We are finally here - The fourth and final day of my road trip, my first (and in all probability, may even be my last) solo ride's, the return ride!
January 3rd, 2016
Well, after riding for more than 300 kms the previous evening... and gossiping till late night with my brother did not help me, in any way, to wake up early on the morning of the fourth day, as planned. So, naturally, I started off late on my return journey.
Into The Sunrise
It was a perfect morning for a ride, it was neither too hot nor too freezing. It was just perfect (May be a little cold but I like cold weather). I bid my good byes to my kid brother and started off at around 7:30 am, fueled my bike up at the nearest gas station and in no time was on my way home. Solo, again! And I did not hesitate to take photographs this time as I was certain that I had a lot of time. All along the trip until that day, I was not one bit satisfied with the photographs taken because I knew I could do better but because of lack of time I just could not. Yes, I believe in my photography skills. And I made up my mind that I would take beautiful pictures on this day. And this was the first photograph of the day... and I was pretty satisfied with this first one.
I was in no hurry to touch top speeds that morning. I wanted to enjoy the ride... and I was. I was enjoying those beautiful roads, the sunrise, the morning, the breeze and everything else, even those horn sounds from the private buses, the black smoke from the old trucks that were lazily moving on the left of the road, including the annoying rattling noise my bike's rear hugger was making due to that lost screw (thanks to the single cylinder and the vibrations), I was enjoying everything that morning!
Me, Myself & My Camera!
After riding for about just a little more than 100kms on that stretch I had crossed 'Annavaram' and on my way I found some seriously beautiful things. I would have uploaded all the pictures but for obvious reasons I cannot. For most part of the initial phase of the ride I took many breaks and spent most of my time taking photographs. I love to take photographs. You know, I am the official photographer at practically every family gathering back home. You might disagree but I am a decent photographer... I think. And I was enjoying my time with the camera that morning.
I need to take a minute here to thank my Oracle buddies for presenting me with that rucksack (shown in the below picture) as a farewell gift. It certainly is very handy - A little small to my liking but its okay. But you know, I would have loved to have been gifted that tripod I shamelessly asked you people a million times, only to be turned a blind eye on. It would have helped me take selfies in full view with greater precision. :( Never mind, on my birthday, may be ;)
Companion & The Troubles
Okay, back to the topic now - So, there I was on the road, taking pictures, riding softly below 7000 rpm, and humming one of my favourite songs, Lucky Ali's "Nahi rakhtha dil mein kuch, (raktha hoon zubaan par)" and I zoomed past a bullet and what looked like a duke to me (from behind) who were going even slower than me. May be doing a 40 kmph. And then I realized that it wasn't a duke but a Kawasaki Ninja 650! What was I even thinking! How could I even think it was a duke! Anyway, so I went past them, now literally singing Lucky Ali's magical song loudly inside my helmet. I am very shy when it comes to singing. So when I wear that helmet I think no body can hear me which kind of boosts my confidence and leaves me singing songs, out loud, when I put my helmet on. And while I was ruining Lucky Ali's hauntingly beautiful song with my throaty voice, I heard someone honking horn constantly behind. Out of annoyance, I looked at the rear mirror and found the Kawasaki Ninja 650 right behind me. The rider who wore a brown jacket kept waving his hand at me and was asking me something. I took the visor off and paused my singing and realized that he was asking me if I was going to Hyderabad, to which I nodded my head, saying yes. He was very glad at that, I could see it in his eyes. I stopped my bike then and so did he. He eagerly took his helmet off and said "I am thankful to God! I looked at your bike registration and I immediately knew that you'd be going to Hyderabad." And that's how I met Chandra.
Apparently, Chandra was coming from Vizag too and this was his first bike ride, and a solo ride. He was clearly not into bike rides leave alone solo rides. That was the reason why he was following a bullet at a speed of 40 kmph, because he desperately needed company, he said. He had come to Vizag to collect his Ninja 650 after a month long service, (Kawasaki being Kawasaki took a month to get those parts and fix the bike) and he, for god-knows-what reason, decided to ride it to Hyderbad. Clearly, this guy did not think this through, I said to myself. And I think, deep down, I was scared because I didn't want him to ask me "that" question and just when I was thinking this... he asked me... "Is it okay if I join you?" to which I smiled and said yes. No, I did not hesitate one bit. As much as I like to go solo and dreamt of this ride for so long, I also like to chat. :D And just like that, it wasn't a solo ride anymore. I had a companion and I've always wanted to ride along the big boys (600 cc and above) and this was my chance.
After a chat for few minutes and getting to know each other, we soon left on our way to Hyderabad. But of course, we kept taking photographs.
The Alpha
In this phase of the ride, I was humming the melodious "Aathe jaathe" from Maine Pyaar Kiya. God! What was wrong with me that day?! I mean, it is an amazing song and I love it but who sings such a song while on a heart pumping bike ride. Because, me and Chandra were having an amazing time. We were both healthily competing for that 'Alpha' spot, you know. We smiled at each other on the outside but within we were competing to decide who would lead, I guess. It certainly looked like that. Boys will be boys, you must be thinking, eh? I must tell you riding RC 390 on the busy streets of Hyderabad along with those usual bikes that are seen every day on the road, is very different compared to riding it along the bigger and meaner bikes like the Ninja 650. With those usual bikes, you are the bigger and better machine and you show your superiority very early with your revs but when you are meant to ride along 600cc or above machines, you know where you really stand. We were going at around 125-130 kmph and yet Chandra's 650 effortlessly over took me every time he twisted the throttle. Thanks to the traffic, I could always catch up and even over take. It was that day, I understood that having a higher capacity bike on Indian roads does not do it any justice. You can never really test its limits. After a while into the ride, we understood each other's riding styles and after fighting it out some how I ended up leading. I loved every minute of that ride.
You know, I have always loved Ninja 300 for as long as I can remember and I had always told myself that it would be the bike that I will own someday. But someone close to me, when asked by me, chose KTM RC 390 after much thought. That person did not like the trademark Kawasaki green color that Ninja was offered in. Instead she loved KTM's color combination.And somehow I ended up buying KTM's RC 390 as my first bike after that. And it was that day, after competing with the Ninja 650, big brother of Ninja 300, I said to myself that I (we) made the right choice!
Kiss Of Love
After establishing that I would be the one to lead, Chandra was more than glad to follow me. Chandra said he knew of a shortcut which would save us 50 kms and close to an hour's time. I was hesitant and wanted to keep moving on the beautiful highway for I did not care about time or kms BUT I could not say no. I am that kind of a guy. I cannot say 'No' (at least to people who are not that close to me). And so, I listened to him. We kept moving at a good pace on those new roads Chandra showed. And though the roads were not as good as the highway that I wanted to ride on, they were decent. They were single lane roads without dividers yet newly laid and without pot-holes. So, I was okay with it. And soon we saw a sign-board which said Hyderabad was just 375 kms away showing us the road to take. At this point, even Chandra was new to this road. We spoke to people around about the road condition to which a man said that "the road isn't road, it's like a mirror". I will never forget him. Mirror, my foot!!
Gentle reader, it is in situations like this you should always trust your own instincts and not others. Learn from my mistakes. I disregarded my own instincts and went on. The road was initially good but after going for about 50 odd kms it grew worse. And yet, we kept going straight hoping it would get better. We were stupid to think so. The roads were pathetic. We took the road to Khammam which used to be the old highway that connected to Vizag. It was literally the roadway to hell! My bike was already vibrating and making rattling noises and I made it even worse for her by giving her such shitty roads to ride. Chandra on the other hand was suffering too, however, his bike was not suffering as much as mine was. Because of RC 390's firm suspension, I could feel every pit and every bump! My back started to hurt! I could not ride at my usual speeds too. And we were already running behind our scheduled time.
We later stopped at a dhaba, had our lunch and started again after a break of an hour. Even an hour's break was not enough for Chandra. He was ready to give up and call it a day. But we could not afford that and so we started off. I was humming "Aur Ahista" by Pankaj Udhas then.
I mentally kicked myself for saying yes to this route. I was the Alpha after all, shouldn't I be the one to take the decisions? How did I get played so easily? And why the f*** am I singing Pankaj Udhas' song now! (Aur isse ahistha kaha se jaun bey!!) I decided to change the song. And then my brain got busy giving directions to my body on how to handle those pot holes. And shortly after that I got used to riding in those pathetic conditions. I understood the trick to it and I was doing good again. I picked up my pace, went past Chandra in a jiffy and kept going. Slowly, my smile was back on again. And suddenly I realized that I was mentally singing "Kiss of Love" song from 'Jhoom Barabar Jhoom'. I haven't sung this song forever. I don't even remember if I have ever sung this one. I, clearly, don't know the lyrics. So, all I was signing was the same line over and over again - 'Kiss of love'
After almost reaching Khammam, I was tired already. Chandra wanted a break desperately and wanted me to stop. But I did not want to. We would have to cover as much ground as possible when there is light left because on such roads if it gets dark it will only get worse. And with the constant on coming traffic and no dividers it was just a recipe for disaster. So, I kept pushing him (Yes, I can be pushy, at times). And we kept going, it was almost 3:30 pm and while I was happy, mentally singing the line 'Kiss of love, kiss of love... Stay away from the kiss of love!' (Irony ahead!). Suddenly, I felt a burning sensation on my left inner thigh. It felt as if someone burnt me with a cigarette. I immediately thought my bike's engine gave in and is emitting sparks because such was the pain, and I could not stand that burning sensation. It was hurting... very badly! I quickly stopped my bike and upon checking my thigh... I saw a bee! I was stung by a bee! My first bee sting! I looked up at the sky yelling (Not out loud, of course) "Why God, why me? Why always me? And why now!" It was very painful! Yet I did not stop, I had to keep riding and so I did. But soon, that part which was stung was swollen. Now I, moronically, kept riding with regular breaks in between. Thanks to Chandra's constant reminders about how worse bee stings can turn into, my brain soon took me back in time to February 20th 2015, Chennai, where I watched the movie "I" in which the protagonist, Vikram, kills one of the antagonists using bees (Oh yes, I remember the freaking date). I did not want to end up like that guy, I said to myself. Chandra was very sweet, that way, and pushed me to take medication, break and patiently helped find the medical store for me. We found a medical store after about almost 30kms where I bought some antibiotics. We were still, almost, 170 kms away from home and it was approximately 4pm now.
Pushing the Limits
We kept pushing our limits... with constant small breaks, of course. We both regretted our decision to take this route all day long. It turned out to be a very long day. We both just wanted to get this over with and reach home. With all these thoughts I kept going while Chandra followed me. Thanks to the bee, I remembered the movie 'I' and forgot the (ironic) song 'Kiss of Love' and now, instead, I started humming a song that is very close to my heart, 'Poolane' from the movie 'I'. After humming that song for about almost an hour, we reached the beautiful NH9 highway - The highway that I had been missing all day long. I could not stop smiling at the very sight of it. It was as if we found an oasis in a burning desert! And once on that highway, I soon saw this -
After a couple of hours, after seeing that milestone, we had entered the city limits. Yes, it took us close to two hours to cover just 100 kms on such a road. We were exhausted, you know. It was nothing like the first day of my ride where I was still pumped up after 750 kms of ride, where I thought I could do 1000kms in a day. Not that day. After reaching the city, it took me almost an hour more to reach home in that traffic. Chandra had to go to GVK mall to meet his cousins even though I invited him to my home for dinner. We split ways at Masab tank. I reached home at about 9pm. And I was welcomed with a very sweet smile from my nephew, Avyan. I was dead tired and thought I would only crash on the bed the moment I saw it, but Avvy kept me busy. I played with him. Told my family about the stories of my road trip, how much I loved my bike after this road trip, how I made a new friend en route and much more, in excruciating detail.
Moral Of The Story
No matter how much I say I enjoyed this ride, I'd never want to repeat anything like this. And the moral of the story, sweet reader, is to follow your instincts and not what people tell you to do.
But then again, had I taken the highway, I wouldn't have had any of these experiences - The Back breaking ride or being stung by a bee or my choice of taking this road and living with it. I would not have known how strong or weak I would be in situations like that. So, I say, sometimes, making mistakes is good. The trick is not to repeat them though. I will try not to repeat such mistakes further in life.
And just like that, after almost 2000 kms and four days later, the road trip ended! These 2000 kms and those four days of my road trip have taught me quite a few things. Quite a few 'firsts' too - My first solo ride, first crash of my bike, my first ghat road ride with hair pin bends and my first ride after dark to name a few. Made some unforgettable memories. Turned me a little into something new which I never thought was in me.
At the end of the day, I am glad that I followed the trail of my dreams and not the highway of others' expectations. :)
January 3rd, 2016
Well, after riding for more than 300 kms the previous evening... and gossiping till late night with my brother did not help me, in any way, to wake up early on the morning of the fourth day, as planned. So, naturally, I started off late on my return journey.
Into The Sunrise
It was a perfect morning for a ride, it was neither too hot nor too freezing. It was just perfect (May be a little cold but I like cold weather). I bid my good byes to my kid brother and started off at around 7:30 am, fueled my bike up at the nearest gas station and in no time was on my way home. Solo, again! And I did not hesitate to take photographs this time as I was certain that I had a lot of time. All along the trip until that day, I was not one bit satisfied with the photographs taken because I knew I could do better but because of lack of time I just could not. Yes, I believe in my photography skills. And I made up my mind that I would take beautiful pictures on this day. And this was the first photograph of the day... and I was pretty satisfied with this first one.
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After riding for about just a little more than 100kms on that stretch I had crossed 'Annavaram' and on my way I found some seriously beautiful things. I would have uploaded all the pictures but for obvious reasons I cannot. For most part of the initial phase of the ride I took many breaks and spent most of my time taking photographs. I love to take photographs. You know, I am the official photographer at practically every family gathering back home. You might disagree but I am a decent photographer... I think. And I was enjoying my time with the camera that morning.
I need to take a minute here to thank my Oracle buddies for presenting me with that rucksack (shown in the below picture) as a farewell gift. It certainly is very handy - A little small to my liking but its okay. But you know, I would have loved to have been gifted that tripod I shamelessly asked you people a million times, only to be turned a blind eye on. It would have helped me take selfies in full view with greater precision. :( Never mind, on my birthday, may be ;)
Companion & The Troubles
Okay, back to the topic now - So, there I was on the road, taking pictures, riding softly below 7000 rpm, and humming one of my favourite songs, Lucky Ali's "Nahi rakhtha dil mein kuch, (raktha hoon zubaan par)" and I zoomed past a bullet and what looked like a duke to me (from behind) who were going even slower than me. May be doing a 40 kmph. And then I realized that it wasn't a duke but a Kawasaki Ninja 650! What was I even thinking! How could I even think it was a duke! Anyway, so I went past them, now literally singing Lucky Ali's magical song loudly inside my helmet. I am very shy when it comes to singing. So when I wear that helmet I think no body can hear me which kind of boosts my confidence and leaves me singing songs, out loud, when I put my helmet on. And while I was ruining Lucky Ali's hauntingly beautiful song with my throaty voice, I heard someone honking horn constantly behind. Out of annoyance, I looked at the rear mirror and found the Kawasaki Ninja 650 right behind me. The rider who wore a brown jacket kept waving his hand at me and was asking me something. I took the visor off and paused my singing and realized that he was asking me if I was going to Hyderabad, to which I nodded my head, saying yes. He was very glad at that, I could see it in his eyes. I stopped my bike then and so did he. He eagerly took his helmet off and said "I am thankful to God! I looked at your bike registration and I immediately knew that you'd be going to Hyderabad." And that's how I met Chandra.
Apparently, Chandra was coming from Vizag too and this was his first bike ride, and a solo ride. He was clearly not into bike rides leave alone solo rides. That was the reason why he was following a bullet at a speed of 40 kmph, because he desperately needed company, he said. He had come to Vizag to collect his Ninja 650 after a month long service, (Kawasaki being Kawasaki took a month to get those parts and fix the bike) and he, for god-knows-what reason, decided to ride it to Hyderbad. Clearly, this guy did not think this through, I said to myself. And I think, deep down, I was scared because I didn't want him to ask me "that" question and just when I was thinking this... he asked me... "Is it okay if I join you?" to which I smiled and said yes. No, I did not hesitate one bit. As much as I like to go solo and dreamt of this ride for so long, I also like to chat. :D And just like that, it wasn't a solo ride anymore. I had a companion and I've always wanted to ride along the big boys (600 cc and above) and this was my chance.
After a chat for few minutes and getting to know each other, we soon left on our way to Hyderabad. But of course, we kept taking photographs.
The Alpha
In this phase of the ride, I was humming the melodious "Aathe jaathe" from Maine Pyaar Kiya. God! What was wrong with me that day?! I mean, it is an amazing song and I love it but who sings such a song while on a heart pumping bike ride. Because, me and Chandra were having an amazing time. We were both healthily competing for that 'Alpha' spot, you know. We smiled at each other on the outside but within we were competing to decide who would lead, I guess. It certainly looked like that. Boys will be boys, you must be thinking, eh? I must tell you riding RC 390 on the busy streets of Hyderabad along with those usual bikes that are seen every day on the road, is very different compared to riding it along the bigger and meaner bikes like the Ninja 650. With those usual bikes, you are the bigger and better machine and you show your superiority very early with your revs but when you are meant to ride along 600cc or above machines, you know where you really stand. We were going at around 125-130 kmph and yet Chandra's 650 effortlessly over took me every time he twisted the throttle. Thanks to the traffic, I could always catch up and even over take. It was that day, I understood that having a higher capacity bike on Indian roads does not do it any justice. You can never really test its limits. After a while into the ride, we understood each other's riding styles and after fighting it out some how I ended up leading. I loved every minute of that ride.
You know, I have always loved Ninja 300 for as long as I can remember and I had always told myself that it would be the bike that I will own someday. But someone close to me, when asked by me, chose KTM RC 390 after much thought. That person did not like the trademark Kawasaki green color that Ninja was offered in. Instead she loved KTM's color combination.And somehow I ended up buying KTM's RC 390 as my first bike after that. And it was that day, after competing with the Ninja 650, big brother of Ninja 300, I said to myself that I (we) made the right choice!
Kiss Of Love
After establishing that I would be the one to lead, Chandra was more than glad to follow me. Chandra said he knew of a shortcut which would save us 50 kms and close to an hour's time. I was hesitant and wanted to keep moving on the beautiful highway for I did not care about time or kms BUT I could not say no. I am that kind of a guy. I cannot say 'No' (at least to people who are not that close to me). And so, I listened to him. We kept moving at a good pace on those new roads Chandra showed. And though the roads were not as good as the highway that I wanted to ride on, they were decent. They were single lane roads without dividers yet newly laid and without pot-holes. So, I was okay with it. And soon we saw a sign-board which said Hyderabad was just 375 kms away showing us the road to take. At this point, even Chandra was new to this road. We spoke to people around about the road condition to which a man said that "the road isn't road, it's like a mirror". I will never forget him. Mirror, my foot!!
Gentle reader, it is in situations like this you should always trust your own instincts and not others. Learn from my mistakes. I disregarded my own instincts and went on. The road was initially good but after going for about 50 odd kms it grew worse. And yet, we kept going straight hoping it would get better. We were stupid to think so. The roads were pathetic. We took the road to Khammam which used to be the old highway that connected to Vizag. It was literally the roadway to hell! My bike was already vibrating and making rattling noises and I made it even worse for her by giving her such shitty roads to ride. Chandra on the other hand was suffering too, however, his bike was not suffering as much as mine was. Because of RC 390's firm suspension, I could feel every pit and every bump! My back started to hurt! I could not ride at my usual speeds too. And we were already running behind our scheduled time.
We later stopped at a dhaba, had our lunch and started again after a break of an hour. Even an hour's break was not enough for Chandra. He was ready to give up and call it a day. But we could not afford that and so we started off. I was humming "Aur Ahista" by Pankaj Udhas then.
I mentally kicked myself for saying yes to this route. I was the Alpha after all, shouldn't I be the one to take the decisions? How did I get played so easily? And why the f*** am I singing Pankaj Udhas' song now! (Aur isse ahistha kaha se jaun bey!!) I decided to change the song. And then my brain got busy giving directions to my body on how to handle those pot holes. And shortly after that I got used to riding in those pathetic conditions. I understood the trick to it and I was doing good again. I picked up my pace, went past Chandra in a jiffy and kept going. Slowly, my smile was back on again. And suddenly I realized that I was mentally singing "Kiss of Love" song from 'Jhoom Barabar Jhoom'. I haven't sung this song forever. I don't even remember if I have ever sung this one. I, clearly, don't know the lyrics. So, all I was signing was the same line over and over again - 'Kiss of love'
After almost reaching Khammam, I was tired already. Chandra wanted a break desperately and wanted me to stop. But I did not want to. We would have to cover as much ground as possible when there is light left because on such roads if it gets dark it will only get worse. And with the constant on coming traffic and no dividers it was just a recipe for disaster. So, I kept pushing him (Yes, I can be pushy, at times). And we kept going, it was almost 3:30 pm and while I was happy, mentally singing the line 'Kiss of love, kiss of love... Stay away from the kiss of love!' (Irony ahead!). Suddenly, I felt a burning sensation on my left inner thigh. It felt as if someone burnt me with a cigarette. I immediately thought my bike's engine gave in and is emitting sparks because such was the pain, and I could not stand that burning sensation. It was hurting... very badly! I quickly stopped my bike and upon checking my thigh... I saw a bee! I was stung by a bee! My first bee sting! I looked up at the sky yelling (Not out loud, of course) "Why God, why me? Why always me? And why now!" It was very painful! Yet I did not stop, I had to keep riding and so I did. But soon, that part which was stung was swollen. Now I, moronically, kept riding with regular breaks in between. Thanks to Chandra's constant reminders about how worse bee stings can turn into, my brain soon took me back in time to February 20th 2015, Chennai, where I watched the movie "I" in which the protagonist, Vikram, kills one of the antagonists using bees (Oh yes, I remember the freaking date). I did not want to end up like that guy, I said to myself. Chandra was very sweet, that way, and pushed me to take medication, break and patiently helped find the medical store for me. We found a medical store after about almost 30kms where I bought some antibiotics. We were still, almost, 170 kms away from home and it was approximately 4pm now.
Pushing the Limits
We kept pushing our limits... with constant small breaks, of course. We both regretted our decision to take this route all day long. It turned out to be a very long day. We both just wanted to get this over with and reach home. With all these thoughts I kept going while Chandra followed me. Thanks to the bee, I remembered the movie 'I' and forgot the (ironic) song 'Kiss of Love' and now, instead, I started humming a song that is very close to my heart, 'Poolane' from the movie 'I'. After humming that song for about almost an hour, we reached the beautiful NH9 highway - The highway that I had been missing all day long. I could not stop smiling at the very sight of it. It was as if we found an oasis in a burning desert! And once on that highway, I soon saw this -
After a couple of hours, after seeing that milestone, we had entered the city limits. Yes, it took us close to two hours to cover just 100 kms on such a road. We were exhausted, you know. It was nothing like the first day of my ride where I was still pumped up after 750 kms of ride, where I thought I could do 1000kms in a day. Not that day. After reaching the city, it took me almost an hour more to reach home in that traffic. Chandra had to go to GVK mall to meet his cousins even though I invited him to my home for dinner. We split ways at Masab tank. I reached home at about 9pm. And I was welcomed with a very sweet smile from my nephew, Avyan. I was dead tired and thought I would only crash on the bed the moment I saw it, but Avvy kept me busy. I played with him. Told my family about the stories of my road trip, how much I loved my bike after this road trip, how I made a new friend en route and much more, in excruciating detail.
Moral Of The Story
No matter how much I say I enjoyed this ride, I'd never want to repeat anything like this. And the moral of the story, sweet reader, is to follow your instincts and not what people tell you to do.
But then again, had I taken the highway, I wouldn't have had any of these experiences - The Back breaking ride or being stung by a bee or my choice of taking this road and living with it. I would not have known how strong or weak I would be in situations like that. So, I say, sometimes, making mistakes is good. The trick is not to repeat them though. I will try not to repeat such mistakes further in life.
And just like that, after almost 2000 kms and four days later, the road trip ended! These 2000 kms and those four days of my road trip have taught me quite a few things. Quite a few 'firsts' too - My first solo ride, first crash of my bike, my first ghat road ride with hair pin bends and my first ride after dark to name a few. Made some unforgettable memories. Turned me a little into something new which I never thought was in me.
At the end of the day, I am glad that I followed the trail of my dreams and not the highway of others' expectations. :)
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