safe. Even if that animal came inside, i was ready to take on him.

However, the sound diminished after some time and I dosed off again. The sun was up and I was woken by human sounds later. I decided to go out and found a villager with his son. I took their help to pull the bike out of the ditch. It was cold but I wanted to get back to guest house soon as by afternoon.We were supposed to leave for Hyderabad and I didn't want to be a troublemaker.

MOTORCYCLE MADNESS CONTINUES

27 Dec- motorcycle madness

the easy way was to go to shahjahanpur on a bus, finish the work on monday and come back to meerut on bus. but i was gripped with the idea of burning the desire of riding which i had not done for quite a long time and spend the time my way. like i said earlier, time had no meaning in this adventure. at afternoon, i kicked ThunderBird to life and on my way to shahjahanpur.

the road from meerut to garhmukteshwar is a narrow road which then joins NH-24, the highway linking delhi and lucknow. ride until garh was pleasant as the road runs through countryside without too much traffic, and i joined NH 24 happily.

i knew that NH 24 was under transformation to a 6-lane but did not know that the work was slow. there were half-made stretches, most road broken. there were unridable detours from the main highway. it was all dusty and not very pleasant ride.

sunlight fades away early during winters and i was slowed down by the untrasversable roads. darkness had started to creep in before i reached moradabad. another police checkpost. i had my papers in order and not to worry. just while checking, i happened to mention that my dad was once DIG (Police), Moradabad range. the cop was suddenly apologetic and asked me to have tea and snacks at the police station. i told him that i didn't have time and needed to go to shahjahnapur asap. he gave me his phone number and told me that if police stops me on the way i just had to ring him up. i thanked and rode off.

the railway crossing between moradabad and rampurw as jammed with traffic, a common occurrence. i remembered the time when i was stuck there for hours and hours in a car on my way to lucknow. however, being on a motorcycle, there was place for me to sneak through the whole queue and be the 1st one to fly away as soon as the gates open.

i was in Bareilly until 9 o' clock. I stopped by the bus station to have some tea. i was not carrying rum/whisky on this ride and tea was necessary in this cold. come 9:30 pm and lo! behold! fog had set in. just once the though crossed my mind, "was it wise to go on a ride at this hour?" i'd seen accidents happen on this road due to foggy conditions. but i bolstered myself, "i have rode through these conditions earlier on my way to jaipur and had the added responsibility of Gudz riding with me. I can do it again."

i rode on, recollecting all the steps (generated by me) to take while riding in fog- keep riding near the white line on edge of road, consider illusions as reality (yes, there are many illusions if you ride/drive in fog), honk at the 1st stimulus, enhance auditory senses, and of course go slow. the ride became tougher with no convoys on the way; there were no landmarks to tell where i was. i was in complete 'tunnel vision' mode . i would have rode to hell and not stop.

I had lost sense of time and did not realize that i had travelled further than the farm. fortunately, the next landmark, bareilly mod, was not far away. i took a U-turn scanning the roadside for the board which indicated farm's location. it was 1 am when i reached the farm. mom and dad were angry on me taking chances on my life. they had posted a man on the road until 12 am so that i did not miss the farm's gate. but called him back cuz it looked like i wasn't gonna arrive. had tea and dinner and went off to sleep. 

28 Dec- i woke up early as we had to go to DM's office for some work. by that ppl had started coming knowing that i was there. they knew that i was the heir and wud be the next person to supervise the farm activities. they too were astonished that i rode a motorcycle from meerut last night. at that time, i could not understand what riding a motorcyle for 300 km meant to others; why did they think of it as a not humanly possible task. i just shrugged it off. and off we went to the city.

29 Dec- the work couldn't be completed yesterday, so the morning went in finishing it. at 4 o' clock, i decided to go back to gurgaon. i did not want to miss the new year party as i had not really partied on new year since last 2-3 years. u can guess what parents' reaction was on me leaving. but again, i would say- god bless my parents! i took my backpack and rode off. winter days are shorter. by the time i reached bareilly, night had arrived. i was tired but i did not stop cuz i was in the groove of riding. stopping may mean that i wud sit for a long time and i wanted to ride as far as i could before fog wud creep in. and it did soon after i crossed bareilly. i do not remember much of it until rampur. i was just too focused on keeping the bike on road. all my senses were concentrated on the road to notice anything else. at rampur, i had tea.

As i crossed Moradabad, visibility had gone down to 0. i simply could not see what was ahead of me. on the way, many vehicles had stopped by the side of road cuz they did not know where to go. as i went past them, they started following me to lead them through the way. as i reckon, soon there was a convoy of 6-7 cars, buses ans trucks behind me. now i had to be more careful as there were people relying on me to lead them. like i said earlier, the road was under construction. a flyover was being built and was not open to vehicles. we had to take the by lane to keep going.. visibility was 0; there was a sudden bifurcation on the by lane. one of the roads was under construction so instead of going straight on that road, i took the other road instinctively. my instincts told me that the other road was open. going by my well-tested sense of direction, this one seemed to take us straight along the side of flyover and on to the highway. and damn! i took a wrong turn somewhere. mind you, there were no landmarks visible, not even the flyover pillars. we were inside the town now. it was night and foggy, and no live soul could be seen to ask the way.  i cursed myself. not only i had gone wrong, i took others also on the wrong road. however, i let my instinct keep guiding me. going by the odds, now my instinct would not go wrong until next 50 times. and yes, they did serve well. we came on to a police barricade and one constable on motorcycle put us back on the road. i was relieved. for me it was okay. if i wouldn't have been able to find the way, i could have just parked my bike, take out the blanket and sleep over until light. but here was the question of others behind me. 

by the time i reached gajraula, it was 4 am- 12 hours of riding and i was still more than 150 kms away from gurgaon. my body and brain told me to stop and stay over the night. they could not take it more. 1150 km of riding alone, carrying a heavy backpack and brutal winter nights were taking a heavy toll on them. i stopped at a dhaba and had some tea. luckily, they had some rum too. i sat drinking with sme truck drivers, and as i narrated my story, they could not believe. no one could do it alone. they had never dne it even on a truck. this encouraged me and i pumped myself with adrenaline- son! legends are not made if you stop in between. i got up, fastened up all my jacket zippers, put on the leather gloves lined with wool, fixed the helmet tight, strapped on the backpack and off we go. 

i do not remember when sunlight surfaced. i have a brief recollection of going thru hapur and crossing the UP-Delhi border. not for a moment did i get off the motorcycle. it was perhaps 1 or 2 o' clock that i reached my house in gurgaon. oh! how i was delighted as if i reached heaven. sleepily i opened the doors, threw the pack on a side and fell on the bed. yes! i was home to celebrate the new year.

MOTORCYCLE MADNESS

Motorcycle chronicles

19^th Dec- went to mrt to meet parents. Had lunch.pushed at 5. Took the lesser known khatauli-shamli-karnal road. Stopped at a theka, had few shots of old monk. Road thru fields but broken. Met a constable who piloted me to a better road. Dark by that time, certain lonely stretches. Stopd at police barricade. Dogs havin an orgy. Inspector runs to clear them up than chk my papers. Go easily.

On NH 1. Stopd under a banyan tree near a village pond to hav a swig of rum agn. Panipat crossed. Went straight to chandigarh isbt. Knew I’d find sme hotel there. Instead found a passenger lodge-50 bucks to stay for night with all facilities.

20^th- off to simla

Sme cute chicks in a scorpio, riding along a few kms till a railway crossing with a long jam. Stopd for jam to clear, fild up my fuel tank with rum and up up and away. Cool breeze, colorful trees with autumn colors in winter. Bike ridin smooth, no signs of tiredness, sweetly takin the curves, no hesitation in accelerating to overtake. But my fuel started finishing out. After quite a few kms found a spur to park the motorcycle and take couple of sips of rum. Another guy on Bullet with a long jacket was alredy there. I stopd, looked at him, got down and opened the bag. By this time the guy was ready to leave, I looked at him agn and took out the bottle. As he left I saw boldly written police on the back of his jacket. I cursed- u had to choose this place only to drink.

Finishd all rum and was agn on the go. Saw an old man and his son in shorts and carryin small bags ridin a bicycle. Dint look like they were goin to simla on cycles. Too far to go on cycles and small bags indicated this. 2 memorable overtakes. 1. Two long big trucks carryin maruti cars. Both together were a long train and goin painfully slow. The turns were such that I kudnt look far enuf to overtake safely. I knew only acceleration was not the ans here. Patience-thas wat I required here, and ridin thunderbird I knew I needed it. Trailed them slowly, waitin for the right chance. It was a long and slow pursuit. Saw my chance and overtook the 1^st truck to make space between them. I had to be careful to not slow them down. They were heavy and on full power mode. If slowed down, it was gonna take helluva effort to get them going again. Slow, slow and slow I moved separating the two trucks. At an opportune moment, I accelerated and i was free.

The 2^nd one was overtaking an army convoy. The length of vehicles was less but the nmbr of trucks was large. The astonished and admiring looks of soldiers on seeing me all loaded riding a motorcycle alone was appeasing.

One more thing that left a smile on my face when I was jus sittin and watchin vehicles go by was a bus full of college girls. The dreamy look on their faces while watching me esp on one spectacled cute chick simply left me soaring above the clouds. A few minutes later, 2 guys on separate bajaj avengers passesd by; possibly their grlfrnz were on that bus. Havnt I seen guys doin that in my days?!

Neway! Soon I overtook them and later stopd to get more fuel for my body. Dint find old monk rum but was suggestd himachal made ‘commando’ rum. I chose to stik wid rum. Over the years, I hav lernt not to mix drinks wile driving. As I was mounting thunderbird after a few swigs, the two kids stopd by me and askd if I was riding alone. I said yes and they wre awestruck. In fact, as many ppl I met and told I was riding alone in the hills in this weather were simply amazed ranging frm kids, family men, army men, truck drivers and so on. They say it’s very maniacal but brave. If luv for riding is crazy, yes its maniacal. And the only bravery I find was to convince dad that nutinz gonna go wrong if I go on motorcycle. Lol.

It was almost dark wen I reachd Simla. I generaly keep no track of time esp wen I’m on a brk and ridin. Time becomes meaningless then. I kno I will reach where I’m headed and time cannot stop me frm doin what I want or wat I need to do. Its more fun and knowledgable in stopping while ridng, admiring nature’s beauty, muse over life and death than be bound by time. It also has to do with my belief on eternity. If u r eternal, u transcend time. U r present in all the times- past, present or future. time stops existing in this stage.

Parkd my bike. Went up the lift to mall and reachd Amit’s emporium. Tea I alredy had at canteen of the parking. Washd my face, put on my leather overcoat and went to stroll the mall wile amit was bzy managing his shop. I always find it amusing to watch various types of reaction ppl have on seeing me. Intention is not to make ppl react but I look like that only. I kno I look weird but thas how I am. These reactions I’d talk about later as they themselves need a lot of pages.

I visited Gaurav at his shop. He was delighted to see me afta so many years. He’s another one of those ppl who understand me and my ideals and respect them. He said he’ll be joinin me n amit soon.

Soon after I perched myslf on a bench near amit’s shop on mall rite in frnt where Vodafone was organizing a roadshow to grab a foothold in the simla market. As gaurav came, we sped off to La Glace, a frequently haunted bar. Had few drinks and was time to leave. We came down to amit’s shop frm where we loaded my luggage into amit’s car and I went down to parkin. We stopd at amit’s parents’ home to meet his mom (amit shiftd to another house afta few years of his marriage).

Down to amit’s house is a steep turn and a narrow, steep road. I’d been until now rollin down without engine turned on using my feet on ground and front brake as brakes. As I negotiated the steep turn, motorcycle ran too fast for me to use rear brake. Using feet as brakes was useless, using front brakes at this speed doenward was inviting bruises, abrasions and possible fractures.

Then I saw another road diverge to a flat terrace where I kud land safely along with my motorcycle. Shift there n ground still. I u-turnd and saw amit standing at the turn. I shouted and said that I will start my motorcycle and then glide down to their terrace. Vrrroooommmm….. and I was at their doorstep. Rina opened the door and some kids were shouting inside. Ha Ha Ha… they were kids frm skool who stayed at their place on rent. I met them and came to know that they were on vacation frm skool and staying back for tuitions. They stdied a bit, came to wish me Happy B’day, had drinks with us and went off to sleep. I slept on the couch after getting drunk.

Dec 21- my b'day

By morning, I had cot cold and my calf muscles were stiff from dragging those lead hevy boots. I was sleepy and needed rest. But it was a bright morning, sun coming in right thru the windows. I woke up and we planned to go to Spas Lodge for lunch. I slept thru the way. Now was the question of cash crunch. The place was, I was told, listed in Lonely Planet and was famous for trout and pasta. I asked if they accepted credit cards; they didn’t. I asked for the menu and saw pricelist. Ah! who’d find delicacies at such kewl prices?! All within the cash I was carrying.

I’d never seen and eaten such trout before. I decided to keep my vegetarian status aside for a day. The manager showed us how to separate the head and thorns. It was delicious. Pasta n boiled trout. We left for helipad. Before I knew where we were going, I was asleep.

I rememeber reaching house, wrapping myself I n a blanket and quilt in room where akash was staying as PG. At 7 pm I remember rina’s voice- Gur Bal… get up. Its 7.

Hell!! I slept thru my b’day!! Ha ha. Gud for me… kudnt hav received better gift frm mom… carefree sleep!!

Then it was like fewe drinks n then dinner and off to gud sleep.

Nxt morning. By afternoon, I’d decided to go to Naldhera. Amit was at his shop, I had no desire to roam the m all. But drinks were over and I dint wanna sleep. So I decided to visit naldhera and taste another delicacy in sanjauli. I pikd my free stuff, enuf for frnz in Delhi n Gurgaon, and on to confront demons from hell. rode off on rolling naldhera roads. Many things and reactions I noticed on the way, but the one that caught my eye were flying lammergeir. I’d never seen them at these lower heights; they were birds of higher mountains. My 2 year stay in Uttarkashi as a child had made me see birds of greater heights.

Near extinction of Indian vultures has created space for Lammergeir, Eurpoean griffin and other vultures who migrated and took their place.

I remember parents’ call yesterday while I was riding to Naldhera- wishing me on turning 30. oh well, I'm getting older. On reaching the golf course, i parked motorcycle for free at a tea stall. i had tea and the guy assured me that motorcycle was safe there. i took the entry tickets and stolled in through the gate, thwarted attempts for pony ride and moved on. an upward climb it was.

on reaching the flat area, i ordered a coffee and sat on a tree log as there were no empty chairs. some skool kids had apparently come on tour to Simla. visit to naldhera is an essential part of skool trips. even i came here when i was in skool. 2 kinda cute girls were trying to catch my eye. unfortunately, they did not realize that i was on a different trip and uninterested. had my coffee, smoked a cigarette and pushed off.

as i strode ThunderBird, a firang family was also boarding their car. they, especially the kid, looked at the beauty and the beast admiringly. as always, everybody stopped and watched with bated breath for me to start the motorcycle. This is another loved trait of an Enfield. anywhere and everywhere i'm about to start her, people watch with awe in their eyes. the kid was overwhelmed with reverence as i thundered off.

In evening, Amit and I went on a binge and arrived home late. Rina was upset and did not allow us in bedroom. we slept in the living room.

22 Dec- leisure day

nutin intersting to remember. wore the day off at Amit's shop strolling the mall & drinking with Amit, Gaurav & Shashwat (another junior from college).

23 Dec- depart Simla

woke up in the morning, had coupla rum shots and began cleaning the steed. had lunch and left around 1:00 pm. smooth n easy ride down the hills. stopped at a dhaba in evening, slept an hour on the charpaai and left after 2 swigs of rum. reached gurgaon late night, snuggled into the quilt and slept.

24 Dec- sleep quota

slept until noon. had a bath, cleaned the place and went out for some light food. the evening was reserved for christmas party at Nitin's place. dresses up in my slightly gothic way and reached his rooftop café. spent the night drinking and chatting up with galz at the party. in the morning I find myself sleeping in Nitin's studio. Stuti woke me up for coffee, had lunch looking at Nitin's paintings.

there was no plan on what I'd do after coming back from Simla. I did not know where I'd go next. the only plan was that i'll spend the last days of year riding and burning the tarmac (if indian roads had tarmac!). At 3:00 pm, i was off to meerut.

reaching there i found that mom n dad had left for the farm in shahjahanpur- 300 km from meerut. the day was Thursday, 25 Dec. i also found that i was needed there for some legal procedures but not until monday, Dec 29.

26 Dec- rest

riding long distances in peak of winters with backpack is not easy. i was drained of energy and needed to recuperate. motorcycle also needed rest after covering those distances. so i decided to spend the day curled up in bed after giving the babe a bath.

27 Dec- motorcycle madness

the easy way was to go to shahjahanpur on a bus, finish the work on monday and come back to meerut on bus. but i was gripped with the idea of burning the desire of riding which i had not done for quite a long time and spend the time my way. like i said earlier, time had no meaning in this adventure. at afternoon, i kicked ThunderBird to life and on my way to shahjahanpur.

the road from meerut to garhmukteshwar is a narrow road which then joins NH-24, the highway linking delhi and lucknow. ride until garh was pleasant as the road runs through countryside without too much traffic, and i joined NH 24 happily.

i knew that NH 24 was under transformation to a 6-lane but did not know that the work was slow. there were half-made stretches, most road broken. there were unridable detours from the main highway. it was all dusty and not very pleasant ride.

sunlight fades away early during winters and i was slowed down by the untrasversable roads. darkness had started to creep in before i reached moradabad. another police checkpost. i had my papers in order and not to worry. just while checking, i happened to mention that my dad was once DIG (Police), Moradabad range. the cop was suddenly apologetic and asked me to have tea and snacks at the police station. i told him that i didn't have time and needed to go to shahjahnapur asap. he gave me his phone number and told me that if police stops me on the way i just had to ring him up. i thanked and rode off.

the railway crossing between moradabad and rampurw as jammed with traffic, a common occurrence. i remembered the time when i was stuck there for hours and hours in a car on my way to lucknow. however, being on a motorcycle, there was place for me to sneak through the whole queue and be the 1st one to fly away as soon as the gates open.

i was in Bareilly until 9 o' clock. I stopped by the bus station to have some tea. i was not carrying rum/whisky on this ride and tea was necessary. come 9:30 pm and lo! behold! fog had set in. just once the though crossed my mind, "was it wise to go on a ride at this hour?" i'd seen accidents happen in this road due to foggy conditions. but i bolstered myself, "i have rode through these conditions earlier on my way to jaipur and had the added responsibility of Gudz riding with me. I can do it again."

i rode on, recollecting all the steps (generated by me) to take while riding in fog- keep riding near the edge of road, consider illusions as reality (yes, there are many illusions if you ride/drive in fog), honk at the 1st stimulus, enhance auditory senses, and of course go slow. the ride became tougher with no convoys on the way; there were no landmarks to tell where i was. i was in complete 'tunnel vision' mode . i would have rode to hell and not stop.

I had lost sense of time and did not realize that i had travelled further than the farm. fortunately, the next landmark, bareilly mod, was not far away. i took a U-turn scanning the roadside for the board which indicated farm's location. it was 1 am when i reached the farm