Hunch

 I had a hunch

Everyone was saying that its a long weekend on 2nd October and this and that and they were doing this and that - somehow it didn't register or maybe it did. No plans nothing - until the time I said FUCK IT to the current life scenario and on a whim made booking on morning of 1st. Ajmer to me seemed a decent distance away and RAMADA our tried and tested option - it didn't take much time. Off we went.

Route was take right from Ambala and left from Ismailabad onto NH152D till Kotputli and then Jaipur and onwards. But I had a hunch. Yet again, the first toll and they told me to bum off as bikes were no longer allowed - why ? - some reason they gave. Lump it and u-turn to wherever the hell you were coming from. Now I choose not to use expletives since I had a hunch; and because of that I had a route B in mind from the beginning. In no time we were back in spirits and off to Hisar and onwards - that 26kms of extra didn't even make a nip. Doing this was way better than the last time which had left me feeling horrid as never in my life it had happened that I had to return from middle - it has always been onwards and upwards. I guess I needed some humbling.

Bull and Bovine

Made it in time as I prefer and it was me, room and the hipflask. We all gave each other solid company for a few hours before shut eye. Ramada treated us well as always, bike was secure and I was settled. Before daybreak, we were making our return and returned we did well in time.

All in all it was a good ride on this Gandhi Jayanti. I don't know about all the freedom marketing of Harley - but I can say that all this while on road, on my terms and conditions and the alone time - did me good at the end of it. However, a new matter of concern now is the latest trend of not allowing bikes on new highways - which makes one wonder how do you plan for a long ride to new places ? 

A riddle that time shall solve - I have a hunch.

Road Chat

 Excerpts from a routing roadside stop for a swig of water and wee bit of stretch

In Haryanvi in which I have a real short hand, as much as I could understand:

"Kitne ki ye ?".....before I could think "teen chaar laakh ki honi"

Just nodded

"Inne mein to i20 le lete"...didnt stop still...."kitne ke ye" asks again

I said "saade aath lakh"

"Arre tine mein i20 le lete...AC mein jaate....itne mein aati hogi i20 ?"

I didn't say and off he went smiling.

Apparently the man was stumped with i20 and so was I by the fact that KMP is no longer allowing 2 wheelers to ply on its stretch. What a bummer ! It was all hunky dory till about this March and now this !! I was told, for Agra I would have to take the route through Delhi. Given the G20 this weekend and the Capital practically under security blanket, I didn't wish to be pushed around. I was out for a weekend overnighter to Agra for relaxation not stress. U-turn it was.

What a bummer !

Long Due

Long overdue it was to the point that my mind was most obedient this morning knowing full well that potency of its excuses (logical and illogical) had expired. I believe the last I rode was immediately before or after the Malaysia trip which makes it two and a half months of ride inactivity.

Rains this season have been no less than torrential - lot of damage to life and infrastructure alike. In middle of this, planned a long ride in direction of Yogi ji's Pradesh somewhere around long weekend of Independence Day and am glad sense prevailed as I called it off last minute. It rained all those days and who knows about all the places I was to pass through. Not that I am averse to getting drenched in a ride - having done it many times, I'd rather not do it wilfully.

So this morning we made out of the city fast with no destination or return marker in mind. The river crossing at Ropar is actually in spate - all those reports are really true. Amply free in head riding solo, the mind had a ball. Now I don't recall the start of string but I remember it from A point which was that collective thinking of large set of humans is very near to right and is close to consciousness. There is a book on this subject (which I left in middle) and the said book was recommended by election guru - Prashant Kishore in one of his musings. Prashant Kishore comes from town of Bihar, a state whose denizens just as Uttar Pradesh are called Bhaiyya's north of NCR. While the word Bhaiyya itself means brother, its pronunciation generally carries a derogatory tone within a certain section. To which I reminisced an incident in Sector 7 Chandigarh, where while I had gone for some work that I saw a street vendor selling healthy looking cucumbers. As I went ahead with the purchase a young child (7-10 years) came and started off saying "Bhaiyya ye do kilo ye ye dedo." Apart from me, kid and vendor there were two aged men sitting a little distance under tree, chit chatting. Overhearing the child one educated, "First of all you are in a queue, wait for your turn. Second, what is Bhaiyya ? Call him uncle and with respect."

This is when I am riding at about 90 km/h with Out of Orbit set blaring at full and sights set on Balachaur. It was at this point exactly that I realised, look at the progress of thought switching of the mind - Impressive to say the least - to the extent that I thought of penning at my return; but of course I forgot from where all did the maze actually start. Amazing.

As VAAHAN had sent a message a month prior informing/threatening of expiration of Pollution Certificate, as soon as we entered the Police State of Chandigarh we dashed to Sector 21 pump to get all papers in order. Chandigarh is really suffocating now.

ADIOS

5G check

Twenty Sixth of January - a national holiday - this year lay on a Thursday, which is close to a weekend but not close enough to make it a long weekend. Invariably, the weather had not been supportive of a longer ride these previous weeks owing to extensive fog and overcast skies. Having cleared up in last few days, ride had to be planned and executed. Following are write ups, live from location.

27/01/2023 / 0541 hrs / The Picaddily, Lucknow

Yesterday morning as I woke up on schedule for planned ride, clearing the curtain presented with a dreaded view of foggy morning. Immediately my mind made the whole ride concept - suspect, for the previous time I attempted something like this (mileage wise per day) I ended up hitting a dead animal on road in dense fog and barely made it sitting on the bike. That is to say, the damage incurred to bike notwithstanding. Added to that, recent development of Punjab Government banning sale and use of Chinese thread for flying kites during and around days of Basant Panchmi. Last year had the misfortune of having first hand experience of this thread, evidence of which is marked as a permanent feature on my forehead. Having said that, the counter support to argument was too strong to fail - I need this break - I need to play a little with my toy, as all work and no fun makes Simran a dull boy. Don't think just move - be sensible, be safe - MANTRA.

Last ride to Gwalior I barely stopped myself from turning towards the amazingly lucrative on-ramp to Agra Lucknow expressway. It is safe to say now, that the seed of this ride was sown at that moment in time. Next ride - and here I am in Lucknow - penning down thoughts of previous day with help of a double shot coffee and happy sounds of a marriage celebration to accompany. It will be day break in another hour or so, and the sound (which I think is from upstairs) is of men and women singing Hindi songs, with someone accompanying the Dholak. This is fun, as I can hear them laugh / having a good time, yet they are not loud which makes me enjoy it. Wish marriage celebrations in our part of the world were as inclusive / engaging than being so monotonous and predictable.

almost Lucknow

Yeah it's a riding blog - right ! I come back and share that 819 kms of yesterdays ride were pure fun and a good exercise of seeing myself moving away from centre line time and again, and then correcting it. Awareness status is so fickle. Three expressways - KMP, then Yamuna and finally Agra Lucknow (the longest of all, with a stretch of 302 kms including an emergency air strip). Rating wise - KMP is the worst - badly kept and very bumpy to ride. Second would be Agra Lucknow - very smooth yet initial section from Agra a bit patchy. And better among all - Yamuna expressway. With a total toll tax of Rs. 530 in the day; Rs. 205 for Yamuna and Rs. 325 for Agra Lucknow - its the highest toll tax I have paid for a two-wheeler in a day. Don't really mind the toll, so long as I am given access to the expressway - I hope and pray that same sense prevail upon operators of Mumbai - Pune expressway. Inshallah soon - off to Jaipur now.

Toll

28/01/2023 / 0548 hrs / Ramada, Jaipur North

On my way out yesterday morning, found the security guard in mood for a chit chat as I set up the machine and placed my luggage gearing up. The conversation that started with the usual pricing and fuel economy, soon reached a point where he (the Guard) shoots a serving Brigadier of the Indian Army and currently, himself and Brigadier Saab are suspended (for over a year) pending outcome of a trial court. Bhupendra Tewari - by his own version of events shot at BDE CDR twice in the leg on being mistreated and mismanaged by the alleged perpetrator over a period of time. Adieu Bhupendra - I have to leave for Jaipur.

Doing the expressway from other way had an observation - I was enjoying it more today - reason - I was fresh. The previous day, I had already covered 500+ kms and had been on saddle for 7 some hours as I approached the on ramp. Somewhere the ride becomes mundane, especially on an Expressway where your engagement is relatively low and bike is running on cruise control. At that point - you just want to hit the room - the earlier the better. Point being made - tiredness affects enjoying acumen.

Dissected through two towns yesterday - Agra then Jaipur. Other than these two stressed patches, the whole ride was a sail, just as fellow traveller mentioned at one of hydration stops - Bindaas road ! Crossed Fatehpur Sikri after 12 years - reminded me of our business meet at Agra, when self and Vineet took a detour and had ourselves a thoroughly informative tour of the Fort and Buland Darwaza. Vineet's haggling with the guide - member flashes - fun times.

Horrible place, horrible service and horrible attitude @Ramada by Wyndham, Jaipur North. Right from parking woes as I entered, to non-functioning doorbell, to misprinted bar menu, to amateur unwelcoming staff - Pathetic. This hotel has all the makings of a property doomed. Maybe it is for stark comparison to my previous night's stay - but any way you paint it - horrible is horrible. Off to home.

Route

29/01/2023 / 0531 hrs / Home

The trip where bike odo crossed 40k was a good trip - another one in the books. Reconnecting with self works best solo for me, which is what I have been doing lately. Other then that - Greater Noida, Agra, Lucknow, Jaipur - have one thing in common; and that is they all have 5G - while we the Chandigarhiyas, are still a generation behind #4G. Also proves that my phone is really 5G compliant and all the necessary updates are in place, just that the signal is missing!

5G CHECK COMPLETE

MP 07

Oh My God

That last post was in March of this year speaks volumes of non-reporting / non-existent fun rides. Well bygones be bygones - here I am and here is a writeup of a recent fun ride - designed and executed by self from start to finish. Not to say that there has been zero activity ride wise in the duration in between, but yes during summers it was almost zilch - thereafter it was NHR, ABC and then this.

Had purchased tyre replacements for bike almost a year back in advance seeing the crunch faced in supply lines for whatever reasons - figured they aren't getting any newer by the day lying in store as is. So, had both tyres replaced with new ones at odo reading of 36K + change. To see how they handle on the bike, did a long pending ABC (Amritsar - Bathinda - Chandigarh) ride this past weekend - everything was green signal, just a few gear modification needs presented themselves for this winter season. Good to go for Gwalior.

onwards journey

I believe the last time I visited Gwalior was almost 30 years ago, on our family road trip to Nanded - pretty long ago. Google maps showed that one can reach Agra in no time and distance from Chandigarh to Agra stands reduced to some 450K thanks to KMP expressway and further - Yamuna expressway. It had to be longer than that. Had been figuring a new route to (for still under planning) South India ride and Gwalior happens to be the first probable stop enroute - so figured, Gwalior it is and shall also serve as a recce ride.

Room Art

9th December morning was a beautiful one. No fog - no smog - sun all day - what else can a long route rider wish for ! Karnal Neelkanth - the favoured coffee stop and finishing off sandwiches prepped by lovely Lady Gill. Thereafter to Rai - turn to KMP expressway - take exit for Greater Noida - take turn for Yamuna Expressway - move onto Agra Inner Ring Road which finishes in the middle due to ongoing work - divert to a few villages and onto NH44 for the remaining some 120K to Gwalior. Hotel Park Inn was easy to find - staff (guard) was happy to oblige on instructions for bike care - off to room - shower, peg, music, dinner and good night. The last 120k to Gwalior I found to be much trafficked and since it passed through two towns - Dholpur and Morena - that only adds to the grief. Nonetheless, since I had started early there was enough head start to navigate the traffic with ease and reach destination well before sunset. However, did make a mental note to start back even earlier the next day such that Gwalior - Agra stretch is done by daybreak. The same was done and retracted our way home last afternoon.

Return Start

KMP expressway - although inaugurated just a few years back provides with the most bumpy ride through the entire route. Whilst it might seem that it's an expressway and one can relax on road conditions - you cannot and you dare not. Yamuna expressway is far better in comparison and given the fact that it has been operational for almost a decade or more, I'd say it is much more maintained and provides a smooth riding experience. I remember - the last I did Yamuna Expressway was with Sunil (http://hdexploits.blogspot.com/2012/12/taj-expressway.html) in December of 2012 - exactly 10 years ago. Talk about time flying by.

Godspeed

Although I have been active on my personal blog, I think it is time to revvv up on blogposts @hdexploits.blogspot.com - thank you Gwalior for a great experience.

Godspeed