2021

The best thing was that the weekend was not wasted - on the contrary, it was well spent. Screened through google maps to find a place that is not that far, yet new and is a treat for eyes. Given the weather conditions, it made sense to look north - but word Himachal did'nt ring a bell. Next being Uttrakhand, Dehradun would have been too close a destination so moved further and zeroed in on Rishikesh. Had been on this route a decade ago so could vouch for its lush green cover and long curvy roads through the jungle.

Road conditions have improved much now, although the Raipur Rani - Naraingarh stretch is still what is was. Beautiful climb to Nahan and down to Paonta Sahib - such was the fun in air and glide through the corners, the whole stretch passed by in a whisker. I was glad that all other members of the ride troupe were enjoying the choice of destination and route for this weekend. Alas - balancing act had to be there, which came in form of a sizeable tract of road moving at snails pace on Dehradun bypass. Weather was warm, added to that our winter gear and heat from the bikes - it became low point of the ride. Wonderful meandering stretch from Dehradun to Rishikesh, the road has now been widened through the jungle; the whole view has changed since my last visit, however, since the green cover didn't change I appreciated the development.

enroute Nahan

Holy River Hotel - 10 minutes walk from Lakshman Jhula - had its staff beaming and running seeing the bikes enter. Went for a stroll to the Ganges in evening and the vibe was very much like Pushkar - spiritual - with all the incense sticks burning and Sadhu's and bongs and pipes. For me, evening at the balcony and next morning view of fog moving over the river Ganga was high point of ride. On way back we took the more of concrete route - the newly constructed highway from Haridwar - Saharanpur - Yamunanagar - Panchkula. Overnight the weather flipped and very much reminded us that Winter Is (still) Here. Few stretches on the road were like - the whole view fogged, a huge six lane divided highway with guard rails and all the standard paraphernalia of a developed country, with scanty traffic - it made me feel as if am riding in States. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

With new route - despite doing 40km extra - we came back 2 hours earlier - a complete circle of route to and from Rishikesh.

I'd say it was a decent start to the year 2021. Welcome 2021.