Shimla

Short of Kandaghat

17/July/2010 was set as the date for the ride to Shimla. The idea was to go to Shimla and bring my sister back home with the advent of a ride on the new HOG. Further it presented me with the opportunity for a sizable ride and check the new bike for its performance in Himalayas, per se. The expectation was exciting as ever.

Accompanying HOG was my Bullet, which my nephew Parambir rode and who was also there to cover the ride for any photo ops that it presented with enroute. We started off pretty much around the stipulated time of 0700 hrs and were off to a good start with Bullet as the lead. It started to drizzle around Chandimandir, turning to full fledged shower by the time we hit Parwanoo. Certainly not the kind of start any rider would want but so it was, and bothering me was the chrome shine on HOG going for a toss. Weather tests are a matter of fact for any rider, and the situation not being life endangering, we carried on. HOG's attraction magnet was ON as ever and I was kind of getting used to it. Reality came ringing in when the truck horn on HOG (metaphorically speaking), reduced to a squeal  as we approached Kalka. My expectations were humbled, the realization was quick; it might be H-D, but eventually it is a machine. I assumed that water would have splashed on the horn, but then again, it is so very common sense and should have been taken care of. I was buggered, but then I chose to hold that thought and enjoy the ride; which I was successful at.

The rain gave up on us around 10 kms short of Kandaghat wherein we spotted a location and parked the bikes along the road. So while Parambir captured bikes at different angles in his D90, I caught up on the missed calls. It can be funny being witness to the manner of photographer conducting himself around the subject. This angle that angle, jittery  positions, a bit more on this side and a bit more, body shivering. The captioned photograph, one amongst many, has photo credits to Parambir. Moving on, we crossed Kandaghat and rain having paused and road conditions being conducive, I gave a free hand at the throttle. What a WOW moment it was..... I was gliding through the air. Banking left now and right then, it was just too good. The ride was stable as a rock, handling was responsive as ever and braking was very effective. Just TOO GOOD. 


The next halt was at our destination; Shimla. The first ever HOG, rolled into the Queen of Hills, the capital city of Himachal Pradesh, at 1200 hours. The moment came, and it went by. Approaching Sukhmani's place, we found her out waiting for us and was she excited to see the bikes, to hear the exhaust, to feel the rumble. She has the spirit, and probably the reason for being the first lady to ride pillion on HOG. She was waiting for us and had cooked a mighty lunch of rajmah chawal, followed by gulab jamuns. Ask any rider what that means to have, after a long weather screwed ride; she was being showered by our mighty BLESSINGS. So while I caught up with Sukhmani on things, Parambir looked around to straighten out his legs. However, the visible difference was the desperation with which this measure was required between him and me. He was literally looking for a place to lie down whereas i was comfortable enough; not to state the fact about difference in riders, but in the rides. Riding on a FATBOY is pretty much like lounging, in an ultra relaxed posture, so long rides really don't bother; plus, supplemented by the suspension and weight of the bike it adds up to the convenience of maneuvering through potholes. 


Shortly thereafter, at 1400 hours, we started our way back with Sukhmani riding pillion on the HOG, and Parambir trailing on Bullet. The glide back was effortless and I was enjoying the left right banking exercise, yet again. We took a break at Cafe coffee day Dharampur.  While parking the bike, I realized that HOG's are not supposed to be parked like any other bike. It was a revelation in practice, from all I had learnt seeing the TERMINATOR, as to how they park the HOG. They are not parked the usual way i.e. head on in, but with head on out, ready to roll. What intimidation a FATBOY does to other bikes, is something to be seen. Relevant example of this was seen at the Cafe parking, where alongside FATBOY was standing our Bullet and 2 guys came on their Yamaha. They parked the usual Indian way of head on in, but then, suddenly, they realized a cosmic presence in the vicinity. They were flexible I would say, had no ego hassles, so swiftly changed their parking manner to the other way around. We were witness to it across the glass, sitting and sipping our coffee, silence in the air, smiles on our faces.


Back home, the chrome shine all muddled up and dirt and slosh all over, the HOG looked different from what it did when it set out in the morning. However, it still was as mean a machine and looked promising as ever, after having left the first treads of its kind in the summer capital of the British raj in India.